Saturday 27 October 2012

Overwhelmed

We took advantage of the gorgeous weather yesterday to do some work on the caravan.



This is the first time we've really done anything to it since we moved. Moving really took it out of us and we haven't had much motivation to do much of anything. The place is littered with half finished projects waiting for us to pull ourselves together and just get on with it.

To be honest I am overwhelmed by the amount of work there is to do. Work that I am not skilled for, and I hate not knowing what I'm doing.




Spanner Wielder spotted these caravan windows at scrap metal last time he was there and picked the up for about $10. They've now been installed in the rear of the van in our ever continuing quest for water tightness.



I sat on the grass and made daisy chains in the name of avoidance. Spanner Wielder dispatched me to the hardware store for screws because that would be an "easy job". 2 phone calls later I returned triumphant, only to be told that I hadn't got exactly what he wanted but "they'd do". Arghhhhh.

Hoping to do more today, but every time I step inside panic threatens and I feel the urge to run, screaming from the van.

Send me good thoughts xx

p.s. I've joined Instagram foll me @lalalovevintag

Wednesday 11 July 2012

We have survived... barely

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted. It has been mayhem around here for the past three weeks. We just finished moving everything Monday, which was also our seven year wedding anniversary, which you can read about here.

I was also crazy enough to started a new blog, Ookie La La, focused on my passion for vintage and being creative. Did I really have time to do this... no. Am I crazy like that.... yes. So if you want to visit and follow along hit this link. I'd love to see you there!

So a bit of an up date. The caravan is currently parked in our driveway YAY. It's currently blocking all the light coming through the kitchen.... little less yay. You win some, you lose some I guess. Hopefully the garage will get organised a bit better so it can move further down the drive. 

I hope to update you on everything we got done (and the things we didn't) soon. But at the moment the caravan is full of crap from Spanner Wielders workshop so I cant get any pictures of our progress. You guys want to see what we've done, not just hear me rabbit on about it. 

So fingers crossed now our hectic, hellish, emotional roller coaster of a month is over you'll be hearing from me more regularly! Hopefully I can stick to my game plan of working on the caravan more consistently now its right outside my front door. Definitely need to do some work on the Caravans appearance asap. It makes our driveway look pretty trashy. Especially when you take into account all the bomby "project" cars that litter the place. Anyone else out there married to, living with or related to a nut job "car enthusiast" who knows what I'm going through... anyone!?


Friday 15 June 2012

Pinteresting

Thanks for all your comments on my last Pinteresting post. I cant help but agree that there is a lot of repetition on Pinterest. I think that part of the problem is that people just repin already pinned posts, or posts from popular bloggers so you see the same thing over and over. But in amongst all that repetition sometimes you stumble upon that perfect little nugget of inspiration, or a new blog that is amazing, or you just repin things you find so you never have to search agonizingly through goggle trying to hunt up something you vaguely remember the name of. That's what I love about Pinterest, and makes the hours wasted spent trawling worthwhile.

Something that I've been thinking about lately is seating in the van. We're in the process of finalising the floor plans of the caravan and that means finalising how much seating and sleeping space we'll have. I  believe that you can't have too much seating or too many sleeping options in a caravan. Some of the seating needs to be fixed, where as some needs to be removable so it can be used outside. Arghhhhh. So I'm trying to find solutions to these quandaries. 

One thing I'm loving is floor cushions. I want a cosy little nook where we can read, or play board games, snuggle and watch a movie or just relax. 

Here's a round up of some of my fav's. As usual the picture should link you to the source.

Modular floor cushions


moveable-multi-colored-floor-pillows

Love these, love the ability to arrange, stack, create any seating arrangement you like. Whether you lay them all out as a "mattress" or stack to make a couch, arm chairs etc



I think stackability (it's a word, I used it in a sentence) is also important. There's not a lot of floor space in a caravan, so things need to be compact and have there own space. Hence the desirability of stacking.

Amazing rock floor cushions, better then a beanbag!!!

The living stones are incredible. I think the picture sums it up, just the pure joy and creativity/imagination they inspire. Completely impractical for a caravan, I know. I am thinking about creating a mountain of them for Squiggle Butt's room though. Caravans are not the only places that need comfy, cozy and snuggly little nooks.


These are simple and so clever. Perfect for Squiggle Butt to lounge on, take out doors, use in a tent when she's older.

Now I just need to be able to make a decision!! 

Do you have  a favourite floor cushion design. Or a perfect solution to my indoor/outdoor seating and bedding space problems? Let me know in the comments. 

Tuesday 12 June 2012

Progress.... HIP HIP HURRAH

We have been productive... HURRAH!!

We visited our TROLL shop and got some great bargains. TROLL is what our local tip shop is called for some wonderful, magical, reason. I remember going with my mum to dump rubbish and picking through the tip looking for treasures, but it was stinky, and you touched some really questionable stuff looking for those treasures. Its much nicer now and I highly recommend you get to your local tip shop regularly. Honestly you never know what amazingness you'll find! We bought a cupboard, that will become a bench seat/bed and a timber double bed frame for about $6. We also bough an old locker, 2 metal out door chairs, a BBQ and a laundry sink for home for an extra $32. 

Spanner Wielder spent a day on the Caravan of Wrighteousness on Sunday and rapidly ticked some items from our list!!

He fitted the new (to us) stabilisers. We bought these at a garage sale for $2 each. I had no idea what they were, but felt like we needed to buy them. So I dragged Spanner Wielder over for a look, and sure enough we needed them, they also marked them down from $4 while I was hunting up Spanner Wielder!!

Our old stabilisers 
Our pretty new stabilisers
One of the pins were broken, so we assumed that's why the last owner replaced them and put them in the garage sale. It was a very easy fix though. Spanner Wielder simply knocked the broken pin out, found two bolts that fit, tightened the bolt enough that they were stable, but loose enough that everything could still pivot, and, finally, welded the nut in place. Simple right, well it sounds simple when Spanner Wielder explains it! If you are thinking about buying a caravan that is as crap shacky dilapidated as ours, its probably important that you know someone who welds.

Its also important to have good footwear, Spanner Wielder wore sand shoes and steeped on a nail. I did some Googling and because he had a tetanus booster 5 years ago (from, believe it or not, jumping stepping on a nail) he didn't need another one!


He also took down the shower, rain door sun roof, ready to fit our salvaged sky light.


We both spent the afternoon at the van Monday. Squiggle Butt was asleep in her porta cot so we couldn't be too loud. Initially we did a lot of measuring. We're hoping to have detailed plans (well measurements) so we can just start framing, rather then having to figure out placement of items, how things fit together as we go. We also plan to do a quick stock take of what we have, so we know what we still have to get. 


An example of some of the rot.


Spanner Wielder and I also got on to some demolition... you know the fun stuff. most of the panelling has now been removed and we have a pretty clear picture of what is salvageable and what needs replacing. Much more of the frame is salvageable them we thought thankfully. However where the broken rear windows have let a lot of weather through and much of that area needs replacing. I honestly don't know how it hasn't fallen to pieces, I can't figure out what's holding the back together.

My gory wound

During demolition I bashed my finger on a rusty nail. Now I know I haven't had a tetanus booster recently, but I'm taking my chances. I'll head in for a needle if my jaw starts locking up, but not before!!! 


Today was meant to be our first scheduled day working on the Caravan, and wouldn't you know it  Spanner Wielders been called into work. I'm hoping to go down to the workshop after Squiggle Butt wakes up and do some tidying, we didn't clear out much of the panelling before knocking off Sunday. I'm also hoping to trace out the curves in the kitchen, ready to frame out. It'll be tough to get a lot done though as Squiggle Butt is pure mischief, and there's so much damage she could do! Plus look how grotty she managed to get last time, and she was asleep for most of it!!


Thursday 7 June 2012

Pinteresting

I <3 Pinterest. I remember when I first discovered Pinterest feeling like an out cast because I had to wait for an invite.... All the cool kids were pinning and I was left dejectedly checking my email day after day, or begging for an invite (none of my friends were pinning yet so no go). Oh happy days when that long awaited invite arrived. After which there was a period of hysterical pinning, and sleep deprived nights trawling through pins. I've calmed down a bit now, but a lot of my spare time is still spent trawling Pinterest.

I pin a lot of ideas for our Caravan of Wrighteousness, to follow this board just click the link on your right!

               Window screens from old lace curtains

So I thought I'd share one of my favourite finds from this week. I want these lace screens for the van badly.... I'm just trying to figure out the logistics. I'm thinking that they'll need to be constructed from wire.... wire being the easiest thing to bend and caravan windows being anything other then square! I also want to make sure they're easy to remove or open, so that we can get to the windows. Anyone knows that caravan windows NEED to open. 

So I'm now keeping my eyes peeled at every oppie for just the right lace... the lace cant have large "holes" because then it wont keep all the bugs out. And I hate bugs, especially the ones that bite, but the ones that bite love me. Its a vicious circle. 

I may need to block Pinterest for this month *sigh*

Wednesday 6 June 2012

Rabid screaming mess coming right up...

So I'm feed up with my lack of caravan mojo and have decided to try scheduling to get my groove back. Scheduling is always my go to strategy... Has a lot to do with my type a, obsessive compulsive Virgo personality. Sadly I am AWESOME at scheduling, not so awesome at sticking to said schedule. Fingers crossed it works this time. 

So after chatting with Spanner Wielder our aim is to replace the caravan floor, re frame the roof and kitchen, make the caravan watertight, replace the levelling leg thingys, replace the missing windows, and install the bed by the end of this month. And it HAS to happen by then because, Spanner Wielder is closing down his workshop at the end of the month, so the caravan is going to have to move to our house.

Speaking of houses, did I mention we also need to move this month.... for the second time this year. As you can imagine when I found this out I had a bit of a break down (basically there was lots of sobbing, though I manfully kept my crap together and didn't have the full scale tantrum that a 3 year old would be proud of, it was a close call though) and now I've reached reluctant acceptance. But this is why every things crazy scheduled.... because this month is going to be crazy busy. I hate months like this. You all know what I mean, you get to the end wondering what the hell happened to June and you're completely wrecked trying to keep it together so you don't end up a rabid, screaming mess, threatening murder and the likes. Did I mention it was reluctant acceptance... clearly I'm still in a dark place.

Back to the schedule, we've basically got a list of what we want to complete this month, and some days assigned to do it in. It is in no ways complete yet, and I hate that its not set in stone, but we never know when Spanner Wielder may be called in to work. We're hoping to spend some time in the caravan this weekend (though it's not scheduled), our first scheduled days will be Wednesday 13th and Thursday the 14th. Hopefully you guys can keep me honest!! 

So let the crazy month of June begin, I'm off to start packing!

Monday 21 May 2012

Business plugs

This post is basically a big thanks to those businesses that donated their gorgeous products for our market stall and raffle. These are mostly all small businesses or work at home mums (WAHMS) so please, please show your support.

  
Dayzee Chain Florist




Image, Sign & Graphics

 
Chic Pea Designs
During the month of May, mention 65 Roses Day or Cystic Fibrosis when ordering your very own Chic Pea Design and $5 of your purchase will go to CF Tasmania!!!
You can see Squiggle Butt in her gorgeous Chic Pea beanie here.

 
Totally Awesome Sounds

  
Handmade by Karina Rose


 
Ookie La La

                                
Latrobe Bumps, Bubs and Beyond Market


                                


                                
Wickando Candles


All pictures should link you to more information about the businesses or their Facebook page. Again we would like to say a huge thank you to these businesses. It is heart warming to know that there are such amazing small businesses, who actively participate in their communities, out there. These businesses deserve our support.

Friday 11 May 2012

Wrighteous Picken's

This morning we got all rugged up and hit the Garage Sale circuit.


Those of you following on Facebook know how pumped I was for today. I love vintage, I also love re purposing. I re purposed my first piece of furniture at 12. It was an ugly, dark brown, veneer book shelf. I cut stars into the sides and painted it. I wish I still had it, but I put it in our moving sale before we returned to Tassie, I don't know how Spanner Wielder convinced me to let it go. So not like me. But I love the buzz you get when you see someones trash  no longer needed items and know that you can turn them into something incredible.

But I've digressed, today I got some amazing things, things for home and things for the Caravan of Wrighteousness.


At the first garage of the day we scored this amazing hard suitcase. Priced at $4, as soon as I saw it I knew I'd be snapping it up. It was jumbled with a bunch of other cases that I glanced at, but none of them were hard covered. I must of looked disinterested though, because she offered it to me for $2 eeeek! I'm loving the bon voyage badging. Jono wants to claim it to turn into a portable stereo, my own fault for showing him an example in Frankie. I LOVE Frankie magazine, do you?

Next garage was disappointing, but that's all part of the hunt. The one after that wasn't that hot either. In fact the most exciting thing about it was the trampoline sitting on the curb with a big FREE sign on it. I instantly start stuttering tra-tra-tramampoline (Simpson watchers know what I'm talking bout, am I right!?). Despite having roof racks and tie down straps I failed to convince Spanner Wielder that it was fate. We left as a couple of grandparents started loading it onto their car, devastated.

The next garage was still disappointing, apart from the cute fry pan we got with the anodized blue lid for $1. I feel so happy when I see anodized things, it instantly reminds me of these travel cups my grandma kept in her car. We used them at the block and they packed smaller, being made of rings, and were gorgeous colours. 

 The following garage was a-mah-zing! So much vintage goodness. Arghhh, I wanted to buy everything, but we had so little cash on us. So I had to stick to the must haves. Don't you hate it when you get to the end of the day and you know that there were things you should have bought!




First thing I grabbed was this stool for $1. The legs are gorgeous, and it wasn't till I ripped the cover and foam off at home that I spotted the gorgeous print on the bottom. I found the brand ironic and amusing, may have laughed out loud. Even though no one will ever see it, I plan to preserve the print, it's too cute and funny to lose. 

My head was spinning when we got home with plans for this stool. I was originally thinking of painting a big, thrifted, silver platter with chalkboard paint and screwing it to the top inorder to turn it into a table for use in our entrance way (which is in desperate need of SOMETHING to dump everything). But the platter was too small. I think I'll still paint the platter with chalkboard paint and hang it by the door for messages. I quickly developed a new idea for this stool, that I'm even more excited about. Can't wait to show you when it's done.



Next I got a stack of gorgeous cutlery for $2. Originally I was thinking it was perfect for the van, but having had a closer look I'm thinking we'll put our current cheap, nasty, cutlery into the van and use the new, gorgeous, vintage cutlery. It is so very close to a complete set, just missing one entree fork and two main forks. 


There was also an array of vintage linens, I couldn't go past these pillowcases. I love florals and I can't wait to turn them into lots of fabulousness for Squiggle Butt.



Next I nabbed this cane chair, for the grand price of.... FREE!! She threw it in! This is why you should always turn on the charm for the owners of the garage. I'm so excited about this chair. It was a set of three, but Spanner Wielder, rightly, convinced me we didn't need the other two. Both chairs had areas were the cane was irreparably broken.

So now we're tossing up colours for our unblemished chair. I'm leaning towards navy, Spanner Wielder is leaning towards glossy white (anyone want to help us choose!?). Then I think an ombre patchwork cushion from the velvet scraps I thrifted a little while back will complete it nicely. I'm really loving ombre right now.



Had the best morning "picken", though its tough to get Squiggle Butt in and out of her car seat 20 times. She was tuckered out by the end, gorgeous girl.



Wednesday 9 May 2012

Bumps, Bubs & Beyond....

A big thanks to everyone who read, shared, and commented on my last post. 

Sunday was the big day at the Latrobe Bumps, Bubs & Beyond market. I have to admit that I was a little nervous, but the weather was gorgeous and Latrobe, and its markets, were pumping.

It was such an incredible day meeting people, sharing information and raising funds. I had forgotten how much I loved the community education side of my job when I was working. I had, coincidentally, also forgotten how EXHAUSTING it is. 

Mama Rose & Papa Rose waiting for 9am
  
We were there at 8 to set up, and was out the door by about 1:15pm. Late lunch at home, some bubbles (mmmm bubbles) to celebrate at Mama Roses and then, bed by 9:30 (it would've been 8, but Squiggle Butt wasn't as keen).




                                            

I was so happy with the look of our stall, and we had such a prime position. We were the first table as people entered the hall. A really big thank you to the Bumps, Bubs and Beyond market!!!! The organiser even offered us a table at the Devonport Families Expo...... So we're doing it all again next weekend!!! The expo will be held at Devonport Recreation Centre on Sunday the 20th May. Come along and say hi! 

                           


                           

Now we'll be able to add to our grand total of $930! It really was an incredible day. A big thanks to those who showed their support on the day, and to all the businesses who donated items. So looks like the glue gun and I are gonna be getting cozy again (I find if I'm incredibly friendly to him, he doesn't scold me with hot glue as regularly). Let me know in the comments if you have any old kids books, music books, scrap paper or hot glue sticks to donate and I'll arrange to come and get them.... may even bring a thank you freddo.... not that I'm trying to bribe you with chocolaty goodness at all!

Or buy a raffle ticket ($2 ea or 3 for $5). First prize is a laptop, 2nd prize is 2 nights in a Cabin at the Arthur River and 3rd prize is a family first aid kit. There are actually 7 prizes in total, I just cant remember them all, they include a gift voucher to Totally Awesome Sounds, a soy candle, a gift voucher to Daisy Chain Florist, and many others.


Squiggle Butt in her Chic Pea beanie... Too Cute!

Caravan news.... nothing really to report. I'm still looking for something to refuel my passion for the project. I keep day dreaming about the interior design, but realise that first we need to create an interior (that is preferable watertight) before I can get started on the really fun stuff. Will have to start bugging spanner wielder more about getting it done.We just need to get the frame rigid so that 1. the roof doesn't collapse (it's really starting to sag) and 2. we can drag it home, where it'll be easier for me to work on it.

Monday 30 April 2012

Someone I love needs a cure...




The title says it all really,



Someone I love needs a cure for cystic fibrosis. My wonderful friends have a sweet, gorgeous girl known as Rose in internet circles. She is 7 years old, bright, bubbly, cheeky, funny.... trouble. She also battles daily with cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition that impacts the transportation of salt in and out of cells. This in turn impacts the whole body, especially the lungs and pancreas. This is such a basic explanation - this video does it so much better then I could.

What is important to note is that CF is the most common life threatening,  , recessive genetic condition affecting Australian children. The life expectancy for a person with CF is 37 years old. 1 in 20 Tasmanian's carry the CF gene, which is one of the highest rates in the world. THERE IS NO CURE, THERE ISN'T ANY GOVERNMENT FUNDING. There isn't a prenatal screening test on offer to the general public, like there are for other genetic disorders. The first time parents learn they are carriers of the CF gene is 8 weeks after their baby's heel prick, when the test results come in.

HOPING FOR A CURE: Ulverstone six-year-old Ebony Gay has a daily battle with cystic fibrosis. Today is 65 Roses Day - the national fundraiser to support people with the disease. Picture: Katie McDougall.
Rose' pic from The Advocate 2011

So everyday this gorgeous 7 year old kid needs physio to help move the mucus in her lungs, she takes dozens of creon tablets to help her body breakdown and digest fats, salt tablets to keep her hydrated, antibiotics, 2 sessions on the nebuliser, and is constantly nagged by everyone who loves her. She must get asked if she's taken tablets for her food, taken her antibiotics, to do physio, do nebs a gazillion times a day. Surprisingly she only does her nut every now and then, I know she must be so sick of everyone quizzing and bossing her all day, everyday.

Then theres her parents, we've known them for years. Spanner Wielder met Papa Rose when he was 15, so they've known each other for almost 15 years now. We met Mama Rose while we were living in Geelong. Papa Rose bought her to met us and we shot some pool that night.  Mama Rose was pretty quiet, I don't think she even played a game. Maybe she was put off by my mad pool skills - more then likely she didn't want to thrash me, like everyone else was. I can't play pool. If a ball goes in the pocket its no thanks to me, purly fluke. Anyways they stayed with us that night before heading home to Bairnsdale.

9 months later Papa Rose rang to tell us about the birth of their baby girl. I don't really remember much about hearing about Rose's diagnosis, or understanding what that meant. Even when we visited just before Rose's first birthday and saw them giving her tablets in jam and the huge quantities of butter in everything, the signs telling people to wash their hands as they walked in the door, I didn't really get it. 

Join The Rose Garden on Facebook to learn more about CF and the impact it has on a family
                                          
I still don't understand Cystic Fibrosis in any great depth, and do quick searches on Google when I need more info! This year Mama Rose has been opening herself up and sharing about how she, and their family, live with cystic fibrosis.She has created a group on Facebook called The Rose Garden in which she shares their personal journey, and information, about Cystic Fibrosis. Join up to learn more.

Can you imagine fighting for your child's health daily, knowing that eventually, and far sooner then you can live with, you will lose that fight. Mama Rose has started sharing more and more of the hard stuff with me and it breaks my heart. There is nothing I can say to ease this. I refuse to offer useless cliches of "taking every day as it comes" and "god never gives us more then we can handle" cause they're crap and Rose is so much more important then a cliche about a rough patch. There aren't support groups that Mama Rose and other CF Mama's cant attend, or camps for CF kids to attend with kids living the same experiences, because CF kids cant have contact with other CF kids. It must be so isolating. 

As a friend I feel inadequate, because there are no magic words. So we need a cure, not just for people with CF, but for their whole family. And since science isn't something I am good at, I have jumped on board to help Mama Rose raise funds and awareness.

Made from recycled atlas', story books and novels these roses are PERFECT for Mothers Day

We've made what feels like thousands of paper roses to sell at Bumps, Bubs & Beyond Market at Latrobe Memorial Hall this Sunday, the 6th of May, from 9am - 1pm. We'll also be selling  donated handmade items, and raffle tickets. 1st prize in the raffle is a laptop, so let me know if you want a ticket!!! We'll also be wandering the streets with basket-fulls of roses.

Alice in Wonderland
Some of my fav's are made from atlas' and golden circle books. I'm in love with the Alice in Wonderland roses, anyone who feels the same better be at the market bright and early, and you'll have a fight on your hands!!! For those of you who wont be able to attend the market you can donate by clicking here. Make a donation of $20 and let me know at the bottom of this post and I'll take a dozen storybook roses to a local children's ward. If you love these paper flowers as much as I do and want to make some yourself, please, please donate some cash first. Every dollar counts.

I'd also really appreciate if you could share this post EVERYWHERE, because a family I love needs a cure.




Sunday 22 April 2012

Thriftyness is next to godliness

Hi all

Just a quick post to show off some fab oppie finds for the Caravan of Wighteousness. I love hitting up the opp shops and try to get in there pretty regularly. Lately I've been reminding myself to look in different places... You know how you end up with favourite sections of a shop and head straight there every time, I'm shocking for it. And in the world of oppies the greatest treasures are often in the weirdest spots.

I got this bag full of velvet scraps, the colours are to die for. They make me salivate just looking at them. The bag was only $2 and after pawing through it I'm so going back for the bag I left behind!  I'm thinking cushions in an ombre scheme, feel free to share  any ideas you may have.



I also found this awesome recipe file for $2. Its so retro and the colours are what really drew me in. This little folder will be perfect for storing all our favourite camping recipes in the caravan. We would love it if you shared your tried and true camping recipes.