When I got into the airport on the last leg of my trip home, C (who had gotten his Learners licence while I was away, yay!) and his friend Chris picked me up and we went out for dinner with C's parents for his mum's birthday (last year on his mum's birthday we found a little cat on the side of the road on our way home). When we got home I opened the front door and there was a little black kitten in my hallway. A surprise little black kitten. C had secretly gone out and picked up this little guy from a place out of town called Just Cats, where cats and kittens are taken care of and fostered with families until they find their forever families.

I know C had been especially upset about losing our cat Morrissey last year and kept saying how he'd love another little black cat (not a replacement, of course, just to mend his heart).




C decided he'd wait to let me name him and I thought Atticus (I'm a big TKAMB fan) was quite fitting. He's ridiculously cuddly, very curious and has a lot of personality. I guess in the past I've found that cats just generally don't like me (or they just generally prefer C) but this one loves me! Yay! He really lifts my spirits and is a lot of fun to have around. He's so cuddly it's almost (almost!) annoying.



My round belly is one of his favourite places to sleep.



I am a little concerned that every year on C's mum's birthday another cat will mysteriously turn up. Though I imagine that by this time next year we'll have our hands too full to even consider the idea!

N.B. Believe me when I say that I do think owning four cats is a ridiculous amount. I am also aware of the potential hazards of having cats around babies and I don't personally change their kitty litter.

Today I got up earlier than usual (finding it harder and harder to sleep in) and started getting some things done that I was looking forward to. I finished painting a sideboard, rearranged furniture, bought some new supplies, made my own toasted muesli, potted some herbs, bought a pram online, watched the Australian Open mens final and the Newcastle Jets soccer game on tv, chatted to my mum on the phone and cooked cheese and Vegemite scrolls. That's a ridiculously productive day for me and they don't happen often. I wish every day was like that.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I bought a set of old school lockers and started sprucing them up. I borrowed C's dad's cordless drill and bought some new drillbits, screws and some mdf and added shelves, painted the interior and touched up the paint on the exterior (C was my lovely assistant -holding things and measuring things and finishing the painting). Doing this little project a few weeks ago has made me feel really excited about taking on more little DIY projects.




This week C and I were looking for secondhand baby items at our favourite opshop and saw a battered old sideboard/buffet (similar to the one in our kitchen) for $10. The laminate was peeling off and it looked pretty scrappy but we bought it anyway and last night after work I glued the laminate back on, sanded it, primed it and painted it and today we moved it into the baby's room. I thought it would be a good height to put a change mat on. Unfortunately I'm incredibly impatient and didn't take any 'before' photos for the lockers or the sideboard.

These little furniture DIYs have been really fun and I feel like they're something I'd really enjoy doing in the future, possibly for reselling. Later in the week we're picking up a cute cot we found on Gumtree. I'm sure I won't be able to help myself but share as the baby's room takes shape. I've been feeling undeniably nesty lately. My mum says it's good because you end up really appreciating the effort you put in before the baby was born, when you've got no time for doing anything after the baby is born. This is a space I'm probably going to spend a lot of time in, so I figure it is as much for me as it is for baby boy.





I'll eventually replace the posters blu-tacked on the wall with some framed paintings and drawings.




I found the tiered stand below for $5 at the same opshop trip mentioned above and decided it would make a nice display for some herbs at our front door. The brightly coloured containers don't have drainage holes, but I'm going to add some when I borrow C's dad's drill again. There are chives at the top, parsley in the middle and basil at the bottom. I was thinking it would be nice if my guests could take a handful of herbs when they go home after visiting.




Here are some pictures of my culinary efforts today. I eat a lot of muesli and thought I'd see if I could make my own toasted muesli with dried fruit (the picture was before I'd added the fruit). It was really easy and tastes as good (if not better) than the bought stuff - I might share my made-up recipe. I made a pretty enormous batch, so hopefully it's been economical (buying lots of nuts and dried fruit is always kind of pricey).




 I am also a huge cheese and Vegemite scroll fan but unfortunately the supermarket I work at has stopped selling them. I wimped out a bit and just used puff pastry for my attempt today but they were very delicious.



Before I sign off I wanted to show you a new little friend of mine. This little black cat is called Atticus (a name we did consider as a baby name!). I'll properly introduce you to him in a later post. He's the best cat ever.

Etsy and vintage baby clothes are pretty much a match made in heaven. I thought I'd share some items that are in my baby outfits wishlist.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

I've been away visiting my family in NSW for the past week so I've neglected this little blog a bit! I wanted to share the finished drawings I made for as gifts for my family - I had so much fun making them and my family seemed to enjoy receiving them. I really liked setting myself a challenge that had some time parameters and a bit of a framework to stick to. I really struggle at making art for art's sake or just making things for myself or just making things to put on the internet, so having people to make things for is always something I get a lot more out of.

I had each drawing printed professionally onto A3 sized card stock. I have been thinking I might get a couple of copies of each printed and pop them in my Etsy shop for a few bucks if you're keen.

+ Leave a comment at the bottom of this post telling me which drawing you like best (and a way to contact you) and in a weeks time I'll choose a winner at random to send their print of choice.

This drawing was for my mum - it probably took the shortest amount of time but was one of my favourites.



This drawing (which I've already posted about) was for my step sister Karie.



This drawing was for my step dad who has a recording studio in my parents house and an assortment of amazing instruments and fancy music toys and loves Pink Floyd. I used Google images as my reference for drawing each instrument, although don't look too closely at any of them (especially that French horn) because they've likely not been drawn completely factually correct! Ha.



This drawing (which I put part of up in a previous post) ended up being for my step brother Matt. The premise is that the animals are stuck in snow globes and not very happy about it. This was the first drawing I made and it was a lot of fun, especially making the wintery background pattern.



This drawing was for my brother Luke and I also made a copy for my step sister Jaime. My brother is obsessed with owls and makes lot of cool owl paste-ups.



This drawing (which is probably my favourite) was for my sister Sarah who has just moved into a lovely new house with her boyfriend and has just started decorating. I used Google images for my references for each item - some items I didn't need a reference for but some were challenging! I think I'll get a copy of this picture printed for my own house.

My next project is going to be making a set of prints in all different sizes to frame and hang in a cluster in the baby's room. He's been kicking up a storm lately. I've been meaning to take a few more photos of my ever expanding belly. I know this time is going to be over before I know it and despite the discomfort (sciatica and being sick a couple of times a week still) I want it to last as long as possible.