Today C, Theo and I attended an anti-budget rally in Prince's Square. I tend to remain fairly apolitical online, however I think it's important not to shy away from important issues (also, it looks like there is a fountain coming out of my head).




I spent most of yesterday painting a sign for the occasion - it was fun to come up with (I could think of a dozen more butcher themed references - telling porkies, we're on the chopping block, etc), but uni was cold and it took me forever to mix the colours of the gouache! There is a Facebook group called the Abbottoir which was the inspiration - if you weren't aware, our prime minister's name is Tony Abbott. There was a great show of people. I made C hold my sign for a lot of the time because I was feeling shy. He got his photo taken by a bunch of people including the local newspaper and then when he had to hold Theo (who wasn't really enjoying the loud crowd, though told a stranger about the two "cats" he could see, that were actually dogs), I held the sign for a while and had my photo taken by some people too. I saw a picture of it on the Instagram page of our local newspaper and C's parents told me they saw the rally and my sign on our local news.



I haven't worn this coat in a while because, well, it doesn't quite button up anymore. It only just buttoned up when I bought it, but these days, no dice. It's also not particularly warm and today was absolutely freezing. I saw Jacqueline's mustard coat and thought I'd pull mine out. My dress is a recent acquisition from Dangerfield. It is the last day of Autumn and I'm bracing myself for a typically freezing Tasmanian Winter.



Our friend Sylvia sent Theo this shirt and so far this is the second rally he's worn it to. His face in this photo makes me laugh a lot - those teeth are so far apart!

Evandale Markets are held every Sunday in a sweet little village about 15 minutes from Launceston. It is always a bit of a treasure trove for me, though we often just go for something to do and don't always come out with something. There are a variety of stalls - fresh produce, plants, clothing, bric a brac, books, jam, pastries, cakes and inside the hall there are lots of stalls selling vintage and antique items. I am pretty fond of the indoor stalls, though it gets pretty crowded inside and hard to manoeuvre a pram around in. Last weekend we went for a drive to Evandale for something to do and had a wander around inside.


Squinting in the sun.




C's favourite homemade jams.




A statue of famous Australian painter, John Glover. Evandale has several statues around town. It is also the home of the annual pennyfarthing championship.




This is one of my favourite outdoor stalls. Sometimes the displays are too lovely though and I don't want to take anything away.


I loved this vintage anatomy poster and wished I could have bought it for my sister!





One of my favourite indoor stalls has a cabinet full of old childrens toys.


I was pretty taken by this pram. Had it not had a 'sold' sticker on it, I think I'd be wheeling Theo around in it as we speak!






On our way out of town we saw that there was a cat show on - we have been to a couple and C really can't resist. Of course, Theo was pretty fascinated and there was a lot of "Cat!" "Cat!" "Cat!" going on.



Seeing animals in cages isn't great fun, but there weren't any cats that looked unhappy or distressed. Most of them are ridiculously friendly and affectionate and I suppose they're used to it. I guess that's the life of a show cat!






I thought this photo of Theo trying to slap the camera out of the way was pretty funny.

A lovely weekend.

I've been trying to go to all of the opshops in my city in one day, twice a month. There are thirteen of them if memory serves and driving to and from each one takes me almost the entire day. I really enjoy it though, it's like a treasure hunt. I try to spend at least half an hour in each shop, going through each section carefully. Sometimes I walk out having found nothing, other times I've spent $100 in one go. I am hoping to go for another opshopping day sometime in the next week - my friend Isis said that she might accompany me. Here are some photos of some of the things I've found lately - I keep forgetting to photograph them, so there are some items not pictured here including from when I hit the children's corduroy overalls jackpot - I found about 10 gorgeous pairs at one opshop.


I found these vintage toys all together at an opshop last week - someone must have been having a clear out! I think C thought I'd gone insane when he saw them, but they were too awesome to pass up. They made me think of Holly. The queen's guard toy is probably the creepiest one of the bunch - that face!


I thought that this one's face looked like one of Theo's faces.


I've been collecting vintage childrens clothing sewing patterns. And I can't pass up a good retro floral pillow case.


I've collected a few of these knitted dolls already. I just seem to gravitate to them. The amount of work in them makes me appreciate them I think. I also found these purple Doc Martens boots for $3 but I think I'll pass them onto a friend as they're a tad small.


I found a whole bunch of these old Australian Home Beautiful magazines at the Evandale Markets. I didn't buy them all though and am considering returning to buy the rest on the weekend. The tablecloth pictured was also an Evandale markets find.


Theo loves this xylophone dog, though he's slightly more interested in chewing on the bone than making music.



Vintage girls dresses? Don't mind if I do!


I love a retro Australiana souvenir.


I found this gorgeous knitted suit but I think this will be the first and last time Theo wears it as it was a bit too small for my tall boy.


Retro floral patterned sheets are always a yes.


Adding to my pot holder collection and a little dolly for Theo.


Theo is a big fan of both of these little children's prints - they're now in his room. He likes to talk to them. The tree print is above our bed. I think it's really beautiful. A score for $8 at the opshop around the corner from my house.

Had any thrifting wins lately?

Remember how I showed you some pictures of my uni studio nook a few months back? Well, it has changed slightly...




It now has an armchair, one of my bright orange dining chairs, two lamps, shelves and storage, a printer, a rug (which for some reason I didn't flatten out prior to these photos!), a typewriter, lots of mess - and one of the ladies I share the studio with brought in a kettle and there's Milo, tea and coffee and biscuits (when I haven't eaten them all in a burst of hungry at 5pm). The gallery director even installed some lighting for me which helps a little now that the sun goes down around 5pm.



Above are some things I've been working on lately. At the end of the semester I might tell you a bit about them.



After a discussion with my friend Nicole in which she told me she thought Theo looked like a Kewpie doll, I arrived at uni the following day to find this drawing on my desk. Nicole is an incredibly talented artist. I think I'll have to frame this little picture for Theo's room.



The other girls who I share the studio with and I are forever distracting each other and chatting endlessly. People come and sit in my big armchair from time to time too - a lovely friend even feeds her baby in it occasionally (Hi Brenda!). I like that it's a space that invites people in and I enjoy the company. That being said, I do have to become pretty focused when I want to get work done in here because my studio is visible from the 'street' part of the uni, so people are always popping in to say hello. I get a lot of work done when I stick around here after just about everyone has gone home. I like to listen to Spotify and lay my collage materials out on the rug and sit and cut and paste. After dark the lighting is not great, but I'm managing to make do. I'll be in this space until the end of the year and I'm feeling kind of sad I'll have to pack it up after that. It would be nice to do honours after this (then I get a studio too), but I don't know if I'll have the time to. One day! Otherwise, maybe I'll turn our boat shed into my own personal studio.

PS. I did a little guest post over at Mary's blog if you'd like to check it out - I answered some of her fun questions.