Nundah City

After having brunch today, we noticed a newcomer to the vacant shops in Nundah Village. We're now lucky enough to have a fabulous retro/vintage store in our suburb! (Although, I must point out that the owner hates the terms 'retro' and 'vintage'.)

Nundah City is owned by Steve, who was behind Rotten Records in the city and Kleptomania in Fortitude Valley. Now Steve will be selling records, furniture and other homewares right in my neighbourhood. If anyone's keen, he currently has a set of bright orange Kartell nesting tables! I was super tempted myself, and probably would have caved had they been red, white or black.

He also has a replica of a Kartell magazine rack, which is a yellow version of the one I own.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be spending a lot of time looking around Steve's shop in the coming weeks!

Movie ticket giveaway: Big Mamma's Boy

Thanks to Madman, I have five double passes to give away to a preview screening of Australian film Big Mamma's Boy.

The screening takes place at Hoyts Stafford 10 Cinemas next Sunday (24 July) at 10.30am.

To enter, just leave a comment before 5.00pm on Monday 18 July, and I'll pop tickets in the post the next day.

Birthday flowers

During the week it was my birthday. It was the first birthday in a decade that I haven't spent at my old workplace, so the day was tinged with a tiny bit of sadness for me (given that the last decade equals most of my 'adult' life). I did, however, get to catch up with some wonderful friends for a picnic in the park today. Much eating, drinking and chatting took place.

I got some great birthday gifts from my husband, friends and family, many of which I will share in a blog post soon. For now, here are some lovely flowers given to me last weekend by my mother-in-law.

Origami flowers

After patiently looking for more than a year for something suitable to place inside our Dinosaur Designs vase (gratefully received as a wedding gift), I bought these origami flowers from Hideyo at the Finders Keepers markets over the weekend...

Making sewing plans

Remember my first sewing project of a skirt with Thea and Sami pockets almost a year ago?

Well, for some time I'm been planning to make another one. I figure I should get a much nicer end result now that I've made this pattern a few times! This time, I'm going to have one pocket instead of two, and the pocket fabric will this time be Thea's 'Marguerite' design on black linen (a big thanks to Thea for the lovely sample that was in my ABCD goodie bag!).

For many months now, the pattern pieces have been cut and waiting to be assembled. Alas, when I went to sew them all together (back in March, I think), my machine was not cooperating, so there was nothing to do except buy a new one!

Of course, I've since gotten myself extremely sidetracked, what with a new job and studying and holidaying, so I still haven't made my skirt. Sometime soon, I will get there.

Office plans

Our second bedroom serves as both an office/art studio for John, as well as a spare bedroom for guests. As both our families live outside of Brisbane, we need to have a bed available for visits, and the current solution of the futon sofa bed has long outstayed its welcome. Although I've managed to improve the look of the hideous mattress by hiding it inside a quilt cover, it's not the most comfortable option for sleeping.

After considering the options, including a double bed, sofa bed or new futon, we've decided that the best solution for us is an ottoman sofa bed with an innerspring mattress. That way, the sofa won't take up much room, but it can be converted into a comfortable double bed when needed. We're currently narrowing down fabric options from the Wortley and Warwick ranges, and are leaning towards a dark charcoal or grey. Originally I was planning on stripes or something with a little bit of visual interest, but the samples we have look to 'busy' against the carpet. I'll have to add interest with cushions instead!

The next step will be to remove the tiered desk in the corner for something a little more understated (like a simple white desk) so John has more room for his drafting table (which is currently squished in to the right of the desk).

Has anyone out there got a sofabed ottoman (or slept on one)? I'd love to hear your opinion of them.

Greetings...

Hello my dear (neglected) readers. I haven't disappeared off the face of the planet. I have been settling in nicely at my new job, so much so that I am no longer asleep on the couch at 8.00 on a Friday night! Therefore, rather than sitting on the nerd box all weekend, I took the opportunity to spend some time catching up with some wonderful old friends and colleagues, many of whom I hadn't seen in a long time. This little furry friend was also there...

This coming long weekend will also be one of relaxation, when I head with my family (sans husband) to Coffs Harbour to pop in and visit my grandparents. I intend to spend my time sitting in the sun catching up on my growing pile of unread magazines.

Until my return, here's a little taster of what's been going on in the Flying Ducks house lately. The office pinboard is still updated on a regular basis (except for a few things that seem to remain there every time I change it!). This is its current incarnation.