Auburn and Blue

It’s all about the HAT

2
Nov

Yesterday I went to the satellite event of the Melbourne Cup in Seoul. It was ALL about the hats !!

The ladies all looked beautiful. There is just something about a hat that transforms the ambience of an event.

But that was yesterday. Today, the limelight shifts to these little cuties….

You can find them on Etsy. They are all by zjohnson. How darling !

 

 

Maybe it’s not all about the hats…the babies are just totally adorable…..

But still…. what a great gift…what a great photo prop…

Anyone I know who recently had a baby…..?

Maybe you know someone who would like to find these adorable hats. Please tell them !

Mid-week already…. and another birthday party coming up this weekend. My daughter.

Busy with goody bags and thinking about a birthday gift for her!

Remember to look for cool gifts on the sidebar links if you haven’t already.

TIll next time.

Ilze

Halloween and Fall

30
Oct

Last night I went to an all girls’ night for a friend who left but came back for a visit.  It was good to see her doing so well in her new country. These were the table decorations in the restaurant. I liked them !

Now it is Sunday morning and we are busy trying on Halloween costumes for the kids to wear to school tomorrow.

I wish my living room looked like this right now.

Calm, soothing yet cozy fall colours… neat and tidy.  The beautiful antique rug you can find here.

Bliss.

Instead – my living room is a mess. Kids are pulling out masks, props and at this point… no happy faces yet.

Halloween and Fall are 2 things I did not grow up with….

Halloween was simply not celebrated in my home country (nowadays it is) and obviously fall existed – but we really didn’t notice it that much as kids, as the season changes are very subtle in South Africa.

Thirteen years ago however, I moved into a universe where both Halloween and Fall are two happenings that are impossible not to take note of.

Driving around this week with the leaves falling everywhere, made me stop for a moment along the road to grab my camera and just take it all in ! Looking at the photo at home later, made it last  a little longer…because the leaves are leaving as fast as they arrived…. winter is approaching much more aggressive this year. Aren’t the trees just breathtaking?

This reminded me of  one year in which I did actually notice “Autumn” as we called it  in South Africa ..fall leaves and leaves falling. It  was a time when me and my husband first started dating. He knocked on the door one morning and told me to get in the car. We drove up and down the streets just to watch the leaves in all the colours falling down everywhere around us. It was fun. And romantic.

Another fall that I vividly remember was this one…

 

…my silly guy – like any other firstborn…. who has to pose for a million photos the parents take because he is their one and only subject matter!

The Robin Hood pose was his idea !

But he was not the only child for much longer after this photo…as this next photo might show you that this was just four days before his little sister arrived. That was a time full of hope and promise of a new life (of which we did not know the gender at this point the photo was taken).

…and this week as she will celebrate her 11th birthday, I am so grateful to say that she has fulfilled every promise and dream and expectation we had of our little girl back then. She is a sweetheart and an absolute delight!

Back to Halloween and the obligation of creative expectations that gets placed on every mom having to prepare treats for class parties and the other…

Some people are experts in Halloween creations… like my post last Halloween which was admirable. You can find it here.

Not for me so easy though. Having arrived a couple of years back, in Russia…the month before Halloween…not knowing 2 Russian words and struggling to find something for dinner…. the quest for class treats was a bit challenging to say the least.

In the end however, this is what I came up with. Bought a box of caramel-filled chocolates  (like the ones Forest Gump eats !) , played a bit with icing sugar and jelly candies on top and some food coloring to complete the job….

I have to admit though, that it did take one brave soul to try the first one before other children would dig in…mmmm…do I recall bribing my son to be the first to try so others could follow??

Easy treat next time you get stuck on Halloween candies. Caramel filled is great for kids..but liquor ones might just do the trick for grown-ups !

I did not go to any dress-up party this year, but  the family day last weekend at the office was off cause none other than a Halloween theme.

And when my son asked just now if we could please, please, please go buy a pumpkin to carve… telling from the urgency and excitement, I had a suspicion he saw something really, really great… and yes, indeed… it is, so I share..

But, that is a bit ambitious for us to do right now..so, I think better we stick to finding a suitable outfit for tomorrow first.

Back to my messy living room right now…. checking in on the kids…

Nobody’s happy yet!!

In the meantime..while I went off blogging… my son – yes, the little silly, cute one with the pumpkin on the head in the leaves…yes, that one…well, he grew up since that photo and he has become a bit more industrious..

And now his homework desk looks like this…some district 9 character in the making…with liquid latex… my pink rubber kitchen gloves, his sister’s fairy wand’s lights inside the dishwashing soap bottle…with McDonalds cups… and spraypaint all over the place…..

..the MESS has migrated to another room !!!

Ooooooohhh…this is going to be a looooooong day…… with lots of cleanup to do afterwards !!

Happy Halloween, Everybody!!

Did I say trick or treat?!

 

 

 

 

Ilze

Tub Caddy

25
Oct

 Today has been a long and another busy day.

It started off with the weather turning icy cold as many moms showed up early morning for a field trip that involved the whole school. Yes – the whole school ! And then it was one thing after the other.

I am back home…still very cold out there…and definitely going only one place right now….

I love a hot tub, especially after a full day out in the crowds. I am not tired, but have that icky feeling of dust and wind from the day.

I still have lots to do for the evening.

How I would loooooove to have this tub caddy right now?!

Being productive and relaxing all at the same time !

Definitely my kind of thing.

The caddy is from Peg and Awl. Do check it out ! They have super cool things.

Now, there’s a gift idea from myself to myself !

Do you like it ?

Wood Tub Caddy Reclaimed Oak cozy autumn/winter bath by PegandAwl.

Ilze

Fabulous Find – Birthday gifts

21
Oct

Last weekend – my daughter’s birthday party,

Tuesday – girlie lunch for a best friend’s birthday,

Just now –  dropped my child at a birthday party,

Tomorrow – the youngest will help celebrate the birthdays of three, yes THREE classmates,

And over in the UK it will be a very, very special birthday party tomorrow for our cute little cousin turning 2 !

Then we continue  – first week November – my daughter and husband’s birthday.

Sounds familiar? A never-ending list of birthdays.

We are never going to escape them – why would we want to anyway…. ? It’s fun. It’s special.

So, for as long as we will be in this world, we, and those around us will keep getting older and keep on celebrating.

It does however mean one thing – GIFTS !! Sometimes at a loss for great, new gifts ?

One click away, in the side-bar, you will find the perfect place to go look for those.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Found it? Would love to know if you were as impressed as I was?

If you are not in the market for a birthday gift…. Christmas is coming soon… anniversaries are another excuse…. or simply spoiling yourself !!

There is surely something for every age or gender on this site. Even for dads ! On any occassion.

Go, go, go….. you will love it !

Call it a FABULOUS FIND for a FRIDAY !!  Your friends will envy your find.

Especially if they are the lucky winners of a special gift from you.

Happy weekend everybody !

 

Ilze

Love thy Readers….

20
Oct

Yes, if you are here and you are reading this… that’s YOU !

I have loads of admin to do…. yikes…..only good thing about that is that it is not loads of laundry (I hate that more !).

The bad thing is… I would MUCH rather be doing something fun like BLOGGING.

Why… because I have loads of things lined up that I wish to share with you.

I so love it when somebody comes up to me and tell me, or send me a mail or somehow let me know how much the blog meant to them ! (Oddly it is never via commenting on this blog (we need to figure out why people have comment-phobia) …but I don’t care… I still get the messages one way or the other). I know sometimes there simply isn’t time enough to read AND comment. I do the same.

So, I just reminded myself again this morning:

….because you, the readers of my blog makes it all worth doing !

And that is the reason I am going to try and post a lot more here, which you could use and apply and link up with for your own pleasure and benefit so you get something out of it for you as well. Instead of just reading about my boring life sometimes…

So – keep watching this space.

Soon I am going to load a super cool link …..mmmmm…..might be pretty awesome for Christmas…. and perhaps some giveaways and all sorts of little tid-bits you might apply handy in decorating and organizing your houses and spaces.

First – a cup of tea and then a bit of admin.

I do love you and do keep on reading. I will be back blogging as soon as I get a chance !

Take care.

Image credit: Shabby Blogs

 

Ilze

Uber Uber Happy…. an Early Christmas !!

18
Oct

A very short while ago, I had let you all in on a little secret – shouting out what’s at the top of my wishlist, right now.

You can find that post here.

Added in with the fact that I sneeked into my husband’s facebook page to make him LIKE the “Auburn and Blue” page, (you know you can do that too!), so he could have posts delivered right to his wall….

……what do you get ?

An EARLY CHRISTMAS SURPRISE !!!

Yeah – maybe I manipulated that one a little…but I still did not think he would really be granting me my wish right that day he read the post !

But he did. And last night I got a little box…presented to me by my kids…

with my OWN UBERKATE !

And I LOVED it !!! It is EVEN NICER  than on the website. I could not be happier !!  I have never had a personalised jewellery piece…and there is definitely a special feeling seeing your 3 babies’ names that you can wear so close to your heart – the whole idea of the Uberkate range – keeping close relationships and connections.

If you are thinking of ordering an Uberkate piece.., let me just add this part – my husband says that he has been extremely impressed with them every step of the way from the word go!

Professional, friendly, speedy and what more can you ask when you then end up with a gorgeous piece that meets the standards and expectations of what you paid for. Well done Kate and your whole team at Uberkate !

It was so shiny that I could hardly take a picture – it kept reflecting !

Overall – very, very happy with my gift. Definitely felt like an early Christmas for me this year.

Have you even thought of Christmas yet? I saw that the shops here already got their Christmas stock in and I could not BELIEVE myself when I too fell for it and bought a Christmas decoration while doing grocery shopping at Costco!

On this Christmas note – maybe you are one of those very early planners…so, here is an idea for you for a table setting for Christmas.

My sister had set this beautiful table for a friends’ Christmas dinner last year.

But, you don’t need to wait for Christmas – what I wanted to really show you, is how successful you can use a glass as a candle holder. And very cleverly, she used dishwasher salt at the bottom of the glass to keep the candles upright.

We don’t always have candle holders but we all have glasses.

So, you can steal this idea for your next dinner table setting – with any theme !

Hope you enjoyed my little mini-Christmas.

And a BIG THANK YOU to my husband and kids for making my week very special  !

And thank you Uberkate for making these pieces !!

Ilze

Wacky Day

14
Oct

Today my kids have Wacky day at school.

So, I sent some strange looking kids out of the house this morning.

I have to admit….today I feel like putting on a crash helmit and disguising myself too !

It feels like a ton of bricks are gonna come down on me at some point…with all the things I have piled up and haven’t really managed to do .

And well – I think a little disguise might just help me to hide away for a while, so nobody finds me and I can get those things done??!!

Somehow, I can’t pull myself out of “life” long enough here to make any kind of progress with the projects I have piled up around me !

But….I guess life is not just about all the projects and the piles.

Time to go out and have a little fun !! It is Friday after all and my friend is coming to get me for a nice morning out.

Maybe I’ll just go for the helmit and forget about the disguise after all !!

How about your Friday?? Busy?? Piles and Piles to do?? Or a little fun planned to end the week…..?? Let me know – would love to share !

FUN FRIDAY everyone !!

 

Ilze

Super fun LETTERS – DIY

7
Oct

Hi Everybody

I had a great weekend since it was a special, long weekend. We spent it with friends and squeezed in what might have been one of the last BBQ’s for this season!

I hope you too had a great weekend….especially since it is already mid-week by now and another is almost upon us. Actually, I  realized by the time I post this….it is actually weekend again. I had a migraine inbetween. Yikes !

For this weekend, the big event will be my daughter’s birthday party. Surely I will share some fun ideas later, but for now… preparations are well…only almost there !! …

Recently a friend had her 30th birthday…I just happened to be in London at the time and could not just sit by and watch them prepare for the party.  So I offered to set the tables and the colour combination of what I call crispy RED and GREEN apples are always a great choice for any party in a place where the weather can sometimes turn gloomy overnight !!

I felt crafty, so I decided to make something cheerful letters to compliment the green we had going.

I bought these letters and acrylic paint from Hobbycraft. What a SUPER cool store if you are the crafty kind !!!

The red letters still looked a bit dull…so I glued some double-sided dots onto the letters and that made me feel so much happier ! Actually, what inspired the idea was the polka dot napkins that caught my eye while walking the aisles of Tesco !

 

I was pleased with the outcome…and so everything else started to feed off of these letters…

…..even the cupcake decoration that my super chef sister and the birthday girl prepared ! (yes – you guessed her name !!)

Who said 30-year old parties can’t be as much fun as preparing for 3-yr olds !!

Actually….it’s way more fun…shhhh..don’t tell anyone !

We enjoyed a super birthday with a super girl !

Now off to prepare for a party – where I DON’T get to choose the theme or the color scheme….. 5 yr olds tend to be very dictatorial when they choose their party scheme! (see what I mean….)

Enjoy your weekend. This will be a busy one for me !!

Ilze

Happiness

29
Sep

Recently I pinned this to one of my Pinterest boards (originally found here)

And then watched amazed as I got an e-mail every single day after that, of somebody who re-pinned this !

I think we are all in search of HAPPINESS…and living in hope that one day we will find true happiness.

Untill some day when you suddenly realize that you have to take a decision every single day, to be HAPPY.

I feel rather happy with life at the moment. Despite a million things that are not perfect, not ready, not right!

But hey… it’s great to know that it is not a place which we have to find…it is an attitude we have to choose!

And a concept we really have to learn to understand….TRUE HAPPINESS.

I am in no way near fully grasping it and embracing it and living true happiness, but I have come a long way to start to distinguise between what makes me really happy vs temporary thrill !

Shopping makes me happy for a moment…..but it leaves you out of pocket…and sometimes with buyer’s remorse….so the up very easily gets replaced by a down!

Gratitude should make us happy, but it is something different. I often know that I have countless things that I have been blessed with and am thankful for, and then it still does not make me happy.

Twelve things that make me truly happy are:

* providing a meal for somebody – Any meal you don’t have to prepare or pay for, is a bonus for me. So, I figure others might think that way too. Making others happy, makes me extremely happy!

* a neat and tidy home – doesn’t need to be me who cleaned it, as long as it got done !

* making a difference –  when there is sincere gratitude for time or effort you dedicated in making somebody’s life just a tiny bit better or easier

* cuddle-time with my kids on the white carpet – the luxury of just lying on the floor and realizing that their tiny bodies grow bigger and rolling around with them won’t last forever. Same goes for holding my child’s hand….I am aware of it every second I do it as the thought always crosses my mind, that this is but a passing moment.

* de-boning a chicken for chicken pot-pie (well, something similar!) – it is a mindless activity which gives you a break from daily stresses, but you see results as the pile of bones grows on the plate next to the stovetop….and most of all, it makes me think of my mom who asked me numerous times to help her do this as I was growing up, when she prepared a special meal

* a sense of belonging – finding a group of people or a place where I feel comfortable being myself

* making new friends makes me happy – it is wonderful to find people who adds to your life …..making it more fun….more interesting…and who shows a geniune interest to be in your life.

* Any friend who displays a true desire to keep the connection with me makes me really happy – the idea that somebody else misses me for even just a moment in time, gives me an extreme appreciation and affection for that person. We all love to be loved.

* my husband reading my blog and taking tips from it ! (hallo Liefa!).

* my brother who has no time at all during his hectic days managing construction projects, who sometimes randomly call me just to say that he misses me. Thanks Jaco!

* laughing with others – it really is true therapy to get a good giggle in every now and then.

* being creative makes me so happy – to take an idea and let it evolve untill something comes out of it all, leaves me with a very, very happy feeling indeed.

Those, my friends are a few of the things that makes me happy. VERY happy.

May we all have our share of HAPPINESS tomorrow…and the day after that…. and the day after that.

Readers of my blog – thanks for your comments – (for some reason never on the blog, but always about the blog via another route !)…but still – everytime I hear that somebody enjoyed reading it, it makes me happy!!

What will make me also happy, will be to hear what things YOU do to make you happy….. or leaves you HAPPY even if you did not plan for it to happen ! Share your joy…

Take care,

Ilze

Alfresco entertainment

26
Sep

 

 

Absolutely LOVE this find on notonthehighstreet.com today !

Weather in Seoul is just gorgeous at the moment.

And with this beautiful trio, who can not want long, balmy evenings and alfresco entertainment?!

Tell me if you love them too ??!!

I think it’s time for a party….

And you are invited.

Ilze

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