Metal Wall art

I hope you've all had a lovely week, unfortunately I am still battling this cold and have tried to keep fairly quiet.

My nephew is getting picked up tomorrow and Nicholas is off to camp for a week on Sunday so it will be hubby and I for a few days and that is always nice.

These fabulous Metal Signs came in today and I couldn't wait to put them in the store. 

I just love them 

Available in store now 

$39.95

31 x 76 cm

www.mccarthydesigns.com.au

Hope you have a great weekend

xx

Parenting

I don't blog much about being a parent, I'm not sure why. I am one and I have been for over 12 years. I love being one and if you have been around here for a while you know that we would love to have more children.

I guess most of the mummy bloggers I have come across all have younger children, when I started blogging my child was already older and he didn't really provide me with much blogging material, he went through a phase of not liking photos. Actually he may still be in that phase.....

I am really blessed to have a great kid, not that we don't have issues, but he generally responds really well whenever we have an issue and it goes away, at least for a while. Hormones and teenage years means that that we often get a bad attitude but we can usually deal with it and we have a break before the next one hits.

Parenting is one thing I don't usually doubt myself on. I am not perfect but I am pretty confident that as a mum I do ok. I was a single mum for 7 years and there were times I did doubt what I was doing and I really wished I had someone to support me and reassure me that I was doing the right thing, as wonderful as your family and friends are it is not the same as your husband partnering with you and helping you along the journey.

I am so blessed now to have a wonderful husband who helps me and supports me and shares in the joys of parenting. 

Becoming a family wasn't easy, we had lots of things to sort out. Our first year of marriage was our first year together as a family and we had some interesting conversations. I was so used to making all of the decisions in my life for myself and my son and Nick was not used to children at all. It was interesting....

Anyway fast forward to 4 1/2 years later and I am so proud of my boy, he is growing into a very fine young man. I love how he is getting stronger and taller and is so helpful :-)

I love how he can have a conversation with adults and be respectful, I love hearing his voice change and I love hearing him talk about anything really (my boy like most males has limited words for use during the day, me being a female often struggle with the lack of words from him).

Me thinking about parenting all started this morning when I sat down to have my coffee, I started to read Kate's blog which lead me to Laney's blog that then lead me to Rachaels blog and back to Laney's blog (I'm not even sure how that trail all happened but it happens often with me and next thing you know I have been at the computer for hours) 

I haven't read Rachael's or Laney's blog before but they both started me thinking about being a mum and then I read Laney's request:

"So please send me one short sentence describing something that is good about being a mum"

So I thought about it and for me it is this

"Seeing my son grow into the man that I know he can be"

Being a mum is rewarding and humbling and my prayer is that when he leaves home he is ready to be the best that he can be and that I have done all that I can to help him achieve that.

xx

New Goodies in Store

Hope you are all having a great Wednesday, were on the countdown to the weekend now!

I thought I would share some new goodies I have in store now.

 HOME wall art $34.95

 Birdhouse Candle Holder Large $24.95 & Small $19.95

 White Metal Heart Herb Stakes $12.95

 Ampersand Cushion $34.95

 LOVE wall art $34.95

all of these are available now in my store

www.mccarthydesigns.com.au

xx

Bee Keepers Inn

If you follow me on Instagram or you are a FB friend you may have already seen some of these photos from our trip to the Bee Keepers Inn on Saturday.

Nick's Nan & Pop stayed with us last week and Pop loves honey so we convinced them to stay another night and come out for brunch with us to the Bee Keepers Inn.

The inn does do fabulous meals but you can also taste all of the different local honey. Yum!!!

We all tasted the different honeys & the Canola honey proved to be the winner so we bought some 

and then wandered through the front rooms of the inn.

They have a great collection of antiques and memorabilia. 

  

The Bee Keepers Inn is along the highway between Bathurst and Orange, a little bit closer to Bathurst but well worth a visit. 

 xx

Personal Planner Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway for a chance to own your own Personalised Planner.

  

Congratulations to Jane who blogs at Life on Planet Baby

I am sorry to those who missed out but the planners are reasonably priced and would also make a great gift so pop over to Personal Planner Website to have a look.

Thank you for all of your well wishes over the last few days. I am feeling slightly better but still not 100% 

Nicholas is on school holidays for the next three weeks and we have my 4 year old nephew staying with us again this week. So I plan to spend some time with them but also some time just taking it easy. 

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. We visited a local cafe called the Bee Keepers Inn, I always enjoy stopping there and I have a few photos to share with you tomorrow.

Congratulations again to Jane and thank you to Personal Planner for sponsoring the giveaway.

xx

Wise Words of the Week

Favourite Pin of the week

Just pretty

xx

Under the Weather

My cold has gotten worse today, so no dog walking and I even had a nap here on the lounge for a couple of hours this afternoon.

Our Nan & Pop have been with us for the week, so lucky for me they are taking care of dinner tonight and I am just going to relax.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend

xx

Walking, how cold is too cold?

I have walked each morning this week and I must admit yesterday was tough.

I walked out the door and my phone was telling me it was -2 degrees 

Boss was so excited and he came running down the driveway then he slipped on the ice, he looked like a really clumsy ice skater, limbs going everywhere, he looked funny, I giggled, then I slipped. That wasn't so funny :-

Anyway we continued much more carefully after that. The frost was amazing. It was almost 9am when I took these photos and it was still so thick.

On the way back, the frost was melting on all of the big trees and water was dripping off like a shower. It looked nice but best not to walk under it.

The sun was beautiful but it was still cold. My fingers were frozen for quite a while.

So I am wondering how cold is too cold?

I rug up when I go for a walk but my cold that was on the mend has gotten worse :-(

Should I not be walking when it's so cold or should I wear a balaclava? I wouldn't look any funnier than the guy I met on Tuesday wearing a ski mask and carrying an umbrella.... I guess he didn't want to risk getting wet?????

Maybe I need Long Johns? My thighs are the only place where I have one layer and I do feel the difference.

Hehehe, stylish aren't I? 

I tried to get a photo of us to illustrate how rugged up I am but my fingers were too cold to co-operate and Boss wasn't sure what I was trying to do. I don't usually get that close when he hasn't had a bath for a while.

xx

Stitched Up With Buttons

This week I have launched a new collection in my online store

Stitched Up With Buttons 

is a gorgeous range of handmade items created by the lovely Louise.

I am really excited to be able to sell her lovely items and also help support another Mum with her business. 

I asked Louise to share a little about herself and what she does.

 Hi! My name is Louise and some of my favourite things in this world is my family, sewing and giving and receiving gifts. This is how Stitched Up With Buttons was created. I started sewing and making handmade gifts for friends of mine, when they started having babies. I, like a lot of others, wanted to give a practical, beautiful and meaningful present that was not commercially made and environmentally friendly, but there was not much out there. I created Stitched Up With Buttons and have been making baby quilts for about 7 years.

I hand make a variety of baby gifts, including outfits and flash books but I specialise in baby quilts. All my baby quilts are unique; no one quilt is the same. 

All quilts are 100% cotton, using Cosy Cotton wadding and all new fabric. My quilts and gifts are made in a clean, smoke free home. All my gifts are made from high quality materials and are made to last, because as a mum, I know how ‘loved and used’ my gifts can be, so I want them to last and to be able to the thrown in the wash when they need.

When I am not sewing I am a mother of one gorgeous son, Tom, who was born in January 2012, and work part time in the public service in Canberra. 

I use the quilt I made for Tom everyday as a play mat. I am able to put him on the mat on the floor and I not have to worry about dribble, throw up or ‘accidents’ getting onto the carpet. If it gets grubby, then I just throw it in the wash and it is as good as new. 

I love sharing my passion for sewing and all things beautiful with others, and after many people asking where they can buy my creations, I am proud to put my quilts and gifts on Nellie’s website selling beautiful things. I hope you enjoy my creations just as much as I love to make them!

I hope you love Louise's work as much as I do, these gorgeous quilts would make a really special gift for any new babies in your life. You can find out more about each one over in my store.

McCarthy Designs & Occasions

xx