And so my lovely nephew James turned 3 last week. Yesterday was his much anticipated Pirate Party – the invitation won me when the RSVP section asked Arrr you coming to my party? It was another extravaganza from the party mastermind, my amazing sister-in-law Jo. Countless hours were spent getting everything ready, with almost everything made by hand and with a whole lotta love. On a perfectly sunny Sydney day, there were plenty of cool pirate outfits, crazy pirate shenanigans and some delicious pirate food. A fitting way to celebrate the best little pirate I know – when they sang, “you are my sunshine”, I’m pretty sure they were talking about this guy. Anyways, here are some of the party pics, me hearties.
Strict entry criteria.The treasure map for ‘Pin the Flag on the Treasure’. Yep, painted by Jo.Hats and eye patches for the pirate guests.Cupcakes from the high seas.The awesome cake.Arrr, there be the cupcakes, jellies (in a pirate ship), chocolates and cake.Amazing, huh? Yes, ok, I made these chocolate guys – under direction from The Boss!Bags of loot for all of the little pirate guests.
I was trying to avoid another Valentine’s Day post, but then I came across this shop in a Valentine’s Day gift collection on etsy and thought it was just kooky enough to share with you. Who knows, but your Valentine may even have four legs – no judgement here, my friend. Or perhaps your furry pal has been invited to a fancy dress party, or has a job interview or an X-Factor audition coming up. Whatever the case may be, I am tipping that this place will be able to help.
Notso Kitty is the shop, stocked with accessories created by Wendy in Boston, USA. Wendy makes a range of festive hats, glasses and headbands. For cats. In case you don’t believe me, here are some photos – the models are Wendy’s cats, Fluffy and Notso Fluffy.
And even if you’re not in the market for cat-wear, it’s always a good idea to start the week with pictures of funny looking animals, right?
Glasses for your furry Valentine.O’Kitty all ready for St Patrick’s Day.Good ol’ pumpkin head, ready for Halloween.The cat in the (royal) hat.
And I have nothing more to add. Inspired? You can check out Notso Kitty on etsyhere.
Last year I was part of a group of bloggers who posted about Hope and what it meant to them. Amongst the pictures that I included in my post was a picture of my herb garden in its infancy – I had hope that the teeny tiny basil, parsley and coriander plants would grow into impressive market gardens. Well, the coriander got knocked over and eaten by a possum or bush rat or some other weasel-type character in a daring night-time raid on my balcony and that was the end of that.
But I am pleased to report that, largely due to the herb-sitting efforts of my lovely folks and sister-in-law Jo, I now have a basil tree and a parsley patch. I have even become the herb providore to my ancient neighbours – I may soon open a roadside stall, EverydayHerbs. Life on the land is very satisfying, so I wanted to share it with you – hopes and dreams can come true, my friends!
The way they were, back in the day…The Basil Tree.The Parsley Patch.
And I don’t actually really like coriander anyway, so HA HA HA to that thieving possum / bush rat / weasel.
Gizmag is a fantastic site full of innovation and interesting ideas – some more practical than others. I’ll let you decide which camp this design falls into, but after I saw it last week I knew that I had to share it with you…
Firstly, do you remember those Hypercolor t-shirts that changed colour with your body heat, so you could do something totally crazy like leaving your coloured handprint on someone’s shirt, only for the shirt to return to its original colour minutes later? Just in case you’ve forgotten (or you never knew the magic of Hypercolor back in the day), here’s a pic and a link to the Wikipedia site. (This also shows that there really is a Wiki for almost everything, yes?)
Oh, Hypercolor – you so crazy!
Anyways, back to the Gizmag find. It’s a variation on the Hypercolor theme – furniture for your home that changes colour when heated. Yep, if you put mugs on your table, they’ll leave a mark (which will then disappear when the area cools). If you are someone who insists that everyone uses a coaster, this concept may really freak you out – I’m sorry. Of course, it also means that your body heat will leave its mark – a handprint, your arms leaning over the table and, of course, your bum when you sit on the bench.
Thermochromic is the technical name for it, apparently. The mugs and hand prints are cool and fun to look at, but I really don’t want to be taunted by the size of my bottom, highlighted for all to see after I get up from the bench. Especially if I had a second helping of tiramisu for dessert. But I think the idea behind it is very clever and I like Jay Watson’s work very much.
Your mugs will leave their mark. [Pic from Gizmag]Handy. [Pic from Gizmag]It’s almost spooky – there he was. [Pic from Gizmag]You can check out the Gizmag post here and the ‘Linger a Little Longer’ collection (amongst others) on the Jay Watson design site here.
I love Christmas. I love everything about it – the lead-up (yep, even the crazy shopping times), the traditions, the family time, the thoughtful gifts and the eating and the drinking. But I don’t like the post-Christmas slump that inevitably follows – washing up, putting away decorations, taking down the tree, trying to fit the lights back into their box without strangling myself, watching what I’m eating and drinking. All that stuff.
If it were socially acceptable to keep my tree up as a standard home decoration all year round, I would do it. I have a bizarro collection of ornaments that I have picked up on my travels (whether those travels be to Prague or Florence or just a dodgy shop in North Sydney) – it’s a tree with personality, I tell you. From the disco balls to the glittering butterflies to the razzle dazzle stars, and everything in between. Some Waterford crystal, some precious metals, some felt and some Chinese plastic. Come to think of it, the tree is probably a pretty good reflection of me in many ways. A mish-mash of different styles and moods and ideas and a lot of quirky stuff that is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, but it makes me smile every time I unpack the Christmas collection.
So, this post is a festive farewell to some of my faves – ’til next year, my Christmas crackers.
Decoratin’ my door no more.Fly away, marzipan faced fairy (who appears to need a comfort break).No more lies, man.Auf Wiedersehen, golden sheen pickle.Quackers.Hit the slopes, crazy monkey trapped in an Australian summertime Christmas.Sayonara, Christmas glitter sushi from my sister Jo. Every tree should have one.
![Your mugs will leave their mark. [Pic from Gizmag]](https://everydaysparks.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/thermomugs.jpg?w=840&h=543)
![Handy. [Pic from Gizmag]](https://everydaysparks.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/thermohand.jpg?w=840&h=543)
![It's almost spooky - there you were. [Pic from Gizmag]](https://everydaysparks.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/thermotable.jpg?w=840&h=541)
everydaysparks 