Sweet Slithery Mail

The best thing to return home to from work on a friday (yes even better than a cerveza), is some beautifuly sweet mail. Lucky me! Two lovely young girls Collette & Chalice have have been looking after a certain slithery friend of mine - Dougal! ...and they have been busy drawing, writing and doing some lovely photography in the recent school holidays. Too cute!

 I am so happy Dougal is having a splendidly long and super fun vacation down in Te Puru 

..Ooo looks like he has a special girl friend too!

Ngatea

A saturday morning rise outa bed at a few minutes BEFORE 5.... we ran down the steps to the car with our empty boxes, giddy like children and ready to go a treasure hunting.

We arrived at Ngatea just as the sun was coming up. Ngatea is a small town that is basically just a little main street of shops and a few residential streets smack bang in the middle of the farmlands of the Hauraki Plains - not too far from where I grew up Thames so it was nice to return to the turf.

Although today was different for Ngatea, as today was the annual town garage sale..... It was all very  very exciting!

aahhh tee pee poles! 

There was plenty of yummy homemade sweets to tempt...a lamington or a treadmill? What should one spend a few coin on?

and of course there were a few "crumbs, I should have boughts"

Though we all came away pretty happy with our treasures. We stuffed the boot full with sewing supplies, old national geographics, boardgames, glass bottles, bowling sets and tea sets. The bigger items we surprisingly managed to fit in the car included: Mark's 110L distillery kit, Nikki's clothes line, and red welsh dragon, Mack's roof racks (possibly we should have used them), chilly bins and stereos..and my two biggest and most favourite finds:

Overlocker $15 (legitimately a need not just a want)

Vinty Bike $40 (my new summer project to de-rust & do up)

Happy as Larry we headed home for some well deserved cervezas in the sun... 

...Bliss

Una momenta en Piha

If he parks his car so you wake up like this ....

and she gets up early to boil the billy for this ....

and you breakfast on dulche de leche galletas like this...

 then you start your day feeling like this ...

xXx

Creative Spaces

I few months ago I made this dress, its based on 'the house dress'

         'House Dress' - The dress of choice for Colombian coastal mammas and housewives
         to handle the heat of the golden Colombian sun. Also known to three backpacking
         gals as the best find ever in the Santa Marta mercardo. Rocked to the beach, rocked
         on sweaty bus rides, and cinched with a belt (or shoestring) rocked to La Puerta
         the favourite night spot in Santa Marta.

I had planned to wear this out for a get-together with some friends ... but I really was after a nice necklace to go with.. something big and bold - much like the dress and me :)

This weeks Creative Space began with some playing with nature's scraps much like Luu does with her mobiles. I have really admired her awesome colour choices and fine painting of found twigs and driftwood and have had a little dabble of my own. Make sure you check Luu's colourful stall at many of our Auckland markets and head to her great blog too she has inspiring words of wisdom from nature and beyond.

Adding on some black cord .... im about ready for an outing!

What have you been creating this week? 

Have a squizz over here at the many marvelous makers

Travel bug bite

... to dream of one day making in India 

Colours

Cottons

Hardworking hands

Viva La France!

So life at the moment has been filled to the brim with Rugby - oh I love it so! 

After the French won on Saturday night, Mr Oratia and I decided to head to the French Market down in the gorgeous little French Bay to treat ourselves just a smidgen

We tried the European plate - yum, and I oogled at the enormous blocks of cheese

The queue out the door for the baked treats kept our sweet tooths at bay... this time.

 We found a perch in the sun, near the lapping water to share our scrumptious treats.

and took a little hike up the hill to find a perfect patch of sun on a cliff top to rest.

French Bay - pretty close to charm and romance I think :)