Budget Bathroom Haircut

Haven't we all cut our sister's hair when we were young. I gave my sister `a bowl cut' when I was Lucille's age. She had a broken arm at the time & must have been getting far too much attention.

I cut Kate's hair in the corner of our lounge room, behind a sofa. Lucille was far more professional. A chair, a towel laid out on the bathroom floor, lights on. I was having a lazy moment when I overheard` would you like to have a look in the mirror ', followed by Arabella's cry & Lucille's laugh.

Arabella is under her blanket in bed, sobbing `I look like a boy', and as she is sobbing away there is no curl to twirl. She has always had a comfort curl that she twirls when she is tired, and we have to leave it out of her plaits or pig tails.

This sounds terrible, but I couldn't get very angry with Lucille. It is a great cut, it looks adorable & A (the new kinder girl in our family ) has been getting a lot of extra attention lately, probably too much for Lucille's liking. Besides, don't we all wish our sister was uglier or less cute. Haven't we all chopped off our Barbie dolls hair to make her look like a tom boy.

Here is a before & after photo. Arabella on her first day of kinder - last month. Followed by her new look - showing how much hair she actually asked Lucille to cut off.

Op Shop Goodies, Freebies & a Finished Backyard Project

Iron Garden Gates - Free. Great for climbing fragrant roses - bolted to an arbour / fence or resting decoratively at the bottom of the garden. I sound like a freeloader, but two of these matching gates with flaky green paint were waiting for me to cart away: thank you to the friendly renovator in Brown Str.

Yaay, finally a finished project. My lawn bowls bench seat: painted apple green, cream & red: an ongoing project that began in Feb last year. I rarely finish a coffee these days, so finishing this bench is miraculous. Thank goodness for hubby's holidays - the only reason my bench seat made it to the finish line.

A doona cover of bright, cheerful blooms & an orange enamel reading light from local op shop. A long photo of the bed won't upload - disappointing - I made a big effort to make the bed beautifully.

If only the child who sleeps in this bed would wake up bright & cheery.

Loch Street Cake Stall

Our Footpath Cake Stall : Lemon Tart, Jam Drops, Muffins & Sundried Tomato / Olive / Cheddar Scones

I love the cuteness of a kids cake stall. After morning tea with friends, we were left with very full tummies & a table of yummy cakes. So our fabulous baked goods were for sale. Clearly we were a bit cheap to start with ( our neighbour kept coming back for seconds and thirds, I think she was freezing everything ) but with every sale Lucille was jumping up and down with excitement. While we were knocking on Frank & Betty's door to drum up business we rushed back to a queue of 4 customers ( a traffic jam of people & barking dogs ). Our prices went up from 10c a cake to 20c and sold out. We love a good old-fashioned cake stall, kids selling cakes with crumbs all over their faces, excited by every customer or any car that drives by. I think my girls will open a sourdough bakery one day. They love pastries, bread & cakes, and they are excellent at getting up early in the morning.

Delicious Raspberry & White Chocolate Muffins

A big thankyou to Cath, Andy & your beautiful boys for coming over: the girls enjoyed the fun & mischief. Thankyou also to our cake stall customers. It was lovely to meet a family who have just moved in to Loch Street.

Pleeeease Sal

Sal, can you make me look like Alexa? I'm dreaming, but I think the length of Alexa's hair could be low maintenance & manageable for me. In the mornings its more about getting out of the house without porridge in my hair. I cant wait to try your Original & Mineral color range which smells incredible.

Knock, Knock, La La Locks

La la locks is a magnificent, quaint, modern hair studio : the makings of my sister Sally & her builder man Caleb. The quaint feel comes from the cuteness: it is a custom built studio attached to their cottage & is a two chair salon. This allows Sally to focus on every individual client.

Sally is an amazing hairdresser, she has loads of experience, and lots of clients knocking on her door.

The girls love time in front of the mirror. Audrey's first haircut. Claudia having glue washed out of her hair.

Billie: `bridely & serenely gorgeous'

Not as perfect as Kate & Will's Wedding, but I loved it & all the disasterous Proudman Family chaos.

After a few teeny troubles i.e. change of venue - Billie remained fabulously focused.

But best of all, Nina loves Patrick.

Billie ( Kat Stewart ) amazing In J'Aton.

Photo: Herald-Sun Image Gallery.

What was your highlight from the season finale?

William & Kate's Backyard Wedding

Our re-enactment of the Royal Wedding was a quiet affair with a few royal guests, a few commoners, cucumber sandwiches & lots of fun.

The Charming Prince greets the crowd & awaits the arrival of Kate.

Kate arrives at Westminster Abbey in a delightful Alexander McQueen creation & Dunlop Volleys

The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge leaving Westminster in the Classic Radio Flyer Carriage

William & Kate travel through the Mall, past the London Plane Trees onto the Palace.

The modern young royals ride to their reception on Razor Scooters.

The reception was great - we laugh, dance, eat cucumber sandwiches, scones, jam & cream. More photos to come of William & Kate with very jammy faces.