The balancing act.

It's been a few years since I've had a desk but I have recently been feeling the need for one more and more.  As a teacher I can't help but take work home with me every now and then and I felt like the lounge room and kitchen table were becomming crowded by work things. I don't want work to invade my home life so I've decided to set up my own little area just for doing work at home.

I've been searching garage sales and our local buy and sell website for most of the year without much success so when my parents told me they had this old yellow desk on their patio,  I quickly snagged it as a for now desk. It's small and I just adore anything yellow. While it's not quite perfect, it's great for now.

my parents patio is now chair and desk free!

I've shared my chair transformation  here and now I finally have a little desk area ready to use. I still have plans of moving all my school related things to the office but it's good to finally have a space to use!

I'm excited to have my own little space to work at and then leave behind. I've still got a few DIYs to do before the space is how I want it . I think it's the perfect new space to put the pretty canisters I thrifted not too long ago.

Do you ever need to take work home? How do you manage this?

Have a happy weekend!

Lisa x

 

Office chair updating.

 I'm currently in the process of rearranging our dining/study room to have a little work space for me. 

My parents had this old typical office chair on their porch collecting dust and I thought it'd be a nice little DIY project for me to tackle on the weekend. It's truly amazing how easy it is to turn an office chair from boring to great. I forgot to take an initial before picture- I just wanted to get into it but it looked exactly like the below picture except with a few spider webs here and there:)

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You will need:
1 cheapo old office chair
A screwdriver
Scissors
A staple gun and staples
Nice fabric ( I tried to get some that matched my new-to-me yellow desk).

How to:
I began by removing all the screws and storing them safely.
I then pulled the black plastic from the back of the seats and was left with plywood covered with foam and material.

I removed the staples and material (which was slightly harder than I imagined and involved using scissors and having patience).
I then cut the fabric to size and stapled it to the plywood using a staple gun.
Once this was completed I reattached the black plastic backing.
Then I screwed it back together and it was complete.
This was a super easy DIY and I think the end product looks much better.

Say tuned for a post about my complete office area in a few days.
 P.s I'm linking up with
The Taylor House
At The Picket Fence
Live Laugh Rowe
A Glimpse Inside
Seven Alive
52 Mantles
Bloom Designs
House of Hepworths
Momnivores Dilemma
Two Sasters

Lisa x

How to shop at garage sales.

If you're a regular visitor to my blog you would know I'm a bit of a garage sale addict. I just love the thrill of finding something amazing super cheap or finding a new project. I thought I'd share a few tips for how to shop successfully at a garage sale. Sometimes it just comes down to being the right place at the right time but a few things have helped me to be a bit more successful.

Firstly be prepared. 
Make a list of things you’re on the lookout for.
Here is an example of what my list looks like today: 
 - vintage bike  
- rug
 -small desk
-scrabble game
-wooden crates 
- dining table +chairs
-pretty frames
-clothes (dresses,skirts or summer tops)
-kitchen table +chairs
-tea cups
-hooks and handles.
-globe

Know the starting times.

It is best to turn up at a garage sale when it first starts, so this can sometimes mean a bit of an early saturday morning. Most start about 8 or 830. I try to get there when it starts or just a little bit before to ensure I don't miss out on some quality gear. However sometimes there are a few that start at the same time so I usually go to the one that's furthest away and work my way back home. Living in a country town means that all garage sales are within a 10 minute radius of my home and it's pretty easy to map out a route to take that is dependent on starting times.

 Bring a friend.

Isn't everything more fun to do with a friend? They can offer advice on whether the thing you love is actually awesome and well priced. They can also help ensure you don't come home with useless junk. But be warned although friends are fantastic they may have similar taste to you and end up buying something you wished you found first.

Take your time.

It is really important to not just take in everything at first glance. Look through the bags and boxes and you never know what treasures you’ll discover. There's no need to rush but if you do see something you love, pick it up and hold it before someone else grabs it.

And then of course there’s the items that aren’t quite perfect yet but you can see immense potential in. I try to limit the number of projects I have going at once (though my shed is currently a sea of bermuda blue projects for the kitchen) but sometimes there are amazing pieces of furniture for ridiculously cheap prices and these are impossible to pass by.

These are my tips for not coming home with too much junk and enjoying my saturday morning garage sale experiences. 
Then once it's over there's nothing like a big breakfast with a friend and a coffee to start the day off swell.

Happy thrifting!

Lisa x

I've got a bit of a crate love.

The sight of an old wooden crate at a garage sale just makes me swoon a little bit. I love the rustic appeal and $1-$2 price tag attached. Every time I see a nice little wooden crate I can't help but take it home and turn into into something. 

You've seen my crate turned strawberry pot so today I thought I'd share two other ways I have used crates. 

Crates make the best storage. I have one outside for recycling cans and bottles, one in the shed for holding all our sports equipment and the above in the house for holding all the kiddie toys we own -for when little visitors come and we need to find something to entertain them with. And doesn't everything just sound so much sweeter in French? I thought I'd paint a little 'the kids' label but 'les enfants' just sounds so much better to me.

crate bookshelf

I found three crates. Two were roughly the same size and one was slightly bigger. I attached them using screws and voila, my own rustic looking bookshelf. It's the perfect mini bookshelf and adds a bit of interest to a small corner spot. It's reasonably sturdy and was such a quick project but I love the end result.

I' ve still got a few more crates in the shed so I'm dreaming up more ideas. It's the start of school holidays today which is an awesome time for every teacher out there. I can't wait to share the huge number of projects I've got going in my shed (now I have some time to finish them)!

But for now I'm going to sit back drink chai and enjoy this beautiful spring day.

Do you have any great ideas for using old crates?

Lisa x
 P.S I'm linking up with  Too Much Time On My Hands
Tutus and Tea Parties
Classy Clutter
Its Overflowing

The busy life organisation secrets.

Although life in country is less demanding than city life, I still feel strapped for time often and longing for lazy days where piles of washing are a thing of the past and the fridge is stocked with food.

I've been working lately on trying to balance my busy life as a school teacher and the fact that husband gets home pretty late each night and doesn't really have any time to cook or help with house work.

I wish my house was always sparkling clean and tidy but I've been reading lots about managing a busy life and still feeling clean and tidy. I'm slowly starting to release that my house doesn't need to look like a display home all the time and have got a few steps that stand out for me in helping me be really organised and efficient. I just need to be happy and comfortable in my home and it's okay when it's not perfect. No one is!

One. Shine your sink.

I can't believe the difference this one makes to helping me feel good when I wake up in the morning.

Every night before I go to sleep I make sure the kitchen sink is shiny and clean. That way when I wake up in the morning I can feel fresh and clean and not start the day already feeling like there is tonnes to do.

Two. Set out your clothes the night before.

Then when you wake up all you have to do is put them on. No thinking, no time wasting!

Three. Have a place for everything. 

This is something I'm still working on but have significantly got better at. The key to being able to have a clean home is actually having a spot where each thing you own belongs. No more shoving drawers full of whatever is lying around to sort later. If everything has a spot and you put it in that spot, then there's no reorganising later on. I do think these draws need a bit of modge podge paper love and some cuter labels but for now they're inside my wardrobe where no one sees them and they're a long way down on my to do list.

Four. Have a timer or set amount of cleaning that has to be achieved. 

When I don't feel particularly motivated to tidy up, I limit myself to finding 100 things to put back. Once I've reached 100 I stop and even though everything might not quite be perfect, I've done my cleaning for the day. 1= putting one plate away etc. It's easy to reach 100. Otherwise I set a timer for 7 minutes and see how much can be packed away in this time.

Lisa x

The beginnings of an edible garden.

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I  live on a large enough block in a country town. It was only a matter of time before I knew I had to get into growing some of my own food. 

There's nothing quite like fresh food straight from your yard. I'm currently blessed by having some friends who will trade an egg carton for a dozen eggs. I've got a constant supply of oranges for snacks and fresh juice. My neighbours always leave me spinach and parsley and there's a large quandong tree which hangs into my yard and provides plenty for pies and chutneys.

What's a quandong you say? See above...

It's a native Australia peach that tastes amazing when it's cooked into pies, chutneys or made into jam.

So I feel pretty blessed with homegrown food; eggs, oranges, parsley, spinach and quandongs.

However I've been feeling the urge to have a try growing a few of my own edible plants and have started the process. Here's how I've started:

Mum gifted me some basil and parsley plants and I planted some coriander seeds a friend gave me.

I've also planted some strawberry plants husband was gifted as a thank you gift from a patient.  I love the idea of using an old crate around a pot to make it look all that more charming. This wooden crate was thrifted from a garage sale.

I replanted the end of some store bought celery and according to pinterest it should regrow. Only time will tell :) It's started to regrow but I am still a little skeptical about how much it will grow.

I put the ends of store bought spring onions in water and they have already started to resprout. I have also planted some of  them and will see whether they grow more. I think old thrifted teapots make the cutest pots, all you need to do is drill some holes in the bottom for drainage and put a plate underneath * I forgot to replace the plate before taking the photo.

For now I'm just starting to green my thumb. I'll let you know how my mini crops go :) Do you have any tips that have worked for you to cultivate your own little edible patch?

Lisa x