drinking whilst pregnant

full story in Herald Sun

So I made it onto page 5 of The Herald Sun today (our Melbourne newspaper for those reading this over the waters). It's a story about the risks of drinking whilst pregnant or breastfeeding. 
Personally I believe there's not enough research or proof surrounding alcohol consumption when pregnant so my view is not to risk it. Simple as that. I could never forgive myself if my baby was born with health issues. I would be left wondering whether it was that glass or two of alcohol I drunk those few times. It's really not worth the stress.

The topic, along with gay marriage and abortion gets people very emotional and heated so although I encourage comments on this post (and any others), please keep any comments friendly.  If you want to get heated on this particular topic, feel free to comment on the online story in The Herald Sun.

Also, for those who may be interested, the dress worn in the photo is a Miss Scarlet dress by Melbourne label Rummage Style and the brooch is by Little Shop of Handmade both available at Betty's Place!

quick little catch-up

Yes, right, so I know it's been a few weeks since I last posted. Sorry 'bout that. I have not forgotten to write, no no. I have just had many other things taking priority of late. Hope you didn't miss me too much.  Here's a quick catch-up on what's been going on.

• I had my shop (Betty's Place) opening. You can read about it here and here and I will be posting some photos also this week.
• We put up our Christmas tree (the three of us) and had family movie night - Christmas themed of course
• Two blood tests, a wee test, two GP appointments and a specialist appointment later and I found out I have a thyroid issue
• Been doing a load of washing every day the past week as Jaxon has 2 weeks of intensive water-safety classes through school. Ergh, wet boardies and towel every day.
• I travelled to Sydney to attend a really important and grand celebration at the Sydney Opera House for my work's 250th anniversary
• I got a viral infection of the throat kind and had some time off work
• I caught up with some dear old friends from interstate over dinner at the delectable Chin Chin 
• I have considered starting my Christmas shopping

Betty's Place housewarming launch party

Chin Chin on Flinders Lane, Melbourne

our humble Christmas tree

watching fireworks on Sydney Harbour

I'm back to writing more regularly now, so expect to hear from me consistently again!  I also have some other news that I'm dying to tell you, but that will have to wait for the moment.

Betty's-a-bloggin'

If you’ve been reading my blog for the last couple of months, you might have picked up that I’m opening a shop. “A shop”, you say? “Whaa? How did I miss this news?”

Well, never fear because there’s two simple things you can do:  

1. Click on the shop link which will take you to the posts where I’ve mentioned the shop
2. Click on Betty’s Place blog to be magically teleported to where you can now find all things related to the shop.

I will no longer be posting about the shop here. Ok, maybe that’s a small white lie, but the majority of updates on shop progress (which is opening in a matter of weeks) will take place on Betty’s very own blog over there.

So if you’re remotely interested in shop shenanigans I suggest you consider subscribing to keep informed.

Ta-ta for now dears.

betty needs you

It's true.  Betty needs you.  Betty's Place is the name of my shop which is opening in November.  I say November because that feels comfortingly a long time away. I'm definitely not going to say next month. No, I'm not.  That would just freak me out.


So back to Betty.  She needs your help.  She's filled her place with lots of lovely wares which she's been accumulating, but she's in the mood for more unique, quirky, upcycled and handmade wares to fill her space.  


So this is where you come in.  Do you make lovely wares that would fit in a studio apartment themed shop?  Think quilts, clothing, illustrations, prints, jewellery and general gifts... basically anything that you'd expect to find if you walked into a stylish, environmentally conscientious, 30-something gals place. Betty is looking for consignment rather than wholesale.

Betty would prefer to support Australian designers (due to carbon footprint incurred with posting things around the world), but will consider items made or sourced in other countries, as long as they are truly unique and super special.


So if you're interested in submitting your treasures for consideration, you can drop Betty an email at betty [at] thecraftrevival [dot] com [dot] au.  Oh, and if you want to follow the progress of Betty's Place, you can jump over here and sign up to receive news and updates via email.


So go on, spread the word. Betty needs you!

walls up close

Following this post, I received a few comments suggesting some of you would like to see more of the detail on the decoupage wall.  I'm not one to disappoint, so here are a few close-ups of some of the newspaper clippings which make up the decoupage wall.

Thanks for your interest guys.  You truly are a caring and supportive bunch of lovely folks.

my creative space: walls ahoy

I've been talking a bit about the shop lately. Sorry. But it kinda has been a bit of a priority for me for the past few weeks.


There's been demolishing, sanding, bogging, painting, floor laying, sourcing, buying, procrastinating, making and lately... decoupaging!


I've used mod podge to decoupage one wall with some newspapers and magazines from the 50's.  I opted for this over wallpapering or painting a feature colour.  Why?  Because I can.  And because I want to. That's it really. 


As much as I love wallpaper - and I DO love wallpaper - watching the teams on The Block do the wallpaper challenge gave me minor heart palpitations.  There's no way I'm attempting wallpapering in the next 2 months. No way. Decoupage was my alternative to creating an interesting feature on one small wall.


Lots more creative spaces over here

dreaming of...

The shop is slowly coming together however I'm finding that I'm constantly hitting stumbling blocks.  It's not that I don't have the ideas. It's that I have too many of them. And they're not all going to work in harmony.


So I've been sourcing some inspiration to help me get my head and ideas straight.  There's nothing like beautiful interiors photography to get a clear picture of what you're aiming for.


Here are some books that look mighty lovely and full of pretty pics.  Now the hard part is deciding which books to get.  It seems to be the case that I'm a touch indecisive.  

Creative Walls? Yes please!

Modern AND vintage! What more could you want?

I love Holly Becker's style, so the books' gotta be ace

Maybe THIS is what I really need?

looking forward to this book out Sept 6

So if anyone out there wants to gift any of these books to me, I wouldn't say no.  I would say yes, yes, YES!


Now back to the mood board for me.