fare thee well

The moving truck being loaded at the cottage

I knew leaving Ythanbrae and the cottage was going to be hectic and a wee bit emotional, but all day packing and loading the truck I was fine. Then after the truck had slowly made it's way up our driveway and Mr M was loading the trailer with firewood and dog kennels I started to clean the cottage from front door to fireplace.



Our beloved cottage in all it's naked glory. Oh how I will miss you my lovely floorboards, mantle, open plan living and Antique White USA walls...

I filled my bucket with ash from the fireplace, made my way one last time down the rolling lawn to the edge of the bush, tipped out the ash, turned around and looked up at the cottage with all the lights on. Empty. I had a little cry, a hug from Mr M and kept mopping. 



One for the road, just before we locked the door and drove the two and half hours home at my mum's at 1am

Our home was so full of us. Then when all of our things were packed up into boxes, loaded on a truck and moved somewhere else it seemed like an empty shell, ready to become somebody else's home. Somebody else would have Christmas there, have barbeques on the deck, have a spa on a scorching summer's day, have heated discussions with the oven and laugh over the wonky angles the little house was put back together in after it moved to Ythanbrae in the 1960's. Somebody else will love this little house, just like we did.



My awesome best friend Elisha helping to assemble furniture at our new house - it was all hands on deck!

But then when we arrived at our new home, unpacked all our things, settled in, cooked our first meal (an oven that works!!), I realised that this new house which seems so foreign to me now will become part of us too. Eventually.

the last time

As Friday creeps closer I feel I am running about like a crazy lady trying to breathe it in, soak it up and create little snaps in my mind of Ythanbrae, the cottage, Yea, our home. 

Yesterday as I tried to scavenge boxes from local businesses I started to think: "Is that the last time I will talk to Nick at the hardware?" Then I couldn't stop!

"Is that the last time I'll pop into the post office to see Ant and Jen?" (most likely not at the rate I'm going through packing tape)

The last time I walk down the driveway, the last time Mr M mows the lawn, the last time I race Tess down to the dog runs at dinner time, the last time I collect the eggs, the time I reach the crest of the hill and look out over Ythanbrae and try to spot Mr M somewhere mustering his cattle on the motorbike. Tomorrow is the last time I will pick up Monty from kinder and chat to his lovely teacher Val. Sunday was the last time I worked at the gallery. The weekend was the last barbeque on the deck. Yesterday (I think) was the last time I will hang out the washing. The last time I'll get swooped by that darn magpie down at the washing line. 

On Monday night I went with Mr M over the back of Ythanbrae, over the new track that was carved into Mount Dorothy when we first moved here, and as I opened and shut the gates I thought "That's the last time I'll open that gate". The last beer after work at Tom and Liv's. The last time Monty and I will trundle over to the cattle yards with his ride on tractor to visit Mr M. 

 

So many last times. But there are going to be so many new times. A new adventures awaits and although I'm all nostalgic this week, next week I can't wait to jump feet first into our new home, our new jobs, our new community, our new life. 

I thought you might like one last glimpse at the cottage, I took these last week as at the moment most of the cottage is in boxes!!

my sewing space

As the date draws closer when we will be leaving the cottage I thought I would (ahem finally) share with you where all of Little Miss Emma's creations are born, stitched, stapled, painted and packaged.

Let's not kid ourselves, I don't have a whole room devoted to my craftiness. Rather I seem to just jam everything in the spare bedroom and shut the door! So to save space and create more storage I got myself a nifty table from Ikea which folds up and down as needed and has three drawers on each side to stuff all sorts of junk in.

I shared with you last week my new sewing machine cover. My Ikea mini ironing board which hangs on the door is sporting a cover from City Chic Country Mouse. A blank canvas and my cutting mat lean up behind the door. I made a big scraps sack out of sturdy hot pink corduroy after my super-attractice giant Spotlight plastic back groaned and split under the pressure of all my bits of fabric I can't bear to throw away! My 'Make Do And Mend' print is from Bold and Noble on Etsy.

On the opposite wall sits a chest of drawers next to the bed - full of fabric of course. I quickly realised that I had to go upwards not outwards in terms of storage in the cottage so picked up this shelving unit at the glorious bargain bin corner at Ikea for $50 and promptly filled it with more fabric and supplies! My SEW letters are from My Name By Design, my mannequin is from Shop for Shops, the 'Keep Calm And Carry On' frame is actually a tea towel which came with last month's Country Style magazine and I framed it in an Ikea frame we already had.



My ribbons, tags, buttons, safety pins, bobbins, threads and bits are all stored in Ikea jars, a Martha Stewart ribbon organiser from Spotlight or stackable containers which used to actually contain T2 tea leaves.

So that is my little craft studio in a state of cleanliness (rare!) I hope you like it, I try and find a place for everything and everything in it's place :)

{ The Bedroom }

You may remember way back when I detailed some ideas and inspiration of my vision for the master bedroom here at the cottage. The idea was natural and neutral, minimal colour, white linens contrasting with our dark timber bed and bedside tables with perhaps some burlap or wicker thrown in for some good country style measure. Well here is what I've come up with...so far, I think I might need some more finishing touches but I'm happy :)

Our bed and bedside tables once belonged to Mr M's sister and admittedly I'm not their biggest fan. but I don't hate them either. The bedside lamps I bought at a discount store for $15 each. They are a nice simple shape and are white - not much to dislike there! Our quilt cover is a white and creamy taupe coloured thin stripe, although in these photos that is hard to tell. The underside is a thicker, more nautical stripe which we alternate between. Quilt cover is from Adairs.

 

The cushion is from Etsy seller The Home Centric and I love it. It is made from a lovely linen fabric and is adorned in a scalloped pattern with mother of pearl button-like beads. There are so many other cushions from The Home Centric I want but I am currently on a cushion buying ban!

The 'All You Need Is Love' print is from (Melbournian!) Etsy seller The Love Shop. Again, so many prints I would love from here but I finally settled on a chocolate background and had a matt made for it to go in a frame I already had. The frame used to be black, I gave it a quick white spray paint to tie it in with the white linen and lamps. I did intend to wrap the matt with some linen or burlap fabric, as the colour is not at all what I intended. A project I might still do.

This is 'my side' of the bed - with my beloved Real Living and Country Style magazines neatly stacked. The lovely 'A' and 'Z' wrought iron bookends were a gift from a work friend when I left my job earlier this year. 

  

A stack of interiors and photography books sits on my bedside table. On Mr M's side is a stack of three coffee table books which I was published in as a photography student, Fujifilm's Site Unseen. I love their spines, the repetition and the perfect contrasting colours for our bedroom.

On the opposite wall stands my overhauled wardrobe, lovingly brought back to life with a few coats of paint, some textured wallpaper and new knobs. You can see a glimpse here of the light fixture which I have featured here before - unfortunately it hangs extremely crooked as we shortened the cord. The curtains were existing and since I didn't fancy forking out mega dollars to replace them in a house we don't own (and they are good quality and I actually quite like them) they were the base for my natural and neutral theme. An old industrial fan, a white eiderdown and wicker picnic basket sits atop the wardrobe and an Ikea stool with my riding boots next to it. 

I hope you liked the little tour of where I sleep, to see where some others sleep go here to join in the 'my place and yours' fun. 

{ Where I Work }

My workspace is tucked into a corner of the cottage - near the kitchen, next to the fire, right by the front door and overlooking the garden, lawn and down to my chooks and the working dog pens. It can be a bit of a dumping ground because it is right by the front door (keys, mail etc.) but I have tried to be super organised since working from home with paperwork that is never ending.

 

I have had my desk since I moved out of home when I was 18. It as simple, white, cheap and has served me well through uni and now. By luck it slotted perfectly into this little nook between the door and the fireplace. I have been using a mac since about December 2008, after using them throughout uni but having a PC laptop. I thought I would miss having the portability of a laptop but I have never once had the need for one, I think because I've got my iphone now. The big screen is perfect for my photography work. Mr M hates the mac, he has never really used them much and gets super frustrated with it! 

I desperately needed more storage space for my oh-so-organised new self, ideally I thought shelves above my desk would be good put I have two windows instead of walls! I wanted something like this or this but really couldn't part with that sort of money. So for Christmas Mr M presented me with some timber, four casters and some screws. It took him until March but he knocked up exactly what I wanted, measuring each space to fit my printer and my folders, I then gave it a coat of paint and voila! I added a white storage basket, my guillotine and craft punches sit neatly on top and some camera gear can hide to the side.

I've also had these drawers since uni days. It fits in nicely next to my desk and below Mr M's UHF radio that is mounted to our mantle. More storage in the form of boxes and a letter holder which serves as my in-tray. Urgent mail goes straight in there as well as writing papers, envelopes and my trusty Notebook magazine booklet of 100 best ever home hints I refer to a lot. The drawers originally came with black knobs, I replaced them with clear and pink crystal ones.

 

The little bit of wall space I do have to adorn I framed some of my favourite fabrics from Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane range in simple square white frames. They sit above my many notebooks that I scribble in and my diary. 

And that is my workspace! Where I spend most of my days updating websites, photoshopping, emailing clients etc. It works fairly well as a hub for Little Miss Emma and Emma Durkin Photographics, as well as the household in general. Being right next to the kitchen I have recipes on the screen constantly that I can read as I cook, and it's a central point to play music from.

If you work from home do you have a dedicated space? 


Is it a whole sprawling office or just a nook like mine?


Desk: Ikea
Drawers: Ikea 
Pencil cup: kikki-k
White basket: Officeworks
White storage box: kikki-k
Floral storage box: Bed, Bath n Table
Frames: Corban & Blair
Fabric: Fresh Fabric Australia
Letter organiser: kikki-k
Pink folders: Woolworths
White folders: kikki-k

{ The Deck }

Last night I enjoyed what I have a feeling is the last of the hot evenings slipping away. The deck here at the cottage was probably not used as much as we should have used it this year, our second summer here at Ythanbrae. We didn't even fill the spa let alone use it! Am trying to convince myself that perhaps a spa can be a winter thing???

The decking boards were replaced last year - see the progess here. Our outdoor dining setting is from Jamie Durie's Patio range at Big W, I also have a market umbrella I use on super hot days. The problem with the deck is that it is very exposed, north facing with no shade. Many a summer nights is spent cooking a barbeque out here though and having a quiet drink after work watching our crazy dogs play on the lawn below. (Poor Buddy is scared of coming on the deck and avoids it at all costs, quite strange/funny, and when we got Tessa she was so tiny she couldn't climb up or down the steps to the deck, it was like a puppy play pen because she couldn't escape!)

 

It is quite exciting at this time of year to see green hills - unbelievable and very promising for the season ahead! Compared to this time last year after the fires...well you can't even compare really, it's just great.

{ Images by Little Miss Emma }

{ The Cottage }

I thought it about time that I posted some photos of the cottage in all it's new, freshly painted glory, seeing as though it's February and I think the painters left in September! You can view photos of the blue cottage before the paint job here, and works in progress here.

This is a view from the driveway. You can see our big rolling front lawn, the deck (which is almost as big as the INSIDE of the house) and Mr M's woodshed he built all by himself! The French doors on the left open to our bedroom, the ones on the right to the living area. The barge boards on the left of the deck hide the sunken spa.

This is the lawn area where I do most of the playing with our dogs: Tessa, Buddy, Lily, Pippa and at the moment Roxy (our friends dog we're looking after, who is Pippa's mum). You can see the driveway, a glimpse of the dam we overlook, the back porch, my garden edging around my herb garden and our very 1960's brick chimney!

This is the east facing wall - like the lovely cracked concrete?! As we don't own the cottage, jobs like this I am not making my problem! Here you can see more of the dam, the stairs on the other side of the deck, Mr M's office window and the spare bedroom/my craft studio's window.

Overlooking the dam and out the driveway - which is 4km's long. I like to put Archie in this front paddock but it's not very good pasture for him, he big fatty that he is, but it's nice having him at the front fence to talk to when we have an evening beer or morning cuppa on the deck.

More concrete, ugh. This is the rear of the cottage, which is where our 'front' door is at the back porch. Here you can see Mr M's office windows and the laundry windows. As well as a collection of my pots and looking down towards the bush that runs down to the river.

 This is a wider view where you can see the hills in the background, on the other side of that ridge is Melbourne, to the right of the picture is Kinglake and to the left is the Murrindindi valley and over to Marysville. That's all for now from the cottage @ Ythanbrae, come back and visit soon...

{ Images by Little Miss Emma }

{ Christmas at the Cottage - Part Deux }

This is my Christmas tree this year. Seeing as though the cottage is so teeny-tiny we don't really have any space for an actual real tree - so I gathered some branches from the bush down near the river that runs alongside the cottage, spray painted them white, arranged them in a vase and adorned them with some of my white and silver ornaments.

I love having a white Christmas theme as my base - if I get sick of it it it's easy to change. Last year I had a lot more silver going on, this year I have the same white wrapping with a dash of bright green ribbon. Despite being on the strict spending ban, I couldn't resist these tealight holders I saw in Spotlight for $8. They were perfect for my white, silver and green theme, and spelt out 'Peace'. How could I resist?

Three little presents all pretty in a row. These are for my nieces Chloe and Charlotte (Charlie), Scarlett and Ava and Mr M's niece Laura - the cutest Disney princess hairclips from Little Loulees. The gift tags are made with my craft punch that I use for my Little Miss Emma tags as well.

And have you noticed my dresser? Oh my pretty dresser. A very impulsive buy on ebay for $90. Queen Anne style dressers are just one of those items I always search on ebay, thinking if the right one came up I will one day buy it. Well, this one was in Yarra Glen (about half an hour drive from Ythanbrae) which is brilliant, usually furniture on ebay I would have to go to Melbourne to collect. It won't fit in our bedroom though so I have it out in the dining area, great to have another surface to collect things on! The little drawers are handy for things like napkins, tablecloths and serving ware too. Plus it is the beautiful shape I was looking for with the cabriole legs and the curved centre drawer. Ahhh dresser I love you so.

And that is Christmas 2009 at the cottage. Have you been naughty or nice this year? ;)

{ All images by Little Miss Emma }

{ Christmas at the Cottage }

The wreath is on the door of the cottage. Do you like it's new colour? I don't have a big heavy black lacquer door like I would on my dream house, but this 'woodland grey' is a vast improvement on the faded blue, chipped paint look the door was sporting this time last year.

My stockings aren't up on the mantlepiece, and my Christmas 'tree' {of sorts...} is exactly the same as last year, due to serious spending ban currently in place. But I am in the Christmas spirit, chaos and all - who's grand idea was it to make doona covers for our five nieces and one nephew?! Six single doona covers = a whole lot of fabric that I am currently drowning in!

{ Image by Little Miss Emma }

{ My Mantlepiece }

I thought it about time I finally posted some photos of our fabulous mantle that we have in the cottage. It is a beautiful big slab of timber, with notches and markings on it from years of wear. A lot of people swoon over mantlepieces and how they could decorate them, but I have found ours quite tricky. For one it is very long - 263cm to be exact. On one end it has to house our UHF radio and Mr M's other communication devices {he is in the CFA }. This used to irritate me to no end but after the February fires I have definitely realised that communication is so vital in emergencies, when Mr M has been out fighting fires I have been able to listen to him on the UHF, not to mention when the mobile towers burnt out and we had no power so no phone. {I don't have mobile reception at Ythanbrae anyway}.

So, the UHF and what-not stays mounted to one end of the mantle {I have cut out of photos - too ugly}. We had the iconic Craig's Hut image which I gave to Mr M for his 18th birthday. It does seem like an 'above-the-mantle' piece but I hate the frame. So it will find a new home. I also went through a big stage of 'more-is-more' - I think something I read in a Rachel Ashwell book, was going for a bit of cluttered-shabby chic with all my different photo frames. But I felt they were detracting from the beautiful piece of timber so they have to find new homes also.

The Ikea Hemnes mirror I have had standing vertically in our bedroom, but if you remember my to-do list I had wanted to mount it above the fireplace. Well it is bloody heavy! So leaning will do, and actually there isn't much room between the picture rail and the top of the mirror, so not too fussed. Ooooh did you see the picture rail??? That never used to be there. There was however a massive crack along the wall, the painters suggested we put a picture rail there instead of trying to patch it and it looks great.

The walls and fireplace used to be a yellow-cream but I chose Antique White USA from Dulux. I am trying to create a more French provincial rather than shabby chic home these days - I am aiming for white with hits of brown. Natural. Funny how your tastes evolve don't they? When I was at uni I collected my floral photo frames - but now that I live with Mr M I find I don't want anything too feminine. 

Has your decorating taste evolved as your life has?

The new mantlepiece arrangement I would say is not finished yet - I would like a vase with some fresh flowers rather than the candelabra. The clock my sister gave to me, my sister who has very modern tastes and thought the clock was horrendous but knew I would love it so bought it anyway. I love it because of that. So now the mantle is white mainly, with the accents of the brown timber and my brown shadowbox {I got that with my mum when I was 15 from The Warehouse for $30! So many people ask me what antique shop I got it from!} Plus some silver for good measure with my Venetian frames. We're big on family photos but I'm thinking I'd like to do them all in black and white to make it look more cohesive? I like to decorate for Christmas with white and silver too so I'm working up to it!

{Images by me }

{ Cottage Garden Edging }

Remember when I promised photos of my new garden edging? Well here they are. It matches the new colour of the cottage, not to mention keeping with the character of the house. As for it's practicalities, well Tessa seems to totally ignore it and jump right over, still digging up my poor sage and basil plants. Sigh.

{ Images by me, Mr M would like you to excuse the uncut lawn - the mower is broken }

{ Painting? Tick! }

The painters have gone! The whole house, exterior and interior, is completely painted. I can not tell you how amazing it is to have fresh white paint on every surface {my dream!}and to not be living with several other men {painters, builders}

Apologies for the past few weeks of not blogging quality nor quantity - now that I have the house back in order I will get back into the swing of things. I have a great Tuesday's Object of Desire coming up tomorrow for you all, and will be posting some more of My Favourite Things this week.

Hurrah for the restoration of order to the cottage!

{Above image taken by me of the spare bedroom, where we have been sleeping in amongst the tradies. But look at how white it is! No more yellow/cream!}