Tuesday, April 24, 2012

My list of wintery wonderful.


And just like that the warm, sparkly days are over and the cold weather has moved in.

I know lots of people who love freezing cold days.
They love dressing up in tights and jackets and boots.
They love snuggling inside and doing wintry things.

I do not!

I feel trapped by wintry days.
Grey days make me grumpy.
I need sunshine and warmth for inspiration.
I like hanging the laundry outside, pottering in the garden and having picnics.
I like sun dresses and summer fruits and sandals.

The only thing I like about winter is soup.
I love soup.
Oh and I also love watching my gang wearing the woollies I have knitted for them too.

But that's not really enough is it?

Winters are long and cold in these parts.

So I am wracking my brains trying to come up with a happy winter list.
A list of things to get me through the cold months ahead.
A way to forget the funk and remember the fabulous.


So here it is.

MY LIST OF WINTER WONDERFUL!
(yes, I know it's not officially winter but it may as well be.)


Keep the house looking lovely. As clean as possible and fresh.
Change the bed linen often.
Keep jars of fresh flowers around the house.
Keep going with the painting and decorating.
Play music and dance about the house.
Buy a new front door.


Walk/run often.
Get outside whenever we can.
Rug up and do the farm stuff.
Light bonfires.
Explore the bush.


Spend time with my boy and my girls together and alone.
Find and buy some fun tights.
Make some plans for a road trip.
Go out.
Make arrangements with good people.
Make and have handy a stash of scarves/hats/leg-warmers/gloves to brighten up an outfit and keep cozy.
Always have something to look forward to.


Menu plan and menu shop.
Eat from the kitchen garden as often as possible.
Take spirulina and vitamin B.
Eat seeds and honey and legumes and farmer Bren's bread.
Experiment with lots of different types of soup and hope my kids wanna play too.
Buy a new bottle of Kahlua.


Build up my yarn stash.
Make, make, make.
Buy some oils and candles for bath time.
Write some patterns out and have them tested.
Stay inspired.
Have a project or two on hand all the time.


And spend lots of time with this kiddo.
See the world through her four year old eyes.
Play with her.
Be present and patient.

So that's it - My List Of Winter Wonderful.

Do you have any suggestions for getting through the chilly months ahead?
What do you like to do when the days get short and cccccccold?
Are you a hot or a cold weather person?
If it's warm where you are, can I come and visit?

Have fun out there and stay warm.

Bye. xx

70 comments:

  1. LOVE winter!!! Great blog!

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  2. lovely!! love all the crochet!

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  3. Love this post! A Winter Bucket List type thingy! What a great idea. Im gonna do one of them! I live in WA but it does get really cold here in the south for the 3 winter months!!

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  4. I am a hot weather person who is learning to love the cold. The way I get through winter is a road trip north for the July holidays to somewhere with red dirt, white sand and blue waters where the sun is always shining.

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  5. Well judging by the divine pics.....I think winter suits you! And as for 'not' being one of those people who like tights and boots and scarves......you sure look good in them! :) Love seing all your knit/crochet goodness :)

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  6. Well, I LOVE the cold weather...in fact I love the Melbourne seasons - always unexpected - ever-changing. When you find some fun-tights let me know...

    On winter : I always look as winter as the perfect opportunity to snuggle up and feed my soul - there is no expectation to be doing 'stuff'...I can refuel with all the things that bring me comfort - soup, hot milo, knitting, movies.... then I'm set ready to go when the sunshine comes calling...

    You'll be super sunny on the inside regardless of what the clouds say I reckon:)

    xx

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  7. ..search out sunbeams & sit in them!!

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  8. I too am a summer girl - probably the only thing that I enjoy about winter is wearing my jeans and boots and funky scarves. I make winter that little bit more enjoyable by having a hot chocolate everyday for morning tea, lots of crockpot goodness for dinner. My house and garden don't get much sun in winter so there are always piles of beautiful books and magazines to drool over and inspire me ready for warmer months. Crafting by the fire (if I can get the cat to move) is always good too.

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  9. In winter I still wear my sundresses- just over tight n long sleeved shirts:)

    Selby

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  10. Just having moved from Switzerland to Melbourne I am about to experience my first Australian winter... I do like changing seasons, but I am definitely a spring / summer person. I am planning a short getaway maybe to WA or queensland in August to recharge sunshine :)
    Loving your pictures, wonderful!!

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  11. That last pic - da bomb. Gorgeous. I love winter. I love that there is a distinct change between each season. I love that there is snow on our local "hill" today and I can feel the chill here. I adore our warm house. I enjoy the warm fire. I love watching the clouds. I'm looking forward to skiing. I've got my boots, tights, vest and scarf on today - my winter mummy uniform. I also know that come September I will be looking forward to sunshine. Thanks for sharing your pics xxxx

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  12. Love this post! I'm not really a winter person either. We've just moved to a colder climate so winter will be especially different this year. Although we're loving the fire inside and the difference it makes to cosiness at home!
    I also love hanging washing outside and am struggling terribly with this! Bring on those sunny winter days! :) xx

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  13. Do you know what - I love winter picnics.
    Thermoses of hot chocolate and coffee, and warmish muffins.
    Wearing scarves and beanies and jackets.
    And I love knitting in winter - curled up on the couch with some music on.
    And I love reading in winter - curled up on the couch!!
    I love watching the rain , I love hearing the rain and I love smelling the rain. (okay - it's still a novelty here in Adelaide).
    I love soup and stews and pies.
    And I love snuggling in bed :)

    I used to struggle with Summer, but these days I seem to love all the seasons.

    L
    x

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  14. Inspirational, Kate! I love it. I'm taking lots from your list to see me through winter and adding a few of my own including, light the fire and bake lots of scones and cakes.

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  15. loving the look of your winter wonderland x

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  16. I love the look of your brights and happy rainbow mandala, gorgeous!
    I can't believe how much oyur girls have grown since I've been reading your blog, wowee, time flies!
    have a lovely week XXXXX

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  17. Love, love, love winter and the cold weather (although autumn is my true favorite)!
    Light a fire, make a pot of tea, read a good book, buy some cute new boots, knit scarves, berets, beanies, gloves, bake treacle scones, cook soups, stews and curries. Take long hot baths scented with essential oils and lit by candlelight. Put on a raincoat and take a long walk taking in how bright and fresh the rain makes everything look. Put on some groovy gumboots and jump in puddles (you, not just the girls). Close the curtains early and snuggle down to watch a great movie with your sweetie........ I could go on and on!
    Tightology have fantastic tights and they are made in Australia too! (Their nocturnal have owls on!)

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  18. What a great list, and beautiful photos.

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  19. Hi Kate, we are in Porepunka atm in our c c c cold caravan. I am not a fan of the cold either. All I am thinking about is porridge for breakie.

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  20. Its warm where we are right now!
    I'm more of a winter person, not so used to the humidity here.
    LOVING your shoes Kate - are they new? where are they from...?
    I'm also loving the buttons, lemon and wool photo there.XXJ

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  21. Loving autumn and love winter.
    Lighting a fire and slow cooked meals.
    Pasta, lots of it and apple and rhubarb crumble.
    Watching DVDs and red wine and dark chocolate = good heart health
    Scarves, beanies, gloves and my woollen coat.
    Listening to the rain.
    The garden a vivid green.

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  22. Oh I LOATHE Winter. I was born and raised in Queensland where winter meant that occasionally you had to grab a light jumper or wear a dressing gown over your jammies. I have lived in southern states for 15 years now and Winter still messes with my head every year. I take vitamin D and compose a "happy list" (mostly a list of friends to head to for comfort/warmth) Also on the list is baths, CHOCOLATE, RED WINE, GOOD COFFEE, FIBRE FIXES!
    And if nothing else gets you through - remember that without winter there would be no spring :)

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  23. I don't like winter either, actually I hate it but trying to learn to live with it more peacefully. I made a conscious decision last year to put some bright colours into my life and have started to crochet bright rugs and cushion covers. When it gets really dark during the day I light candles, lots of them. I also lash out on some brightly coloured flowers once in a while, wear bright coloured funky jewellery I've made and really loud, bold coloured scarves.
    Thanks for your winter list, you've given me more ideas.
    Anne xx
    P.S. I will escape the coming cold weather for a couple of months in Europe, so I really shouldn't complain.

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  24. That's a great list! I can totally relate being a Sydney lass living in Melbourne.
    Thanks for the inspiration! And great timing! brrrr.....

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  25. All of that sounds so woolly warm but now I'm feeling cccccolder than I was. We have a weekend of camping in Daylesford this week. All of the Class Three kids and their families are getting together over three days to make mudbricks and FREEZE THEIR BUTTS OFF!

    Help.

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  26. You're definitely getting ready early! If you tick off just a few things on your wonderful list (and lots of them have got to involve getting outside!), you can't go wrong.

    Did you include cosying up around a fire pit? Indoor fire? Growing rocket on the window sill? Wearing pretty summer dresses over long johns and jumpers?

    Lots of things to get us through. I'm a bit of a winter nut, actually, but it is not half as cold where I am as compared to where you are!!

    x

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  27. Your photos make winter seem an enticing idea but I'm glad that here in the UK we're heading towards summer (hooray). I love the spiral of green growing in the pots.

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  28. Definitely hot chocolate and making your own chai blend and being all snuggly with other half

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  29. Beautiful photographs, especially the glowing autumn tree one, wow!
    i love your winter bucket list, and although i LOVE winter, i'm going to make one up myself. i think you should add mulled wine, happy movies set in winter/with snow scenes; a snowboarding holiday (to NZ!) having a midwinter feast/party; ugg boots; cooking food over a fire; walking in the rain with no brolly (whilst thinking 'cleansing-communing with nature', not 'urgh this is wet and cold' thoughts tee hee!); cultivating a winter garden and slow-cooker beef bourginon with potato cakes to your list and we'll make a winter lover of you yet! x

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  30. I live in the sunshine, so while it is winter to us, it is not really too cold. You are writing patterns? Crochet? OOooooooo!... looking forward to that. Can I be a tester.......well.... I would love to try.

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  31. Lamb slow cooked with white beans, pea and ham soup, candles - lots of candles. And thoughts of spring...trying not to thing of the 8 eleven year olds coming for a farm camp out this freezing week. Winter, I'm not a fan.

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  32. Aah lovely wintry photos! I like winter, but not dry ones like we have, there must be some drizzle, some days.

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  33. I'm a summer/warm person too, but I do like the beginning of winter. That's when I can get out clothes that haven't been out of the wardrobe for a few months, layer my summery clothes and wear boots with tights. After a couple of weeks, though, I long for warmer weather again.
    Your list is wonderful and I'd do and already do lots of them. I'd definitely add, like jamsandwich said, read some brilliant books. And, I love finding sun pockets in the garden.

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  34. By the way, what's happening with the time the posts are being posted. I posted mine a couple of minutes ago (now it's 8.20 in Hobart) and it says I posted it at 3.17 am!

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  35. Hi Kate - how I love your blog! Always so full of inspiration :-)
    Two things that are keeping my house cosy and happy at the moment are:
    - a photo wall of favourite photos of favourite people and places
    - fairy lights! (actually mine are those little paper lanterns)
    Both of these really brighten up the place on wild and woolly winter days!

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  36. I admit to loving winter. One of my favourite winter things is baking yummy warm afternoon teas. I too would love to try some new soups - please share any good ones you find. Yes to the pattern writing! More of your beautiful work out in the world. And lastly, I do really like the way Pepper writes her name, especially the e!

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  37. I do love your list of winter wonderful. I do love the cosy feel of rugging up in winter but then winter in Qld really isn't winter is it? Playing board games, reading good books, cooking up a storm are all fun things to do in winter too and lots of tea and hot chocolate:) xx

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  38. I love winter soooooo much but that didn't happen until I moved to Perth & learnt how very long & very dry & very hot our summers our.

    I love the food - the soups, the stews, the puddings...
    I love the clothes- scarves, the cardi's, the boots...
    I love the snugly-ness of it all
    I love the footy- mad AFL family here. My boys play & we all go for different teams do it means lots of spirited conversations ( & lots of yelling at the tv!)
    I love the grey & the green- the sky goes grey & after the first rains greens springs from everywhere. The land goes from dry, crunchy brown to lush, bright green.
    But mostly I love the rain. I love watching it. I love smelling it. I love listening to it. I love the feeling it creates inside me. I feel it washes me clean, it's makes me feel all brand new....

    I love winter. I really do...

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  39. Soup and knitting, candles and stitching, and log fires, are my standbys when I want to feel cosy in winter. And I love the snow and the frosts of winter so I really don't mind the season generally as long as it's not too wet and muddy. I think your list looks like it will see you through 'til the sun comes back.

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  40. Make your own kahlua - lots of recipes on the interwebs = reminds me I need to make a batch
    Start art/life/nature/season journals with kids
    Make a quilt
    Coffee!
    Read books
    Write books
    Collect leaves
    Make art
    Do crazy kitchen science experiments
    Mulled cider
    Have pot luck dinners
    Perform plays
    Molten Chocolate cake
    Roast Marshmallows
    Master clothing layers
    Puddle jumping
    Snuggle

    I am a warm season gal myself, yet I choose to live in a gray place...because once summer finally comes, it is the most beautiful, happy place ever! And because I can't afford to live in Hawaii :)
    Happy winter wonderful!

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  41. What a great idea, I love summer too and although I don't mind the odd winters day crafting I would much rather be crafting on a picnic rug instead. A winter Wonderful list is going on to my 'to-do' list!!

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  42. I adore winter myself, but I live in Brisbane so what's not to love? I totally get that you need a winter wonderful, just as I need a summer survival. I hibernate. I don't go anywhere that isn't air-conditioned. I made a conscious decision last summer that if I was uncomfortable, I got in the pool, or the air-conditioner went on, and bugger the expense. It was the best summer ever. Do you wear thermals? Have good heating? Both really good investments in your climate. And wear ankle socks with your tights. Keeps your tooties much warmer.

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  43. I live in Virginia in the US and it is just starting to get warm, so PLEASE!!!!!!! come visit:) I am desperately trying to learn to crochet and you could teach me as we sit in the flower and veggie gardens while my chooks,(they aren't really Austrailian chickies, just thought it would make you want to come here more) pitter patter around us begging for treats:) It would make my warm time so much better and your cold time more tolerable:) You could help me put up my tomatoes and make your wonderful sauce!!! Don't you think that sounds like a good plan?
    XX
    Debbie

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  44. I do love winter, actually I think it's the rugging up, wintery fashion & casseroles I love most, because I really don't like being trapped indoors so much, winter can be loooong. Another great list, Kate. I've plans to rug up today & get out amongst it!!

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  45. I'm definitely a Summer girl... don't like Winter at all. But I'm with you on the Kahlua!

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  46. Yes SOUP is one of the great joys of winter, and I would add UGG BOOTS!! the worlds best invention in winter. And also knitting or crochet doesn't make you hot and sticky as it does in summer.
    ANd hugs are a great way of keeping warm.
    And this is gonna sound weird but one of things i love about winter is getting soaking wet in the rain and then coming home changing into bummy warm clothes and my uggs and warming up.
    OH and footy is on. What more could you ask? ;)
    i also like walking in the rain and feeling like no winter you can't beat me.!! I'm an autumn and spring girl, im not a fan of winter but I do like you try to focus on the stuff I love xo

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  47. Grey days get me down too - I really like it when it's cold but sunny (but I really, really like it when it's warm and sunny!)

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  48. I do love Winter, which is just as well because we live in one of the coldest areas in the country. Love coat, beanie and scarf seasons. Fireside reading and the smell of freshly cut wood and smouldering chimneys. I think my life would feel like something was missing if I lived in the tropics.
    But you have such an amazing list put together that it will ward off any gloomy Winter feelings for quite some time.
    Made my first batch of soup last night in fact. Also coincided with our first real taste of the cold and our first lighting of the fire. Hoping your week is a good one full of Winter firsts too :)

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  49. I was born in the tropics...and abhore it. For about 15 years now have been imagining myself in the deep south. Tomorrow i am traveling to the SE corner of Tassie for the second time to find (hopefully) a place to settle. Currently we live in SE Qld (mountains) and today we lit our first fire. Have been beckoning and welcoming the cold change for weeeeeeks now!....and this mountain is not really the tropics. I do love blue crisp days...could never live in Seattle....but the warm, hot, muggy weather lives nothing to be desired for me.
    Soup!! bring it on.....thick thin rich slim....all types of soup .....nurtures the soul...feeds/fuels the body.....enjoy!! and the knitting...you are good for that

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  50. I love soups too, I thought of myself as the soup queen for a while. My two all time favs are Jamie Oliver's split pea soup from Jamie Does, and Lentil and farro soup from super natural everyday.
    I think you've got wintered covered, your ideas sound warm, nurturing and good. Your photo's above are rich and beautiful.

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  51. Here in the north west of the UK it is very winter like today, I also do not like wearing tights! Am spending my day inside my warm vintage caravan, drinking tea and deciding what fabric to use to make the curtains. Love your caravan and blog, wish I had found you sooner. x

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  52. Light the fire and bake, bake, bake x

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  53. hi
    here in germany it is very winter like today.love your list!!!
    love your blog!
    have a wonderful day,
    regina from germany

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  54. Light the fire, knit, bake, make soup and lots of casseroles and stews! Mmmmmm!!

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  55. By the way, Kate, how do you make those fantastic photo tiles, the 2 x 2 format?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Samantha,
      I use the mosaic maker on this site:
      http://bighugelabs.com/
      x

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    2. Thanks for the info. You are a gem!! I'm just about to check that out, along with the River Cottage Bread book. I've just made some bread but I'm thinking it's just about time to develop my own sourdough.

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  56. Here in Maine in the US we are having Spring. I love in a climate that is wintery for a very large portion of the year and I thrive on warm, sunny days. Sometimes I wonder why I like it here.

    In winter I love blankets, tea, hot coffee, oatmeal, soup, Smartwool socks, baking and making lots of crafts.

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  57. Hey there. Winter, rain and cold person all the way - that's me - SORRY! but I love your list - I truly do. Perth skips over Winter - it screeches past us and we wear a beanie one day, a scarf the next and poof - gone... sun, warmth and blue skies here most of the year - which is very special yes but when you "wanna get cosy and do cosy things" then this just does not suffice. Wanna swap? ;-)

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  58. Wonderful list of wonderful Kate! I think rugging up and getting outdoors is the best way to feel good about winter. And mulled wine, lots and lots of mulled wine! Or mulled cider!

    xxx

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  59. I hope you don't mind me saying what an unusual but beautiful name Pepper is for a girl?! I love it!!

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  60. Winter wonderful list:

    I love seeing the stack of firewood, I love the grains of wood and how it all looks together.

    I love that the garden slows down with the grass/ weed growing and it means more time to do other things.

    I like cold night with the fire on and cosy cuddles under the blankets.

    I like rugging up in boots and scraves and all those summer dresses but with tights under them.

    I like the new pair of chocolate brown camper boots I got yesterday.

    I like that there are NO BUGS!! no mozzies and no midgies eating us when we are outside.

    I like going for walks at any time and its not stinking hot so you dont need hats and sunscreen all the time.

    but I prefer the middle seasons, I like Spring and Autumn, Winter is about 6 weeks here and the days are still glorious.
    and I have been having the strong urge to finsh my crochet blanket!

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  61. Haha Kate! That sounds a lot like my last blog post! I was having a terrible time getting motivated to do anything without the sun helping me, so tried to look on the bright side.
    It sucks. It just sucks.

    But ace tights and soup are great, so let's wear ace tights and eat lots and lots of soup!! It will get us through!

    Rach x

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  62. move to perth kate! this is our first autumn here and i can't believe that we are still having 30 degree days so late in the piece! such a change from canberra, i remember dreading the onset of winter when we lived there. but sounds like you're well fortified with that lovely list, so good for you! xx

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  63. so beautiful kate. would love to have a coffee with you one day and drink in some of your amazing inspiration. happy weekend! xxx

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