arthur atticus was born at 9:20am on friday the 20th of january, 2012.
he is utterly perfect in every way, and we are delighted with him.

look what was waiting on the doorstep for me yesterday…

it’s form my friend sashi, who sent it all the way from the other side of the world.

i particularly love it’s little scalloped base.

happy weekend!
essie xxxx

my partner’s parents were in town last weekend, and we joined them on a tour of the queen victoria market. there’s nothing like having guests from interstate to get you to make the most of your own city!

i thought i’d take the opportunity to pay special attention to the colours and textures of the market. here’s a little of what i saw…

hungry?
essie xoxox

it’s my birthday next week. this was the perfect excuse for me to buy myself a little treat…

i love reading, and l. m. montgomery’s ‘anne‘ books were among my most precious childhood favourites. i think it may have been out of some kind of loyalty to anne that i never read any of montgomery’s other books. i plan to remedy that by reading not only kilmeny of the orchard, but also emily of new moon.

this is a beautiful edition that i found (for cheap!) on ebay. i love the flowers on the cover, and the way the same pattern is echoed on the inside…

it has that proper ‘old book smell’, and i plan to savour that as i read it…

essie xoxox

i’m not a one-handbag-girl. i have many favourites, and i use them all. the latest addition to my collection is a cath kidston mini saddle bag, in my favourite of her many beautiful prints…

it’s practical, compact, and pretty. so perfect.

i bought it on ebay, so keep your eye out there if you’d like to get one for yourself!

essie xoxox

yesterday, while stitching on the couch, my dear siobhan and i decided we wanted cupcakes. so we made some. we used the magnolia bakery vanilla cupcake recipe, which yeilded quite delicious results.

we had grand plans to make different colours of icing, but i was on autopilot by the time we got to icing stage and defaulted to the pink food colouring before i could stop myself!

they were nommed with tea and grins.
i can’t think of a better afternoon pastime than sharing cupcakes with friends.
essie xoxox

i had my second market stall yesterday. my sajee was with me this time, and we had a really lovely day together, meeting people, sewing, and enjoying the market atmosphere.

the hand embroidered hair clips made their debut, and enjoyed a warm reception…

we basked in the fragrance of the hyacinths that adorned the table…

and all in all, it was a good day!

i hope you’ve had a lovely weekend,
essie xoxox

p.s. sajee tells me that one of you came by to say hello, but that i missed you because i was chatting to someone else. i’m so sorry about that! x

yesterday, my friend jen and i trekked down to yarra glen to attend the immerse yourself in stitching event run by rosalie quinlan, melly hurlston, and leanne beasley.

it was a very pleasant day, devoted entirely to stitching, and wandering in the garden…

springtime blossoms

jen enjoying some of the winery’s champagne

a regal iris

here i am, standing dorkily in the garden

stitching up one of leanne’s designs

if all the laughter and chatter were anything to go by, a good day was had by all.

essie xoxoxo

i’m pretty poorly right now. i’ve got a bad bout of influenza, and it’s knocking me about. i ended up in hospital yesterday, but now i am home in my own bed, with some of my comforting things:

anne books always make me feel better, as does my little bunny (a gift from my mum a long time ago). i’m drinking lots of water and juice, resting up, and hoping to be well enough to do some crafting (and some essay writing for uni) quite soon!

in the mean time, you might be interested in looking at some pretty things over at my tumblr.

essie xoxo*coughsplutter*xoxox

the weekend has well and truly been and gone, and i survived my first market!
(with the help of a bunch of great friends and some very large cups of tea…)

i must say that it was a slightly daunting prospect, but it turned out to be fun. i met some lovely people, and received some great face-to-face feedback on my designs.
it was fun to set up my table…

… and decorate it with flower (and fruit?!) arrangements

the kits looked so great all lined up on display

and my little needle books sold like hotcakes!

it was a long and tiring day, but a great experience. now i’ve got to think about getting ready for the next one!

essie xoxox