My Christmas Gift

My Christmas Gift to you....

May today there be peace within...

May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be

May you forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others....

May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you

May you be content with yourself just the way you are....

Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance ,praise and love...

It is there for each and every one of us....

May you have a Gorgeous Christmas and a Spectacular 2010. Thank you for the inspiration, laughter & a few happy tears in my wonderful year in 'Blogland'.

.... see you next year....

oxo,xox Cate

Priorities....'Hoilday'

Since my Summer Holiday is only days away...O.K #3 Days away. I am finding anything that doesn't involve 'Holiday' is w a y down my list of priorities.

.

I am thinking about... Cocktails at sunset....

....maybe a dip in the ocean on a deserted island....

....packing my Favourite Dress....

....Well maybe .... I have a few Favourite Dresses...

I hope we don't come across any scary Pirates...

(luckily for us we are Cruising the Pacific Ocean and not the Caribbean...)

Relax...Relax...relax...relax...

....find some time to collect some shells & read 2 books.....



...dance and spend some wonderful time with my wonderful husband..who always works extremely hard, especially at the moment. Mr LSH
(Long Suffering Husband) could do with some R & R & some good family time...



oxo Cate 'shiver me timbers' Arrrrrr!!



(1)po cruises(2)borabora(3)house of turquoise(4)vinageluggage(5)piratesofthecaribbean(6)flicker(7)thewhitehouse(8)ritified

"NO DIRT" we have walls

...when I grow up I'm going to look like...

...this...



...& this

The next exciting thing which is happening in my life at the moment are walls. They surround the basement...aren't they just 'magical' & if you are around through the day, there is a LOT of eye candy! it seems to takes at lot of tanned muscle to build walls...

enjoy your week I know I am..(he! he! )

oxo Cate

My Early Christmas Present

So what is better than ....

a Slab of chocolate?

or two Slabs of Chocolate?

( I like chocolate so I had to have two pictures)

A Slab of Beer ?

( yumm....Peroni ~ my favourite)



My new House Slab !

I cannot believe how excited I am over a concrete Slab. If you could see me now I have a HUGE SMILE on my face, it is the official start for my Dream Home and all of a sudden the ideas are all just following.

oxo Cate

dirt

My life is surrounded by dirt ~ either cleaning it away or working in it...

and I have one of these things too!

oxo Cate

the Secret to getting started

do you sometimes feel all tide up?

Its Lucky I only work "part-time !" because otherwise I would be having a nervous breakdown..!

with my kids now on school holidays ugh!! trying to finalise house plans etc for my wonderful clients, I go on Holidays in two weeks ( see note below re: Holidays) I am feeling very frizzed ... I know I need to breathe but I just don't have the time.... I wish I knew the "no I am really busy at the moment" word but I find it really had to knock back work and I'm feeling guilty for the lack or the amount of time I spend in Blogland but I love it. I think I need to invest in a "Alice"( re: Brady Bunch ) in the new year.




Holiday Plans 2009: 10 days of cruising the Pacific Islands with my in-laws...what was I thinking !!!

then...2 weeks at the Beach House...B & B ~ Bikini & Books

So all I need to do now is get all my jobs finished in the next two weeks, pack for the family, buy Christmas presents, stop spending so much money and then I can disappear
& find my Zen...


oxo Cate hummm


p.s I am only joking about trying to stop spending so much money !!!!

Magic Happens...when you mix colour

something very special happens when you mix

duck egg blue and white...

with a touch of timber...

.

a hint of green....

a dash of sunshine....

a mix of yellow....

a splash from the ocean

a few shades of blue

I could live here too!!

oxo Cate quack !! quack !!

1.phoebe howard2.home beautiful3.living with blue & white4.elle magazine5.phoebe howard6.rose group palm beach house7.altanta home

today I adore....

a look to think about...

question :: can I see myself relaxing out here?

answer :: yes..especially with those gorgeous lights

~

question :: can I see myself soaking in this bath

answer :: yes

~

question :: how easy would it be to wake up in these surroundings

answer :: very easy

~

question :: would I be able to eat my breakfast in this room every morning

answer :: yes

These beautiful rooms are by the very talented designer John Jacob.

~

So now my journey begins...what style could I really live in, have my ideas changed...what furniture can I buy & not live without.

Do I really LOVE it... without changing my mind ????!!!

oxo Cate ?

Dream House...FINALLY !!

I still think I am dreaming but we finally started building my DREAM HOME...

but first...I had to get rid of the old house

~

....you would not believe the amount of things which NO longer worked in this house ~ as things were breaking NOTHING was being repaired...

going...




going....

gone...hey !!!!!

I currently have designers block...how ironic, I can instantly imagine the finished look of the houses I renovate but now I am starting my own home my mind is blank...thank goodness for blogging ~ I definitely need somewhere to go to be re-inspired.

Cate oxo

1 Big fat SOLD sign

' SOLD ' ~ what a wonderful word !!

I have 1 of these....so I need....

1 of these!!!!!!! (o.k there will be a few more than 1)

I have had such a positive couple of months, there has been so much good energy flowing my way. I still cannot believe we sold "the Boat House" before auction. It was adopted buy a Wonderful Family... LOVE at first sight. They adore the House & even took ALL the furniture. Settlement was today & I know they are celebrating as we speak !!! I however have my own house to pack & a rental to move into, so my celebrating will have to wait until Sunday night.

I am going to be off line next week due to moving & the re-connection of my Internet

so

enjoy your weekend & week

I will see you soon

oxo Cate ~ cheers !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LIME LIGHT

I have been totally inspired by this months

Australian belle magazine...

...hoilday issue

...and I am totally in LOVE with this outdoor entertaining area. You will just fall in love with the dining room....Oh to live in Sydney (again...with harbour views this time..) to be able to spent endless amounts of money on things you love...houses, clothes ,shoes, family & friends ` not in this order off course!!!..but I think you understand...so this weekend I will continue to design my dream home, this time in this gorgeous colour, with this gorgeous hanging light..

oxo Cate

Cate in the hat

This is the hat I made for Melbourne Cup..the rest of me was..imagine pearls/french/cream/stripes & black...

oxo Cate

melbourne cup... the day after the day before

The Melbourne Cup is the race that stops a nation..but the next day....

tip # 1 ~ all Gorgeous girls need to sleep in... very necessary

.... because you would have had too many of these...

tip # 2 betting technique ~ favourite colour, number & cute name...
( this has worked ~ on the odd occasion)

...tips# 3 new shoes & a long day do not mix!!!

tip # 4 ~ good hang-over food

tip # 5...Coffee..& lots of it

I had an absolutely wonderful day but I am now in DESPERATE need of an early night...

good night and sweet dreams

zzzzz Cate

1. Elizabeth messina, 2.villa masion3.coco republic4.notebook5.notebook6.riera masion

no ugly step-mothers around here...

Mirror, Mirror

on the WALL

who is the finest

of them

ALL....

as you reflect on your week, I hope it was

wonderful

oxo Cate
oxo Cate

1. home & antique mag 2. french & country 3. restoration hardware 4. altantla bartlett 5. lexington