and just when you thought my life couldn't get any sillier...

we went and found this. Meet "millie", my newest friend. She's a 1963 millard safari, in near original condition. Let's have a little look inside, shall we.ah yes, they would be the original lino tiles on the floor, and also original barkcloth seat covers. Not to mention the laminex table in perfect nick. Moving onto the kitchen...

benchtop and splashback also in lovely vintage condition, as well as original overhead cupboards. Ok, so the cupboards down below are new and not so attractive, but we can work on that. Off to the lounge room...

original fold down divan with old blue vinyl cover, which jasper pointed out feels like a balloon to sit on. Lovely.

Needless to say, work has begun on curtains and such, as I turn this into a little work space, something I've been seriously lacking over the past eight months or so. The new hazyjane HQ. Can you tell I'm just a little excited?

p.s. don't worry, the other van is still a work in progress...it's just going to take a little time to get that one any where near liveable.
Um, I think I have the beginnings of a collection.

getting ready

the sun shone for just long enough the other day for me to do the first load of washing for baby. We've been lucky enough to have been given a whole heap of little tiny things, as well as a pram and car capsule (love the car capsule for moving sleeping babies) and 2 cots! Most of our friends are well and truly finished having babies now, so they were happy to offload this stuff.
of course, it's been raining ever since this one day of sunshine, so everything else in our life is wet, dirty and possibly even mouldy, but at least these little things are tucked away safely in a dry place waiting for a little someone to arrive and make them dirty again.
only 5 weeks to go...I'm excited.

room with a view

it became apparent over the past few months that this little shack we are living in wasn't quite big enough for a family of nearly six, so some changes were made. The most urgent thing we needed was a bedroom so that we could stop sleeping on the fold-out lounge (not the best thing to sleep on when one is pregnant, after all) so plans were made to add a new "wing". This wing now houses a very comfortable parents retreat (more to come on that), and also a pretty awesome kitchen.the thing about building these things yourself is that you can get everything just the way you want it, or thereabouts. Everything here is recycled...old wood, tin, glass and enamel. Loving that sink. Oh, and those windows. A friend asked me recently how we find all this stuff, and to be honest, it's not something we really think about too much. We simply like old stuff better than new stuff, and we're willing to stop the car by the side of the road to pick up someone else's trash or go rummaging through junkyards to find just the right window or door. And people give us stuff too. Although that can sometimes be a problem. We have lots of stuff.the thing I love most about this kitchen, apart from all the sweet stuff in it, is the view through all those old windows. It's a pretty great place to make school lunches, prepare dinner, and sit down with a cup of tea. It's a pretty great place to just "be".