Thursday, August 25, 2011

in mail

In the comings and goings of our thrice weekly mail I have a few to show you from the last few weeks.

I was very fortunate to win this bib in a giveaway on the gorgeous Amanda's blog. A great place full of sustainable ideas, recipes, crafting and more. Amanda is soon opening a store,  Little Eco and will be stocking sustainable goodies such as this. If you haven't already discovered her blog yet,  do pop over and have a look, it is a lovely place to visit. Thanks Amanda!



I also received a package of goodies that I purchased for a few little projects that I have in mind.  Little Bits of Pretty is a blog run by Lea that sells little packages of pretty little crafty things. Little Bits of Pretty is a fundraiser for The Children's Hospital at Westmead. You may also know Lea from her other blog We like to make stuff which is full of crafting, op shopping and family life. Thank you Lea!



And now onto books. These were a few recent purchases from a voucher I had.

The Stylish Dress Book - Lot's of floaty, pretty dresses in here. Particularly good for hat I'm looking for as I do love to team smock style dresses and tights. Much comfier than jeans. I've been warned though to beware of the sack like qualities of the tunic style dresses. Looking forward to having a go at some of these though, and will be prepared to take in if necessary.

Winter On The Farm has gorgeous pictures of the author's Tasmanian Farm. Not unlike our frosty and foggy days. I can see myself making a lot of these recipes as they look temptingly delicious, simple and warming. I do like his approach to "real food".


Backyard Self Sufficiency is a little gem of a book for information aplenty on vegie gardens, fruit trees, and small livestock (I'm only halfway through the book, but so far this is what it's covered). Did you know you can plant fruit trees two metres apart for tighter spaces?  This book is of particular interest to me as Jackie French gardens in a very similar area to mine with hot dry summers and frosty winters. She actually doesn't live too far away, so her advice on growing lemon trees in our climate ( my last one died within a week, victim of a November frost, followed by a 30 degree day) is one I can relate and listen to.

12 comments:

  1. That dress book looks wonderful, I am trying to find childrens sack dress patterns.... fun! xx Rach

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  2. Cute bib!!
    This winter is the first that I have EVER worn leggings under dresses...so much more comfy than jeans, though I do layer those too...and my dresses tend to err on the tunic side to disguise this mummy figure :) I find ones that gather slightly under the bust are quite flattering..others I have tried look like a sack!
    I issued Back Yard Self Sufficiency from the library a while back but have a tendency to issue way too many books at a time and didn't have a chance for more than a quick flick through.
    x

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  3. How funny that we linked to each others blogs like that Tania! Thanks for sharing the pic of Violet in her bib...she looks gorgeous! Those books sound fab and I am soon to be ordering some books soon from Fishpond so I will keep an eye out for these. I love real food cookbooks.

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  4. Hi Tania,
    I just wanted to say again how much I love your blog. Your family and your photos are beautiful, and I so admire your lifestyle. It also gives me this great super-cozy feeling to see winter goings-on when we're in the deep heat of late summer up here on the northern side of the world. I am excited for fall to arrive!
    Thanks again for your lovely blog-
    Liz

    http://batchworthlane.blogspot.com

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  5. Loving that baby bib, will certainly be taking a look at Amanda's blog. Lea's little packages are gorgeous aren't they, Lea is my very best friend and it's funny that the little envelope you sent me came from one of her little packs. I love how blog land connects us all up. x

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  6. Congratulations on your win- the bibs from Amanda look gorgeous. The books look good. I do like the tunics and have been making and wearing a few myself, and the tasmanian book has piqued my interest.

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  7. That Backyard Self Sufficiency Book is one of my favourites. So many practical recipes and so much down to earth knowledge. Enjoy it! I will have to check out the cute pieces that raise money for Westmead. What a win/win!

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  8. Oh - you're climate sounds just like mine!
    I got lucky with my lemon tree - it's still alive after 3 years.
    And stood up to some heavy, heavy frosts and absolute scorchers.
    It's a Lisbon - I read somewhere they will withstand the cold better than other varieties.
    It started fruiting almost straight away!
    http://freefallingscominguproses.blogspot.com/search/label/lemon

    That looks like an interesting book by JF. I used to love to watch her on Burke's Backyard - she was always "delightfully nutty". And "Diary of a Wombat" is one of my favourite children's books.

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  9. Such a sweet bib and some wonderful books I shall have to keep an eye out for. I have seen that Dress Book on a few blogs now. Nicole at Yardage Girl made a very sweet dress from it too.

    :)

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  10. Love the bib and your little one is precious!

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  11. Its so true about the fruit trees! We live in country Vic and my Dad has his trees 1 & 1/2 metres apart along his fence line. He keeps them well pruned in a tall hedge shape and there is an abundance of fruit each year.

    As he likes to say "There is plenty of fruit for the birds, ourselves and the dog!" as the birds eat at the highest point, We pick around the middle and the dog gets the ones that fall to the ground. Pears, Nashies and plums! YumYum.

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