I always enjoy joining in on Urban Jungle Bloggers but I have to say, the October theme of Plants and Flowers was kind of irresistible. I’m sure that a lot of you will agree with me and this will be the biggest one yet. I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with.
I love stepping back in time don’t you? I particularly appreciate seeing the practices of artisans of the time passed, so I was fascinated by my visit to the Pompallier Mission Printer in Russell, during my holiday in The Bay of Islands earlier in the year.
Some of you may recall a commitment that I made about eighteen months ago about having internet free Sundays. I did it for a while and then, well I slipped back into the smart phone oblivion of checking social media, emails and googling. A few weeks ago I subconsciously put the phone away for most of the day on Sundays, having a little sneaky peek every so often, but generally it was out of sight. I was obviously missing that break. Then last weekend, Guillaume suggested that we should make an internet free Sunday commitment together. He didn’t join me previously so I didn’t hesitate to say hell YES! I felt I needed it again, I felt we needed it as a family and our kids needed to see their parents without that iPhone in hand for a good chunk of time.
September just flew by, it feels like only a couple of weeks ago that I styled my moodboard! Now we’re on to the October Styled Canvas Challenge, with the new theme “Unconventional Shelf”. After losing the mantle when we moved house, I feel like I’m seriously lacking in display shelf space. So I thought that the Styled Canvas Challenge would be a perfect opportunity to get creative. Instead of going out and purchasing a shelf, I thought it would be fun to create one with something I already have in the home. I ended up using one of the benches to the German beer table that was once our outdoor table. You may have seen that I now use the table as my desk so the benches have been sitting outside with no use, until now.
I’m often asked for ways to help make a rental feel like a home. The biggest piece of advice I can give is to decorate it, as if it were. Everyone’s situation is different. Perhaps you feel like you’ve missed the boat in purchasing your own home. I know so many people like this in Sydney and Auckland where the cost of owning your own home is quite literally insane and unless you purchased a while ago or you earn a really good income, home ownership feels out of reach. Perhaps you’re starting out in the world, or like me you’ve been thrown back into the rental game after moving to a different city as an expat.