Guess who came to dinner.............

Yay! The x-mas madness is over.
Well not really...have you been to the shops lately. It's INSANE.
We live minutes away from the Good guys, which is right near Macca's and when heading over yesterday for some banana bread and coffee for breakfast, we had to fight for a park.

Seems that everyone was waiting for Xmas to be over so they could buy new T.V's and fridges. Craziness....

But on a more pleasant note....Xmas wasn't mad at all. Just my usual panicked lead up to the event. Finishing the handmade stuff in time for posting whilst wrapping up a huge round of markets and keeping my new retail space stocked. I was a tad....o.k a lot stressed.
But I made it. Phew!

and best of all.......when we finally got to stop and sit for the day and enjoy good food and great company, guess who came to dinner!

The newest addition to the family,
Miss Elsie Velvet.

(Pictured here with her mum Jess, yaya and my kierah)

This little gem was born only 5 days before X-mas. Just in time.....

Congratulations to Ben and Jessamy, my sister in law and beau. They are doing a superb job of living and learning with there new bundle of joy. She sure has been born into one loving family who absolute adore her.

Finally the wedding photo's are ready.......

A few weeks back Ben & Jess got married having Kierah as there flower girl.
I've been hanging out for the professional photo's to be ready to see how they captured my non posing, anti girly girl daughter.
The photographer Lizzy, was so nice to work with and I was mighty envious of her big, beautiful camera. We got to see a sneak preview of Lizzy's work with pics taken of Ben and Jess pre wedding. They were so natural, capturing such warmth and affection. We knew the wedding ones would be worth the wait.

What she does too, which I think is really clever, is present the portfolio of the days pictures as an online gallery. The bride and groom then give the special password for the gallery to there friends and family, so they can chose pics for themselves. That' s so good.
I'm sure you know the frustration of getting all dolled up to go out, just to be the one behind the camera taking pics of everyone else and never having nice ones to share of hubby and you. Usually in this instance the bride and groom might have a copy of all the pics for them selves, but you miss out.

So I was really excited to have the opportunity to buy some for myself.

I've chosen just enough to have a beautiful memento of the day, and the photo's...............they are just glorious. We couldn't have hoped for anything better. Here's one of Kierah pre wedding, at Jess's house. It's just so serene. Just beautiful.
I also chose one out of the shot's Jess and Ben had alone, as the one to frame for the house. It's just so quirky and cute, which really suits them to a tee. No cliches', no running through the beach and holding hands. Just them......so honest and so in love.

If you're looking for a photographer for any special event, I highly recommend Lizzy. Her professionalism, creativity, talent and ability to capture such natural and timeless images is paramount. So, so happy with the pics of our little girl.

I do, I do, I do, I do..........

Finally the wedding has come and gone.
It always seems as though the lead up to the special day is so long and winding, then the occasion passes in the blink of an eye, leaving you filled with a happy heart, and sore feet.

The wedding was for my new sister in law, Jessamy and her beau, Ben.
Kierah (my daughter) was their flower girl for the day. I had fears of her picking her nose whilst walking down the aisle, and surely playing chasey in the lovely park surrounds, wrecking her hair and dress.
She didn't though, she was the perfect little lady on the day. Kierah took great pride in handing out all the rice bags we made, stamped with 'wishes' and 'love', held on tight to her little bouquet and tried her best to keep her little brother from eating the rose bushes.
At night she changed into her party dress, read a story about the lovely other dinosaur to the entire reception without a worry, then proceeded to bust a groove on the dance floor with such boundless energy, well after all us olds wanted to go home.

I had whipped up a guest book for them amidst the craziness of packing ready for our holiday, using the image they had chosen for their invites. The pages inside were designed around the same theme and scattered throughout were some retro inspired color pictures of a wedding nature. It all came together smashingly.

Ain't love grand.......