the question is...

how lovely i thought to myself when reading your delightful comments from yesterday.

here i am supposed to be doing 'admin mode' day and failing miserably (although it is only 8am so technically i haven't quite failed yet but i know it is not boding well if i'm loitering here instead)

and so i thought to myself how lovely of you all to be so kindly about my 'spring fling' and then i thought about how many questions you asked me not only here but in my inbox and then i got to thinking perhaps to pass the dreary 'admin mode day' we should have a round of Q&A's as i do feel it quite important, far more important than say 'admin mode' day

so without further a do,

what brand are the boots you wear in your 'challenge of the utmost kind' button picture?

they are by London Fly and are truly the boots of my dreams, i found them this past summer when out doing a bit of high street browsing in old blighty with my pal Debbie and our #2. we entered the store and like a diamond in the rough, they 'blinged' to me from the back of the store. i hugged them, they hugged me, i tried them on, they did the fine thing of actually fitting my ridiculously scrawny legs and it was a 'sealed deal'...

not to mention they were teal! for goodness sake, teal boots! i can only imagine they must have fallen down from heaven

what type of yarn do you use?

i like to use acrylic yarn, mainly due to allergies with wool fibres but also because i like the colors it comes in and the amount of yarn i get for my money. i also like the forgiving nature of an acrylic blanket when it has been through Miss W Machine and Mr T. dryer. i take great care and pride over my crocheted endeavors but sadly the rest of the shed does not, therefore it most important said crocheted items can be washed

where did you get the wallpaper in your photos?

the wallpaper i have on one wall in the corner of my studio, following around the corner to the kitchen KNOOK is by none other than our Orla Kiely. i found my wallpaper several years back at anthropologie, i couldn't believe they were selling it for such a good price. when i knew we were moving to Mossy Shed i bought up 4 rolls and the day after we moved in, the wall was papered.

does your dog wear a bib?

no used dog does not wear a bib... although she will be 11 years old next month and i am quite sure as her goatie beard is coming in nicely, drooling will surely follow.

used dog is in fact sporting a rather lovely natty vintage flowery neckerchief.

i have found in my experience that when she wears a flowery piece of fabric around her neck it has the most slimming affect on her, boosting her morale.

also it would appear random strangers who walk past do not fear her, but rather gravitate towards her. little olive can be found sporting a vintage hanky on good days, and let me tell you when walking out and about together in their flowery attire they cut quite the dash

would you mind telling what brand of paint you use?

i like to use Aura by Benjamin Moore on furniture, doors and other thrifted souls.

i have found it to be most nice due to it's great coverage, endurance to family life and best of all, it says on the label it is a 'good for you and the earth' paint. i am tres awful at picking out paint colors, always left 'ummming and ahhhhing' but in the end it seems to work okay. i have discovered that if you have white white walls and lots of white painted furniture then most colors will sit nicely with in. i don't have any walls painted colors in the house except one in our #3's room. he has a very minimal styled room, with one wall painted gray and not a lot else, just the way he likes it. i'm thinking the way he deals with the rest of his world being 'doilified', he deserves his gray wall.

why do you think Australia is exotic?

i am not a well travelled person, i prefer to stay in my nest much to my man's disappointment who loves to see the world. i very much see myself as a Brit who was misplaced abroad ten years ago. it may take me some time to find my way home but one day i will.

in the meantime i see most foreign destinations as 'exotic' for i like the word. i like to say to our #4 when he shows me the latest 'must have'... "why that's a bit exotic!" it's a nice way to describe something that is quite foreign to me. i visualize the loveliness in all the faraway places i've never been to, i never notice the 'crappy horrible' stuff within my daydreaming moments, only the niceness, which makes everything in a faraway land appear most exotic

could we Aussie's perhaps have a 'winter fling'?

i think that is a tremendously grand idea, and truly the bravest thing i've heard in a while. to take yarn on the hottest of hot days and manage to crochet or knit is quite the most risk taking thing i can think of. so yes be my guest, do have a 'winter fling' and thank you for making me smile

do you have a pattern for your granny circle squares?

i found the pattern for the crocheted goodness i've been working on over at Yvestown's

i had to tweak it a little but eventually got it to work. i can't tell you just how much fun they are... and when i made my first cushion, i have to say i 'swelled' with pride and had tears in my eyes, to know that little old me and Mr Hook had managed such grandness

do you have a cupboard of shame?

ha! i smiled such a smile when this question was so kindly raised, oh yes i do have a cupboard of shame, i have several in fact... perhaps it may suddenly become clear why i am such a fan of placing vintage linens behind glass, or infront of a bookcase. i also have a thrifty addiction that needs to be covered up and so there are many drawers and doors that hide my addictive ways.

i also have a fair amount of 'ugly piles' i chose not to look at in my day to day living, i blank them out... you don't often see evidence of such shameless ways upon my little happy space because i like to see only the lovelinees when i take a photo with Carlos. i pop it on my blog and all is shiny and bright...

it's just how i am and how my little blog is. i don't think i need to see pictures of my 'shameless' piles and messes staring back at me on my computer screen and i'm quite sure you lovely dearest readers have plenty of your own dirty laundry without having to look at mine :)

we haven't seen little olive in a while, what's she been up to, apart from digging up dearest reader's front yards?

good question, little olive is trouble with a capital T, but just like our #4, someone up above made her so sweet looking, she gets away with it all. i shall be bringing an update of little olive and her new abode at the end of the week, until then i hope some of the above has gone some way to answering your fabby questions.

she is away to put on her 'admin mode' hat, which is two sizes too small, making for a very uncomfortable day ahead ~ Tif