Wouldn't it be nice

to put my feet up and see this. This was taken from the balcony of our hotel room in the Maldives.
How I'm feeling right now: Calm yet quietly anticipating the imminent arrival of our little one
What I'm doing right now: Organising things around the house, contemplating the six months I'll be taking off work very very soon
What I should be doing right now: Getting Miss Wizard packing and ready to go! Making lunch and getting ready for work!

 

Room with a View

Missing my home, my family and friends these days. Most of it down to the pregnancy I'm sure. It's only a matter of weeks now. Last night we bought diapers,a baby bathtub and teeny tiny socks. Still haven't got much clue as to how much more we need, but just trying to focus on what will make our lives a little bit easier for the first month or so. My doctor took one look at my belly and said what everybody else has been saying: YOU'RE HUGE! She thinks I might need to be induced around the beginning of September if he keeps growing at this rate. I have total faith in her and having the baby earlier than planned will just give me more of my maternity leave to be with him, rather than waiting for him and getting fatter in the process. It's all very very exciting. I can and cannot wait to be a mamma. One part of me wants him to stay in me belly, all snug and secure. Another part of me wants him OUT so that I can stop waddling around like a duck and fluffing a dozen cushions just to sit comfortably. Not digging the belly meets upper thighs when I sit down either.My skin has been good to me though. Thanks to genetics I guess. My mum has beautiful skin and she didn't get any stretch marks with all 5 pregnancies! I'll be happy not to get any just with my first.
Feeling abit tired now. I have been painting sporadically, but as you can probably guess, the whole baby thing has been a slight distraction to say the least. I will post my latest painting over the weekend.
Gotta go. Have a lovely day!

 

Zaitoon

In Arabic she's an olive. And a very special olive too because she's my baby sister and she got married over the weekend, so shes not such a baby anymore. I tried my very best to distract myself with other things just so that I wouldn't get too sad about not being there. But it was a difficult task let me tell you. Being 31 weeks pregnant (only 9 weeks to go!) my hormones are currently in a 24 hour rave. Theres just no let up with the feelings of elation and downright despair! I was devastated that I couldn't go.
But I take heart in the knowledge that my beautiful sister is out there in the world, doing her thing, strutting her stuff, and making the people around her happy, just by being happy herself. She literally organised our entire wedding last year back home in London without any hint of regret, since it was all a very last minute affair (a long and winding road of a story!)That was the last time I saw her. Can't wait to see her again, and hopefully it will be during my maternity leave from September.
Enjoy your honeymoon sis!

 

Giveaway results

Thankyou Erika and Alexia for commenting on last weeks giveaway. After much deliberation this morning over a cuppa tea and Antiques Roadshow, Miss Wizard will be winging its way to both of your lovely homes! Email me your address and I shall have her ready to go.

Im gonna put this picture up where I can see it

So that I can remind myself of my true hot mama qualities. Right now Im hot, but in the sweaty sense. Swollen feet included. I got this lovely gift from Natalie. A late birthday gift. Late birthday gifts are great because just when you think your day to celebrate has long gone, you suddenly get a couple more gifts waiting in the woodworks. So it was a lovely surprise. Thanks Nat!
I am still waiting for a few more people to take part in my giveaway! Where are you folks?! Perhaps Miss Wizard is alittle scarier than I had expected. Well, she remains in my studio and she will not stop asking me where she's going on Friday. Wherever it is, Im sure she will be looked after well. :)

 

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down...

Look at my delicious cake. Professionally photographed too!

There has been a cloud hanging over us at work these last few weeks. Unprecedented changes has led to a general sense of doom and gloom. Cake. Just what the doctor ordered. Chocolate raspberry pavlova. Not as pretty as Nigellas, mine collapsed as soon as i took it out of the oven, but it went down a treat! I have made this a couple of times already and it makes people smile. That makes me smile too.

Alright alright, here's what it really looked like, run over by a lorry it seems.

More of my cavewoman antics

I really liked the way this one turned out. Very Japanese. Very zen. Very cavewoman. Very me.

Giveaway reminder: Don't forget to comment on my giveaway post if you wish to have a chance of eternal friendship with the Wizard. Despite all the rope twirling business, she's fairly sane really.

The Wizard - Giveaway

Here is a little something that escaped from the confines of my head. Its not pretty up there, what with all the pregnancy induced mush currently taking over. This little wizard clearly had enough, so with the help of a rope, and some ingenious sorcery, she did a runner! And aren't I thankful or what as I just couldnt handle all that hocus pocus malarky. If you are interested in giving her a home, preferably framed and sitting very nicely on a shelf or dresser somewhere which should keep her happy, then just leave a comment. I will pick a name on the 17th July which is a Friday.

Note: Just to let you know, sometimes your comment may not appear as swiftly as you and I would like, but if you stare at the picture, whisper the magic words 'what a big head you have' and then click on refresh, your comment will magically appear!
If this fails, then you can also leave your comment via email which I will happily include in the final draw.

Good luck!

Huge would be the operative word

And here I am feeling like i have a watermelon strapped to my stomach. That dress happens to be the most comfortable thing I have worn since I started expanding in all directions. I have had to finally scour my way through the infamous maternity wear departments across much of Portugal. Shame we dont have GAP here. Ive heard great things about their line for mamas to be. The dress was from H&M so the pricetag was well within my budget.



I had a great week off, spending it at the beach (that viewpoint from under the sun umbrella was mine for quite a number of relaxing days) collecting rocks and then painting on them, like a cavewoman. I also used my pocket watercolour set to do some sketches whilst I was there, alfresco style. I felt like abit of an artisan, totally absorbed, blocking out the world around me except the sound of the waves and the gentle seabreeze. It was an interesting exercise in general too since I was out of my normal studio surroundings and learning instead to take my creativity outside. Something that can be both awkward yet exhilarating at the same time. It felt pretty good.

I managed to finish a couple of watercolour pieces too, one of which I will give away this month as a print. I will write about it tomorrow. In the meantime, have a look at this blog by my friend Natalie. She's a young artist living in London and is about to launch her etsy shop . Her work ranges from some lovely mixed media work to intricate jewelry design. I wish you lots of luck in your new venture Nats!

Drifting along

like a feather. Well not quite, but the weather today has been absolutely wonderful. We couldn't take the stifling heat in Lisbon so we legged it to our little house by the sea. Bought myself a book on yoga and an encyclopedia on mythology. Making the most of my pocket watercolour set too. Right now I can't show you any pics until we head back to Lisbon on Sunday (left my usb cable at home). But I thought I would post something about my day regardless.

I will be giving away one of my watercolour pieces this month. Spreading the love! More information on this when I get back from my hazy lazy break. Until then, cheerio!

Birthday Girl

Beautiful gifts from my beautiful husband. Art materials to remind me of who I am, a gorgeous vase and a pretty little ring which I will photograph once I do my nails! Cant be wearing the ring with grubby nails could I?

A lovely start to the day. Hope yours was too.

My Greenbird

I'm going to be 29 tomorrow! Planning on making myself a yummy birthday cake,order a few books from Amazon and get some art supplies courtesy of Mr T. To be honest, I haven't put much thought to what I would do this year, since this year has been all about the bulge. The most important thing for me to celebrate right now, is that I'm in a happier state of mind despite the stressed out rant here and there. I'd say my current slouching spot these days is in a very positive and gentle place. Not as exhilerating as being on top of a mountain, more of a balcony overlooking a lake, with a cup of tea and a book by my side, and my hand on my belly.

I finished this piece yesterday evening. Trying to enjoy the process rather than worrying about the end result. I find I'm alot more productive and freer that way. Hope you like it! I'm planning to do a series of these strange, mysterious figures. Let's see how it goes. In the meantime, I still have a nursery to wrap up!