The Great Brisbane Duck Race, and Room Sharing

I love the view we have out across the river - it's certainly one thing I'm going to miss when we eventually move.

It's generally pretty quiet, and particularly since this section of Riverside Drive has been closed to traffic. However last weekend, this was the venue for The Great Brisbane Duck Race and it definitely livened things up. We must have had the best vantage point.

For $10 each, the kids got unlimited access on all the rides. I think the firm favourite was the jumping castle. And boy did they sleep well that night.

And speaking of sleeping, we made some minor adjustments to the sleeping arrangements around here. I decided that it was high time to reclaim our bedroom, which meant that baby Oscar (who had been sleeping in our wardrobe for the past year) has moved into a shared room with his big brother.

And these two rascals:

are now sharing this room together:

So far, so good.

And I'll finish off with a vista from the end of our street - those Jacarandas are in full bloom now - they are just gorgeous.

Library - would you put one in your house?

I used to think that a library was something only the rich and the famous had in their homes. I don't watch a lot of TV, but I do love to read and I've got stacks and stacks of books that need to be kept in an orderly manner, so when my architect suggested incorporating a library into the renovation, I immediately agreed.

The library/sitting room planned for our house will be located in the NE corner, and I envisage it to be a lovely, sunny spot to sit and read a book or two or just listen to some nice music. I see it as an adult zone, free of toys and clutter. It will be fitted out with built-in shelving and banquette seating and most probably a big, comfy armchair. My original plan was to have black shelving, similar to this:

Image via www.owenandvokesandpeters.com

but as I'm pretty hopeless in the dusting department, white is probably a better choice.

Image via www.trelawneyfarm.com

The kid's also have a pretty extensive selection of books, and like all children, love having stories read to them.

The boys are actually pretty good at reading themselves too - have a listen to Charlie (who's only two) read his favourite book by Mem Fox, "Where is the Gween Sheep?"

Time for a Makeover

It's been around six months since I started this renovation blog, so now that I'm becoming a little more familiar with Blogger, I decided to give my blog a quick makeover.

Unfortunately there is not a lot of content in regards to the actual renovation to include at this stage, but I hope to share the real-life renovation photos with you very soon.

We're now waiting for the architects to complete the latest schematic design plans, then we can finalise the kitchen and bathroom details. Looking forwarding to sharing my ideas with you.

My goofy boys and I 

How things change in one week!

I've only been away for one week, but there have been many changes around here. I must say it was lovely to be greeted back home by the magnificent flowering jacarandas - those pops of purple are dotting the Brisbane skyline everywhere. Yes, Spring is definitely here.

Also on arrival was a HUGE rubber duck sitting in the Brisbane River. The Great Brisbane Duck Race, a charity event to support cancer research, is on again this Sunday, 14 October. Unfortunately the new duck is having problems sitting upright. The old one was destroyed last year by vandals the night before the event  - I watched it all unfold. At around midnight, two men undressed and swam into the Brisbane River, deflated the duck then slithered out and ran off up the road in their jocks - cowards.

And remember this old girl?

Well six months later she's hardly recognisable:

That large concrete structure on the RHS is the new swimming pool; the car accommodation will be behind the yellow skip.

I don't know if it's official yet, but there has been a name change. Local architectural firm Owen and Vokes are now Owen and Vokes and Peters. Long time collaborator, Aaron Peters, has finally got his name up in lights - congratulations Aaron.

Holiday Wrap Up

We finally got home from our week-long holiday in Cairns, and what a week it was. Between us and our good friends, we had a total of 6 boys under 8 who played hard the entire time.

One of the highlights of the trip was the train ride up to Kuranda. The boys thoroughly enjoyed it.

We drove up to a beach just north of Palm Cove, and the water looked so inviting

however our plans of having a swim were quickly put to rest after a 3 metre crocodile was spotted in the water.

Our week consisted of eating:

and resting whenever we could find the time.

This week I plan on doing some online window shopping for a new fridge and stove that will cater for a family of six.