An empty room

 I've been preparing for this move for the past six months. Now the time has finally come and I'm finally starting to feel excited, instead of stressed with thinking about all the things that would need to be organised. When we moved to Ashburton we literally had nothing but a coffee table, an inordinate amount of books, and an air mattress to sleep on. Over the past two years we've built up a furnished home - each piece of furniture earned and paid for. Cushions and rugs sourced, desks and dressers carefully considered. Looking around at all the boxes and mess, it makes me so proud that every item in our home has a memory and a story.

Our lounge is almost empty now, as I'm getting ready to make the first four hour drive to our storage place. I'm excited to move on to a new home, a new chapter in our lives. I'll miss this town though.

DIY photo frame display

I love the idea of having photographs on the wall and being able to change them up instead of having only set memories on the wall. Inspired by the idea of having photographs pegged to a clothesline string,  I decided to create my own using a large frame. The photos can be changed up and moved around. This is a simple DIY that only takes about half an hour and is easy on the wallet. This DIY cost me about $25, using a frame from a second hand store and other items from a hardware store and $2 store.

 Things you will need:
* A large frame, made of something you can nail into (preferably wood or gib).
* A hammer
* Small nails, with a flat head
* Twine or string of your choice
* Scrapbooking pegs

 Step 1
Gather your materials.
Remove the picture from the frame and clean and put back the glass.
Decide where you want your twine to string across. Allow for room for the photographs to hang.
Mark these points and start nailing in your nails. You could do more if you wanted to change around the position of the twine, or hang the frame on its side.

I didn't have flat head nails so nailed them in halfway, and then across so they were bent down and would hold the twine.

Don't forget extra nails to hang the frame on the wall!

Step 2
Measure, cut, and firmly tie the twine to your chosen positions.

Step 3
Attach your scrapbooking pegs, position your photographs, and hang on the wall!

Enjoy!

A New Zealand harbour

 Before moving away from Canterbury for good, I wanted to travel to Littleton and see the harbour and Diamond harbour. (Doesn't that just sound idyllic?) It was absolutely gorgeous and so worth the drive. We travelled through the tunnel (so claustraphobic) and Matt told me about the channel tunnel that connects France and England - I can't wait to travel there one day. We had lunch on the deck of a hotel and strolled along a walkway along the waters edge. It was beautiful. Sometimes photographs can never do a place justice.