Craft, Mum, Craft!

Carly at Moopy & Me posted recently that she will be extending her shop Nest. Nest is in Queen Street, Croydon: a rare strip of old shops. I visited last week on a day that Nest was shut but I that didn’t matter. It was just lovely to peer in and see the little art aprons on pegs, tiny little sandals in the window, and children's art. It will be great to see the expanded shop.

Along from Next is One Small Room. One Small Room has three wee shopfronts and stocks fabric by Kirin Notebook, Kristen Doran, and sproutdesign; The Small Object’s stamps and note cards; Teacup's cards; Tsk Tsk's pictures; and Moopy & Me's bunny. There was also women’s and children’s clothes; and furniture and household things. A women's magazine from 1951 caught my eye (bargain at $5 – Did I buy it? No. Do I wish now that I bought it? Yes!).

Next to One Small Room is Queen Street Cafe, a fabulous mixture of furniture and art (a beautiful mural along one wall) and some cool music playing. We had tea in a pot and citrus tart with the thickest runny cream. And over the road is Hype and Seek a secondhand shop of groovy things. I’ll be going back for a proper visit (read: purchase!) while I’m on holiday this week.

Hey, has anyone noticed the US exchange rate? If it becomes level with the Aussie dollar, does that mean I can order from Hancocks / Repo Depot / Amazon with wild abandon? That's a rhetorical question! J and I are pretty conscientious about money but I do love him to death when he says, 'Go ahead, order what ever you want!' No guilt trips on this old bus! By the way, that's my new bag above. I'm very excited – can't remember the last bag I bought and they're usually pretty boring and functional. This is pretty and functional.

Overheard in the Target book section

Mother: Can't you find a book that you'll actually read?
Daugther (8-ish): No Mum! Craft, Mum, craft!
Exactly.