Grateful spends a Day in the Life

Kymmie at A Day In the Life of Us is hosting us this week.



There she is up there in all her fancy-pants gorgeousness, say hi, Kymmie!

Pop on over to link up your grateful post and remember to say good morning to at least one perfect stranger.

Grateful holidays at The Beetle Shack

Emily over at The Beetle Shack is kindly hosting Grateful for us this week.

See, there she is up there with her lovely family - go on over, you'll really love her.

Grateful, Em, oh yes I am. x

Blogliciousness: the {tiny} satorialist

 

Blogliciousness v 1 Desirable, yummy, inspiring and/ or entertaining blog. 2 A potential new blog to love.

Anyone who knows me knows I can't stand kids in grown-up clothes. I see a kid in a fedora and I just feel the bile start to rise. Skinny jeans, biker boots, high-heels on tots... no, I'm not a fan of the 'fash for kids' pack one little bit.

Which is why I was extremely surprised to fall in love with Marshall Ace. Marshall Ace and the clothes he wears is the sole preoccupation of the {tiny} satorialist. This tot is so cutely attired I can't help but want to see more, more, more.

What is it about this blog? There really is just something about Marshall Ace...

Do you have a new blog find to share? And what are your thoughts on 'trendy kids'?

[Image via the{tiny}satorialist]

Blogliciousness: Little and lovely

There are so many smashingly good blogs around the blogiverse that sometimes it makes your head spin. How on earth are people consistently so creative, so articulate, so beautiful and so darn green-inducingly clever?! No wonder these amazing blogs have a zillion followers and witty commenters.

But then.

Then you find a couple of really delightful blogs that you just love reading. They're like carefully wrapped little package that is full of lovely treats for sharing.You're one of their first followers and you settle in, excited to watch them grow and grow and grow.

Only they don't.

People don't seem to find them! And they are missing out on their share of the treat! Here are three of my favourites.

The author of Dancing in the Rain is charming. Her posts are sweet and simple reflections on life with her three girls aged 5 and under. She's creative, compassionate and lively. She has a simple, clever way about her - for instance she is a plastic Christmas tree girl (like me) but read about the delightful way she brought a little smell of Christmas into her home... I immediately went out and copied her, of course I did.

I've been a follower of This Growing Life for ages. I like her so much that she's in my blog roll to remind me to visit her regularly. I like her gardening tips, her musings on her two boys, her political outbursts, but most of all I love her intelligence. I was in hysterics at her extensive muesli testing... and I love that she's okay when I have a bit of a laugh at her diligence. She's a good chick.

I'm new to Joy and Wonder, but I love the way Maree writes. Very thoughtful and clean. She seems to hark back to a time with more presence, more meaning than most of the world around us today. I loved this post she wrote on Curiosity.

Other 'little in followers only' blogs that I love are:
Crepe Expectations
Select All + Delete
The Hills are Alive
Keep Cate Busy (not so little, but still)
A Baby A Buggy and A Boat
Jarrah Jungle
Messy Freckle
1000 Homes of Happiness (stop press, found just now via Nic at Planning with Kids. I liked it so much I edited my post to include it...)

And many more.

There you have it! Super blogs, little only in followers. What's your favourite 'little' blog? Please share a link to your favourite post with us all!

[Image by Natasha]

♥ Loving unexpected kindness

Ivy Designs. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "doesn't Maxabella mention Wynona and Ivy Designs every other post? What is this, some kind of blog affair?" 

Why yes, yes it is.

A while ago I purchased some really lovely clothes from Wynona's online store. Some sweet little pedal pushers, a top, some hair things and the dress that The Badoo wore to her Christening. My favourite little girl's dress ever (you can see it hanging above the bed here).

I left a little comment on Wynona's blog to tell her about the dress so she could see a picture of The Badoo wearing one of her designs. I thought that if I was a designer, I would love to see pictures of my customers happy in my designs. I left the comment and thought nothing of it...

... until I got a package in the mail. Wrapped beautifully and brimming with all the gorgeous things you see in my (really bad) photo above. A sweet Peony skirt and matching iron-on applique patch. A little lollipop hairclip. A hairband made of the most delicately patterned paisley fabric. All snug in a lovely Ivy Designs calico bag. And a note saying 'You surprised me with The Badoo's dress for her christening, how flattered am I! So here's a surprise for you gorgeous'.

I can't tell you how touched I was. I just adore every one of the gifts that Wynona has sent and her kindness has stayed with me for days. An unexpected kindness really is what makes the world go round. Thank you, thank you, Wynona!

Have you ever been delighted by a surprise in the mail? And do you sometimes feel like you've stumbled into the sweetest place on earth here in blogland?

Here's a little post about Glen

Have you met Glen? I haven't either, but boy do I like him.  His blog is irreverent and funny and honest (and every now and then he does these weird posts pretending he's some Hollywood wannabe dude called Breeze Van Santo which I totally don't get but read anyway), but that's not why I'm dedicating this post to him.

I've mentioned him before because up until Sunday when Loz joined the gang, Glen has been my only (unrelated) male follower. He comments and everything (his comments are extremely funny. Check out his musings on my love of birds here). I used to wonder why I didn't have many male followers (they are so, so welcome). I'm definitely not a girly girl - I know how to roll my own cigarettes, drink bourbon straight up when the mood catches me and I'm a hell of a pool player after a couple of them bourbons. But really, let's face it, I'm hardly one to shy away from a... delicate subject, am I? I kinda put it aaaall out there. And I do like pretty. A lot.

So, I'm just in love with the fact that this bloke (and he is a BLOKE) would diligently stick with all the posts about female toilet habits and pretty pom-poms and garlands and strutting your stuff and childbirth and breastfeeding and even, god help him, bikini-line waxing. He reads them all. He says they "scare the hell out of him", but he reads them anyway. I like that in a man.

So Glen, I know you're reading this and I just wanted to say, from all of us scary women in Maxabellaland, that we love blokes like you. We really, really do.

Do you have any male followers? Do you also admire men who won't let women's business get in the way of a decent friendship?

[Image blatantly nicked from Glen's Life. He looks a bit psycho, but I'm sure that's just his Halloween face... right Glen? Glen?]

Blogliciousness: Baby Mac

Blogliciousness n 1 Desirable, yummy, inspiring and/ or entertaining blog. 2 A potential new blog to love.

"Return of the Mac, it's return of the Mac..." 

Oh, sorry... I was drifting into embarrassing lyric mode again there. Admittedly not quite as tragic as my Happy Days moment, but still.

The reason for my mis-spelling of Mack is the feature of this maiden voyage of Blogliciousness.  

Baby Mac

Have you met Beth?

She's quirky and honest and very, very brave. Just weeks ago she tree-changed with her darling husband and two littlies. It must have been daunting to leave the inner-city and move to the country, but she has soft landed into one of the most gorgeous parts of the world. Better still, she's moved straight into the pages of Home Beautiful and we get to turn green watching her pull her desirable home together.

So with Baby Mac you get self-reflection, cynical wit, home decorating and acute observations of country life all rolled into one lovely blog. She's pretty handy with a camera too. What's not to love?

Best wishes for your Home Beautiful move, Beth. I'll be right there for all the good times and the bad times.

Pop over to see Beth, but before you scamper, tell us about a blogger whose lifestyle you admire. Don't forget to add a link so we can check them out!

[Image from Baby Mac, of course!]