What to do when someone dies...

Though she had been telling us for years that she was 'about to die', my husband's grandmother finally (no pun intended) lived up to her word. She was a loving and generous -if occasionally abrasive- lady, who had spent the past decade that I knew her (and according to my husband, the previous decade as well) forecasting her demise each year. The preparation helped, although my husband had joked to her when we were down just two weeks before, "Don't be ridiculous; if someone wanted to bury you, they'd need to hit you with the shovel first, otherwise you'd probably outlive them" ... Guess who feels like Mr Silly now?

We took a week off work to travel to family, share fond memories, help with funeral arrangements, begin the 'what happens to all of her stuff now?' period, and drink wine.

It was somewhat strange to stay in the same house our family has stayed in each holiday, but, without her there... Sadly, it meant that we had no one to feed our children breakfast in the morning while we stayed in bed, but on a positive note, Foxtel had not been disconnected yet, and so Cartoon Network was aired most mornings... FTW.

It was a couple of days into our trip, and the funeral was a smooth success. Memories were shared and laughter was had... Back at the house, we began the process of working out what was to be kept, and what was going to be given away.

As it happened, the adults of the family wandered through the house one afternoon to see what goes to who's home, and what goes elsewhere... It was at this time that wardrobes were opened, and a foreign sense of 'style' was humourously cat-walked up and down the hallway.

Now... I'm a sucker for not wanting things to be thrown away, and if the alternative option is convincing my poor husband that we absolutely needed it, must have it, and should bring it back with us to Sydney and give it a home kind of thing... Then so it shall be.

I thought it would only be right, then, to showcase some of these items brought back with us ;)

*insert drum roll*

The first hat, because it's hot pink! And the second, just in case the Russian mafia decide to offer me a job :)

I've always wanted a spy trench coat and bear shawl... Still waiting, though, as this shawl is apparently made of fox.

Reuben quite often states that in the battle between pragmatism and sentimentality, he favours pragmatism; but I most certainly think he is happy with these fine pieces of attire that I have just acquired...

And now with them all together:

Lets face it... I would be stunning if I lived in the 50s!