Been a while....

Wow, well I knew I hadn't posted in a while, but didn't realise it had been that long! Today is Melbourne Cup Day and it feels like the first day in a long time that we have had nothing on! We seem to be in the middle of a wedding rush, the first of which was last Sunday. I made the cake.....

Another Favourite....

Here is another favourite place of mine. I was in total awe as we sailed around Milford Sound. What an amazing place.

A Small Collection

This is a little collection of things we bought on our recent trip to Bali. I was determined not to come home with a whole heap of stuff I would never use or wear, so we stuck to just a few nice bits and pieces.

Anyone who knows me, knows I love anything mini....I love the mininess of this salt bowl and spoon.
I didn't know what these were at first. They are little birdie chopstick holders! CUTE
The crackled glass milk jug and sauce bowl are what attracted me to the shop....they were sitting in the window beckoning me.....

Christmas in July in August

We had a Christmas in July in August party on Saturday night. We were away for most weekends in July, so it ended up being a bit later than usual!! One of my favourite things about hosting this event every year is the chance to get my Chrissy decorations out! I think my absolute favourite are these tiny carol singers. I bought them from the Christmas markets in Dusselfdorf. I love, love, love them.

Cosy!

JR and I got a whole wine barrell on a wine tour ages ago. I have always loved it and wanted to keep it whole, but of course it's been sitting under our back veranda unused. Last week I saw a picture in a magazine where someone had half of one to hold their fire wood. It looked great and so.....

....we did it!! I LOVE it and I'm so glad it's being used. I'm actually going to oil it and try to darken it up, but it's so perfect for this purpose!

Tuesday!

Favourite albums to listen to at the moment are Laura Marling's 'I Speak Because I Can'. I have been listening to it for months now and don't seem to tire of it. New favourite is Washington's 'I Believe You Liar'. Going to see her live in a few weeks time! Can't wait. It's been too long since my last concert.

Image from here

Back to Reality

We've been back from our holiday in Bali for a week now. What a shock to the system. It's been freezing in Melbourne this week. Wet, cold and windy. Ugh. Looking back on our holiday pics don't help. Here's why.....

One of my new favourite places.

Favourite Things Tuesday

Ok, so I'm finally back to my regular favourite things on a Tuesday thingy. Today it's my new fish eye Lomography camera. I had my first film developed today and this is my favourite shot. I know it's not perfect and I don't really know what I did, but I really like it.

Cakes, cakes, cakes....

Well, it's been a while. July seems to have been a busy month. It's almost time for a holiday and I CAN'T WAIT!

It's time to get back into cake mode. I have had a big break, but I do actually miss it. I have a few cakes for friends coming up, so I've been looking back at what I have done in the past. Here are are couple of my favs....

My Favourite Things on a CHILLY Tuesday!

I can't believe how cold it has been the last few days! FREEEEZING! Anyway, my little collection of glass dishes warms the heart. Here are a few....

A Chilly Sunday

A perfect winter's Sunday evening....glass of red and an open fire.

Another Tuesday...

These cold wintery days in Melbourne do bring back many memories of those European winters. Today on Things I Love Tuesday, I'm reminiscing about the canal we lived on in Amsterdam and how beautiful it was in the Winter....and in the Summer....and in the Spring....oh and Autumn.

This is the view from our old apartment. Even though we've been home for a while now, I still LOVE it and miss it so much. Many a cup of tea was had on this windowsill...

Surprises

We had a great night at an auction fundraiser for an organisation called OrphFund. The auction was held at the Rose Street Artists Market in Fitzroy. I went along to support my cousin, who has done some work for OrphFund. I thought we would make a donation, have a drink and maybe put a bid in on something small. We ended up coming home with a dining table donated by Mark Tuckey that we hadn't even looked at and a magnum of wine! So much fun and great that we have a beautiful new table with the money going to a great cause.

It's Tuesday Again.

I can't believe it's Tuesday again and already a whole week since my last post. Today on 'Things I Love Tuesday' it's all about my collection of coffee table books. Here are just a few....

Things I Love Tuesday

This is my 1960's Villeroy and Boch Amsterdam coffee pot and cups that I LOVE. Everytime I see them across the room it reminds me of so many happy times living in Amsterdam. I looked longingly at these in the antique shop window for such a long time and when we finally decided to move back home to Melbourne, I went and got them! I'm so glad I did. I would love to get some more from the collection, but it's not easy to find. In the meantime, I'm happy with these!

Something old school...

Phew, what a week. Two trips to emergency...one with JR and his pussy eye and the other with Ma after a car accident! It feels like a long, long time since my last post on Tuesday.

This weekend has been a good though. Sex and the City fundraiser movie night on Friday with the girls. Saturday we saw Animal Kingdom, which is fantastic. Today we saw the Bell production of King Lear. I enjoyed it, but I did spend most of the time trying to figure out who was who, what was going on and trying to understand the old English!!

I also managed to fit in a bit of baking today. Donna Hay must have read my mind. I was thinking in the week that wanted to make a classic sort of slice. I was thinking something coconutty and jamish. I opened this months issue of Donna Hay and there it was....Coconut Jam slice. I decided to make it for Brown Owls tomorrow night. It didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. I think the coconut topping needed a bit more egg white than was suggested in the recipe....still tastes ok though!

Things I Love Tuesday

Ok, each Tuesday I'm going to share my favourite bits and pieces, things I love and make me happy. Today it's my little, tiny, mini antique bottles. I've collected them for years now and I still love looking at them. I especially love the one that still contains tiny homeopathic pills for people suffering from anything of a bilious nature! Charming....

Mixed Bag

Well, it's Sunday night and the weekend has been a mixed bag...in a good way! It started with a girls night with my Mum and Sister. This involved dinner and a trip to the theatre to see Mamma Mia. So much fun! Saturday I trekked down to Inverloch to check out JR's progress on the beach house. The renovations are coming to an end and I took some pics for the website. The pics are amateurish, but better than what was there before! I had fun anyway!

Club Crochet

Well, tonight was my first trip to Club Crochet at Stitchery Blue. I was alone with the teacher to start with, so got some great tips! Bonus! Look at all the beautiful yarn. I had to control myself....

Nearly There...

This crochet project I started has taken soooo much longer than I thought it would, but it is finally starting to look like a blanket!! Yay! I'm trying madly to get all the squares joined together before Thursday night. I'm going to Club Crochet....yes, that's right, Club Crochet! It's my first time, but I'm really hoping to learn a few things and I desperately want to get some tips on the edging for this blanket. I'm quite excited, even though I have no idea what it will be like. I'll let you know how I go!

Let's Eat, Drink and Raise Some Money

Well, today has been a busy one! I held a girls morning tea to raise money for the Cancer Council. It was a great success! 20 girls, lots to eat and drink and it looks like we raised about $700, so thanks to everyone!!

Here is a little peek into what I made...yuuuuuum!

Hope everyone else has had a great weekend too!

Best Get Sanding

I have many projects on the go that are half finished. There's embroidery, crochet, knitting and....furniture restoring. This is a little chair I picked up for $20 about a year ago. I've sanded half of it and bought the paint, but just havn't pushed on with it. I really have to now because JR is threatening to take it outside and finish it himself. He can't, it's mine.

After sanding and painting and a touch of fixing, I really want to make a cushion for it out of some cool fabric. I found so many at Funky Fabrix. The tough part will be decided which one! Best get sanding....

Cute As A Button

I'm home again today. Plenty of time to think about my next project. I bought these little buttons on a recent trip to Sydney and think they'll look perfect on some mini granny cushions! How cute are they?

So many things to make!

Ugh

I've been home sick today, coughing, sneezing and sniffing. So, my day consisted of catching up on sleep and.....

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!!

Beige Be Gone

As we are still renting, the colour scheme in the house is not exactly my cup of tea. It's very beige. We've managed to break up most of the house with a bit of colour here and there and last week it was the bedroom's turn. I bought the most colourful doona cover I could and I absolutely LOVE it. The colours have given the room a totally different feel. It feels bright, yet warm and cosy....maybe even a little kitsch and homemade quiltish, which is perfect!

Sweet Packages

A new Royal British Mail package arrived on Friday. Just the sight of the bag makes my heart sing. I love the mail bag almost as much as its contents. Inside was my new purchase from the Folio Society, a copy of The Secret Garden

This along with my Penguin Clothbound Classics on the same bookshelf are just too beautiful.

Now I just need to start reading......

The Beginning

So, I've spent a lot of time looking at other people's blogs and have finally decided to start my own! My photos are not going to be anywhere near as professional as other Bloggers out there, but hopefully they'll get better as I go along! Here I go....

I've been attempting crochet for the last month or so and my first project is finally starting to come together! So excited! It's a baby blanket for some friend's of ours who have had their first baby. I had planned to have it done by the time the baby arrived, but it's taking a little longer than anticipated. Just a few more rows to go and an edge and I'm done!