Pumpkin Orange

In honour of all things Halloween...

...pumpkin orange images.

If you are celebrating...enjoy!

x

pics from here,here,here and here

For the love of Jane...

Is it wrong to love a place so much based on its connection to one of my favourite authors? Although my family is English, I have absolutely no connection to Bath, yet it is one of my all-time favourite places. Perhaps it was inspired by my love of Jane Austen.

I discovered Jane at a young age, and risked social suicide as a teenager by carrying not just a small paperback novel in my schoolbag, but the whole hardback collected works. (Oh dear!)

On a visit to Bath I ditched my husband and children, and spent two happy hours at the Jane Austen Centre (again...oh dear!)

Jane has been with me for over half my life. Sadly, I have neglected her recently. Real life has got in the way of parties with the militia, walks in the countryside and visits to Bath.

I think this weekend it is time to dust off my collected works and catch up with old friends.

x

pics via me

Find the Jane Austen Centre here.

Loving the nook.

I'm not sure that we have embraced the breakfast nook as much as we could here in Australia. How wonderful to have a dedicated space for a leisurely breakfast.

Tuck it away with its own garden view...

...or give it pride-of-place in the kitchen.

This is gorgeous in its quaintness, recalling the intimacy of a caravan holiday.

A perfectly nook-sized space.

Gotta love the nook.

x

pics (from top to bottom) from here, here, here, here and here.

A little bit of frivolity...

I'm not sure what I would do with all of these gorgeous Recycled Felt Food Sculptures from British Cream Tea. Perfect, of course, for children to delight in, but can a grown-up justify such frivolity?

Absolutely. Use it in a retro-inspired collection, displayed with aplomb on your old kitchen dresser.

Hard to choose a favourite, but I love the Blackpool Rock.

Check it out at All Things Original.

Happy Wednesday.

x

Birthday Cupcakes

In honour of my baby's birthday...cupcakes. What more could a twelve year old girl-about-town want?

Happy Birthday beautiful girl.

x

pics and recipes from the fabulous Martha

Monday Morning...

Monday morning...and what I really want to do is stay in bed. If only real life would take a backseat for a while...

Have a delightful Monday, and, if you're lucky enough to have had a sleep-in, I hope it was wonderful.

x

pics via Country Living

100 steps... and the first of the Springtime Face Lift

Every weekend begins for us at our local patisserie. It is a ritual that has become part of the fabric of our life. Our patisserie is simple in its magnificence. No pretension, no fuss, just pastries that speak for themselves. Yesterday, when I walked there to buy this Frangipani Tart for afternoon tea, I happily discovered it is 100 steps from my front porch to the local patisserie. (And no, I am not suffering from a compulsion to count my steps, I was just curious...truly)

The Springtime Face Lift has begun. Now I know that it is almost cheating to start with the dining table, but I'm easing myself into it (i.e. being lazy).

Lemons via my sister's tree (they make fantastic lemonade).

My own candlesticks (via Freedom a few years ago)

Vase via Trilogy, one of my favourite places. It was a housewarming gift that has been tucked away in a cupboard for a while.

Funny how old things can seem new again simply by dusting them off and using them in a different way.

x

pics my own, but find Freedom here and Trilogy here.

A Face Lift (no botox required)

via here

I can't believe it's taken me this long to find Hooked on Houses. It was one of those happy accidents - from one blog to the next and then...voila. If you haven't already been there (and you probably have - I'm possibly the last person to discover it), it's written by Julia, who clearly loves all things home.

Julia's most recent post talks about decorating her home for the change of season. She has some really simple suggestions and lovely pics of her latest Autumnal additions.

Julia...you have inspired me. I feel a project coming on (insert eye-rolls and groans from my family here). I'm wondering if it's possible to give my home a Springtime face lift, southern hemisphere style. And the challenge, with sustainability and my budget in mind, will be to give this little house a lift using what I already have, or what I can pick-up second hand. Now I haven't really got a plan, and there are certain constraints with the colour scheme (for example I don't think the obvious Springtime pink-and-green combination will work with my red and white striped wing-back chair), but I'm prepared to give it a go. Some inspiration above and below...

via here

via here

via here

via here

via here

Apologies for the self-indulgence...

via here

I stumbled across these pics recently of the Thursday Flower Market in Florence. It made me think about our own holiday in Italy. So, apologies for the self-indulgence, but I'm shamelessly showing you my happy snaps.

Ponte Vecchio in Florence, my all-time favourite city.

Replica of the Statue of David, overlooking Florence. We passed this on a cheesy hop-on-hop-off bus tour.

The Colosseum.

Making a wish at the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

The sights of Venice.

Gorgeous Amalfi...

I think it must be time to book our next holiday.

Have a beautiful weekend x