New in the shop

New in my Etsy shop this week - a little nod to yester-year...
cards, tags and crafty supplies, some of my favourite things in the world....
How darling are the girls in their white gloves, cinched in waists and a coiffed hair-do...how times have changed!

an Updated wall (on the cheap)

you can always rely on Ikea for little tweeks in home decor.
I always head on over there planning to buy one thing and end up with more things that I can carry to the register - lucky I usually have my boys with me...

Is it just me or is that you too?

I spotted these lovely 'Bird' theme postcards by Melbourne artist Kareem Rizk
- such a cheap buy at $2 for 5 cards and the frames were $3 each - such a steal!!

I thought they would look nice grouped together near the window and light...
we have a very odd set of windows - we recently got rid of the blinds so the wall feels a little bare but I love all the extra sunlight!

Avocado (ice) Cream

I've always wanted to try homemade ice-cream but most recipes ask that you churn your mixture in an ice-cream maker which I don't have,  so when I spotted this easy Avocado ice-cream recipe in the latest Coles magazine that just needed a blender and a freezer I knew I had to give it a go.
I made half the batch to test it out - I knew that the kids wouldn't eat it, they don't like Avocado at all...
Its not a healthy treat but its better than store bought ice-cream full of additives and fake flavourings.  Plus who doesnt love Avocado? Yum!
Avocado Ice-cream (makes about 500ml)
1 large ripe avocado
200g condensed milk
135ml coconut milk
Blend well in a processor and then pour into an airtight container - cover tightly and freeze for 3hrs until semi-frozen.
Eat and Enjoy!

Before...and after.
Yum!! its really creamy and satisfying!

Childhood

...Boy oh boy we've had a rough few days at my house with a nasty gastro virus finding its way in.
Neo got it first on Friday and then hubby came down with it two days later and overnight my Pete started suffering too...its exhausting and I'm hoping my immune system holds up...I need the energy to keep on top of it!
My poor little boys so lifeless and down and out, it made me realise that even though they are growing up before my eyes they still need me and want those mum cuddles and kind words especially in time of need.

How fast do kids grow up  – it’s exciting to see them change from bubs to wobbly toddlers to little boys and now Preteens but it also saddens me to know they will soon be looking back onto their 'childhood' instead of being in the moment of it...
I do love that my boys faces still light up with excitement when they spot a rainbow after a sun shower and we always have lots of giggles when they attempt to blow a chewing gum bubble – no luck there yet....but I know this age of innocence will change soon...for now I just want to bottle it up and keep it with me a little longer.

As a parent we try to install excitement in our kids, we want to create happy moments, treat them to lavish birthday parties and special gifts hoping to ensure they don't miss out on anything good and that all the memories are beautiful ones.
When I think of my own childhood I remember snippets of everyday life ...
It’s the little moments that make the big picture.
Moments like my Grandmother drawing for us, dancing with us...my mother gently taking out a splinter from my thigh (...it hurt so much and she bought me a whistle lollipop for being so brave ), Saturday morning shopping trips with a promised stop at the bakery for éclairs, colouring inside the lines with such neatness being such an acheivement.  The Summer of '79 and my new
roller-skates...rolling around our tiny concrete back garden...my dad patiently teaching us multiplication tables...
Moments of wonder and adventure or quiet times playing with my dolls and my imagination. ...for me these flashes of those early years are precious but they are certainly not extravagant moments.
Such a happy stable childhood - I was very lucky.

If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older.

Images
Top by Hulahoop Photography
and bottom via Desire to Inspire by Tara Pearce for Est Magazine 

more Little Kid images via my Pinterest 

Flower Bomb!

a little crafty challenge this afternoon  - turn a fashion page to a Greeting card...all inspired by flowers!

J.Crew catalogues are fantastic! I bought a few back from my trip to the USA earlier this year...gorgeous 'classic  with a twist' styling!
This clutch bag is super colourful and floral designs always make me smile!

Greeting card in my shop now.

top image via J.Crew

Etsy picks of the Week: Monotone

After the recent fads of ombre and colour blocking, Monotone now seems to be the trend of the day ...but did it ever really go away?
Im loving this crisp palette of black, white and silver gray for this super cool
work space - its the perfect inspiration for my Monotone Etsy picks of the week

Top image via
Bodie and Fou * aquamarine ring by JamieJoFisher * vintage nature book by MousetrapVintage * dont grow up print by Vapor.Qualquer *
Good Morning New York skirt by Marinaasta *
Sterling star necklace by
foxandthefawn * Leather pouch by CosmosBits

Styling a mantel

Ive been pouring over images of fireplaces and mantels getting inspired and trying to decide what kind of look I want to go for when styling my own mantel.
I bought this beautiful print from Cozamia - I wanted to add some girly colour into the room.  I decided to flip the print horizontally because my wooden mantel is quite long in length.
I had a bit of brain fog the other day during a quick visit to Ikea – I needed to buy a frame for the new print but felt a little stumped with the measurements...when I got back home, I was way off - the frame I bought was huge!  I tried to blame the measuring tape and not my brain but I tried it out  and think it will work as long as I can get a mat board to fit...I'll get there eventually!


So back to the mantel...I think I want the art print to be the focus and I do love the minimal look of the mantels in the images below - I might add a couple of other layers - a small potted plant or decorative pieces, maybe another photo but and once its ready I promise to take some pics to share with you all!

*images Top & bottom via bhg.com   Middle collage via Southern Living and Emily Henderson

Style it Up: Chambray + Skirt

Last year I blogged about the versatile chambray shirt...
This Spring, I'm still looking forward to styling it up and wearing my shirt often during the warmer Spring days ahead.
I even love this look for work - who said denim is for 'casual days' only?
What are you looking forward to wearing in the new season?

* images Top via GoChicorGoHome and bottom via PinkPeonies

Giddy Up!

Last Saturday I spent a few hours at Megan Morton's 'The School' at the 'Horses Birthday Fete' Sydney is so lucky to have such an awesome venue like 'The School' ... interesting creative classes, clever teachers and Megan Morton is such a wonderful host!
it was even more special as I had organised to meet Mel there - I've been a reader of Mel's blog, 'Armoire, Pegs and Casserole' for a while now and so when I heard she was in town visiting family, it was a perfect chance to catch up!
It's always nice to meet a blogger in real life - Mel was so warm and lovely just like I imagined she would be!
It was great to talk about the blogging world, blog schedules and bounce off ideas, we're both so happy to be part of the blogging community that's for sure.
...So back to the 'Horses Birthday Fete' - such a visual treat!
The goods on offer were fantastic - James Gordon's paper sculptures were so beautiful - this is the paper chandelier he created for the event.
Beautiful linens and art prints, patterned cushions and lovely Home Decor.

I adored Sylvie's stall 'The Lost & Found Dept' so many lovely things from yesteryear styled beautifully...I loved Sylvie's world map skirt so much that I asked if I could photograph her!

* pics by me including  a quick selfie of Mel and I*

Sunday night Inspiration: a Greenhouse Garden

 I think Im yearning for
Springtime.
Winter in Australia is always mild and hasn’t been too bad so far, I’ve hardly take my  wool coat out of the wardrobe actually – its been quite pleasant.

Still, when I see such wonderful images like these I cant wait for Spring and the anticipation of a new season, warmer weather, being outdoors, eating outdoors, blooming flowers …lovely!

I had such a great weekend!

I caught up with my blogging friend Mel and it was so great to finally meet in person!  

We visited Megan Morton’s ,

‘The School’ for the

Horse Birthday Fete – was so fun and I took so many photos…I’ll be blogging about it this week!

Saturday night I had a work function so a great chance to doll up and have a glamorous night out - was a wonderful event but made me realise I really can't handle late nights anymore...I had a good sleep in this morning so I shouldn't really complain!

Hope you ALL have a great start to your week!


Images
top via FloretFlowers blog
bottom via
Livet Hemma
more Garden inspiration here 

Vignettes in everyday life...

Hello August (wow August already?!)
Hope you all had a great week...tonight has been a very quiet night in for us, lots of lounging around with my boys doing absolutely nothing but chilling...
I spotted on Instagram yesterday that Jen's 7 Vignettes challenge is on again - they are already onto Day 2 of the challenge so I decided to join in...
sometimes I just need that push to be creative but its always fun to see what people come up with and how they interpret each theme..
The themes this round are,
1/ Tea or Coffee
2/ Bedside
3/ Window
4/ Elegant
5/ Monochrome
6/ Emotional
7/ Handmade
you can follow me on Instagram to see my Vignettes or you can play along too , the tag is #7Vignettes

I've also started a 'Vignette' board over on Pinterset - these beautiful images are from my board and totally inspire me!
I love fresh, uncluttered home decor ...who wouldnt?
some days I get frustrated with my own home decor and surroundings but with small changes and tweaks we can
de-clutter or find a new place for something special.... creating Vignettes is the perfect way to get out of the home style rut.

Images: Top via Tidningenlantliv
Bottom via Grey&Scout
Middle via Suratanten blog
and in my Pinterest board

Chunky Chicken soup

A little over indulging in the eating department lately has led me to make this week a ‘Clean’ eating week. Nothing processed or too heavy... a chance to give my digestive system a little break.
Last year I did a Cleanse for 3 weeks so I thought a few days this time can't be that difficult.  I decided not to cut out my tea and coffee though...as long as I'm eating light, fresh and foods packed with goodness Im happy with that plus tea and coffee have antioxidants right? (right!)

Eating well does take some planning ahead but its really not that hard…Ive made this delicious ‘Chicken and brown rice’ soup a few times now, since discovering it on Gwyneth’s Goop blog – its really tasty and simple enough plus it’s so filling and keeps you satisfied until the next meal!
Once the vegies are chopped and the chicken browned, you just add the stock, rice and come back to it every 15mins for a good stir...45mins later you have a really tasty, yummy, healthy soup!

Postcard Swap - Week 3

Here is my Postcard for week 3 of the postcard swap - the theme was 'Colour'.
I pulled out my washi tapes, 'hello' stamp and paper scraps and quickly created a this postcard!
I guess it could have been a little more colourful but I left it as is...sometimes I think less is more!

The postcard swap has finished now - one more postcard to share so I will do my best to blog my 'Beauty' postcard this week!

Next, I think Id like too start an Art Journal - I've been pining on my
 'Art Journal and pages' pinterest board - people are so clever and the pages so inspiring!!

Creative collaboration

During the recent Blogsociety event, Sally, Suzanne and I were chatting how we hardly find time to work on personal projects or to just create, experiment and play with our crafty tools – no restrictions, no boundaries – just inspiration!

…and so an idea was planned and a little collaboration discussed!!

Sally put together a colour story on her blog ( you can see it here ) and this was a prompt for me to create something - she did warn me that Id find the colours a little tricky since she knows I love soft, muted tones.

I started...and stopped - stuck! Suzanne suggested I was thinking about it too much and she was right so I then delved into my box of vintage papers and set out to create a collage.

Inspired by Randel Plowman and his wonderful wonderful book 'The Collage Workbook', I used one of his techniques and this is what I made...

I then cut the collage in half and created two Greeting cards... Paris vs Australia!
What do you think?  too safe?
too boring?  too weird looking? ...its funny that it still has a soft tones even though the chosen colours are quite bright?...anyway it was fun to play with paper!
Suzanne - you're next!!!

a post for France....

Happy Bastille Day
When I started highschool many years ago,  I was so excited to be enrolled in French class.
We had a kooky French teacher who was a little eccentric - her accent was very heavy and for an hour she spoke little English to ensure we'd follow on and learn to speak French - the three years that I had her for French, she'd let us celebrate Bastille Day and would always bring flaky pastries and delicious croissants to class!
....I dreamed of Paris and France and couldn't wait to visit!
Here is my take on 'French style' today ...a little red white and blue!
Viva la France

*images Top via TreatsSF, photo collage by me - images
Edith Miller, Lisa Cohen for Homelife, OnceWed and bottom by Phil Poynter

Catherine - Elle est Cool!

Im going to have a little French inspired weekend on my blog, being Bastille Day in France tomorrow...a little French finesse all around!

French Style icon, Catherine Deneuve continues to inspire...still a fashion muse to many designers, she's a classique beauty and ...one cool blonde!

her 60's look was always minimal makeup (freckle love!) with lined eyes (always!) and neutral lips! She loved a playful up do that continues to inspire today!

elle est Cool!

a Girl called Veronica ...

Lets head on over to Las Vegas today to meet Veronica!

I've been blog friends with Veronica for a few years now and I was so happy to finally meet her during my stay in Las Vegas this past March.
She's so lovely - I wish I had more time to hang out and chat. 
Veronica is the founder of
Nostalgia Resources, a vintage rental and styling company that can help create unique and beautiful settings for any function or event! 

Welcome Veronica!  Can you tell us what is currently inspiring you?
I am always inspired by old/vintage things, their stories, texture, shape and colours.  Flowers are also so inspiring to me, they make everything more beautiful.
It is summer here, so when it comes to clothes i am inspired by bright colours.  
Magazines, books and pinterest inspire me too! oh, and i am also inspired by other women with a strong sense of style.

What 3 things you couldn't live without right now?   
My car (couldn't transport furniture for my business without it), my handbag (i throw everything in there), my styling kit for photo shoots (scissors, tape, twine, etc.)

 Can you define to us your personal style?

Bohemian with a touch of preppy.

What is your favourite colour (or colour combinations)? 

oh so hard! 
i always love aqua, and if it comes with a little patina, even better!

Do you have a favourite smell?

Gardenias and any other sweet flower smell.

What do you love about your City? 

I love that I live very close to the desert, it took me a while but now i can see how beautiful it is (and it photographs so well!)

Do you have a favourite quote you'd like to share with us?

"creativity is intelligence having fun" -  Albert Einstein

To see more of what Veronica does at Nostalgia Resources head on over to her website ,
her blog  , facebook page and instagram

all images via 
Nostalgia Resources