Feeling inspired...

I have finally had a brief moment to indulge in some pinterest today and boy, did I enjoy!

I haven't accessed pinterest in a couple of weeks and fear I may have been experiencing a bit of withdrawal. So many gorgeous pics and so much inspiration, my imagination has been given a kick start. Now, if only money grew on trees :)

 

 

I am currently obsessed with industrial pendant lights and have been obsessively searching for some online .... I am determined to find the perfect one for our new kitchen. How cute are these?

I love me a world map... I love this eating area, the table and chairs - less the white floorboards. As much as I love them, they would certainly send my obsessive compulsive tendencies crazy - imagine the food remnants on the floor.

The new shanty has picture rails.... lots of photos to frame, photos to develop and put up on walls.
 I can hardly wait!

 

Loving this hallway/entry way ... the lights.... that rug....
The warmth and imperfection of this room is the perfect inspiration for a family home, don't you think?

And last but not least, once again I have been searching for new hair-do inspiration. My regrowth is atrocious (again!) and my hair is so long and thick it is dread-locking (again!). You think I am joking but I can assure you that I am not. Nadine if you are reading this, sharpen those scissors and make up the bleach.... I am coming your way next week and cannot wait :)

Wait, just one more picture to torment you. Smeg, I salute you. I will probably never have a fridge like this or a cook top so pristine... but thankyou for the inspiration.

 

Have a good day lovely readers x

(as usual, click on the images for pinterest links) ....

rugs...

Another Monday is here friends and the weather here in Brisbane is perfect. Autumn in the sunshine state is heavenly and perfect for a spot of window shopping.

 

I do some of my best spending when I least expect it - are you like that? When I have cash to burn I cannot find anything to buy, but when things are a bit tight, things jump out at me begging to be purchased. Today was no exception to that rule.

 

We move into the new house in just two weeks time and one of my immediate concerns is decorating (on a budget) and trying to keep our little shanty as warm as possible in winter.

Yes, yes - I know. You live in Brisbane how cold can it get, I can hear you say. But night times can be chilly, particularly when you have cold drafts running up in between floorboards. So, the obvious solution to the problem would be to buy rugs, right? But I ask you, what makes a good rug? What about rug patterns and colours? To me, rugs are one of those purchases that you can get very wrong. Interestingly but yet not altogether surprising, most of the rugs that have caught my eye recently are a couple of thousand dollars - clearly out of our budget. Everything from Persian rugs to Kilim rugs are divine but in our household, would have food and drink spilt on it, not to mention dirty little feet and grubby little paws.

 

Photo taken with my iPhone and jazzed up with instagram.

 

This morning while wandering in Paddington with my mum, I came across this beautiful rug (above) at a shop called Les Salles. This rug is made by 'Mad Mats' (read about their story here), out of recycled material and can be used indoors and outdoors. Not only are they ridiculously soft on your feet, but have the most beautiful patterns and can be simply wiped or hosed down when dirty. This is my kind of rug. Fashionable, affordable and environmentally friendly. Needless to say this rug was purchased rather quickly. The chairs were pretty tempting too, but I showed amazing restraint. I am so excited to have made my first new house purchase :)

 I will be heading back to Les Salles to buy one more of these rugs. I also have my eye on a black and white geometric pattern rug that they have in stock. Mad Mats can also be purchased online here.

 

Are you a rug person? What floor coverings do you have in your home? If you had a choice, would you be investing in an expensive Persian rug, a piece of art or another piece of furniture? Ahhhh, such are the woes of the modern day budget conscious decorator :)

 

Another week, another book...

As usual, my week has flown by. I am not sure what I have achieved, but we have done lots of running around the garden playing with the 'da ball' and have enjoyed dancing and listening to our new favourite singer, Sarah Humphreys. One of my other achievements for this week, was finishing this book.

I was first introduced to Grace Coddington, Artistic Director of American Vogue, after watching the documentary 'The September Issue' many years ago; a documentary detailing Anna Wintour's preparations for the 2007 Fall fashion issue of American Vogue. Grace was a standout in this documentary, obviously passionate about fashion and photography, with unfailing witt and obvious generosity. I love reading books about people who are so clever and have lived such interesting lives and yet, are so completely unassuming of their talent. Grace's stories about her life, marriages, amazing places she has travelled and of course her love of fashion, have made for a great read.

I couldn't put this book down.

 

What books have you read recently? Any you can recommend? I need a good book to distract me from all the packing we need to start doing!

Easter Sunday dessert - the tale of a Victoria Sponge (warts and all)..

So, I have debated long and hard with this post.

Do I tell the real story of how this cake came together, or do I lead you all to believe that I am a modern day domestic goddess, who cares for and bakes for her family without a care in the world.

Hmmmmm tough choice... but where is the fun painting a picture of perfection right?

 

 I have long been a fan of the blog What Katie ate. I follow Katie's stories in Delicious Magazine religiously and I am a big fan of her cookbook. When I saw her recipe for this cake on her blog, I just knew I had to give it a go. My mum enthusiastically encouraged me to bring dessert for Easter Sunday lunch. When I informed my husband on the other hand that I would be making this cake, I was met with, 'Oh ... ok. Really?' My husband does enjoy my baking don't get me wrong, it is my process of baking (or lack of ) that causes him most stress or is it distress? He is a neat and orderly cook you see and I am chaotic at best. There are usually dishes and ingredients everywhere - this does include the bench top and on occasion, the floor. I try hard to be orderly but in the end, I can just never get my act together. One can't be a creative genius and tidy after all ;)

 

So admittedly like I said, I did get off to a bad start when I had to add three eggs to the cake mixture. Of course the third egg dropped fairly well shell and all into the cake mixture (I swear it practically disintergrated in my hand!), the Kitchenaid spreading shell pieces everywhere...(enter swear word here). Never fear dear readers, I remained alert (not alarmed) and started again. Here is the end result ....

 

 

In short, the cream filling didn't quite work out. The recipe said to add pouring cream to the mascarpone and stir.

 I figured this would be too runny? I deliberated as to whether I should whip the cream despite the recipe. I made the wrong decision, whipped the cream and it went a bit funky. Despite this, it still tasted pretty damned good - if I must say so myself :)

 

The chocolate Easter eggs with cheese cake filling and passionate fruit syrup for the yolk (in photo above) were made by mum - yes, they were divine. I had one, but could have quite easily eaten them all! You may laugh but back in my youth, I may have eaten an entire pack of Tim Tams in one sitting. 5 Easter eggs with cheesecake filling would be a walk in the park! :)

 

I hope you all had a relaxing Easter and that the bunny was kind to you xx