A little bit naughty

I know I've been remise and maybe some of you are wondering what has happened to Thrifty Tuesday. Well, I've realised that running it every week is possibly just fueling my shopaholic tendencies - not that this is bad thing when you think about the bargains and (if op shopping) giving money to a good cause.

It's a space thing. So I'm going to be a bit sporadic in my posts going forward - I'm sure those who lack a bit of self control like me (now and again...) will understand! :-) I have thrown in the little brass swan you see (hardly takes up much room now does it) on the right to make up for a recent lack of posts but this is sadly going to be the last for the year.

Have a lovely Tuesday and if you have the space keep on thrifting!
xx

Deck the halls

Beautiful decorations from here, here and here

Finders Keepers...

Just spent the better part of my morning at the bi-annual (for Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne) Finders Keepers markets. Highly recommend a visit. Here are some of the things I bought:

Lovely vintage pillow cases (which have yellow flowers all over them) from the gorgeous girls at Frankie; a beautiful lace waistcoat handmade by Melinda at Roger & Peach (I've been looking for one for ages but couldn't find one that fitted properly); and lastly vintage Christmas cards - so fun! by Leeloo.

Dear Santa...

Too funny! Available here.

Cosying up

It's definitely a time for cosying up right now. I got back from an exhausting business trip to Melbourne last night, curled up with Tears of the Girafe by Alexander McCall Smith, played some classical music and lit some candles. Bliss.

This image was taken on the new camera...

Yippee Yay!

{Image 1}

Some exciting news....We are now the proud owners of an SLR! We got it on the weekend but because we bought the lenses separately, haven't been able to use it until last night when the last lens was delivered.

I'm going to have so much fun playing around with this beauty. I've been deliberating for nearly a year about getting one (as they're such an investment), recently borrowing a friend's for a bit of time and have now, together, taken the bullet and gone for it and boy is it worth it. :-)

xx

Swallow me

Enchanting wallpapers by Frankie magazine.

I'm obsessed with these ceramic swallows in the first picture (which I use as my wallpaper) and everytime I turn on my laptop, I have the same thought: 'where do you get these from? I have a wooden one but (here's the shopaholic within) these are so pretty'.

Any ideas?

A corner of my home

Here is a corner of my home full of lovely things I have found at flea markets and op shops (in fact, I don't think I really need to keep saying this to you all as you know exactly where I buy everything - almost!).

I'm spreading out these little red flowers amongst vases to create more of a festive vibe around our home. Oh and more of my frames are finding a home on the wall in this corner. The rectangular Italian brass frame is a slightly smaller version of one I bought a few months ago (and is hanging from another wall) which helps tie in the look. Nine months ago I would never have thought to do this so big cheers for the inspirational world blogging!

No doubt I'll be changing this little corner around again in a few weeks (as I do).

Happy Monday! xx

Some lovely inspiration

From Style Me Pretty and Emily Henson.

Reminiscing

Just sitting down with my morning coffee learning that it's snowing at home and it's reminding me of our Christmas there last year. For years England missed out on having a white Christmas and then the year I go back we had the first one since I think 1992! I was so over the moon!

Here are some pics when we literally had a white out across the UK last December. Some are of the fields around where my parents live and the last two are of their garden. They live in the middle of the countryside so everything was phenomenally beautiful covered in snowflakes.

A touch of Christmas

Mr Cornflake bought me these beautiful scarlet flowers the other week. They have lasted for ages. I have a small bunch in a glass vase on my dresser too and they have turned the water red! As usual I'm terrible with names of flowers that aren't obvious to me like roses and lillies so I'm afraid I can't tell you what they are called but they seem to be in season in Australia and they are definitely adding a touch of Christmas about the place.

I've also started to hang my beaded hearts around some of my frames - not the typical Christmas decoration but I like things that are a bit different. I think when it comes to decorating at Christmas these days there are no rules and it's the time of year where you see so much creativity which is just so greatly inspiring.

This year I'm hoping to have a go at making my own wreath as we don't really have space for a Christmas tree...we'll see if it happens though! :-)

p.s. that chair on the left (which I love) I picked up for $20 on ebay. Sitting pretty next to the one on the right I picked up on the streets and painted. Who needs stores hey!

Wishing you a super duper weekend! xx

It's a beach life

My first love, Sydney.

I so, so, so love living in this amazing city it really has everything a person (i.e. me) could ever want. Sigh, I don't think I will ever get bored of living here.

When the sun is shining brightly I still feel like my weekends are holidays. Toes in the sand, looking out to sea, flanked by palm trees. Hmmm, looking forward to the weekend already :-)

Wednesday wish list ♥

Pouring over these gorgeous goodies from Rust Belt Threads - this great shop is packed full of vintage finds!

Sunshine, Books and Tea

This pretty much sums up my weekend, sunshine, books and tea (or high tea)!

The last couple of days have been wonderfully sunny so Mr Cornflake and I have been fitting in some much needed walks. I got this shot of this amazing red tree coming back from our friends' house - it looks like it's on fire!

I've also been flicking through our travel books which sit on the bottom shelf of our big bookcase...dreaming of travelling again! Wouldn't it be nice just to give up the day job without a care in the world? :)

Off for a cup of English Breakfast tea to see me through the afternoon - clearly cannot get enough of the stuff! ;-)

High Tea

A big thank you this morning to the lovely Anna from Lona de Anna for organising the most lovely get together of local bloggers over high tea yesterday!

I joined Janette from My Sweet Prints, Paula from the Little Project Room & Eggshell Blue, Alisa from Mon Alisa Design, Belinda from Cupcakes, Frocks and Pink, Simone from Honey and Fizz and we all had a wonderful time munching and chatting away.

Anna is a true sweetheart and surprised us all with the most generous Kris Kringle gifts (I got a beautiful beaded bracelet made by Mary Grace Jewellery ), cards and beautiful glass hanging stars for our Christmas trees. Bless!!

A big thank you also to the girls for taking snaps of the day and special thanks to Paula for taking this one above!

Wishing you all a great week ahead!
xx

playing with china

Playing around with some of my favourite blue and white pieces of china. I have two of each of these little dishes and yes, sadly I’m one of those people that is ‘precious’ about certain things and they aren’t used in the normal course of dining – they are purely ornamental and for me to play with :-)

When I was little, growing up in the English countryside, instead of playing with china, I used to play shop with flowers. Did anyone else do this? My friends and I would have an assortment of flowers to sell: daisies, buttercups, speedwell, mini roses, sometimes lilac and swap them with one another or pay for them with sycamore leaves – so sweet, ah those were the days!

I miss our garden at home it’s so beautiful, very green (due to all the rain) and full of life. I will show you some pictures sometime.

Wishing you a lovely day.
xx

my dressing table

This is how my dressing table looks this morning. Another old reject shade I've 'disembowled' to hang my flower hair grips on and earrings. There's no bulb in there at the moment as it's on my to do list to buy a low watt one (since there's no shade).

My collection of bowls is growing by the minute so I don't have room for much else on here like practical things: moisturiser, hairbrush, perfume, make up, handy toiletries (they're all relegated to the bathroom cabinet which is ok I think!)

I've always been like this, beauty over practicality! Are you the same?

xx

dreams

My bedside pebble of dreams :-)

If you remember one thing today, remember: You decide every moment of every day, who you are and what you believe in. You get a second chance every second.

xx

imitating life

It's been a beautiful weekend and we packed in loads despite yesterday being a complete stinker (soooo humid)!

Just some pictures today of how everything we are surrounded by, a beautiful vintage stool (I picked up at the flea markets), a paint chipped door (in a nearby suburb), is inspired and influenced by nature. And how often does a room look richer, more interesting and complete when there is a beautiful bunch of flowers or plant?

Hope you are looking forward to a wonderful new week!
xx

bits and bobs

Just a few photos of bits and bobs from my dressing table (one of which influenced my new header). Don't always have a rose (it's real) hanging from my oval frame though of course, lol, that was just for styling and taking pictures. :-)

Is anyone following Packed to the Rafters at the moment? Life is sooo precious (as if we need reminding).

Wishing you all the joy in the world today my friends.
xx

look book

Super cuteness from Jane Mount.

a lace study

Beautiful designs by Elly Nelly

Thrifty Tuesday

A beautiful pale silk rose encassed in an oval Italian brass frame. So pretty even though it's a little tired and worn.

It's sitting on my dressing table today making me smile. What is making you smile today?

xx

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a new day

It's a new day, a new week and I feel a new beginning.

Lunches with friends, beautiful walks and seeing the positive side of so much rain. What did you get up to this weekend?

xx

hunter gatherer

Ever since I was a little girl I have always loved hunting for treasures. It might have been a shell (I used to be crazy about shells when I was five), a chestnut, a beautiful flower, a friendship or love.

I've also adored hunting for pretty or interesting things for my bedroom and now as I'm older, flat.

I think the fun is as much in the journey and adventure as it is in the reward. Which reminds me of Paulo Coelho's wonderful book, The Alchemist. It's not always about getting there but finding yourself along the way.

I hope you're having a lovely peaceful Saturday as I am, hugging my coffee for warmth. Oh and my man - just got told to put that bit in!

xx

{pictures from Jimbaran, Nusa Lembongan and home - my jewellery}

floral elegance

Loving the latest collection by Fleur Wood - the epitome of feminity and elegance. Lush!

Melbourne

Some photos of my stay in Melbourne - sadly Tuesday's Melbourne Cup race day photos didn't come out very well due to all the rain, boo!

I really swooned when I saw this shadeless lamp hanging in all it’s flowery glory. It was in a quirky little café and I just had to ask if I could take a picture. The green wall below the row of pictureless frames (all along the wall) was pretty neat too.

A trip to Melbourne is never complete without seeing lots of cool street art (okay, graffiti but it's very clever) and 'holes' in the wall and inviting window displays.

Lastly this vintage car is so wonderful. I love almost all vintage cars and can never understand why manufacturers can’t make the same effort they used to. I think all cars on the road these days look the same!

Have a lovely day.
xx