Purple Hydrangeas

We visited Sandra and Wayne on Saturday for belated birthday celebrations.  We picked up a lovely pot of flowering hydrangea for Sandy's garden.  The bright purple colour was certainly attention grabbing at the florist.  Hopefully they will thrive and be a source of fresh cut flowers when next in season.  For lunch we enjoyed fresh barbecued salmon with roasted vegetables followed by Sandy's famous chocolate cake.  I must ask for the recipe next time.  Happy birthday Sandy!

Peony Season

This weekend has been the first one in a long time we could both enjoy without deadlines looming large.  We took advantage of every moment to catch up with friends and family.  The day started with a morning run along the river with a couple of friends from work followed by brunch.  We then headed out to enjoy barefoot bowls under sunny skies and invited friends over for afternoon drinks.  Homemade lemonade is always a favourite.  James bought me beautiful pink peonies.  They are so luxurious to have as the season is so short.  I wish they were always available!

Weekend Colour

I am not averse to a cheerful bunch of flowers care of the supermarket, especially when the whole bunch only cost $10!  I always find it uplifting to have an abundance of fresh flowers in the apartment and whether they are from the market flower stalls, a couple of bunches from the local drug store pulled apart, a beautifully curated bouquet from the florist, or a big mix on special at the supermarket, flowers are beautiful no matter where they are from.

Darling Dahlia

Last evening James and I arrived back in Brisbane after three intensive days of work up on the Sunshine Coast.  It was overcast and rainy most of the time but the landscape was beautifully green as a result of all the rain.  The views out towards the misty hinterland was very atmospheric.  The rain stopped long enough for me to quickly take a snap of this lovely Dahlia I came across.  Its bright fuschia colour was so astonishing in the grey weather.  This one is yet to open up completely with all its petals and will no doubt look even more glorious.  Dahlias are definitely one of my favourite flowers.

Tennis & Roses

A lovely friend of mine invited us to catch up with her and her husband over a game of tennis and a glass of Pimm's.  I'm a total novice but we were lucky enough to be able to play at her childhood home's grass court. It rained a little during our game but we managed to avoid getting drenched to finish our doubles game.  Enough said I need a lot more practice!  The beautiful Queenslander style home also has lovely grounds and some beautiful blooms were out in the rose garden.  I couldn't resist taking some snaps of all that colour as well the pretty lavender.

Market Flowers & Penan Baskets

The Powerhouse markets were on yesterday but we only just managed to get there before the stalls started to pack up at midday.  I arrived back from my monthly work stint in Adelaide at midnight on Friday so I slept past my usual up-and-at-it time.  Saturday was a glorious day in Brisbane and after we picked up all the fruit, vegies and flowers we needed I convinced James I needed to quickly dash in to Black + Spiro to check out their annual much anticipated sale.  Obviously 12.30pm was after the fact as the place was almost completely emptied with SOLD stickers on practically everything.  I was happy with my market flowers anyway. The pressed glass goblets in the photo I picked up from a Paddington thrift store last Saturday for a couple of dollars each... my thrifting for the week!

I finally got around to hanging up the Penan rattan baskets Angela gave me from her trip to the jungle villages in Borneo.  They are so very beautifully made, all naturally dyed and hand woven.  I love them too much to use them for anything but display!  The Penan use them for carrying everyday items and for gathering food from the jungle.  We had a look at the possibility of setting up a fair trade scheme to import these baskets for sale in Brisbane but it looks like it's not going to be the simplest thing. I think they would definitely sell very well seeing they are just lovely...

Friday Lilies

Or rather last Sunday's lilies from afternoon tea... but they've opened up so beautifully that I just had to take a few photos to remember them by.  The weather has been cool over the last week so hopefully we'll be able to enjoy them for a little longer yet.  The lilies in the last photo are from Caroline and I love them in the cloisonné vase given to me by my mother.  Happy weekend!

Picnic & Vacy Hall

It has been a hectic two weeks and once again the weekend is upon us.  Last weekend James and I made a trip up to Toowoomba to attend Lachlan and Bec's engagement picnic.  Perfect weather made for a very enjoyable afternoon in the park. We stayed overnight at Vacy Hall and just loved this historic mansion full of nostalgic grandeur. I had to snap some of the details to remember it by. The expansive verandahs furnished with an abundance of cane and rattan furniture were just beautiful as were the hydrangea at every turn. A perfectly set breakfast on the verandah with silver and linen was an indulgent start to Sunday morning.

Pride of Madeira

In keeping with the spirit of Spring here is another flower themed post.  A recent blog on absolutely beautiful things reminded me to post up this image of Echium candicans, otherwise known as Pride of Madeira.  We saw these at the end of the bridge leading into the botanic gardens in Melbourne and was captured by their vibrancy and form. I'm wondering if they might do well on a balcony...

Pink Blossoms

Yesterday we attended the Wishlist Foundation's Spring Carnival Gala at the Novotel Twin Waters Resort on the Sunshine Coast.  Our Director sponsored a table at the event and James and I were lucky enough to be invited along to mingle with our clients.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take the camera to photograph all the beautiful people in their racing attire  and millinery as well as the lovely event setting!  We were invited to take the flowers home at the end so I was happy to bring some of these pink blossoms back.  I'm not sure what they are called so if anyone knows, please enlighten!

The event raised $100,000.00 this year for the purpose of creating a separate paediatric emergency unit at Nambour Hospital.  Silent auctions of various indulgent items ensured much interest in bidding.  James managed to win a Mor cosmetics package for me which I'm looking forwards to indulging in. 

The special guest was former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins and believe it or not our Director won best dressed male and collected his gift on stage in front of 600 people, was asked to saunter down the catwalk with and received a kiss from Miss Hawkins!  However, in my opinion James was of course the best dressed male in his perfectly tailored Zegna suit.

Orchid in Bloom

Spring is well and truly here and I have been so excited by the prospect of our orchid coming into bloom.  It would seem that even on a small city balcony anything is possible... well, at least I can say I don't totally have a brown thumb!  This plant was given to us by Geneve and Joe last year and has flourished to my surprise given the often times harsh conditions up on our floor.  These are the first lot of flowers we've had and it looks like there will be another six blooms counting the remaining buds that are yet to open.  They are so very lovely! 

Daffodil Day

Yesterday was Daffodil Day for the Cancer Council.  It's an annual fundraising event for cancer research and support services.  Walking to work through the inner city every major intersection was set up with beautiful flower stalls abundant with tubs of these bright sunny blooms.  I picked up my bunch and had them at my desk all of yesterday before bringing them home.  It is such a wonderful, simple idea for a worthy cause and it just lifted my spirits to cross paths with the myriad of black and grey clad city workers carrying their bunch of these happy flowers.

Friday Flowers

Stanton gave me the most enormous bouquet of flowers yesterday as a belated birthday gift.  Unexpected but very welcome for the weekend.  The bouquet was beautiful but so large that I realised upon arriving home we had no vase large enough to accommodate it!  Hence, I broke the bunch up and dispersed the blooms through our apartment.  I thought it was a shame to break them up at first but it does look so lovely with flowers everywhere.

Tea and Roses

Dad and Leonie popped in yesterday for a brief catchup over carrot cake and tea.  This arrangement of red, pink and pale yellow roses was perfect accompaniment.  They brightened up our apartment on a squally afternoon.  Dad brought us another little plant for our balcony. This one is a miniature jade plant which looks very happy in its little pot.  No doubt I will be showing it off soon!

Happy Valentine's

James gave me these long stemmed roses for St Valentine's Day.  I love the foliage and berries complimenting this stunning dozen.  I'm thinking of taking them to work tomorrow so that I can enjoy them during the day.  How spoilt!

Carnation Moment

I've never been a huge fan of carnations but ever since watching Picnic at Hanging Rock again I'm definitely having a carnation moment particularly with spray carnations displayed in ginger jars.  Somehow they are so much more appealing against the blue and white.  These red-tipped blooms are especially lovely.

Desert Rose in Bloom

Our Desert Rose is currently in full bloom.  Apparently our plant is doing particularly well.  After seeing ours my Dad said that he will move his plant to a similar spot to see if it decides to flower as well.  Perhaps even after years of city living, Helen has a green thumb.  Perhaps I do too!  Pretty.

Ginger Jars

As posted earlier I found these vintage ginger jars as I was wondering through some of Brisbane's antique centres.  I decided to display a festive arrangement of red and white blooms with lots of green foliage in the large jar.  It reminds me of my favourite opening sequence in Picnic at Hanging Rock in which the girls at Appleyard College are waking up on the ill-fated St Valentine's Day.  There is a large blue and white ginger jar on the mantlepiece in Miranda's bedroom with an arrangement of red carnations.  Very romantic and lovely.

Purple by the Terrace

Speaking of bold colour... I am still trying to find out what the name of this plant is.  I'll bet my Dad knows.  Anyway, I took this photograph a few years back while living in Herston.  The shrub was located by the terrace off my living room and had always thrived.  Bright and bold.

Update: thanks to Dad we now know that this plant is called Geisha Girl.  He happens to have one in his backyard.

Pretty Peonies

Afternoon tea with Anton and Oi Lai yesterday and brunch with Anca and Michael today, lots of mahjong in between. Picked up these beautiful peonies yesterday to brighten up our apartment. Peonies must be one of my favourite flowers with their large fluffy blooms and uplifting colour. They were the flowers of choice on the cover of the recently published tome from Saskia Havekes of Grandiflora fame. That book is definitely on my must purchase list.