Water Garden

I love the display of bright flowers in beautiful urns of water. The lotus blossoms at Thompson House in Thailand contrast so well with the turquoise amidst all the lush tropical greenery. The display of roses in the Hunter Valley Indian Mosaic Tea Garden are also lovely and welcoming at the entrance. I have been on the lookout for an urn of a similar style but have yet to find the perfect one.

Grandpa's Bicycle

My dad came over for dinner last night and brought grandpa's bicycle to give to me.  It had been stored in his garage for a while now, disused and in need of restoration.  I want to use it to ride to work next year, it is only a short ride and is perfect for a bicycle without gears.  Anton has offered to help me restore it and I can't wait to get started.

Valiant 1967

Photos from a set of 18 prints that I prepared a couple of years ago.  A conversation with Anton yesterday reminded me of the fact that I still hadn't made a decisive move to sell my 1967 Chrysler Valiant.  I bought the 'Val' at the age of seventeen and she has been one of my most prized possessions ever since.  While there are imperfections she has aged gracefully in my opinion.  One aspect which impressed my friends is that I could have easily dropped in a V8 with room to spare.  No need for oversized engines for me though, I prefer the original tempered purr.  Unfortunately, my current lifestyle does not allow me to give her the attention she needs.  Hence my decision to sell.  I hope the next owner will love her as much as I have.

Biome Display

I went past Biome today on Adelaide Street and couldn't help noticing their Christmas display. They have some beautiful things at the moment. I love the range of reclaimed timber photo frames, particularly the brightly striped ones. The colours remind me of English seaside beach huts. We found frames at the Art Centre Markets in Melbourne and saw that they are also stocked here. The recycled glass Christmas decorations are also beautiful. I must say Biome is my favourite store!

de Gournay + Anthousa

When we were trying to find wallpaper for our apartment earlier this year I was adamant that we were to find the perfect Chinoiserie print.  We most certainly did find this in de Gournay's hand-painted wallcoverings range. The London based company specialises in 18th century Chinoiserie designs.  However, we realised the panoramic nature of the designs would probably not sit well in our little apartment. Perhaps at a later stage when we have higher ceilings! I recently discovered that de Gournay has collaborated with luxury fragrance house Anthousa to create a limited edition home fragrance. Very covetable!

Top and centre image from de Gournay website of Temple Newsam and Askew designs

Bottom image from Anthousa website of Jardinieres & Citrus Tree fragrance

More Penguin Classics

The final four Penguin Classics I've been waiting for arrived last week.  Meanwhile, I've managed to read Madame Bovary and James is half way through Crime and Punishment.  On to Dorian Gray...

Chinoiserie at NGV

James and I visited the National Gallery of Victoria on Sunday.  I was very happy to discover that one of the featured exhibitions was Chinoiserie: Asia in Europe 1620-1840, having a keen interest in this particular era of design and decoration.  The display is so beautiful and is on until March 2010.  The gallery foyer is a stunning space in itself with diffuse light filtering through, intriguing hidden voids against grand spatial volumes and thoughtful use of tactile finishes conveying a sense of tonal warmth.

Flower Drum | Red Door

We want this to be our front door!  We had the opportunity to dine at Flower Drum on Saturday.  A restaurant renowned for its Cantonese cuisine.  The food and service was immaculate of course.  The glossy red door with a Chinese lattice motif caught our eye from the start. 

French and Flowers

While in Melbourne we breakfasted on chocolate and almond croissants from Laurent Boulangerie. They served coffee in fantastic glossy black facetted coffee cups with gold trim. They reminded me a little of Limoges porcelain although less fine. We wandered past Flinders Street Station where I spotted the most colourful array of flowers at a stall next to the entry. I was also very happy to spot Lindt Cafe newly opened on Collins Street where we stocked up on their french macarons. The display is just too tempting!

Powlett Street

Helen and I stayed in East Melbourne this weekend while visiting friends.  Only a short walk from the CBD with plenty of stunning turn-of-the-century terrace houses and equally well kept gardens.  We love the quiet elegance of the area as well as its leafiness.

Organic Herbs

Mum and Dad came past yesterday with a veritable armful of mint, basil and purple shiso freshly picked from their organic garden.  It's all gorgeously fresh. We're not sure how we are going to use all this mint but Pimms No.1 is coming to mind.  I'm a bit envious of my parents' green thumbs actually. Apartment living makes for difficulty with organic gardening.  Maybe I'll succumb to one of those tiered herb hanging gardens.  Coincidentally, the lemons in the background are actually from James' Mum.  Sandra has the most fantastic olive and lemon tree in her yard always bearing fruit.

A House in Design

This week I reworked the facades of a house that I had designed for some good friends of ours.  The latest changes are a vast improvement.  This house will sit on a long, thin site.  The entry is approached via a boardwalk which has a pergola overhead.  The open space living, dining and kitchen areas spill out onto a deck to the rear and along the side of the lower level.  These spaces are set down from the entry level so as to achieve higher ceilings internally and to ensure the deck floats at a comfortable height above the ground to the rear of the site.  The upper level contains generous private spaces including four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a library.

Fruit Toast

Sunday morning breakfast of the most delicious fruit toast picked up yesterday from Flour Power. That little bakery is the best kept secret in Brisbane. Although not so secret seeing every time we are there there's always a bit of a queue. Also the best strawberries as always found at Broadway markets. We've only just recently discovered this market thanks to the heads up from Anton and Oi Lai.

Spaces Between Spaces

Two little passageways between buildings of which we adore.  The first photo is the entrance of a little tea house which we came across while visiting Malacca, Malaysia.  The second appeared to lead to the entrance of a house in Kyoto, Japan.

Penguin Classics

I recently picked up my paperback copy of Thackeray's Vanity Fair only to have the cover come clean off the body. Realising it was about time I donated my collection of Penguin Classics and replaced them with hardback versions for a bit more longevity, I came across this collection of Penguin Classics re-released in Coralie Bickford-Smith designed covers. I now have six of the ten and waiting for the last four to arrive. I'm looking forwards to re-visiting some of these over the summer holidays. Nevermind the four other books I have on the go!

Little Plants

The plants my dad gave us are still small but they are coming along now.  Its good to see that we have managed to keep them happy and alive on our balcony.

Happy Hydrangea

I was walking through the Mall today running some errands when I went past Perrotts Florists and happened on this beautiful little Hydrangea.  I couldn't go past it, especially the pretty blue colour.  So I promptly brought it home.  It' s now on the balcony with our slowly growing but very happy collection of plants.

At The Lark

Earlier this week my Dad put the call out for a family catchup.  Stuart, Lachlan, Bec and Dad (Ron) met up at the local golf club for an afternoon drink before connecting up with Helen and I for dinner at The Lark; a little hangout/watering hole/casual restaurant in Paddington.  Dad had picked the restaurant.  The service was great and our waiter was decked out in an impressive vintage style.  The beauty of this outing was that we were able to give Dad a hard time about one of his previous (and very unfortunate) restaurant selections while acknowledging that he had redeemed himself tonight.  Our get togethers always seem to be a hoot one way or the other.


Image source:
http://www.visitbrisbane.com.au/Travel/Products/ProductView.aspx?id=16410

Cupcake Diary

I guess every girl goes through a cupcake phase, and for a while there I was making batches of them for every conceivable reason so that I could try out all the recipes in the various cupcake cookbooks I bought one after the other. Then I thought it might be a good idea to keep a cupcake diary so here is a selection of cupcakes I made for various afternoon teas and birthdays. I'm thankful I don't have a sweet tooth and I liked looking at them more than I enjoyed eating them. People were always glad to oblige in devouring them for me though, especially James!

The Diving-Bell & the Butterfly

For the past few months Helen and I have been fixated on our careers and our study but today it was time for some much needed us time.  We spent a good few hours reading while the sun lowered in the sky and a showery evening set in.  Helen had been recommending that I read the book 'The Diving-Bell & the Butterfly' by Jean-Dominique Bauby for a while and having now read it I can understand why.  Bauby's tale is a humbling reality check as to our mortality, a stark reminder of the fragility of our existence and of the preciousness of everyday life.  Undoubtedly worthwhile reading.