Lemons!

This morning Dad sent me this photo of his new Mandevilla Parfait climber and his fruit bearing lemon tree.  Our lemon tree purchased at the same time is a sorry sight compared with his!

Bangalow Breakfast

I love Bangalow for its cute shops and great little eateries.  We stopped in first thing Easter Sunday for breakfast at Ate.  It's simple wood toned interior littered with my current fave CH24 Wishbone chairs appealed to me immediately and it happened that I had recently read in Map magazine about its highly commended sister restaurant Satiate co-located upstairs.  We only managed to try Ate but it was well worth the early morning queue for the most perfectly poached eggs on sourdough.  James had sausages which sparked a week long craving.

My Val

Currently searching for parts...  These are some more photos (taken a few years back) which really appeal to me.  I like the grit factor.

Up All Night

Today I rediscovered Up All Night,  an album which has sat in my CD stack for six years or so.  I had forgotten how much I really like this album.  A well balanced modern jazz fusion record.  This would have been my first Scofield purchase having been introduced to his music by Dave during our threeminorgroove days.

Simple Pasta

Helen popped down to the Powerhouse markets with Caroline this morning to stock up on some fresh produce.  Meanwhile I caught up on some sleep... We had been out until the wee hours last night to see Andy Cato's DJ set at The Met...  Tonight's dinner featured my favourite fettuccine pasta.  We dressed the pasta with today's basil, tomato, zucchini, red onion, garlic and a touch of cream.

Byron Getaway

Easter long weekend had us planning a quiet few days relaxing at home and catching up with friends.  However, all that went out the window on Saturday when Caroline suggested we catch up in Byron Bay where her and Vini were staying for the duration.  Hence at the last minute we booked in to the Summerhouse and headed off first thing Sunday morning.  Breakfast at Bangalow at Ate and a wander through the cute boutiques was followed by a side trip to Lennox Head for lunch and a walk along the beach.  The afternoon was spent lazing about on the daybed by the pool overlooking the beautiful view across the hinterland and the bay with Easter eggs and bubbly.  Sunday cloudy weather cleared up and  we awoke to perfect beach weather.  We made our way over to Wategos Beach for the day to visit Caroline and Vini at their family beach house and spent the afternoon in the sun and surf.  It's amazing how a couple of days by the ocean is always so invigorating.

Brazilian Chocolates

My favourite Brazilian chocolates!  Caroline and Vini brought us back a large assortment of these on their recent trip to Brazil.  They have praline centres with a wafer shell covered in chocolate and fantastic fun packaging.  Very tasty!

Easter Treats

Ange popped in this morning for another of our delectable morning teas.  Today's treats included hot crossed buns, easter themed cupcakes, rocky road, chocolate eclairs, easter eggs and easter bunnies accompanied by stockholm blend tea.  Although we didn't get a chance to touch the bunnies for having sampled all of the other delicious items.  Catching up with an overly indulgent morning tea has become a bit of a tradition with Ange over the past year.  Hopefully a tradition that will continue!

Design Classics

High on my design classics wish list at the moment would have to be the Warren Platner designed dining table and the Hans Wegner CH24 Wishbone chair.  I love the chair for it's classic mid-century Danish design inspired from traditional Chinese Ming chairs. The Bertoia chairs are also hard to go past.  So many chairs, so little time!

image source:

http://furniture-bagus.blogspot.com

http://blueantstudio.blogspot.com

Ivy Birdcage

I have yet to find the perfect vintage Chinese bamboo birdcage but in my searching I came across this brass one.  It has a lovely simple shape with some nice details.  We picked up some ivy last weekend on a wander through a bayside nursery and wound the foliage around the birdcage to green it over.

Mocha Jaffa Cupcakes

I made these chocolate coffee cupcakes to take to Caroline and Vinnie's Brazilian barbeque this weekend.  The barbeque is being held to celebrate Vinnie's birthday so these were made to match Caroline's blue and red picnic theme.  They're not particularly Brazilian but hopefully they will be a hit!  Pale blue vanilla buttercream icing topped with Jaffas.  I photographed them on a lovely cake platter Leonie gave me last Christmas.

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!

Tracy Glover Lamps

               

I first came across Tracy Glover's blown glass lamps on Anthropologie.  The artist utilises Venetian glass blowing techniques.  The array of delicate jewel like colours inject a wonderful vibrancy to interior spaces.  I would love to eventually acquire a few from Glover's collection.

Bawa Landscapes and Courtyards

Ever since discovering Geoffrey Bawa's work I have found his architecture, interiors and landscapes continually fascinating.  Bawa was not only an architect of enormous talent and insight working in the tropical Asian context, but also meticulously designed the extensive landscapes and gardens surrounding his buildings down to the placement of every exact type of plant. The courtyard houses Bawa is most well known for continue to be relevant in the contemporary context of our desire to merge the line between the internal and external.  Bawa's interiors were no less meticulous with every item envisaged down to the last detail.  His drawings are artworks in themselves and a testament to his attention to detail as well as his grand vision and love for the Ceylonese landscape.


Image source: 
www.geoffreybawa.com

Music Matters

Again this duo features on my current listening list...  Music Matters is far more pop than previous dZihan & Kamien records.  Without having seen their name on the cover I wouldn't have recognised it as being d&K.  Having said that, it is still crafted with the same goodness.  dZihan & Kamien have successfully crossed into the mainstream pop song realm and for me this album will stay fresh for a long while.  Thanks Anton.

New Lamps

I came across these lamps while having a wander through Teneriffe on Sunday.  We hadn't managed to find any vintage lamps that were suitable after looking for several months and I finally resigned myself to purchasing new ones as I just miss reading in bed too much!  These have a combination of solid wooden cylindrical base segments with discs of clear perspex interspersed on a brushed stainless steel post.  I love the burnt red colour of the fabric shade.  They are larger than I originally envisaged for the room but they've proven to cast an excellent quality of ambient light in the room and light up the wallpaper beautifully.  I'm looking forwards to snuggling up in bed with a book more and more as the weather hopefully cools.

Moreton Bay and Islands Discovery Centre

This week I visited the site for a proposed environmental learning centre.  While discussing the brief with colleagues I was reminded of a design concept which I worked on this time last year; a Moreton Bay and Islands Ecological Discovery and Information Centre combined with a refurbished public swimming pool.  The site was the existing Manly Baths beside the Moreton Bay Trailer Boat Club at the Manly Marina.  The above design was developed in collaboration with Lucy Jeffries, Matteo Dalla Valle and Oliver Barker.

Another Drum Stool

Although seemingly we are fast running out of clear floor space, I couldn't go past the opportunity to acquire this second vintage Chinese garden stool.  Similar to the first purchase it is also in my favourite blue and white style ceramic.  This one is lovely with its gold highlights and peony and bird motifs.  This is likely to be the last garden stool purchase for a while but I have offered to continue to keep an eye out for Oi Lai which I admit is probably really an excuse to keep looking for them.  They are just too attractive!  

Island Escape

A refreshing getaway to cap off summer.  We escaped to Couran Cove on South Stradbroke Island for a few days after a busy start to the year.  Despite our misgivings the weather held up during our stay for us to enjoy long days at the beach.  Upon arrival we hopped on a couple of bicycles and made our way across the island through native bush tracks to the sandy dunes flanking the ocean.  Diving into the cool waves and going for runs along miles of deserted beach it certainly felt like a seachange given the bustling city surrounds that form the backdrop of everyday life.  In the evenings we enjoyed sumptuous dinners by the marina watching the sun set over the cove.  The perfect place to relax with Campari and soda and a good book.