September 25, 2011

birthday brunching.


a couple of weeks back i met some of my favourite ladies for my birthday brunch at dandelion & driftwood. it's a favourite place of mine and with a menu that reads whoopie pies, candyfloss cupcakes and some of the best coffee blends around, it was a no brainer. it was a beautiful but breezy morning and of course i brought my favourite photographer along to snap some of the decadence. just a heads up that i couldn't resist posting a bucket load, so be prepared. thank you to my beautiful girls that made it that day, and to those who couldn't be there (because of work, london or paris commitments), you were there in spirit. these photos help explain why i think my 28th year could quite possibly turn out to be the best one yet. have a lovely week.



blue skies and a cloud.

tied up with a bow.

blueberry & banana bread.

macaron, cloud & a peanut butter whoopie. perfect?

this didn't last long.

wine & cappuccinos.

driftwood blend in my belly.

the beautiful vanessa.

alithea being all gorgeous.

anyone for a manwich?

sweetness.

morgan, my blonde bombshell.

leo, entertaining the ladies.

my beautiful jenn.

keep 'em coming.

me and the new bub in town and his gorgeous mama, barbara.

she's a rockstar.

presents!

my cloud bestie. x

birthday girl macarons!

ash & katie.

gallery girls.

who ate all the cake?



September 24, 2011

hummingbirds & hibiscus


all sorts of birthday preparations are underway today. it's beeeautiful outside which means when i finish being all crafty and wrapping delicious presents, i'm going to laze about outside on the daybed and finish pia's book. it only took me an hour to pack my suitcase and everything seems to be coming together in time for my departure to the land of cocktails, sunshine and hula girls. i'm off next week for a family holiday in hawaii to celebrate my mum's 60th birthday. it has also been close to 10 months since i last saw my m&d, so the excitement is mounting. my polkadot swimsuit is ready for days of beaching and pool frolicking and my pretty summer dresses are ready for some seafood/cocktail behaviour when the sun goes down. i'm going to post a couple of yummy tropical themed recipes for you before i leave and even though there will be no thrifting whilst i'm away, i'm sure the souvenirs i pick up should entertain you when i return. i hope you're having an equally delicious saturday, i've included a few treasures that have been picked up on my opshopping adventures. on another lovely note, my beautiful friend libby gave birth to a gorgeous baby girl on wednesday morning. i could not be more happy for her. i was secretly wishing it would be a girl, and little harper grace must have heard my prayers. expect some baby posts to come as we continue to assemble her welcome to the world package for when i visit her in november, love! have a great weekend, get out in the sunshine and pop the kettle on...or a cocktail, if you fancy getting your hawaii on. xo



the milk glass lampshade that i'll be turning into a large vase/bowl full of pretty flowers.

ummm, retro kitchen wallpaper? utter perfection in my books.

grabbed a roll of this beauty and have many artworks in mind.

bless, indeed. the new home for all of my vintage greeting cards.

check out the colours of those napkin rings (that remind me so much of my nanna) and biscuit tin detail.


September 18, 2011

sunday mail.


now, i'm no stranger to pretty things in the mail. the majority of the time it's from a well known criminal that has been known to raid the bank accounts of many late night online shoppers (i'm talking to your mr. ebay) or gorgeous cards/pressies from my mama, but she doesn't take money from me in exchange for vintage florals. even with mail from ebay, i always know what's going to end up in my mailbox (when i don't forget about it and then it feels like my birthday!) so when i was given the heads up that a package of opshopped goodness (not chosen by me) was heading my way, i got a little apprehensive. was i going to love it as much as if i was to scour the vintage floral online listings myself? ummm, YES. i do believe i began to cry (with joy) as i ripped open a post satchel from a beautiful mama to be yesterday who had found 'a few things i may like' whilst out opping for her nursery. it's even more beautiful to think of her ferreting amongst the vintage linen whilst carrying around a rather large bump. I suffer from hot sweats, dizziness and hunger pains whilst opping (sweats are due to excitement and hunger pains & dizziness are due to being so excited i neglect to feed myself) and i'm not the one who's 35 weeks pregnant. you, miss barry, are incredible. so i thought the goodies deserved their own post and as it's a sunny spring sunday, a friand recipe seemed appropriate too. i forgot (because of the excitement that came with yesterday's finds) to photograph a beeeautiful milk glass lampshade (also found yesterday) that i plan to make into a wide brimmed vase, it's so stunning i just couldn't pass it up. we all know that milk glass is like gold at the moment. it's only early in the day but the whoopie pie ingredients are out and the coffee is brewing. i hope this finds you enjoying this sunday, wherever you are. i'll be back in the week with birthday brunch photos and some artwork in progress shots. happy sunday all. xo


a perfect yellow floral (spring inspired ) floral double sheet.

an UH-MAZE-ING piece of vintage off-cut that just makes me weak at the knees.

vintage invitations and a floral double oven mitt? yes please!!

strawberry & vanilla friands (best served next to florals, as seen above)




strawberry & vanilla friands (GF)

makes: 12


ingredients


· 125g strawberries, hulled, halved

· 6 eggwhites

· 1 tsp vanilla bean paste/ vanilla extract

· 1 1/2 cups (225g) icing sugar mixture, plus extra to dust

· 1 1/4 cups (155g) almond meal

· 1/2 cup (75g) rice flour

· 150g unsalted butter, melted, cooled


method


1. crush strawberries in a bowl with a potato masher

2. place egg whites and vanilla extract in a bowl and whisk until frothy (use a stand mixer or hand mixer for this)

3. sift over the almond meal, icing sugar and flour.

4. add melted butter and strawberries and mix gently with a spatula.

5. spoon into a friand tin and bake in a 180 deg oven for 25 minutes.

6. leave to cool for 20 mins and then turn out onto a wire rack

7. sprinkle with extra icing sugar and enjoy!



September 17, 2011

saturday.


summer arrived today. a little too early for my liking but it was such a beautiful day, i almost forgave her. i spent most of it baking in the kitchen & working next to a hot oven which wasn't exactly ideal but with a cookie order for a 3 year old, i couldn't disappoint the birthday boy. on the way to the supermarket this morning i picked up a few goodies from the oppy, $8 later and i'm on my way to making some christmas baskets full of vintage treasure that i hope to sell at the december rummage. tomorrow is all about making birthday bunting (for a special mama) and a naughty shorts photoshoot. may even whip up a batch of carrot cake whoopie pies and with another beautiful day in store, this pale skinned, freckle faced cake baker is spending it outside in the glorious sunshine...hawaii is 12 days and counting! have a lovely weekend!



won't be needing 5 bed layers for much longer. it's all about the vintage flat sheets now!

picked up this cute duo...straight from the 70's with original packaging!

perfect picnic plates, expect to see these in a christmas basket coming soon.

the basket haul. pink and grey one stole my heart.

love a bit of hollywood melamine. summer colours perfect for picnic behaviour.

cookie explosion! stars and trains were order of the day.

playing with smarties and royal icing is highly underrated.


September 11, 2011

sunday sunshine.


nothing beats waking up and seeing sunday in the sky, freshly washed thrifted linen on the line, rearranging art collections, video chat with mama, painting canvases in the kitchen, home made cobb salad and lazing in the sun writing love letters. hope your sunday has been as delightful.








i love nyc.


since I began watching friends back in 1997, i've always dreamt about wandering the streets of the village and popping into a coffee shop similar to that of central perk to sip on a mug of joe (not even really knowing what 'joe' was) whilst lounging in one of those beautiful big arm chairs. i even painted artworks similar to those seen hanging in CP, when I wasn't busy obsessing over david schwimmer. now, I know friends was filmed in LA...and central perk really didn't exist, but I longed for visiting the real village and experiencing the would be NYC life of ross and rachel, phoebe, joey..you know the score. it only took another 10 years and the show to finish for me to get my butt over to the states for some new york city lovin'. boy was it worth every penny. i fell in love with the place from the get go, once I built up the courage to leave my dorm room over on the upper west side and start exploring. i was travelling alone which made the experience even more radical and life changing for me. i had an absolute ball and even though I lost my camera (complete with hundreds of nyc photos) soon after in london town, the memories are still clear as day in my mind. this is why I saw it appropriate to head back in sept of 2010 whilst I was visiting my parents in sf. i took my mum this time, staying in a beeeautiful hotel just blocks from time square and a salvos warehouse (had to be mentioned) where we ordered starbucks at 1am in the morning, caught kelsey grammar escaping the backstage door of a local theatre, ate macarons on madison, toured the park, saw lots of art and thrifted up big time in the village. it was perfect and we walked for at least 8 hours a day. liberty was as beautiful as I'd remembered and we had some beautiful weather to wander about in. it was however, a completely different experience to the last, and that's why I love that city. this is why they sell so many t-shirts proclaiming 'I love ny' because everyone, really does love new york. it has something for everyone, every taste, every culture and definitely everything that a huge sex & the city fan, art maker, cupcake baker and thrifter could wish for. it's a treasure trove and I'm already planning my next visit. if you haven't been already, then you must plan a trip there, soon...your life will be better because of it (in case you have to plead your case with a hubby/bf/partner!) my thoughts and love go out today, to everyone affected by september 11, the day that truly did change the world forever. wearing my t-shirt with pride...new york, I love you.












xo