day at the coast.

as promised, a few treats picked up from my road trip yesterday. i left home early, visited 6 of my favs, ate at my favourite sushi place and picked up some baking supplies too. it was a beautiful day weather wise, which made cruising the gc highway a real treat. i do love the coast. unfortunately my vintage (read: daggy) & trusty (awesomely efficient) konica minolta died yesterday, so after a short grumpy outburst outside the palm beach salvos...i decided to give vintage espresso a miss until another day. it just wouldn't have been the same without eye candy documentation. this is also why there are no field shots, which i had planned to capture. anyway, it's time i got a new camera, or at least an iphone with a hipstamatic function. when i got home late afternoon, i got dressed to go out for dinner with my favourite people (one missing) at a yummy vietnamese in the valley. it was a gorgeous night which saw us drinking pimms up at sky bar, which i really enjoyed. this morning i talked for hours with my favourite lady and although we won't be spending mother's day together, i know it won't be long until i see her again. i've got a gf date loaf in the oven and when that's done i'm jumping on my bike and heading round to trudy's for afternoon tea. will be lovely to spend mother's day with my favourite girls. happy mother's day to all of the lovely mothers out there. your hard work, patience and love does not go unnoticed. xo

my favourite gc oppy.

my favourite fq's from the swap, amazing!


just a few goodies i picked up from nook on friday night. dangerous territory. i could and pretty much did, buy everything. finally got my ashley g print, bakers twine, the cutest gift wrapping book in the world and a beautiful kite-esque brooch. complete with cloudy sky.

picked up some floral sheets & pillowcases from my favourite oppy. they smell so strongly of mothballs, i'm in heaven.

the cutest belt of all time. only a $1. seriously.

my new kitchen clock. brown, cute and ticks so loudly i feel like i should be marching to it.

pride of place.

picked up a pretty pink/red spotted blouse and a katie's long navy spotted skirt.

a pink lampshade for my installation in august.

oh don't you worry, i won't forget to mention this fabric. amazing and there's so much of it. bonus.

some wood lovin' for the exhibition.

cute kitty fabric.

a white frame, vintage rose wrapping paper, little german teapot and some blue porcelain booties. (i have baby fever if you hadn't noticed.)

i love my mum.

i think about you every day. you are my biggest inspiration. i am becoming more and more like you everyday. i treasure moments spent with you and look forward to what the future holds for us. happy mother's day mama! i love you.

we go way back.

jan & her girls.


she loves moustaches as much as me.

i miss her cuddles.

we're besties. we eat cupcakes together.

we did nyc and loved it.

blog loving.

good afternoon lovely ones. i'm counting down the days until my opshop jaunt on saturday...i really cannot wait. i keep having little moments of excitement where i want to squeal (but refrain from it because i already feel crazy enough.) i hope your week is going well. I am loving all of your updates, finds and photos. thank you for all of your gorgeous feedback, you know i adore it. make sure you check in on sunday for my 'coast finds' post (see how sure i am of the loveliness that awaits me!?) i'll be taking some photos of my favourite haunts too so you can experience the deliciousness with me (it's what friends do). back to the point of this post though, i wanted to share a couple of beauties with you that i believe you just must see.

firstly, head over to tea for evie. Bernie is a beautiful mother of evie rose and a fantastic craftswoman who's eye for pretty fabrics rivals mine. With a gorgeous daughter as her constant inspiration, her ability to produce so many beautiful treats leaves me in awe. she's new to the blogging world but a huge favourite on facebook. she says...'i'm a thrift hunter, sewer, crafter, baker, homemaker, wife, mumma and one woman cottage business.' she is also the best friend of my sister kate. make us both warm on the inside by visiting her blog and say hi!

her thrifty finds!

this charming blog cupcake couture is a visual treat with a cherry on top. i'm still eyeballing her old posts from way back because i seriously can't get enough. lovely nadia is based in south africa and has been introduced to the world of frankie/spaces and runs a monthly 'i love market' where she shares her gorgeous handcrafted ribbon brooches and teacup finds. she says 'having eaten a cupcake in each place i travelled to, i found that my heart yearned for their taste, colour and inspiration and so cupcake couture was born. I bake now and again, but what i really do is create one of a kind accessories using vintage buttons and sewing bits and bobs'. a girl after my own heart!

nadia's gorgeous displays.

have a lovely rest of the week. it's sushi and starbucks for me tonight and grabbing the new frankie on my way home. i feel a night snuggled under vintage flannelette coming on! x

sunday breakfast.

hello lovelies! welcome to a new regular post that will document a new brisbane brekkie spot on a sunday morning. my sister kate and i will ride to a new cafe to sample what brisbane has to offer the early morning sunday crowd. this morning it was my second visit to stones corner's lady marmalade cafe. again, i was not disappointed. even got looked after by the owner and my kitchen rules contender Mal, himself. kate and i both indulged in the haloumi, tomato, spinach, roast pumpkin and pesto on sour bread, my favourite. they also offer the old school savoury mince on toast (hello nanna), banana bread with muesli and yoghurt, ploughman's lunch and mushrooms on brioche. yum! a very simple and dollar friendly menu but a delicious one. can i believe i'm saying that simple wins sometimes? these guys are onto a winner. they're on logan road, just after the o'keefe roundabout in stones corner (approximately a 2 minute bike ride from my house!) after 2 rounds of soy lattes/chai lattes, kate and i decided to take a ride towards southbank. we swung down onto the river and along kangaroo point, which i can tell you, on a day like today, was just perfect. i do love my city and this is what i should be doing more of. this is perfect riding weather, hardly any sweating and just cruising in this glorious sunshine! a few photos below captured some of this lovely sunday behaviour. i might also add that the day was topped off with a two hour nanna nap, just keeping up with my 27yr old nanna status. however no baked goods were consumed, i'm saving that for next weekend. i'm so excited as i have organised a date with myself on saturday. want to hear what i have planned? (have a choice?...wish you did, but you know it's coming.) i'm off to the coast (my old haunt) to take on 8 oppies, lunch at my favourite sushi joint, try out a coffee and cake at the infamous vintage espresso (featured in spaces and my old love, frankie), some cookie cutter buying at my favourite cupcake suppliers, and perhaps a walk on the beach to top it all off. this is all after an early morning boxing class too. my plans for sunday? sleep! this date is definately going to get me through the week, which starts at work tomorrow, hello public holiday pay (which my bank account is going to need after this oppy jaunt!) i do love a good cruise down to the coast. i'm off for a bite to eat and a look at what you've all been up to. thank you for your sweet comments, i am always enchanted by your loveliness. x

kit, ready to set off.

breakfast of the day. deeeelicious.

retro cuteness everywhere. my kinda joint.

our rides.

beautiful brisbane.

kate, working the pink lady look.

never seen the story bridge from this angle before. love this part of town.

sister knows best.

feeling a little under the weather this morning meant no work for me today. i decided to get some fresh air and take up my sister's offer to accompany her on a shopping trip. we may have ended up at a few opshops on the way home, but seriously, that has been the best medicine today. heating up soup when i got home has even proven to be a challenge, turning into a bubbling black mess. not meant to be. however, the following treats found today, were. the nally jam/sugar/honey pots are an ebay delight. hope your thursday is treating you well. i'm off to the bristyle markets tomorrow night to meet the lovely moose&bird and pick myself up a beautiful brooch that will be a little treat for a soon to be bride. hope the rain holds off a little..i wanna ride my bike into work too. keep your fingers crossed for me and the market queens.

lovely tablecloths, apron, napkins, pillowcases and a double duvet cover.

my 'nally' ebay treat. aren't they gorgeous? that colour is my favourite.


the lids are divine and this tablecloth had to be mine. $1? i think so.





i'm such a fiend for tapestries, but they have to spark some kind of memory in me in order for me to splash out the money. this montmartre scene is gorgeous and reminds me of my trip to paris 5 or so years ago. the flower shops and street painters are a beautiful memory to me. will be going in my studio to inspire me.

the detail is lovely. artist at work, love it!

a jar of buckles for 95c and a gorgeous set of teacup fabric items. may be hitting my k&n facebook shop!

silly goose.

good morning lovelies! happy anzac day. i'll tell you a funny story, because i'm one silly goose. i had a nice sleep-in, got showered, dressed and went on my merry way to work. goma was expecting massive crowds today from 12pm, so i felt ready, mc hammer blaring from my ipod. i reported for briefing just after 11.30am only to find out it was infact my ado! oops. dedicated worker? i think so. i soon headed off home and did what every sensible thrifter would do on a public holiday...i sniffed out an open opshop ready for me to scour. i found a few treats on my walk home and with a soy caramel latte in one hand and vintage treats in the other, i knew this was my real calling today. i picked up a few goodies that i will be incorporating into my august exhibition, which is seriously so much fun. opshopping for an exhibition..as if i needed a reason! there is a theme for this body of work, and that is excessive sentimentality. i originally discovered this term after searching for the meaning of kitsch, which ES is derived from. this sums up my creative practice to a T! although this won't be the name of the group exhibition, i wanted to be able to tie my ideas together under one influence. there you have it. i'm the soppiest sentimental type ever. so it's perfect. i will be back in the week with some inspiration for you all. i have discovered a few new blogs and they're definately worth chatting about.

johnson cake plate love. just like nanna had.

some lovely plastic utensils. i grew up with tupperware.

a little collection of tea strainers (just like nanna's) and a gorgeous green plastic jug. that green colour is my favourite.

this was easter sunday breakfast.

my craft table. rode my bike twice easter weekend, was lovely.

mask it.

oh masking tape. so simple. so pretty in all of your pastel loveliness. i bought some of this said loveliness whilst spending all of my holiday money in the moma nyc gift shop last year. what i had planned to 'tape' or 'decorate' or 'wrap' was not included in the decision factor and i was soon interrupted by the sweet whisperings of the pretty, oh so pretty tape. pretty wins over functionality everytime. the tape roll has been purely decoration in my studio...until last night! a good few hours watching glee re-runs was spent sticking and playing. pure joy. have made a few little cards that i'll be using for some love mail and tags. any excuse to whip out my beloved papersource stamp collection is also welcome. i've been pottering in the studio today, working out what will become part of my exhibition in august. lots of faux wood, vintage greeting cards and melmac will be making an appearance. i've even ordered some of the most fantastic wallpaper which will form the background of my installation. i will divulge more info as ideas develops and invites are sent out. the weather is a little hesitant today...i did a quick camera battery recharge before the rain clouds released but they seem to have held off. now the sun seems to have his hat on, hooray! this cooler weather makes for wonderful bike riding behaviour. took kit for a spin earlier today. as you may have noticed, this easter is a little quiet for me on the family front. with mum and dad in sf and my girlies all up to different things, i felt it necessary to have a relaxing weekend with no baking and no real time restraint. the fam are in the midst of organising a family reunion in hawaii in october so i really can't complain about a rather lonesome 3 day weekend, can i? i'm keen to go with a bikini in my suitcase so have been trying to behave myself. the humpty dumpty easter egg staring at me from the counter thinks otherwise. it's been a bit quiet in blogland which means you must all be having a rather lovely and indulgent weekend. look forward to hearing your stories. happy saturday.

candy colours & archie the french bulldog.

bike love. yet to be touched up with black liner.

i'd like a caravan in the future, thank you. until then, pretty gift cards will suffice.

freshly cut grass.

happy good friday afternoon! hope this finds you all well with tummies full of chocolate and spending the day doing what you love. i've had a fast paced but lovely week, baking, baby shopping, dinnering with an old friend and cutting up vintage fabric. not bad, huh? i've got chocolate eggs in the fridge (thanks lib), moby on the stereo and a beautifully kept garden staring back at me in this beautiful sunshine. it's been a while since my large garden has been tended to. finally yesterday a wonderful man called chris spent 7 hours making it beautiful. i'm so grateful. #28 is now surely up there for the prettiest block on flower st. i have also been blessed with a couple more babies in my life, thanks to two of my most favourite girls, barbara and libby. i used to live with libby and she is now in the navy, based in melbourne. she is due in september and i cannot wait to be a part of her and her little one's life. so exciting. barbara, my beautiful goma girl is due in only 6 weeks or so! we had a little baby shower for her at work yesterday, very pretty and pretty tasty. i will miss her so much but i know she is ready for the next step in her life. cannot wait to snuggle baby leo. i also cannot express just how much i enjoy shopping for babies...what is it about tiny clothes? i look forward to seeing him in his little stretchy striped bonds pants. eep! here are a few photos from my week. a couple of oppy finds thrown in for good measure. happy long weekend all. i'm back to work monday but who doesn't enjoy a few extra bank holiday $$$ in their pocket? love.

barbara's baby shower set up. butterscotch cupcakes made an appearance.

raspberry spiked brownie is a must for growing babies.

could this good friday weather be any more perfect?

someone else is also enjoying the manicured lawn.

my easter treats. thank you libby!

a pretty oppy find. i'm a sucker for mother teacups.

2 wooden candle sticks & a new thermos that doubles as a vase. the collecting of items for my new exhibition has begun, woo!

miss ingalls.

it's becoming more apparent to me lately (and my mum - who still watches LHOTP) that i am channelling my inner laura ingalls. being named after her helps, but my recent dress up at secret on sunday, got the love for buttoned up blouses and bows a-flowin'. it all started in san francisco when every dress i seemed to pick up was quickly put into the little house on the prairie catagory, not hard in the us of a. i fell in love with the dress seen in the last pic below and even though it's far too long and the sleeves are just too puffy (not good for my swimmer shoulders) i just adore the peachy floral print and took it home. i feel a prairie dress makeover coming on. i do believe i just love getting my pretty on. but who doesn't?

my latest prairie purchase.

i know this is mary, not laura, but check the bow please?

the sf purchase. peachy florals, i love you.