Marimekko Cushions

How do you get me out of bed before 7am on a Saturday?  Promise of a sample sale including lot's of Marimekko product.  Arriving at the warehouse (location to remain undisclosed) sale just before 8am, we realized we weren't on the ball enough as there were about fifty women ahead of us.  Fifty prepared women, mind you.  They had large Ikea bags and were stuffing them full of anything they remotely liked, to decide later if they wanted to buy or leave behind.  Yes!  These women were organized.  (So will I be... next year!)  I happened across a set of napkins that someone had tossed back onto the display.  (I'm not proud... I walked around looking for discards!)  The napkins fit perfectly around some cushions that I had found at the sale as well.

Some unpicking and sewing machine work later, the napkins were transformed into a pair of pillows, the green matching the new desk chair perfectly.  Now for some wooden buttons for the finishing touch...

Coffee Break



Mecca Cappuccino

In 1917, following the introduction of the Literacy Act to curtail the flow of immigration into the US, Italian immigration to Australia increased.  Along with this immigration, they brought their tradition of coffees, which were adopted by the Australians. Living in Australia as a young girl, I recall my mom always enjoying a cappuccino when we were out shopping at the mall, or such.  I remember her commenting on the lack of decent coffee in White Rock (BC) when we moved there in the late 70s.  Dad had often thought of opening up a decent coffee store back in the early 1980s.  If only he had of... ah... hindsight!

I was remembering mom enjoying a daily coffee, over my own cappuccino the other day.  Sydney has a wealth of coffee bars and cafes... it is hard to find a bad cup of coffee here.  I have found myself craving that coffee break in the middle of the day... time to sit down and let your world stop while enjoying the thick foam and caramel-y espresso if a yummy cappuccino.  Out and about on errands most days, I wonder where that day's coffee break will find me.

Photo above - afternoon coffee at Mecca... 1 Albert Street, Sydney (various locations)
Single Origin - Surry Hills. Side note: jam-filled Lamingtons are a must, but you have to get there early.
Utopia - 2/7 Macquarie Pl, Sydney
Klink Coffee - 281 Clarence St, Sydney
Europan, Newcastle St, Rose Bay
Zubi Espresso Bar, Newport Beach - Beautiful garden out back where you can sit and relax.

To name a few...

The Boathouse, Palm Beach

Way up north... at the top of the Northern Beaches lies Palm Beach.  The point the beach sits on is sandwiched by the Pacific ocean on the starboard side and Pittwater on the port side.  The Boathouse sits on the Pittwater side.  It's a gorgeous spot for a long lunch on a sunny summer afternoon; a deck out the back with water views or a spot at the tables and chairs scattered in the garden out the front.  Meal service, take away service and flowers for sale are on offer.  Fresh green succulents in white pots dot the interiors and lawns.  Short of moving in, you can take away inspiration for your own garden design.

Riverside Park

A busy morning shopping at the DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) at Homebush required a refuel of nourishment and nature.  Enter Blaxland Riverside Park.  Set on the banks of the Parramatta River; within the park you can lunch at the Armory Cafe right on the water while the kids play in the park (just out of hearing distance) and watch the ferries cruise up and down the river.  Take your bike and cruise along the bike path.  While we were there, we sat and watch a wedding being photographed.  That is the wedding car you see above.

Update

Big changes in the past few months!  I moved my father and I to Sydney, Australia at the beginning of November.  I has been pretty smooth, settling into a new life in our old stomping grounds (we old dual Canadian/Australian passports)... but certainly not without it's stresses... he suffers from late-stage Parkinson's disease.

This morning I was feeling pretty down about things... even though he's in a care home, there is still a lot to deal with.  Without going into it all, there are a lot of serious responsibilities and decisions to make... and the burden gets heavy at times.

I had been invited to a friend's house for a morning of sewing and creating things.  A few conversations in, and I was feeling inspired by talk of knitting, sewing, paper crafts.  I got to work on a very simple, basic sewing project... but it was so therapeutic.  Creation lifts the soul! What's more, I am now in possession of fat, loaner knitting needles for a brand new project.  And a list of knitting/sewing shops around the city!  Black mood lifted.

So in light of all this, I am going to try and keep this blog updated a little more regularly.  Outside of caring for dad, I have done a few, fun things around town and I don't want to forget them!

Arden Wohl

Vogue August 2011

Oh to have a career where "foraging for flowers" is part of your job description! I do like the recipe for making candy thyme to garnish ice cream. Click on the picture to enlarge and read!

LaDuree New York

Vogue August 2011

Discovered this fabulous bakery in Paris... can still recall biting into a raspberry macaron... the thin crip exterior and the perfect raspberry marshmallow-y interior. Worth another flight back! Except now you don't have to travel as far, as LaDuree, is opening it's first NY store on the Upper East Side... 864 Madison Ave. Defintely worth another trip to NY!

Table & Chairs

I keep coming across the wood table/modern chairs combo as an idea for my brother's place... but am beginning to wonder if I secretly like it for myself!

Ann Landers

I've been saving this email on a piece of paper that my mom had originally emailed me back in 2000. It's time to toss it, but not before saving it somewhere!

Dear Ann Landers: Too many people have no idea which questions are appropriate to ask.

It is NEVER appropriate to ask:
How much money do you make?
How much did you pay for that?
Why aren't you married?
Why don't you have any children?
How old are you?
How tall are you?
How much do you weigh?
What religion are you?

Reading this makes me smile, thinking of my mother forwarding this on to me. She knew which questions on the list really got to me!!

Kitchen Scales

Fell in love with this Ethos Dulton Headlight kitchen scales in a kitchen store in Rome, Italy. Sadly, it was too bulky to bring home in my luggage... but I'm still on the hunt for it!

Kate's Style

A comment I read online summed it up best: "Kate is everything a woman should be. A lady, elegant, sweet and fashionable!" Having being a royal watcher since Princess Diana married, I was excited to know that Prince William and Catherine would be visiting Canada shortly after their marriage. I logged in every day of their Royal Tour to see where they had been... and of course what Catherine was wearing! She looked beautiful every single time, and so poised.

The Canada Day look was my favorite... wearing her cream-colored Reiss dress with a maple-leaf themed fascinator by Lock & Co.'s milliner, Sylvia Fletcher, red shoes and a fan clutch.

Calgary Stampede; fave dress down look... pretty blouse paired with jeans and white cowboy hat.

My favorite dress, hands down... Lilac Peridot dress by Roksanda Illinic. It's simple, elegant, yet has unique details.

Another favorite look... lavendar gown by Alexander McQueen. This dress moved beautifully in the breeze, and as she walked. Again, simple and elegant.

More than what she wore, Catherine has a smile that radiates from within. It's not hard to see where her inner happiness comes from... she has a man who loves her and takes care of her. And that's all any princess, or woman, would ask for!

Silver Tray

I've been purging two households of clutter and collections for, oh, about two years now. I wish I had kept track of all the bags and boxes that have been donated to Big Brothers, and the collection bins. It has to be between 40-50.

So I'm quite relieved that a few things missed the mass cull. One of them being this silver tray of my grandma's. Modern style is more of my thing, so the silver tray was actually in the giveaway pile. Then I read about how to rework old silver tea services for modern day living in a House and Home magazine. (Article here.)

I found some time yesterday afternoon to sit down and give it a good going-over with the silver polish. As I worked, I was thinking of the inscription; Mary ~ 1957-1979. My grandma had received the tray when she retired after 21 years of service at Murray's Store in Sicamous. In the 50s, my grandma found herself as the single mother of three teenagers, and she had to go to work to support the family. I had never really given much thought to how hard that must have been for her. Grandma was a strong independent woman, and needed to be as she needed to provide for her family. Yet despite the trials life sent her way, she maintained a gentle spirit. I'm really thankful this tray survived one of my purging fits, and for all that it represents.



Halfway through the cleaning process... what a difference a little polish makes.





The inscription in the middle of the tray... partly worn, so it's hard to get a clear shot: Mary ~ 1957-1979




The silver tray with a modern twist.

Summer Table

Courtesy of Martha Stewart... a very pretty summer picnic table.

Astilbe Flowers

These flowers are quite striking... I'm not sure I've ever seen them before. I love the arrangement in the vintage bottles. I just happen to have a collection of vintage bottles I can use...

Wall Photos

Great idea... enlarging portrait pictures to a large size and framing on the wall for art.

Breakfast Nook

I fell in love with this table and chairs in a local interiors store. I love the bench seat... seating for two for dinner ... or for one to curl up with the morning coffee and a design magazine.

My Own Photo Line

Here are a couple of prelim shots of the photo line I made after being inspired by the previous post. I grabbed some of my favorite pink card pictures, some tiny vintage pics to fill in the spaces and enlarged some travel pics and converted them to black and white. Once it was hung, I was moved by how personal it turned out. Cards with special messages, family moments and travel memories. This is one project I'm glad I finished. Well, almost! I still need to find some funky tacks to hold it on the wall instead of the plastic pins I found at the bottom of a junk drawer!

Photo Clothesline

Still such a cute idea. I wanted to do it a long time ago, but had forgotten about it. I think this will be my weekend project... to pick out photos to go on a 'clothesline' over my bed. The wall has been blank there for a while, and I don't want to spend too much money adding to it. I'm thinking of some pictures of cherry blossoms, Paris, and other pictures that will fit into a pink theme.

Butter Baked Goods

Walk into Butter Baked Goods store in Dunbar and you'd be forgiven for thinking you've walked into your grandma's kitchen. The old-style screen door squeeks open, and you're enveloped into a warm cocoon of baking smells. The walls are covered in a rose-printed wallpaper and the cookies, cupcakes and bars are presented on the cutest vintage cake stands and plates. Luckily, you can purchase their marshmallows across North America!

butterbakedgoods.com

Bench

I may have already mentioned that I am a hoarder of magazines. This becomes a problem when the magazines take over the house, and there's no longer a chair to sit on! They say when tackling clutter to do a little bit every day, so as not to seem so overwhelming. This seems to be working for me. I mean... do I really need House and Home issues from 2004!?

I had saved this magazine for a couple of ideas... one of them being this cute little bench in the corner of a garden. It looks like a nice spot to while away an afternoon reading, or sharing cupcakes with friends.

Spring Blossoms

Spring... my favorite time of year! Who says pink needs to be saved for a bedroom? I love the additions of pink to this dining table, and especially the cherry blossoms.

Tray Chic

I've been doing some heavy spring cleaning at both my place and my dad's. I came across a silver tray that had been a gift to my grandma. I didn't know what to do with it... and then I was cleaning out some interior magazines at my place and came across the following article on silver trays. So now I just have to get some silver polish to clean up the tray, and can use it to display flowers and a candy dish on dad's dining room table.

Happy Birthday!

My dad was having a milestone birthday, and I wanted to have some of his friends over to celebrate with him. I was looking for cake ideas and came across the Martha Stewart sailboat cake. Granted... it was in the kids section, but I thought it might work nicely,as dad grew up on the ocean, and has lived near the ocean his whole life.

I wanted to keep the party simple, but it never works that way! As soon as I saw the cake, my mind went off on a nautical theme. I had wanted to make a fabric banner for a while, and managed to find all the fabric locally. I had remembered seeing cute striped ribbon at The Cross... and luckily all the colors tied in! The napkins were totally lucky... I found them at a party supply store... on sale, no less! The cupcakes seemed a little boring on their own, so I made little flags out of left over fabric... cut out the fabric into tiny strips, then glued them onto lollipop sticks.

I learnt a lesson with the cake... as in, I can't make cakes from scratch! I envisioned making the perfect cake... but realized a birthday party deadline is no time to learn how to make a layered cake from scratch. After three failed attempts with the homemade cake, I had to question why I was putting myself under so much stress?! A boxed angel food cake worked just fine. I stuffed the whole in the middle with waxed paper and iced over top of it. Cake was just the right size and height. The cupcakes were also from a box... with homemade buttercream.

In the end, it's all about taking on what you know... and faking the rest! A birthday party is supposed to be a fun celebration, after all!