tropical...

This stunning, vibrant hibiscus design reminds us of hot, tropical days growing up in Papua New Guniea. The combination of citrus-y greens and hot, fushia pinks are not for the faint hearted! While we are not sure that we could live with a pattern this bold dominating a room, with a neutral/white base, pops of colour like this really add a really summery feel - certainly a reflection of the hot summer weather here in Melbourne.

a chalked hello...

Last week, my lovely husband bought me a beautiful bunch of cream roses and they have been brightening up my kitchen ever since. However, the hot weather we have been having here in Brisbane has taken its toll and most of them were not looking very happy and were starting to turn brown. There were five that were still perfect and so I decided to pop them in individual glass bottles. I must have been looking for an excuse to avoid doing the housework in the heat because then I decided to play around with the vases a little. I found some leftover chalkboard fabric (readily available on the internet and in fabric stores), cut circles out with my pinking shears and tied them on with ribbon. Much less messy than getting out the chalkboard paint and much quicker than sitting around waiting for it to dry. My "hello" message is not terribly original, but my five bottles limited my options of words to write!

Happy Weekend!

 This weekend its back to painting the house, gardening and of course an early trip to the markets for fresh produce and flowers, after a hectic week i'm just happy to have some home time, have a great weekend too x

daisy chains...

In between all the to-ing and fro-ing of a normal weekend, we took some family time out at the park and I enjoyed teaching my daughter how to make daisy chains. Simple and satisfying! It had been far too long since I sat down to make one of these and it brought back lots of memories from when I was a child, visiting my Grandparents in the UK.

Hope you had an enjoyable weekend too.

two bunches of flowers...

The kids and I took a walk down to our local deli/fruit and veg shop this morning and I came away with these beautiful ranunculus which were a bargain at $7 for 2 bunches. I don't remember flowers being as cheap in Brisbane as they are down here in Melbourne - all that cold weather and extra rain is worth it for a house full of colour!

spring blossoms...

Although it has been a little sad to return home from such a wonderful tropical holiday with family, it was very welcoming to be greeted by these beautiful spring blossoms which had bloomed while I was away. So pretty and delicate, they give me hope that warmer days are ahead! I couldn't help but pick a few sweet sprigs to brighten up inside my home as well.

embroidery hoops + doilies = art...

I find it hard to walk past a pretty vintage doily in a thrift shop or garage sale as I love all the variations in the designs and the muted colours. Recently I bought myself a pile of different sized embroidery hoops in the sales and today I stretched a few pretty doilies to fill a blank spot on my living room wall. I tried not to stretch them too tight as I didn't want to force them out of shape, and I left the excess on the back rather than trimming it off so I can re-use them at a later date. I thought about painting the hoops but decided I liked the natural look. Nothing like a quick an easy decorating project for instant gratification!!!