Duplicated

I am happy to report that I skipped my usual Mondayitis as it’s a long weekend here in New South Wales. We took a mini road trip and headed down to our favourite spots on the South Coast (photos to come). Tucked away on the edge of the Illawarra escarpment, mobile phone reception was spotty at best. Just what I needed to wrench myself away from the many screens I sit in front of every day and dust away the cobwebs. Of course the second I walked through the door at home, I planted my bum on the sofa to catch up on Pinterest. I pinned the image below the second I saw it and loved the rustic beauty so much that I thought it warranted a little moodboard.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H I

Pom Pomming

The air was thick and muggy on Tuesday and at some point during the day, it hit 33 degrees. Although I was glad to see the sun (and feel the heat), I baked in my long trousers and sleeves. Sydney women, it seems, have shapely smooth legs accompanied by perma-tans, ready for an impromptu hot day. My legs however, will take at least the whole of October to be tanned (discreetly on my own balcony so as not to blind the innocent with their whiter than whiteness), waxed and toned and maybe by early November, they’ll be ready for public display. And while I toil away tirelessly on Operation Summer Legs, I am doing a fair bit of virtual window shopping -  scarves, beach shirts, handbags and shorts (all neatly trimmed with tiny rows of pom poms) are firmly on my summer wishlist. 

Beth Kirby’s Kitchen. Enough Said.

From memory, Beth Kirby’s Local Milk was one of the very first blogs I began to read in earnest. The meticulous styling, photography and beautiful writing continues to inspire me to sit down and commandeer my very own corner of the internet. I have revisited, both in my mind’s eye and in actuality, her recent post on New Orleans on an almost daily basis. And now, we get more than a glimpse into her newly made-over kitchen on Remodelista. That saying, the kitchen is the heart of the home? Well this has never been more true in this space. Percy Bright and Tara Mangini of Jersey Ice Cream Co. are the brains and brawn behind bringing Beth’s vision to light. My favourite thing? Almost every single item in the kitchen has a story, a provenance. It’s a kitchen with soul.

Here’s the before shot…

And here is what it has become…

Images via Remodelista | Photography: Beth Kirby

Love in the Blue Mountains

The final box has been unpacked. I am vowing to never ever move again. But as I sit here and listen to the sea after having watched a sunrise and a sunset all from the comfort of my home, it all seems worth it now. Hopefully this means blogging will now make it’s way to the top of my to do list. Hopefully. I’ve been meaning to post photos of our anniversary re-do in the Blue Mountains for ages now but haven’t gotten around to editing (our camera did weird things in the mountain light and we ended up with really overexposed photos) – Jordan came to the rescue with a few edited beauties (I have no idea where he finds the time to do this but I am grateful none-the-less). We had an amazing weekend in the mountains. Although nothing, and I mean nothing, could prepare me for the level of cold I experienced. The townies that we are, drove up from a balmy 19 degrees in Sydney armed with only paltry long sleeves and realised we were in deep trouble when car after car passing us in the opposite direction had a foot of snow on their car roofs. I ended up having to buy full on mountain thermals the minute we got there. I’ll get around to editing some more shots but in the meantime, here is the just of it.

Images | Wishful Thinking

Ensconced

We are in! 15 car/truck loads later, several falling outs and four very bruised knees, we have successfully moved ourselves to our new home in Little Bay. It’s so beautiful, I have to keep pinching myself. We are able to see the sunrise over the ocean and sunset over the golf course. It’s bliss. Photos are coming soon but in the meantime, I’ll leave you with a picture Jordan took last night from our balcony. Note the living plant I purchased, even though it tried to run away from me in the shop. Hopefully I can keep it alive.

Image via Wishful Thinking

S.O.S

It’s moving week for me and it’s c.h.a.o.s. at home. Who knew we could accumulate so much stuff in less than a year? The day to day tasks such as cooking dinner (I have packed away most utensils) and eating breakfast (we have no table) have become somewhat challenging. If that wasn’t bad enough, we are also slowly eating our way through the weird and wonderful dated contents of the freezer and pantry. It’s fair to say blogging is bottom of the list at the moment. I’ll be back soon, hopefully blogging from my new balcony overlooking the ocean. Now if you will excuse me, I need to find a way to take the (alarmingly orange) fishfingers out of the oven without the aid of an oven glove (which I can’t find).

I feel I should point out that our car will probably not look like this on moving day.

I’m Ready

One by one, the layers have been coming off and this evening, as I sit and type this, the door is wide open letting in a balmy summerish breeze. I’m deliriously excited. I can’t even tell you how DONE I am with winter… and it hasn’t even been that bad. I guess it’s because I know how good summer is here. Hot days and warm nights, catching a tan in my lunch break and most importantly, finishing the day with a long walk (and let’s be honest here – a beer) on the beach. Bring it!