Curio Cabinet

Curio cabinet in the craft room
Open curio cabinet in the craft room
I have finally got around to completely filling my curio cabinet and blogging about it. I always loved the print trays that my Dad used to hang around my parents' house and really wanted one myself. After seeing this curio cabinet on one of my many internet searches I had to have it for three reasons. One, because it has a door; two, because it is deep enough to hold a variety of nicknacks; and three, because of the vintage weathered look.

Here's what I decided to put in it:


Curio cabinet top shelves in the craft room
Curio cabinet middle shelves in the craft room
Curio cabinet bottom shelves in the craft room

"I want to ride my bicycle!"

Pastel Blue Pashley Poppy bicycle
Over the past few sunny days I have been dreaming of having my own bicycle with a basket on the front, and cycling along the river wearing a tea dress with the wind in my hair. I've found my dream bike, too! The new Pastel Blue Pashley Poppy above. I love the old-fashioned look of it with the tan brown leather seat and the cream tyres.


Blush Pink Pashley Poppy bicycle
It is also available in Blush Pink.

As the song by Queen says: "I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like"!

~ Holiday Magic ~

This amazing holiday retreat is on Kangaroo Island - South Australia.
Southern Ocean Lodge looks absolutely amazing.

An amazing outlook from every room.

Beautiful cosy fires perfect for this time of year in Australia.

A fabulous look spa to relax in, not to mention wonderful walks to be had.

And lunch with this view - perfect!

Make sure you take a look www.southernoceanlodge.com.au 

~ Off to Dinner ~

I am off to dinner with some girlfriends so I have run out of time to blog!

I hope your dinner is yummy wherever you may be eating it.  See you tomorrow.

Trims

Linen and lace trims
Recently I covered my tailor's dummy in trims, in shades of white, cream and aqua that I have collected over the years from antique fairs, markets and haberdasheries.

My favorite antiques fair to find trims and fabrics is The London Vintage Fashion Textiles and Accessories Fair, which is held every four to five weeks in London. It is a magical place with over a hundred vintage fashion clothing dealers, selling an array of handbags, linen, lace, embroidery, shoes, hats, gowns, chiffons, beaded dresses, textiles, needlework accessories, necklaces, gloves, trimmings, fashion magazines, and costume jewellery.

"The show is the brain child of Paola Francia-Gardiner and Alberto Ricca (Paola is the creative force and Alberto the organisational supreme). An experienced antique dealer, Paola used to buy, sell and indeed wear vintage fashion in the late 70's. At that time, she got to know lot of people who were selling vintage clothes. By the early 90's the market was almost dead - no one was buying the clothes because the fashion scene had move on. The dealers were complaining to her that they had lot of stock and did not know what to do with it. With an innovative approach, in 1999 she decided to organise a fair that incorporated not just vintage clothes but also accessories and textiles."



V V Rouleaux trims
For new trims and ribbons, I often visit the treasure trove that is V V Rouleaux. Their delightful shops are literally full to the brim with ribbons, tassels and trimmings: perfect for inspiring new ideas and elegant touches.

~ Just stunning ~

This stunning Sydney home was featured in a recent issue of Belle Magazine.

What a fantastic position on the water with a perfect outdoor entertaining area

The kitchen is white, modern and simple - just lovely.

And it has that perfect indoor/outdoor feel that I love (and hope to achieve in our new house)

Love it!!

Giving Thanks - A Timely Reminder

Now I'm not sure if anyone is even reading this blog of mine, but somewhere, sometime, I hope that someone comes across this and what I write gives them some hope or inspiration or even just a good laugh at my naivety.


So this morning I am sitting at my desk looking out the window at a climbing rose that I was given by a dear friend probably 10+ years ago. This beautiful rose gets very little love and yet it has grown and thrived until this past long hot summer and suddenly one day it looked very dead. It seemed to happen overnight - although obviously that is not true - but we took it for granted and loved its beauty and the shade it gave (it is big) and admired the little pink roses, masses of them every flowering - and then suddenly one day I really looked at it and it seemed dead - brown leaves and worse still in spots leafless dry brittle stems pointing jaggedly at the sky - a little like accusing bony fingers pointing at me and scolding me for its neglect. I mourned the loss and did indeed scold myself for not making sure it had water, for not caring - I know I am busy but I neglected this beautiful plant, I took the pleasure I got from it for granted and I thought it would always be there - it has been for over 10+ years so why would it not for another 10.

Today as I look out, there are new green shoots appearing on many of what I thought were dead branches, and so I give thanks for the small amount of rain we have had, to nature for the strength of this neglected beauty, to my friend for sharing this plant with us. This weekend we will prune back those branches which are no longer viable and then I will continue to enjoy and give thanks as I watch it come back to life.

I wonder if there are other things or people in our lives we take for granted, that we don't give thanks for, and then suddenly they are gone. If it is people - unlike this beautiful rose - they can not come back from the dead. Take time in each day to give thanks for those you love and take the time to tell them of your love - don't take it for granted that they know.
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