J'adore birds

Bird cage mirrors
Bird cage mirrors


Bird candle tree
Bird candle trees


Bird in glass paperweights by Linda Barker
Bird in glass paperweights


Brian Yates wallpaper
Brian Yates wallpaper early bird


Petra Boase Love Bird Mugs
Petra Boase love bird mugs from Graham & Green.

As a regular reader of my blog you will know how much I love birds! So, for this Wednesday's finds I bring you a selection of bird-themed interior treasures!

Have a sweet day!

Rejuvenated





Yep - what a week!

After a wonderfully, restful 7 day family holiday on the coast - I am ready and buzzing with lots of new ideas for LLFF this year.

We had such a lovely time away and Lou loved having her Uncles, Aunties and grandma's attention all week and I was lucky enough to get some extra reading in...





I had a birthday (not telling which one) last week also and was massively spoilt.

These two books were by request but also lucked in with a spotlight voucher, new scissors, pedicure and a night away. Yay!

I also worked on some new LLFF ideas, got to visit two craft markets, won a fab new market competition (more to come),

and got a great tan :)

Oh! and a special mention to Tania at Chicken Ink. Creative who is the Made it Designer Spotlight for January - CONGRATULATIONS!





I accidently bought this....

Fern is kinda at that age where she's happy to sit and watch Play School (for 30 seconds, anyway) but it's not overly comfortable sitting on the floor, and she can't yet climb up onto the lounge.

Have you ever noticed there are awfully slim pickings on children's couch options? I have of course seen those horrific practical 'lounge' thingamies you can get at Kmart, the type that fold out to make a sort of sofa bed. Practical for littlies, but the only available themes seem to be Thomas the Tank, or Barbie. I know I've let a lot of things go since having Fern, but I can't do Barbie. Not yet, anyway.

For a while, I've had my eye on the stylish (and also practical - bonus!) beanbags by Cocoon Couture. But they are expensive options; my local boutique sells them for $125 each! Im not sure I can part with that much moolah for a baby beanbag, no matter how cute it is..... I might, however, part with $75. Oh wait -- I already did.

I was surfing listlessly this afternoon, whiling away nap-time when I stumbled on this NZ site called PeaKnuckle. The beanbags were listed cheaper than Oz anyway, and when I did the currency conversion it turned out they could ship Cocoon Couture to my doorstep almost half of the price of the one I can buy down the road! I know I know, buy local! But sorry folks, I'm a mum on a budget now!

I chose this one, I liked the colour and the owl motif:


So, I get the double whammy of a funky new chair for my babe, and the pleasure of stalking my mailbox over the next week or so. I'll let you know when I receive it!

Glamorous White

Lounge at Stradella Road
Bedroom at Stradella Road
Fire place Stradella Road
Main bedroom at Stradella Road
Library at Stradella Road
Last Monday I showed you the gorgeous house in Appach Road, used for still location shots, bookable through 1st option. This Monday I am showing you another house from 1st option called Stradella Road. This house has made me fall in love with Moroccan blankets all over again! I so wish I had bought one from Portobello market back in the Summer. Ah well, a girl can dream...


Moroccan wedding blanket from Laviva
Moroccan wedding blanket

Have a sweet day!

Dusky Warm

Dusky Warm
This week on Flickr Faves Sunday, I bring you a winter palette of dusky peach, off white and choc with these gorgeous pics. Check back soon for some more of the most inspirational photographers on Flickr.

Some beautiful shots from my Flickr favourites (clockwise from top left):
Have a great day!

My 'Fingerpainting'



So, we're sitting around the dinner table tonight, eating pizza. 'We' being hubby and I and my hubby's two nephews (14 and 15). The conversation? Art. The eldest nephew, Tom is a bit of a dab hand at art. Came 2nd in his year out of 150. Or something.

All of a sudden, nephew draws his attention to a piece of artwork hung above the kitchen table.

"Did you paint that, Nicole?"

Why yes. I did as a matter of fact.

He ponders the art for a moment.

"Is it a fingerpainting?"

hmmmmph.

Actually, it is NOT a fingerpainting. Nor is it an original idea. I plagiarised the idea from an issue of Real Living a long while back, painting it one rainy day with A PAINTBRUSH, dammit. It brightens up the space and despite the fact that my nephew thinks it is a fingerpainting and my mother in law rehung it upside down from while I was out of the house one day, because she felt "the flames should come up from the bottom" (I mean, I'm just the artist, what would I know about which direction it should be hung on the wall) I like it. I do feel guilty a little bit for not coming up with my own original idea, but I can't really afford expensive art; its not like I'm going to sell it, and millions of people have copied the Mona Lisa, riggght?

Have YOU ever 'borrowed' somebody elses creative idea? Come on, 'fess up -- ease my guilt, just a little!

Letting Light Into Your Day


There is a study that some people get winter 'blues' (or Seasonal Affective Disorder) from the lack of sunlight, grey skies, etc - particularly people who live in the northern hemisphere where they have long periods of night.

I wonder if even in more temperate climates, closer to the equator were sunshine is not a problem whether by living with your curtains/blinds closed all the time it can have the same effect.

The first thing I do when I wake up is open the blinds in all the rooms, open windows and doors, even if it is cold and raining (obviously not if the rain is coming in though). At work, it is the same - the blinds are always opened when I walk in every morning, in fact our whole end of the building has the same philosophy.

Surrounding ourselves with light seems to make sense if we want to feel happy. How do you let the light into your day?