Pinning pop-in

Just popping in purely to post these images so that I can then upload them onto pinterest, which I love as an organisational tool. Am very happy creating mood boards for every room of the house.

Can't actually act on any of these redecorating/renovation ideas but virtual planning is almost - if not more - fun as budget is irrelevant. More of a big things, unaffordable pleasures post.

Both these images are from Inside Out's 2012 Renovating and Decorating guide, but don't appear on its website, hence my scanning.

For the record, the bedroom image (it's the bed I'm interested in - Jardan's Leila bed) is from Julian and Louise Thompson's apartment in St Kilda (photography Sharyn Cairns). The bedlinen, which I also love, is from the architect's (Steven Whiting) wife's online shop y10store.com.

Bathroom image is an old one that's got another run, as photographer Sharyn Cairns nominated it as coming from one of her all-time favourite houses (it's in Melbourne and used to belong to Mark and Louella Tuckey, who've since moved to Sydney).

Record straight. Images loaded. Off to pinterest.

Note to self

Found myself a little early for a meeting in the city today so popped into Typo, only to discover a 30 per cent off everything sale (runs till April 3). I would have happily paid the regular $4.95 for a three-metre roll of this fab crossword-puzzle wrapping paper but brought it home for $3.50 today. Bargain.

Elsewhere, I discovered one of my favourite Australian paper-product companies, Earth Greetings, has a new line of birdy bunting notelets out. I can think of many things I'd do with these (use them on blank cards, lunchbox notes to The Child, attach to a vase of bare branches) besides the obvious by-the-phone pad.

A big dose of prettiness for $9.95 - and environmentally friendly as the notelets are screen-printed locally on 100 per cent post-consumer recycled board and waste paper

Earth Greetings has great credentials to go with their beautifully designed products, and its Christmas cards have been my seasonal card of choice for some years now - a girl can only make so many.

Ebony and ivory

The gold ones were too high, so now that there's a bit more room in my wardrobe thanks to the posting off of the giveaway bags I've added these to the shoe rotation. My wardrobe is therefore having an ebony-and-ivory-go-together-in-perfect-harmony moment.

So now I have two pairs of wooden bricks to walk around in. They're surprisingly comfortable as long as I don't step on anything not completely flat as there's no give in the sole. Walking over a grate makes me look a little drunk and I take the right one off when I drive as can't feel the brake pedal properly, but otherwise all good!

Have a lovely weekend. x

ps. I've been to Sweden and have no idea how anyone could possibly totter around in these in Stockholm's designery Sodermalm district. One word: cobblestones...

Ides of March

I have a love/hate relationship with Typo. Every time I'm in the new Westfield I have to go and have a look, but when I do I'm disappointed. Mainly because I want it to be Muji, and it's not. It slightly reminds me of Muji, but only enough to pale into comparision and make me wish we had a Muji in Australia, let alone Sydney. It's also got that cheap Cotton On vibe, yet sometimes manages to turn up something fabulous and affordable, which is why I go back.

These stamps are a case in point. I'm using them more than the similar but smaller set I bought from Muji in London so I have to admit I actually prefer the Typo stamps. But still I pine for Muji. I remember my first taste of Muji, which was in Rome. I came out of the shop with a rather large bag (possibly two) only to be excitedly talked about a few minutes later when my logo-ed paper carry bags were noticed by a bunch of Japanese teenage girls. Yes, an Australian comes to Rome and buys Japanese stuff. Very happy I was about it too.

So was delighted when I heard some Muji products would now be available through an online Australian shop, Amasia. Quickly got Amasia on my screen and headed to its Muji section. And there was a pile of Muji stuff. Just not any of the Muji stuff I wanted.

The ides of March may not have been kind to Caeser, but I'm sure he'd be happy knowing that if he was alive today it'd only take him 15 minutes to walk from the Roman Forum to the Muji on the Via del Tritone. Or he could hop on the metro at Coloseo, jump off at Barberini Fontana de Trevi, saving precious leather on his Roman sandals.

He could even pick up some of my favourite dishcloths for me while he was there.

The ides of March have a lot to answer for.

Black Beauty

She may not have a mane, but my Black Beauty does have gears unlike my first bike love Apricot.

Apricot, a fixed-gear bike, was perfect on flat ground. As much as I tried to convice myself otherwise, getting up even a small hill was a hard slog - and we live at the highest point in our suburb so everything bar the corner shop involved more than a little pedal-power.

I told myself it was good for me, which I'm sure it was, but it was also impractical as I found myself using Apricot less and less and not at all in summer. Why young hipsters actually seek out fixed-gear bikes I do not know. Not being a hipster, either young or old, I don't understand. The only thing about fixed-gear bikes that appeal to me are the price but, apparently, you can still pay ludicrous amounts for them. I don't pretend to understand.

So Apricot has been sold to a film company to be used as a prop (minus the basket, I kept that) something she's well suited for as she's exceedingly pretty.

Black Beauty was surprisingly affordable as there's so many more of these types of bikes on the market now. She came from Woolys Wheels in Paddington, as they have a big range and you can road test before you buy, which I was determined to do this time round.

True love.

Kicking autumn

It's the first day of autumn, and I can feel my clothing mindset changing to visions of long sleeves and cardigans in shades of plum and olive, even though it's about 30 degrees outside.

Am thinking all those colours, not unlike the top of my coffee table, should go nicely with my new Funkis clogs.

I was wearing them for the first time the other day when The Husband's business partner remarked that his mum used to be a pharmacist and would wear them to work back in the day. Not quite the look I was going for. Maybe I'll only wear them to Swedish design shops.

Truth is, though, I've also got my eye on the gold sandals. Just the thing for kicking through fallen autumn leaves.

Blanket statement

I was at Morris and Sons yesterday sourcing some product for a freelance job. I promised myself that's all I would do and would not buy a single thing for myself. So I bought seven things instead (eight if you could a new crochet needle, which I don't). I love this merino wool. I used it to make a blanket for The Child, who loves to wrap it around her as it's so soft against the skin. Not cheap, but totally worth it.

Reason being I felt the urge for a big crochet project again. The sort of simple, medatative project that I can get lost in and not think too much about. I was thinking blanket.

First started getting twitchy fingers last weekend so ended up looking for projects that would eat into my wool stash. Found a quick one, which I'll reveal at a later date that both The Child and Husband thought hilarious, but it just didn't hit the spot. I wanted something I would love, not just get on with.

What I found was this 1939 painting, Train Landscape, by Eric Ravilious as published in Jane Brocket's book The Gentle Art of Domesticity. The colours were perfect, and I used it as inspiration for the palette of my now-in-progress chevron eyelet striped blanket.

Should be finished just in time for next summer.

Have a lovely weekend. x

ps. have started a pattern but if I don't like the look after a few rows, I may change to this one.

Laundry picnic

I picked up my first vintage picnic basket, which I use as a sewing basket, many years ago. The second, the small one on top, came into the house about five years ago to give a home to the tapestry stuff I have, never use, but don't want to part with.

At Rick Rack Retro in Summer Hill on Saturday, I bought my third for $15. I had a specific purpose in mind for this one as there's a space quite high on a laundry shelf that it tucks perfectly into. As it has a lid, I can pull it down without the threat of WD 40, the magnetic window cleaning thingy and its sponges I bought at a shopping centre demonstration that I can't live without, spare oven knobs that I keep for no known reason and suede shoe protector, falling on top of my head. In other words, those random things that need a home somewhere out of sight.

I actually brought home a smaller version for the same price but realised when I got back that the bigger one would indeed fit so The Husband kindly went back to Summer Hill to swap it.

So if you're looking for a similar smaller version of the bottom basket, you know where to find it.

Scrubber

My collection of natural cleaning brushes is growing. At The Bay Tree last week, I added two types of brushes that I haven't come across before (if you don't count plastic components - if you do, of course, they're everywhere): a scrubbing brush and a thin bottle brush.

Best of all, at Orange Grove markets on Saturday the stall that sells my beloved natural dishmops was back - but without the dishmops as she'd sold out. This stall is a bit like Brigadoon - you never know when the mists will part and reveal her wares to the human eye. Luckily, though, she takes orders.

Next time I see her I'll also pick up one of the Tumut Broom Factory's millet brooms she carries. I didn't have enough money on me on Saturday - they're $45 - as fruit, veg and a bunch of eucalyptus was my priority.

Now I have to use my scrubbing brush rather than just admire it.

Bags it

Picked up this calico bag yesterday as I wanted needed it to carry home all the lovely stonefruit (today's favourite: white peaches) available right now. Much better than the fruit getting bruised rolling around at the bottom of the bigger bag I take to the markets.

I got it at Jodie McGregor Flowers in Annandale for $3.95 and I'll be going back to get a few other designs. They're from Apple Green Duck and available online here.

I already have another of their bags, the hampi, which is cotton and rolls up so I pull it out of my handbag whenever I'm caught short at the shops - much nicer than the ubiquitous synthetic ones. Their animal-print calico bags, I think, would be perfect for kids' book bags.

Hand-on-heart this is not an ad. Just lovely products.

Paint the halls

What do sensible people do a week and a half out from Christmas Day? They don't get the builder in to rip out the verandah lining boards, tile the verandah roof, replace sections of the back fence and panels beneath our deck that effectively create a shed for us.

Removing the verandah lining boards revealed the house's original 90-year-old slate roof along with the accumulated 90-year-old dust. (I'd save the slate roof if I could but it'd be as effective as standing under a deciduous tree branch in a winter's storm.) The front of our house looked as if we were having a white Christmas - that's if white Christmases were black.

Even though this doesn't sound like much fun, it actually is for me. Out come the paint charts and off to visit my favourite paint shop, Annandale Paint and Wallpaper, personally run by a husband and wife team just down the road. It's a double win with them as they stock my favourite paint brand, Haymes, another family run all-Australian company. (I see Haymes is running ads in all the major magazines announcing being given a gong by Choice magazine for having the best coverage. Good for them.)

Anyway, while many of you may look at my paint choices and see sludge, I see a lovely mix of naturals that will have parts of the work disappear into the garden while others just blend in with it. And the charcoal trim colour isn't even there yet. (Dulux Malay Grey, Whisper White and Linseed, for anyone interested.)

Best of all, though, Rob the Builder will also perform a little Christmas magic, by completing all the work before disappearing on the 23rd just like a jolly toy-making elf.

And Santa will have a much better roof on which to park his sleigh on Christmas Eve.

Warehouse sales

I'm very happy when a brand I like is having a warehouse sale. Particularly if it's at Christmas and not very far away.

The Have You Met Miss Jones warehouse sale is on this Friday and Saturday. I've never actually been to one of their sales before, and am not even sure I can make this one, but hear they're good. It's the bone china Christmas decorations that I'd be looking out for.

If I do go, I'll also check out the Sambag warehouse sale around the corner at 297 Bourke Rd, Waterloo. That one's open Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10am-4pm. Again, never been but I'm very partial to their sandals and ballet flats and must admit to owning a few cashmere scarves and a silk slip dress. Oh, okay, and a couple of handbags.

One of which was slung over my shoulder one afternoon a couple of years ago as I was entering The Child's primary school to pick her up. I heard the old staff-room window rattle open from above and then the principal shouting out "Fabulous bag, Vera!" before slamming the window shut and returning to, I assume, more educational business.

He's quite the dapper dresser himself. If only they did menswear.

Image via Have You Met Miss Jones.

Bed time

I wasn't even looking for bedlinen. Really I wasn't. Which is always the time you find the best stuff, and my favourite way to shop.

I was doing the grocery shopping and next stop was Herbie's Spices in Rozelle, when I found a park just opposite and right out the front of Vivalino, a tiny shop which stocks French-style bedlinen. Vivalino with a 50 per cent-off-everything-in-the-shop sign displayed in the window. Sceptical, as thinking they'd probably hidden away all the good stuff, I went in. And just as well. The shop looked the same as when I'd last popped in and the sale had just started.

I didn't go nuts, but I did bring home two Bianca Lorenne grey-linen Euro pillowcases for a grand total of $80. I already have some pillowcases and teatowels from the same range and it is the loveliest linen around. That very soft, best straight-off-the-clothes-line crumpled linen.

Surely, a reward to rest my weary head after all that grocery shopping.

It's a wrap

Now that my birthday has been had, I can start thinking about Christmas. And there's nothing that makes me think Christmas more than a visit to one of my favourite shops, The Bay Tree in Woollahra.

While essentially a kitchenware shop, The Bay Tree really is much more. It always has a beautiful selection of decorations and stationery and today I came home with the music-sheet wrapping paper, $4.95, along with the tin heart, $5.95, the post-it notes, $10.95, plus a teatowel, not shown, as I am unable to walk out of The Bay Tree without one. I have post-its stuck to many books, magazines, recipes, etc, and I don't want bits of fluoro ugliness sticking out of beautiful books. Particularly yucky on magazine tearsheets and other bits of loveliness on my desk. I may not have solved world hunger here, but the general irkiness of post-it notes is a small thing that's been bothering me for some time.

I've also starting playing with tags I bought there another time. I painted this one with white stripes and then added some glitter glue. Will look good I think on brown-paper packages finished with a strip of music paper and ribbon.

Now that I've got the wrapping under control, it's time to think about what's going to be wrapped. Much harder...

The shoe fits

These are my 'dress thongs'. Country Road prefer to call them their Cadi sandals.

As they're plastic, I thought they might be slippery so didn't buy them the first time I saw them. Next time they came my way I handed over the $39.95 as thought, at that price, it was worth the risk. And it was.

Have worn them twice - my version of a road test - without even a hint of loss of traction.

And just the right shade of blue, which will go nicely with the new nailpolish I bought for my toes today, ie, Revlon's Totally Toffee in a formaldehyde-and-toulene-free formulation.

Should the rain ever stop (it's been a week now) I might get the shoes and nailpolish together. Until then, gumboots it is.

Have a lovely weekend. x

Material world

Isn't this a great idea? If we didn't have plans to do stuff in the great outdoors this weekend, I'd definitely be taking a look. Snapped in the window of the reasonably new shop Follow in Cleveland St, Surry Hill (old Bird Textiles site), which is run by the pair behind the Finders Keepers markets so worth a look if you're in the area.

If I was a power blogger, I'd organise something similar online but since I'm not, I'll have to file the idea in the never-will-happen pile.

Speaking of fabrics, I know it's very naughty of Spotlight to be 'taking inspiration from' or, speaking plainly, ripping off Liberty prints, even to the point of the names - ie top is called Japan Tana Lawn Tonga, bottom is Japan Tana Lawn Navy - but at $14.95 a metre I found myself at the counter with rolls in hand.

The bottom fabric will become a second Japanese sack (which I'm now in love with, strangely) and the other a lampshade for The Child's room. I'll be covering a frame with it (what's called a soft lampshade in the biz) and will do a tutorial.

Lampshade is in the will-do-but-not-sure-when pile. Hopefully next week.

Christmas at Ikea

Went along to the newly opened Ikea at Tempe yesterday for a sticky beak. Came home with three packs of these cardboard/paper/string reindeer Christmas decorations, which I'll probably use on presents as we tend to go for a red/white/natural approach at our house at Christmas. Thought $2.99 for a pack of four very good value.

No more driving down ugly Parramatta Road to get to the Homebush Ikea, I also thought, would be very convenient. And it is. Little did I realise that the main thoroughfare to the Tempe store, ie Princes Highway, makes Parramatta Road look like the Champs Elysee.

Can't have everything.

There's some nice details at the new Ikea is, which is, well, quite unsurprisingly, like any other Ikea.

But being a creature of habit, I find that quite comforting.

Mugged

We like good deli things at our house: cheese, olives, that kind of thing - and Norton Street Grocer is close to where we live so we're lucky. Certainly on the pricey side, but it's a lovely shop. Thanks to last month's issue of Feast magazine, though, I've discovered a new-to-me-but-been-there-for-millennia deli - Lamia Super Deli, as it's grandly called. It's a little further away, but not that much so who's quibbling? Not me.

Lamia Super Deli certainly lives up to its name. You can barely see the Greek owners and employees behind the long counter as its stacked with stuff. Luckily, there's a few vantage points where they poke their faces round the side so you can speak to them. It's the olives I go for. We eat a lot of them in our house and after seeing a pic in the mag of huge tins of kalamatas and every other olive under the Athenean sun with the lids ripped off, I was there. No dainty upmarket decanting of the olives into little containers - and all the better for it.

Half the price of what I'm used to paying and no extra charge for the Greek music that's always tinkling away in the background. An elderly Greek customer was dancing when I walked in today. I kid you not. It's my new favourite haunt. Particularly as there are spectactular Asian supermarkets in the same strip. And here I was going into Chinatown when I needed serious supplies. Should give myself a face-palm, as the The Child would say.

Marrickville is close to where I live but it's another world away in atmosphere. It's like spinning a globe and jabbing your finger at it. You'll never know where you'll end up or what you'll find.

There is a connection to the mugs, if you were wondering. I popped into an op shop on the way back to the car, something I rarely do as central Sydney offers pretty slim pickings. Thought Marrickville might be different. Not much, to be honest, but there were these sweet little mugs twinkling at me from among the surrounding crud. I bought them to add to the picnic/camping basket but they seem to have found their way onto the kitchen shelf instead. At $1 each, I might have to go back and pick up the two I left behind.

Have a lovely weekend.

Summer lovin'

I love the colours of my new summery scarf.

One outfit I plan on wearing it with is a white top teamed with a white linen ruffle skirt I have to stop people mistaking me for a nurse.

From Lee Mathews.

Also want this boat skirt. Unfortunately, I can't justify replacing the word 'want' with 'need' in that sentence right now.

Birds of a feather

Walking down William Street, Paddington on Saturday I noticed a new shop. A shop selling a mix of new-and-vintage homewares. A shop called I Like Birds.

How could I not go in?

And there on a chair was a cockatoo cushion made from a vintage teatowel. I couldn't elbow the browser next to me out of the way fast enough.

Slapped $45 on the counter and came home.

If only today's foray into the city to stock The Child's wardrobe with summer clothes that actually fit had been as quick.

I think I'll make a cup of tea and rest my weary head. On a certain cushion.