The quick trip ...

Here we are in Sunny Townsville.  A fast and furious few days filled with appointments, Christmas shopping and swimming lessons for the kids.  Last but not least ... a fabulous new cut and colour to get me through the silly season ... wahoo!

just around the corner! 

the view from our place  ...

kids will get some mileage out of the water park ...

...hopefully enjoy a latte with my sister too :-)

~ live life every day  ~

a 'real life' friday story ...

this is how my Friday started ... 

wake up 6.15am...hmmm power is off... husband is away until tomorrow night ...  walk down to engine room and turn on generator... good ... can do treadmill workout now...

get kids up for breakfast 7am ...  objections all around, but I persist ... phone rings ...  someone asking about installing digital tv ...  What's that ???  someone's calling for me?? ... 'Won't be a minute ... I'm on the phone!'.

Oh dear! ... Our coldroom has 'iced up' and all our cold goods and hanging beast is in danger of being ruined ...  WAIT!  ... grab the hairdryer ... show the hired help how we 'melt the ice' and get the coldroom working again ...

ok... good ... can I have my breakfast???  no... kids need to brush teeth and get ready for school... ok... done ...

wait "MUM!! " poddy calves are in the garden!  "what???"  oh no... 4 of our poddy calves have jumped the fence, are eating rotting mangoes (which they love) and won't get out of my garden!

you are KIDDING ME!  ok... finally get the kids to help me muster them out of the yards and lure with some mangoes ... yes, Ben, Bambi, Andy and Daisy - OUTSIDE the fence please off  my violets, lillies and gerbras!"

now... I just have to feed Andy (youngest poddy calf) 2 litres out of a bottle ... and ... done.

Finally!  Breakfast, a shower and just in time to run over and listen to the kid's on air Christmas concert...  and it's only 8.30am...

this is why they say ...

                THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY !!!


... looking forward to... 

all images via pinterest

~  how's your Friday?  ~

classic delft

Delft ... I'm not sure why but I've always loved it.  To me, it's like wearing blue jeans and a t shirt - you really can't go wrong - it's classic... end of story.

Don't get me wrong... I love colour - all sorts of colour, but if there's 2 jugs in the room and one is blue and white, there's a good chance that's the one I'll be taking home.

Look at all these gorgeous pieces I found tonight ...  Vintage Delft ... 

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 1.  French Country Vintage Pot     2. Vintage Blue Delft Style Pin Brooch    3. Vintage blue flower pot
4.  Delft Blue Pitcher     5. Vintage Delft Tray - didn't know Delft could be green!
6.  Vintage copper kettle with delft handle    7. Vintage Delft Salt Box     8.  Antique delft tile

The photos below are of the first ever (a bit shonky) mosaic pot I did.  

I was dying to use my 'Canal Houses' tile purchased in Amsterdam years ago!  I made the pot with  3 sides of tulips and the front featuring the Canal Houses ... sits pride of place outside out kitchen window so I can see it every day.   Love it.

~  find something beautiful every day  ~

Experience Laduree ...

I first noticed this 'brand name' when I purchased a print from one of my favourite Etsy Artists... 'luciles kitchen'.    My print had part of a Laduree bag incorporated in it.

hmmm... I was curious ... more sleuthing required.  A quick 'click' trip to Pinterest opened my eyes (and mouth literally) to undoubtedly the most beautifully presented dessert store on the planet.

Laduree, I found are the creators of luxury cakes, pastries and invented the first double decker macaron.  Apparently they sell 15 000 macarons every day - wow!

I have never tasted a macaron and probably shouldn't, for my own good.  My saving grace here is that I'm a bit geographically challenged at the moment  ~  my current location - cattle property in Australia   ~   Laduree store ... approximately 36 hrs away (by jumbo jet) in Paris.

So... onto the list it goes for my next soujourn to Paris (whenever that will be), right up there with travelling on the Orient Express and having high tea at the Plaza Hotel (New York)...

a girl can dream can't she?

 

My lovely print - the inspiration behind the post - lucileskitchen

~  find something beautiful every day  ~

magic in my garden ... part 2

enjoy part 2 ...

Looking up into our Flinders Pine tree

... kids were hoping to find fairies under here ...

hmmm... unfortunately ... no-one's home ...

Not sure what this is... but i'ts flowering!

pretty storm lillies in a basket

sun jewels

Sad, dying sunflower...

... yet another weed, but quite pretty...

and you can see it takes over ...

we call this Nelia Bells - it only flowers in the morning ...

Quite proud of my nastirtium's this year ...

... and lastly ... the closest thing we get to Christmas Holly!!!  It is also a weed ...

~   find beauty all around you   ~

magic in my garden ... part 1

something is always happening or flowering in the garden 

white cockatoo occasionally flies in for a drink from the leaking sprinkler

fireball lilly in flower

succulent ivy growing from a cutting!

colourful crotons

pink michaelmas daisy

yellow croton

pink croton

i DO like ivy ...

pink allamanda finally getting a 'go on' up the frangipani tree...

not sure what this is, but was told it's from Madagascar?  tough as...

our fabulous BIG tap

~ PART 2 coming soon ...  ~