Six of the Best....Pitcher Perfect

I'm a tiny bit addicted to the ramblings of Dottieangel and I'm twiddling my thumbs until she posts from her hols in the mother country, not only is she a crafty, creative individual and quirky master wordsmith but she's very kind and thoughtful... check out Mrs Eliot Books blog to see why....

The above image is from Dottieangel's lovely abode and below Six of the Best this week focusing on perfect Pitchers for flowers, just as a display or for storing your knitting needles!

Desk Thursday 25th June 09

Desk Thursday 25th June 09, originally uploaded by mollieandfinn.

Happy Desk Thursday!

No make shift desk today... Just the following -

A spindle back chair I found on the roadside that I'm trying to bring back to life - the white around edges is wood putty and lots of it to cover up the many, many holes from tacks and nails I've removed.

My new screen printing frame/mesh which needs the design from the previous owner blown out.

Framed white oil paintings from Morocco....

A parcel I'm about to mail to the States and a birthday card for my mum in the UK...

Happy 1st Birthday Finn....

Our little man (of the house) turned one today!!

Peace at last - for a short time, catching some Zzzzzzzzz's with his dad

Cornish Roses...

The weather last weekend in Sydney was tres horrible, not that I like to complain too much because for most of the year Sydney weather is pretty dandy.

I returned home on Saturday morning (from a 50 minute car journey that should have taken 15 - all traffic was moving at a snails pace and at one point the road was so flooded water was coming out of our exhaust... ) - any way as I said I returned home to these lovely pictures emailed from my mum who lives far, far away in Cornwall, England... her roses are in full bloom and look so lovely, I'm sure they smell as divine as they look - thanks mum!

Hopefully one day I'll have a little walled garden, nestled on a little farm!

Ok so not a home a Hotel... But!

I recently posted a piece on Michelle Adams' lovely NYC apartment - here are some pictures from the Hotel (the J K Capri, Italy) which Michelle channeled as inspiration of her own home

... I'm not tiring of powder blue walls combined with the painted white wood framework look, especially in the image directly below - food for thought....

Bathroom Renovation

We recently renovated our bathroom YAY!, it was the last room in the apartment to get a much, MUCH needed overhaul.

When we purchased the apartment four years ago it was unlivable - nothing had been changed since inside the apartment since it was first built in 1960. The kitchen was totally beyond repair and grease almost a centimeter thick clung to the wall behind the stove, the tiles kept falling off the bathroom walls, the carpet was lined with horse hair and took forever to pull up and the walls in the second bedroom when we sugar soaped them produced a river of grime from the ceiling down to the floor. How anyone lived there before we purchased the apartment I will never know it was the pits but had 'good bones', a friend of ours who couldn't quite see the potential could only comment that it was "close to the beach" but her face didn't hide the fact that she thought we were crazy to have invested in such a dump!

BATHROOM BEFORE

and...BATHROOM AFTER!

These bamboo ladders have been great (we use another in our bedroom), we have very limited space that means we're struggling to find room for towel rails - so these were a cheap alternative and attractive alternative.

The wall between the loo and the rest of the original bathroom was knocked down and in the spare space we managed to get a laundry cupboard which is big enough to house our washing machine.

The timber for the mirror frame and the top of the vanity came from a wood reclamation centre and cost $50 (Aud) we treated the wood with water proof lacquer....

Post renovation the walls are a little sparse - some of our pictures haven't made the final cut - but I thought I would share anyway.

Guess Who...

Emma Watson
Hermione from the Harry Potter series is the new face of Burberry - I love, love, LOVE the trench coat.

Six of the Best .... Orange

Clockwise from top left... Set of 3 Handmade Crochet Cotton Dishcloth / Washcloth $12.00 @ sunshine groove farmSet of TWO Vintage FUNKY Flower Stackable Mugs WITH Heart Shaped Handles $12.00 and directly below Lacquered ORANGE SLICE 15 Inch Round Tray - VIBRANT $21.00 @ Sunsetside Vintage
Winter Tree - Original Painting on Canvas 5 x 5 inches $24.00 @ Artangel

Orange Striped Pencil Skirt $30.00 @ Hotvintage

VINTAGE VIBRANT STRIPED SCARF $12.00 @ DelicateCreations

Dandi Give Away at Swish and Swanky

The fabulous Amanda at swish and swanky (blog) is running a 'give away' in one of her posts of the most fantastic homewares and kitchen accessories by Dandi...


Be quick and check out her blog (here) to be in with a chance to win a "dining pack that includes a Printed Tablecloth in the Duckegg Geo pattern and a set of 8 Duckegg coloured Napkins"

All Hail Grace Coddington!!!

Last night I braved the windchill and was out at an hour when I'm usually tucked up in bed reading a book to que in a line packed with wanna be fashionista's to watch the "September Issue"... R J Cutlers documentary follows the US Vogue team for nine months while they pulled together the mammoth September 2007 Issue. Despite the wait and the cold toes I wasn't disappointed, Anna Wintour was icy cold as predicted and the there are few 'gasp' moments, but the star of the show was one Grace Coddington Vogue’s Fashion Editor, “the ying to Anna's yang".

Examples of some of Graces work

At 60 plus Grace has stalked the offices of Vogue UK and US for over 25 years and has kept her sense of humour and compassion for those unfortunate soles bowled over by the Wintour steam train, including staff and high profile designers. Coddington is non-fussed by the celeb hype and believes that fashion should exhibit fantasy and a little fun, she see's beauty in all - even the camera man's rounded tummy! Creativity and talent oozes from every pore, even under emense pressure and time constraints Grace pulls the most amasing photo shoots out of the bag.

Bless you Grace...

Totally Wrong Season for this but I need it....Premium Floral Playsuit - Dresses - New In - Topshop

Premium Floral Playsuit - Dresses - New In - Topshop

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We Like..... Madeleine Stamer

I thought I would share some of the work by Madeleine Stamer artist extraordinaire, mother of two and fellow blogger - I stumbled across her work late last night while browsing the Internet and instantly fell in love with it...



Here's a brief Bio of Madeleine and what inspires her art work and some of her lovely prints. To view Madeleine's website click here.... - Enjoy!

Little Circus Design and Little Birdsville are the creation of Australian artist Madeleine Stamer. Bother worlds combine Madeleine's passion of illustration, love of birds and all the good bits in between.

Madeleine Stamer was born in 1972, the Year of the Rat. The youngest of five children she grew up in the leafy suburbs of Melbourne. Her open minded parents always supported her yearning to be an artist since the day she put crayon to butcher paper...

Madeleine is dead keen on all things Mexicana, birds, natural history, skeletons, traditional folk art, vintage print & pattern and things that are nice to touch.

Madeleine and her loving husband Karl, little toddler Wilhelmina Pearl and baby Ada Clementine live in a big old, semi run-down, part restored Victorian house in Melbourne, Australia. Madeleine also works part time at a prominent Melbourne school teaching visual arts as well as devoting time to exhibiting, freelance illustration and her Little Circus Design projects.

In the Kitchen - Mini Carrot Cakes

• 1¼ cups (220g) brown sugar
• ¾ cup (185ml) vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1½ cups (225g) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking powder)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 2½ cups grated carrot (about 5 carrots)
• ½ cup (60g) chopped pecan nuts
• ½ cup (80g) sultanas

Carrot Cake Frosting

• 250g cream cheese, softened
• ⅓ cup (110g) icing (confectioner’s) sugar, sifted
• 1½ tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Place the sugar and oil in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 2–3 minutes. Add the eggs gradually and beat well. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and ginger over the sugar mixture. Add the carrot, pecans and sultanas and mix until just combined. Pour into a greased 22cm-round cake tin lined with non-stick baking paper and bake for 55–60 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer - Instead of the cake tin I used some pink cup cakes cases. Cool in tin.
For the cream cheese frosting, process the cream cheese in a food processor until smooth. Add the icing sugar and lemon juice and process until smooth. Spread frosting on the cooled cake. Serves 8.

Thanks Donna Hay... this recipe is from modern classics book 2 (HarperCollins, 2003)

Lace, Totes and Orange Roses

The lace top I purchased from Vintage revolver on Etsy arrived yesterday morning and I love it! I'm going to wear when we go out for breakfast tomorrow for my mother-in-law's birthday... Thanks Vintage Revolver, xox.

The top is currently hanging on display in our bedroom next to my new handmade totes / book bags made from Alexander Henry fabric, I'm going to list these in the next month along with other bags made from up-cycled fabric on molliefinn@etsy.com so stay tuned....

This final picture was taken of some orange roses on top of our coffee table, the metal tray underneath is listed on molliefinn@etsy.com - it's a reluctant listing as you can see!

We Like... David Austin Roses

I used David Austin roses in my wedding bouquet, my first choice had been to use peonies but these were out of season... now David Austin roses have over taken peonies as my favourite flower - they smell delicious and are available year round and come in the most amazing colours...

Michelle Adams' Apartment

This month's Australian Real Living Magazine has just landed on the shelf of my local newsagent and features ex Domino stylist and Rubie Green designer Michelle Adams' small but perfectly styled apartment, and I for one love it! Michelle's apartment would be my dream bachelorette pad, I love the powder blue walls and the mix of upholstered fabric against the economically accessible ikea staples. Apparently the inspiration behind the transformation of this rental apartment is the J K Capri Hotel in Italy, I can see why - click here to view.

I've struggled with the scanner so the pictures are small and less than perfect - apologies for this, I felt compelled to add them regardless! There might be better pictures on the real living blog - reallivingmagazine.blogspot.com. Enjoy!