Things I Love – Tuesday 3rd November 2009

+ tea and crosswords and caramel slice

+ Smashing Magazine

+ Laksa

+ Planning for Thailand trip (7.5 weeks to go!)

+ Growing up

+ Pump class (okay I’ll be honest: this is love/hate)

+ Those cute bikes for babies which have a long handle on the back for the parent to steer. I first remember seeing a picture of Jamie Oliver pushing one of his girls on one of these, so adorable)

+ Speaking of JO… Jamie’s American Road trip. So good.

+ Discussing books with friends

+ Ferris wheels (more on this later)

+ These parks (oh imagination, you are a beautiful thing!)

2009 Ikea Christmas range round-up [yes, a Christmas post already]

i think it’s always interesting to see what new things Ikea brings out each year around Christmastime. i have to admit i love Christmas, and i love Ikea! this is by no means an exhaustive list as there’s plenty of bits and pieces, but here’s my round-up all the same.

Kallt is a range of decorations like these spiky stars, these tree lights, and this candelabra. And here’s some scented tealights to put in it.

Kyligt is table accessories like paper napkins, sandwich trays, placemats, and paper plates.

Snoa has stockings (cute! but i was thinking of attempting making my own this year), cushions, Tripp tins (which i will definitely purchase without delay – still kicking myself for not getting the second to last series of Tripp tins), polyprop bags, and even a fabric range.

there’s also Jurlos candles and candleholders, Slatthult tree and star decals, Kramsno cookie cutters, and Sprallig reindeer hook rack (not sure what this is for but i’m quite fond of it).

what I love about a lot of this stuff is that it is not Christmas specific. i’ve noticed before that Ikea Christmas stuff often has loveheart theme, and i’m not sure whether this is a Swedish thing or just an Ikea thing. regardless, i love it and am obviously already a fan. red and white is a classic combo which can be used year-round. i would love a tablecloth made out of Snoa fabric, for example.

so there you have it. cheap and cheerful Christmas paraphernalia from Ikea.

p.s. other cute things i noticed on the Ikea website while i was browsing: this vase (love!), this fabric, and this desk.

untitled!

i don’t know. roses?

favourites in red and cream

not a great photo, but i love this little corner of my home. you can see some of my favourite things:
1. apple jar (bought recently; currently housing tea light candles)
2. loveheart enamel mugs brought back from Prague by my mum
3. mini enamel mug brought back from Akaroa, NZ
4. french tea towel from Akaroa, NZ (who knew Akaroa would have such a great French homewares shop??)
5. doilies thrifted from Savers in Melbourne

the end.

i baked.

i like to bake. i don’t really cook, i just bake. luckily i have a husband that cooks.

[side note: i want to see Julie and Julia]

anyway, so my most recent baking produced the little muff that you can see on the side here:

i used the recipe on Taste.com.au here which i really liked as it uses honey and yoghurt for sweetness, not sugar. one thing i learnt though: do not use creamed honey! it just stays solid and does not mix in. whoops. they were still yummy though. perfect with a cup of tea. and they freeze well too.
oh, also i used butter not margarine, and i used half GF flour and half normal flour. and it worked just fine.

also pictured is one of my recent tea towel acquisitions. the cheesier, the better, in my opinion!

Things I Love

+ bright flowers (orange ones in particular)

+ rainy weekends (lots of couch time, snoozing, movie-watching)

+ eggs on toast with tomato sauce

+ Gold Class cinema (it is awesome!)

+ my girl friends

the end.

blooms in yellow

it’s crazy how many yellow flowers have been gracing my sideboard over the last few weeks. i guess this is spring! we have freesias and hyacinths on the balcony too. and petunias i think. it’s great having a garden man for a husband.

still here

i’m still around. just busy.

i got back from a New Zealand adventure on Sunday
…photos to follow soon.

also, isn’t Spring lovely?

another corner of my home: august 2009

same same. but different.

short, sweet, sunshine, sandals

it’s hard to believe it’s still winter.
the sunshine recently has been so stunning. so glorious.
you can’t help but feel warmed inside and out.