I want to show you the pretty, handmade purse I received from Tammi (of little poppa fame) when we met for lunch a few weeks ago,

it's as gorgeous as she is.

Tammi is about to launch her very own, vintage inspired fashion range, which she has called Dear Molly after her beloved Nan. 

and don't be thinking your garden variety tea dresses here either (lovely as they are) Tammi's frocks are going to have a much groovier, 70's vibe, and I know, they are going to be fabulous. 

You can read a little more about Tammi's plans here.

(I'll be sure to keep you posted too)

Not to be outdone by Tammi (imagine me clearing my throat here) I am so proud of myself it's embarrassing! Look what I whipped up on the Janome yesterday

aren't Maria Pascual's illustrations charming...

Yep, I've made cards for all occasions (watch out, you might get one!) The old book I snipped them from cost me twenty cents and was falling apart, I would never have cut into it if it was in good nick - I'm no barbarian Pippa.

I watched Quentin Bryce (our Governor-General, if you're not an Aussie) unveil Ralph Heimans Diamond Jubilee portrait of the Queen on the telly yesterday,

"she's a beautiful subject to paint, she has a great face" Ralph Heimans

image via and more here

  

and it reminded me of our own 'portrait' of her maj, recently rescued from our shed, and finally hung

(in tiny print at the base of the pic, it reads: Printed in England for H.M. Stationary Office. Cha (and I can't make out the rest of this, if you know please send me a note) and Sherwell Ltd. Northampton.)

in our hallway with all the other VIP's (that'll be us!) you can see reflected in her glass.

And here's a pic of a pretty plate I'm sending to someome special??? I wanted to share before I pop it in the post. Actually both plates (you can see a smidge of the other) are on their way to new homes. The one in the background is by Lucas Grogan and you can get one here (don't you look Woolfy) if it tickles your fancy.

By the by, I've just enrolled in an interior design course so I'm pre-tty excited about that (although the thought of making scale models and producing drawings is more than slightly terrifying)

Thanks for reading, have a wonderful week x  

Open House Perth

detail vintage t.towel. pure linen. made in Poland.

Did you know the thriving metropolis (the city of Perth) is throwing open the doors to some of its most beautiful heritage/contemporary buildings in November?

Yep, on the weekend of the third and fourth, you can have a good old fashioned sticky beak and a nosey, around buildings like the Concert Hall, Council House (two of my favourites) and Perth Arena (not feeling the love for this one, yet) and it won't cost you a cent either. More info here

The people organising Open House Perth are also on the hunt for volunteers and you don't have to be a hipster, happening designer, or black skivvy wearing architect type to help out either (I'm thinking Iggy Peck here). I'm not, and I am.*

Click here if you'd like to help out.  

image found here

*

actually, I look a bit more like this - apart from the perfect bun in her hair ie. mine are always on the wonky side. Up do's have never been my forte.  

 

Golden Circle Magic (or should that read, tragic?)

You decide... 

Revolted inspired by our vintage copies of the Golden Circle Tropical Recipe Book published in the early 1960's by the Golden Circle Cannery  

visitors could attend guided tours of the cannery and purchase a copy. There were even Golden Circle Hostesses to conduct the tours. I'm wondering what their uniforms looked like, I bet they were awesome.

Donna and I thought it would be fun to whip up a dish from the book and share our disasters delights on our blogs with you.

It wasn't easy to choose a recipe. Ruby Borrowdale, the Golden Circle Home Economist(!) certainly knew her way around a pineapple, that's for sure. Her recipes are all so bad, they're good - as far as kitschy, retro recipes go, I don't think you'd find a better collection.

In the end I decided to tempt the family with a Coral Reef Pie. Here it is as it appears in the book:

in all it's technicolour glory.

(pudding like this would've been all my dreams come true when I was a kid)

and here's my version:

before I popped it in the oven

and

after.

You shouldn't mess with perfection. I know that now. If Ruby thought sprinkling the top of her pie with coconut was a good idea, she would've said so in her recipe.

 

My decision to add my own little florish was a big mistake, it completely wrecked that beautiful, lurid, nausea inducing pink top, which is what made me choose Coral Reef Pie in the first place. I felt like giving myself a smack when I took it out of the oven.

(had to sneak a vintage tea towel in here somewhere!)

 All was forgiven (re coconut sprinkling only, NOT taste wise, I'm afraid) when I cut myself (I was the only taker???) a slice.

Look at that pink...

there's something about it that reminds me of a soggy beetroot sandwich which isn't a good thing really, is it? And that oozing yellow custard? Ewwww!

Now, if you really want the recipe

before you ask, bear in mind this 'thing' sat in the fridge completely untouched for a week, before I threw it in the bin. Not one finger pierced its surface (in this house, that's a miracle!)

I'm more than happy to send it to you.

In the meantime, check out Donna's effort here. I know it involves that mouth watering combo of jelly and vegetables. Mmmmmm! Yummy!

Before you pop over to Donna's check out the lovely labels on Golden Circle products of old

compare them to the label on the tin I bought to make the pie

Proof, that sometimes, some things don't get better with age.

Thanks for reading, I'm off to Donna's for lunch.

p.s. if you'd like us to do this again (?!) just let us know in your comment. Ha-ha!

x

EDIT:

I've just discovered that Donna and I aren't the only ones out there having "exciting adventures with tropic-style cooking". Brismod makes us look like amateurs. Check out her series, yes, I said series(!) on cooking with pineapple here. You are our Golden Circle guru Brismod. Those Sunny Sausages look like you've got too much time on your hands delicious!

AND

I know this post is like the ubiquitous piece of string, but I had to make mention of the Pineapple Princesses who write a blog utterly and entirely dedicated to Ruby and the joys of cooking with pineapple. Click the link and say Hello, I'm sure the girls would love to hear from you.

Would you like to live here?

dumb question?

It's another little mid-century beauty currently for sale in South Australia. Honestly, what is it about South Australia and gorgeous modernist homes? There's heaps of them! And the prices (at least for a Perth girl like me) Bon Marche! I am seriously considering ditching my Sandgroper roots and becomming a Crow Eater. 

See those T H Brown stools in the pic above? Well, I'm telling you, those are just the tip of the iceberg. Don't tell me you haven't got a jealous bone in your body until you've clicked the link and counted all of the lovely T H Browns in this house, because until you do, I won't believe you.

(there's lots of other nice bits and pieces for you to get all green-eyed over too btw - check the old concrete tub in the laundry - beautiful!)

"I never though it would happen with me and the girl from Clapham"  Never know your luck though...

(Up the Junction, Squeeze, recorded 1978)

x

p.s. please pop back tomorrow, 12pm EST for the inaugural Lucy Violet Vintage/Hung up on Retro Golden Circle retro cook-off link up. Donna and I are going to show you how to put a touch of "tropical magic" in your cooking. Or not.  

Vintage Tea Towel Tuesday

I am lucky enough to own vintage tea towels from all over the world, 

you know that song "I've Been Everywhere Man"*, well I could sing my own tea towel version. It would go a little something like this:

"dishes I've dried my share man, I've dried everywhere..." 

(unfortunately that's all I've got for you at the moment. writers block - sorry)

and now, thanks to my dearest bloggy friend Nadine (a.k.a. Woolfy) I can add not one, but two beautiful vintage t.ts. all the way from Belgium to my collection. Feast your eyes...

In 1978: I read Dolly Magazine. Religiously. Misty was my favourite comic - oh how I loved my black cat charm bracelet! (free with issue three, I think...) I went to the flicks (more than once!) to see Grease. I had a huge crush on Leif Garrett, and The Sullivans was my favourite t.v. show.

I also had a t.shirt with the slogan Kiss Me printed on it. It was purple and I was terrified to wear it in public. I honestly thought a stranger (read pimply, Dragstar riding teen) would see those words as an invitation to plant one on me! I know, how sad is that? I remember wishing I had my sister's tee instead. Hers was green and read LOVE. I would've felt much safer wearing that one. Loser!

 1978 was a pretty good year actually, I was a bit of a dag, but I survived. Pity I haven't aged as well as these gorgeous tea towels. I've probably got more memories than them though - they look as though they dried as many dishes as I kissed boys!

And just in case, you feel the need, here's Lucky

x

"in the spring at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt" 

(margaret atwood, bluebeard's egg)

busy getting dirt on my hands and up my finger nails...

catch you later if you're kind enough to pop back x

p.s. happy birthday to all you fellow virgos out there, including you Anth x

I had no intention of pitting my wits against blogger's new interface so quickly, but when something as lovely as this arrives on your doorstep, procrastination is not an option.

(so far so good)

Beautiful Western Australia tea towel cushion, handmade by Lea

You wouldn't believe the knot I tied in my bloggy knickers, when I read they'd be changing their interface tout de suite' (I don't even know what an interface is, for God's sake! And that's no lie!) It took me almost two years just to get the hang of the old one, so I (ridiculously) thought my bloggy days were over.

(turns out it's a sinch and I'm just a drama queen. pitting my wits? seriously?) 

  

I'm calling it my homie cushion.

I was having such a crapity crap day too, until I found it

I'm all smiles now though...just call me Pollyanna. It's all rainbows and sunbeams from here on, and that's down to Lea's kindness.  

Black swan - bird emblem of Western Australia

Lovely cushions for us all, no more sore bottoms from sitting on bare Brentwoods. Speaking of bottoms, you should see the gorgeous mustard corduroy Lea used to back my cushion. Delicious.

So, the moral(s) of this story?

1. Don't get worked up and stressed out about things, until/if you really have to.

2. Crappy days can get better.

3. Kindness can never be over rated.

And I quote Glen Campbell here: "you got to try a little kindness, yes show a little kindness, just shine your light for everyone to see..."

I so remember getting down and rocking o.u.t. to this when I was a kid, about the same time I was a.k.a. Colleen...

4. Vintage tea towels make awesome cushions.

(as if you didn't already know that, right?)

Thanks Lea, your cushion really cheered me up x

and

to the rest of you,

thanks for reading, wish I knew you guys in real life x 

Vintage tea towel Tuesday, the weather and other mundane things...

It's Spring

isn't it?

isn't it???

Spring by name, not by nature

(that's hailstones in those agaves of ours... pic taken this arvo)

We chose a wild and crazy day for a walk along the beach...

Scarborough Beach 8am - swimming not an option!

that's the way we roll round here sometimes...

we did find 'treasure' though.

Anth was just the man to drag it back to the car - it would've been reclaimed by the sea, or another scavenger if it was up to me.

There are signs of Spring about the place,

 

just not today.

Last week I received a parcel of lovely vintage tea towels from Sue. You can read about Sue's kindness (and appreciation for 'fluffy' jokes) here. The t.ts. belonged to Sue's Mum Barb, and now yippee! they belong to me. Feast your eyes on their loveliness

As far as t.ts go I've been an extremely lucky girl lately. Look at this beauty, all the way from the Emerald Isle

Sent to me by Sharon  who had no idea I fancy myself as a bit of an Irish dancer*

Nor for that matter, that I went by the name Colleen for a short (but oh so sweet!) time when I was ten or eleven. I thought it was such a lovely name, (I know!) so much nicer than Kylie. My Mum put paid to that little deception, pretty quickly though, don't you worry about that!

She had no knowledge of my secret identity, until a friend (completely sucked in by my subterfuge) knocked on our door (Mum got there quicker than me!) and asked if could she play with, yep, my alias, Colleen.

Smacks were definetely involved. Lots of them.

* only after a glass, or two etc.

Thanks for reading, if I don't post for a while it's because I'm trying to get my head around blogger's new interface. Oh dear. This could take me some time...

x