Home-Made Hot Cross Buns.

Bake your own like I did today, and you'll NEVER buy them from the shops again!

These buns are just about to go into the oven (sorry!)

Did you know that the cross on Hot Cross Buns is made with a mixture of flour and water? Until this arvo, it was news to me!

Some recipes, including the one in my Better Homes and Gardens "Holiday Cook Book" (1959) call for an egg white icing sugar combo, piped on after the buns have cooked.

Fresh out of the oven-if you wanted perfect buns, this is when you'd brush yours with a sugary glaze.

And speaking of perfect, to avoid a wonky cross, just make your flour and water mix a little thicker than I did.

(but having said that, you know I don't mind a bit of wonk. In our house, we call 'wonky food' "El Rustico!" A handy little phrase which covers all sorts of cooking disasters. It gets bandied around a lot round here!) 

 

Delicious, and the smell while they were baking? Heavenly!

(teacups are vintage, made in Spain, a present from my sister-in-law)

 

Green juice be damned!

 

This is the recipe I used, but here's a retro one you might prefer

 

 source, Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Cook Book, 1959.

 

Happy baking and wishing you a happy Easter for next Sunday too x 

 

 

If You Knew Suzie, Like I Know Suzie...

you'd enter the give-away over at Dear Molly too!

meet Suzie,

beautifully hand-made by my friend Tammi, and quite possibly the comfiest frock in my wardrobe.

This one's mine, but you've got until next Wednesday (the 28th) to win your own.

You don't have to do anything earth shattering to enter, and Tammi's give-away is open to everyone - she'll post to Timbuktu if that's where the (lucky) winner lives!

Soooooo, what are you waiting for?!

x

  

  

Green Apples

Granny Smiths

to be

precise.

And why yellow is such an awesome colour...

!

That's all. Good night x

 

note: Why green apples? well, in addition to kale, spinach, cucumber, celery and ginger, green apples are what I've been living on for almost two weeks. That little teak bowl is emptied almost as quickly as it's filled. When I refilled it this arvo, I noticed how lovely they looked so I decided to take some pics. That's why...

 

 

  

Ahoy There Me Hearties!

Beautiful handmade wall hanging. Made from a vintage tea towel.

 

It's nauti(cal) and nice! 
 

Please follow my blog with bloglovin.

Thank you.

 

Wishing you "fair winds and a following sea (and long may your big jib draw)" What the???

x

  

It Pays to Ask...

you never know what treasures you might find.

While waiting to pay for a purchase at my local oppy I spotted this

cardboard cylinder on a shelf behind the cash register.

The label is faded and tatty - even with my specs on, I can only read that it was sent to a Mrs Brown of ? (a farm or station name), Muchea, Western Australia.

(Muchea is a small farming community 57kms North of Perth)

Intrigued, I asked the lady serving me what was inside - just a few old pictures, she replied. But, what pictures they were!

Here's a couple of clues for you

Hmmmm, any guesses?

This will give the game away!

 

Inside were four, never framed, Big-Eyed prints by Cee Franca! I can only assume Mrs Brown ordered them for her children's bedroom and didn't get around to hanging them up (just like the Big Eyes I've got stashed in our shed, because the girls think they're freaky, and refuse to let me hang them)

 

Now meet the kids (my names)

 

Pepper

Gino

Bertie, and

Spike

Cute aren't they?

(Franca always gave her Big-Eyed kids that sweet round nose)

The prints were manufactured by D.A.C. New York (the Donald Art Company - named after owner and founder Donald Bonnist). D.A.C. sold millions of prints like these throughout the U.S.A. and internationally.

 

So, next time you're out and about, remember to ask if something catches your eye - you'll either score like I did, or die wondering. Right?!

And just in case you're curious, here's what I was waiting to pay for 

this beautiful vintage cardigan by Nordstrikk

(Nordstrikk has been making traditional Norwegian knitwear since 1963)

Look at those pewter clasps...

and buttons!

Roll on Winter!

 

Linking to Max's Op-Shop Show-Off and Lakota's Ta-Dah! Tuesday

The Iwanoff Project

or, Why I Love Concrete.

Yesterday I had the privilege of viewing this incredible home

53 Shannon Road Dianella

designed by Bulgarian born Perth architect, Iwan Iwanoff (1919-1986), in 1968. 

If you are unfamiliar with Iwanoff, in simple terms, he is Perth's darling of Modernist architecture. The West's own Harry Seidler or Robin Boyd, so to speak. Internationally he can be compared to Frank Llyod Wright.   

The Iwanoff Project in a nutshell was a Home Open with 'extras'.

Contemporary work (and some vintage pieces too) by Australian artists and designers were displayed (and for sale) throughout the house. Talks and guided tours were also held.

For me though, it was the house that stole the show. 

For someone like me who has long admired Iwanoff homes from afar, (read pervy 'drive-bys') this was not the time to shop!

53 Shannon Road is up for auction on March 16. More details and better pics here. In the meantime, have a look at mine: 

While its exterior may not be as 'out there' as others (examples here and here), just you wait!

tile envy? sculpture envy? anyone?

Stunning Brutalist sculpture by Iwanoff's good friend, George Kosturkov  (you would cry if I told you how much this piece sold for) in entry. To the left of this is an amazing water feature (and we're talking "The Party" here, NOT Bunnings!)

The cabinetry alone will knock your socks off!

Marble, copper, teak - it's got it all!

Marble internal room divider

Timber ceilings? Yes please.

Even the smallest room in the house is drool-worthy

bathroom to the left, loo to the right...

Yep, that's me perched on the loo - worth it to get a pic of that sink! I mean SERIOUSLY!

It's the little things that count,

(the toilet roll holder of your dreams Brismod?)

hook behind loo door.

wouldn't you agree?

Alfresco entertainment area. An innovative idea at the time.

Spot the 'conversation pit'

Bet you'd like to park your car here,

drive down this driveway, (ignore the scaffolding next door)

and

collect your mail from this mail box...I know I would!

p.s. for even more of # 53, check out Patsy's post here.

x

  

Vintage Tea Towel Extravaganza

It's been a while, but they're back.

(it's amazing what a bit of home sewn ric-rac does to up the swoon factor)

I've been a bit slack on this blog as far as vintage tea towels are concerned...I find them, buy them, bring them home, wash and iron them, delight in their loveliness and stick them in a plastic storage crate in the shed. Not even a photo taken. 

I know, what kind of self-proclaimed vintage tea towel lover am I?!

(Honestly, I really do love them. I'm not a vintage tea towel loving phony. I'm a vintage t.t. lover short on space! Promise.)

(gotta love a vintage comedy tea towel, right?)

I have been wracking my brain, thinking of something beautiful and useful to do with them which doesn't involve going near them with a pair of scissors! I cannot bring myself to cut into them. Humble as I know they are, I just can't do it! 
(although I love my tea towel cushions from Zara and Leah). 

So far, all I've come up with, is to use them for the purpose they were designed for...drying the dishes.
Nothing wrong with that, but if you've got a more creative idea, please send it my way. I'm looking forward to your suggestions.

(btw, what do you think of a vintage t.t. book? would you stick one on your coffee table?)

Anyway, here are my most recent acquisitions. Some found by me, and others gifted by lovely people who read this blog. 

   

 from Alison of Just Underneath

from Sue (given to me because of the violets, of course!)

 from sweet Taz of Butter and Buntings

(crochet edging, it moves me in a similar way to ric-rac) 

I'm particularly fond of this one. I know it's a bit drab compared to some, but I like its sentiment, and I've learnt something new from its discovery too...I wasn't aware of The Home League - a weekly women's group run by The Salvation Army, until I found it, were you?

I like the reference to the "old warrior" via

A trio of cuties to end:

another gorgeous t.t. from Taz

and two from Curtise and her littlest darling*

* who also sent me this amazing drawing

which I LOVE!

x

p.s. I hope there aren't too many pics for you, but I knew it was now, or never!