Nana chic...

how it should be.

Perfection. Without over thinking it. 

I love this pretty but very simple bedroom. Chintzy curtains, chenille bedspread, vintage flower prints, fresh flowers, and the carpet. Oh how I love that gorgeous floral Axminster!

Such a charming unpretentious room...even the lumpy bed looks comfy.

Fancy an escape to the country? This little 50's weatherboard is located in Trentham, Victoria. A small town seventy minutes from Melbourne (and also Lucy Violet's birth-place) check out more pics here. You should see the old dairy that comes with the house! Here's a pic to tempt you

imagine the possibilities...I am.

(both pics from here)

x

Today we went to the Perth Royal Show, my favourite thing? sadly, it was the Churro (chocolate sauce and fresh cream on the side. yum.) I demolished in two seconds flat! Seems like nothing much has changed...

Here I am, at the show with my beautifully dressed Mum, Dad and sister. I can't believe my Mum is wearing pantyhose and my Dad, a sport's coat! These days jeans, short shorts (never mind the legs!) and thongs are de riguer. Anyway, I'm the fat kid clutching with grim determination to my little Arnott, Mills and Ware's biscuit case. Apparently I screamed my head off if anyone was brave enough to try and take it from me...and from the expression on my face I don't doubt this for a second. My Mum believed that a fat kid was a healthy kid and as you can see, I was a very healthy little girl! Ha!

I love this photo though, it's one of my favourites despite my rather piggy-ish appearance.

"this little piggy..."

Some quick notes on The Perth Royal Show:

Established in 1831 as a showcase for W.A agriculture, livestock and industry.

Although events like sheep dog trials, wood chopping and equestrian events are still held, the main reason people go to the show today is to spend oodles of money on showbags and terrifying rides...and in my case, Churros!

if those guys in khaki don't win a prize, this game's definetely rigged!

a touch of Modernism, see it in the background...

(not a pair of pantyhose in sight!)

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!

oooh! scary!

And to end, a pic of the first and only time I have been on a Ghost Train...

with Annabel, Luna Park, St Kilda.

This was taken on our way in...we closed our eyes the second we "crashed" through whatever those doors are called that you crash through and our eyes remain closed for the duration of the ride. I am still a scaredy-cat: (the Chair Lift was my only "ride" today!) Annabel however, likes them fast, high and vomit inducing! (just like her Dad and big Sister...)

x

On Tuesday my husband and I hit the thriving metropolis (cough) to see this exhibition at the Art gallery of W.A. Unfortunately I forgot that our art gallery is closed on Tuesdays (yep, I said it's CLOSED on Tuesdays!) Can you believe that?

Art Gallery of Western Australia

(sorry, closed Tuesdays)

 Expletives were uttered. Words like drat, gosh, darn, if I remember correctly...but although we didn't see any European Masterpieces we came across some lovely iconic Australian ones, so lovely in fact I had to share...

These gorgeous friezes decorate the foyer of the Gledden Building, an Art Deco beauty built in 1938 and although I've seen them many times before I've never given them the attention they deserve. We looked at them for ages and I played snap-happy tourist - although as you can see, I'm no photographer!

In the basement of The Gledden are the remains of the most beautiful Art Deco restaurant, sadly it is currently used for storage and closed to the public, however I have seen its loveliness for myself over a cocktail or two when it was still in use.

Image from, and more info here

For more Australian Art Deco and Modernist buildings, do yourself a favour and check out Thomas Ryan's blog (his photography is wonderful)

In other news, I am returning to work next week. After a lovely year long hiatus. Nothing dramatic, only two days a week. I knew it was the job for me when I discovered there is not one, not two, but THREE op-shops(!) all a short stroll away .  They are good ones too, it is going to be v-e-r-y tricky to resist them. My resolve not to op WILL be tested.

No prizes for guessing what I'll be doing during my lunch break...

I found this gorgeous old quilt in the bottom of a box of dog blankets at a local oppy. In my experience it's always worth a quick rummage through the dog blanket box as you never know what treasures you'll find inside...I have found quite a few lovely old woollen blankets tossed by oppy workers in "the dog box" most of them in pretty good nick. Some of them, very nearly perfect.

The colours and wild retro pattern on this one caught my eye immediately. It was filthy and had the word D-O-G emblazoned across it in permanent marker, despite this I picked it up (tentatively...by the corners, trying my hardest not to inhale) threw it in the boot of the car and brought it home.

A good soak and hand wash, a dab of Metho (to remove the permanent marker), lots of fresh air, and apart from a little tear, it was almost as good as new.

I asked my partner-in-crime at the op-shop where I volunteer (a marvelous make do and mender) if she could mend it for me, and she has, most beautifully. Look...

a little hat patch and almost invisible in the flesh.

And now, dog blanket?

No way!



cute...

sweet old-school sewing project

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such gorgeous colours and they were made in Australia.

atop Marcia Bedspread (think: "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!") available to buy soon.

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"Lazy Addie will you get up?"

my big girl and our (equally lazy) loyal hound

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Adelaide (again) and a trio of Mary's

I wonder if the water in the Lourdes bottle really is holy? It could be ordinary old tap water for all I know...hmmmm...if someone was tricking surely they would fill it to the top...or would that be too obvious?

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not so cute...

have you ever seen anything like this before?

it's a Tasmanian Early Settler Apple Doll

(yes. that's Lucy Violet in the background)

A face only a mother could love!

"there is none other quite like it"...is that a good, or a bad thing?

Here's a pic of her sister

She's the pretty one in the family! B****! That's why she's famous and lives in the Victorian Museum...pic from and more info here

Honestly, these are scary dolls...the stuff of nightmares!

Not what I'd choose as a memento of a lovely holiday in Tassie, that's for sure...give me a tea towel any day...

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Have a lovely weekend x



A quick note on...

tea towels...

you've probably noticed that they've been M.I.A. for quite a while...and just in case you've missed their cheerful kitschy prescence and wondered where they'd got to...I thought I'd write a quick post to explain...

In a nutshell, I have run out of photos, and at the moment, I can't seem to motivate myself to take new ones. It's not a monumental task (by any stretch of the imagination!) but right now that's what it feels like to me...I love my tea towels, don't get me wrong...and I will get snap happy again soon(ish) Please bear with me until then, because the tea towel will be back...and that's a promise.

p.s. thank you:
Scarlett, Max, Lakota, Kel, Tammi, Micaela and Claire. I love the tea towels you've sent me and I really appreciate your kindness x

p.p.s. and HOW could I forget this???
It's my lovely, funny, sweet and sometimes daggy husband's birthday today...Happy Birthday Anth, love ya x

     

pretty pillowcases to ponder...

for sale, as soon as I get my act together...

Thanks for your bathroom comments too btw...

you loved em,

hated em,

and everything in-between (even thirty year old muck got a mention...ewwwww! thanks Michelle)

Speaking of bathrooms, what do you think of this beauty?

 

it belongs to illustrator Neryl Walker, I pinched the pics from Neryl's house tour on The Design Files...both blogs definetely worth checking out if you haven't already.

I also really like Luke Mortimer's bathroom which is featured on The Design Files today: he has used vintage baths and basins in simple contemporary bathrooms and they look fantastic. Check them here. My kind of bathrooms. I'm starting to dream about bathrooms...I need to get a life!