Inspired

Remember when we last met Sara Tuttle?

I loved her use of colour and ability to make over a room with a few little additions.

Well, I stumbled across another tour of her home and was reintroduced to her brilliance.

I just lurve the tall stack of books in this scene. Oh, and the pink flowers. Always a winner in my books.

And how could you not be inspired by this inspiration board?

See more at iVillage

The (duck) icing on the cake

While this bridesmaid has hung up her bouquet for the time being, she's well and truly gearing up for baby season.

Is there something in the water? EVERYONE'S having babies at the moment! It's so exciting, I'm incredibly clucky and revelling in the baby glow that's taken over my friends and family.

The first baby shower of the season was Sam's - pictured above with me on her wedding day. Feels like only yesterday and then here we are, celebrating the impending arrival of her little one! How time flies.

We wished her well with a lovely shower at her Mum's house - complete with arts and crafts and baby games. It got very competitive indeed!

I went for the practical option with a 54 pack of nappies as my gift, but pimped it up with some little extras and a three tiered cake display.

I was up til midnight rolling the nappies the night before and snapped a few rubber bands along the way!

I bundled the nappies together in almost round layers (Winnie the Pooh design, cute!) with big rubber bands holding them together - starting from the inside, I slowly added extra layers to the outside, stretching the rubber band that little bit more with each addition.

And added in some little extras that will hopefully come in handy.

Bath ducky, baby sunscreen, apple and cinnamon baby food and a medicine spoon thingygmajig.

And ta-da! My delectable nappy cake!

Not long now Sam xo

Sing us a song

I was spending some quality time on the couch with Emma at The Loft last week (ie. watching the first episode of Glee with her!) but it wasn't the TV that had me lost for words.

Emma loaded me up with piles of 'vintage' Domino magazines and I found my happy place.

One of the houses that caught my eye was that of Katie Lee Joel.

Yes, ex-wife of the Piano Man himself.

Just look at those peonies and gorgeous vases!

The article was from 2008 but I managed to find an online story complete with virtual tour.

La Dolce Vita also featured pages from Town & Country Magazine.

This dressing room . . . I don't have words for it!

I'm a sucker for natural light . . .

And this kitchen! What I'd do with a double oven!

Beautiful cabinetry.

You can tell a serious foodie lives here.

Hello puppy!

Read all the details about this delightful home over at La Dolce Vita (quite possibly my new favourite blog).

Safe haven

What a gorgeous home. I have to admit I'm not sure where it is and I don't know who designed it - it's something I would never normally go for. Where's the touch of pink?!

But I love it, it's gorgeous.

And the best bet?

Well, for scaredy cat single girls like me with over-active imaginations - it's a safe haven from those shadows in the middle of the night.

(I have been known to mistake a vase on a pedestal for an intruder at 2am!)

Noone is breaking into this pad!

It's a fortress!

Cut loose

Yes.

I'm excited!

Pearls of wisdom

"The world is your oyster . . . go find your pearls"

The Entertaining House

All pics from Pinterest

Spaghetti and cheatballs

I fear I'll lose the respect of many a reader today (all three of you - Mum, Jo and Miss Brown!), but I'm willing to take that risk in order to share with you a really simple recipe that defines the term 'comfort food'

I'd had a long day at work last weekend and wanted something hearty for dinner that wouldn't take me ages to cook. I stood at the meat section in the supermarket for ages, trying to remember what supplies I had at my housesitting house and what I'd need to buy.

It all seemed too hard, so I turned to the Lattina Fresh options and weighed up an instant pasta dish.

That's when I remembered Bree's cheat's spaghetti and meatballs.

Hello happiness!

Sooooo good, and sooooo simple. I was on the phone to Lill scoffing down my dinner, that I didn't have time to stop for a photo of the perfectly plated pasta (ha! who am I kidding?!) but you can see how beautifully the sauce coated the pasta. A fool proof recipe.

Get into it.

Bree's spaghetti and meatballs

Serves 3-4

1 tray of chevapchichis

half a bottle of passata

1 tin crushed tomatoes

garlic

onion, diced

sprinkle of chilli flakes

fresh basil leaves, torn

splash of red wine

2 tspns tomato paste

dried Italian herbs
pasta

1. Cut each chevapchichi into four and roll each section into a ball
2. Lightly brown the meatballs in a frypan and soak on paper towel. Set to the side while you make the sauce
3. Fry up some garlic and onion, add a few sprinkles of chilli flakes
4. Add a can of diced tomatoes, the passata and tomato paste. Add a splash of red wine and season. Let simmer and then add the herbs and put the meatballs in the sauce, leaving to bubble away gently until cooked through
5. In the meantime, cook the pasta in another saucepan until al dente (my new fave is bucatini - hollow spaghetti)
6. Serve up the pasta and load up with rich tomato sauce and meatballs and top with grated parmesan cheese

Hermes on the Beach

Look what I just found over at Gild & Grace.

Hermes does it again - isn't it fabulous?

"Take a year's worth of planning, a $250,000 budget, oversize bracelets, a custom-made tent and 450 A-listers, and you have the 2011 Hermes on the Beach party. Seagulls not invited"

What I'd do with that kind of event budget!

Here's a little clip from The Australian

 

Going Walnuts for my shoes

I have been coveting these Kate Spade shoes for aaaaages but a little thing called Mr Mortgage (oh, and my soft spot for spur of the moment tropical holidays) has reared its ugly head and put a stop to my flippant spending (well, almost)

So I was over the moon when I stumbled across these gorgeous hot pink suede ballet flats that will quite adequately fill the void in my heart.

Gosh, not the prettiest of angles (and let's ingore the horrid office carpet) but aren't they pretty shoes?! They are uber comfortable and well priced. Love my Walnuts.

My new best friend

"Hi, I’m Andie Mitchell. I am a 26-year-old passionate cook, baker, and friend to chocolate. Cooking and baking have always held a special place in my life- from the creation to the consumption. I am home in my kitchen. My heart, my history…they belong to that space between the stove and the sink. On any given day, I’m dreaming up a new recipe, eating a peanut butter and fluff sandwich, and/or embarrassing myself publicly."

So this is Andie, another foodie enthusiast and fellow blogger. My dear friend Adelaide introduced her story to me this weekend but I feel like I've known her forever.

Andie's story is fabulous. So inspiring, raw and authentic.

When Ad sent me the link to her blog, I was interested - love a new foodie find. But I did not expect to discover a tale of survival, courage and brutal honesty.

You see, five years ago, Andie lost 135lbs (that's 60kgs in our terms).

And she's kept it off.

As a yo-yo dieter myself, her story struck a chord with me. She doesn't preach two hours in the gym every day, she hasn't cut out desserts and beer and she still eats chocolate.

I like the sound of that!

So I'm taking a leaf out of her book and am following her advice. I promise to walk. Whenever I can. Walk to the shops, for morning coffee. Walk to work even (hmm, don't hold me to that one!).

Ad has promised to join me when she moves home (the countdown is ON!) and I might even learn how to use the ipod my brother gave me a couple of years ago. A Rocky soundtrack could be motivating! Or we might just start with Sia. . .

Find out more about Andie through her gorgeous blog 'Can You Stay For Dinner?'

Made in Chelsea

I have a guilty pleasure to confess to.

I love Made in Chelsea.

It's a terrible new reality TV show on Foxtel, similar to The Hills, The City and dare I say . . . The Only Way is Essex.

But this is something different. It's so opulent, indulgent, excessive and over the top I'm mesmerised.

The girls are totally catty and boys have arrogance to boot. And the wealth . . . oh em gee.

Eton alumni Spencer Matthew is seriously bad news . . . but how could you say no!? Just look at him!

Read on . . .

It's time to peek behind the designer curtains of South West London and meet London's young socially elite, Made in Chelsea.

Yes, they're immaculately dressed; yes, they are fiercely ambitious; and of course they party hard. But beyond the posh accents, fast cars and polo parties, life isn't all champagne and canapés.

Doesn't it sound fabulous!? Yet completely ridiculous!

 

I'm especially taken by the show because Chelsea is one of my favourite places in the whole world. When I first landed in London seven years ago, I stayed with my friend Holly at the Chelsea Potter pub on the Kings Road for two weeks.

It was something else, walking through Sloane Square on the way to Harrod's, peering through the window of Tiffany's every day and growing accustomed to the gorgeous accents of the rich and famous.

Polo was Poh-loh and Ralph Lauren was what you wore when you felt like wearing your 'daggy clothes'

And thanks to Spencer, Caggie, Ollie et al, I can relive it every week - maybe even with a Pimms in hand!

Mustang Sally

Nothing signals the start of Summer (okay I'm a few months early yet!) like a beautiful sunny day on the water.

We set off this morning for a nautical adventure with Timbo, Sally, Emma and of course Wally the 'Seadog'.

It was perfect boating conditions for the Mustang with blue skies and bright sun - ideal for enjoying a few ciders and nibbles on the deck before picking up a 'stowaway' Leeanne at Holdfast Shores.

Also managed to find Kristie and Andy in the Semaphore waters, who were taking their boating adventures a bit more seriously . . . the 5am start doesn't appeal to me but their return was fair reward with a few blue swimmer crabs in their esky.

We anchored off Glenelg and I had my first 'dip' of the season - it was only my toes but slowly does it! Also spotted the famous Port River dolphins and waved to the sightseers at the Navy Open Day.

Perfect day out, I could get used to this lifestyle!!!