This little rabbit

I have a new crush.

His name is Max, and he's gorgeous beyond words.

And did I mention Max is my Godson?!

Yep, I became a Godmother on Sunday.

Me. Single, crazy, loves a champagne, Port supporter ME!

I think Max's Dad (and his Pop Peter!) questioned their choice in me when I turned up to lunch - late - with neon orange fingernails and hot pink lips. Oh, and polkadots.

I did come armed with Greek Salad for 40 people though, and gave a killer Christening present (thanks to the talents of White and Wander), so all was forgiven!

The day started with a two hour drive to Maitland on the Yorke Peninsula where we had the most stunning lunch at Max's Dad's family homestead.

Max's Mum Kelly is known for her themes and she did not disappoint! (Think back to Humpty Dumpty, Little Bird and Rainbow)

Hello bunny!

Kelly's Mum Carole and sister Abby produced this ah-mazing cake. Watch out Planet Cake, here come the Walker girls!

After a gorgeous lunch of yiros and Greek salad, and the most heavenly desserts thanks to fellow Godparent Rick, we trooped off to the family church for the formalities.

And of course, a perfectly 'blue' afternoon tea in the church hall.

Such a gorgeous day with a gorgeous family (who I have inherited from one of my besties Bree who moved to Hobart this year).

All I can say, is good luck Max. You'll need it with me as 'spiritual guide'!

(Be afraid, Mark, be very afraid!)

Quiet on the home front

So, I've been quiet on the blog front this last week.

And this is why . . .

The Hunger Games.

I am no sci-fi or fantasy fan, I'm definitely not in the teenage target market and I'm squirmish when it comes to war.

But I'm hooked.

I feel like a giddy 12 year old who hides under the quiltcover with their torch at all hours of the night, desperate to read just one more chapter . . . maybe another, just a few more pages, nearly finished!

Comparisons to Twilight or Harry Potter are unfair - perhaps all they have in common is the fact they're a cultural phenomenon - but their stories, themes and concepts are worlds apart.

I grew up in the Tomorrow When The War Began generation and The Hunger Games reminds me of that series. Brave female heroine, confused love, loyalty and friendship. Oh, and war.

In a matter of a week, I've read the first book, seen the movie and am now halfway through the second book. It's all consuming. I'm giving up my usual Sunrise viewing in the morning to stay in bed that bit longer and read a new chapter.

I even stopped reading a Nicholas Sparks lovey dovey novel in favour of The Games.

What has become of me?! I'll be wearing cargo pants soon. Ergh.

It's not a movie - or book - you feel good about, you don't really enjoy it - in fact, I cried a number of times throughout the movie - but it pulls you in and gets you thinking. It's clever, it's action-packed and it's confronting.

Okay, enough of rediscovering my teenage self (hello Tencel jeans and Canterbury rugby tops!). I'll be back to posting all things bright and happy next week. It's about time for a recipe methinks. And some more pink.

Until then . . . may the odds be ever in your favour.

PS. Have you visited Tina yet? She's a cracker, that one!

An 'Affair' to remember

Time to share some more love through the Liebster Awards.

I'm over the moon to include this fabulous gal in my list as I've got to know her over email this past year or so and feel like we'd be besties in 'real life' if we were ever to meet.

Tina Kent of Lady Chatterley's Affair, hits my design/party/fashion ethos right on. 

She has style to die for and I'd swap my digs for her stunning home in a second. I think her wedding was quite possibly the most magical event I've ever laid eyes on?

This wonder woman never ceases to amaze me - she's just had her second child (gorgeous little Alice) AND has opened an online store.

In amongst all this mayhem, the darling found time in her day to respond to some questions for The Polkadot Pantry. Here she goes . . . 

Three ingredients that are always in your shopping trolley?

Danish fetta cheese, french bread stick, nappies!

Who's your style icon? 

Jackie Kennedy

First CD you bought

Empire Records Soundtrack

Favourite shade of lipstick

Elizabeth Arden - coral vibrations

(*Editor's note - I'll be heading out to try this one today, T always looks fab!)

Best thing about blogging

Meeting people with the same interests

Check out other Liebster features here

On a side note, Tina is so well-loved in ye olde bloggy world that Brooke from The House on Chambers also acknowledged her in her own Liebster nominations! Talk about hot hot hot!

If only she lived in Adelaide . . . although T, I feel a little holiday to Brisbane on the cards soon! Pop that kettle on xo

Make sure you visit her fantabulous blog here. I promise it'll be a new daily fave.

I'm so excited . . .

. . . and I just can't hide it!

I feel like I've graduated to big girls' school or something!

Like Australia (the brilliant country that it is, regardless) is catching up with the rest of the world.

Like I've just seen colour TV for the first time.

Or just tasted real champagne for the first time.

What's all the fuss about, you ask?

J.Crew now ships Down Under!

Wuhoo!

Go for gold

While most of my friends are silver, white gold and platinum buffs, I've always been a gold girl at heart.

Here are a few pretties that are currently taking my fancy . . .

All pics from my pinterest account

As for this little beauty . . .

She arrived in the post this week. Love her.

Found her on etsy here. Even you silver sisters have been catered for in the shop.

It's such a gorgeous shiny gold, this pic just doesn't do her justice. Not sure what frame she'll live in, at this stage she's been added to my mantlepiece with all the other orphan prints I pick up along the way and fail to find a home for. Bad me.

Go for gold, dear friends!

xo

Preppy heaven

I swear I was supposed to be a high pony tail wearing, petite cheerleader type, blonde, preppy sorority girl in another life!

Emma knows me too well and introduced me to yet another deliciously pink and pretty tumblr last week. 

Monograms and Manicures.

How is a girl supposed to get anything done with so many distractions!?

Look at those pretties. 

It's definitely a very American look, isn't it? We're much more casual and 'sensible' in our style down here.

Award love for . . .

I am a bit of a goose at times. Let me tell you a story . . .

Emma and I visited the lovely Anna Spiro in Brisbane last year and she introduced us to a gorgeous girl called Pip at lunch one day. 

Fast forward a good six months or so and I'm cruising around blog world and stumble across a BEAUTIFUL blog by this amazingly talented girl called Pip who has recently quit her job to follow her dreams as an artist.

So I've been blog crushing and pinterest stalking and even following her on instagram (@pip_boydell) ever since.

But it wasn't until only recently I realised that Pip from lunch in Brisbane and Pip from the blog was the same girl! Wake up Kate!

So this is Pip!

pipshining is the most darling blog, with a stunning collection of images to indulge in. The best bit is that Pip chronicles not only pretty things that delight her day to day, but also sneak peeks into what goes on in her studio behind closed doors.

I was thrilled when I realised she had less than 200 blog followers so that she'd be eligible for the Liebster Award (that I'd been awarded by navy & orange). I want to share her with the world!

Here's a little snippet into her life, The Polkadot Pantry style . . .

Best travel experience

While travelling through Central America I spent a week or so in a place called the San Blas Islands. They are a set of over 400 tiny sand islands dotted throughout the Carribbean off the coast of Panama, and it is honestly paradise. It's crystal clear turquoise water, the whitest sand, and coconut palms dotting the horizon as far as the eye can see; you live with the local people the way they have been for hundreds of years in thatched huts with no water or electricity or modern day comforts; and spend your days fishing, tripping between these amazing little islands and crafting with the local children. I felt like Robinson Crusoe travelling back in time, and it really was the most idyllic place and experience ever. 

Your idea of relaxing . . . 

Being at the beach - papers, coffee, salt air, surf and sun. 

Favourite song to sing along to

Simon & Garfunkel CDs from start to finish!

Your style icon

Grace Kelly was so beautiful and had a such innate sense of style.

Best thing about blogging

As a very visual and aesthetic person, of course I love the all the eye candy and the excuse to spend hours trawling through lovely images and discovering clever and creative people. But I also love how blogging makes the world a smaller place and I really value the connections I've made with like-minded people from all corners of the globe. 

The world sure is a small place, Pip! Can't wait til you get an online shop up and running so that I can invest in some Pip Boydell pretties! Seriously, check out her pieces, they are divine. Lucky you if you live in Brisbane and can actually see them in real life.

xo

New fave blog

So I've just found the most 'darling' blog that's caught my attention and landed in my daily faves.

Design Darling. It's gorgeous.

22 year olds are just so talented these days! At that age, I was living it up in London, scrounging my pounds together for an underground ticket or a pint of beer!

She has a great eye and puts together the most gorgeous theme boards and outfit suggestions.

And the best bit? She's just opened an online store!

It's great when you can actually turn some inspiration into action and get your hot little hands on a curated collection.

Check it out her blog here and shop here.

Ruby in the Garden

I love being an aunty!

I had the most brilliant fun with my niece Ruby last week at the Garden of Unearthly Delights. I'd bought my brother and sister-in-law tickets to a Fringe show for Christmas - on the condition that I got to babysit while they had their fun!

So Ruby and I wandered around the Garden, watching the freaks, crawling up to cute boys and indulging in babycinos. She loved it!

And the gorgeous little thing kept a clean nappy until her parents came back. Bless.

And the award goes to . . .

One of the fun things about passing on the blog love is getting to know some of your fave authors (is that what we are? Blog authors?!)

I especially love the bond I have with other South Australian bloggers - what a supportive community they are.

The Liebster Award, generously passed on to me from Hunter at navy & orange, recognises those blogs with 200 followers or less and I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather pass the baton to (okay, well there are four other ladies out there who I've also tagged and can't wait for you to meet!) than Brooke at The House on Chambers.

I thought it'd be fun to get to know these lovely ladies away from their own blog, with some very 'Polkadot Pantry' inspired questions. Over the next week or so, I'll feature a little Q&A with each of my award nominees.

It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to Brooke (oh, and Farmer Joe! I'm so excited we finally get a sneak peek of him up close!)

What would your last supper be? 

Chilli tuna spaghetti with an indecent amount of parmesan cheese. My ultimate comfort food (and a surprisingly effective hangover cure).

Favourite colour? 

Beige. It may not have the 'look at me' factor of brighter, showier colours, but it is warm, simple, elegant and versatile.

Favourite childhood book? 

Alice in Wonderland. I still love it although I've always found it a little creepy. The characters are all mad, slightly menacing and a little too keen to befriend a lonely girl travelling through the woods... 

 

One thing on your bucket list? 

To design and build a home from start to finish. It is a dream for Farmer Joe and I to build a classic country farmhouse, incorporating a quality of materials and design that is lacking from so many new houses. The benchmark for our dream home is that the design and workmanship should still hold up in 100 years.

Best thing about blogging?

That when I am exhausted, have run out of creativity, am second guessing my choices, or feel like this renovation is never going to be finished, there is a wonderful community of supportive bloggers out there who encourage and inspire me.

Thanks Brooke!

Stay tuned to The House on Chambers to see who Brooke passes the Liebster Award baton to . . .

Barrio

Adelaide, you've done yourself proud.

The city is alive and kicking and you've shown us a fabulous start to the highly anticipated Mad March of 2012.

There's been the Clipsal 500 (hmm, not my cup of tea but each to their own), WOMAD, Adelaide Festival and Adelaide Fringe.

But my stand out - so far - has got to be Barrio . . . the late night club of the Adelaide Festival.

Barrio (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbarjo]) is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.

How cool is the entrance! It's made up of round pipe/canisters things where you're supposed to make an offering to the shrine each night. There's a different theme for you to adhere to from day to day - I think old toys was the theme on this night, and then they were all donated to a children's charity. Cute!

The dancefloor was like something straight out of a European summer!

Awesome styling - Emma is going to lose it when she sees how fabulous all the props are.

The whole bar/dancefloor/foodcourt is on top of a carpark, nestled in between Parliament House and the Adelaide Festival Centre. 

The Coopers bar is something else - that big backdrop is made out of beer cans. Very cool

Happy campers Kristie and Andy. Kristie couldn't believe how much the whole place - smell, sounds, sights - reminded her of Carnival in Rio. Now that's saying something!

Everything was so kitsch but oh so cool. This was where we ordered our tacos from.

About six little bars were hidden in amongst a maze of secret passages. Funky cocktails and shots were in high demand.

Street market food was all the rage with international flavours the order of the night.

And so many bars to choose from!

I loved this concept - everyone had to write a letter to their 16 year old self. Made for a great 'lasting memory' as you walked {stumbled} out at the end of the night {early in the morning}

Hats off to you Adelaide.

Southern Charm

I think I could be a Southern Belle in another life . . .

Pinterest

Yukka fun

A gardener I am not.

So my Mum took me shopping last weekend to buy a pot for neglected yukka I've had sitting at my front door in a plastic tub for months now.

With no interest in gardening and a cement slab of a courtyard, we had to resort to using BBQ utensils to get the thing out of its temporary plastic home!

We finally got there (and I even got my hands dirty!) and I'm happy with the transformation.

Next challenge: the courtyard.

The year 2014 is looking good for that! Too many pretties to buy for inside the house in the meantime!