Christmas Wishes

Good grief, what a whirlwind Christmas I have just experienced. A poor sick little pony leading up to the day, lunch for 26 on the day and then we hosted a party on the 27th - which is the epitome of insanity – to celebrate my birthday. If it's any indication of just how chaotic our festive season was you won't be surprised to learn I only decorated the tree on Boxing Day – and very sparsely at that!





Many years ago I made the tree decorations using found seed pods. I was shopping at the local supermarket and noticed all these beautiful little pods on the ground under the trees – some variety of Acacia I think, native to Australia. I returned one Sunday afternoon and spent a couple of hours collecting them. Goodness knows what any passers-by must have thought. I then drilled a tiny hole into each one of the them and then strung them together, punctuated with a gold bead every so often. I was addicted and couldn't stop making these blessed things – I found the larger seed pods that I used for the mantel garlands in the parklands which coincidentally is now only five houses away from where we live.

I don't decorate with them every year but this year, teamed with some fairy lights they were quick and easy and I was happy just to have something up! I also like the idea of celebrating Christmas in an Australian way minus the snowflakes, the reindeer and the frosted windows – yesterday was 40 degrees for heaven's sake!



Billie had the right idea, she's lounged around pretty much the entire time and no, we are yet to eat the pudding – it's still hanging from the mantel. I wonder if it will keep until next year?

What a Difference

What a difference a little time and a lot of rain makes - we only planted out this part of the garden a couple of months ago. Now the hydrangeas are in bloom, the lobelias are bursting with colour and the trees are in leaf. It makes me happy every time I look outside.



The temporary fence is to keep Billie out until we get a proper one built. John and I both decided it was way beyond our capabilities to erect something strong enough to withstand a dog so we've decided to hire a contractor. I kind of like this little make-do though – it's quaint – and she hasn't worked out how to get through it yet.



She is growing up so quickly. We want her to stay sweet and small forever. She is such a lovely dog – especially with her crazy ears – one sticks up and one flops down now!

Green Fingers

After reading the Country Farmhouse blog, I was full of inspiration and convinced John our postage-stamp-sized courtyard garden was in desperate need of a mini-makeover. To complement the row of box hedge I planted about six months ago, we planted a heritage-variety quince tree, murraya, lavender, lobelia and my favourites – hydrangeas.

Colour Study
I prefer to decorate with neutrals. I work with colour so much at the magazine (Annabelle forces me against my will most times!) I like to surround myself with a calm palette at home. Having said that, I glanced over at our messy kitchen this morning and saw that John had put an empty bottle of wine and a pot on the trusty Ikea stool, obviously needing a place to plonk them while he made dinner last night in our matchbox-sized kitchen. The casing on the neck of the bottle is the most divine orange – not garish or gaudy like orange can be – it's soft and complex. And it looked so perfect against the olive green of the bottle, our grey wall behind it and the dense black of the cast iron. I just know I'll use this combination again soon, somewhere. Thanks for the inspiration Kooyong.

Free For All
Thanks to the damn possums that live in our roof, our lemon tree has been decimated to the point of destruction. The buggers have eaten almost every single leaf. In a drastic measure to save the tree John cut it right back and picked every single fruit from its bare branches in the hope it will put all its energy into growing leaves.

There's only so much one can do with a million lemons so I've put some of them in a bucket on our front fence so the neighbours can take them. I do this with all manner of things, including things I've bought in haste (and hate before I even get them home), magazines I've finished reading, even kitchen stuff I don't like anymore. I like to think of it as recycling.



I just hope my bucket and sign don't get pinched!

Two Birds, One Stone
I bought this sweet cast metal bird some time ago now but haven't managed to find a home for him until today. Now he sits inside one of the gazillion shadow box frames I have lurking around also waiting to be homed. Got a bit of a bird thing going on now...

The bottle print is from Etsy seller Dear Colleen – it reads 'I would rather have Champagne than real pain' – pretty much sums up my life. I love the patterned Ashley G print in the background – it's supposed to be hung vertically but I prefer it sitting horizontally. The large etching is by Barbara Hanrahan, a well-known South Australian artist. This was one of the first things John and I bought as a couple over 20 years ago. I love that Eve is this commanding figure surrounded by many fabulous animals and insects but Adam is a puny little figure right at the bottom, even smaller than the dragonfly. John doesn't like that. Ha!



And this is my attempt at starting a bar. Well, actually I started it a while ago now but am yet to open most of the bottles. The gin gets a good old work out though. Hendricks is my fave.

Pink
I am not a pink person by any stretch of the imagination, – never have been – but when I walked past these chrysanthemums I just couldn't resist them. It wasn't until I got them home I realised they reminded me of a pattern I designed for my sister's baby shower stationery. My sweet niece is now five years old and her favourite colour is pink - of course!

New Acquisition
I bought this Bonnie and Neil tea towel last weekend with a view to hanging it in the lounge room – it's too beautiful to wipe dishes, that's for sure. Tacked it up today, not sure whether to frame it or not. I have a frame addiction with a million of the blighters waiting to be hung in the hallway so probably best to do that first.

My Modest Collection
Oh how I love these little pots. Mostly Victorian – all from the UK – they're next to impossible to find here in Australia. I love their miniature proportions, the detail in the typography, the simplicity of shape. My very modest collection – consisting of about eight pieces – is destined to grow as I cannot get enough of these little beauties.



I used them in a story in the magazine a while back. In fact, they were my inspiration for this story.

My Treasured Collection

My View From Bed