[yesteryear children's books]

With a little extra time to kill on my day off yesterday, I popped in to the little antique shop around the corner from our home.  They had a table piled high with old children's reading/activity books.  I remember my nan having stacks of these once upon a time.  I just love the aged pages and the quirky illustrations and captions.

I have a few ideas as to how I'll use my lastest thrifty find.

With my last book I made these.

I also purchased these newer, mould free books.

I feel more organised already.

Jx

[the hunt begins]

It's just another miserable old day here in Brizzy.

We've been enjoying falling to sleep to the sound of rain and just between you and me, I wouldn't mind losing power one of these days to enjoy night of forced peace, quiet and candlelight (preferably just after I've cooked dinner).

Despite the rain and the overwhelming urge to spend the whole day in my pyjamas and read one of my Lifeline Bookfest finds, I have plans.  Very exciting plans....

Let the hunt begin!

Jx

image via style me pretty

[my painting love]

Last weekend, while visiting the folks,  my eye was drawn to the sideboard.  My guess is that they had done a little rearranging whilst cleaning and I'd just never cared to look.  A few of Gran's hand-painted china pieces were on display.

She's been painting these soft roses ever since I can remember - it's her trademark style.

I'm quite sure I have her to thank for my own love of painting and creating! Jx

[quail eggs]

Dan's parents (and my soon to be parents-in-law) have fresh air, shady trees, home grown veggies, a couple of dogs and quails - lots of them!  Last time we popped in for a visit they shared some of their teeny tiny eggs with us.

They really were too pretty to eat...

But we did anyway.

They have a lovely lemon-butter coloured yolk.

(I'll admit we had to phone home to check that that was normal)

Twelve little quail eggs later and we had scrambled eggs for two.

Perfect with a grilled mushroom, slice of bacon on wholemeal toast with light philly!

Saturday lunch served!

(Between taking down the Christmas tree - that's right, I'm that lazy - and the Lifeline Bookfest)

Jx

[the weekend that was]

We had a busy little weekend just gone...

Friday night drinks took us into the Valley to meet up with our friends Tom and Louise. We met at an amazing new bar Lady Lamington - she only opened at the beginning of the week.

Love the decor!

Saturday we visited the Lifeline Bookfest.

10 reads for $45!

Tip for next time - wear comfy shoes!

The concrete floors of the convention centre are a killer on your feet!

Then sampled some coffee at another new joint - Slightly Twisted.

Check out their latte served in a goblet with a kiss!

We had a 30th party Saturday night - Hollywood style and then a quick trip to the Sunny Coast on the Sunday.

And now it's a new week and I'm waiting for the weekend again.

Mondyitis!

Jx

[a pot of tea under a tree]

A Pot of Tea Under a Tree is a fashion concept developed by my good friend Louise Falzon.  She holds clothing exchange events here in Brisbane twice yearly (which supports the charity Project Futures), runs sustainable fashion workshops and now has online shop!
Her fashion label is, what she describes as bespoke, innovative and sustainable and each item is made to order using only the finest, eco luxe fabrics available.

Want more?

Find it here!

And if you're like me and have a wardrobe full of clothes that are no longer in your usual rotation, why not come meet Louise at the next Under a Tree Clothing Exchange in April and have a swapsie!

Last time I picked up this cute number.

Happy Thursday!

Jx



[shark frenzy]

To celebrate Dan's big-number birthday and his fondness of sharks, we held a party at a bowls club and invited our closest friends to come drink, be merry and dress like sharks.
Convenient and maybe a little sad, I didn't need to buy any new shark paraphernalia for decorations.

And I made, what I'm pretty sure are the best most delicious cupcakes of my baking history.
A special thanks goes out to Taste.com!
Here tis!

Chocolate Cupcakes

100g dark chocolate

1 cup (250ml) water

125g butter, softened

1 1/4 cups (255g) brown sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups (225g) self-raising flour

1/2 cup (75) plain flour

1/4 cup (30g) cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 160°C.
Line 18 x 1/3-cup (80ml) capacity muffin pans with paper cases.
Melt the chocolate and water in a saucepan over low heat - stir 5mins or until smooth. Cool.
Beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each until just combined.
Add the flours and cocoa powder and stir until just combined.
Add the melted chocolate mixture and stir to combine.
Spoon evenly among the lined muffin pans.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Ice with butter icing with blue colouring and top with gummy sharks.
Serve to your shark victim, loan shark, grey-nurse and MC hammer-head friends.

Happy hump day!!! Jx

[wee chair project]

This is the chair that derek found.
It was in good nick so no repairs were required, just a glossy lick of paint.

So far she's been sanded, undercoated, and the first coat of glossy colour applied.

I've gone for a pale pale blue - inspired by my mum's Nigella Lawson measuring cups - now affectionately known as "Nigella Blue".  It's turned out a little lighter than anticipated but hopefully once I get my act together and pop the second coat on it'll look a little more Nigella-ry!

In other news, I'm having a haircut this evening - it's been ten months. Whoops! Neglect!

Happy Friday!!! Jx

[make your own teabags]

How cute are these little DIY teabags!!!A teeny bit of a hassel for your daily morning cuppa but they would make the sweetest handmade gift!

 ... and this is the girl you want to know about... Elsie Larson and her blog A Beautiful Mess.

Find out how to make her little teabags here.
I'll let you know if I get around to making any.  One half of me is ethusiasticly saying "let's do it" but the other half is already on her way to T2 to just buy some.
Jx

[pretty engagement shoot]

I was getting lost in style me pretty (nothing new) when I stumbled across our friends from PT Sam and Todd!

These are a few of the shots from their engagement shoot with Sugar Blush Photography.  Such beautiful photos!!!

To see more, click me here.

Just another photographer added to the ever-growing "to investigate" list.

So much planning ahead! I love it! Jx

images via style me pretty

[vintage school map]

I'm off the boat and my body finally feels like I'm no longer on one. Hope you all had a fantastic Chrissy break!
I thought I'd share with you what I bought Daniel San for his "big number" b-day...

Isn't she lovely!

It took me a little while to find what I was looking for but I ended up sourcing it from empirical style.

Happy friday everyone!!! Jx



[nye]

Happy new year everyone!
The last sunset for 2011 was a stunner! We have a couple of nights to go cruising on the houseboat and then it's sadly back to reality.
Looking forward to an exciting year ahead!
Pirate Jane signing out. Jx