[neon-ing in the garden]

This year our Christmas table for lunch will be decked out in neon.
On the weekend I took the smidge of free time I had to take to the garden and get spray happy.
This happened...

Also, a few weeks before I'd bought this simple basket at Vinnies for $2, hoping to give it a little facelift.

These little ornaments were a cheap find at Spotlight.

First I covered the upper hemisphere with masking tape.

 

I then cut a few holes in a piece of cardboard to nestle each bauble in.

This way they behaved themselves while they were being sprayed.

For the basket I taped a straight line exposing a little over a quarter of it's height and protected the rest with newspaper.

And here's my little neon babies.

Three weeks to go!

Hope your Chrissy plans and coming along swimmingly.

Jx

[vintage sideboard styling]

We won, we won!
A fabulous vintage sideboard!
Looks fantastic in our little unit but still in need of a little styling.
Stacked books, framed art leaning against the wall and plenty of curios are on the cards...

image via here

image via here

image via here

image via here

A great excuse to spend some time trawling through antique and op-shops!

Not that I ever need an excuse!

 

Five weeks to go as of this Saturday!!! Ahhhh!

Jx

 



[a spot of weekend thrifting]

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a sidewalk market nearby full of thrifty goodness and picked up this happy little piece...

Oh, and a few more doilies.

I'm pretty sure you can never have too many.

(Daniel San would probably disagree)

Have a happy weekend everyone!

Jx

[looky what she won on ebay...]

Daniel San and I have been searching for a cast iron garden set for little while now.

I very nearly had him convinced that we should buy a similar set at a second hand shop in Brunswick Heads last time we were visiting.

Lucky we didn't.  We found this baby on ebay and at $41 it was ours!

It was the first time I'd ever bid on anything and you should have seen what an anxious mess I was with 10 minutes to go, on my phone, on a saturday night, in a cocktail lounge.

This morning we took a little drive down the coast to collect our win.

 

There's no doubt it needs a little love - all the more fun I say.

I've been on the Dulux website creating my powder-coating colour shortlist.

Rather than sticking with the traditional white, I was thinking either a pale apricot, greeny/mint or turquoisey/jade colour.

 

We're really looking forward to having our morning cuppa on the balcony - our outdoor space still needs a little attention!

Which colour would you choose?!

Jx

colour images via dulux

[vintage trunk find the third]

...and then there were three!  My vintage trunk family is complete with baby (who's even a little chubbier than the others)!

This is the little goodie I purchased yesterday at the antique centre.  Like father like son, I also purchased the first of my collection at the same place.  The second trunk however I picked up on our trip to Noosa last year.

He's a little rusty here and there and has a few loose stitches but I think his lovely blue colour allows you to look beyond these imperfections!

This is what I also bought... a selection of old knitting needles for my newly rekindled skill!

...and finally a drawer handle for when I get around to refurbishing the bedside table in the guest room.  I was immediately attracted to the watermelony/corally colour of the glass.

Just another project added to my never-ending list! 

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend!

Jx

[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

[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

[more vinnies success]

The Vinnies down the road from work is proving to be a great source of homeware goodies.  This is what I picked up the other day...

Not quite the full set but for $8 I'm fairly happy with my thrifty purchase.

The little dishes got me.  Perfect for dipping sauce, wasabi and fresh ginger.

Now all I need to do is add a meal and then I have the perfect setting.

I'm thinking asian.

Funny that.

Jx

[big spending at vinnies]

Oh how I love op-shopping! I found these little decorative finds at the Vinnies down from work for 50c each.  Thought they'd go nicely together on the bedside table in the guest room.

Not sure whether to paint some cute little watercolour pieces to go in the frame or print some soft, possibly instagrammed pics or some edgy black and white pics. Hmmmm... decisions decisions.

After work today I'll be hitting the road for a little camping weekend away.  Daniel San had the day off so he's headed down early which means:
a) I'll be driving by myself (sadface) but
b) the tent will have already been set up by the time I arrive (mega happyface)!

Looking forward to unwinding with a glass of wine... and maybe a little cheese.
Happy Friday everyone!
Jx

[the newest blog to the faves list]

I was very excited to stumble upon this very sweet little blog Notions.  It's chock full of lovely handmade bits and pieces by Rosie from Hobart as well as deliciously inspiring spaces, fabrics and etsy finds, all for the love of vintage.

Jx