Colour inspiration #2

Left to right:

• Samantha Robinson porcelain tea cups – the best way to drink tea.
• Raspberry pink croco – the perfect clutch for a late lunch.
• Maling vintage lustre dark pink teacup & snack plate duo c1920-63 – with room for a little cake.
• Antique chairs – for playing ladies
• Raspberry Rich lippie from Bobbi Brown - make those lips POP!
• Raspberry Pink 7432 Pantone Bone China mug – a lovely start to the morning.
• Raspberry-choclatey goodness – all I can say is YUM!
• Raspberry beer cocktail – the prettiest beer cocktail I have ever seen.
• Lovely peonies – in luscious raspberry tones.
• Dreamy pink – with raspberry tea
• P. Kaufmann Central Park Toile - Raspberry/Pink – reminds me of England. Sigh.
• Royal scones with jam and cream – using the Queens recipe!

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Girlie weekend

Last weekend a group of my girls headed down to Blairgowrie to visit our friend Kate and her new home. It was freezing cold and we were greeted by a gorgeous open fire and the kitchen table set up for high tea!!! After ooooing and ahhhhing over what Kate and her boy had done with their place we sat down to devour all the tasty treats she had been creating over the last 2 days.

My place setting | Salmon, avocado and caper tartlets
Tea with scones and jam

We started with salmon, avocado and caper tartlets, beetroot, feta and semi dried tomato crostini, gingerbread and blue cheese with chives, washed down with champagne served in 1950s style glasses. Amazing.

Next round was the scones with cream and jam. Kate used my favourite recipe:
4 cups of self raising flour
1 can of lemonade
1 pottle of cream
Mix altogether. Cut into rounds using a cookie cutter and bake in a 180 degree oven for 20mins. Serve with cream and jam. Delish.

The scones were served with 3 types of tea. We all felt very spoilt.

And last but not least, the sweeties. Lemon cupcakes and dark chocolate tarts with fresh raspberry. Yum yum.

Light and fluffy scones | Gingerbread and blue cheese
Another gorgeous teacup set

Once our tummies had settled we headed off to the Peninsula Hot Springs where we bathed and relaxed for a couple of hours. Returning back to the house for wines, Thai takeaways and girlie chats by the cozy fire.

Thank you so much Kate for your hospitality, was a lovely weekend. You are a very clever cookie. The next weekend away with the girls is already being planned.


 

Colour inspiration #1

Left to right:

• Limoges Mint Floral Teacups  – How lovely would it be to drink tea out of these gems 
• Mint chocolate chip icecream cake – So very indulgent
• Porcelain Groove Mug in Mint Green – Great mug for wrapping your hands around on a cold winters day
• Anson 86" sofa – Imagine a tea party on this sofa
• Mint macaroons – Delicious
• Mint green crochet flower appliques – Endless ideas of what I could do with these little doilies
• Mint green biscuit tin – Vintage biscuit tin
• Doilies in green – Fun and quirky teacups
• Mint Meltaways – These look like melt in your mouth material
• Mint green with pink blossom teacup, saucer and plate – So pretty
• Circle Zinnia Wallpaper – Perfect tearoom wallpaper
• Anthropologie Mint green and white double torsade necklace – Ideal for high tea with the ladies 

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Scones and jam in a cup

I had a quick wander through T2 today on my lunch break and they have a new range of teas for Mothers Day. In good ol' T2 style, they had them all brewed and ready for tasting. As I have a very soft spot for scones and jam, I was immediately drawn to this flavour.

T2 Scones and Jam tea - Photos by T2

A Sencha green tea with "a fruity edge and a quince punch." T2 claim that it "is best when shared with good friends and good laughs." Sounds like my kind of tea. It was light and fresh, just how I like it.

The tea cube is filled with loose leaf flavoured green tea, an infuser and recipe book (filled with recipes from the T2 staff). The packaging is this fantastic limited edition design in bright pink, green and yellow.

Other flavours in the series are:
Apple Crumble
Russian Tea Cake
Breakfast in bed

Vintage finds and antique treasures

Today we went for a little day trip out of Melbourne to a small town called Tyabb, near Mornington. It is well known for its abundance of vintage and antique shops. And it did not disappoint. I finally found some teaspoons and bought them from Betty Stone. She asked me if I had cupcake parties, because she has recently been selling lots of cake forks and finding it tricky to get hold of more. She was so sweet.

My new teaspoons from Tyabb Packing House Antiques

The Tyabb Packing House Antiques is spread over 2 acres with more than 30 dealers selling antiques, old school homewares, retro finds, vintage treasures and other specialty items. It is amazing. We had brunch in the cafe, Elixir, then took our time wandering around taking in all the amazing things.

Beautiful quilts and throws from White Out Of The Box

Next we moved on to The Vintage Shed which was a massive shed filled to the brim of fantastic vintage awesomeness. So many things that I wanted to take home with me.

This was my favourite setting.
Love, love, love the umbrella

Lovely Sweet William

My latest Ikea excursion means I finally have frames for my prints!!

I recently went to the Magnolia Square Markets at the St Kilda Town Hall and purchased the sweet tea cup (right) and the lovely heart (left) from Paula Mills of Sweet William. There were so many beautiful prints it was pretty hard choose, but these were my favourites.

The middle print I brought on the Charles Bridge in Prague. The bridge is lined with stalls selling all sorts of fabulous treasures. It's of the Charles Bridge with the beautiful Prague architecture in the background. I felt it summed up Prague just perfectly.

Left and Right prints by Sweet William

Delightful peaches and cream

One of my favourite cupcake shops in London is The Hummingbird Bakery. One of my BFFs, Ange, gave me the cookbook one Christmas while I was living over there. It wasn't until I got back to Melbourne where I have my own kitchen that I finally tested my baking skills. This sunny autumn day I decided to make Peaches and Cream cupcakes.

Recipe from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. Photos by Stacey Hills

The end product is to die for. A rich creamy vanilla icing with a sprinkle of brown sugar, a light fluffy vanilla cake, and at the bottom, a little surprise flavour bomb of preserved peaches! Sensational. Now I am going to put it out there. This could actually in fact be the best cupcake I have ever eaten. I know this is a big call, but I am standing by my statement. Up until today, it was the Passionfruit ones from the David Jones food court. These mysterious treasures only ever seem to pop up every now and then. I love them because of the passionfruit curd centre. But these... well these peaches and cream delights, take cupcakes to a whole new level!

Photos by Stacey Hills