Thursday, April 26, 2012

Colour inspiration #1


Left to right:

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Monday, April 23, 2012

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

Sunday, April 22, 2012

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

Monday, April 16, 2012

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

Saturday, March 31, 2012

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


Monday, March 26, 2012

Wall gazing

One of my favourite Australian artists is the wallpaper designer, Florence Broadhurst. The eccentric red-head began her business in 1959 and produced the most beautiful hand printed designs. The geometric patterns were vibrant and inspired by nature. Signature Prints have reproduced her designs and applied them not only to wallpapers, but fabric and other textiles too, so that we can still appreciate her gorgeous designs today.

Photos from Signature Prints

My dream is to one day have a space (hopefully attached to my house) where all my treasures I have gathered over the years will live. I will run my design studio here and my clients will be able to check out my work while I serve them tea and pikelets with homemade jam and cream. Mmm mmmm. And a Florence Broadhurst design would be the perfect decor.

The Cranes | Egrets | Gardenia
Photos from Signature Prints


An embarrassing habit I have is that I often get caught daydreaming while everyone else is watching tv. Having a Broadhurst design would make gazing into space (aka staring at the wall) a whole lot more interesting.

Ikeda | Carnation | Japanese Flora
Photos from Signature Prints

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Cup of tea and the best book ever

Winter is defintely coming, here in Melbourne. So what better way to snuggle up in jammies with a brew and the best book ever. The Hungar Games. I just can't put them down. Looking forward to seeing the action on the big screen.