A truly beautiful Minxy mix of charm, inspiration, practical advice, and pretty projects to simplify and beautify your life and home. - Jane Brocket, The Gentle Art of Domesticity
Home again, home again
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of events and book-related activities. Just chatting with other vintage lovers has been deeply good for the soul, and reaffirmed my passion for all things with a past and a story to tell.
The only downside is, my family and home are feeling a little neglected. Nothing a relatively free weekend in together won’t fix, and some hours spent gently reacquainting myself with house & garden. This morning I’ve been adjusting favourite corners of the home and tweaking here and there in my own version of spring cleaning, which has less to do with dusting and more to do with delight in finding new ways to display things.
I’ve returned home to a riot of flowers in the front garden – three summers after small clippings were planted, the star jasmine is finally taking over and curling prettily up the facade. Along with gardenia bushes which have seen fit to bloom after long months of tightly-furled buds, the scent through our open bedroom windows is intoxicating.
It’s good to be home.
Delicious new reading material
Spring has sprung
Sixties silk kaftan from Rozelle markets, pre-repair
This week Sydney has turned on her charms like the cancan dancer she is, and made me remember why I love living in this city. The balmy breath wending its way through the house today is dispelling the cold memory of winter, and the air seems to thrum with its energy. Ah, spring.
Yesterday I wore a silk kaftan for the first time since March – with bare legs – and was overwhelmed by a desire to throw open all the windows and doors, and take to every space in the home with a duster, in full-on editing mode.
Hello, window-box geraniums. Hello post-dawn morning yoga classes, and trips to the fish markets. Goodbye winter colds, let’s be done with you. Come hither, sun.
Windowbox cheer
Swapping wool for DK cotton - my somewhat wonky decorative crocheted potholder
Staying in: the new going out?
Cabbage (&) Roses
We chucked most commitments today in favour of time indoors, en famille. The knots in my shoulders are working themselves loose and I feel sane again, because Minxy Vintage is very nearly off to print, and the days brought various good tidings. Hooray for the turning tide.
I did, however, pop out for some flowers to cheer up the house – hence the kale and roses above. And my new/old egg cups, a collectible German design from the 50s. Who was I to resist such pastel charms?
And my chubby babe is due another bib, for the seams were bursting on the old one which featured in The Crafty Kid. Here’s the new version – done & dusted in under an hour. It should last until she’s four. By which stage, bibs will be redundant, right? (ha).
Googie eggs never looked so good
A new bib for Miss Olive
High tea with a twist
Sweet treats: scones, cupcakes, and fairy bread aplenty
Recently I was asked to organise my dear friend Katrina’s baby shower. It’s always an honour when someone involves you in a special event in their life, but this one in particular made me acutely aware of how rare and precious such occasions are.
Yesterday dawned, sunny and sparkling on the NSW Central Coast town of Terrigal, while two families spent an industrious morning setting up and preparing a sumptuous array of food. Husbands and boyfriends disappeared to the local bar around midday, before ten fabulous women sat down to enjoy each other’s company and celebrate impending new life over champagne, lunch, Pimms and afternoon tea.
The theme? High Tea with a Twist, Alice in Wonderland-style. Guests were asked to don their best English eccentric get-up, and send a very chic woman on her way into motherhood with style. And with everyone rising to the occasion, it just so happened that it worked.
Remember times like these?
The mother-to-be
Testing tea cups
Olive & me, minutes before nap time
Mir & Jen in excellent millinery
A pretty mess at the table & homespun floral arrangements
Sonia works those red Wayfarers
Blessed by the Queen
Cassy's handmade Oliphaunt
Simple pleasures
Riot of roses
Post-holiday malaise has kicked in, and it’s making me want to hunker down and sew, sew, sew – by hand. Take up a painstaking beading project that keeps me busy for months, parked next to the fireplace. Totally change the house around. Fill it with flowers. And I’ve cooked more hearty meals in the past two weeks than I have in ages. But there’s nothing wrong with a little winter hibernation. Without it, who could appreciate the spring half as much?
I found this lovely vintage print for next-to-nix at the Rozelle Markets this morning, along with several bunches of flowers. A perfect start to the weekend, and some things to admire as I prick my finger for the umpteenth time.
Lovely lute girl
Stem of orchids for the mantel
Random acts of kindness
From Katrina & James via Jodie McGregor Flowers
It’s so easy to forget birthdays, get caught up in things, not register the milestones in friends’ lives. One can always do better, non?
Flowers arrived this week on Olive’s birthday, accompanied by a note congratulating us on making it through the first year. I heart friends.
Olive & I made these thank you cards. Well, Olive flailed about and grew increasingly tetchy while I hurriedly covered her in paint and splodged a few hand prints on parchment. I wish I wasn’t wearing my cream cashmere cardigan at the time. But I can tell she’s grateful, too… deep down.
Thank you
Dabbling in floristry
Bronwyn's bouquet
My neighbour Anna is a florist. She had a holiday planned when Bronwyn asked if she could arrange the flowers for her wedding. Anna suggested me, so I had my first (paid) gig as a wedding florist recently.
Here’s some pics of a few of my favourite arrangements. They’re hyper-bright but looked beautiful against the white linen and simple, chic setting of the Bondi Surf Lifesavers’ Club.
Vestibule
Table centre