Friday, April 30, 2010

It's a .........

GIRL!!!


I have a new little granddaughter!! She is just beautiful. Mr FH and I made a very quick trip to Perth yesterday for cuddles. How can something so tiny just melt your heart away???
Now we have a pigeon pair - Little Mr L (14 mths) and now little Miss L.

Such Joy

Suzy

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Lunch for two

I recently found this beautiful old tablecloth at a garage sale for $10. It is hand made and just beautiful though very grubby when I bought it. I soaked it for a week before the stains were gone. It is in perfect condition and a lovely aged creamy colour.


Today I used it to set my lunch table for two. I used my vintage dinner plates with some pretty floral side plates.  This old looking flatware I puchased recently at Target. 


The deep purple plate in the centre seems to bring out the colour of the flowers on the plate.


My cute purple teapot seemed to fit in just right - I have it sitting on a very old sandwich plate which belonged to my nan.


These beautiful salt and pepper shakers also belonged to my nan - my aunt had them but kindly thought they would look better in my home - how nice was that! You can see just how old they are by the chips around the bottom edge but to me they are gorgeous.


Finally I thought the table needed a bit of bling (let's face it, a bit of bing works anywhere!) so I added this candle with the pretty surround to finish things off. I purchased two of these a couple of years ago at a Christmas shop.


Hope you enjoyed my little purple table today!!


Suzy

I am joining Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch and Thrifty Thursday @ Tales from Bloggeritaville.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Autumn Roses







Finally my autumn roses are starting to bloom.
What is it about roses that just seem so perfect - even neglected ones like mine???
Today the sun is shining brightly so it is time to get some gardening done before the cold sets in.

Suzy

I'm joining Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Dreamer

Monday, April 26, 2010

Coffee Table Makeover

Do you ever have plans to transform something but never seem to get around to it??? I have had my eye on this cute little table in our old farm house for ages and just didn't get around to painting it so yesterday was the day...
It looked so daggy before I got to it but I really loved the shape of it.


After a good scrub and a quick sand I gave it two coats of off-white paint (I find white paint looks a bit like undercoat so always use this soft colour).



I am really thrilled with the finished look -I am kicking myself that I didn't paint it before my visitors last week!



I love this potted geranium sitting on this tray.



My favourite decorating books look just great on the little shelf underneath.



DN 2 recently gave me these cute little wooden plant labels for the gardens - they look too good to put out in the garden...



Only one thing left to do - sit back with a coffee and enjoy this gorgeous book!
I'm joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday and also Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday.

Suzy

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Saturday morning in the sun

A Saturday morning at home by myself???? Wow, it seems so long since this happened - don't get me wrong I love seeing everyone but also love time by myself. So what did I do on this beautiful morning?? I made myself a cup of tea (usually I drink coffee but today I thought tea was the way to go!) then plonked myself outside to sit and think.


Usually when I have time to sit I always have a magazine with me but not today. The weather was just perfect - not so good for photos though as I have lots of shadows.



This lovely old outdoor setting with a table and two bench seats I picked up from a roadside cleanup last year in Perth. It was a horrible blue colour but I don't have photos of that. I love the beautiful legs the old girl has - I wish mine were this shapely...



Nothing beats some yummy food to make everything just right - a pink jelly cake will do the job I'm sure.



What's your favourite way to spend a Saturday?? Come join Laurie for A Few of my Favorite Things.



Happy Saturday...

Suzy

Friday, April 23, 2010

Baby Shower Luncheon - Part 3!!

OK - I promise this will be my last post on the baby shower!! I just have to show you some of the great food we had - I have a funny relationship with food - I love to eat it but am not sooo fond of cooking it. My daughters can't believe I don't love to cook like they do but after 35 years of cooking it really does become a bit of a chore!! I must say though I really did excel myself last weekend - even if I pat myself on the back!!


We enjoyed lots of homemade sausage rolls, quiches and pinwhells as well as this fabulous cob loaf. It was a scooped out cob loaf of bread filled with a great cheesy mix then put back in the oven to crisp up. We served it with pieces of toasted garlic bread - very yummy!! DN 1 made these great little pikelets with mustard in them then topped them with a basil leaf, cherry tomato and bocconcini - just devine!




I made these waffles - they are just a batter mix and fried in shortening which we topped with curried prawns or cheesy asparagus. Very easy and very yummy!



We also served sushi and a delicious chicken/mango/avocado mix served in papadams but I don't have a photo of them on my camera.



As usual in our family desserts were a major attraction - the chocolate cupcakes (the plate was full to start with!) were really popular as were the individual mint cheesecakes.



We had a stand of cupcakes decorated in pink or blue which were fabulous as well as a plate of tiny cupcakes with baby footprints on them - if you look carefully they have only four toes - the cakes were so small we could only fit four on!!





We are still waiting for the little bundle to arrive - due in two weeks so we are all getting very excited!!

Today I am joining Foodie Friday with my baby shower luncheon.

Suzy 

Monday, April 19, 2010

Baby Shower Luncheon - Part 2

Today I finally have time to show you photos of our baby shower (I have been to an in-service course for work all day so am ready for some light blogging!!). I showed you all those most beautiful painted eggs I had for Easter so I used them as a centre piece...






I piled them onto my white three-tiered cake stand on top of shredded paper and placed that in the middle of the table.



The colours were so gorgeous and I thought the little eggs were so fitting for a baby shower.





The pink and blue baby shoes are ceramic - I purchased them from a gift store recently for $5 per pair so went back and bought more to place around the table.



I managed to find matching water bottles to place on the table to match (no wonder my kids call me Mrs Match!!)





These fabulous chocolates were made by my daughter - the mould only did two at a time so this was a very long process!!



These gorgeous chocolates were gifts for our guests - the colours were just dreamy.



I think these balloons set the scene in my sunroom for a really fun day - the last guests didn't leave until 6.30pm so I think they all had a wonderful time!!

Suzy

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Baby Shower Luncheon

Yesterday I had a wonderful day - DN 1 and I held a baby shower luncheon for DN 2 who expecting her first baby in 2 weeks. We had 25 family and friends gathered together for a fantastic day. We had a beautiful lunch together (which I will show later in the week) and enjoyed watching the mum-to-be receive many beautiful gifts for her and baby.


We had lots of cupcakes in pink and blue and these adorable little chocolates (in pink and blue also) pictured above. I have quickly made this mosaic ready to join Mosaic Monday at the Little Red House but I will be back later in the week. (LIfe is a little hectic at the moment!).

Suzy

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Bathroom Mini Makeover

I have had a new mirror to put up in my bathroom sitting waiting for months. When Mum was here last week she pushed me into getting it done - I can't believe the difference it makes!! I also can't believe I forgot to take a 'before' picture - how stupid is that. My bathroom at the farm house is very small (and very basic) so by adding this new mirror it just seems to open it right up.


I purchased this mirror from Ikea -before I had this my mirror was a small white one about 1/4 of the size so this looks very grand now!!



I bought this cute table about three years ago for $50 at a second hand store and painted it up - it just fits perfectly in the small space.



The beautiful pink boxes on the table were a gift from DN 1 when she lived in London - they are soap and hand cream from Harrods.
Underneath I always have some fresh white towels rolled up in case some goes in without their towel!


These soaps were gifts from friends (thank goodness we have friends!) and the pretty yellow powder bottle I found in our old farm house.



This is the wall continuing along to the left - sorry I couldn't get it all in one photo but the room is very small!!
The lower two mirrors were also from Ikea and the pretty patterened one was from Target.

Please pop over to Marty's Table Top Tuesday to see some really great table top arrangements.

Suzy



PS I have added this buch of silk roses and really like the dark green against all the white.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Blue Monday at the farm

I was looking through some photos I had taken in my sunroom and thought I would do a mosaic with some of the blue china. Firstly I changed them all to watercolour which I thought looked really quite nice.


I'm going to try a watercolour on a photo of my grandson - thought it would be really fun to frame and hang on the wall if it's ok.








I'm joining Mosaic Monday and also Blue Monday so please check out what's happening there - lots of fabulous posts...

Suzy