I always love dropping into Hermon & Hermon as they always have something a little different and today they didn't disappoint. How cute are these little puppies! They are made from wool Jute and are just under $100.
A few little piggies getting together to work out how to steal the cute factor from the puppies.
Knowing how much to use when wallpapering or painting can leave you scratching your head with miscalculations that leave you either rushing to the store to buy more (and hoping they still have the same dye lot) or a shed full of tinted paint you can't reuse. Use these simple calculators from Living Etc Magazine to get yourself organised and save yourself the stress.
TIP Wallpaper - add extra wallpaper to your calculations for patches and a few mistakes you may make while hanging. Paint - paint can last at least 8 years if sealed properly (don't have in the hottest spot of shed or garage) Perfect to have a tin for touch ups or a freshen up without painting the whole room.
Do you ever finish a project that makes you want to fist pump the air? I think it's more like HAMMER TIME! I have this song on my favourites like a celebration when I finish a project. I might even throw in a little chair dance in there and if I am extra excited I might even do a Cameron Diaz Dance. I fail miserably but hey, Dance like no one is watching and that has to be a good day in the office. What do you do to celebrate in the office?
I am a little obsessed with camera bags at the moment due to my lovely new camera present and camera bags. So what do you do when old camera bags die? Turn them into gorgeous make-up bags of course!
These Binbags by Studio Toogood avail at the temporium are sourced from second-hand stores then individually adapted with golden linings with cute little makeup mirrors and a place to pop your travelcard or credit cards.
Although I do love how they look on a wall as well.
Fitness is not just about exercise and what you eat but how you manage your life to keep you on track.
It is easy to hide things behind closed doors and think you can get away with being untidy but your pantry is probably one of the most opened doors in your house.
Fifty percent of the time your pantry door is opened from boredom or indecision rather than hunger, so when you open that door it is important you are not tempted to break your diet.
So how does decorating and design have anything to do with a fit pantry? This exclusive video I did for www.fitperez.com gives you some simple steps on the visual & organising elements of your pantry and how to make it "pantry-fit" .
If you have any tips on how you keep your pantry fit please share with us and put your comments below. I have a brilliant prize for the best two ideas on how to keep your pantry fit. The prize is a book about another challenging area in our life - Paperwork!
( & yes will deliver anywhere in the world!)
We will look at all comments till 28th Of Jan 2011 and make the announcement here and on twitter & will contact you from your comment link.
Another way to look at your pantry is called Pantry Pervert by Samantha Gowing. Organising your pantry is one thing but what are you keeping in there? When you are on a diet we are so focused on healthy, low-fat and low-calorie but are you aware of out of date and toxic substances lurking within your pantry? Organising gives you a chance to look at everything in your pantry and get it fit and back on track with healthy eating.
While you are organising your pantry why not look at other areas of your house that need a bit of a clean up. Think wardrobe - I'm sure we all have way to many shoes out there! Getting your house in order always feels like a fresh start and if you work hard enough you may even burn a few calories!
My gorgeous husband bought me this brilliant Nikon camera for Christmas to help me with my Interior Design company but also create great pics for my blog. As I am a bit of a Klutz I immediatley went to the camera store on boxing day to buy a camera bag and bought this Sling bag from Lowepro.
What I love about it is the padded body & lots of pockets & holds all I need at this stage to go out for the day with my camera without taking a second bag. What I do love mostly is, it isn't clunky, I can throw it over my shoulder and looks like an everyday traveling bag.
I am always on the look out to make sure there isnt something else and I came across the fantastic Kelly Moore site. The bags are to die for! With Kelly being a professional photographer herself she has the inside info on what a professional photographer needs.
As an amateur I feel I must learn from the experts and need to purchase one of her bags to show me how to really feel like a professional ;) After all, a girl shouldn't just have one bag for an occasion. Should she?
Kelly also does a tutorial on how to use her bags and what each style can hold. The mustard bag above is from the men's range but I quite like it for myself.
As I write Australia is going through one of the worst flood periods in decades. After decades of drought the flood gates have opened in the Northern Eastern states of this vast land we call Australia.
While over at the bottom of Western Australia we are combating terrible bushfires. Australia is a beautiful but sometimes harsh land to deal with. As a country we are constantly devastated by the natural occurances put before us but the hope and mateship of this great land means that children are even giving away their tooth fairy money to help those who have lost everything. So far the Australian public has donated $29 million dollars and counting, to those who literally only have the shirt on their backs. The loss of homes, livestock and crops is nothing compared to the the lives that are lost in these natural disasters.
We will pull through and we will band together and our hearts and donations go out to those going through such terrible devastation. For those who dont understand Australia I think it has neve been said better than 19 year-old Dorethea MeKellar in her poem My Country, 1904.
MY COUNTRY
The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes.
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins,
Strong love of grey-blue distance
Brown streams and soft dim skies
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!
A stark white ring-barked forest
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon.
Green tangle of the brushes,
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops
And ferns the warm dark soil.
Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart, around us,
We see the cattle die -
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady, soaking rain.
Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the Rainbow Gold,
For flood and fire and famine,
She pays us back threefold -
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze.
An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land -
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand -
Though earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.
We spent a lazy Sunday afternoon yesterday for my daughters birthday at Little Creatures in Fitzroy. The original brewery is in Fremantle, WA, which I have never been to, but the if it is anything like the one in Fitzroy they have a great pub on their hands.
The area is vast and open with long tables with stools for casual get togethers and retro styled eating booths on the main floor for smaller groups. The atmosphere is relaxed filled with a chatty vibe but it is the simple, quirky touches that make it such a great place to visit.
Being greeted by the iconic Australian Hills Hoist.
A touch of summer with a row of umbrellas at the back.
Little creatures everywhere
A touch of Toy Story
I hear the gourmet sausages went down a treat.
Oh yes, of course there was the beer.
Relax to tunes of the vinyl variety (with a little cow going for a spin)
I don't drink beer but my son, husband and it seems a lot of others there can vouch it is a great Aussie brewed beer. You don't have to drink beer to enjoy the day, it is family friendly (the little creatures got a great play work out with the little kids in our party) and a place we will definitely be visiting again.
I love random groups on Facebook, especially this one. International Fairy Bread Day. Why do I love it so much? Well for a start it is Fairy Bread of course, secondly it has been at everyone of my childhood birthday parties and my children's birthday parties but the best reason is, my son.
Sprinkles, Hundreds & Thousands on his Circus Birthday Cake
At the age of 21 where we think our children are cynical, too grown up and want to be far away as possible from their parents the first thing my son asked for to be at his 21st party was, Fairy Bread. It wasn't the fact that he wanted it because he just loved it but because of the great memories he has growing up. So to me International Fairy Bread is a celebration of childhood memories past, present and future. What are yours?
I love this round felt rug influenced by yummy Hundreds & Thousands avail at Corporate Culture
A home with a view 'to die for' is not only the ultimate home but the ultimate lifestyle. Your quality of life definitely goes up a few notches with view like this. The outlook of your home has a direct influence on your mood. Don't believe me? Imagine a view of a rubbish tip compared to this picture!
Not everyone can afford these million dollar views but think of ways you enhance your view to increase your mood.
You could put a vertical garden on a brick wall or your balcony,
With my children now as young adults I still fear when they go on the road but the angst I feel is no-where near what I felt as they first got their license. In Australia a teenager gets their license the same day they are legally allowed to drink. And we wonder why there are so many teen deaths and accidents?
This is not just about being a parent not understanding the fun their children want to have, it is about wanting them to know the consequences of their actions. We all make mistakes but some can't be fixed.
This video was the winner of the 2010 TAC competition. Made and acted all by young adults and produced by a very talented friend of mine, Amey Lee.
Please show this video to your children, friends children and of course no matter what age you are please be safe out there.
This New Years Eve was all about taking it easy and not stressing to much. We had a small gathering of only 10 people, everyone bought a plate, a bottle of something and we took it in turns making a cocktail.
I started the evening setting up the table for the cocktails, put together divine salmon crepe stacks and zucchini & corn fritters, took a couple of snaps and then the guests arrived.
I had every intention for having some great snaps of the food, the setting and our friends but alas I was relaxing so much I didnt get the camera out for the rest of the night. If I had you would have seen pics of laughter and happiness and a group of people totally relaxing. So I guess I have already started my year on the right track and letting life happen without the stress.
Cheers to you all and I hope 2011 is starting on the right track for you.
Shaynna
