new in the studio

Just off the sewing machine - a new journal featuring my current favourite fabric. It ticks all the boxes:

- Lovely vintage inspired design

- Pretty colours

- And of course no shortage of red and white polka dots

I am imagining this journal filled with recipes for all your favourite sweet treats - vanilla cupcakes, chocolate brownies, or perhaps grandma's secret family recipe for apple pie. Tea time anyone?

Available to purchase here.

weekend road trip

We were blessed with perfect weather in Melbourne over the Easter weekend - clear skies, sunny days, and enough warmth in the air to be outside in a t-shirt!

A friend and I hit the road on Monday and headed north to Castlemaine, a pretty town about 1.5 hours out of Melbourne. We ate cookies. We went for long walks. We snoozed outside in the garden. We peered in quaint shop windows. We ate some more. Today I'm back at work feeling much more refreshed and relaxed.

Here's a few snaps from our weekend adventure:

Only 3 more days until the weekend! Hooray!

autumn days

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As the cool, crisp days of Autumn descend upon us here in Melbourne, my thoughts turn to hot cups of tea, quiet evenings on the sofa wrapped in a blanket with a good book to read or a documentary to watch, and being able to wear my favourite scarf, beanie and gloves - all at the same time.

Alas, my thoughts also turn to pesky colds and other ailments, as this morning I have woken up feeling a bit sniffly.

Last Winter I made a batch of lemon-honey-ginger syrup which kept me going all through the colder months. It's made from fresh ginger and lemons and is super strong - just perfect for warming the body and keeping colds at bay. I've just hunted around for the recipe, which I thought I would share if you would like to try some too.

Lemon Honey Ginger Syrup

Ingredients:

750g honey

250g fresh ginger

6 lemons (or more) - juice (about 1.5 cups) and zest

2 cups of water

(These are ball park quantities so adjust them to suit your own tastes).

Grate the ginger into a large pot. Don't bother peeling the ginger, just make sure there is no dirt caught between the branches of the 'hand'. Grate finely if you would like a syrup with more bite to it. Grate coarsely if you would like a smoother, softer ginger flavour.

Remove the zest from the lemons. Coarsely chop the zest and put it to one side. Juice the lemons. Don't bother to fish out the pulp or seeds, everything will be strained in the end.

Add the honey and water to the ginger, stir until the honey is melted, and bring to a strong simmer over medium heat. If the ginger was coarsely grated, turn off the heat and let it steep for 15 minutes, then bring it back to a simmer and continue. If the ginger was finely grated, proceed immediately.

Once it simmers, add the lemon zest, give it a quick stir, and bring back to a simmer.

Immediately remove it from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.

Strain through a fine mesh strainer, pressing the pulp to get out all the juice. Bottle it and refrigerate. This recipe makes about 4.5 cups, and is best used within 3 months though it will keep for about 6 months with no problem.

To Drink:

Add a tablespoonful (or to taste) of syrup to a mug of hot water, stir and drink while still hot.

Yum!

{I cannot remember where I originally found this recipe, if you have come across it somewhere please let me know and I will credit it accordingly - thank you!}

happy easter

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May today be a day of new beginnings.

And chocolate.

: )

vintage home inspiration

I often dream about what my home would look like if I had more space to decorate. I think it would look something like this:

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The owner of these lovely pictures also has a lovely blog that you can read here.

Me, I'm off to peruse the online rental listings....

today i...

... feel like curling up in bed with a good book and a cup of tea.

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rooftops

Last night I discovered the joy of visiting Bunnings on a Friday evening. No doing laps around the car park trying to find a vacant spot. No sausage sizzle out the front (not that enticing to a vegetarian!). Just a quiet, empty store where I could leisurely wander the aisles and dream about the many projects I would like to do.

Today's activity was to plant some herbs and veggies for Winter. I have a tiny courtyard so finding space for growing things can be tricky. Particularly when they need a few hours of sunshine each day. I'd been noticing recently that the roof of my shed was the sunniest spot in the garden. A big flat empty space, just begging to be utilised. So today I set to work turning my shed roof into a mini garden. I filled some pots and planted some seeds - lettuces, pak choy, coriander and sage. I already have a big pot of mint so that went up there also.

In a few weeks time things should hopefully start to sprout. Until then, I thought I'd share some pretty nice rooftop gardens that I'd be quite happy with...

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And how cute are these garden markers? I'd love a whole set!

Happy weekend x

this weekend

The sisters' market is back for 2011 with lots of your favourite stall holders + quite a few lovely new ones that I cannot wait to check out.

Rabbit & the Duck will be there, just inside the main hall. Hope to see you there!