Concrete Flamingos and Beach Umbrellas

I don't think it's any secret that I love a good fossick around an op shop. It's practically a legitimate hobby these days. With all that mass produced land fill coming out of China, where else are we going to find well-made unique pieces? I find it soothing, interesting, and it can be tres rewarding too.

I think everyone has their 'holy grail' of op-shopping, that special 'blank blank' that you're always looking for. For me, it's a number of things, in no particular order:

• A concrete planter shaped like a swan
• Pineapple shaped whatevers
• Beautiful glassware
• Peacock anythings
• Concrete garden flamingos
• Pretzel cane

As you can see in the above photo, my friend Elizabeth struck it lucky on the latter two. Look at those flamingos. Palest pink, authentic 1960s concrete garden flamingos....they're even from the Gold Coast! Oh, I was almost sick, but of course, happy for her (sort of). They're even better in real life.

I had a little find myself last Friday. Whilst busy procrastinating instead of being at home working, I came across this.

It's a 1960s beach umbrella, in mint condition. It's like it's never been used, with vivid colours. I noticed it as I was walking out the door, it was folded up in plastic and I couldnt'tell what it was at first. I couldn't get it out of there fast enough. I can tick that one off the list now.

I have been looking at lights, ceiling roses, and the extras for downstairs. The Restoration Station is just around the corner from us on Waterworks Road. We got quite a few bits and pieces from them when we were doing upstairs.
I popped in there recently. They've got quite an amazing collection of bits and pieces for Queenslanders and older houses.

We were playing Boggle last night. I was using an old stenographers writing pad which was in the house when we moved in. The pages were all yellow and the paper was fragile, but it was ok to scribble my words in. I flicked over to the back of the book and found some pencilled notes about babycare, headed '7th May, 1942'.

Gwennie strikes again! Just when I think this is truly our house now, she let's me know that she was here first.

Pineapples in Winter

What do you think? I thought I'd redecorate and spruce the place up. It's a bit out of season, tres summery and all, considering the icy conditions outside, but I do love a good pineapple.
Pineapples, as a decorating motif, are uniquely kitsch and classic all in one. I was looking through a 2003 Vogue Living recently and found this spread. Look at those lovely pineapples and palm trees, delightful, and timeless.

This is a little timber pineapple bowl I picked up recently. I decided to paint it white because it's specifically for lemons and limes, and I like the contrast. Shame about the less than spectacular fruit in it.

Speaking of timber bowls, I have a new found appreciation for them after seeing a segment on the Martha Stewart show, where some men turned beautiful wood into spectular bowls. I've indulged this new whimsy a couple of times recently.

Our 'guard dog', and I use that term loosely, is not coping well with the Wintery chill. Old Fox Face is spending almost all her days clocking up serious couch time under the doona.....

.....or draped in woollies. I don't think she's much suited to the security business, being so emotionally needy and all. The chilly nights are putting us all on edge, with both canine and feline choosing to spend the night in - at the same time. While the needy dog would just love to play with the cat, Teddy looks at the dog with utter repugnance on his haughty little face. I swear you could cut the air with a knife when those two are around each other.

This crisp Winter weather is turning out some spectacular sunsets. This is one from during the week. Old timber houses on hills, such as ours for example, are notoriously 'un-warm' in Winter, in fact, we actually go outside for some relief from the frigid conditions inside. Every whisp of icy wind works its way under doors and through the thousand cracks in our walls.

The girls have got themselves a daily habit of hot chocolate, usually spiced up with some vanilla and cinnamon. We make it with real chocolate on the bottom, topped with hot milk, the vanilla, a couple of marshmallows tossed in and a sprinkle of cinnamon. No complaints.
If you're around Paddington at all while it's cold, try a hot chocolate at Monty's, which is near the Paddington Antiques Centre, you'll either love it or hate it. I was frightened, and I don't scare easily when it comes to calories.

I have been eating vegan style lately - please, no snoring during this paragraph. That means no animal products, so no meat obviously, no dairy, eggs, seafood, etc. Hardcore vegans don't even eat honey (because of the involvement with bees) or marshmallows (gelatine is made from cows' bones) - but I don't think I'll take things that far. Anyway, I'm not going to rabbit on about my eating regime because that's very boring, but safe to say, surprisingly veganism is conducive to cold weather.
Armed with my Charmaine Solomon, I've been whipping up vegetable curries and dahl like a woman possessed.

Dahl is almost the perfect food. It's delicious, quick to make, healthy, cheap, low fat, high fibre, filling and freeze-able. You can add loads of sides like chutney, yogurt, flat bread, fresh herbs and pickled vegetables.
To make dahl, just heat a few tablespoons of oil (vegetable, olive or ghee) in a pot and sautee two diced onions, toss in some spices (turmeric, garam masala, ground cumin or coriander) and crushed garlic and stir some more. Put 375g red lentils (one bag) into the pot with about four cups of vegetable stock, you can add more if required later. Stir, turn down the heat, put the lid on and cook for about 20-25 minutes until the lentils are mushy. That's it.

It should look something along the lines of this.. tonight I served mine with fried eggplant and fresh spinach sandwiched between two pieces of toasted lebanese bread.

Have a look at these darlings. I spotted them in an op shop during the week. All I could see from a distance was a splodge of pretty blue on a shelf, and I flew over vampire style and snatched them up. I don't think I needed to pounce so, they weren't really on anyone else's radar, but aren't they lovely. Absolute gorgeousness for only two and a half clams!

Stay warm people!
x

The hundred dresses

After a mammoth shop this morning I came home and reorganised the pantry - fascinating stuff I know.
It looks much better though.

Unbeknownst to me I have been stockpiling wholemeal pasta spirals of a particular size. Very specific isn't it? I have no idea why I have so much or why I keep buying it. I must have 2kg or more now. Don't be fooled by the photo, those glass jars are huge.
Have you ever cleaned out the pantry and found you've got an inordinate amount of a particular ingredient?

A little gem I picked up recently is this crocheted doiley complete with standing swan heads. It's the height of kitsch. I couldn't believe my luck. What better to pair it with than a footed bowl of faux candied fruit.

I also recently found this (supposedly) 1970s gumball machine, sans stand, this one would have sat on a shop counter. Remember they used to be outside every corner store.

We did have it full of lollies at one stage, but we've since eaten the whole lot.
I wish I could time travel back to 1982 and tell my 10-year-old-self, trying to jimmy more lollies out of one of these things at the North Street store, to relax. 'One day you'll own one yourself, then you can eat all the damn lollies you want, sweetie', I'd tell her.
Actually on my way back to now, Í may as well drop in on 1989 and tell my 17-year-old self to stop sun-baking and hit the books -  'this isn't a joke Miss'.
Do you remember the book called 'The Hundred Dresses'. I had it myself as a little girl and I recently bought it for Mim who is days away from turning eight. The story has aged well. She finished the whole book in one day and loved it. It was only when I was trying to buy it on-line that I realised what a classic 'The Hundred Dresses' is. You can even buy reading companions for it.

It's about a little girl who tells everyone at school she has a hundred dresses. She gets teased by the other girls because she wears the same old dress everyday. I didn't realise it the first time around, but it has an anti-bullying message.
I also discovered why my pseudonym is always 'Wanda'. You know how sometimes when you buy a coffee or a juice or something you need to give your name, which irritates me no end for some reason. I always say my name is 'Wanda'.
As it turns out, the main character in 'The Hundred Dresses' is Wanda Petronski. It obviously left more of an impression on me than I realised.

The icons of kitsch

In my long standing pursuit of kitsch I have identified certain icons which, like treasure maps, can lead me directly to what I'm searching for. This is particularly useful information if you are trawling on-line. If you're thrift shopping in the real world, well, it's in the lap of the gods what you might find.
Kitsch seems to inevitably find its inspiration in nature, particularly birds; swans, peacocks and kookaburras.
If there were one thing that defined classic kitsch, it would have to be the lawn flamingo, and rightly so, what's not to love about this?



When guests arrive to find a flamingo swizzle stick in their drink, they know they're at a swish do.

The other 'fancy bird' - my beloved peacocks.

Even better, plucked and turned into a handbag.

Swans are the height of kitsch of course. I have it on good authority that there's an old concrete swan planter down at New Farm Antiques, with a $250 price tag swinging round its neck. Get outta town!

Other than birds, when searching for A1 kitsch, keep your eyes peeled for lobsters.

Cherries (she's got it going on).

..and anything Hawaiian.

Lastly, when searching for items of high quality kitsch, or retro significance, try 'palm trees', 'watermelon' and 'shells'.

Northern Disclosures

We have just returned from a couple of days in northern New South Wales. That must be one of the most beautiful parts of the world.
We based ourselves in dinky little Brunswick Heads. It's quaintness has not gone unnoticed, the gentrification has certainly set in, although its not that obvious on the surface. We investigated the notion of a weekender there, but tiny, rundown cottages sell for 750k, and they aren't necessarily anywhere near the beach.
There are some great little shops there to have a poke around in. I found one called The Fabulous Mrs Fox, but it was closed, and then we left town too early the next day to get in there. Has anyone checked it out? It looks fabulous indeed.

I had a very thorough look through the window. It's chock full of what my friend Fi calls 'whimsical f**kery'  - just what I love. If anyone has been, let me know if it's worth the trip back. Me thinks, yes it is. I found a blog of theirs, but it had no posts on it.
We also dropped in to see our friends and neighbours from Red Hill. They have a second house at Possum Creek just near Bangalow, which gets rented out. Check out the details here, it's called Basil's Brush (guess who's just nailed links).
Kitty, with her wonderful local knowledge, gave me a list of all the antique/vintage/retro/second hand shops in Northern New South Wales from Alstonville to Yamba, from Ballina to Woodburn. Apparently Lismore is where it's at. I visited Carrington Street Bazaar, which was particularly good.
Back to pretty old Brunswick Heads.The beach is so beautiful, I could almost turn. As they say in that hideously corny Byron Bay ad, 'her beauty changed me' (temporarily at least). I nearly wanted to go for a swim. We went for a walk along the river and down to the beach yesterday at twilight.

If you haven't been to northern New South Wales for a while, get yourself down there pronto. It'll do you good.
Before I go, here's the list. It would be inhumane not to pass it on.
Alstonville
Gingerlily Vintage Wares, 76 Main Street
Ballina
Summerland Antiques & Collectables, Cnr Smith Dr & Pacific Highway
Leah's Secondhand Furniture, 19 Moon Street
Bangalow
Heaths Old Wares & Collectables, Station Street
Little Peach Japanese Collectables, 17 Byron Street
Lazy Bones Emporium, 16 Station Street
The Little Antique Shop Jewellery, 30 Byron Street
The New Collector, 64a Byron Street
The Retro Shop Bangalow, Shop 5, 1 Lismore Road
Vintage Eastern, 87 Byron Street
Vintage Retro & Collectables, 14 Station Street
Brunswick Heads
Clem's Cargo & Collectables, Shop 1, 38 Tweed Street
Resould, 48 Tweed Street
Secondhand Rose Emporium, 8 Park street
Sentimental Treasures, Shop 2, 38 Tweed Street
The Fabulous Mrs Fox, Park Street
Byron Bay
Byron Bay Furniture, 8 Grevillea Street
NV New Vintage, Byron Arcade, Shop 3B, 13 Lawson Street
Polish Antiques, Centennial Cct
Casino
McKee's Old Bakery Antiques, 99 Centre Street
Olley's, 153 Canterbury Street
Ian Norris Antique Brass Beds, By Appointment Only Tel 02 6662 4532
Chinderah
Ray Evans Chinderah Bay Antiques, Cnr Waugh St & Chindera Bay Drive
Clunes
The Old Romantic Shack, Main Street
Coraki
Secondhand & Old Wares, 93 Richmond Terrace
Federal
Jatana Interiors Antique Tiles, By Appointment Only, Tel 02 6688 4048
Kyogle
Lewie's Portal, 7 Stratheden Street
Plum Vintage, 143 Summerland Way
Lismore
Alba Vintage, 40 Carrington Street
Books  & Stuff Cnr Magellan & Keen St
Carrington Street Bazaar, 40 Carrington Street
Lizzy's Furniture, 59 Wyrallah Road
Rosemont Collectables, 91a Molesworth Street
Vintage & Antique Boutique Stores, Star Court Arcade, Molesworth Street
Maclean
Penny Farthing Antiques, 151 River Street
Mullumbimby
Cedar House Antiques, 140 Dalley Street
Country Spirit, 3/104 Dalley Street
Open House Mullumbimby New & Used, 22 Tincogan Street
Down the Alley, 59a Burringbar Street
Murwillumbah
Gabriel's Closet Antiques & Collectables, 130 Main Street
Newrybar
Country House Antiques, 19 Old Pacific Highway
Old Grevillia
Calamia Cottage Collectables, 8 Calamia Road (off the Summerland Way)
Tyalgum
Tiny Shoppe of Memories, Coolman Street (next to the Flutterbies Cafe)
Tumbulgum
Junction, 26 Riverside Drive
Ulmarra
Contrary's on Clarence, Pacific Highway
Old Codgers Antiques & Collectables, Old Norco Building, Pacific Highway
Uki
Re's Intrigues Old Wares & Bric-a-brac, The Old Butter Factory, 1454 Kyogle Road
Woodburn
Vintage Clothing & Collectables, 81 River Street
Yamba
Angourie Road Secondhand & Antiques, 8 Angourie Road

Save yourself from heartache and take a ute so you don't have to leave anything behind.
If anyone's got any to add, leave a comment and I'll amend the list.

Holiday snaps

Several times I have driven to Rockhampton from Brisbane, which is an eight hour drive, with my two girls. I've even done the drive by myself, with them being much younger, and we've never had a problem. I use what I call the 'drip feed' system.
This involves several brown paper bags, a felt pen and lots of snacky things. I divide the bags up into two piles, and roughly use one bag per half hour of driving for each small person. Then I number each pile of bags one to ten or whatever.
I put various small amounts of food into each bag, and number each pile the same, so when it comes to handing them out, the bags are exactly the same and there's no fighting.
While some of the snacks would be deemed unhealthy, my reckoning is that a dippity bit is not going to be as bad for us as ending up under a truck. My aim is to have them occupied so I can concentrate on the driving. And so, my 'drip feed' system worked a treat this time too.
Thanks to Grandma, we also had a basket packed to the brim with paper, pens and stickers to fill in the time.
We did our usual visit to the Botanical Gardens while there. They are still magnificent and into their 150th+ year, and it shows. It takes time for a garden to look that magnificent.

This old concrete whale is still there. I remember it from when I was tiny. It used to be painted black and white, but it's au naturel now.

Dad's garden is beside a horse paddock and he often has taipans, death adders and brown snakes up near his house - I know!! I was kept well and truly on my toes, let me tell you. I was trying to calm myself by writing such angst off as paranoia when I heard a story on the local radio saying that the snakes were out again for Summer, and to keep a lookout for them.
Then there's the crocodiles. As a school girl I used to row on the river. My career was cut short though, one morning when I saw an enormous crocodile in the water not far from where I was putting the boat in. To make matters much worse, that was the first morning I fell out. The coach motored out to me in his dinghy. My relief turned to horror however, when I realised he came to get the boat not me, and I was left behind to swim back to the rowing club, about 100m, to where I'd seen the crocodile. Needless to say, later in the day my mother called him to say I'd decided against a career in rowing.
This brings me to the weekend just past. Proof that children are in fact NOT wrapped in cotton wool at all. There was a rowing regatta on that very same river, right beside the sign saying crocodiles inhabit the water and can cause death or injury!

Achtung indeed!

Now I sense you're wondering if I managed to secure a concrete swan. No, in a word. It wasn't from the lack of determination though. I did knock on a door in the pursuit of one, but apparently it was a much loved member of the family. I've earmarked some for further investigation, however, the owners are currently caravanning and won't be back til closer to Christmas.
I managed to bring back some little dust collectors, one of which is a swan.
This duck is from Dad's house, and unfortunately, he's the only member of his family to have survived.

Dad gave me this shell mat, which belonged to my grandma. I really love it.



Here it is in-situ with the pineapples I brought back, for a tres tropical feel.

I just love pineapples as decoration, and they double as a very good fruit too.

We found this tiny bird's nest in Dad's greenhouse. It's hanging down, probably a bit difficult to see.

The next day we went back to have another look at it, and found these.

Dad just loves birds. These are his 'budgies'.

That's it for the holiday snaps.
My next trip away will be New York in November!

Things of shell and concrete

I have been trying to be a good, regular blogger, I really have, but time has been just getting away from me lately. I've no sooner met one job deadline, when another one looms over me, menacing any free time I might have.
On a more pleasant note, I've just got my hands on a new swan. This one is 50s style and covered in shells.

I scored it on Ebay, and as if you weren't jealous enough, I also got a matching bunny.
When I went to collect it from the other side of town, I also bought these two old cannisters. When you have an open pantry, you can't have too many pretty cannisters.

Remember these - paper straws. They used to be the norm, but now they are an expensive novelty. I got these ones from Olive Home.

On the weekend we went to Cedar Creek at Samford. On the way we went past this masterful stone bridge, it really is something and worth a look if you happen to find yourself on Cedar Creek Road. I've got no idea what the house looks like, but I'm hoping it is equally spectacular.

Since you mentioned outdoor rooms, let me show you this one. It's irrelevant, but it looks great all the same.

Friday I am off on a road trip up north to see my Dad. I'm taking the girls and my sister is coming along for the ride too. I'm hoping to haul back some kitschy treasures!
On a more serious matter, I have been looking for some months now for an old concrete garden swan, with no luck. I was most alarmed recently to read on Anna Spiro's blog that she is onto them too. That is the last thing I need, for something apparently so rare to begin with, to be suddenly so desirable. Plus, no one appreciates swans like I do. If any one has any information which may lead me to one, I would be most appreciative. I would even settle for a concrete donkey at this stage, the style with two baskets (where you put the plants).