A Study in the Classics

Remember when I posted a photo of this beautiful house, and some of you pointed out that it is actually in Rockhampton. As I've said many times, I grew up in Rockhampton. It's a town that usually makes the news for all the wrong reasons, but it actually has some ridiculously beautiful old Queenslanders, so many in fact that some of them are sitting in a state of decay.
This one however, Cooloola, is quite the opposite. It is the picture of perfection, and I've now had permission of the owner to show you the inside.

Let's skirt around the outside a tad more first.

This house is a perfect example of why some bits and pieces are considered classic. They just work, they're beauitful and they don't go out of fashion. Take that timber planter box at the front door,for example. That style of planter is at the front door of many a fancy address on Park Avenue in New York.

I recently bought a white Didier Parakian dress. Five minutes after I put it on, I had spilt make up on the front of it. I could never live in a house like this, but I take great delight in looking upon it.

It's all in the details.....

There's a young lady in the house. This is her quarters.

What more can you wish for than a pink bath tub?

A study in blue.

This is what life in the tropical north should look like.

Rhythm and symmetry. So reassuring.

Excuse me. Pineapples.

In case you're wondering, and I'm positively sure you are, this is the lady responsible for this big pile of wonderful.
Frances Russell, wife, mother of three, interior decorator, designer. I imageine Frances' home is a tomato sauce/soy sauce/red wine free zone.

If you're needing any decorator services, go to www.francesfussellinteriors.com.au
You can also read Frances' blog at www.beautifulinteriorsand18thcenturystyle.blogspot.com

Thanks again Frances!

Green Chandeliers and Lemon Delicious

As I write this post tonight, I can hear the crowd singing Advance Australia Fair at the British Lions vs Australia game at Suncorp. My husband is watching the game at a hotel just up from the stadium, along with some of the other hood husbands.
Work is progressing very nicely downstairs. Remember, last update it looked like this?

It has suddenly turned a corner and is become much more exciting. The walls are being sheeted and now we can see proper rooms forming.

We are building in bookshelves on either side of the french doors, you can see them coming together.

We're currently looking into what to put on the floor, but more on that at a later stage.

We really want to use green somewhere in the main room, whether in a floor tile or a light. I've come across some very beautiful green chandeliers.

I love these beaded styles.

I found this chandelier at Recollections. Could I possible change the colour? Probably not.

Tonight I made one of my most very favourite old fashioned puddings, Lemon Delicious. A perfect hybrid of souffle and self saucing pud.

I use a recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly Original Cookbook, first published in 1970.

To make Lemon Delicious separate three eggs and beat the yolks with half a cup of caster sugar. Beat in a cup of milk and a tablespoon of self raising flour, a tablespoon of lemon zest, pinch of salt and half a cup of lemon juice. Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites with a tablespoon of sugar until peaks form. Fold through the lemon mixture and pour into an oven proof dish. Stand the dish in a pan of cold water and bake at around 180 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Serve immediately with a little dobby of vanilla ice cream on the side. It will be meringue-y on the top half with a lemon sauce underneath. You'll love it. Guaranteed.

I have all manner of sewing/crafty odds and ends. A burglar breaking into our house would think he'd arrived at Martha's house, but alas, my hand skills do not match my ambition. Having said that, I had some success recently and I thought I'd share with you in case you are in the same boat.
I got this idea from a beach towel I saw at a shop at The Barracks, possibly Robe?
All one does is take a non descript towel, in my case, a child's beach towel, and cut a piece of complementing fabric which is the same size.
You then stitch the two together, with the fabric's right side facing out. Then take some bias binding and sew it around the edges - I'm not sure how that stuff is meant to go, but I managed to sew it in a crude fashion. Then to finish off, sew some pom poms or other trim onto the ends. It becomes a beach towel slash picnic rug, and it looks like this.

I think even if you're a faux-sewer like me, it's pretty self explanatory.

Hey presto! A monkey could do it.

Thinking about the design of your new house? Have you heard of Twigitecture, probably should be a small 't''. Twigitecture is the art of building nests for humans. This one is for rent at Big Sur in the US for US$110 per night. We may now call that AUD$121 per night. Spectacular, but very uncomfortable looking. You can read more about them here if you really want to.

  I got these cane stools recently. They're the same style as our lounge setting. It's all getting a bit matchy, matchy, but don't fear, I'm onto it. The stools are a bit high and bulky to fit under the bench, but they'll be ok. For now. The stool cushions are getting a Hawaiian style makeover. Stay tuned.

Did someone mention pineapple? I thought so. Have a look at this gorgeous lamp. I think it's at Pad in Sydney.

Now I'm off to make the most of having the television all to myself. This is a rarity, we're a one-tv-household. I'm going to watch Karen Blixen and Dennis Finch Hatton running around Kenya together. That move gets sadder and sadder every time I see it.

'I had a farm in Africa, at za foot of za Ngong Hills.....'

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!
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