Guest Room Essentials

We love having guests stay with us - almost as much as we love going home to stay with our parents.  Our Mum is always making such an effort (which never goes unnoticed) - an arrangement of freshly cut blooms from the garden, crisp white sheets and towels, a bed made to perfection (with hot water bottles in winter) and what always feels like the best pillows in the world. 

Diamond Jubilee



outfit, vintage tote, crown, strawberries & cream, ysl nail polish, cupcakes, union jack bunting 

As winter quickly approaches us Down Under and the sun is finally shining over the UK, we reflect on our time spent in London and how much fun we had.  Weekends were spent lazing in the lush green parks, sipping Pimms and soaking up every moment of sunshine - because you never really knew when it was coming back.

This Sunday marks the Queen's 60th Jubilee.  If we were still living the London dream, we would have loved to host a Jubilee Garden Party.  All attendees at the party would be asked to wear a crown...no crown, no entry.  We have put together an inspiration board to bring some of our ideas to life.

Well done Queeny!

Fennel and Aubergine Salad

1 aubergine, chopped
1 butternut pumpkin, chopped
1/2 small onion, finely sliced
1 fennel bulb finely sliced
1 can of organic chickpeas
small handful of flatleaf parsley, chopped

Dressing

3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 lemon, juice and zest
1 tsp English mustard
1 tsp manuka honey
salt and freshly ground black pepper
sesame and sunflower seeds

Turn oven on to 180 degrees.  Add the chopped aubergine to a pan with olive oil and fry till soft, remove from heat.  Roast the butternut pumpkin in the over for 20 minutes or until the pumpkin is golden brown.  Allow the aubergine and pumpkin to cool.  Finely slice the onion and fennel bulb.  Combine all of the above with the chickpeas.  For the dressing, combine the olive oil, cider vinegar, lemon juice and zest, English mustard and manuka honey, salt and pepper.  Stir well.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad and garnish with seeds.

Rustic Pear, Brie & Balsamic Tart

Hello and welcome to Monday! We hope everyone had an amazing weekend.  We baked this rustic pear tart, which is just perfect served warm with some fresh cream or vanilla bean ice-cream.  The recipe was adapted from here, but instead of gorgonzola, we layered a Tasmanian double-brie underneath the pears and sprinkled on a few almonds and fresh thyme leaves. 

Bake It, Craft It, Style It

My new Amy Atlas book:  Sweet Designs: Bake It, Craft It, Style It  - which I had on pre-order, has finally arrived in my hot little hands from the States.  Amy Atlas is the absolute queen of dessert tables and styling.  I can't wait to see what amazing ideas, recipes and designs she has come up with.  I think I will pour over it this weekend while I sip lots of cups of tea. Lovely.

Here is a link to her inspirational website here or purchase her exquisite book here.

xx

Before & After: Bedside Tables

Further to this post here, I refurbished my bedside tables over the weekend.  With the chilly, wintery months approaching I decided our room needed a lift with bright colour.  Tangerine works so well against the gold tones and the tables came up really well, I am thrilled with the result!

Happy Friday Everyone! x

Dear: Mum

Happy Mother's Day

Thank you for everything that you do, you're an inspiration and we love you very much.  Hope you have a beautiful and relaxing day because you deserve it.

xxxxx

neon and nude

This is one of the most unique designs we have seen for a dessert table in a while.  We're totally in love with the simple, yet striking neon pink and white colour palette.  The pink circle theme throughout the backdrop and gift bags makes everything pop.  The styling has been done by sweet style and the gorgeous baking has been done by the very talented hello naomi. 

You can view this, and a whole heap more visual treats, in the current issue of fete, an inspiring online magazine.

dessert table styling and photography by sweet style

Handcrafted Stationery

We've always had a soft spot for stationery - even since we were little and collected different types of  letter writing sets that were given to us by our grandparents. We could literally spend hours hunting through paper shops, looking at all the different stocks, patterns and textures.  Recently, I made some personalised cards for a friend.  These are very versatile and can be used for anything from note cards, thank you's or gift tags.  I enjoyed putting a personalised and handcrafted touch to each design. 

Colour Palettes

Be inspired by the natural colour palettes formed around you.  A day spent olive picking brought together a medley of tones from the changing seasons.  The colours can be applied to your craft projects, or an interior space.  Nature is one of the greatest sources of inspiration.

Cinco de Mayo

As the 5th of May approaches, we can't help but think how fabulous a Cinco de Mayo themed wedding would be.  From brightly coloured miniature papel picados flags and lanterns, a margarita cocktail hour,  pops of bright orange and pinks throughout bouquets and dresses, Mexican inspired tapas and miniature cactus favours.  Why not throw a pinata, some sombreros and donkey in the mix for some super fun photography.  Inspired by this beautiful wedding at Leigh Sawmill and Cafe and amazing photography by Sutherland Kovach Studio, we've put together a little montage of some of our favourite ideas.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Decorative Ideas

A quick a simple idea for an event is a doily and peg gardland. This was a hit at a recent 21st birthday, as opposed to having a traditional book to write your 21st wishes in, the garland became an interactive decorative element.