Hello December

Hello December!

 

Apologies for being conspicuously absent for the last month. I've been squirrelling away at home making Christmas gifts and preparing for our annual Christmas Party which we had last night.

 

I think it's safe to say that I'm fully immersed in the Christmas Spirit.

 

 

 

The house is glowing with tea lights, twinkle lights, sparkles and glitter.

 

 

The dining table has been commandeered as my mini studio for the last few weeks, with fabric, pins, patterns and ribbon strewn across the tabletop to make superhero costumes, superhero dolls and a range of dresses, satchels, totes and cosmetic bags.

 

 

 

The kitchen has been a hive of activity.

We harvested our bumper crop of cherries and I preserved them in a cinnamon spiced port.

 

 

 

I made my very first batch of Rose petal syrup using our ruby red Pierre de Ronsard roses which felt incredibly indulgent and turned out beautifully...

 

 

...and our rhubarb and alpine strawberries became jolly red jam.

 

 

 

Christmas cakes were baked...

 

...and my darling friend Rach and I spent a day making gingerbread and mini Christmas puddings with the kids. It was organised chaos but immense fun!

 

 

There was some wild dancing around the house.

 

 

The hampers for our party guests were filled with rich, sweet, spiced foodie treats.

 

 

The Christmas party was great fun. I was far too busy enjoying myself to take photos which is always a good sign. It was stormy and pouring with rain but we just squeezed ourselves into the cottage, drank cocktails and let the kids run around in the rain in their superhero capes and masks.

 

Am looking forward to the rest of the Christmas season. Cheers!

 

xx Em

 

 

 

 

 

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Loving Lonsdale

 

Some time ago my beautiful girlfriends Anna and Rach gave me a voucher for the Designer Op Shop in Braddon. We finally found a Saturday morning where all three of us could leave the kidlets with our obliging husbands for a girls only outing. Nothing like a child-free morning on Lonsdale Street to kickstart the weekend!

 

 

A caffeine hit at SweetBones with its mismatched furniture, retro flair and amazing coffee got us off to a good start.

We then entered homewares heaven in the form of

Hive

 

 

 

One of those completely gorgeous stores you can lose yourself in.

 

Speaking of stores you can lose yourself in...

 

 

 

 

Oh my...

 

 

 

So many pretty vintage pieces.

 

 

 

I found a sweet black and white dress and this super cute pink resin ring. I also had my eye on a beautiful silk Burberry jacket but alas, Burberry and toddlers do not mix so I'll leave it for another day.

 

Sharyn and her daughters Daniella and Taylor run this gem of a store.

You can see more of Designer Op Shop on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Our last stop was Hipsley Lane.

 

 

 

Another vintage treasure trove where I picked up a little French Connection jacket and a Stockholm cotton shirt before succumbing to the excruciating pain of raw radiated skin and headed home.

 

Not a bad little bounty for one morning's work...

 

 

 

Thanks Anna & Rach...spending time with you is all kinds of beautiful!

xxx Em

 

 

 

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