What's cooking?

Due to working some long hours at the moment (and for the foreseeable future), I have decided to start menu planning again.


As my brother in law is cooking for us tonight and we are off to an engagement party tomorrow night, my menu plan starts from Saturday.

Saturday: Dark soya hokkien chicken stirfry
Sunday: Barbecued trussed chicken stuffed with bocconcini and basil
Monday: Nasi goreng
Tuesday: Spicy Mexican chicken wraps
Wednesday: Red pesto chicken and wedges
Thursday: Moroccan lamb pizza
Friday: Baked crunchy-topped steak

Now I do plan to serve sides with these, but these generaly get decided on the night depending on the weather and what is in the fridge!

I will share photos and recipes as we cook them.

{ Watch this space }

As much as this blog has started out to be about home styling and decorating, I have decided I am going to add in some cooking, life and craft pieces as well.

I love to cook, and craftify my life, and I will start to share more of that here.

Please let me know of any comments you have, questions, or just say hi!

Be my guest

Our new house has bigger, different shaped bedrooms which means more wall space, more corners, more space in general. In other words, lots of places to fill with my pretty things.

One room which I like to keep especially pretty, is the guest room. I love having a space set up, ready to accommodate friends or family at any time.

Eventually we will use the new rooms that have been built underneath the house (large bedroom and lounge) as the guest space. These rooms are currently being used by family who are in between moving out of one place into another.

For now, I have to be happy with turning the dull off-grey upstairs end bedroom into a guest paradise.

Stay tuned for progress, but for the moment here is what it inspiring me:

A housewarming present from me (to me)

After much deliberation, the decision was made.

I have always wanted a Kitchenaid mixer, convinced that it would turn me into a world famous pastry chef. I don't bake very often, however I believed the arrival of a Kitchenaid mixer into my kitchen would change all that. There would be people lining up at my door to taste the sensational creations that my Kitchenaid and I were producing.

When the opportunity finally arose to buy the potentially-career-changing-mixing-machine-of-my-dreams, I bought a food processor.

I have needed a food processor for ages and have put off buying cheaper ones as I had heard such good things about the Kitchenaid. Plus, it's red and handsome.

I have been a bit unwell the last few days so have not had the opportunity to use it since it arrived yesterday. Plus I want to give it a chance to settle in before I start creating the pestos, tapenades, and various other deliciousnesses that will make us famous.

I sound like I have high hopes for this little machine, don't I? Let's see if it can live up to the hype.

New house, new style.

So we have bought a new house. After months of to-and-fro-ing through the pain of building inspections, council certification, and reports from surveyors, engineers,and various tradespeople, we have moved in.

It is 30 years newer than our old house, and it is a home we can see ourselves living in for many years to come. With all the years of newness however, comes 30 years less character and charm. I guess it is up to us to make our mark by building our life here, and the house will take on some of that personality as the years go by.

I have no photos to share yet. The only pictures we have of it are the ones from the real estate advertisement, containing the previous owner's mishmash of tasteless and tacky furniture. Once we are settled and have unpacked the seemingly endless pile of boxes, I will share photos.

A snap decision was made to purchase this newer, bigger, (possibly) better house, and all of a sudden our beautiful little home was on the market, and sold within a matter of what felt like minutes (actually 2 weeks).

While it was a very hasty decision to move, it was still a tough one. For me.

The husband couldn't wait, after having cursed our old house every time its 50+ year old wiring, plaster or plumbing caused a problem, stalling renovations over and over again. I bought that house when I was single though, and lovingly created in it a cosy, comfortable place to live, love, and be. The connection I felt to the house was very strong, and I anticipated that the pain of leaving it would be unbearable. The final time we went through each room though - closing doors, drawing curtains, saying goodbye - it no longer felt like where my heart was, where I wanted to be. The bare rooms seemed ready to welcome a new family, and my belongings were elsewhere. Sure, the paintwork looked lovely, the curtains matched the rooms perfectly, and the chandeliers glinting in the sunlight made me catch a sob in my throat, but I was ready to move on. To our home.

So here's to our new home.



I'm looking forward to sharing it with you.

The Chandelier Obsession

I believe that a house is not complete without a chandelier. I sometimes even say that a room is not complete without one. But that's just me. I love the fragile beauty of gorgeous crystal anyway, but when it is combined with warm candle- (or electric-) light, it becomes something completely different.

Just Chandeliers

Brocade Home

My latest urge is to put a chandelier in my bathroom. Picture it... a whitewashed wooden floor, tall narrow glass doors leading outside, a deep antique bath, a large Venetian mirror on one wall above a stunningly white vanity, a long mirror framed in pressed metal leaning against another wall, a basket of luxury L'Occitane products surrounded by thick fluffy towels, and the centrepiece of it all... a beautiful chandelier.

What could be more relaxing? Lovely.

Of course, this description does not match that of my own bathroom. Unfortunately the designers of my 1950's renovator's delight did not share my vision, and when creating the luxurious bathroom installed an ugly heavy chipboard vanity, white tiles with bile-green ribbon like detail (seriously, who designs these things?!), a small window overlooking a concrete verandah, and a long bar heater (complete with thick grey power cord hanging one metre to the powerpoint below) installed high on the wall above the aging spotted mirror. This will never be my dream bathroom as described above, but I am letting myself be distracted from some recent stresses to make some minor renovations to it. Pics will follow.

When I have made a little further progress on the Frenchicification (a word copyrighted to this blog ;) ) of the bathroom, I will start the hunt for my next chandelier. While it will never be a large luxury bathroom, it can still be beautiful. Here are some examples of what is inspiring me:

Something red

So I want something red for my kitchen. Something red and fabulous. I have a red spatula. I have some red tea towels. I have a red colander. I need a red Kitchenaid.


Love. It. Want. One.

Another thing on my one day list. ;)