House Proud, Epilouge

Mothers Day tulips from Adelaide. 

I want to echo exactly what Donna says here, and say thank you to all of you lovely people who shared a glimpe (or more!) of your gorgeous retro/vintage filled interiors with us in our "Show Us a Retro/Vintage Corner of Your Home" linky.

 Very first lemons from our Myer - it's loaded!

We were so lucky to have the privilege and pleasure of looking at thirty-four (and counting!) retro and vintage filled homes. Not one of them the same, but all of them charming and interesting.

Sticking your hand up to host a linky thingy is a bit like waiting for your name to be  picked for 'a side' in sport at school...thanks for not leaving us out there on our own - we would've felt like big dorks if you hadn't joined in. Sighs of relief from us. 





Shining the light on some ouchflower loveliness.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to check out our awesome linkers (don't forget to pop back - here, to check out any you might have missed) and special thanks to Donna, my partner in crime (and the brains behind the operation). You're the bomb dude!

Another first round here, a rubbish bin inside (we're getting fancy!). Old BP drum: garage sale, new zinc lid: Bunnings.

Ok, that's it. Thank you, and goodnight!

x









House Proud, Deux.

Welcome to the Hung Up On Retro/Lucy Violet Vintage, "Show Us a Retro/Vintage Corner of Your Home" linky - the second in a 'series' of retro link-ups hosted by Donna, and yours truly.

(who could forget the highs (ummm?) and nauseating lows (okay, mostly lows) of our It's A Retro Cook-Off!?)  

Before I show you a few corners at mine, I want to say thank you (a really big one!) to all the lovely people who have agreed to share a corner of their place with us. There wouldn't be a linky without them (you!) and we really appreciate it. 

Retro/vintage means different things to different people. One size, shape, style, etc doesn't fit all, that's what I love about interiors with a bit (or a lot) of retro/vintage going on in them. That's what makes them interesting. Retro/vintage interiors are never boring, they have character and personality. They're real, and you don't have to put them together with an Allen key!  
 
I can't wait to see how you do retro (and vintage) at your house -here's how I do it at mine...

Same old, same old from me.

 

(we're about to rip out our bathroom and the photo opportunities round here are limited...not to mention a little mishap with the delete button on my camera, and no time to take new pics. ahem!)

 

Although I don't think I've shown you the Seven Little Australians (vases) before. Apart from the green Remued on the left and the pale blue Martin Boyd in the middle, they  belonged to Lucy Violet. My favourite is the streaky John Campbell on the right because it looks like the bush.

 

I know you love your handsome Germans etc (I do too), but Australian pottery is just as good looking as its European counterparts - I think we forget that sometimes - it tends to be overlooked in our 'wunderlust' for fat larva, which is a bit of a pity really.

 

Here's a link to Collectors Path Pottery in case you feel like shopping (real or window) for an Aussie of your own. Who knows, it might be the start of a new addiction?! There's a lot to love, that's for sure. Their reference files also have a great potted history of Australian potters. And postage within Australia is free!    

 

Anyway, you've seen my house before, now it's time for some serious sticky-beaking!

 

p.s. if you're linking in, don't forget to add your link here and over at Donna's too (twice as many visitors to your place), ta x

 

Newsflash! Just in pics from Sue. Wanna see some serious retro eye candy??? Sue's gorgeous home delivers. Big time!

 



 

Got a touch of the green-eyed monster coming on? I have (and that's putting it mildly!)

 

And wait, there's MORE!

Here's some pics of Evangeline's place. It's seriously lovely too.

She is having trouble linking up, and I'd hate you to miss out on her retro corners. Please pop over here, and say hello. Evangeline's  blog is relatively new, and I know she'd love to meet you.

 

 

 

 

 x

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 



 



 

 



 

 

 

 

 


 

Things I Like...

This house
(love may be a better word)

 

details and more pics, here.

 

(can't afford it, damn it!)

 

This lampshade

 

 

found here.

 

This cake

 

 

Orange Syrup Cake with Candied Oranges

 

If heaven was a cake, it would taste like this!

 

Try it, you'll love me l-o-n-g time. Seriously.*

 

 

These tea/coffee cups

 

 

and everything else from Bison.

 

(I'd be drinking tea from these now if I could pick a colour!)

 

 

This herb garden

 

 

from here.

 

(I'll probably put succulents in mine)

 

 

This little print

 

 

a birthday present for Annabel, from here.

 

(The Royal Tenenbaums, is her favourite flick) 

 

And lastly, I like** these lovely people who are  joining in our linky (please check out their lovely blogs x)

 

Dana, Wendz, Evangeline, Tam, Taz (there's a gorgeous little give-away over at Taz's at the moment btw), Pippa, Zara, Ria, Sally, Rebecca, Allison, Tove, Bron, Tania, Fiona, Sharon, Loo, Lea, Donna, my 'pen-pal' Sue (who doesn't have a blog, but does have a gorgeous home full to the brim with mid-century/vintage gorgeousness - as do some of Donna's friends who don't have blogs and are joining in too), and me (of course!)

 

It's going to be an interior perve fest, that's for sure!

 

If you decide to join us (we'd LOVE to have you!) I'll add your name to the list.

 

 

a vintage corner at my place...

 

x

 

 

* thank you David Lebovitz. 

 

** "I love youse all", joining in, or not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 



 



 



 

 

 



   

 

 







Bush walk

Anth and I went on a bush walk (of sorts) in John Forrest National Park on Saturday afternoon.

I was wearing thongs(!) because bush walking wasn't on the agenda when we left home, but I still managed a good 5 or 6 clicks (kilometres) before we ended up in the beer garden of the tavern, (thoughtfully situated in the grounds of the park).

It was a sentimental stroll for me, because when I was a kid (back in the day when there was no such thing as an eleven dollar entrance fee!) my family spent nearly every Summer evening there. Mum would pack a picnic dinner and we would eat it in one of the little hand-made huts built by sustenance workers during the depression in the '30's. This after spending hours in the "swimming pool".

(read dam here - and looking much more like one these days than it did when I was little! I'm sure the water was clearer and cleaner back then - I wouldn't let my girls swim in it, that's for sure! Not that I'd have to restrain them, I'm sure they'd turn their noses up - I can hear the "ewwww's!" now...these days swimming is prohibited anyway).

My littlest sister actually learnt to swim in that 'pool', I still remember her making her way across it, foam turtle strapped to her back. We weren't the only one's either, the place was usually packed with families, making the most of the long, hot Summer evenings.

Perth families have been doing the same thing we did at John Forrest since the 1900's, but on Saturday we very nearly had the place to ourselves, it was lovely, but it was a bit sad to see the little huts and stone walls looking neglected and unloved. The bush though, was/is as beautiful as ever...

As I mentioned, we ended up at the Wildflower Tavern. This place is not fancy (although the beer is deliciously cold), but if you're ever in Perth on a holiday (or you're a local with kids) and you want to get up close and personal to a kangaroo, this is the place to do it. Cheap, no annoying tour guides, just a cold brew (and a jug of lemon squash for the kids!) and a roo or two. Perfect!



That's Anth in the foreground and that kangaroo (there were a few of them, including a joey) came right up to our table. The kids in the tavern were all over them and they didn't mind a bit. They let them pat them and scratch them behind the ears etc - it was gorgeous! That little boy in the pic below had an Irish accent, I bet he'll remember that roo for years (his parents took plenty of photos!) I was less enamoured though, with the mother (an Aussie - she should've/would've known better! Surely?) who allowed her daughter to feed the kangaroos potato chips. Helloooo? I really wanted to say something, but I bit my tongue. Some people, right! Stone the crows, I couldn't bl**dy believe it! Would you have said anything? 

p.s. if you've got a special little vintage spot in your home you'd like to share, don't forget the Hung Up On Retro/Lucy Violet link-up on the 11th. Details here. A pretty cushion, old china tea cups filled with succulents sitting on your kitchen windowsill, a vintage tea towel hanging from your oven door, or something groovier...we'd love you to join in x

House Proud?

How about putting out the welcome mat, and sharing a few pics of your favourite vintage/retro inspired space with us in our brand new bloggy link-up?

Yep, in the proud (ahem!) tradition of the  The Great Retro Cook-Off ,  Donna and I are inviting you to show-off the best room at your place.

Old school, way cool, too cool for school, join us, we'd love a sticky-beak of your home-styled stylin.

We're after real spaces too, so don't stress too much about perfection, dust, or taxidermy! Things look more interesting when they're a bit haphazard anyway - the art of 'plonk', in my opinion is seriously underrated. Agree? 

Please spread the word (we'd appreciate it),

the more retro/vintage interiors we all get to perve at, lust over, covet, and inspire us the better.

You can even join in if you haven't got a blog (just email your pics

and a bit of a blurb and we'll post it on our blogs on the day).  

Speaking of blurbs, how about this one?

"the sparkling copper exhaust flue and antique hanging pots accent the lovely warm tones of the tulip oak walls and counters at the home of Mr and Mrs David Seymour"

 

The Seymours bought this house "because of the marvelous potential it had for changes and extensions" Same old, same old, right? I'll show you some more of the Seymours "Cornering Space on a Cliff Top" soon. It's nice. Very nice...

Until then, don't forget to scribble the 11th in your diary x

All images, Australian House and Garden, April 1970 (thanks library girl x) 

p.s. thank you for all your lovely comments on Annabel's birthday post, she doesn't read my blog regularly, but I made sure she read that one. Life can be tough when you've a red-head, thanks for boosting her ego x



Anzac Day

 

 

 

Today Anthony and I went to our local Anzac Day ceremony. I was a blubbering mess just watching the parade, but it was when I noticed the man standing next to us (around our age) holding a framed photograph of his uniform wearing son (Adelaide's age - if he was a day) that I really lost it.  

Lest we forget.  

Happy Birthday Annabel!

Annabel is sixteen today.

 



Sixteen years ago, life pretty much sucked round these parts. Anthony had just had surgery to remove a tumour from his spinal cord. In the few weeks before she was born we went to hell and back (and back again). I won't go into details, that's a another story and this isn't the time, or place. I'd rather not get too personal here  - if I start now I'll be trotting out stories about my ingrown toe nails etc before you know it! It's all about the mystery (darlink).

Needless to say, Annabel's birth was that lightness all those do-gooders say you are supposed to find in the darkness.

I know she looks a bit moody in this pic -  put that down to teenage posing. She is so funny, a crack-up! Her impersonations are legendary. I have been known to wet my pants more than once while she's 'entertaining us'.

(what was that I said about mystery?)

These pics were taken on Sunday, we were on our way to Annabel's favourite restaurant (here, if you're interested).

Here's one of the three of us with me trying to look natural (ie. not like I've got a carrot shoved up my you-know-what, to quote Adelaide)
I do not know what 'look' Anthony was going for?!

 

Here's a couple of the girls taken at the restaurant. It's beautiful up there in the hills of Perth.

It's either love or hate, there's nothing in between with those two!