Playing House

Wow. I feel like I haven't posted anything in ages. It will take me a while to get back into the swing of things.

Last year I made myself a little list. I always fail dismally at keeping new year's resolutions, so this list is not to be confused with resolutions.

My little list is simply 12 things that I would love to achieve in the next twelve months. Ergo, I have to achieve atleast one goal every single month. Some are tiny, other are gigantic, but more about them later.

I am pleased to say that I have officially achieved my first goal.

Finding a House.

I have been sharing with other people since I can remember, and this is the first time that I will actually have my own akwardly long name on the lease! Snaps for me!

Ever since I signed the lease, I've gone into a mad, frantic, uncontrollable shopping mode.

I am buying egglifters, pots, brooms, bookshelfs and wineglasses left, right and centre!

This blogpost however is not about my house, my efflifter, my landlord or my gorgeous new bed.

This post is a tribute to these gorgeous measuring cups..that sadly, I will  never own... 

I found them online at Anthropologie. Unfortunately, I am in Aus, and this gorgeous online shop is based out of the US. I wanted these measuring cups sooooo bad, unfortunately , the shipping costs is more than the actual cups. Sad face.

I really thought that these measuring cups would make all the cakes that I plan to bake in my new kitchen tase extra delicious. Ah well. I have to move on. It wasn't meant to be...



On the Line

I am househunting. And by househunting I mean searching on all my favourite blogs and sites for all the lovely things that I am going to buy for my new adorable litlle house instead of searching for the actual house. 

So I might end up with all sorts of lovely bits and pieces and nowhere to put it, but who cares, I am loving it!

Today, I found these cute dolly pegs via Not on the High Street. 

The strawberry ones are my favourite, how about you?

xox

Shelf Life

Vintage Low Cast Iron Bookshelf 

Every serious bookworm has a "to read" list, and I am no different. One book that has been on my list forever, has finally made the long awaited leap to my bookshelf. At last I found a copy of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's - One Hundred Years of Solitude. Sigh.

Can't wait to get reading, nothing beats a good classic.

Oh and the bookshelf above, going right to the top of my Christmas list.

A little birdie told me..

A while ago I promised to try and regularly post some ideas on how to reinvent everyday household items into something special, so today I was inspired by vintage bird cages. Definitely going on my wishlist!

Some people simply put birds in bird cages, how mundane. Get a hold of one, put it in your bathroom and display all your bubbles and creams on it, or stack some books in it or cut it in half and mount it on the wall as a shelf. Always look beyond what is in front of you, and you might be surprized at what you find!

I would have never thought of this, but how handy is this bird cage as a mail organizer?

Via Making Martha Proud

If you don't get alot of mail, but you have alot of notes, scrap paper and cute photo's lying around, this is the perfect wall hanging to display your bits and pieces on.

Via Raspberry Suite

*Fluit fluit my storie is uit*

Good as New

A long time ago we used to have an old foot operated sewing machine in our garage. At the time I didn't realize how precious it was, and now I have no idea what has become of it. Sometimes there is still alot of life left in old, discarded, broken, useless or even ugly everyday household items and comsumables. So before you chuck out, check out some of these nifty ideas and reconsider. You never know what alternative use there might be for your scraps. Here are some of my favourite reinventions.

This old sewing table has been transformed into a bathroom beauty with very litle effort.

Source: Savvy City Farmer

I think this table looks sooo nice in the kitchen. Very homey.

Source: Cosy Little House.

If you don't have an old sewing machine, maybe you know of an old sink laying around somewhere. I think these flowers look beautiful in their out of the ordinary home.

Source: Cherry Hill Cottage

Every house has a stack of old magazines laying around somewhere. Tokyo-based artist Koshi Kawachi uses old comic books to grow plants in. It's called Manga Farming. Now that is what I call recycling!

Not a big comic fan? Well you must have one or two old books floating on a shelf somewhere. Try this:

Source: Forever Jann

Believe it or not, these bookends are old tub feet!

Source: This old house Magazine

If you have a few more books than that, why not grab that old ladder out of the garage?

Source: RecyclArt

Source: Book case Shelving

One last one for today:

Source: Curbly

Wow, I feel like going home and transforming eveything in sight! I will try and post some of these regularly from now on. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Get creating people!

Frankie for President

I bought my first ever copy of Frankie Magazine today, and oh what a blessed purchase it has been. I think I'm in love. A breath of fresh air to the overcrowded, repetitive and unorginal world of magazines. If you can't get your hands on a copy, check out their website www.frankie.com.au.

Cover for the 2009 Calender by Frankie Magazine. It features illustrations by Katherine Brickman, Catherine Campbell, Jen Corace, Tinee Kleinschroth, Marjorie Liucci, Kat Macleod, Beci Orpin, Erin Paisley-Stueber, Lilly Piri, Rob Ryan, Mel Stringer and Eveline Tarunadjaja. Absolutely beautiful.

In the eye of the beholder

Some people simply amaze me. I am absolutely in awe of the sheer magnitude of creativity that certain people posses. I wish I had more of it, but I don't, so for now, I am happy to simply spread the news of their wonderful work to others.

I stumbled upon Martin Horspool's work while flipping through a magazine. Martin, a Welshman, went to Art colleges in Wrexham and Liverpool and currently lives in New Zealand. He travels all around and spends a lot of time searching for and collecting bits of scrap material to make his pieces. Most people would consider old and broken flashlights, door handles and other household appliances useless, but Martin takes these items and turns them into this:

I love this one, especially the detail on the feet. I will never look at the "H" on my tap again without thinking of this little guy

I think this next one is how most women wish they were equipped most days. Love the old sugar tin.

The next one is my favourite of them all. One word: Coffee.

This one is simply adorable. It's just magical how the character takes on a personality. Love the splash of colour and the salt and pepper shakers.

The pics that I have put up here are only a hand full of my favourite ones. Check out loads more original creations by Margin on his website: www.buggyrobot.com

Garden Guru

Over the weekend I gave my housemate a hand with her veggie/herb garden. It was great fun putting on my pink plastic dish washing gloves and digging my fingers into the dirt. So now all we have to do is wait for the little baby veggies to make their anticipated appearance. So in the meanwhile, I thought I would shop around for some accessories for our garden. This is what I came up with..

I love these markers by Nina Gibson Designs. You can also find them on Etsy. Don't they just make you want to plant herbs just so you can buy them?

Those of you who know me, will know that I have a weak spot for old things, anything old, broken, rusty and crooked is fine by me. So needless to say, I absolutely looooove these spoon markers by Monkeys Always Look. They can also be found on Etsy.

So if you were thinking of a herb garden but you simply couldn't be bothered, just imagine all the cute accessories you get to buy for your garden and recondsider... An accessorized garden is a happy garden!

Polkadot Sundays

I don't know about you, but we simply just trash our newspapers after we're done with them.
Not this lady however. Feast your eyes on these beautiful paper creations. Amazing what a little creativity and a whole lot of newspaper can do.

http://www.polkadotsundays.com/

http://www.etsy.com/

A little Birdie told me..

What a lazy Sunday afternoon. I decided to just sit back and let the search engines lead me where ever. I came across these beauties from Cocoon Couture. They are actually kids accessories, but I think that they are gorgeous enough for adults too. Why should kids have all the fun?

I think these quirky birds just add a little bit of zest to a what would have been boring bookstack. Amazing how a simple piece of wood can turn a pile of books into a interesting focal point.

All of their products are made of environmentaly friendly wood. Loving your books and loving your planet. Lovely.

http://www.cocooncouture.com/

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Modern Yet Folksy

No one sends postcards anymore, and I can understand why. .some of them are just hideous. Unexpectedly, I found two of the most beautiful postcards on a shopping tirp one weekend. What was so great about them you might ask? They were made of wood.

Here are some pics and the webaddress for Night Owl Paper Goods. They produce and sell a range of eco-friendly cards, postcards, notebooks, jotters and wedding invites all printed on thin lightweight wood. Just absolutely gorgeous.

http://www.nightowlpapergoods.com/