She's been in remarkably good spirits despite it all.
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Day 29 - Home day
Apart from a quick visit to the GP to check out Elisabeth and secure a medical certificate, we stayed at home. Poor Elisabeth is still suffering from her tummy bug. So my day consisted of frequent nappy changes, washing the dirty bedlinen from a midnight vomit in her cot, and trying to make sure she was getting enough fluids. The GP recommended any form including diluted cordial, jelly and icy poles!
She's been in remarkably good spirits despite it all.
She's been in remarkably good spirits despite it all.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Last days of summer
To be honest as summer ebbs away I am already thinking about autumn. The weather is cooler. The days are noticeably shorter.
Sunday was a last blast of summer heat. We lazed about the hut, changing the sheets, getting some washing on the line.
The doors and windows were flung open, despite the very unwelcome European wasps that have turned up for the year. Just in time to attack our plums and apples. Boo. Rob has set up traps, plastic tonic bottles hang in our orchard (there you are a reason to drink gin and tonics) with holes half way down and black currant cordial in the bottom. They are irresistible to the nasty creatures, and soon become a pulsing sea of wasp bodies. I am allergic to them and so keep well clear.
We took the pram and some buckets down to the gully on the side of our block to pick the first of the blackberries.
The girls fell asleep.
Rob has set up his new golf pins for dog golf. The paddock grass has been cropped short and is dry. Waiting for the autumn rain to become green.
I suddenly felt guilty that the girls have nearly lived through two summers and not put their toes in the sand or the sea. We've walked on the beach but have kept the girls in the back packs. So we headed down in the late afternoon to Coningham beach. I have to say it didn't go down all that well! They cried when we dangled their toes in the water, and sat on the towel looking worried, before relaxing a little. Then they grabbed handfuls of sand to eat.
An early dinner of cold roast pork, ratatouille, pan fried potatoes and zucchini, followed by blackberries and ice cream and it was time for a bath and bed.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Home
Finally, after 112 days in hospital, Maggie and Elisabeth came home to the hut yesterday afternoon. Can't quite describe how it made me feel. Exhausted, elated, tears, joy, gratefulness, love.
We will miss the nurses, Drs, and support staff at the Royal Hobart Hospital NICU, but will be visiting often for check ups. Sorry to be so brief but I have some girls I need to snuggle.
We will miss the nurses, Drs, and support staff at the Royal Hobart Hospital NICU, but will be visiting often for check ups. Sorry to be so brief but I have some girls I need to snuggle.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Traveling
I'm sitting in the Canberra Airport waiting. I've eaten a dinner of steamed pork dumplings and a beef pho. My brain has been numbed by commercial television (in the background).
My visit was brief, flying to Brisbane yesterday afternoon for a work meeting this morning. Then home again.
Last night I ran across the carpark of my hotel to a DFO. I had 40 minutes for a quick shop (found a few gym tops and some clothes for Rob) then came back outside to dark skies and a tropical downpour. I ran across to the hotel but got quite wet.
So I thought I might as well go for a swim. The pool at the Novotel is on the roof and hangs a little over the edge. 20m long, I surprised myself with my freestyle technique. I only learnt to swim when I met Rob, he was horrified that I couldn't swim. Refreshed I had a Massaman curry and beer (and a chocolate tart) before tossing and turning all night. I'm looking forward to seeing my husband (even though he's got a bad cold), my dogs and the hut. Oh and my bed. Have a lovely weekend. I'm planning a quiet one, which is hardly different from normal!
My visit was brief, flying to Brisbane yesterday afternoon for a work meeting this morning. Then home again.
Last night I ran across the carpark of my hotel to a DFO. I had 40 minutes for a quick shop (found a few gym tops and some clothes for Rob) then came back outside to dark skies and a tropical downpour. I ran across to the hotel but got quite wet.
So I thought I might as well go for a swim. The pool at the Novotel is on the roof and hangs a little over the edge. 20m long, I surprised myself with my freestyle technique. I only learnt to swim when I met Rob, he was horrified that I couldn't swim. Refreshed I had a Massaman curry and beer (and a chocolate tart) before tossing and turning all night. I'm looking forward to seeing my husband (even though he's got a bad cold), my dogs and the hut. Oh and my bed. Have a lovely weekend. I'm planning a quiet one, which is hardly different from normal!
Friday, March 16, 2012
A Hut tour
Recently a new online friend asked if I had any pictures of our finished hut on the blog.
I thought yes surely, I post photos on the blog all the time. But in reality I've teased you with parts of the hut but never taken you on the full tour (our hut is quite small so don't worry it won't take long!) I did do a quick version on Instagram, but I took these photos with Rob's DSLR.
The last full tour was exactly a year ago. The hut had just had the first undercoat of paint inside and it started to feel like it was close to finished. Officially at lock up stage, we still didn't have bathrooms, a kitchen, flooring or any finishing touches done. It was probably best that at the time we didn't know that it wouldn't be ready to occupy until late June!
But I can almost forget the annoyance of waiting. Almost.
Without further ado, welcome to the hut.
This is our front door, entering into our breezeway off the terrace.
Just a reminder of before and after, last year the timber cladding was not even on site, and the polished floor was kept covered with black plastic. The timber door in the picture to the right leads to our hot water cylinder, or more importantly Rob's beer brewing cupboard.
Once inside the breezeway, you would normally find a few simple coat hooks, some baskets for our shoes, a retro chair and a small myrtle table that Rob restored. However, the wardrobe for the spare room is still parked here while we work up the courage to dismantle it. The door as you can see leads to the living end of the hut.
If you were to turn around to the other end of the hut you can probably see our secret loft door up high. The dumping place for anything we don't need to see all the time.
The walls are clad in celery top pine, inside the hut we used China Wood oil to finish all the timber. The timber cladding has become so golden over the last 8 months, and will continue to darken. All our skirting, window and door trims are in myrtle.
Ok, if you were here in person I'd probably then take you into the living room end of the hut first. Visitors often comment on the spaciousness of the hut inside, after seeing how narrow it is from the outside, it's only 4m wide. The windows, cream walls and retro furniture all contribute to that I think. Rob and I (luckily) both dislike clutter so we keep the hut pretty spartan. Anyway, you walk down a short narrow space into our kitchen.
The living space is broken into three roughly even spaces. The myrtle window seat draws your gaze as you walk in to the big window at the end of the hut. But really the view is to the north side, along the long axis of the room. We chose double glazing for the windows and door in this end of the hut, which means we don't need blinds or curtains. We love that this means that the lines are kept clean. Originally the cathedral ceiling was to be timber clad too. But the budget didn't stretch that far. So plaster board it is. But you know what, I think we prefer it now. The ceiling soars and lifts the space rather than feeling closed in. The poor builder and plasterer were quite frightened when we chose our lights, those little white rectangles on the side (there are actually three of them, one is out of the frame). The "Surf" up lights are designed by Neil Poulton, and were quite a splurge for us, but the three lights do light up the whole space so well. Frightening for the plasterer as he had to get our ceiling absolutely perfect as they would show up every flaw in the joins between boards. But we are so happy with them, the plasterer did do an excellent job.
The bench you can see is our main workspace in the kitchen, nearly 3m long and 800mm wide, we had our bench tops made to be 1m high, as we're both tall. Nine big drawers provide plenty of storage for crockery, plastics, and bakeware. But we'll swing around and have a look at the kitchen from the other direction.
The cabinetry and bench tops are solid celery top pine, most of which we purchased at an auction a few years earlier. It too is getting darker. The four drawers on this side of the bench are for cutlery, place mats, candles and serving platters, so that it's easy to set the table without heading into the kitchen.
To keep the clean lines in our kitchen we opted for a domestic oven and ceramic cook top. But splurged on a Parmco extraction fan (the little silver rectangle above the cook top), which works well, the fan is in the corner cupboard so it's not too noisy. Things we love here: the view from the kitchen sink, the little hidden knife drawer to the left of the oven, and the open wire baskets for our collection of copper Scanpan saucepans underneath. The watercolour of an olive branch was painted by a friend, and is the only artwork we currently have on the walls. We just can't bring ourselves to put anything else up on the walls yet. Ok onto the living area.
The Tas oak floorboards are covered with a soft golden rug. A legacy item from Rob's parents. We think it has silk in the pile as it is so soft, the dogs love lazing on it! The window seat is obviously the pride of our home, but the two Blackwood Fler Narvik lounge chairs are pretty special too. The two Fred Ward myrtle sideboards house our glassware, napkins and cake stands. We may have fallen into collecting mid-centry furniture by accident, but the style is perfect for the hut, with the pieces raised off the floor with the tapered legs extending the space.
If you were to sit on the window seat (which I highly recommend) you would then look back to the kitchen like this:
Our retro myrtle dining table faces the bifold door that opens out onto the terrace and overlooks the dam. Our collection (which has grown again but we need to recover them) of Blackwood Piper Tru-line chairs may be a little daggy, but they are comfortable. If you walk down the room and back into the breezeway you would then see this view down our hallway:
The mirror on the dresser in our room creates a perfect reflection, creating a feeling that the hall will go on. The long narrow windows provide light and the internal doors are all single lite glass doors so that light can flow from one side of the hut to the other. The polished concrete floor is great for our dirty dogs! The one techo item in our hut are the low sensor lights on the right hand side of the hall. These are fantastic at night when you are visiting the bathroom.
First room on the left is our guest bathroom:
The polished concrete flows right into our shower, with the best view of the dam and bush on the hill opposite (where the wedge tailed eagles soar).
The sink sits on floating bench of myrtle. We found this retro Blackwood framed mirror which is perfect for this room.
The spare room is the most unfinished room. It's yet to get a proper double bed (still on the look for a mid-century myrtle bed head) and the wardrobe in the breezeway needs to be moved in here (magically). I have actually sold the chest of drawers under the window, the one on the far wall matches all our other Fred Ward pieces, and we leave two of our dining chairs in here for the moment.
Our bathroom is the next along the hall, the same as the guest bathroom except for the shower over a bath. The view is pretty good here too. Rob's sisters gave him the round mirror for his birthday last year and it works perfectly here.
Last but not least is our bedroom. With a set of french doors that open out onto the terrace and a window that overlooks my flower garden and the orchard. Fred Ward features here too, one day we will replace the modern Tas oak bed with a mid-century style myrtle bed. I didn't take a photo in the opposite direction as the only building job left to do are the timber doors on our built in wardrobes. Hopefully we can tick that off this year. The two bedrooms have a wool plush pile carpet, called Velluto, which apparently is Italian for velvet, in a caramel colour.
So there you have it. A tour of our little home. Hope you have a lovely weekend.
I thought yes surely, I post photos on the blog all the time. But in reality I've teased you with parts of the hut but never taken you on the full tour (our hut is quite small so don't worry it won't take long!) I did do a quick version on Instagram, but I took these photos with Rob's DSLR.
The last full tour was exactly a year ago. The hut had just had the first undercoat of paint inside and it started to feel like it was close to finished. Officially at lock up stage, we still didn't have bathrooms, a kitchen, flooring or any finishing touches done. It was probably best that at the time we didn't know that it wouldn't be ready to occupy until late June!
But I can almost forget the annoyance of waiting. Almost.
Without further ado, welcome to the hut.
This is our front door, entering into our breezeway off the terrace.
Just a reminder of before and after, last year the timber cladding was not even on site, and the polished floor was kept covered with black plastic. The timber door in the picture to the right leads to our hot water cylinder, or more importantly Rob's beer brewing cupboard.
Once inside the breezeway, you would normally find a few simple coat hooks, some baskets for our shoes, a retro chair and a small myrtle table that Rob restored. However, the wardrobe for the spare room is still parked here while we work up the courage to dismantle it. The door as you can see leads to the living end of the hut.
The walls are clad in celery top pine, inside the hut we used China Wood oil to finish all the timber. The timber cladding has become so golden over the last 8 months, and will continue to darken. All our skirting, window and door trims are in myrtle.
Ok, if you were here in person I'd probably then take you into the living room end of the hut first. Visitors often comment on the spaciousness of the hut inside, after seeing how narrow it is from the outside, it's only 4m wide. The windows, cream walls and retro furniture all contribute to that I think. Rob and I (luckily) both dislike clutter so we keep the hut pretty spartan. Anyway, you walk down a short narrow space into our kitchen.
The living space is broken into three roughly even spaces. The myrtle window seat draws your gaze as you walk in to the big window at the end of the hut. But really the view is to the north side, along the long axis of the room. We chose double glazing for the windows and door in this end of the hut, which means we don't need blinds or curtains. We love that this means that the lines are kept clean. Originally the cathedral ceiling was to be timber clad too. But the budget didn't stretch that far. So plaster board it is. But you know what, I think we prefer it now. The ceiling soars and lifts the space rather than feeling closed in. The poor builder and plasterer were quite frightened when we chose our lights, those little white rectangles on the side (there are actually three of them, one is out of the frame). The "Surf" up lights are designed by Neil Poulton, and were quite a splurge for us, but the three lights do light up the whole space so well. Frightening for the plasterer as he had to get our ceiling absolutely perfect as they would show up every flaw in the joins between boards. But we are so happy with them, the plasterer did do an excellent job.
The bench you can see is our main workspace in the kitchen, nearly 3m long and 800mm wide, we had our bench tops made to be 1m high, as we're both tall. Nine big drawers provide plenty of storage for crockery, plastics, and bakeware. But we'll swing around and have a look at the kitchen from the other direction.
The cabinetry and bench tops are solid celery top pine, most of which we purchased at an auction a few years earlier. It too is getting darker. The four drawers on this side of the bench are for cutlery, place mats, candles and serving platters, so that it's easy to set the table without heading into the kitchen.
To keep the clean lines in our kitchen we opted for a domestic oven and ceramic cook top. But splurged on a Parmco extraction fan (the little silver rectangle above the cook top), which works well, the fan is in the corner cupboard so it's not too noisy. Things we love here: the view from the kitchen sink, the little hidden knife drawer to the left of the oven, and the open wire baskets for our collection of copper Scanpan saucepans underneath. The watercolour of an olive branch was painted by a friend, and is the only artwork we currently have on the walls. We just can't bring ourselves to put anything else up on the walls yet. Ok onto the living area.
The Tas oak floorboards are covered with a soft golden rug. A legacy item from Rob's parents. We think it has silk in the pile as it is so soft, the dogs love lazing on it! The window seat is obviously the pride of our home, but the two Blackwood Fler Narvik lounge chairs are pretty special too. The two Fred Ward myrtle sideboards house our glassware, napkins and cake stands. We may have fallen into collecting mid-centry furniture by accident, but the style is perfect for the hut, with the pieces raised off the floor with the tapered legs extending the space.
If you were to sit on the window seat (which I highly recommend) you would then look back to the kitchen like this:
Our retro myrtle dining table faces the bifold door that opens out onto the terrace and overlooks the dam. Our collection (which has grown again but we need to recover them) of Blackwood Piper Tru-line chairs may be a little daggy, but they are comfortable. If you walk down the room and back into the breezeway you would then see this view down our hallway:
The mirror on the dresser in our room creates a perfect reflection, creating a feeling that the hall will go on. The long narrow windows provide light and the internal doors are all single lite glass doors so that light can flow from one side of the hut to the other. The polished concrete floor is great for our dirty dogs! The one techo item in our hut are the low sensor lights on the right hand side of the hall. These are fantastic at night when you are visiting the bathroom.
The polished concrete flows right into our shower, with the best view of the dam and bush on the hill opposite (where the wedge tailed eagles soar).
The sink sits on floating bench of myrtle. We found this retro Blackwood framed mirror which is perfect for this room.
The spare room is the most unfinished room. It's yet to get a proper double bed (still on the look for a mid-century myrtle bed head) and the wardrobe in the breezeway needs to be moved in here (magically). I have actually sold the chest of drawers under the window, the one on the far wall matches all our other Fred Ward pieces, and we leave two of our dining chairs in here for the moment.
Our bathroom is the next along the hall, the same as the guest bathroom except for the shower over a bath. The view is pretty good here too. Rob's sisters gave him the round mirror for his birthday last year and it works perfectly here.
Last but not least is our bedroom. With a set of french doors that open out onto the terrace and a window that overlooks my flower garden and the orchard. Fred Ward features here too, one day we will replace the modern Tas oak bed with a mid-century style myrtle bed. I didn't take a photo in the opposite direction as the only building job left to do are the timber doors on our built in wardrobes. Hopefully we can tick that off this year. The two bedrooms have a wool plush pile carpet, called Velluto, which apparently is Italian for velvet, in a caramel colour.
So there you have it. A tour of our little home. Hope you have a lovely weekend.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Our Sunday
We woke this morning to rain, which made us quite happy our tank was running a little low.
After breakfast we headed down the road to the farmer's market at Cygnet. First priority was some Red Velvet Lounge sourdough and a fruit loaf. Greedy I know! Then we picked up some rhubarb and vegetables. There was an art exhibition in the hall. My favourite was this barbed wire horse. He was gorgeous with his coppery wire mane and tail. We looked in a few of the gift shops, and I found a raspberry red skirt in an op shop. We couldn't resist an Eccles cake each from Lotus eaters. We took our spoils home. The sun came out so Rob did some digging in his veggie patch. I made granola and a vegetable soup for dinner.
A pretty perfect day.
P.S. like many others I'm totally addicted to instagram: my name there is hazelnigella. But I've decided to join in Fatmumslim's March photo a day game. Today's theme was bedside. Let me know if you're equally as addicted and I'll follow along.
After breakfast we headed down the road to the farmer's market at Cygnet. First priority was some Red Velvet Lounge sourdough and a fruit loaf. Greedy I know! Then we picked up some rhubarb and vegetables. There was an art exhibition in the hall. My favourite was this barbed wire horse. He was gorgeous with his coppery wire mane and tail. We looked in a few of the gift shops, and I found a raspberry red skirt in an op shop. We couldn't resist an Eccles cake each from Lotus eaters. We took our spoils home. The sun came out so Rob did some digging in his veggie patch. I made granola and a vegetable soup for dinner.
A pretty perfect day.
P.S. like many others I'm totally addicted to instagram: my name there is hazelnigella. But I've decided to join in Fatmumslim's March photo a day game. Today's theme was bedside. Let me know if you're equally as addicted and I'll follow along.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Friday Flowers
So I got back home to the hut yesterday. Whilst I was in Brisbane Rob was leading a week long field trip at Mt Field in Tasmania. He had pretty perfect weather. The dogs were pretty happy to see me but knew that our little "pack" wasn't quite right until he returned. I took Nigella to the dog groomer today. I felt like such a traitor leaving her there to get clipped short. But her coat was out of control and she was so hot.
I was certain she'd be mortified, but she was quite proud! Particularly of the pink bandana the lovely ladies gave her. They said she was very well behaved, which didn't surprise me, she's just a big teddy bear. Claudia wasn't sure it was her, and sniffed her all over!
We picked up Rob from work, the dogs jumped all over him in the car park, quite the reunion. Then we headed home together, I'd made some pizza dough this morning so we're just about to enjoy tomato, pumpkin, olive and anchovy pizza. Happy weekend!
A frangipani flower from my walk in a park earlier this week.
I was certain she'd be mortified, but she was quite proud! Particularly of the pink bandana the lovely ladies gave her. They said she was very well behaved, which didn't surprise me, she's just a big teddy bear. Claudia wasn't sure it was her, and sniffed her all over!
We picked up Rob from work, the dogs jumped all over him in the car park, quite the reunion. Then we headed home together, I'd made some pizza dough this morning so we're just about to enjoy tomato, pumpkin, olive and anchovy pizza. Happy weekend!
A frangipani flower from my walk in a park earlier this week.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Snap it: happy
I'm playing along with Snap it over at Faith, Hope & a whole lotta love.
This week is happy.
The following are two pictures of a sunset I took whilst I was flying home. I was only away one night, but it made me very happy to be heading home.
This week is happy.
The following are two pictures of a sunset I took whilst I was flying home. I was only away one night, but it made me very happy to be heading home.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Sunrise
So I had a fast trip to Canberra. No culinary delights to share, as the restaurant was picked out for us to meet at on Monday night, and I picked a doozy- the vegetarian burger. Not sure what came over me, but it was dry, and the bun toasted until it was hard and crunchy. Breakfast at the hotel was pretty good, but fairly standard hotel breakfast fare. Then I had an all day meeting so had a catering lunch, and snacked at the airport.
The hotel was a new one, the Burbury, all black walls and pale limestone tiles. It did have a nice big bed, with lovely crisp white linen, and even a doona, something I always miss when travelling. I'm not a sheet and blankets sort of girl.
I had some time to wait before our dinner so enjoyed lazing on the big bed (for once with out dog fur) and watching the tennis. We haven't had a tv for over 6 months now, and for the most part I don't miss it. But the tennis just isn't the same on the radio!
Rob took these photos the other morning at sunrise. I'm trying to pick one for my blog header.
I'm thinking number 1? What do you think?
The hotel was a new one, the Burbury, all black walls and pale limestone tiles. It did have a nice big bed, with lovely crisp white linen, and even a doona, something I always miss when travelling. I'm not a sheet and blankets sort of girl.
I had some time to wait before our dinner so enjoyed lazing on the big bed (for once with out dog fur) and watching the tennis. We haven't had a tv for over 6 months now, and for the most part I don't miss it. But the tennis just isn't the same on the radio!
Rob took these photos the other morning at sunrise. I'm trying to pick one for my blog header.
I'm thinking number 1? What do you think?
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Home
Our lunch at Josef Chromy's was quite delightful, the sky a perfect blue, the water shimmering, the vineyard in the distance. The family took over a section of the cafe, cousins chatted, Rob's sisters worked out Christmas for us all. We shared antipasto platters at each table, then I had the trevalla and Rob had an absolutely huge steak, perfect cooked. Everyone was relaxed and after coffees we all stumbled out into the sun and we headed off to Hobart, via Evandale, the Nile and the Colebrook road. The midlands were incredibly green, our only stop was the Ross wool shop for some new ugg boot liners for me. I can't tell you how heavenly new plush sheepskin is, try it!
But as nice as our time up north was, there was a constant tug at my heart for the hut. Silly to admit but true, our first night away from the hut together. As we drove down our long driveway, I felt immediately better, just seeing the hut at the end in the evening light.
We have only lived here for four and a half months but it is the homiest place I've ever lived in. It perfectly reflects our taste and style, and we can just "be". Not to mention we missed the peacefulness at night (if you don't count the frogs).
I love our weekends here, but am always reluctant to head to work on Monday!
Hope you had a lovely weekend too.
But as nice as our time up north was, there was a constant tug at my heart for the hut. Silly to admit but true, our first night away from the hut together. As we drove down our long driveway, I felt immediately better, just seeing the hut at the end in the evening light.
We have only lived here for four and a half months but it is the homiest place I've ever lived in. It perfectly reflects our taste and style, and we can just "be". Not to mention we missed the peacefulness at night (if you don't count the frogs).
I love our weekends here, but am always reluctant to head to work on Monday!
Hope you had a lovely weekend too.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Red
My clandestine love affair with the colour red had remained hidden until recently. I don’t think I can deny it any longer. I thought perhaps I’d moved on from red. The hut was going to be cream, blue, and sandy yellow.
But red has been creeping back into our life.
It started when I unpacked our favourite red stoneware plates and bowls. Suddenly, I wanted to serve all our food on them. I know white dinnerware is more chic, that most food looks better on white. But every time I opened the crockery draw (that in itself is quite a novelty!) my hands would pass over the neat stack of white plates and choose the lovely glossy red plates.
Then I remembered a happy afternoon spent in an Italian café at Cottesloe Beach, and loving the look of their bright red napkins on the long communal timber tables, and thinking one day I’m going to have a table just like that. So I picked up a set of plain red cotton napkins recently.
Our bedroom also got the red makeover. We’d always had a cream bedspread. But then we got Claudia. She can’t help herself, she loves beds. But she also loves mud. So we thought this red check would camouflage the worst of the paw prints.
My favourite jam just came back in stock at Coles, I love their gingham lids, as you can tell.
Rob found us these Fler Narvik chairs on ebay, we’d be on the look out for pair, and happily for us they came newly upholstered, in lovely soft red chenille corduroy.
So now that Rob shares my love affair, I can quite openly sneak some more red into the hut. I found these red reindeer tealight holders at Spotlight on Saturday. Kitsch I know, but also beautiful at night. It’s going to take all my will power not to keep using them every day until Christmas.
Finally the window seat arrived last week. We’d oscillated over the colour of our cushions for over a year. Blue? Sandy yellow? I’ve ordered enough samples from Warwick to make a bedspread! But none of them were quite right.
We sat on our makeshift cushions. We looked at the samples. I looked at Rob. “You know what I’d really like?” He laughed, I think he already knew, “I’d like a red check just like our bedspread!” Not quite as elegant as we were originally planning, perhaps a bit clichéd, but at the moment it feels right for our little hut in the country.
Welcome back red, I’ve always loved you.
But red has been creeping back into our life.
It started when I unpacked our favourite red stoneware plates and bowls. Suddenly, I wanted to serve all our food on them. I know white dinnerware is more chic, that most food looks better on white. But every time I opened the crockery draw (that in itself is quite a novelty!) my hands would pass over the neat stack of white plates and choose the lovely glossy red plates.
Then I remembered a happy afternoon spent in an Italian café at Cottesloe Beach, and loving the look of their bright red napkins on the long communal timber tables, and thinking one day I’m going to have a table just like that. So I picked up a set of plain red cotton napkins recently.
Our bedroom also got the red makeover. We’d always had a cream bedspread. But then we got Claudia. She can’t help herself, she loves beds. But she also loves mud. So we thought this red check would camouflage the worst of the paw prints.
My favourite jam just came back in stock at Coles, I love their gingham lids, as you can tell.
Rob found us these Fler Narvik chairs on ebay, we’d be on the look out for pair, and happily for us they came newly upholstered, in lovely soft red chenille corduroy.
So now that Rob shares my love affair, I can quite openly sneak some more red into the hut. I found these red reindeer tealight holders at Spotlight on Saturday. Kitsch I know, but also beautiful at night. It’s going to take all my will power not to keep using them every day until Christmas.
Finally the window seat arrived last week. We’d oscillated over the colour of our cushions for over a year. Blue? Sandy yellow? I’ve ordered enough samples from Warwick to make a bedspread! But none of them were quite right.
We sat on our makeshift cushions. We looked at the samples. I looked at Rob. “You know what I’d really like?” He laughed, I think he already knew, “I’d like a red check just like our bedspread!” Not quite as elegant as we were originally planning, perhaps a bit clichéd, but at the moment it feels right for our little hut in the country.
Welcome back red, I’ve always loved you.
Monday, July 4, 2011
The best news
Sorry I have been a very slack blogger of late.
I do have a pretty good excuse- we have finally moved into our brand spanking new hut.
For the first couple of days it was quite surreal. We've waited a long time for this (4.5 years) and it didn't seem to matter how many times we've imagined it, the real thing is something else entirely.
Waking up during the night and looking out at the stars, I've forgotten how they are so much more spectacular away from a city.
Looking out the french doors in our bedroom at the bush opposite.
Watching Rob and the dogs go on their morning perimeter walk over the frosty grass.
Catching glimpses of the geese in our garden through a window as I wander by.
It is so quiet- which I love.
Everyone keeps asking us what's it like to finally be in; Rob and I decided it's like we're big children "playing" house.
We love our kitchen. Having everything in its proper place. A pantry where you can see everything. The perfect bench height for us. What seems likes acres of bench space. A new oven that works!
We've been so good since we've moved, we've been eating all of our meals at the table (we had slipped into couch meals before).
Our first weekend has been a whirl of cleaning, unpacking (still), baking, visits, planning for a high tea next week for Rob's daughter's 16th birthday, and a lovely dinner at Red Velvet Lounge in Cygnet (which as an aside was the best steak we've eaten in ages, with of course Béarnaise sauce, chips and salad- Rob commented that he wanted his last meal to be steak and chips cooked by Steve!)
So busy I didn't take any photos! So I will have to get myself organised pronto.
Finally this blog can begin properly- the hut chronicles have started for real.
I do have a pretty good excuse- we have finally moved into our brand spanking new hut.
For the first couple of days it was quite surreal. We've waited a long time for this (4.5 years) and it didn't seem to matter how many times we've imagined it, the real thing is something else entirely.
Waking up during the night and looking out at the stars, I've forgotten how they are so much more spectacular away from a city.
Looking out the french doors in our bedroom at the bush opposite.
Watching Rob and the dogs go on their morning perimeter walk over the frosty grass.
Catching glimpses of the geese in our garden through a window as I wander by.
It is so quiet- which I love.
Everyone keeps asking us what's it like to finally be in; Rob and I decided it's like we're big children "playing" house.
We love our kitchen. Having everything in its proper place. A pantry where you can see everything. The perfect bench height for us. What seems likes acres of bench space. A new oven that works!
We've been so good since we've moved, we've been eating all of our meals at the table (we had slipped into couch meals before).
Our first weekend has been a whirl of cleaning, unpacking (still), baking, visits, planning for a high tea next week for Rob's daughter's 16th birthday, and a lovely dinner at Red Velvet Lounge in Cygnet (which as an aside was the best steak we've eaten in ages, with of course Béarnaise sauce, chips and salad- Rob commented that he wanted his last meal to be steak and chips cooked by Steve!)
So busy I didn't take any photos! So I will have to get myself organised pronto.
Finally this blog can begin properly- the hut chronicles have started for real.
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