Pretty in Pink

This is one of my favourite corners of my house. The collection of mismatching glass bottles have been scavenged from op shops, after nights of boozing and one even once contained a condiment in my fridge. The antique table was my parents answer to my persistent begging for a writing desk of my own, and was the first place that I sat and dreamt up stories when I was little. A vintage suitcase stashed underneath, complete with old travel stickers, offers the promise of escaping to foreign lands. Pretty pink blooms make this little nook look and smell like spring.

xo

Back with a bang!

Before:

After:

I have been absent for some time, and am once again guilty of letting other things get in the way of my little corner of heaven in Blogland where I share with you all the things I do. But my hiatus has not been in vain. I have lots of exciting new things to share with you, including my lounge room makeover. Best of all, the total cost came in just under $100.

I have really been drawn to industrial kind of furniture lately, and I think you all know how much I like reusing old things, so it seemed only natural to combine the two. I scored the wooden pallets free from one of the business near my office (working in an industrial area may not have many good cafes for lunching, but it does have it's benefits). I also got the foam mattresses off Gumtree, one of my favourite places to go scavenging for bargains (they were $10 and are in pretty good condition — and so comfortable!)

The next step was to cut the pallets down to size to fit the foam mattresses. Admittedly I did do this step the hard way and cut each pallet with a hand saw, but I was a little afraid of botching them to use my jigsaw for the very first time. And Dad wasn't around to help me. I then sanded the fronts of the pallets, not bothering about the sides that were going to face to walls to save time.

Some single fitted sheets (50% off on sale) and a few new throw pillows topped off with an hour of one Saturday afternoon spent putting it all together, was all it took to finish off my brand new lounge room. It is perfect for chilling out to watch a movie, read a book or to gather around when friends come over. Just ask my girlfriends, we recently spent a Sunday afternoon watching Bridesmaids together lounging around. My housemates are also justifiably pleased.

I also dug my round coffee table (below) out of the garage, an old favourite thrifted from the side of the road one particularly entertaining afternoon in St Lucia with Smiley. I had some left over contact paper that I had bought to line draws with and covered the table top with it to blend it with the red cushions on the couch.  I love the little shelf underneath and my stack of vintage hardcovers.

My new couch is also a handy little shelf for storing magazines. I don't want to shove too much stuff into the pallets but it IS a rather convenient little hideaway.

Stay tuned for more of my makeovers, and let me know what you think about my extremely comfortable pallet couch. 

xo

Special Others: Anne Day

Today is my mum, Anne Day’s birthday. She is a pretty amazing woman, as anyone who has met her would attest. Not only did she teach me how to be a lady (even though at times, I don’t always heed her advice) but she taught me everything I know about sewing and craft and for that I am forever grateful. I am very much looking forward to raiding her sewing room when I am home in Mackay next week, just like she used to do with her mum.

Best of all Mum made me this quilt when I was 12 years old and I have treasured it every since, and boy is it warm! (Almost as good as a Mum hug!) So this one is for the most important woman in my life, Mum. Love you, and Happy Birthday.

xo

Cumin Lentil Vegie Loaf

Another amazing new vegetarian win. This recipe was simple, quick and so very tasty! I modified the original a little, using only one tin of lentils and adding extra spices, including garam masal and a little tumeric and added shredded spinach into the side salad. Best thing about this dish, it is delicious cold the next day! Actually, I might go have a slice of left overs now.
xo

In the Bedroom: Part 2

This is the other bedside table in my room. The white chair was the very first piece of furniture I ever restored. I found it on the side of the road in my first year in Brisbane in dire need of some tender love and care. The back was coming loose and it was covered in hideous forest green paint that was peeling off all over the place. As it was my first foray into furniture restoration it took a very long time to complete and some hard hours with paint stripper (I learnt very quickly that paint stripper is NOT kind to skin) but I am so glad I rescued it, because now the chair is one of my favourite pieces.

Dressed with a little Ikea lamp, some sweet smelling dried lavender (my favourite) and a pile of vintage penguin books, the chair looks right at home as my bedside table. And the white pom pom on the floor next to the chair is another of my creations - the things you can do with tissue paper!
xo

Things I love: Snail Mail

I think one of the best simple pleasures in life is receiving a hand written letter in the mail. Luckily my lovely friends know this about me and humour me and have sent a lot of postal love from all around the world this year so far, which was topped off by a beautiful letter from my friend Ky in the my letter box today from the States. Thank you all, keep the post coming!
xo

Pink Deliciousness

On a whim I cooked this delicious Beetroot Risotto for dinner the other night from a totally new recipe. It was the first risotto I have made in more than a year, as my last effort was rather an epic gluggy fail. But since moving into my new house in February, which is complete with a beautiful gas stove top (LOVE) I thought I should give it another attempt, now that I have reliable temperature control.

I found this recipe for a vegetarian beetroot, walnut and goats' cheese risotto and I think the main reason I was so drawn to it was that it was pink! I have never eaten nor seen pink risotto before. Best of all it turned out to be delicious as well, which I was sincerely hoping it would, but was skeptical there for awhile as I have never cooked anything with beetroot as the base.

As far as risotto goes, this was fairly easy to make too (no added roasting pumpkin or other vegies in the oven). I also used feta cheese instead of goats' cheese and added extra leafy greens for goodness, and the leftovers were delicious for lunch yesterday as well. Total, unexpected win!
xo