Bargains of the decorative kind

Before Christmas Tish Jett wrote about these little beauties in her great blog A femme d'un certain age...

The very next day I hot-footed it down to our nearest IKEA store (despite protests from Mr SE who hates the place - "We're just going to the market place, promise....!" ) and splashed out on 7 of them! Yes, 7. They look beautiful all lined up down the centre of the table (photographed below chez nous, on Christmas Day). And wonder of wonders, they are dual usage too - you can have candles in them as in the photograph or you can flip them over and put little tea-lights in them. Nifty, eh?





In Ikea 'speak' - NEGLINE @ 99 cents each - bargain of the decade!







Whilst there my eyes were naturally drawn to this which took me back to the streets of London and made me feel a longing for good old Blighty.... Rather nice - think I may have to indulge to hang on the walls of our Australian rented pad...

Its Ikea catalogue 'name' is VILSHUTE and at $89 I think it is pretty good value (it's large!) but not as big as the one below if you prefer a French slant to your art....

This goes by the name of PREMIAR and is $259 - why couldn't it have the name Eiffel Tower I wonder though?? Far more simple!

And finally, what about this groovy 'Dandelion light' masquerading as 'PS MASKROS' - cost to you -$199... warning though - does say 'self assembly required' - surely not all those teeny little flowery bits?

Ed Note : all prices quoted are in Australian Dollars...

Party 'favours'- par excellence - clue they come in orange boxes trimmed in brown!

On December 22nd I was invited to a girls' dinner party at Wildflower restaurant.

Such a treat to go here in itself - the food was absolutely delicious and the atmosphere, especially during that week, was very festive and pretty with twinkling white lights and lots of laughter and merriment at the tables. Naturally it was full.



Our girls' dinner was hosted by the lovely Miss J who owns Peony and we were a party of five altogether - Miss J had invited four lucky girlies....

I am ashamed to say that although I live closest to this restaurant, (within walking distance) I was last to arrive and as I scurried in and said my "hellos" I was taken aback because there, at each of the place settings were .........

THESE !!!

- the most divine and gorgeous orange HERMES boxes.....!! How lovely, how dreamy and what a most amazing gift !! We had been totally spoilt by Miss J.

Of course we then undid them at the same time (carefully saving the iconic brown ribbon, naturally) and nestled inside the box in a cylindrical shape there were

Vetiver Perfumed Lining Papers.... and I quote, from the little piece of paper inside :

"These five sheets embossed with the Hermes saddle tack combine the woody fragrances of vetiver with the refined freshness of bergamot and lemon. Clove, coriander, frankincense and sandalwood add a warm, spicy note. Use to line the bottom of drawers and wardrobes, they will lend their delicate perfume to the contents"

I cannot tell what a gorgeous, and totally unexpected and luxurious surprise they were....

We were extremely lucky.... I also cannot describe accurately just how wonderful the fragrance is too.... heavenly. Not sure though if I ever want to undo them - just pat the box, open the lid occasionally, sniff and sigh!

World's BEST cashmere - BRORA goes on sale today....

my favourite cashmere company goes on sale in UK today! Much excitement.... When I lived in UK my friend Jo and I would telephone each other the morning of the sale and go through the catalogue deciding what we might buy....(that was half the fun!)

Granted it's not cheap (even in the sale) but the quality is second to none - it is beautiful Scottish cashmere and all the garments are made there and the colours just beautiful... Also, it lasts and lasts and the garments never go 'bobbly' like some cashmere does.... So, to whet your appetite I present to you....

The cropped cashmere cardigan - the colour shown above I believe is 'diesel'...

Gorgeous long wrist warmers......

And the long boyfriend V-neck jumper- a classic....

And lastly, photographed above are two of my much loved Brora cashmere items - cropped cardigan in pale sea green (I have owned this for around 5 years or so and its still as good as new). And a little checked grey cashmere 'throatwarmer' scarf.... the scarf was a present around 4 years ago from my friend Jo.

Back in UK I also have a lovely long grey ribbed cashmere scarf too (so long as dear daughter has not "borrowed" it for use in France whilst skiing!) and a selection of gloves and also, luxury of luxuries (and oh, so warm) two pairs of their cashmere tights....

Warning though - get in there quickly - things sell out so fast....! http://www.brora.co.uk/

The most deliciously refreshing drink ever - 'Grown-Up Lime-Aid'

Firstly, I apologise that at the moment this drink is not going to seem all that refreshing to those in Northern Hemisphere experiencing minus temperatures and lots of snow but I URGE you to file this little 'recipe' somewhere safely for the lazy, hazy days of Summer to come. And for the rest of us sweltering in the heat (yesterday the mercury hit 43 degrees here in Melbourne!) try this - you won't regret it....


Take a bottle of any dry-ish fizz...Obviously not your best champagne but a decent favourite white with bubbles. Last night we used Prosecco which is highly recommended by that well known Queen of the Domestic Kitchen - Nigella Lawson...... (and what she says I take extremely seriously).

Now, at this point you add freshly squeezed lime juice.... You can either make individual glasses but I think the far better way is to pour the whole bottle of fizz into a pretty glass jug and then add the juice of 6 or 7 limes. Agree, it seems a lot of lime juice but you will just have to trust me on this one. Oh, and a handful of ice too...



Only one small problem with this gorgeous drink.... It tastes very innocent and you drink more than you originally intended! And I will admit to having a teensy, weensy bit of a headache this morning but it was definitely worth it!
(And if you were on the receiving end of a slightly inappropriate/interfering text last night I can only apologise - the Lime-Aid made me do it!)

Seven Snippets about Semi-Expat and passing on the award(s)

At the end of last week I was fortunate enough to receive the same award (depicted above) twice within 24 hours from two of my favourite bloggers....

Firstly from Jeanne at Collage of Life - she has just returned from New Zealand and is settling into life in Surrey in England and has a beautiful blog (in fact she has another one too - how does she do it?) called In One Place - also very much worth checking out.

My second nominee was Susie from The Mill House who bestowed on me the same "Kreativ Blogger" award. Susie's gorgeous blog is truly as lovely as she is a person... When I was back in UK last October we met up and that was all because she made contact and emailed me after reading my blog - and would you believe we live only 20 minutes away from each other in UK ? Such a small world and one made smaller by the blogosphere every day. Read about our original meeting here. (I am also indebted to her as she gave me 'technical advice' as to how to 'link' within a post -thanks again, Susie and also to Mr SE who gave directions !)

Now, apparently I am now to list 7 things about myself that you do not already know .... ( Don't worry, though I am not going to bore you with 14 things because of the two person award!)

So...... here goes.

1. My first job was working for an Earl and a Countess at Bowood House - a beautiful stately home open to the public. I looked after their 4 children ranging from 3 to 13 years of age.



2. A ghost appeared to me when I was about 6 years old. I maintain to this day that I was NOT dreaming. I was scared witless as it also 'spoke' saying in an extremely sad and melancholy voice "I think strangers sleep here now"..... I remember it as if it was yesterday and even now when thinking of it or recalling the whole incident I get 'goosepimples' on my arms.



3. I held a Californian Real Estate Licence when I was 21 years old and lived in Los Angeles.



4. Mint ice-cream is one I just loathe - it tastes like frozen toothpaste to me.



5. Whenever ABBA songs are played at a party I just have to get up and dance - I have a secret yearning for them and their music - not very 'cool' maybe but I am very partial to a bit of ABBA.


6. I adore antique French white china and have a weakness for anything with 'holes' in especially antique French cheese molds or white china colanders.



7. Last but not least!! I have met two members of the Royal Family whilst I was working at No.1 on this list. Prince Charles, who at the time when I met him was actually considered quite "dishy" ! It was also pre-Diana but probably NOT pre his first meeting with Camilla P-B. He apparently said to my employer at the time that he wished he had had a nanny like me when he was a child! My second 'royal' meeting was with the late Princess Margaret who also visited Bowood House when she was 'cavorting' with Roddy Llewellyn. They (PM and RL) insisted on coming up to the nursery for tea where I was making sandwiches etc. for my four young charges at the time. They joined in and sat down at the table and I had to pour tea for them (I rather feel I blotted my copybook at the time as I put the milk into the teacup first - considered 'rather common' by the Royal Family or Aristocracy - Princess Margaret asked for a cup of black tea to which she then added her own milk!). I may add that whatever they think I still put the milk into the cup (or mug!) first. Roddy Llewellyn ate ALL the Club orange chocolate biscuits I recall.

So there we are - my 7 snippets of secret information.... And now, I have to pass on the award to 7 creative bloggers.... I do think that anyone who produces and creates a blog and posts on an almost daily basis is extremely creative and I do love all my favourite and inspirational blogs that I list on my page... The 7 that I am nominating you may or may not know but they are all fabulous and I am sure you will enjoy reading them...

(And, nominees please do what you will with the award - please don't feel compelled to stick to the letter regarding all the 'rules' if you don't feel like it for example - you may not have time to - just put the award motif on you blog if that is all you want!) I will freely admit to this post taking me most of the weekend like a homework assignment but then again these things do not come naturally to me and I am relatively new to all this!

1. Faux Fuchsia


2. My French Corner


3. Casa-dolce-casa


4. The Gardeners Cottage


5. Struggling to be Stylish


6. Lona de Anna


7. Boxwood Terrace

And also may I mention another very special blog - an extremely new one.. Diary of a Travelling Cool Girl - this is my niece Sophie and I think she is doing pretty well!

Phew! Over and out... back to 'normal posting' tomorrow!

P.S. having posted this and then gone to look at it it does not look as if the links show up - but I assure you that if you hover your mouse over any of the blogs mentioned (including the two who nominated me - Collage of Life and The Mill House) you will be able to click and then be taken to the appropriate page... Similarly if you click on Bowood House there will be some info. about the place and Roddy Llewellyn.... (LATER... have worked out how to make them show up playing around with font colours - have now spent WAY too long on this...!!)

Spotlight on LULU GUINNESS and 2 'Thank Yous'

I have always loved the designs of Lulu Guinness and each Summer I fish out my straw LG bag (photo above). This year has been no exception and I have enjoyed using it in Australia. It's just that little bit different and I love the cheery poppies and the lining too which is red with little white polka dots - cute...

Mobile Phone Holder

Coin purse

Flower basket bag

The 3 photographs above are taken from her website http://www.luluguinness.com/ Top one shows a fabulous mobile phone holder in the shape of a London telephone box - next one down a sweet little coin purse with a London scene and the last one is one of her 'iconic' flower basket design handbags....

A little about Lulu :

Lucinda Jane Guinness née Rivett-Carnac, better-known as Lulu Guinness (born 1960) is a well-known British accessories fashion designer...

In 1989, Lulu designed her first handbag – a patent briefcase with lots of clear pockets and bright suede lining. The piece is sold through Liberty’s and Joseph in London. After this great success, Lulu begins designing handbags full time and opens an office and work studio in her home. She opens a collaborative store on Elizabeth Street in London with Selina Blow and the Jackson’s. In 1995, the first of her world famous collectable handbags is designed and called the ‘Original House’ with hand embroidery on black satin with a red suede roof.

Last year she celebrated 20 years in the business with a party in London attended by the great and good of the fashion world.

And, to finish this post I have to say two big thank yous - one to Susie at The Mill House and one to Jeanne at Collage of Life who have both awarded me (within a few hours of each other!) a 'Kreativ Blogger' award. Thank you both, and I will work on what I have to do with the award over the weekend....!! (am not all that 'up' on computery things - in fact a little bit of a 'technical twit' at times but I will get there - eventually!)

A good weekend to one and all....

Tea for One

I have to admit to feeling a little down today..... My niece flew off onto New Zealand to continue her travels in the antipodes yesterday - (this is also known as 'Getting Over a Broken Engagement in UK tour'....)


And I have to report she is doing remarkably well on this front having been whizzed around Melbourne and to country vineyards by a very dashing and hunky Australian man so I am pleased. Very. Especially as I engineered the original meeting ....(yes, yes, just call me Matchmaker, Matchmaker!) I can feel a song coming on....


So, to cheer myself up I went to the cute place above ..... 'Little Cupcakes'.

And partook of the above - look at the sweetest little lemon mini cupcake and the fact that the tea is served DANS une pot de china and avec real leaves too..... Bliss.

(But I still miss BN!)
However, I am happy to say that she'll be back in Melbourne later. (Think I hear that song coming back again!)

P.S. I meant to say that if anyone would like to read of her adventures - she is also writing a blog (keeping it in the family so to speak!) see right in my favourites - 'Diary of a Travelling Cool Girl'

Mid week roses from the garden

Did not get around to a post yesterday- many apologies ...... We were preparing a farewell barbeque for BN before she goes off for a look around New Zealand - she will be back in Melbourne with us later....

We all had a fabulous evening and I picked this large bunch of coral roses from the garden - thought you might like to see them - the colour will warm up those in the Northern Hemisphere - especially those in UK where there was another snow fall last night I believe... Brrrrr!!...

Natural, Bare, NUDE!

Just how many colours do I have in my makeup bag which are a variation on the above ?

Answer. Too many, just far too many......

Yes, I know there is always the search for the perfect red but I do think I have found that - apparently, (and this comes from someone I do trust implicitly) it is Chanel's Passion - No. 14 which is such a beautiful red. However, I do not wear red on a regular basis. Just for the occasion when I feel brave. And, of course, confident..... (and have to bat off comments from Mr SE that I look like my mother.... Not that looking like my mother is necessarily a 'bad thing' - just that she is in her early seventies and I am 50) Anyway, I digress.

The jury is still out regarding the perfect nude......

On this theme I have mainly stuck to BOBBI BROWN - Queen of the 'Natural Look' and I think I am almost there with a Lip Colour lipstick in Bobbi's 'Brown' (not as the colour sounds - much more a pinky colour) with either 'Pink Beige' or 'Beige' lipgloss on top... But I would welcome any other suggestions for that perfect, groomed "I have a little colour on but it's so natural you wouldn't necesarily know" look. So polished - so, je ne sais quoi..... !

Please? Either that or I am going to have to invest in a far bigger make up bag!!

I have listed the above colours in my photograph and they are: Brownie, Naked, Posey, Rum Raisin, Brown, Cream O'Spice (MAC), Beige, Viva Glam (MAC), Orgasm (ahem...!! - NARS), Brownie Pink, Cocoa, Bare.... and another favourite not photographed - Tea Rose.... See - TOO many along the same lines!!

Help....!!

Sunday (although I have sort of lost track of the days)

Aaahhhh.... Sunday.

Sunday usually begins with a question.

Are we going to eat out for breakfast or not? And if we are - where to go? Today began with such a quandary and in the end we plumped for a walk down to Maling Road to a cafe we had not been to before.... This was not because we were being daring, or original though - it was because our 'favouritest' is closed until next weekend as it is Summer hols here in Australia and many small businesses are closed until next week or even to the middle of January - (Shock, horror - HOW do they get away with that!!)

However, we probably should have stayed home as to be honest the breakfast was rather disappointing and it started so well with the coffees served first (photographed above).......

Don't you just hate it when that happens?

Still, next time we will learn - better to stick to tried and tested than to try something you are not too sure about (guess you could use that as a blueprint for life though I would imagine it would be a bit dull!)

Tomorrow I am going to go (with BN) to the city (Melbourne CBD) to look at/check out that coffee place I wrote about a while back - 'Divine Decoration in a Deli' - December 21st - should be fun....

Au Revoir.

Shopping (but mainly of the window variety!)

Yesterday BN and I did a little window shopping and lots of trying on of all kinds of gorgeous shoes as above and below...... Such fun to have a shopping buddy with me again!

I was definitely tempted by a nude pair of MID heeled Christian Louboutins - they were wonderful (and I have to say are "on one side" at the shop) whilst I decide... very extravagant but then again... so classic and wearable too!! (BN wanted me to buy them then and there!)

We then went to safer territory and looked at all the gorgeous OPI nail polishes - so much choice but in the end we plumped for a classic.....

Lincoln Park After Dark (just love the name alone!) which I will wear on my toe nails (not quite brave enough to use on my finger nails - prefer the natural look of nude/pink for them...)

All in all though we had such a fun couple of hours!

Last night

Yet another amazing bonus about living in Melbourne - we would NEVER have been given this 'gift' in England...... It was very well run (obviously busy though) and transport went on virtually all night...

I recall a time about 4 years ago when my sister went to Trafalgar Square in London to join in the revelry and enjoy the fireworks and afterwards could not get home! She had to walk about 2 hours to get back to where she was staying as London transport (which was very sparse) completely stopped!

How lucky we were last night!

New Year's Eve 2009

This is where we are off to tonight to see the New Year in... A great local haunt a short distance from our home - very useful!! We had originally planned to go right into the city of Melbourne for dinner and to watch the fireworks but decided to change plans at the last minute - too many crowded places and I am not too great with loads and loads of people all milling around not knowing exactly where they are going...!

The place above is called Wine@129 - very friendly, laid back and as I mentioned, close to where we live too. Should be great fun. And, on the way back we can always stand on a bridge and look to the city skyline to watch the fireworks from afar - a much better idea...

Whatever you are doing, and whoever you celebrate New Year's Eve with have a happy and safe night! And I'll 'speak' with you all again in 2010....

Oh, and just one more thing. Thank you for a wonderful welcome to the world of blogging - have so enjoyed my last few months with my blog but it would not be half as much fun without any comments and I am so grateful to you, dear followers - and to those who read my blog without following too.........

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Surfing (but not USA!)

From the coast of Australia !!- Phillip Island to be exact....

We had a great day today - it was boiling hot and we watched Beautiful Niece have a surfing lesson - she did well with a group of around 25 and some rather 'hunky' and pleasant Aussie instructors (did she concentrate hard enough I wonder though - did it matter?!) Photographs above show - first photo - THE instructor, second one - getting there and third photo - 'She's Up!!'

And later on I went in for a refreshing dip in the ocean - just a great way to cool off in these days between Christmas and New Year here in the Southern Hemisphere.... - I could get very used to this!

Water works!!

Love this!! Saw a delivery lorry today off loading what we all couldn't do without!! But it did make me laugh too ..... There is actually a bottled water here in Australia which goes under this name 'Another Bloody Water'..... It then made me think about water and unearth some facts as follows :

Nearly 60% of your body weight is water. About 75% of your muscles are made of water.
Our bodies receive water three ways: from food, from drinking and from metabolism.
The old "8 glasses a day" is a fine standard... depending on what size glass you use! We need about 2.5 liters per day.
Drinking alcoholic beverages dehydrates your body.
Water may help suppress your appetite.
Drinking enough water helps many medical ailments: chronic fatigue, allergies, depression, digestive problems, and more.
Drinking enough water actually prevents water retention.
Water helps you improve your muscle tone.

I do try to drink the minimum recommended amount per day but sometimes it is difficult but I know for sure that I always feel better when I do....

What is your daily water intake - are you good? Or, do you hate drinking water?

Presents of all types

Do hope that everyone had at least some of their hearts' desires fulfilled over Christmas with gorgeous goodies in their Christmas stockings! I felt very spoilt and had some lovely presents (maybe we should all do a 'show and tell' post of our favourite gifts later on this week and why we loved them so much?)

Anyway, a human gift arrived last night from UK to stay with us for a while in the form of my beautiful niece and godaughter...... She has taken a few months sabbatical from her teaching job and is here in Australia till April, staying with us a while and visiting New Zealand too. So lovely to have her with us. Photos above show the Cathy Pacific plane bringing its precious cargo and BN scanning the crowd for us!

Happy Christmas Greetings from Australia

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic and happy time with family and friends alike. I couldn't resist this picture of the sweet koala with his Christmas hat ! (Sorry, a bit cliched from Australia I know!)

I also wanted to say how wonderful it has been to be part of the wide family of bloggers over the last 4 months since I began Semi Expat in Oz - and thank you from the bottom of my heart to my followers and to those of you who read this without 'following' too....... And to my mother - chose this photograph as I knew you would love it!

Happy, Happy Christmas - and a huge wish for peace on earth and a fantastic 2010 to everyone.........

Divine Decoration in a Deli

How about this for a chandelier- talk about larger than life !

This one is in a Deli/Cafe near Mr SE's new offices in Melbourne... and apparently they do a mean coffee ... On Friday nights they transform into a bar as well....

I thought it was quite stunning (although did not get a chance to try their coffee - they had just closed - hence the photograph through the window - apologies for the reflections )

Sunday - the last weekend shopping day before Christmas

Well, today was the last weekend trading day before Christmas .... Sunday was brisk and busy at Peony - we had Christmas carols playing as our customers enjoyed (yes, enjoyed!) completing their shopping..... Above - one of the flower arrangements in the shop this week... - pretty lilies and a little touch of red with the red roses...

Another little dash of red (above) in these gorgeous glass hand-blown containers for the Cire Trudon special Christmas candle - it's called 'Nazareth' and has been selling really well... The fragrance is very festive - a mixture of clove, cinnamon and orange.

Lastly above my personal favourite - Diptyque's 'coffret' for Christmas - 3 mini candles - Oranger, Feu De Bois and Pine Sylvestris.... The orange and woodsmoke (feu du bois) are just wonderful burned at the same time .

Just thought I would also share a little story with you from Friday..... We were so very busy that day - amazing really - we did not stop , but I digress...! First thing in the morning Jill (owner of Peony) had taken a call from a man in London who was looking for a Diptyque special limited edition Christmas candle - the Evergreen - Sapin one.. (actually you can just see the corner of it in the photograph above, far left of the photo).

Apparently he could not find it anywhere in London as they had all sold out completely and was asking us if we could ship him one from Australia!! Well, Jill said that we would but surely it would be better for him to try and get in from France (and obviously have a better chance of it getting to UK for Christmas day too!)... He replied that France was not keen on helping him - they did not have a website and he would rather buy it from us! I went to the local post office and got prices for him and then spoke with him when he rang back later in the morning. To send it Airmail Express Post was going to cost almost as much as the candle - did he definitely want us to send it? Well the answer was in the positive so that is just what we did- packing it ultra carefully and off it has gone and we have emailed him the 'tracking' number - again, all part of the service ! Now just hope that it arrives there in time.

And whoever the final recipient is appreciates the effort he has gone to!

Friday Flowers

Well, to be techincally correct it is acutally a tree but the flowers of the Jacaranda tree are so beautiful with their amazing blue lilac colour and apparently it has been a very good year for them this Summer... well if this one is anything to go by I totally agree... Took this photograph a week or so ago I thought it looked gorgeous.....

Happy Friday to all - no doubt it will be a busy one and the weekend too!

Beautiful books - great Christmas gifts

Thought I would let you know about two of the many gorgeous books that are stocked in the shop (Peony) where I am helping out during the festive run up..... The first one (photograph above) arrived yesterday and it was lovely unpacking the pristine copies (which we then wrap individually in cellophane) so you receive an 'untouched by others' copy when you purchase at Peony - another lovely touch and all part of the service !



This gorgeous book features unique and timeless French-inspired interiors created by those who have a lifelong love affair with French style. In "Essentially French", antiques dealer and stylist Josephine Ryan offers a glimpse into the homes of antique dealers who have a passion for French style. The homes featured include farmhouses, townhouses and apartments, and their decorative styles may differ, but all have something in common - showing the beauty of traditional French furniture and accessories, and demonstrating the understated elegance of French life. I had a quick peek through (the 'demonstrating' copy only!) and noted several dealers that show their houses and I know that my dear antique guys - who live in France and trade as FONTAINE have supplied some of these people - to see more of Stuart and Kiel's beautiful antiques scroll down to my post of November 17th if you would like to .....

The second book is this beautiful one above...."Flowers for the Home " (Grayson Handy) presents over 100 simple and stylish floral arrangements for both everyday and special occasions. Floral designs are shown from all over the world inspired by different cultures and traditions including as far away as China, the tropical rain forest, to the English countryside, and the American South. Basic design principles are discussed from colour palettes to materials, and step-by-step instructions and tips for assembling many of these displays are shown. The book’ is full of stunning photography too - just beautiful.

Either of these books would make a wonderful gift I think!

Easy Christmas Recipe (and fun to make too!)

This festive cookie recipe from Donna Hay, Australia's best-selling cookbook author, is really very easy to whip up for Christmas - it looks lovely with the red jam in the middle of each little cookie - rather like a plate of pretty Venetian glass jewels.....

Ingredients:
6 oz. butter, (185 g.) softened, 1 cup caster (superfine) sugar, 1 egg, 2 cups plain (all-purpose) flour sifted, 1/2 tsp baking powder, Jam (or jelly as it is known in some countries!!) to decorate.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180 deg. C.) Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Add the egg and beat well.
Step 2: Stir through the flour and baking powder and mix to a dough.
Step 3: Roll 2 tsp of the mixture into balls. Place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper, allowing room for the biscuits to spread, and flatten slightly.
Step 4: Press a finger into the middle of the dough to make an indent. Fill the hole with jam.
Step 5: Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Add a little more jam to the holes when the biscuits are hot.
Step 6: Cool on wire racks.
Makes around 60 or so....

ENJOY!!

Donna's new handbag

I have a dear friend who has for most of her life (well, since I have known her since we were both 14 years old) yearned for, wished for and dreamt about owning a Chanel classic 2.55 handbag....

Yes, you may think, her and most of the women in the world too but Donna has really, really wanted one with all of her being and has held on to her 'vision' throughout all the years she was bringing up her son as a single mother and getting by one way or another but I have to add, also being more than happy with her life.... She totally appreciated anything I could give her during the 80's and early 90's when we were both living in London when she had very little and I was fortunate enough to have more than enough, married at that time to DDD's father.......

This was her dream and she always said that one day she would own one... The year before last, on her 50th birthday many of us gave her Chanel gift vouchers (yes, I was surprised but they actually do offer them!) and she was also lucky enough to receive quite a bit of birthday money and so we thought - at last the dream is about to come true! Unfortunately she had to spend the birthday money on something else, for someone else (her mother) and so the bag was not to be then...

So when I got her text this morning when I woke up to say that she was the proud owner of a 2.55 black Chanel classic bag and that she had not stopped crying the whole day with happiness I also shed more than one tear too.... No one deserves to have a dream like that come true more than Donna....... I immediately telephoned her in UK and we both squealed down the telephone with delight and she told me the story about her day in Chanel (Brompton Road branch in London) - the saleslady could not have been nicer and when Donna actually realised that the bag was going home with her and that it was going to be hers she started crying in the shop and so did the saleslady too!!

HAPPY NEW BAG DONNA - I am absolutely over the moon for you!

Couple of lovely places in Brisbane

Just returned from a very hot and sultry Brisbane (up there for only 24hours) to a much cooler and more pleasant feeling Melbourne... Whilst there I took some photographs to share with you of a couple of lovely places we found .... The first one welcomed me in immediately with the notice board above - just loved the name and the inside did not disappoint either...

Here above is the gate smothered in this beautiful climbing greenery with white flowers - stunning..

Leading to the courtyard - all manner of pretty urns and pots and plants... And a simple but striking fountain.

Thought these ivies looked wonderful growing around the circles and I bought one of the iron Christmas trees you can just see (well half of it) in the pot on the right.

Another general shot of the courtyard above and inside the shop had more gorgeous goodies too. All very tempting.

And then finally had to share this very Australian colourful shop window with you. This is a shop by the name of Spiro and Black not far from the one above and this belongs to a fellow blogger too (although on a far larger scale than my blog!) - Anna. Such a lovely shop and a beautiful blog too... http://www.absolutelybeautifulthings.blogspot.com/

Hope you are all enjoying your weekends and they are both Merry and Bright too!