Hello Melbourne !
Last week I purchased these ballet shoes above..... They are black suede and the most comfortable shoes I have tried on in a long, long time.....It was an immediate decision - "Yes, I'll take them please" - and I almost thought about buying a second pair exactly the same (isn't that what fashion savvy professionals tell us to do?!!) Okay, I know - another pair of plain black ballet shoes, but the thing that makes these stand out from so many others (apart from the comfort factor) is.........
The small (very small - undetectable when looking at the shoe from the front) little wedge which automatically lengthens the leg - and I am sure, unless you are 6ft nothing with legs that go on forever this is a Good Thing....! ('She Wore it Well' (great blog btw) would not need the extra wedge to lengthen hers - lucky girl!!)
Anyway, I digress...These lovely shoes came from The Ark shop near me and also they were very good value too for a pair of handmade shoes (with their own little cotton drawstring bag too) - $89.00. Amazing. www.theark.com.au
Secondly, this purchase - made about 3 months ago at the place advertised above..... A pair of classic wool straight leg black trousers at a discounted price.... About a third of their original cost.
Lovely quality, great fit and for me a good shape with a flat front and a side zip - perfect... Only trouble is I have to take them to be shortened... I still have not done so - I MUST this week....Apparently Armani trousers are never supplied hemmed - that part you have to do yourself !! 
On Sunday we went out to see the huge bats (or Flying Foxes) roosting in their thousands in trees on the banks of the River Yarra in Melbourne. Each night at dusk they take off over the city in a dark cloud of flapping wings - rather like something out of 'Twilight'.
I have to say they never cease to amaze me - they look like large money bags all hooked up on the branches.
Look at their huge wingspan!
Here were are - my daughter and I taking them all in... 
Something old - well not that old but I have had it since the Summer of 2005 (or was it Summer 2006?) no matter, all I know is that I have used it many, many times. So, on a cost per wear/use basis my lovely, squishy leather orange Anya Hindmarch bag has been an extremely good purchase. It's great at this time of the year (Autumn here remember, in the Southern Hemisphere) - I could even blend in with the foliage if I so wished (!) and equally good for the Summer months when I wear white linen trousers for example and tan leather sandals. It's a great shot of colour with neutrals and a good mood enhancing hue.
Now, this photograph above shows my new scarf - a fabulous leopard print with orange and tan stripes at each end and even nicer is that it was a present from my darling girl so it is extra special. She has excellent taste (I have tried to teach her well!) and knows that I am very partial to a little bit of leopard.
is very satisfying to me.
Oh to be young again!
Such a great place. I believe it has only been opened since late last year. Lots of accents of green in the cafe. It really worked. 
The sandwich was DELISH too - very fresh (Mr SE had already started his half before I whipped out the camera!) and I would thoroughly recommend this cafe - gorgeous little vintage touches in a modern setting. We will definitely be back. www.lilocafe.com.au. 
Wiltshire is the county for white horses. There are or were at least twenty-four of these hill figures in Britain, with no less than thirteen being in Wiltshire, and another white horse, the oldest of them all, being just over the border in Uffington, Oxfordshire. Most of the white horses are chalk hill carvings, and the chalk downs of central Wiltshire make it an ideal place for such figures.
You can see from the photo how tiny the garden is - it runs down the side of the house and the white cottage at the back of the photograph is my neighbour's. Still, it is the perfect size and can be looked after from afar with a friend of ours (who happens to be a landscape gardener) coming in every 10 days or so during the Summer to check on the shrubs etc. and mow the lawn - really it needs very little actual looking after which is a good thing in the circumstances.
We had such a great evening. Yes, it was a little bit 'naf', a little 'cheesey' and perhaps teensy bit 'camp' even but my goodness it was FUN!
Every single person was UP on their feet - hands waving, endorphins doing their stuff and at the end of the evening most people left with a huge
SMILE on their faces.
Mr SE returned home last night bearing gifts... Well, a gift of many flowers. He said it was because I have been a good nurse looking after him after his operation on his elbow. So sweet of him as truth is (as my family knows) I am really not a great nurse and am woefully inadequate in that department and go all hollow-legged and lightheaded at anything which comes remotely under the heading of wounds and stitches needing treatment! 
Such lovely flowers - I felt very lucky. They are from our local florist at the end of the road - now under new management apparently.
A display at PEONY. Showcasing DIPTYQUE'S organic Body Care Range.
Roses and Orchids above.
And close up of the roses on a French rustic iron garden chair.... - my kind of antique - a little bit battered around the edges but quite loved. Bit like me I suppose!!
Looking up to the right of the house.
And, below looking down towards the local shops, railway station etc.
Such amazing colours. Mr SE and I went for a walk at lunchtime and stopped at a cafe and partook of large mugs of delicious homemade soup. Just right for the weather.
A great weekend to one and all... Boil wine, bayleaf, stock, pepper, cayenne and lemon juice rapidly for 3 to 4 minutes until reduced by half. Pour through a fine sieve and stir in tomato puree. Mix this liquid into the minced salmon. Whip the cream until stiff and fold the yoghurt in. Fold the cream / yoghurt mix into the salmon. Dissolve the gelatine in the water. Allow it to cool and then stir into the salmon mixture. Lightly oil a loaf tin and pour in the mixture. Allow to set in the fridge and then before serving run a knife round the edge and turn out and decorate as you wish with parsley/lemon/cucumber etc... ENJOY!
I probably won't have time again to blog or comment before I leave and so the next one will be when I return to Australia... Meanwhile you could check out my blogging friend That's Not My Age 's post - for a last fleeting look at the Semi Expat cottage!! (That's Not My Age is featured in the British Press and has a wonderful blog - you would be mad not to follow her ).
My parents always lay out their dining tables beautifully even if it is just the two of them! And prepare their breakfast table each night before they go to bed to be ready for the morning! Just one of their rituals that have become so familiar to us their offsping, over the years!
Dad's salmon mousse. (The china is Villeroy and Boch's "Petite Fleur" - quite appropriate for a lovely Spring day).
In the afternoon sister Jo, Daisy and I went for a walk along the high street in their village. It's really beautiful - full of lovely Georgian houses and trees which at the moment are looking their best - full of blossom.
Best foot forward! My sister and Daisy.
Couldn't resist a photograph of this magnificent wisteria.
Nor this - pink clematis montana.
And whenever I go to my parents I have to look in the window of this shop. A lovely interiors place in the high street - good in some ways that it was closed! In the window of the right they were showcasing fabrics by Malabar which are a particular favourite of mine. The striped red and cream one at the back is what I have in my sitting room in a roman blind.
On the 'home- straight' back to Grandma's house (and the promise of a drink and a biscuit!)
Now, where are they? Or, rather -wonder what Grandma has in this drawer?
