Natural history inspiration

source: naturalistcollection

I love this product image from naturalistcollection on etsy! I do like vintage prints especially scientific ones. When I have my own house, I want to set up a nook dedicated to natural history similar to this. I wonder if I can find some microbiology ephemera coz that would be so awesome - I can't help it I'm a nerd! lol

Cobbitty Village Markets

Approaching every first Saturday of the month I find myself thinking who can I invite along to Cobbity Market? lol it's no surprise that I love markets but Cobbitty has a special place in my heart. It just has that air of countryside goodness. Below are some photos I took using iPhone hipstamatic app when I was out at Cobbitty with Jacinta last Saturday. There are a few 'vintage' stalls that I frequent for sewing supplies/old housewares and don't forget about the herb man! he has the most luscious herbs (my oregano is still thriving!). So who wants to come with me next month?

Puffy cheese and spinach omelette

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day and since I've been working from home, I now have the time to actually 'cook' us breakfast during the weekday. Here is my breakfast this morning (on my vintage Mikasa plate). Recipe adapted from Donna Hay 'The Instant Cook'). It didn't take too long to whip up and quite tasty!

Ingredients:
4 eggs, separated
1/3 cup milk
1/2 grated cheddar cheese
sea salt abd cracked black pepper
30g butter
150 g baby spinach leaves
250 g sliced cup mushrooms
1 Tbsp chopped parsley

Place the egg yolks, milk, cheese, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix to combine. Place the egg whites in a clean bowl and whisk until soft peaks form, then fold through the egg yolk mixture. Heat a 24 cm non-stick frying pan over high heat. Place 20 g butter into the frying pan and add mushrooms. When the mushrooms are cooked and golden, remove from the pan, wipe out the pan. Add the butter and spinach to the pan and cook for 1 min or until the spinach is just wilted. Pour over the egg mixture, stir gently to distribute the spinach and cook over low heat for 10 min or until the base is golden. Add the mushrooms and parsley then fold the omelette in half onto itself. Serve with hot buttered toast and a simple salad.

For more breakfast inspiration, check out this tumblr!

For some 'fashion' inspiration

source: Capricious Traveler

I love this product image here. Just my kind of thing. I've become quite the dress/cardigan/brooche kinda gal. The brooche here is adorable and the cardigan...I'm loving that mustard yellow right now. I actually found a similar vintage cardigan at Vinnies but it was too big for me. Sad face. Anyways I should be working on my thesis corrections and preparing for two talks in the next two weeks but looking at clothes is so much more fun. BTW Did you know that I have a tumblr for my fashion-y inspiration? ok ciao!

Inspiration from our Blue Mountain break

Hydrangeas at Carrington Cottage, Mt Victoria


Vintage cup + saucer by Johnson Bros, Leura


footpath, Leura


Vintage plate by Mikasa (lovely gift from my friend Jane)

Flood Appeal & Australia Day Sale on Etsy

I'm donating 100% of the proceed (less fees) from the sale of these cute vintage cups to the Premier's Flood Relief Fund as part of the BrisStyle 'Handmade Ark' Flood Appeal. The cups are included in this lovely treasury made by a fellow Etsian from the US.

Also as part of the Sydney Etsy Team, I'm participating in this Australia Day sale on Etsy. Just enter in the coupon code 'ausday' at the checkout for 20% off your item!
(please note the cups above are not included in this sale)

A bit of Alfred Meakin

On a trip to Cobbitty Markets last year, my mum bought me this set of Alfred Meakin dinner plates and I love them very much. Here it is with my Mikasa bowl to serve my homemade clam chowder. Usually I prefer more bold retro/mod designs but the intricate detail of the filigree here really took my fancy. It takes me back to a time when the world was going at a slower pace, when meal times were filled with romance and people were more kind to each other. I guess that's why I love old things, they have their charm and history.

My Etsy Shop

Happy 2011! I do hope you had a wonderful Christmas and looking forward to what 2011 brings. This year will be a year of changes for me. The biggest probably finishing up my PhD and getting a real job lol. There's something I've been wanting to do for quite some time now but keep pushing aside due to my PhD. I finally took the plunge and did it (as part of my personal goals for this year). I opened my very own etsy store! I'll be selling mainly vintage homewares for now and hopefully down the track will be able to sell handmade things. I'll be doing this on the side while I finish writing my thesis and look for work. Who knows where this new venture will take me but I'm excited. I made my first sale this week (above). Check out some of my other vintage goodies on the sidebar. Ok back to my thesis.

The world in our kitchen

How do you like this vintage world map? I recently acquired it from a dear friend who is going overseas to be a missionary. I do love it so much!
(photo taken with my iPhone hipstamatic app)

The Vintage Show

I went to the vintage show with Liz and Jacinta on the weekend (above: Liz checking out pretty vintage frocks). The show is held twice a year around April and October at Canterbury race course. This was my 3rd time attending and so I decided to take some photos to share with you. I'm still learning how to use our new dSLR the Nikon D90.

I told the girls to rescue me if I was tempted to get another piece of vintage fabric! they're so pretty...


I wanted a tapestry bag but couldn't decide which one! I didn't walk away empty handed though. I bought a 60's style dress which was probably made in the 80's (white with black polka dots my fav!).
The show is a great excuse to hang out with the women in your life (I went with my sisters last time) so who wants to come with me to the next one in April '11?

Vintage Mikasa love

Photo credit: SamyStClair

Some time ago, hubby and I went for a walk in our neighbourhood and came across Jenny's Junk Shop. Even though there were more trash than treasure there, we walked away with a few treasures including 2 vintage Mikasa dinner plates for $1 each. I have a thing for vintage Mikasa so couldn't believe my luck when I found these plates. Their design is exactly the same as the one on the plate above which is going for $10 (USD) on Etsy! It's moments like these that I love going thrifting, you never know what kind of treasure behold you! Check out my other Mikasa finds here.

Vintage fabrics

Check out these pretty vintage floral fabrics that I acquired so far this year. The one on the left was from the vintage show which I attended with my sisters back in April. This will probably become a top for one of them. I scored the fabric on the right from Salvos (Canley Heights) just this weekend. A good 3 m for only $2! I haven't decided what to make with it yet but my local fabric shop has Simplicity patterns on sale so we'll see.

Vintage sewing box

I just wanted to share with you my first treasure for 2010. I picked up this vintage sewing box from the Antique General Store in Narrabeen. I've been trying to keep an eye out for one of these and couldn't believe my luck when I found it. Now the best part was that it came with stuff inside! I think it probably belonged to a little old lady who likes to craft as much as I do :o)
Check out some of the goodies that came with it:

For the love of old things

This is long overdue but back in early November, hubby and I had much to celebrate about. It was our 3 year wedding anniversary and 10 years since our very first date! I feel like I've known him forever but I could fall in love with him over and over again. He's my soul mate, my best friend and I thank God for him everyday.
So what did we do to celebrate? we had our anniversary dinner at La Mint in Darlinghurst. Finger licking lip smacking drunken mud crabs mmm yum! we also went thrifting at Salvos aka 'treasure hunting' or what we like to call 'rescuing stuff from landfill' hehehe. This is one of our favourite passtime activity together. Our loot includes the above items amongst other things. I particularly like the bottom two items because they're vintage Mikasa and we got them for so cheap!

All I want (to wear) for Christmas is

Photo credit: Clever Nettle

One hectic weekend

Like I said I'm still recovering from a cold since last Thursday. It started with a sore throat and splitting headache but I still managed to get my experiment done before going home that day. (That's when you know you're in too deep with your PhD - nothing can make you part with your experiment). I stayed home all Friday to avoid spreading infection (trust me I'm a Microbiologist! hehehe). That night I felt a bit better so decided to go with Liz to a vintage show in my neighbourhood. I didn't buy anything because I promised myself that I would just have a look this time. I met the lady from the Garden Street Bazaar again. Their cool shop is located down the road from where we used to live in the Northern Beaches. She remembered me having bought our dining set and record player there. It was nice and made me feel nostalgic of when I used to wander in there on my own while hubby was at work. That was Friday night.

Our team: Tan, Matt, me and Christine

On Saturday morning hubby and I participated in Ride for Refugees a bike ride to raise funds and awareness for refugees. It is part of a global event with this being the first time it was held in Australia. So there we were, both a bit sick but we managed to finish the 25km course (below) without any injuries.

I enjoyed taking in the scenery of the countryside and Prospect Reservoir with the wind in my face - it was quite exhilirating actually! Climbing those hills was tough but (to put in perspective) it was nothing compared to what refugees have to go through as they flee war, persecution and tribal violence. Our team managed to raise $6,500 of which half goes towards international refugee work and the other half go towards local refugee work. I'm so glad we did it! we weren't even that sore afterwards so maybe we'll up our antic next year and do more km hehehe

That night after some resting I managed to go along to Agnes' hens night at Candelori's. Food and decor were amazing for a place in the middle of nowhere. It was just really nice to catch up with the girls and spend time with Agnes celebrating the last few weeks of her singledom. Also congratulations to Lyvonne who got engaged earlier that day!

Antiquing day trip in Windsor

The past weekend was nice and relaxing and included a day trip to Windsor with the girls (above at Simon's cafe for breakfast). We were there to spend time with Agnes who is getting married in November. The day unexpectedly turned into an antiquing trip where we visited a Salvos store and various antiques shops (one of my fav things to do). At Salvos I picked up a couple pair of pretty earrings (see below), some buttons and get this a set of 1950's Japanese tea cup and saucers (with matching dishes) for $10! I was just looking at it through the glass cabinet (completely in love) and without even haggling, the lady (God bless her) gave them to me for such a cheap price.

Other things I found but couldn't justify taking home with me included this immaculate retro chair in my fav colour (also matching the blazer I happen to be wearing hehehe) - I sure hope it finds a good home. Here are the pretty earrings and buttons I've made into hairclips with bobby pins.

In the antiques shops, I saw so many beautiful furniture, crockery, cutlery and even clothes but of course I couldn't afford anything well apart from the pretty gold with the pink stone brooch above.
Here is Lyvonne antiquing :o)

After all this we settled for a lovely courtyard lunch (with live music) at Sassafras Creek in Kurrajong. The place is pretty cool in that it is also an art gallery with a gift shop. Here is Anh and I standing next to a portrait completely constructed out of sewing thread!

I should mention that while I was out spending the day with the girls, hubby found us a car! he's just the best :o) We are so thankful for God's providence over our life for all good things come from his hands. Thanks girls for a great day out and special thanks to Mary for organising :o)

Enjoy the weekend!

Home is where my honey is

That title is so cheesy but I got it from a quilt my mum bought me :o)
Recently we decided to give our apartment a mini-makeover using these inexpensive wall decals (above). That expanse of white space has now become our feature wall - do you like it?
Below is the rest of our open plan living area. Most of our furniture were thrifted because we just love vintage things. I believe that your home is a reflection of who you are so with a bit of creativity you can transform your living space into something that is uniquely 'you'.

As for cooking this week, I tried a new recipe for baking pumpkin which is in season now. I usually just seasoned it with salt and pepper and add some unpeeled garlic cloves. This recipe has a few additional things like a bunch of broccolini (trimmed), a handful of sage leaves and 1/4 cup of pine nuts. Basically you toss together everything with 1kg sliced Kent pumpkin (peeled or unpeeled), a bulb of garlic cloves (unpeeled), olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at 200 degree C for 35-40min. It was really nice served with parmesan crusted chicken breasts.

This week I also made cauliflower soup (sorry no pic). I was saying to Isobel how I've never really cooked cauliflower before since we didn't really eat it growing up and she suggested this simple soup recipe. Basically just chop up one brown onion and one medium leek and fry together til soft. Add a whole chopped up cauliflower and keep frying. Add 2L chicken stock and bring to boil for 10min and turn down heat to medium low and cook uncover for 45min. You can process the soup until smooth or use a potato masher (it works just as well). Serve topped with a bit of fried bacon and parmesan cheese. It was quite nice and we thoroughly enjoyed it! thanks Isobel!

Although it may seem like I cooked alot this week, hubby was the one making most of the week's meals (who doesn't love a cooking husband?!). Here is one of his home-cooked dinner, penne bosciola (you can find the recipe here)

Have a great weekend!