wtf

ok don't fall off your chair..... 2 posts one day! but i just made an amazing discovery........ there's a restaurant on a tiny island in the indian ocean just off the coast of tanzania that is heaven. wtf. what are we doing. take me there.

saturday morning blogging

i'm a terrible blogger.... it's been over a week since my last blog..... i think it's a crime. but we have been incredibly busy with a full week at work, a baby that arrived earlier than expected (not ours!), a horrible cold that floored the family and work on the house just not going our way. i promised to have the bathroom done last weekend but of course the shaving cabinet turned up damaged, and requires at least 20 strong men to install it. we finally got the blinds up in our bedroom so the neighbours will be pleased and i can get some sleep. only the blind next to my side of the bed that obscures the million watt street lamp keeps falling down.  besser brick walls and wall plugs= fail. so sitting in bed with my coffee and my cat on saturday morning with my blogs and my magazines after a busy week is pure bliss.

if you are looking for affordable custom roller blinds and you live in australia then check out www.cheapa-blinds.com.au you measure it all up yourself and they custom make your blinds and ship them to you in a couple of weeks. they have a big range of fabrics and you can order swatches. they even do venetians. and best of all they don't feel cheap, nice thick fabric, well cut with good rollers. the reason one of ours keeps falling down is because of our crappy besser brick walls not the blinds! i thoroughly recommend!

welcome to the world my beautiful new nephew lucas david howe born 2 weeks early 7lb 6oz !!!!

and to celebrate we went to my favourite cafe in the world ever for breakfast, lunch and that other meal called coffee and cake- pearl in woolangabba, brisvegas.

and i can't go past a good old sign on the side of a building without instagramming it! and yes that's a verb now.

i hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

monday 19.03.12

spent the day with my beautiful pregnant sister in law checking out some interior design shops in brisbane. 

first stop lily g which now has a cute little cafe

you can find out more about lily g here.


second stop, rylo....... wasn't actually open but that didn't stop us from window shopping and fantasizing.....

pics thanks to the beautiful rylo blog


last stop = egg to refuel, the bistro that is

pics thanks to greenbeanfood

ode to a brick wall

put your hand up if you love an exposed brick wall
 
we have an exposed brick wall in our house..... i know what you're thinking, everybody loves an interior brick wall......well, not this one. it's ugly mottled 70's brick that's not quite old enough to look cool. i do love a good brick wall especially when mixed with modern interiors. our brick wall divides our kitchen and living areas, so it needs to be removed to give us the open plan we are after........ but in another world the brick wall might be saved!

here is some exposed brick wall porn

 decorpad.com

 southernexposure

 murraymitchell.com

 passport2design

 brightbazaar.blogspot

 mixandchic

 archinspire

 murraymitchell.com

 trendir

 dreambydesign.tumblr

  fullcredit.tumblr

dinner 15.03.2012

thank you donna hay for the recipe

coriander & coconut poached chicken

2 x 200g chicken breast fillets, halved lengthways
6 thin slices peeled pumpkin
250ml coconut milk (lite)
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 long red chilli halved
3 slices of fresh ginger
1 tablespoon fish sauce
150g snow peas or sugar snap peas
coriander leaves to serve
steamed rice (use brown rice)
lime cheeks to serve

(i also add
juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon brown sugar into the pan right at the end)

method
heat a non stick frying pan over medium heat. add chicken and cook for 1 minute each side or until golden. add pumpkin, coconut milk, lime leaves, chilli, ginger and fish sauce and simmer for 8-10mins or until pumpkin is tender. add snow peas and cook for 1 minute. sprinkle with coriander and serve with steamed rice and lime cheeks.

enjoy x

 

new shower screeny goodness

the excitement of finally having a shower screen has only slightly been marred by the realisation that we have to go back to outdoor showers for a while! booooo!!! i know i was only just banging on about how good the outdoor shower is but it's no longer summer and i've been spoilt with hot showers for the last few weeks. anyway whinge over, it's only until the end of the week when the rest of the silicone is done and dry. meanwhile i just wanted to blog about shower screens. 

so these days there are 3 different types of shower screens: old school chunky with aluminium frame (circa 1975), semi-frameless or frameless.

old style shower screen cost approx $400-$500....seriously, i can't believe people still make these! do they know we now have technology that supports glass without scaffolding. 

stegbar

semi-frameless cost approx $1,000 installed..... much better but still not quite there.

note, a frameless shower screen ($1500-$1700 custom made and installed) is never totally "frameless" it has at least 2 supports (seen in the pic) for each piece of glass and usually a gusset (who came up with that word?) seen below. you can usually choose where the gusset goes, so we decided to turn it into a shelf.

you can get a diy frameless pack for much cheaper ($200-$500) if you have a standard size shower and are happy to install yourself. 

please people, if you are considering a bathroom renovation don't be stingy, splurge on the frameless, you won't regret it. save money on something else....... my 2 rules, don't skimp on the shower screen or the taps. 

almost there, ordered the 1200mm shaving cabinet today too, just need to buy some new towels 

finnishdesignshop

and a bamboo mat.

 freedom

   

byron bay photo montage

we have spent a beautiful weekend in byron bay with fellow blogger lisa and family from allthingstyle. goodbye summer:( 

everyone needs at least one byron holiday a year. it's proven to be good for you! sadly, tonight we have to head back to reality and our messy house.  


thanks byron, it's been great.