Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Flamingos - the porcelain kind

Flamingos are such pretty creatures. What do you think of these two? They're porcelain and in mint condition.

 

And they're big. My good friend C was over friday night and arranged them in the bathroom. I love that they're close to water. I brought in some Palm frongs to enhance their little habitat.

Here's a few googled facts about Flamingos if you're interested ...
  • Flamingos live an average of 20 to 30 years.
  • Males and females look alike
  • They rest by standing on one leg. The “knee” of the flamingo is actually an ankle joint and the lower leg bends forward.
  • Nests are built up by mouthfuls of mud!
  • Grown flamingos have few natural predators
  • Their pink or reddish color comes from the algae, diatoms, and small crustaceans the birds eat
  • During the day flamingos preen using their bills and spreading oil from a gland near the base of their tail through their feathers. They spend 15 to 30% of the day preening
I worry that our house is turning into a giant wot-not stand. You know, those things our parents had in the corner of a room with ornaments all over it, budgies, little horses, floral things. Maybe it's time for an edit? 

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Coat of Arms

I found this at a demo yard.
It's a coat of arms mould that belongs above a door.

These wooden moulds must have a proper name but I have no idea what it might be. At first I couldn't see the emu and kangaroo, I just thought it was a design of some sort.

We decided to modify it to fit above our front verandah door and to do so needed to make a frame for it to sit in. 
It was nail gunned and glued and timber strips added to the back sides to keep it in place.

3 weeks later we finally painted it and this is it now.
The plan was for it to go directly above the door frame but it ended up being a teeny bit snug. The door frame must've changed size...

Good old demo yards - It's amazing what you may find!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Cool Sink.

Isn't this a great sink/splashback combo?
Whether it's for a bathroom or laundry it's very attractive. By the looks, the concrete stretches out lower and wider on each side to create a shelf. The tapware is traditional in line with the labratory double basin, but the concrete makes it sleek. And the butterflies - very pretty indeed.

Something to put in the ideas pile if you're struggling for a laundry or bathroom solution. Initially I was going to use a labratory sink for our bathroom downstairs and came across a company who does a few versions of them Brisbane. www.belfastsinks.com 

After seeing this image, I'm wondering why I changed my mind.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Winter Fashion

Even though I'm a Queenslander and love nothing more than swimming around in a sea of blue water in summer time, I do become excited when Autumn fronts up and welcomes winter.

I adore winter clothes. Hats, gloves, capes, ponchos, tenchcoats, boots. This morning the Today Show reported that Melbourne Fashion Week's on at the moment. I wonder what they have in store?

Many moons ago I worked for Carla Zampatti. This is from her collection last year. I still love her clothes and her daughter's, Bianca Spender. Some would say she's for a more mature audience. I disagree.

When I was O/S it was winter and I purchased a few things that i'm looking forward to finally wearing. Two of them were these Fendi Rain Boots, which I'll wear as all-rounders. They have a nice gloss finish so they look patent
 
and this Dolce & Gabbana Mesh Trench coat.

They did a bit of a gothic collection in 2010, I stumbled across it in the Dolce & Gabbana outlet in Vegas. It's actually their Spring Collection and not very warm at all (it's made entirely out of mesh), but over black pants etc it'll be good for our winter. 

Thinking about the D&G shop, my main recollection of my experience (other than paying half price) was how incredibly arrogant the sales girl was. Terrible. It's amazing what we'll put up with for something we want, even though we shouldn't have to.

It seems that these shades below are the trend for autumn/winter 2012/2013.

Tangerine and teal are such pretty colours.
Happy Winter Shopping!

Friday, March 2, 2012

on safari

Looking back at some of my most recent purchases, and other bits n pieces in the house, it's seems that i like a bit of safari. So, I googled 'safari' last night, and these came up.

Aren't they faaaab!
Papier Mache and avail for purchase from http://www.kidostore.com/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=65. I love the zebra's. I think i'm leaning toward the pink. Who says papier mache pink zebras are only for childrens rooms?