Happy Day!

Autumn came in to battle, and Summer went down without a fight! Its a happy day here in the Limecello househould, where Autumn and Winter are our favorite seasons. Today was a new sofa/ottoman bed in lovely linen and white velvet stripes, first soup of the season and a glass of red wine - bought for cooking but better for drinking! Oh, its such a happy day!

GingerBoy

Friday night I headed into the City (Melbourne) - via train, for a FANTASTIC meal at GingerBoy with some of my favorite girls, including these 2 - Alice, my sister and Katie, my gym/champagne/foodie buddy. This is a restuarant I highly recommend. We were warned that due to our group size (7 people), we would have to have the banquet, for $70 - including dessert, not including drinks. The big advantage to this method was that we didn;t have to make menu decisions - the wait staff just asked if there any dietry requirements (1 vegetarian and 2 no seafoodies), and proceeded to bring out course after course of deliciously flavoured, Asian hawker-style food. a couple of stand-outs for me were the green papaya salad, whic had me longing for another Vietnam adventure, and the pork belly curry, which was so rich - and right at the end of about 27 dishes, that I could manage one morsel! This dish whole fried Nemo (no, not really, but that's what we called it), looked amazing when served, and tasted even better. The lovely waiter stripped it off the bone for us, and the flesh was soft, silky and delicious, with a finishing crunch! Dessert...well, they say pictures speak louder than wordsWe received 2 of these platters between the 7 of us, and we all managed to find room in our full bellies to empty them! Delicious! Drinks weren't cheap (bottles of champagne were around $60), but really, it wasn't a 'drink-y' type meal. Focus was on the food and I'm so glad I could enjoy it all with a clean palate! We are already figuring out when we can go back! This is my first non housey foody type post. What did you think? I am hoping to improve my reviewing and word-y skills as part of my new 'must blog' plan. Help me out by being honest!

Good blog posts

As in...I need some. I think about things that would sound interesting/intelligent/funny, but when I sit down to blog, it comes out all convoluted and awkward and I end up soundling a 15 year old teenager who just drank their first gin. And I'm not - 15, that is, nor am I drinking my first gin. That was ages ago...I still love the stuff though. And often I see stores or things online that I think others would enjoy. Then...I just don't blog them. SO I think I may try and expand my thought process a little. Instead of focussing purely on my house, I am going to try and incororate other things into this blog. Other things I love, and maybe even take pictures of! For instance...

Food

...which I love. Passionately. Really. This was my lunch a few weeks ago, shared with my Mum and my sister (see below!) I love these snacky/deli/picky type meals. But I also love going out to eat. So I might try posting about that.

Family...

...I see mine a lot. I love them. A lot. And we do fun things together. Both of these pics were taken recently, on a trip to Lorne (with my Dad, Jeni, my sister, her husband and me. Mr Limecello couldn't come...sad., and then one to Daylesford (with my Mum and Sister. Girls weekend!). So I might share them with you.

Holidays... ...I am not well travelled. But I am working on it. We went to Hawaii for friends' wedding not long ago. Loved it. We went to Vietnam last year...I also loved it!

And all sorts of random thoughts along the way. Now, what do you think...are you still interested? Is there anybody out there?

P.S. I am also trying to take more photos...and better ones. Its a learning thing.

I'm back

Sunday evening at my place...a snapshot! Stuff on the dining table (that I promised pictures of about 4 months ago!), unpainted plasterboard behind the couch, church pew that needs sanding and staining. But there are so many things in this picture that I love, I can see past all of that. I think I have finally accepted that our home...wherever that may be...will always be a work in progress!

Yeah, so I'm a little slow!

Ok, so I have just made the most amazing discovery. I know everyone else discovered this ages ago, but for some reason its taken me until now.

Its called Ebay, and I am in love! I am supposed to be saving towards renovations (kitchen, bathroom, laundry, electrical, doors, roof...Promise to tell you all about it soon!), but I made a fabulous purchase just a few weeks ago, and won my second item today!

Item 1: This gorgeous 80 year old (approximately) dining table.

It doesn't look like much here, but with a good clean, it came up beautifully! I don't want to sand it or stain it, as I love its charater so much. It reminds me of the dining table we had in my family home, growing up, and we bought it from a family who had it while their children were growing up too! We love it. We sit down and eat our dinner at it most nights, and instead of sitting with guests in the lounge room, we often sit around the table and chat. I will post pics of it in the dining area just as soon as my camera battery is charged! It originally came from a farm in Tangambalanga, near Albury, and is made of Kauri Pine. Oh...and it cost me $133.50

Item 2: A church pew!!!

We currently have a bench on one side of our table, but it's a dark stained timber, and it doesn't look right next to the lighter colour of the table. I am happy to mix my timber finishes (a new acceptance!), but the bench is both modern AND dark, so there is too much contrast. I am going to move the bench to the sitting room (to be!) as a coffee table, and replace it with this! I will most likely paint it black, which will look great with our white floors and shutters, and dark grey walls. I love it...and even though it wasn;t as much of a bargain as the table, it was cheaper than the cost of 3 chairs!

On the other side of the table, I think we need something a little more retro, to work with the light, and prevent the whole area from getting too 'matchy matchy', so I am thinking of perhaps some Eames DSW side chairs in Black

Or the original plan...the Tolix A chair in galvanised

What I love about buying items off Ebay, is the personality they have. I felt that my home was becoming too plain, and beginning to appear a little like I had bought everything on the same day, from the same store. It wasn't welcoming...it didn't feel like a 'home'.

These pre-loved pieces are making a big difference!

Bar Open

Oh, where to start! There is so much going on in my head 'house-wise' at the moment, that I barely know where to begin.

Ok - dining area! All along, I have loved the Scandinavian aesthetic - hence the white on white on white!

Then, I found elements of this look didn't work so well in this house...since I don't live in a Scadinavian country, but instead in Melbourne, Australia! So I painted the dining room grey.But it still didn't feel right. We bought a new light...which we LOVED, but the rest of the room just felt bland. I have been playing with the house quite a bit over the last few days, instroducing some more 'neutrals', and lighter wood tones (a whole nother post!), and wanted to incorporate a little bamboo table my husband rescued when his parents cleaned out their office.

I had been intending to paint it, probably black (I am also introducing black...and loving it!) but I decided to leave in its natural bamboo finish for now. I added a few things we had around the house...and some that were still in a box, waiting for a home, from when we moved(!!!!), and now we have a little bar in the corner of our dining nook. You can also see our new light at the top there - it's retro style works really well with our bar. I just need to hang the print that is resting - it was a limited edition Dinosaur Designs one that came with Inside Out (I think!) a few years back, and I have never had a place for it. And now I do!

Oops...

...I went on a holiday and forgot to blog! Sorry!
I will return to regular programming (in other words, sporadic posting with occasional pictures of somewhat completed projects!) when I stop dreaming of Vietnam.