fresh breath

I love the town I live in. I grew up here and while we had a few glorious years in Sydney in Newtown and Bronte, moving back to Newcastle made me feel at home. In the years that we were away a lot of change occurred. The BHP closed down and the revitalisation started. Firstly Darby Street became an eating strip to be proud of, then the Foreshore took off as home to some seriously stunning eateries. Then, over a year ago, one of my friends from Uni, Marcus Westbury set off the most amazing project. Renew Newcastle has seen an abundance of artisians move into vacant buildings in the previously bereft Newcastle Mall. Not only have they injected life into the area and seen boarded up or vandalised shop fronts filled with colour, vitality and talent - it's had a knock-on effect with businesses moving into the area along with the crowds.

Now a farmers market has moved into the mall and rather than it being a desolate and somewhat scary place there's a vibrancy and optimism about the place that is contagious.

So imagine my delight when I heard my old Uni haunt, the Great Northern Hotel, was being brought back to life. This landmark was badly damaged in the earthquake and despite a range of owners, nobody seemed to have the vision, expertise or funding to allow it to shine. Now, some people have moved in with vision that is almost Six-Million-Dollar-Man like {really, really freakin' good}. For a start they've initiated Manicure and Martini nights - cuteness. I'm so grabbing a few girlfriends and having a go at that!

They're also slowly restoring the place to its original grandeur - including the east room - a faded beauty that was filled with flocked wallpaper, deep velvet couches {one of them must have had my butt implant permanently ensconced...}. Upstairs will be amazing accomodation -something this town could really deal with - and a roof garden. Oh my. Cocktails on a roof garden - could it get any better?

I love it when people don't just have grand ideas - but they act. These people have acted and are slowly making the gorgeous town I live in an even better place to be and I salute their vision and daring.

girls weekend

I'm headed off for a girls weekend this afternoon. I'm catching up with two dear friends who I don't see anywhere near enough of - which is why we decided we needed a whole weekend - rather than a dinner or lunch chat. So I'm sending off the article that's due today and then packing the car and heading off around 4.30pm. Woo hoo. I'll be taking champagne and because it's our first night we're simply having champagne and nibblies for dinner - the whole point of a weekend away is not cooking!

So I shan't be posting this weekend - but I'll be back late Sunday with an update. Enjoy your Friday and your weekend - hope it's as fabulous as you!

sweet dreams

Tis very grey and miserable outside today. So I thought I'd share this gorgeous image from a Grace Coddington shoot in US Vogue from nearly 10 years ago. A fluffy big poodle, a pastry-cabinet to sigh over, and a pair of mary janes on the model. Just luffley.

wee birdy

Should I be finishing off the article that's due on Friday? Yes. Should I be researching the other one due next Wednesday? Mmmhm. Perhaps I could wash my daughter's sheets before they walk out of her room and throw themselves in the washing machine? Well, yeah. Or I could be planning my netball training schedule for this afternoon. But, ah no.

See, I did just tidy up my actual desk and that inspired me to tidy up my computer desktop which is where I found this pretty Marc Jacobs purse that I'd happened upon on net-a-porter and it would be wrong of me not to share it with you.

Productive. For you x

belle fleurs

While peonies, violets and lavender all hold a special place in my heart, roses fill my front fence with beauty and my life with joy.

beddy byes

Bedtime is my favourite time of day. I love pulling back the covers, snuggling into my pillow reading a chapter or two and then drifting off. That's what I'm loving about the colder change {well, what we're getting of it}. Sleeping on a hot summer's night is never an appealing prospect, but in autumn and winter... oh my!

Last night I finally managed to remember to watch Survivor Heroes vs Villains and oh, my, word am I glad I did. I'm in love. Boston Rob is everything I remember and his comment about Russel being a 'hobbit on crack' had me squealing with glee and rushing to add it to my Facebook status {husband wasn't home and I really felt the need to share}.

I'm a bit sad about Rupert though. Remember how good he was when he premiered? And then he was on some kind of All-Stars series and built that dreadful hut by digging a massive pit, covering it, and then being surprised when it filled with water. On an Island... This time around Rupert's giving me the sads again. Surely if you have the opportunity to return you do everything better the second time around - like Boston Rob lighting fire without flint {and making witty quips that will fill me with joy for years to come}. But no, Rupert this time around flings Jerri face-first into a pole {apparently he didn't mean to - but seriously, what was his intention?}

Bring on next Tuesday night.

simple suppers

Don't you just love an easy meal? The other night my gal was at a sleepover, my husband wanted a man-sized t-bone and vegies and I didn't know what I was in the mood for. Luckily my fridge, garden and pantry offered up a tin of tuna, linguine, garlic, lemons, parsley, chillies and tomatoes. So I quickly sauteed the chilli and garlic in a touch of oil while the pasta boiled, then I added the tin of tuna {broken up with a fork}, next went the tomatoes, olives and a bit of lemon zest. All were quickly tossed together with a bit of chopped flat leaf parsley and lots of black pepper and washed down with a glass of rosé. Yummikins!

hedging our bets

What a difference a year makes. See that top photo? That was our lilly pillies not long after we'd planted them last February. See the bottom one? That's them now. Check out the growth. They've filled out to form a dense hedge and they're getting close to the top of the fence - all 2.4 metres of it! We're hoping they'll grow to around 4 metres, obscuring the house that's on the hill behind us. It's such lovely, lush growth on these lilly pillies. We have had issues with psyllids, but if you keep the water and the fertiliser up then they seem less affected. When we've been slack with the watering we've had to spray the new growth with Defender - but it seems to have calmed down now.

If you ever need a lush screening then this is a fabulous hedge. Interestingly, neighbours around the corner planted the small leafed form Goodbye Neighbours and they've had very little growth in a longer period. This form is lush, deep green and has the prettiest little pink berries {yes, of course one of the reasons I bought it!}. If you're interested, I'll find out the botanical name and let you know what it is. Just give me a yell. Okay, off to move the hose again after giving these beauties a deep soak!

ma jardin

Here's the results of this weekend's labour - my husband's not mine. Our vegie garden has had a few tonnes of soil and rubbish removed from atop of it and it's been dug through, has had gypsum applied and is ready for the manure and top soil before planting. Through the centre we've got a wee step and we're going to use the large pavers we have left over from the backyard to form a division between the two gardens. They'll go beautifully with all the reclaimed convict sandstone we've used as edging. Now, the photos don't do it justice, but these chunks of sandstone, as well as being over 100-years-old are also huge and damned heavy. My husband's managed to use his brute strength to lug them into place, and built some mighty nice muscles in the meantime!

Now we just need to move a bit more of the soil {by we, I mean he} and bring in some topsoil, paint the fence charcoal to match the rest, build up the fertility of the soil and plant in winter for a Spring garden. Excitement!

playing catch-up

Whew, all my pressing deadlines have passed. I still have work to do, and then I need to start the onerous task of pitching story ideas to editors {eek} but today's catch-up day. There are piles of washing calling my name, shopping to do, meals to plan, watering to do... So the plan is to slowly chip away at all of this, breathe, and stop for a second and look around.

So I'm also taking a break from the computer - just for this morning. I'll be back after lunch. In the meantime, how much cleaning would you get done with a pretty pink spotted laundry basket and all the other gorgeousness on display in the image above? It'd have to make cleaning a pleasure don't you think?

child's play

You may have read the report in yesterday's sunday paper where outraged parents were calling for ratings on concerts. One woman who'd taken her 9-year-old along to see Lady Gaga was 'shocked' at the language and carry on at the concert. I'm shocked that she'd taken a nine-year-old to an adult's concert.

Seriously, where's the perspective? I don't allow my daughter to watch video programs - she sees enough on the Disney Channel to sate her appetite. And as for a concert, well, maybe when she's actually expressed an interest in attending I'll take her along to a concert appropriate for her age - after doing some research first. There's no excuse for ignorance. Googling Lady Gaga would come up with some pretty disturbing stuff in the first page I'd imagine. Have you seen her latest video? I have, and while I thought it was pretty amazing there's no way in hell I'd allow my child to glance in its direction.

Let 'em be kids. It's not for long. Sure they'll want to grow up and push boundaries, but that's where we as parents step in and judge what's appropriate. I'm fussy, before my daughter sees a film I google some reviews, preferably ones that'll let me know exactly what type of inuendo or language will be featured so I know what I'm prepared to explain - and what I think needs to wait till later.

Some stuff may go right over their head - or could sit in there bothering them quietly. I'd prefer to stick with age-appropriate music, films and activities and let my gal grow up at her own pace - not thanks to what I think is cool. We're her parents, not her best friends.

level headed

Check it - a shoe with a heel so low and so well-balanced it's virtually a pair of flats! This rather yummy pair of Sigerson Morrison shoes made it to the shoe of the week position predominantly because of my need to be sensible this week. Hence, sensible attitude - sensible shoe. Of course they still have a hint of danger thanks to the patent leather - and those buckles are eminently stylish don't you think?

It's a pupil-free day today - one of two this week. Yes, the school's messing with our heads by book-ending our week with pupil-free days {actually, the Friday is the Show Holiday - bless}. So I need to get plenty of work done despite also trying to entertain a gal who'd much rather be at school. Eek!

sunday's child

If there's one thing I aspire to be it's neat and organised so these Stella McCartney Day-Of-The-Week undies may well take me where I need to go. Seriously, day-of-the-week undies, with their own cute lil boxes. Seriously, have I died and gone to cute-heaven? Or am I just hysterical? Either way there's some serious coveting going on in this part of Merewether...

just right

Last night I finished reading a rather good book {A Much Married Man by Nicholas Colleridge - $3 from the Salvos} then snuggled into bed for a good night sleep before waking and having a yummy bowl of porridge with brown sugar and a double latte. Mmmmmmm. Does life get any better?

My husband had a productive day yesterday. He moved the vast majority of the rubbish to the skip bins. He's probably 3/4 of the way through it all. He's out there now getting started while it's still cool. I'm going to get stuck into a little work before setting to clean some windows - v overdue. I gave the garden a big drink yesterday, so today everything that's in the ground will be fine, I just need to water the pots.

I can now see the bones of my vegie garden - I just need some manure and top soil and it'll be on the road to planting. Can. Not. Wait!

garden daze

We're finally getting some work done on our side garden. This weekend we've hired a skip bin and my husband's barrowing all the clay he's excavated and we're having it recycled through a rubbish removal company. Then we're ready to start the vegie garden, lay the gravel paths and plant the hedging. Sadly, it won't look like this picture above, but our garden was designed by the same designer - Peter Fudge. He's created some amazing gardens and came up with some brilliant ideas for ours.

We had our dinner last night at the in-laws and while driving home my husband's eagle eye spied a pile of weathered sandstone at a landscaping supplies yard - just what we need to complete a drystone wall in our side garden. We're using our salvaged convict sandstone but there wasn't quite enough left over after my husband formed the vegie garden with the large pieces. So now we're looking to hire a ute during the week and go buy a few metres and a pretty drystone wall will be ours.

Now, just to google 'how to build a drystone wall..."

happy friday

Here we are at the end of another week, and the start of another weekend. Yay. I'm just thrilled that this weekend won't involve doctors, hospitals and x-rays - so anything has to be an improvement on that doesn't it?

My husband's ploughing on with work on the side yard. We've rented a skip and it's sitting out the front ready to take away all the clay and excess dirt he's excavated. Poor poppet has a weekend of shovelling and barrowing ahead of him - better than any gym workout!

Tonight we're off to my in-laws for dinner. A lovely home-cooked roast dinner is just what we need to start the weekend off nicely. I'll be spending time with my gal, doing some work and getting the house in order after a week of activity. I'll also try to not be sad about Sandra Bullock and that cheating husband of hers. I've always wanted to be her best friend, but now even more so as I'll bet she needs a good hug and a pair of ears to cry to. So. Damned. Sad.

Oh, on the good news front I think I'm finally hitting my strides with my French. Last night we had to string a sentence together with adjectives and vowels and nouns and use the correct gender and tense throughout and I did it! I've followed Sara Rose's advice and just tried to immerse myself in the language - if I see something, I translate it to French. I also sat down and wrote out all the bits and pieces I've been having trouble with, learned it, and then wrote little sentences including the info to help it sink it. Only two more weeks and then term 1 is finished - then a three week break and I'll be back into term 2. I'm feeling more and more positive that I'll be confidently speaking the language when we hit French soil in July next year.

What are you plans for the weekend? Fun?

autumn tones

There's a decided chill in the air this morning. It was only 15 degrees at 8am, after a still-steamy night. But the turn in the weather's got me itching for cool-weather clothing. Opaque stockings, leather jacket, a foofy skirt and these Alexander Wang boots would make the perfect street-smart winter look. I'm pretty sure that whatever needed doing would be done so much better in these fabulous booties.

I woke without a voice this morning. The sore throat that's been threatening has finally decided to come and hang out. Lots of coughing and throat clearing later means I now have a bit of a croak - handy as I have to do two phone interviews today...

It's also open day at my daughter's school - so I need to duck over there at lunchtime. And also find some time for my French homework which I have not progressed past gazing dumbly at.

wacky wednesday

I'm pretty sure that my head is now completely bamboozled thanks to Saturday's dedicated to all things broken {my daughter's arm} and yesterday's Big Day Out in Sydney {without the bands, fresh lemonade or cheese on a stick - damn!}.

So now I'm trying to get myself settled back into life. My gal's had her fibreglass plaster installed - in white so we can paint it pale pink and gold {must buy paint and brushes} and I'm getting into work before preparing for my first-ever netball training session this afternoon. Of course, my gal isn't going to get terribly involved, but luckily I'd already worked out a little 'getting to know you' session where I'll team up pairs of girls who've never met to ask each other a few questions and then share what they've learned about the team.

I also have to prepare a meal tonight for a school mum who's broken her leg and her child as part of the school's care group. Various families have been asked to drop off a meal which is such a lovely idea. I'm going to make spanish chicken and a salad - how's that sound?

getting plastered

Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday. A day in the big smoke saw me leave home at 5.45am and return at 9.30pm!

This morning I'm off to take my gal to the physio to have a cast fixed to her broken arm. Hopefully they're got an array of colours to please her.

Speak to you later on xx

two to tango in

Well, after that weekend I need to start the week off well. So here are two shoes of the week for you. TWO. The black beauties are Fendi - and aren't they utterly fabulous? Normally I'm not a fan of lucite, but this platform is just utterly exquisite. The delicate little pretties below are Valentino and they're making my heart ache. I have an itching to visit a haberdashers to find organza flowers to create my own vision...

Thank you all so much for your lovely, lovely wishes after my darling daughter broke her arm. She walked into school like a rock star this morning, the centre of attention and ever-so-proud of herself. I spoke to her poor teacher who now has THREE girls in her class with broken arms and we've worked out how she'll get through everything. Hopefully when her arm's in the correct plaster she'll be able to grip a pencil well enough to write legibly.

Phew, I'm off to have a coffee and a hot cross bun - I've decided it's close enough to easter to justify buying one. So, tell me about your week - what's happening?