GONE FISHING

 

 

 

Remember that time there was no surf, so you came home and went fishing with our son. Just after dusk the car pulls up down the driveway and a few minutes later he walks through the back door with two bream dangling from his little hands. Both of you beaming. Nana took me under the bougainvillea vine and through the secret gate which led us straight into her neighbours back yard. I stood by the piles of chopped wood as they made small talk as she picked at their herb garden. We walked back through the gate, her hands pouring with wild rosemary, corriander, parsley and some lemons bunched under my arms. That night we wrapped the fish in foil, but not before filling it with fresh herbs, butter and salt, we put the fish on the barbie and by the end of dinner we had sucked every last bit of flesh from the bones.

 
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Images taken using Canon 5D Markiii//50mm 1.4

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BIRTHDAY WISHES & KISSES

 

 

Hip-hip-hooray, happy birthday to my darling friend. Last week we celebrated her birthday, we all met at her place with a home made dish in hand. Seema was in full swing making her Grandmother's special curry and a delicious fish curry when I entered her busy kitchen, the smells coming from the stovetop were dreamy. By dusk we were all working together to fill our plates, passing dishes and bowls at the makeshift buffet table of home made dishes, the theme of the night was curries; bean and lentil curries, fish curries, buttered chicken, rogan josh, tandoori chicken, yoghurts, mango chutney, rice, naans.....I had two full platefuls of food and my tummy was greedily bursting by the time she blew the candles on her little cakes. There was not much room for dessert, but somehow I managed to fit in a sweet slice of everything. Lemon meringue pie, brown butter and salted honey pie, NYC cheesecake and a raw cheesecake.....I was pigging. The best way to celebrate is with your friends and with food, and to have both of them together is a treat for all, thank you for a delicious evening. Happy Birthday beautiful lady, I hope that your wishes come true. xo

p.s. (How amazing is her loungeroom, big envy over her style. I drool!)

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A TABLE FOR SIX

 Oh my glob, can you believe that this entire set was sitting on the side of the road? As soon as I saw it, I pulled over, knocked at the front door and asked if it was free. You can only imagine the beating of my palpitating heart when they said yes. I took two chairs with me and then came back to claim the rest by foot. It was only nine houses down the road from mine, and it was a collective effort taking the four chairs and the table (which is quiet heavy as it has an extendable center) down the road and up our dirt driveway. So the old table got promoted outside to our deck and this little set got a wipe down and is now our main table. I am inlove and feeling very lucky!! This is exactly what I have been looking for and I would have been willing to pay for it. 

Thank you Universe! What are your top pre-loved finds?

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AT HOME WITH XANTHE & ACE: SUNDAY KID OUTTAKES

 

 

 

 

Just a couple of outtakes from a shoot which I was so excited to do in collaboration with Sunday Kid, the first of one of many of their super cool "At Home" interviews for their blog, which you can read here. This family is as cute as pie; Xanthe is an uber talented stylist and her husband runs a family owned restaurant/takeaway shop in Woy Woy on the Central Coast and Ace is just an amazing handsome little dude. Their place is filled with retro awesomeness and it sits right on the water with the shop downstairs and their home upstairs. Walking up and into their abode reminded me of my childhood summer holidays spent on houseboats and yachts on the Hawkesbury River. Once upstairs, you are greeted with the most spectacular view and a feeling of freedom swept over me as I looked out across the water and over into the mangroves. Just the slightest breeze over the water and up into their balcony and I could swear I could feel the motion of the house bobbing gently with the water.

  
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PINK OR BLUE AT THE LAKEHOUSE

 

The weekend hosted the perfect weather to be sitting by the large bay windows at The Lakehouse with a room bursting with beautiful ladies and an assortment of delicious bite sized treats and hot pots of tea. We were here to celebrate the welcoming of baby number three for a very dear friend of mine. She has two handsome and healthy young boys and we were all there to share the excitement of finding out the gender of baby number three. 

The table was spread with towering tiers of assorted macarons, mini slices of orange and chocolate cake, cute little cups of chocolate and orange mousse, scones, freshly whipped cream and shallow dishes of blackberry jam. Long sandwich plates were delicately topped with sandwiches and mini quiches, exactly the type of food you hope to fill up on at an afternoon tea. The tea menu itself boasted an impressive assortment of deluxe tea leaves which would satisfy even the most pickiest of tea drinkers and perhaps even lure in the most die-hard coffee fans with the availability of the such distinct and diverse flavours.

The real jewel of the crown was the cute and unassuming little cake which sailed high above the tiers of sweets and plates of sandwiches. We were all so eager to see whether the cake was bestowing a pink or blue filling. You can only imagine the excitement and disbelief at seeing a pink sponge cake hiding underneath the white buttercream frosting. It looks like they used a different recipe this time around and I am just so beyond happy for my darling friend and her beautiful family. This pink little sponge cake is the first of lots and lots of all things sweet and pink. By far, this is the best way to welcome in new life is with an abundance of sweet treats, friendship and love.

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THE LEMONADE TREE

 

Just like a lemon, but without the bitterness. The lemonade tree at Nana and Pop's started to sprout fruit after only two seasons from when they were planted. They are welcomed by them, us and the local possums. Their fruit is sweet tasting and mild compared to the citrussy bang that you would get from a lemon.

We had been at the beach all morning and when we got back at Nana and Pop's we wandered down to the back of their place to shake off the sand from our feet and we spied a couple of pastel yellow lemonades ready to be picked. Being too short to pick them, Pat was marching out the directions as I navigated with squinted eyes around the branches and it's thorny stems trying to pinch the ripe ones. A couple of them had already been half snacked on by the possums - a midnight snack perhaps. We sat down by the pond and bit into them so that we could peel the thick skin off and enjoy them as our mid afternoon snack.

This is what summer dreams are made of.

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NANA & POP'S GARDEN

This is Spring at Nana and Pop's place. A tropical landscape of palm trees, elephant ears, shrubs, climbing vines, succulents and fruit trees. Randomly placed fruit trees. They are a result of birds and bats pooping out their seeds and then germinating into the ground if the conditions are just right. If you are careful enough to look around, you will spy little tomato vines growing up trees and pineapple tops growing out from underneath shrubs.

Home is always at Nana and Pop's place. A quaint little cottage sunken into a green foliage of bushy shrubs and plants which carpet the lower legs of the tall assortment of palm trees and eucalyptus trees who stand tall above their house. Green and pink are the colours that your eyes recognise as you walk closer down the drive. They are the decorative petals of the Azalea, a plant once known as the "thinking of home" bush and also once infamous for it's levels of toxicity. But I think that they are mostly known for their beauty. Well, that's how I know of them. It is very tempting to break off a branch and shake the petals off, just because they look so soft and delicate and somehow even more beautiful when the deep pink petals are scattered acrossed the stone pavement. I let them be and enjoyed their cheerful beauty everytime I walked through the front door.

What flowers do you most admire for their beauty? Camellia's and Marigolds would have to be some of my other favourites.

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Images taken using Canon 5D Markiii//50mm 1.4

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