adelaide on design*sponge

Apologies for my absence of late - working full-time again, coupled with organising baby things, has left me a little uninspired (and, well, exhausted). But I have still been religiously reading what everyone else is getting up to!

Today I thought I'd just pop in quickly to tell you that my hometown of Adelaide is featured as a city guide on Design*Sponge - go take a look! (Of course I couldn't help myself and had to add my own favourites in the comments.)

I hope I'll be back soon, when life isn't so hectic.

inspiration

This kid's room is just amazing! (From Weekday Carnival, found via Lily).

black + grey

I have been in bed the last five days with a fever and chest infection (my immune system kindly telling me I must take my vitamins every day), so I am feeling a little uninspired.

The postman has been good to me though.

[above: Tiny Mammoth hooded jumpsuit and musical owl from mimishop]

going dotty

The husband and I always joke about our unlucky streak - the kind where it starts to pour with rain just as you get out of the car (one of us seriously must have done something awful in a past life!) - so I was super excited when I received an email from the Natalie Walton herself of Daily Imprint letting me know I'd won a print of my choice from Ubabub.

I couldn't decide which one to choose, so ended up going with the Dotty print as it seemed the most unisex and it was also the husband's favourite. I finally opened it today, after it arrived in the post before Christmas, and it's simply lovely! If only I had a baby's room to hang it in... ha! (We have made some progress - the spare room is almost cleared of boxes, so we should be able to start painting later this month when we have a weekend free.)

Our 20 week scan is this afternoon, so hopefully we'll be able to find out if the Little One is a he or a she! Knowing our luck the cheeky bugger will have it's legs firmly crossed!

my christmas

Some photos I managed to snap over the last few days.... (The rest of the time I was too busy laughing, enjoying the company of others and stuffing my face with food!)

The Mama making Spätzle for our German feast on Christmas Eve. (Sadly, I didn't take any photos of the Rinderroulade or blaukraut with speck.)

Little wooden people from Germany.

Watching the blur of dogs playing through the kitchen window on Christmas Eve.

Billy having a rest after all the playing.

Christmas Day - chopstick rests we gave my sister and brother-in-law. Made by Adelaide furniture designer Takeshi Iue, found at Bowerbird Bazaar design market earlier this year.

Gifts for us - lovely patterned napkins and placemats from Country Road.

My family knows I love Kikki-K stationery. Weekly A6 diary in mustard.

Beautiful wooden heart Christmas tree decoration, from the sister and brother-in-law.
(From Sedonia, a gorgeous shop in Seddon Victoria).

I hope you all had a memorable Christmas filled with love and laughter.

xx

triangles

I'd like to make a quilt like this, either for our bed or as a play mat for the little one who will be arriving in five months.

Too ambitious?

(In other news, I am seeing my gorgeous sister in less than hour. She is driving over from Melbourne with her husband and her two cute puppies Rosie and Poppy. I am just a little excited!!!)

Photo from anne louise likes via where the lovely things are.

oh, what lovely things for my ears

How beautiful are these earrings? By Muntedkowhai, found via the lovely Jenny Butler.

And they are only $35!

Now... whether to buy these myself, or ever-so-(im)patiently wait for someone, anyone, to hopefully buy these for me for Christmas?

Decisions.

hoot

I have an obsession with owls of late. Loving these wooden creatures made by UK designer Matt Pugh, found via Oh Joy!. I'd like all five, please.

wall art

We are yet to finish painting our interior walls, but I have been slowly collecting more artworks for when we finally complete the Dreaded Painting Project. I saw the above on the Real Living blog highlighting affordable artworks. At $48 including shipping, this beauty by Sydney girl Kate Banazi is on its way to my house, yessiree.

bloomin'

Flowers make me oh-so-happy!

I bought this lovely bunch for only $15 from a woman at Bowerbird Bazaar who runs her florist business from home. Why oh why did I not know about her when I was planning my wedding?! (The one thing that was a disaster on my wedding day were the flowers!)

Some more things I brought home with me:



Cards from Able and Game. Absolutely love these guys for their originality and humour.

Cards from Naomi Murrell. I love Naomi's work - I first saw prints hanging in one of our favourite little cafe's Tincat, and she is from Adelaide so of course I have a soft spot for her! (I just noticed many of the photos on Naomi's website are actually taken in Tincat Cafe.)

I have loved these Alphabet Zoo cards from Lola & Bailey since I saw them on a blog a few weeks ago, so bought my initial 'J'. This would be a lovely card to buy for a new mum!

And finally, what do I see but none other than Sharon Muir's beautiful ceramics, which I blogged about last week. Of course I just had to buy this little brown owl. He now lives on my bedside table and holds my collection of earrings.

I saw many other beautiful things from loads of talented people, including a bottle vase from Angus & Celeste, but I will have to put them on my Christmas list. (Oh my, it is almost Christmas!!)

admiring

1. In awe of this beautiful home. From Freunde von Freunden, found via The Seventy Tree.

2. Silver lanterns from the very cute Israel's 1st birthday party (stylishly decorated by his very cool mum Jennifer from A Merry Mishap. You can see more pics from the birthday party here.)

3. Owls from Sharon Muir. LOVE.

4. This lovely Big Raindrop print in pink from the talented Kerry of The Seventy Tree. (I couldn't help myself and bought it immediately!) Go peek at her shop and Etsy shop.

the week that was

This week has consisted of:

-way too much shopping. That dress and those jeans. Country Road sales are evil.

-pulling my neck out when trying to put my on my cardigan while throwing my handbag over my shoulder. Never again. I'm going to try book a remedial massage appointment tomorrow as it's still killing me.

-the arrival of the Tolix stool, Eames chair and Eames hang-it-all I ordered a month or so ago (all replicas I'm afraid, until we can afford the real things)

-yummy macarons made by Callum Hann from MasterChef. He launched his range of macarons on Friday, available to purchase at Providore in the Central Market, with flavours chocolate, beetroot, peanut butter and pistachio (packaging by Adelaide co Black Squid Design). The husband and I scoffed our way through them in 20 seconds flat - the beetroot is absolutely delicious, but the peanut butter wins hands down (no photos it was gone that fast!)

-the beautiful wedding of our cousins Mike and Chloe, followed by some crazy moves on the dancefloor (mostly some ridiculous robot-like dancing on my part due to the neck injury!)

-waking up this morning with a sore throat, runny nose and aching body (everyone has been sick at work so it was inevitable I would eventually get it). I'm propped up in bed with my laptop while the husband cooks some homemade baked beans for breakfast, so I suppose I can't really complain!

things i am loving

Some things I am loving at the moment (but refraining from purchasing):-

1. ABCs poster by Honey & Bloom, found via Lovely Design.
2. Soft toys by MAIIKE, discovered through Lucy at The Design Files.
3. 'You are loved' garland by Shanna Murray. I could easily buy all of her decals in a heartbeat.

(I really need to get onto painting our kitchen wall in blackboard paint so I have an excuse to buy one of those decals.)

frankie 2011 diary

Anyone who knows me is well aware that I have an unhealthy obsession with stationery. I spend a good two months researching my pocket/handbag diary for the next calendar year. I think I may have slightly frightened my co-workers, however, when I saw this, the first ever Frankie diary. Squeal! Love, love, love. Pre-ordered immediately. (Sorry Kikki-K. For 2011, Frankie wins.)

rachel castle

I must admit, I have a little bit of a crush on Rachel Castle. Honestly, when you see this beautiful polka dot bedlinen and amazing embroidery artwork, who wouldn't? And, from the interview Lucy did with Rachel, featured on The Design Files yesterday, she also appears to be a lovely person too.

I loved reading about her background in communications and PR and how she moved into her own business and freelance career. Even though I'm sure she is super busy, she seems to have the work/life balance thing sorted out. It's definitely something to aspire to!

I especially like her response to the question about her styling aesthetic in her own home: 'My style at home is very ‘abundant’ or as my fussy architect friend calls it ‘chaotic’. It’s a lot of stuff everywhere in a big white backdrop. I love clutter I must say, it makes me feel at home. I do however, like to have a specific spot for everything. This is where the jugs go, this is where all the chopping boards belong, this is where the cookbooks stand, this is where the sugar bowl sits.' This scarily reminds me too much of myself!

I have been admiring the 'Loving you is easy cause your beautiful' piece for a while, as my husband and I often jokingly sing this song to each other, with the thought of buying it to celebrate our first wedding anniversary in October. I instead decided to splurge a little and work with Rachel on creating a custom piece. Rachel and I have been emailing back and forth, and it arrived in the post earlier this week - I was like a little kid at Christmas time opening up the parcel! I have been itching to show someone, but I will just have to wait until October.

In the meantime, I'll keep dreaming about that gorgeous bedlinen and those rainbow garlands...

moustaches make me happy

I fell in love with the moustache mugs from Third Drawer Down when I was in Melbourne in April visiting my sister. I don't know what it is about them - they just make me giggle! I came across them again and again online when looking for gifts for others but could never justify buying them for myself at the time. Seeing them again on The Design Files today as a gift idea for Father's Day convinced me it was a sign... and seeing as I've been in bed sick with a cold, I thought it was the perfect thing to cheer me up. The Maurice-Poirot moustache mug set is on its way!

(Now if if only I had enough funds to buy this. Oh, and this.)

black and walnut eames hang-it-all

I just spotted this limited edition Eames Hang-It-All (via Oh Joy!) and almost fell off my chair. I have been coveting the coloured version for over a year now but haven't got around to buying it. Can my bank account afford $249 USD for this gorgeous black and walnut version? Probably not (my husband will argue definitely not), but this is an original piece - not a replica - and it's only in production for a few months until early 2011. This just might put the pressure on to do my tax return...