Vintage Giveaway Winner - Vegas and Rose

Thank you to Penthea for entering my little competition. She is the new owner of a lovely pair of Vintage Christian Dior Hosiery.....they are in the mail!

Penthea is also the owner of a wonderful Vintage shop on Etsy and a Cafe in Ballarat, both named Vegas and Rose (and you can find out on her website how that fantastic name came about)
I secretly think Penthea is Super Woman as she also has 2 small children - I don't know how she does it! But she always has a smile on her face and she is probably one of the lovliest ladies you will ever meet. So if you live near Ballarat, drop in and grab a fantastic cup of coffee, a delectable home-made treat and buy yourself some gorgeous vintage!

Photo by Penthea Marshall-Radcliffe of Vegas and Rose/ Vintage 1960s Coffee Pot and 4 cups. Made in Japan

vintage giveaway

Maybe you would like to wear them to your wedding as part of your, “something old, something new….” Or maybe you just like pretty things! And these are oh so pretty. I just love the packaging, the simple but classic design. The little, Made in France; so exquisite!  They have never been used and I don’t want to open the pack so I am unsure whether they are stockings or the full panty-hose but they are in a gorgeous silvery grey tone.  At the top of the package it says Collant Dior Slim 10   Polyamide 98% Soie Naturelle 2%  12 Dtex Made in France Tourterelle 8 Christian Dior Bas- Collants. On the back it says, Christian Dior Paris.

All you have to do is like my facebook page here and where I have posted about the giveaway just leave a note to say you would like to be in the running. Entries close April 22^nd AEST. A name will be picked from a basket on the 23^rd April and the winner will be notified straight away (as I will need to get their address to send them their beautiful vintage hosiary!)  Entry is open to anyone, anywhere!

Best of luck to everyone!

maria xx

Easy Peasy Morning Tea for 8

A few weeks ago my Mum asked me if I would have a friend of hers over for Morning Tea. She was turning 70 and she’s been a friend of my Mums for a long time so I said, “Of course!”. Little did I know that she also wanted to invite a bunch of other friends over to help celebrate! So the last week I have been devising a menu consisting of the following: Food that the birthday girl would like; Food that could be made ahead of time and food that would look pretty! It ended up being a lot of fun to put together but as usual the photos are a little dodgy as I always forget to take them until the last minute!  Big apologies!!

 The menu for 8 adults  arriving at 10am for Morning Tea –

   1) Leg ham and tomato relish sandwiches on rye bread (12 triangles)                       
   2) Chicken and mayonnaise with butter lettuce on white bread (12 triangles)
   3) Smoked salmon pinwheels with crepes, crème fraiche and chives (12 pinwheels)
   4) Rhubarb and currant tarts (24 mini muffin size)
   5) Buttermilk Scones w/ clotted cream and 2 jams (12 small muffin size)
   6) Anzac Slice with Passionfruit icing (makes approx. 18 squares)
   7) Individual Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing – The birthday cake! (makes 24 )

The Prep -  We bought everything the day before; even the BBQ chicken! The table was completely set the day before. Everything was washed and dried; glassware, china, etc. napkins were laid. Platters were placed were they were going to sit for the morning tea with name tags on them (which was lucky as it wasn’t until a few hours later that I realised something didn’t have a plate!) I made the chocolate cupcakes and once they cooled down I popped them in an airtight container in the fridge. I then made the anzac slice with passionfruit icing (this recipe is from the cook book, Take 4) wrapped it in glad wrap tightly and kept it in the fridge.
That night I prepped things like: Sifted icing sugar and popped it in zip lock bags ready for the vanilla icing; put non-perishable ingredients out on the bench that I would need for the morning; Sifted flour for the scones and popped it a zip lock bag; weighed the butter for the scones and popped it in an airtight container in the fridge; measured out  other ingredients like currants and sugar and popped them in zip lock bags on the bench.

The Morning Tea – I put together the rhubarb and currant tarts and they were in the oven by 7.15am and were out just after 7.30am. These keep really well so I let them cool down completely on racks and then placed them on their platter. At 8am I got the scones in the oven. When they came out 15 minutes later I wrapped them straight away in a clean tea towel and popped them on their platter. Next up I put together the vanilla icing and began icing 19 cupcakes. I bought the cute muffin tree a while ago and still hadn’t used it; I couldn’t wait any longer! As I iced them I popped the first letter of the birthday girls name on each cupcake using a pink icing pen. Well, she was turning 70. I figured she would prefer an ‘L’ to a BIG “70”!!!!!

By 9am I had finished that and I was onto the sandwiches. I’d got my Mum to cut the meat off the 1/2 chicken, place in a bowl and add store bought mayonnaise (buy the best you can afford or if you are use to making your own, do that) She sliced the butter lettuce, buttered the bread and we put together the sandwiches. Cut them into triangles. Placed them on their platter along with the ham and relish sandwiches and covered the platter tightly with plastic wrap.

Mixing  ½ cup of crème fraiche with about 1 teaspoon chives. On each crepe lay a piece of smoked salmon (from the 100g packs you get about 3 pieces so we heated through 3 crepes) Over the smoked salmon smear the crème fraiche mix then roll up tightly. Slice both ends then cut into 4 equal pinwheels. Use a toothpick to secure and stand them on the platter. Serve with lemon wedges.  At 9.50 our first guest arrived so while my Mum was talking with them I popped the kettle on; Filled the milk jug; filled the water jug; popped the 2 different jams in their jugs and also filled the dish for the clotted cream. Slipped the tea towel off the scones and took all plastic wrap off sandwiches and the smoked salmon pinwheels.  The other guests arrived and I couldn’t believe it, we’d gotten everything done, on time.  Phew!

And here are just a few little things I bought recently. People often ask me if I regret selling anything in my shop. The answer is, no, not really. Most of the pieces I sell I’ve owned myself for many years or they are recent purchases that I think are very beautiful  but I don’t have a spot for them. So these 2 beautiful pieces are staying! This gorgeous enamel teapot with strawberries and this stunning Willow Flour sifter with roses. They’re living above my blue and white tea set and the contrast in colours is so pretty.  And how sweet is this little hand-held sifter? I always keep my tomatoes at room temperature during Autumn, Winter and Spring. They usually share a bowl with onions and garlic but this way they have their own little space. My tomatoes have never looked so pretty!

Have a wonderful Easter…..…Chocolate, here I come!

autumn inspired

I love this time of year! The fresh mornings, the still warm days and the cool evenings......it always inspires me, that change in the light. I thought I would share a few recent purchases that reminded me of Autumn and the cooler months ahead.

The purse -  I just love the tone of it. It's so rustic and pretty. Just like Autumn.

The beads and the game - Don't you just love olive green! Quoits make a fun display but you can also pull them off the shelf and use them. With the recent rain we've been playing them inside with the kids and doing silly things like hopping on 1 foot when we have a turn.....funny! The beads, well, they are a great length and I like that they are little chunky.....and they aren't rediculusly heavy which is a bonus!

The book - Laura Ashley Bedrooms, 1988 by Susan Irvine. Who doesn't love their bedroom in the cooler months! I love the cover on this book. So pretty. and inside, I love the chapter about, The Rustic Bedroom. Aren't those soft blue tones beautiful? I had to have this book when I saw this picture. It just reminded me of those cool mornings when we pull the covers up a little higher and delay the start of the day....just by a little bit....

the saying - I'm not normally one for sayings and things of this nature but I thought this was adorable and so beautifully made.......I couldn't believe someone had parted with it. It's now living in our kitchen, next to the stove, watching me as I bring in the harvest from the veggie patch and waiting then to see what I'm going to do with 9 capsicums and 1 tomato!

collector

Over the years I've collected various things - vintage tablecloths, enamelware, anything with birds..... about 3 years ago I began collecting Matryoshka dolls or nesting dolls.

My Mother in law bought me (or should I say my daughter!) a set when she travelled through Russia a few years back,(the beautiful red set) and ever since I've thought, "I need more of these beautiful objects!!"

As you can see, some are old, some are new, some are not complete sets and others are. I love how they are all different and have their own little personalities. My favourite set?  The little set of 3 that are all chippy. I think they are exquisite.

What do you love collecting?

pretty birds + new old things

I thought I would share a few new old things I purchased recently. A pretty birdcage is something I've had my eye out for a while. I saw a few with old glass vases filled with hydrangeas in a magazine once and thought they looked so incredibly pretty. This one is in our lounge room where I have a collection of items with bird motifs - an old bamboo tea box, a warhol-esque print and an art work by Paul Miller of a lady with a blackbird on her head. The old bird post card was my next find, then the beautiful Mason jar - such a gorgeous colour! and finally - the delicate little birds bought from here. Aren't they stunning? I am so happy with them!! They come in a set of 6. So 2 have gone to live in the bird cage, another one is sitting on an old wooden sieve above the tv, one is sitting on the lip of an old bottle right next to the Peace Lily and the other two are hanging out in my little girls room. I love it when people look twice at them......wondering to themselves.....are they real?

School Lunch box idea no. 1 - Green and Gold Muffins

4th official day into School and I'm allready trying to think of new and exciting things to throw into the lunch box! Oh dear.... I had a quick scour through some recipe books and found an interesting idea from a small Tupperware magazine circa 2004. I've tweaked it a bit and I'm really happy with the end result (or should I say, the big school kid thinks they are yum too!) Also, I had to share the pic of "the big school kid" with a very funny zucchini! We had friends over on the weekend and they brought this from their vegie patch. The kids thought it was hilarious. Mr Zucchini was the life of the party!

ingredients

"Most of these things should be found in your kitchen or vegie patch ;)"

2 cobs of corn
1 small zucchini
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
3 tablespoons mozzarella cheese
1 cup self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons light olive oil
1 egg
2 tablespoons greek style yoghurt

how to make your green and gold muffins

Pre-heat oven to 190C fan forced. grease a muffin tray very! well or use cases.

Cut corn kernals off corn and place in a microwave safe container. Place the lid loosely. Pop in the microwave for 1 minute 30seconds. Set aside.

Grate the zucchini. Set aside

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl.

In a seperate bowl combine the oil, egg and yoghurt. Add this to the flour mix along with the vegies, parsley and cheese. The mix will be quite wet. Give it a thourouh stir. Spoon into your muffin tin and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Let stand for a few minutes before turning onto a wire rack. enjoy!