My home in April

I should be cleaning my home.

Instead I am taking photo's of it.

To give myself credit, I have a yucky headache and have had a rough week so I kinda deserve to do something self-indulgent like blogging.

So lately I've been feeling blah about my lounge room. Even though I tend to change things around a lot in my home, the lounge room has with the exception of the occasional cushion shuffle, been pretty much the same for 2 years. I have particularly been feeling overwhelmed by all the colour it has. I suppose that's the result of buying second hand and decorating on a budget. You don't always end up with exactly what you want and tend to make do. So I needed an insurgence of white! Op-shopping budget for said insurgence: $0.

Hmmmm. So I rummaged through the rest of the house for as many white or whitish items as I could find.

We bought this cute chair from a garage sale (or "Veranda Sale" according to the sign. Quaint.) on our anniversary day in the Barossa Valley. The Little old lady at the sale was happy to haggle for it as she could see I was going to love it and bring it to life again :-)

It's chrysanthemum season!!! Yay yay yay!!!

Thank you Old Italian Lady at Newton, your flowers are so beautiful and cheap and make me very happy!

They last for about 3-4 weeks. What joy!

I wish there were such thing as scratch and sniff computers so you could smell these strawberries I bought today! Delectable.

I really love this lamp Zennan made. His name is Stanley and I always think he's gonna come alive, swivel his head and flash me. Zen will be making some more like it to sell soon.

Have I mentioned how much I love Autumn?!

Pumpkin salad for dinner tomorrow and roasted chestnuts to have with coffee (aptly named "Autumn blend").

I hope you find a sunny spot somewhere this weekend ~Love E xo

Latest Etsy fave

How lovely is this? I really wish I could keep it but I bought it to be sold and I really am trying to be professional with the whole Etsy thing! Its a home made 1950's house dress. I adore the collar and the charming glass buttons

Can you believe this is what women used to clean their houses in?!

Makes me feel very un-lady-like in my trackies :-/

Hope it finds someone to love it and wear it well ~E xo
Click here to see the dress at Etsy 

Compulsive Decorator to the rescue!

On our recent trip to Melbourne we were very lucky to have been able to stay with Sass and Sean in their new place for 2 nights!

Catching up with Sass was exactly what I needed! And apparently timely for her too.

She used to have a very strong vintage mojo (actually, she's what started me down this path) but a few life battles knocked her off her perch a bit. Hence she was left a little lost when it came to setting up her new abode.The living area consisted of 2 brown leather couches, a rug, a coffee table and a TV cabinet.

As I am a manic, compulsive decorator I was like "Oooo pick me pick me!!"

and we spent the whole night shifting around furniture and rummaging through her garage to see what goodies she had in hiding. The next day we went op-shopping (on a very limited budget) and scored a bird cage, 3 vintage lamps and an incredibly cool retro dresser. I didn't get very many photos but here's what I did get-

I am now obsessed with getting a bird cage myself so I can put a lamp into it!

Making our interiors beautiful is never in vain for they make us feel at peace, happy, relaxed, inspired and content. All this makes us emit positive energy patterns which bounce off the walls and onto others.

If I could put that into a pill I'd be a gozillionair.

I hope you have a space to be yourself in ~Love E xo

My Etsy Shop

So I'm finally getting some nice things up on my Etsy shop.

My favorite at the moment is this sweet white dress.

I think it would be beautiful for a simple country wedding.

With a bouquet of sweet peas or Daisies.

 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/elishiajackson

Hope you have a beautiful weekend ~Love E xo

~ a treat ~

Well, since we are about to head off to Bathurst, last night we decided to cook up anything left in the fridge. Of course Tom came up with his usual gourmet using just a few things. Hmm perhaps I should challenge him like this more often!

Zennan friendly? Roasted pumpkin, onions, chicken marinated in a Lebanese herb mix (Zaata) topped with a lemon tasting salad leaf which we can't remember the name of, with slightly mashed pea/mushroom/cream (sorry zen) mix on the side.

Introducing - another Nanna Present - Vintage Sunbeam Mix Master!

love how it tells you what each setting is for so handy!

And the result... mmm



didn't take long before we were melting with joy.. indulging..



Sewing - Me?

Well, my nanna without knowing keeps motivating and inspiring me. What now? Well when it came to sewing she knew her stuff! I'm sure she had over 4 sewing machines and at least 1 overlocker. So I'm destined to be good at it... right?

I've inherited a sewing machine! I could have had a 'Singer' top quality one, but dad and I decided a) A beginner [although I did learn to sew I must admit my patience is at times lacking, causing me remain at one level...] doesn't really need an overly complicated machine and b) It was too heavy for a pregnant belle to carry.

Thus I now have a very cute PFAFF Sewing Machine! * claps Auslan style waving hands madly about her head in silent applause* Hooray!

 Along with the machine came a couple of goodies - a little vintage cream suitacase (interior leaves much to be desired) and a cute yellow case with many compartments for me to fill! Oh, and the little pin cushion which I always remember her having, and a few sewing odd bod things.

Yep - may need a little maintenance...

 

Just something I snapped next to where I took the other photos, what can I say I like the arrangement!

Keeping Inspired - Magazine Love

I've rediscovered a love I had in high school - collages! They actually turned out better than I thought they would in photos! Things I like:

 This ones not a collage but I liked it's simplicity.

Scary Visitor

Tom found this creepy guy hanging around out the front...

no exactly "inspiring" but interesting and Tom's macro shots were pretty good - not sure if that shows up on here.

Discoveries...

Since returning to Sydney, I've discovered some little treasures of my Nanna's...

 Inside the tin with the lovely pictures.... were letters and poems hand written by my great-grandfather, his children and grandchildren. Some dated back to 1900 -1910 period - 100 years ago!

 This is my Nanna - looks like she's up to something, which is just like her!

 The little bay is my grandfather - about to have a son of my own, this photo reminded me of what it's all about. I love the chicken in the background!

Also found in the tin ...My father and I can't figure out what game this is for. Any Ideas?