All good here, though I seem to be chasing my tail a whole lot at the moment. This is not helped by
1. spending all day in IKEA and Bunnings
2. buying stuff to start more projects
3. going Treasure Hunting and buying more stuff today
4. forgetting I have 4 kids oops I mean 3 kids + a husband and a home to run.
I don't know what the answer is to chasing one's tail, Mr BC says one should prioritize…errm I find that quite tricky when I *must compete in power sports such as Anthropologie Stalking and blog loving.
Anyway, weeks ago I came back with such a treasure haul and I have not had a chance to photograph anything, let alone blog about it, so today at last I get to blog about my new oh-so-very-much-favourite new Beach Cottage Friend, Fran.
You see, I came across this old fan at a local sale, it was high up on a shelf and no-one was not only not-interested in it but secondly even looking at it.
I didn't like the green and I certainly didn't like the Retro-ness. In fact I stood there head to side and wondered about it totally. But I picked it up and boy, it is heavy, chunky and really quite lovely.
I ummed and ahhed, quite pathetic really how one can muse as if it is a huge life changing investment rather than a piece of old toot for not much.
After much head-to-side pondering, I concluded in the end that
1. it might provide a fairly nice juxtaposition against the white, the vintage, the pure and shabby
2. I liked the rust and general kookiness
3. the buttons clunked as you clicked and I am so rocking a little bit of clunking
So she came home with me and was in the study, dejected on the floor until the humidity the other night was so high and the other fans were all in use.
I set her on the side of my dressing table and clicked the clunkers.
Oooh yeah she rocks it!
she purrs, she whirrs,
she hums oh-so-very-quietly to herself while she kicks up a perfect storm.
She is soooooo staying 'round here baby.
My new friend Fran.
(no I haven't been drinking)
I will see you guys later
What do you think of the new addition to the Beach Cottage clan?
wanna be part of ABeachCottage?
(it's open to blogger's buttons) send me an email or go here
oh and go see Cindy for lots of lovely Show & Tell things…
Phew !!!!!!!!!!!! Its sweltering across here in Perth WA as well, a stinking 42 today! And I know youre not drunk, its normal for people fall head over heels in love with inanimate objects but its the heat that makes them so far as to give the object of their affection an actual name ;o) LOL. Lets face it….. its times like this that you need friends like Fran, what a beauty in all her glorious clunky greenness she just shines against all the beachy white :O)
Sarah,
You are too cute, I just came back over to copy and paste your button, and I see that you have already done another post. I LOVE the green fan. I love how you photographed it. That green is the perfect pop of color in your all white atmosphere. I love vintage fans and have been wanting to get one myself.
Take Care,
Maria
Thank you for your email. I am so glad we have connected. Maybe someday I will get to come to Australia for a visit, my husband really wants to. My friends are from outside of Sydney. I have a nephew studying in Sydney. He loves it. Where are you located. We are about an hour outside of Sacramento, California, that is why we have satellite internet. We pay for only so much usage, and going on just one blog, takes a lot of usage.
Sorry for the long comment. do LOVE your style
Sitting here dripping all over the computer (I’m from Perth too) with Fred, a very dark fan keeping me cool. Not nearly as elegant as Fran. Thank goodness the sea breeze has decided to join us.
OH!!!! I LOVE HER!!!!! I love old fans like that. And I think the green blades are fabulous!! You find the best things. Only 14 more days of the 9-5 and I will start on my very own treasure-hunting excursions. I can’t wait!!! As for “prioritizing” I think you’ve got your priorities just right! (;o) Have a terrific Thursday — I’m looking forward to seeing more of your wonderful finds.
Ha! I love that you named her… I am regarded as being slightly insane in my house, as my fave appliances all have appropriate names!
I think Fran’s touch of retro is actually really cute, loving the green too!
Guess what??? After making a quick Ikea mention to Hubby yesterday, I decided to go tomorrow… he is coming with me, and it was HIS IDEA!! (to keep an eye on me no doubt!) Lookout Ikea, here I come…
Love it, love it, love it! The pop of green is so refreshing and unexpected. I’ve got a fan so very similar to yours (a hand me down from my hub’s great grandma) and we keep it on a little wood stand near our window in the hot summer. Years ago I thought of getting rid of it, but I so love it now.
as i sit here in england and think of home…& think of your new angel in the heat ‘Fran’…i can imagne exactly how you feel! nothing beats a super gorgeous looking appliance- with a touch of retro- that seriously does the job! i wish you many happy years together in my true neck of the woods- turn her on one more time for me- thanks
Melissa x
Fran is wonderful and you will become BEST friends!
I know her cousin here in the states very well, we’ve been close for quite some time. I rarely last a night without her (even in winter)(age clue).
annie
Good Eye Sarah! You have quite the knack for the goodies. If you ever tire of Fran, she is welcome at my home. Oh the lime green, favorite color. She looks happy to be loved again.
Fran is… pardon the pun… fan-tastic! She’s really giving you her all… I dearly love your description of her when you turned her on… just precious…the green is perfect against the white cottage … a little treasure that I too would have brought home… well done : )
Who is the lucky girl? Fran or Sarah? Hmmm…My vote goes to both!
I love the green! I immediately thought of a beautiful shade of beach glass when I saw her.
Keep cool!
G'day! I'm Sarah, I live in a tatty old cottage, near the sea in Australia with a battered old deck & a big old fig tree out the back...stripped wooden floors, old sash windows & a jumble of vintage furniture. [Read More …]
Beach Cottage ladies, we have some vintage linen and some wood/twig washed up on the beach today here in Beach Cottage Land….don’t say I don’t keep you entertained now will you . Come on in. So, yep I have posted about colanders on this blog, about things sourced from the side of the road, about [...]
G'day ladies, let's have a Too Easy Beach Cottage recipe yeah? The original place for Too Easy Recipes on the web ;-)
So, after my last salad went down a storm in my inbox, that's here if you missed it, I had to do this one seeing as I make it most weeks.
There is a problem with this salad and kiddos though...it looks, well, it looks, kinda yucky...but once they try it, they'll ask if and when they are next having it....at least that's what happens in this ratty old cottage...but I must interject here that my kiddos are 'good eaters'? ...they didn't get a choice in that ;-)
Now, stop, don't start running and hitting that next on your blog reading list, pulses are your best friend in the Too Easy Dump & Go kitchen for the busy mum, or busy anyone for that matter...that reminds me I must blog the garlic canneloni Go To for when you forgot to do dinner, feel like a bath but have three ravenous young Beach Cottage Kiddos on your hands...another day.
I am almost embarrassed to tell you how easy this is, we have it so much that I always have a couple, make that six, cans of lentils around and a jar of goat's cheese in the fridge...the great thing about this is that it's all too easy to get ready in just a few minutes, but it looks, tastes and seems like you did oh so very much more than that.
You can obviously too change it up a bit depending on what you have to hand in your kitchen, and I must say that is how I settled on this version...because one day when I made it I didn't have enough Parsley in the garden and so I chucked in some basil too, and liked the Summer feel it added.
I think of this as being a rather posh salad, not sure why, because it couldn't really be further from the truth...the great thing is that it works so well for an average run of the mill day, (when I did this for this blog post, it was a hot Sydney Sunday and I did it just simply to go with Rosemary & Garlic stuffed pork, you can see that pork here),
...but just as easily it works on a regular old Wednesday night when you have lost all enthusiasm for rustling up yet another meal, or indeed on Saturday night, when your friends are on their way over for dinner and you my friend, are in your new vintage inspired clawfoot bathtub (that's me in a few weeks time, k?) without any clothes on, a tipple and no idea what to cook for dinner...
I have a complicated and ever-changing relationship with goat's cheese...it never fails me in its performance and it never fails to impress me (you can find out a bit more on what I like in food here if you like) and I kinda collect it...because it's very easy to collect and has a fairly long fridge-life, I love trying out different ones and there's not many things I love more than goat's cheese on sourdough...but I think the best thing about it is not thinking about it exclusively in the toast/salad department...I've stuffed it in chicken and all sorts of things as a last minute and it's been fab.
But let's get down to the nitty gritty of this super salad that makes you look like an angel who has been on her knees all day scrubbing the front step when really you are in the digital world and spent most of ...
G'day Beach Cottage ladies, howdy, howdy howdy today for a Beach Cottage Too Easy recipe.
If you like cake, cream, sugar and chocolate, make this.
This is, rather than a recipe, a putting it together...as you know I am no dessert maker, but, I do make quite a few sweet things, because, somehow I have ended up with kiddos, who in their roles as offspring, believe that part of the deal, is that not only do I feed them a home-cooked meal with a few homegrown ingredients in there, yes, they also believe that dessert and not the kind that comes out of a packet is included too in this All-Inclusive Deal they call Parenthood.
So, this, for sure, is no culinary masterpiece, but if you are looking for something that is so very easy, dump-able, uses everyday ingredients and at the same time makes you look like you spent hours pulling things together plus tastes good....well, then this is for you.
Best though, you don't make this for yourself, if you have spent the most part of your week sitting on your derriere reading blogs...this my friend ain't low in the calories department...if, however, you are treating yourself to a delight in a mason jar, this is so for you.
I first had a version of this when at dinner back in Old Blighty with a girl, I once, in another life, caught the train up from our village to London with...she was a funny thing really...I am not quite sure how we got on...she was kinda prissy and a bit bothered by too much...I would run to the train flustered, having got up late, and she would have a spreadsheet on the train times, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, a few years later when we both had bambinos, I bumped into her again and we met up for playdates and dinner sometimes....this particular night, after a lovely meal she served up little bowls of creamy, cakey fruity stuff topped off with chocolate flake...it was delicious!
She didn't serve hers in little jars like this, hers were in a champagne glass and not quite so layered as these ones, plus she used tinned fruit not fresh or frozen.
Years later when said offspring kept requesting dessert, one day I wangled together somehow these from what was around in the fridge and they've been with us ever since.
Most likely, if you ever come here for dinner, and shock horror, you dont' bring the dessert with you, this, if you are lucky, will be what you will get.
Throw it all together, sprinkle a lil bit of chocolate on the top and the blog reading past-time you so rudely left in order to make this, is my friend, your oyster.
Beach Cottage Too Easy Layered Raspberry, Cream & Sponge Dessert
1 small maderia or butter cake or a pack of cupcakes (or of course make your own)
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
8 tbsp fruit
1 x chocolate Flake or chocolate bar for grating
1. beat the cream cheese until it is soft
2. whip the cream until soft peaks form
3. combine & add the sugar through
4. cut your cake into portions
& layer into the bottom of your jar
5. add a tablespoon of fruit
6. layer on top the cream combo
7. repeat
8. grate chocolate or Flake on top
*Beach Cottage Recipe Notes : this is just a guide really, you can use any cream that you have on hand...I have made this with clotted cream (don't even go there unless you want to seriously get these babies on your thighs), with double cream and I have even, in desperate times squirted in that, ...
G'day Beach Cottage ladies, well I thought it was time for some blogging tips here today, alongside a few nice flowers and shells ;-)
I was recently part of a blogger discussion group over at Kidspot and a couple of hours later had a few questions from girls who couldn't make it to the live chat, one was on my Facebook page and one via email, the Facebook one I will deal with in another Real Girl Blogging Tips post...the email one asked me what essentials do I think every blog needs?
Well I have been around here for a while now doing the blogging thing, so I should know this, yeah and I mused this on my walk by the sea this morning I thought well what do you only need?
...I think it is really very easy when blogging, whether or not you are blogging up there in the lofty heights of the Super Bloggers or you are just dipping your toe in the water, to get side-tracked by 101 million different things that are 'essential' to your blog and if you are someone like me who actually gets a thrill from reading blogging tips then you are in an even worse place because you will find yourself literally buzzing with these essential things to add/do/implement on your blog.
However, walking along, gulping down that brisk sea air today (no sunshine & clouds) I thought you actually don't need any of that professional blogging stuff to be successful...but there are a few things that are pretty much crucial ...and once I started to think about it I got it down to about 5 - these are the only things that you need to concentrate on...once you have read through take a look at some of the big girl's blogs...you'll see that actually they don't have bundles of stuff on their blogs...but they do have all of these...
So here are my top things that your blog must have
1. About Page
There are all sorts of About Pages out there, and if you search on it there are many different tips and ideas for what to have on yours
Whatever blogging platform you use, adding an About Me Page is easy, quick and simple and will do everything to grow your blog.
I like a long-ish About Page, I am inherently nosy and I like to know a bit more about the person but at the least you should have on it your name and where you are located. I also think a photo is good too...over the last year or so I think this has become more important in blogging - if you are hesitant about that as I was, you can try using sunglasses or a behind shot until you get comfortable.
There is nothing worse than stumbling upon a new blog and going to find out more to only be faced with a piddly little one liner About Me Page...well there is something worse, not having one at all!
2. Contact Page
The chances are someone, somewhere will want to contact you and you will be surprised what lands in your inbox once you put yourself out there on the world wide web with a blog.
Many bloggers also use this page to include details for PR's/brands that may want to contact them and some bloggers put their stats on there too.
A short, to the point and simple Contact Page works really well...whenever I have wanted to contact another blogger I am often very busy and have limited time so I don't want to hang around sifting through information looking for an email address, so concise and clear ...
G'day lovely Beach Cottage lovelies.
So, yeah, so on a roll people, so on a roll.
I feel kinda home accessory wired right now.
I am always telling people, if anyone ever listens, that blogging is all about passion, not that sort of passion, but about passion that makes one tick.
Things like this make me tick tick boom.
I love finding things that suit my budget and let me treat my home but look amazing too.
So without further adieu I introduce you, ladies of the beach, to the blue vintage glasses that I have been stroking for about a week or two now...
These glasses are from a little boutique I sometimes happen upon, this boutique sells also pet accessories, carpet cleaner, bras and compost...it's quite unique though.
And, thanks to my friend Marnie (she blogs over here, go take a look at her praying position, interesting), who just so happens to be one day having me over for a lil' Greek dinner, has let me in on the fact that we call Kmart....The KMart...with an accent ....as in 'I love The KMart'...just like her MIL does. Oh yeah. Love that.
So I have had my eye on reproduction vintage glass blue wine glasses and being trying to find real true vintage blue glasses for like ever.
Oh yes I have spied them in Frenchy boutiques, I have lusted after them in stores that I shouldn't even enter and I have put them back pretty quickly in those shops with the hand-written price tags. C'mon, you know the ones.
And, though all of the above have tempted me, muchly, really, even with my wardrobe stashing skills I just thought that, actually, I'd rather be saving that casherooni for our next trip overseas..
Hello The KMart.
Tick Tick Boom
Vintage style blue wine glasses.
Do not come to my old place and think you might pick up one of these and smile with pleasure at their handblown quality, their weight, and be secretly jealous that my wine glasses cost more than your car...friend, that would not happen...these do not feel like that...indeed these in a funny way reminded me of my baby girl, she was a tiny little thing, with stick legs, the tinsssssssiest ankles and wrists you ever did see, she slept sideways in her cot wedged in between rolled up blankets and would only settle attached to Mr Beach Cottage or I or a (dirty) pj top of mine scrunched up under her nose...the first few times I picked her up to cuddle, being used to Honeymoon Baby who weighed in at 9lbs at birth and has never really stopped growing, I nearly threw her little bird-cum-rat down covered body over my shoulder.
These glasses are like that...be careful or you might lose your wine down the front of your shirt.
But oh baby, we are not talking picking up here, we are not talking quality, we are not talking house accessory snobbery.
Beach Cottage ladies, we are talking aesthetics.
And this is what I need in my cottage.
Blue vintage style glass, paired with coastal / nautical / beach stuff on my deck.
It's The KMart.
Tune in tomorrow, tomorrow, I have more budget foofing for your home, or maybe it will be the dress that wraps me up in supermarket-chic and makes me feel like me again.
Good Day to you my friends, wanna come hang out on my deck, talk house accessories, The KMart and drink some wine from blue glasses?
Sarah
I think you definitely made the right decision, Fran is adorable! And I love the light green with all your yummy beachyness. You rock it!
Hi Sarah, finally I have left a comment instead of “lurking” all the time.
Fran is sensational!!!
Phew !!!!!!!!!!!! Its sweltering across here in Perth WA as well, a stinking 42 today! And I know youre not drunk, its normal for people fall head over heels in love with inanimate objects but its the heat that makes them so far as to give the object of their affection an actual name ;o) LOL. Lets face it….. its times like this that you need friends like Fran, what a beauty in all her glorious clunky greenness she just shines against all the beachy white :O)
Ha! I love Fran:) Love her celadon green colour – gorgeous! I am sure she will be very happy with her new home, the Beach Cottage:) Enjoy! ~ Tina
Hi sarah…
Fran is one very sexy VINTAGE goodie..
Kind of reminds me of MYSELF actually!! cough cough…splutter & MORE splutter!!
seriously…she is gorgeous…love the retroness about her…
xx andrea..
Sarah,
You are too cute, I just came back over to copy and paste your button, and I see that you have already done another post. I LOVE the green fan. I love how you photographed it. That green is the perfect pop of color in your all white atmosphere. I love vintage fans and have been wanting to get one myself.
Take Care,
Maria
Thank you for your email. I am so glad we have connected. Maybe someday I will get to come to Australia for a visit, my husband really wants to. My friends are from outside of Sydney. I have a nephew studying in Sydney. He loves it. Where are you located. We are about an hour outside of Sacramento, California, that is why we have satellite internet. We pay for only so much usage, and going on just one blog, takes a lot of usage.
Sorry for the long comment. do LOVE your style
Hi Fran, welcome to beach cottage land you super duper lucky thing
Sitting here dripping all over the computer (I’m from Perth too) with Fred, a very dark fan keeping me cool. Not nearly as elegant as Fran. Thank goodness the sea breeze has decided to join us.
likey likey
she’s oh so cute
x
~J~
Love the green, fits in very noice!
Adorable. She’s a keeper.
good on you for stepping outside the shabby zone and finding some retro fab that works for you .. very spec very fab very very
le
She is soooo retro-ey beautiful and just so delightful great addition to your lovely home
I’m a huge fan of fans, so I love Fran the fan. Enjoy every cool moment with her!
She’s as pretty as a flower!
We sleep with a fan on even in the middle of below zero temps (F!) in the winter so I’m totally digging her!
OH!!!! I LOVE HER!!!!! I love old fans like that. And I think the green blades are fabulous!! You find the best things. Only 14 more days of the 9-5 and I will start on my very own treasure-hunting excursions. I can’t wait!!! As for “prioritizing” I think you’ve got your priorities just right! (;o) Have a terrific Thursday — I’m looking forward to seeing more of your wonderful finds.
Looks like she fits perfectly!
Ha! I love that you named her… I am regarded as being slightly insane in my house, as my fave appliances all have appropriate names!
I think Fran’s touch of retro is actually really cute, loving the green too!
Guess what??? After making a quick Ikea mention to Hubby yesterday, I decided to go tomorrow… he is coming with me, and it was HIS IDEA!! (to keep an eye on me no doubt!) Lookout Ikea, here I come…
Love Fran.
I definitely dig your new fan. Quirky and different and I think it will be a nice change up for all the white. Can’t wait to see the other items!
Love it, love it, love it! The pop of green is so refreshing and unexpected. I’ve got a fan so very similar to yours (a hand me down from my hub’s great grandma) and we keep it on a little wood stand near our window in the hot summer. Years ago I thought of getting rid of it, but I so love it now.
Ah, she’s gonna be your new best friend on those hot nights!!! Love the touch of green – never seen a fan like that here – you found the perfect one.
No fan needed here today – awoke to gently falling snow, yet again, and it’s sticking everywhere but on the roads, so far, which is perfect!!!
cute!
There is something so soothing about the sound of a fan and the blowing of the curtains as it rotates by it. I love it!
She’s Fran-tastic! I liked her as soon as I saw her. I want one just like her. I’m Fran-green with envy!!!
I love her! Her green blades make me think of beach glass, which is very fitting in your lovely cottage.
as i sit here in england and think of home…& think of your new angel in the heat ‘Fran’…i can imagne exactly how you feel! nothing beats a super gorgeous looking appliance- with a touch of retro- that seriously does the job! i wish you many happy years together in my true neck of the woods- turn her on one more time for me- thanks
Melissa x
Sarah,
I love Fran!! She is fabulous! I love that piece you have her sitting on too…….
Shellagh
Thanks again for the CL subscription!!
Fran is wonderful and you will become BEST friends!
I know her cousin here in the states very well, we’ve been close for quite some time. I rarely last a night without her (even in winter)(age clue).
annie
well her blades are my favorite color so I love her! and I like the way she pops against all your lovely whites.
Hi Sarah -
You make Fran look so good!
A good old fan just moved up to the top of my list -
Marsha
Fran looks good – she’s probably never had such an opportunity to shine like that before!
green one of my favorite colours.
I love the green. Fran is frantastic! Wish I needed a fan today … instead I just finished shoveling the driveway.
You crack me up!
LOOK AT THIS, SARAH!
http://ishandchi.blogspot.com/2010/02/anthropologie-now-ships-to-australia.html
Good Eye Sarah! You have quite the knack for the goodies. If you ever tire of Fran, she is welcome at my home. Oh the lime green, favorite color. She looks happy to be loved again.
We all need a friend like Fran. She’s stylish, helpful, and oh so cute!
Kat
G’Day Sarah~Whooshta it sounds like you have been a bussssy Lady!
Great find, Fran is a beauty and gotta love that Sea Green one of my Favs!
I hi-jacked your Ikea photo for my Giveaway hope that is o.k??? Credit to you.
Come on over an Ikea Giveaway @ whitewhispers2u.blogspot.com
Always a fun day with Mrs. Sarah~Kim
I am a fan of all the things green (especially that chair!) in your beautiful white cottage! so Fran is awesome!
That Fran is such a cutie patootie…lucky you! Come by and check out my CASH GIVEAWAY and new PAR-TAY…I think you will like them:)
Blessings,
Linda
Fran’s a darling! Rachaelxo
Fran is… pardon the pun… fan-tastic! She’s really giving you her all… I dearly love your description of her when you turned her on… just precious…the green is perfect against the white cottage … a little treasure that I too would have brought home… well done : )
Ha! Thanks for making me laugh. Fran is adorable!
Who is the lucky girl? Fran or Sarah? Hmmm…My vote goes to both!
I love the green! I immediately thought of a beautiful shade of beach glass when I saw her.
Keep cool!
Fran looks pretty cool to me!
I think Fran may have lived with US a few decades ago!
It was cool enough here yesterday to have to turn the fans OFF. Yippee!
Donna from Brissie
She certainly is a beaut!!!
Love this post…giggled all the way through it!
Rhonda
Love that fan! I found a vintage one on Ebay with blue blades. I love it so much but your’s is fabulous!
I love this fan or Fran. I would have brought her home too.