Well, it is grey and drizzly here in Australia for the third day of the real school holidays and so I find myself at mid-day not only in my pj's but still in bed. On the laptop. With tea. And bagels. Life is good.
Yesterday, as you know I went to the city, hopped on the ferry and took a ride to all the delights of Sydney. It is an amazing city for sure and first of all as I stepped off the ferry right alongside the Opera House, over the quay and up one of the main streets, I felt just a tad overwhelmed…short ferry trip but a million miles from my tatty old cottage…
All was busy, office workers were scurrying around, gals in the highest heels clipping past me at a million miles an hour…all tight skirts and ruffly shirts…men with heads down and their lunch under their arm…
It reminded me of when I used to get the train from the country up to London every day…I was one of those people scampering around at lunchtime, not looking at the wonderful things around me, head down trying to do as much in the lunch hour as physically possible and tut tutting at the stupid tourists gazing around and walking too slow.
Anyway, more of that tomorrow (and if you follow me on Facebook, you'll know I bought a million dollar dress) but for now, let's talk about vintage ladders and flowers shall we?
Last week I had lots of emails firstly about the ladder, where did I get it how much did it cost, how does it work in the house etc., how does it work leaning up against the wall and more, could I please show more pictures of it…ha And secondly about the dahlias.
So the ladder I found at a garage sale, one of those garage sales where you think there will be nothing for a vintage loving, flower loving gal…it was a man's garage sale, ya know? With tools and buckets and old bags of cement…and tucked up in the corner were a few ladders stacked in a lonesome pile.
I can't remember how much I paid for it, for sure it was only a few dollars and I did absolutely nothing to it apart from give it a quick vacuum and clean and even that was a little, how shall we say….patchy.
It is simple to lean it up against the wall and no in my case (and I have enough of them around!) one has never fallen down…it doesn't take long to do this particular bit of home foofing (thought the first couple of ladders I found I re-invented with paint, now I don't bother)…simply find a ladder, clean it up, find a spot, walk up to it and lean the ladder on the wall.
Highly not recommended if you have a toddler around…plus forewarn clumsy long-limbed teenage boys of the impending hazard and dare 7 yr old boys to even think about climbing it…
Now the dahlias, someone emailed me asking me do I have flowers in my cottage all the time and how do I budget for that? Well, luckily, there is room in my budget for a bunch of flowers from the market every week. And I know that that is not the same for everyone.
But I love flowers, the colour, the softness, the little bag of cheer they bring along with them and I feel I must, if possible, have them… and, like many home decor books, magazines and perhaps nowadays too, blogs, I would like nothing more than to have bucket loads of them casually strewn around the place, piles of them stacked up in the sink…waiting…tables groaning with vases full of soft droopy heads. But herein lies the problem, my time or budget does not hold within it much room for stocking this old cottage like a florist and so I have had to adapt.
Bottom line, I have a regular old life, where I'm busy and challenged, a schedule that is at times haphazard and a home that is the base for three busy kids with three busy lives.
There isn't much space or time or casherooni for sinks full of flowers.
So this is my compromise…a regular old bunch of $8 flowers and a bit of creativity.
I am no stylist, florist or interior designer so perhaps a bunch of flowers thrown in the groceries will never be winning me any prizes, but I make no apologies for commending the house-sprucing abilities of the humble, often disparaged bunch of garage flowers.
So I recommend dear Beach Cottage readers, next time you see them on your weekly shop, treat yourself…throw them in, get them home, break em up, stick, unpretentiously in old jam jars or bottles..
..and then when they are on their last legs and you thought they had done all they could for you, tie 'em round an old weather-beaten ladder…
There is something about this easy glamour…the heavenly mix of textures, that makes it, for me, an eight dollars very well spent.
Let me know what you think and I'd love to know if you have any other ideas for using flowers creatively…or more if you know of any real people, who live without teenagers and so have glut loads of them happily living in their sinks
I've heard that the flower markets here in Sydney are an experience more than worth the trip and where $8 goes a long way…so one day this week, I will be emerging from this old cottage in the early hours and driving over for a mooch…wish some of you guys could come with me…
So with that, I am off girls, take a look over at my friend Maria's for lots of eye candy with flowers and ladders and things, including her interview with Federica from Sweet as a Candy.
See you later, I am going to Bunnings and trying on my new dress from the city…
Oh and my Coastal Country Style was featured by Holly at Decor8 recently
Maybe one day I’ll have sink fulls of flowers, but for now I like your way better, just having a few makes them all the more special! I’m off to check out Decor 8!
Thousands of miles apart and I, like you, didn’t get out of my p.j.’s today either. It was a snow day…no school. Ha Ha, you may have changed at some point. I didn’t. Loved it.
Yep, in my pj’s ’til 11am! Love the school holidays, especially since we homeschool.
I’m on the lookout for an old ladder for my bathroom, I’ll have to not drive by so many garage sales that don’t appear to show promise . . . you have proven that one never knows what is stashed in a corner.
Since it’s spring here where I live, I have been cutting off flowering branches of the lilac, plum and pear tree and putting them in pitchers around the house – so beautiful… and cheap!
OOHHH I would love to go to the flower markets. So many of your senses would come alive at the flower market. You will have to try hard to not bring it all home!! I would love to see lots and lots of photos.
Loving the flower placement on the ladder, looks great Sarah.
I would love to keep you company at a Sydney flower market cause I don’t have much luck sourcing inexpensive blooms up here north of the border. $8 for a bunch is awesome.
My trick is to snip a bit from the stem every two days along with fresh water to prolong every single minute of their precious existence
I’m also loving school holidays on the coast the lazy mornings sleeping in, lunch out at the local Cafe then strolling along the beach stopping while the kids are rock pooling. Ah the life! Love the ladder and the flowers all sounds wonderful to me.
those are fantastic pictures! flowers are so great to add to anything – I saw old enameled ladles hanging from a ladder once with flower blooms inside them – which reminds me! I wanted to try that someday – maybe tomorrow!! anyhow; yours look great!
and I love reading your blog btw; it’s always so relaxing…..
Ok, firstly I hope you are going to show us that dress! Second I love that ladder, you sure have a thrifting muze that accompanies you on your searches. And thirdly, yes to the cheap bunches of flowers that one can ‘stretch’.
Have a great day!
Your display looks terrific and the dahlias are a lovely shade of pink. Old ladders look absolutely terrific for storing vintage linens or winter blankets, quilts,etc. Also make a nice magazine stand.
I love your ladder, and thanks for satisfying our curiosity about how you do things…you are very good about that. I too pick up the occaisional grocery store bunch. I used to just stuff the whole thing in a vase, but have been tutored by blogland to take it apart and use it by color. Can’t wait to see your new dress. Looks like I will need to be a fan on Facebook! I hate to miss anything
something about a rainy day that makes me want to stay in my pajamas, read a good book, & drink a latte. there’s something calming about watching it rain. the dahlias are beautiful. i’d take an $8 bunch of flowers over a room full anyday. ruby
Hey, first I want to see the dress! Love your ladder and you are the one who set a lightbulb off in my head. It makes a great towel bar in my bath. Once I started looking for one it wasn’t hard to find and has a great garage sale story behind it. I think that’s what I love most about the sales. The memeories. I sure did do that happy dance. <3 donna
OHh holy cow! CONGRATS on the DECOR8 gig! too cool! When I have a smidgen of room in the budget for blooms, I pick whats on sale too and pray they last all week! They make me happy!
The beauty of a simple flower is so needed in the rush of life. One of my favorite writers said, “If you only have enough money for two loaves of bread, put one loaf back and buy flowers.” Gardening is one of my passions and I find ways to slip in flowers amongst the veggies all the time. My blue morning glories are beginning their climb across the rose arch in my front yard and my citrus trees are making my little yard a corner of heaven right now. Now, if I can only find a ladder…lol
In my world, flowers are essential. I think I realized this in Paris – all the glorious flower stalls and virtually everyone stops to get a bunch of flowers. I thought – how civilized! And I vowed that I would find a way to have fresh flowers in the house at all times. Of course, we have a long way to go here in Richmond VA to match the variety and quality of the flowers that were offered in the Paris sidewalk stalls!
I love fresh flowers too! I’m always amazed when people touch them and almost jump back and say “They’re real!”. A bunch of Daffodils in season hardly costs anything at all. Love your style.
Jacqueline, Cabin & Cottage
Love the ladder. I have a white painted one and have made book pockets which hang over the bars and propped it next to the guest bed in the spare room. Hubby thought I was mad at the time, but soon changed his mind.
I say flowers bring life in a home. I love flowers and that is why I put so many in the gardens, they stay for a few months at least, and come back every spring time. And for the inside well, I’m like you, love a white house. I do love colors too, but my tastes changes. One week my favorite color is purple, then blue, then yellow then…. And so I just have to change the color of the flowers and not repainting the walls :-0.
And it brings a good natural smell to the house too.
When I still lived in Brussels I loved to go to flowermarket on Saturday mornings too. It was another way to see the town. Not only with the thought of : Oh no I’m gonna be to late at the office. But with the thougt of: what a beautifull enjoyable day today, and all these colors, and what a good smell in town today!
Ladders on the wall…such a good idea. I thought ladders where to stay in the garage or the garden! Thanks for the tip.
Hey Sarah, I hope you’re not actually going to try your dress on at Bunnings haha!
Love the ladder and the touch of pretty with those gorgeous dahlias
Cheers
Judy
Ahhhhh flowers….where would we be without them…..they instantly change how a room looks and how you feel……if i only had a few dollars left and could chose bread or flowers i know which one i would go for!!! and don;t underestimate the beauty of winter……of bare branches, bowls of freshly picked acorns, or rosehips……
I once read that a famous entertainer spend $42,ooo yes thats forty two thousand dollars a week, yes a week on flowers…..imagine!!!!
Hi Sarah
Sometimes you dont necessarily need a flower to have flowers!! It can be a bunch of green leaves from the garden, or some berries or whatever. I call it ‘roadsidia’. I live at Newport and have my own garden full of gorgeous plants, but not one ‘flower’ per se. Just amazing foliage full of colour. Always something there if I am desperate.
Another trick is in the vase, a jam jar with a leaf tied around it with string might be the perfect vessel. One can never have too many vases you know.
I love the flower markets, you are welcome to come with me one morning, it is certainly a heady experience. Great coffee too and home again by 7am.
Loving you blog and glad you love our northern beaches.
Di xx
Sarah,
You are so kind, thank You for putting a link to me in your post!! You made my day~ actually night, I am off to bed.
I love what you did with your ladder. Only you could come up with a great idea like this. I get so many ideas from you!!! It is always such a treat to visit your blog!!!
Hope you are having a great day!
TAke Care,
Maria
I live in Holland and the flowers are really cheap overhere. So if I wanted I could buy a lot of them. But most of the time I buy one bunch. Then it’s an eyecatcher for me and I believe it’s nice to enjoy them from start to end! It’s hard to throw them away, I make little bunches or sometimes there is only one leftover and I will place it on my bedsidetable. I try to buy only seasonal flowers, so now it’s dutch tulips. You can buy tulips all over the year but I think they belong to the spring. In my country when people come for a visit or a birthday it’s common to take flowers or a blooming plant.
Well I am an Interior Designer and I find what you do with a $8 bunch of dahlias inspiring. On Easter Saturday I left it too late to get some flowers and all I could get was a very daggy bunch of green flowers.I tried all my usual ways of arranging them and they looked terrible. In the end, inspired by you, I pulled out 3 antique milk bottles and shoved a few in each bottle. Viola the simplicity of it looked perfect:) Thanks Sarah.
I’ve always filled my house with flowers too Sarah but moving further north has caused me some ‘flower stress’. The humidity here on the north coast is very unkind to cut flowers. I still indulge but not as often.
Now I am in the process of planting an old fashioned picking garden like my grandmother had. Come spring, I’ll be able to pick fresh blooms from my own garden every day and it won’t matter if they wilt after a day or two, I’ll just pick more.
Hugs ~ Kerryanne
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
Maybe one day I’ll have sink fulls of flowers, but for now I like your way better, just having a few makes them all the more special! I’m off to check out Decor 8!
Kat
Thousands of miles apart and I, like you, didn’t get out of my p.j.’s today either. It was a snow day…no school. Ha Ha, you may have changed at some point. I didn’t. Loved it.
Yep, in my pj’s ’til 11am! Love the school holidays, especially since we homeschool.
I’m on the lookout for an old ladder for my bathroom, I’ll have to not drive by so many garage sales that don’t appear to show promise . . . you have proven that one never knows what is stashed in a corner.
Your flowers are so pretty, they look fake!
Since it’s spring here where I live, I have been cutting off flowering branches of the lilac, plum and pear tree and putting them in pitchers around the house – so beautiful… and cheap!
OOHHH I would love to go to the flower markets. So many of your senses would come alive at the flower market. You will have to try hard to not bring it all home!! I would love to see lots and lots of photos.
Loving the flower placement on the ladder, looks great Sarah.
I would love to keep you company at a Sydney flower market cause I don’t have much luck sourcing inexpensive blooms up here north of the border. $8 for a bunch is awesome.
My trick is to snip a bit from the stem every two days along with fresh water to prolong every single minute of their precious existence
I’m also loving school holidays on the coast the lazy mornings sleeping in, lunch out at the local Cafe then strolling along the beach stopping while the kids are rock pooling. Ah the life! Love the ladder and the flowers all sounds wonderful to me.
those are fantastic pictures! flowers are so great to add to anything – I saw old enameled ladles hanging from a ladder once with flower blooms inside them – which reminds me! I wanted to try that someday – maybe tomorrow!! anyhow; yours look great!
and I love reading your blog btw; it’s always so relaxing…..
Ok, firstly I hope you are going to show us that dress! Second I love that ladder, you sure have a thrifting muze that accompanies you on your searches. And thirdly, yes to the cheap bunches of flowers that one can ‘stretch’.
Have a great day!
Fresh flowers are great. Nothing better than fresh flowers to cheer you up and make your home look loved. Great ladder.
Your display looks terrific and the dahlias are a lovely shade of pink. Old ladders look absolutely terrific for storing vintage linens or winter blankets, quilts,etc. Also make a nice magazine stand.
Well, it was high time Holly noticed your lovely blog
I’m glad I could be of help!
This is a totally random question but I just wondered what you have on the floor in your living room is it a sisal rug?
I love your ladder, and thanks for satisfying our curiosity about how you do things…you are very good about that. I too pick up the occaisional grocery store bunch. I used to just stuff the whole thing in a vase, but have been tutored by blogland to take it apart and use it by color. Can’t wait to see your new dress. Looks like I will need to be a fan on Facebook! I hate to miss anything
something about a rainy day that makes me want to stay in my pajamas, read a good book, & drink a latte. there’s something calming about watching it rain. the dahlias are beautiful. i’d take an $8 bunch of flowers over a room full anyday. ruby
Hey, first I want to see the dress! Love your ladder and you are the one who set a lightbulb off in my head. It makes a great towel bar in my bath. Once I started looking for one it wasn’t hard to find and has a great garage sale story behind it. I think that’s what I love most about the sales. The memeories. I sure did do that happy dance. <3 donna
What a fabulous colour the dahlia’s are.
Hope you get heaps of flowers from the market.
Off to check out Decor8
Alison
What a lovely blog! Your photographs are incredible. Congrats on the Decor8 mention!
OHh holy cow! CONGRATS on the DECOR8 gig! too cool! When I have a smidgen of room in the budget for blooms, I pick whats on sale too and pray they last all week! They make me happy!
so beautiful. Simple lovliness.
The beauty of a simple flower is so needed in the rush of life. One of my favorite writers said, “If you only have enough money for two loaves of bread, put one loaf back and buy flowers.” Gardening is one of my passions and I find ways to slip in flowers amongst the veggies all the time. My blue morning glories are beginning their climb across the rose arch in my front yard and my citrus trees are making my little yard a corner of heaven right now. Now, if I can only find a ladder…lol
It only takes a few blooms for huge impact! Love the mix of textures…soft sweet flowers and that rough greyed ladder….love it!
In my world, flowers are essential. I think I realized this in Paris – all the glorious flower stalls and virtually everyone stops to get a bunch of flowers. I thought – how civilized! And I vowed that I would find a way to have fresh flowers in the house at all times. Of course, we have a long way to go here in Richmond VA to match the variety and quality of the flowers that were offered in the Paris sidewalk stalls!
I love fresh flowers too! I’m always amazed when people touch them and almost jump back and say “They’re real!”. A bunch of Daffodils in season hardly costs anything at all. Love your style.
Jacqueline, Cabin & Cottage
Love the ladder. I have a white painted one and have made book pockets which hang over the bars and propped it next to the guest bed in the spare room. Hubby thought I was mad at the time, but soon changed his mind.
I say flowers bring life in a home. I love flowers and that is why I put so many in the gardens, they stay for a few months at least, and come back every spring time. And for the inside well, I’m like you, love a white house. I do love colors too, but my tastes changes. One week my favorite color is purple, then blue, then yellow then…. And so I just have to change the color of the flowers and not repainting the walls :-0.
And it brings a good natural smell to the house too.
When I still lived in Brussels I loved to go to flowermarket on Saturday mornings too. It was another way to see the town. Not only with the thought of : Oh no I’m gonna be to late at the office. But with the thougt of: what a beautifull enjoyable day today, and all these colors, and what a good smell in town today!
Ladders on the wall…such a good idea. I thought ladders where to stay in the garage or the garden! Thanks for the tip.
xoxo
G.
Gorgeous images, as always~Cindy S
Hey Sarah, I hope you’re not actually going to try your dress on at Bunnings haha!
Love the ladder and the touch of pretty with those gorgeous dahlias
Cheers
Judy
Ahhhhh flowers….where would we be without them…..they instantly change how a room looks and how you feel……if i only had a few dollars left and could chose bread or flowers i know which one i would go for!!! and don;t underestimate the beauty of winter……of bare branches, bowls of freshly picked acorns, or rosehips……
I once read that a famous entertainer spend $42,ooo yes thats forty two thousand dollars a week, yes a week on flowers…..imagine!!!!
Hi Sarah
Sometimes you dont necessarily need a flower to have flowers!! It can be a bunch of green leaves from the garden, or some berries or whatever. I call it ‘roadsidia’. I live at Newport and have my own garden full of gorgeous plants, but not one ‘flower’ per se. Just amazing foliage full of colour. Always something there if I am desperate.
Another trick is in the vase, a jam jar with a leaf tied around it with string might be the perfect vessel. One can never have too many vases you know.
I love the flower markets, you are welcome to come with me one morning, it is certainly a heady experience. Great coffee too and home again by 7am.
Loving you blog and glad you love our northern beaches.
Di xx
Sarah,
You are so kind, thank You for putting a link to me in your post!! You made my day~ actually night, I am off to bed.
I love what you did with your ladder. Only you could come up with a great idea like this. I get so many ideas from you!!! It is always such a treat to visit your blog!!!
Hope you are having a great day!
TAke Care,
Maria
I live in Holland and the flowers are really cheap overhere. So if I wanted I could buy a lot of them. But most of the time I buy one bunch. Then it’s an eyecatcher for me and I believe it’s nice to enjoy them from start to end! It’s hard to throw them away, I make little bunches or sometimes there is only one leftover and I will place it on my bedsidetable. I try to buy only seasonal flowers, so now it’s dutch tulips. You can buy tulips all over the year but I think they belong to the spring. In my country when people come for a visit or a birthday it’s common to take flowers or a blooming plant.
Well I am an Interior Designer and I find what you do with a $8 bunch of dahlias inspiring. On Easter Saturday I left it too late to get some flowers and all I could get was a very daggy bunch of green flowers.I tried all my usual ways of arranging them and they looked terrible. In the end, inspired by you, I pulled out 3 antique milk bottles and shoved a few in each bottle. Viola the simplicity of it looked perfect:) Thanks Sarah.
I’ve always filled my house with flowers too Sarah but moving further north has caused me some ‘flower stress’. The humidity here on the north coast is very unkind to cut flowers. I still indulge but not as often.
Now I am in the process of planting an old fashioned picking garden like my grandmother had. Come spring, I’ll be able to pick fresh blooms from my own garden every day and it won’t matter if they wilt after a day or two, I’ll just pick more.
Hugs ~ Kerryanne