Hello, how the devil are you all. Be warned this is a rambling post.
The other day I had to answer some interview questions and I said that one of the things about this old place that is great in the hot summer months is the old Moreton Bay Fig Tree…a huge old thing, where we have a hammock precariously hung …a great spot to swing and read in the cool…
Later on I was in the garden, which I must say is in need of weeding and a little ahem rough around the edges when I got to digging under the old orange tree…and I thought actually this little gem is a pretty good asset too…
We found this old dear when we had moved into the cottage, all was white, floors were stripped, kitchen and en-suite were in but that was about it… and after the initial zap by a local gardening firm who had to dig in the undergrowth to find the lawn the garden was looking far from good….very bare and very very neglected.
It was a hot and dry summer and I thought there was not much hope of ever getting this place looking good…and for sure I quickly threw all my dreams of an English style garden heaving with laden David Austin roses and things that basically need much water swiftly out the window.
But, when the winter came there were a few redeeming features to the garden, first of all after sitting in many a sloping garden we realised that our 'landscaped' (and I use that term very loosely) flat garden was a boon around here.
And as we worked, interspersed with my whining, we strangely began to come upon the idea that this old place must once have been very much loved….you see, one day clearing the weeds that were thigh high on the right side of the cottage we started to discover the basis of someone's planning…we found a path, we realised that the old blue bench, though particularly hideous had been placed precisely to get the winter sun, the laundry line sitting in the breeze just where the sun hits all year round…and the remnants of what we think was a veggie plot.
…and then we found the tree…it was sort of hidden under weeds, strangled by overhanging stuff from next door and it was full of dead branches, abandoned through years of neglect…at the time it had the odd tiny little green fruit on it which being from a land where ya oranges tend to arrive on an aeroplane and certainly don't grow in your garden, we thought they were limes…
So I stripped that thing back…you could almost hear her sigh as I pruned back the old dead wood zapping her back to life.
Now she still doesn't give us an abundance of fruit, it is definitely a ratty round the edges orange tree…but to sit up here warmed by the winter sun…it's one of my better discoveries…
Well anyway, after all that I actually came here to talk about vintage plates.
Really?
Nooooooooo!
Yep, knowing that you all sit around breathlessly awaiting the next addition of my treasure hunting escapades I thought I'd get some blue and white and vintage china going on…under that orange tree…in the sun…
Sooo, the blue one with the gold is one of my favourite old vintage pieces though I think I seem to write that everytime I mention a piece of old china on here…I got it while shopping at Anthropologie while overseas *wink *wink (yeah in my dreams, I got it from Salvos).
It's a Meakin, of course from the Old Country, the gold gilding mostly faded away now and with a name like Florida Sol, I think it may well have found the right home under that tree.
I love these old vintage beauties…stacked up in a tumultuous pile…and believe it or not, do not gasp, I love the ones with all the colour…
…but today's theme, for some reason was blue
…and the other one, a sweet as little platter, no idea where I found it, oh yeah it was Anthropologie, Johnson Bros, lurving the old painted flower…funnily enough named Moderne…sweetly ironic dontchya think?
Sooo, I hope you enjoyed Afternoon Tea with me? Do tell.
How very nice.
Righto I seriously have to get myself outta here
…the BC Boys will shortly be home from swimming about ready to eat the house…
I have a chilli that's been sitting in the slow cooker all day getting spicy…
See you around ladies
p.s. totally off topic, but if any of you have a Black Bean Soup recipe up your sleeve I'd love it (remember I am a slap and dash kinda gal, no fussing…I was thinking about this one, but would love the real mccoy, cheers)
oh and there is a ROCKING GIVEAWAY going on here, check it out
What a lovely post Sarah….I really liked the bit about the thinking how your house must have been once very much loved….your house must be so happy that you are living there now
I did enjoy arvo tea with you, thanks for having me! As much as I love you vintage plates, (very cute ones there), I really enjoyed hearing about you uncovering your garden! Your old orange tree sounds like a gem, once they get to a certain age though, it is hard to get them fruiting like a youngun again… You could always graft some other citrus onto it?? A lime, mandarin or lemon maybe?
Anyway… dinner is calling me aswell, so have a great night, I hope your chilli is delish! Flick
I enjoyed this rambler of a story..and will say it again–you know how to take a picture girl! You are my hero in that department! Thanks for the tip earlier. Have a great Aussie day!
Amy
Thanks Sarah, I enjoyed “arvo tea”. I am rather partial to that last little jam jar. You are so lucky to be able to enjoy the great out doors. We are freezing our butts off down here in the South of this here Great Southern Land.
Love afternoon tea, esp at BC
I’m no expert gardener but I understand the trick with citrus is to feed them… slow release pellets esp for citrus will do… around the trunk but also around the drip line that’s where the branches reach out to…they are hungry… so give em heaps!
x de
One jar of salsa
Two cans of black beans
Two cups of chicken broth
Heat salsa in large saucepan. Add beans and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Puree about half in your blender. Serves four. Top with a dollop of salsa and a dollop of sour cream if you are feeling fancy.
I just had afternoon tea with you, in the sun in your back yard! You have the gift Sarah – I was right there, not just seeing through your words but that wonderful realisation about the heart of the garden, that it had been loved.
You are so funny, I love the way you write. How wonderful for you to have discovered an ORANGE tree, yeah, like Great Britain, our oranges arrive on an airplane. I would so love to have an orange tree in my yard.
Hugs, Cindy S
GOSH. What a lovely escape from the gloomy day we are experiencing, here! First day of summer holidays for my kids and it is going to storm, big time! Oh, well, good movie day : ) Your little garden is precious and I can only imagine having a wee orange tree, as our winters are much too cold. All of the details are so vividly presented–the candle holders, the beautiful mixed-up plates, the pretty linens. Scrumptious!
xx Suzanne
What a gift of story telling you have, Sarah. Such a gift! Not to mention your artful photos…It was really nice to see another portion of your life in the Beach Cottage by inviting us outside with you.
Thank you for another exquisite posting….
Oh, and I, too, am very partial to that sweet jam jar!
Yes I love the aussie backyard , we too have an orange tree but after 4 years this is our first year with fruit . We’ve had a terrible lot of orange stinky bugs these past years. Anyway…I managed to kill the lot and this year …Yeh..Oranges. love the post Sarah.
Sarah what a beautiful tea! I am in Florida and we adore our citrus. Feeding it 3 or 4 times a year will bring great results. For black bean soup I would saute some chopped onion, green pepper and garlic, add two or three cans of drained black beans. Then add a can of tomatoes, some oregano and a dash of vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. If you can get cilantro throw a little of that in too. If not, you can leave it off. Add a little water if needed and heat through. Puree about 1 cup of the mixture in the blender and then pour it back into the beans to thicken it. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a slice of lime. Yumm.
I think your yard is lovely Sarah! And there are some awesome bean soup/stew recipes in book The Kind Diet, Veganicon, and Clean Food. They all have delish recipes I think you and your family will love!
Well MS SARAH…..once again you have transported MOIS to a place FAR FAR away from my own garden…
OMG with the never ending drought we have had in melbourne & water restrictions…my garden..(which is BIG)..looks HIDEOUS!!! front yard okay…back yard BLAAHHH!!~~
anwyay…love the plates…looks a lovely pleasant & relaxing setting…
ps..thanks for the “egg” tip…hey I even managed to BOIL an egg or two!!
xx andrea…with the little swallow chanel tattoo placed strategically on my wrist…with LOTS of stares…I just tell people it is my little “MID life crisis..”..it keeps em guessing!!! lol..
Hi Sarah, Boy is it raining here in good ol’ England but I have just been back home in a good ol’ Aussie back yard under a lovely ol’ orange tree. How lovely that you discovered her and the love that obviously someone had once put into the Beach Cottage garden and now you are there to put love into it all over again. That was one charming post. Bye for now.x
Oh what a wonderful afternoon tea, thanks!!
Looks like a wonderful spot to sit in the winter afternoon sun. Fabulous that you were eventually able to find the ‘bones’ of the original garden
Alison
Good stuff! The sofrito really doesn’t take long to start, & then I just dump the chicken broth all in with it and the beans and simmer. I don’t spend a lot of steps on it.
We have a bush lemon tree in our yard (paddock).
I just love it every winter I make tonnes of lemon butter and lemon tarts and lemonade- such a useful little tree.
I love your collection of odd plates, I have a collection of cup, saucer and plates that I have picked up at op shops and garage sales. It is fun to set all the odd sets around the table for morning or afternoon tea.
Love everything Anthropologie and to find a piece at Vinnies would be a dream. Unearthing treasures in an old garden can be fun, you never know what little treasures are lurking in the undergrowth.
Aaaaahhh, how lovely…I’m perched on a different coast, half a planet away, really touched by your words and images. There’s something about witnessing beauty – it descends with a quiet grace into one’s heart, I think – and I thank you for your contributions to my heart today…
~Susabella
I love your cottage and seriously need you to visit my little beach place in NZ to give me some pointers on what to do with a very small place.
But in the meantime what colour white do you normally use, guessing Australia have the same brands we do.
Backyard from hell when we bought our place? Tick. Uncovering the care and hours of hard work by another possessed gardener? Tick. Sometimes, I felt like an archeaologist on a dig at our place. Or a soldier in Vietnam. The first job we had to tackle was chop out the running bamboo that had clogged the entire backyard. No more bamboo at our place now. It’s all at the neighbours’!
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 …]
Well G’day Beach Cottage ladies. Of course some of you guessed correctly, no flies on Beach Cottage gals are there? A Summer House window dressing, beach vintage style. One that I got very wrong. I’ll keep this short and sweet The vintage crochet patchwork curtain? Love. Pure love. But, put it this [...]
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
oh what a tranquil setting in a good old Aussie backyard.
Delightful Sarah x
What a lovely post Sarah….I really liked the bit about the thinking how your house must have been once very much loved….your house must be so happy that you are living there now
I did enjoy arvo tea with you, thanks for having me! As much as I love you vintage plates, (very cute ones there), I really enjoyed hearing about you uncovering your garden! Your old orange tree sounds like a gem, once they get to a certain age though, it is hard to get them fruiting like a youngun again… You could always graft some other citrus onto it?? A lime, mandarin or lemon maybe?
Flick
Anyway… dinner is calling me aswell, so have a great night, I hope your chilli is delish!
I enjoyed this rambler of a story..and will say it again–you know how to take a picture girl! You are my hero in that department! Thanks for the tip earlier. Have a great Aussie day!
Amy
Every single image is lovely. What a treat this has been.
Enjoy your day Sarah,
Rene
Thanks Sarah, I enjoyed “arvo tea”. I am rather partial to that last little jam jar. You are so lucky to be able to enjoy the great out doors. We are freezing our butts off down here in the South of this here Great Southern Land.
Love afternoon tea, esp at BC
I’m no expert gardener but I understand the trick with citrus is to feed them… slow release pellets esp for citrus will do… around the trunk but also around the drip line that’s where the branches reach out to…they are hungry… so give em heaps!
x de
Hey, those lights are absolutely lovely! Did you make them yourself? (of course you did
Thank you Sarah, for a lovely morning. I enjoyed visiting with you under your tree.
Debbie@houseatthelake
What a wonderful suprise to find a treasure in your backyard!! Love the tablescape and the glass jars hanging! Have a fabulous day!
Easiest black bean soup recipe, ever.
One jar of salsa
Two cans of black beans
Two cups of chicken broth
Heat salsa in large saucepan. Add beans and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Puree about half in your blender. Serves four. Top with a dollop of salsa and a dollop of sour cream if you are feeling fancy.
I just had afternoon tea with you, in the sun in your back yard! You have the gift Sarah – I was right there, not just seeing through your words but that wonderful realisation about the heart of the garden, that it had been loved.
What a splendid discovery!! I love your tea area, the wonderful glass jar for a candle, the ratty but wonderful dishes.
Everything is so cute… I love it!
You are so funny, I love the way you write. How wonderful for you to have discovered an ORANGE tree, yeah, like Great Britain, our oranges arrive on an airplane. I would so love to have an orange tree in my yard.
Hugs, Cindy S
GOSH. What a lovely escape from the gloomy day we are experiencing, here! First day of summer holidays for my kids and it is going to storm, big time! Oh, well, good movie day : ) Your little garden is precious and I can only imagine having a wee orange tree, as our winters are much too cold. All of the details are so vividly presented–the candle holders, the beautiful mixed-up plates, the pretty linens. Scrumptious!
xx Suzanne
such a restful setting…
What a gift of story telling you have, Sarah. Such a gift! Not to mention your artful photos…It was really nice to see another portion of your life in the Beach Cottage by inviting us outside with you.
Thank you for another exquisite posting….
Oh, and I, too, am very partial to that sweet jam jar!
Hugs ~
laurie@heavenswalk
Yes I love the aussie backyard , we too have an orange tree but after 4 years this is our first year with fruit . We’ve had a terrible lot of orange stinky bugs these past years. Anyway…I managed to kill the lot and this year …Yeh..Oranges. love the post Sarah.
I also love collecting plates of all sized. Even if I can only afford one ~ it still brings me great joy. Thanks for the lovely post.
I just put the kettle on . . . come join me – no garden but a lovely lake view.(and mountains)
Lovely sharing tea and enjoyed your rambling very much!
You always make simple things look so romantic and easy….you can just picture yourself there just by reading and seeing your photos.
Lovely, Thank You!!
Sarah what a beautiful tea! I am in Florida and we adore our citrus. Feeding it 3 or 4 times a year will bring great results. For black bean soup I would saute some chopped onion, green pepper and garlic, add two or three cans of drained black beans. Then add a can of tomatoes, some oregano and a dash of vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. If you can get cilantro throw a little of that in too. If not, you can leave it off. Add a little water if needed and heat through. Puree about 1 cup of the mixture in the blender and then pour it back into the beans to thicken it. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a slice of lime. Yumm.
I think your yard is lovely Sarah! And there are some awesome bean soup/stew recipes in book The Kind Diet, Veganicon, and Clean Food. They all have delish recipes I think you and your family will love!
What a delightful place to have afternoon tea!!
Well MS SARAH…..once again you have transported MOIS to a place FAR FAR away from my own garden…
OMG with the never ending drought we have had in melbourne & water restrictions…my garden..(which is BIG)..looks HIDEOUS!!! front yard okay…back yard BLAAHHH!!~~
anwyay…love the plates…looks a lovely pleasant & relaxing setting…
ps..thanks for the “egg” tip…hey I even managed to BOIL an egg or two!!
xx andrea…with the little swallow chanel tattoo placed strategically on my wrist…with LOTS of stares…I just tell people it is my little “MID life crisis..”..it keeps em guessing!!! lol..
Hi Sarah, Boy is it raining here in good ol’ England but I have just been back home in a good ol’ Aussie back yard under a lovely ol’ orange tree. How lovely that you discovered her and the love that obviously someone had once put into the Beach Cottage garden and now you are there to put love into it all over again. That was one charming post. Bye for now.x
Oh what a wonderful afternoon tea, thanks!!
Looks like a wonderful spot to sit in the winter afternoon sun. Fabulous that you were eventually able to find the ‘bones’ of the original garden
Alison
A lovely garden to go with your amazing cottage? How nice! Can’t wait to see the pics of the garden as you bring it back to life too.
Hey, Sarah, I DO have a great black bean soup recipe, as a matter of fact, I’m making it tonight. Here’s my link, it’s authentic Cuban from Miami:
http://southernhospitalityblog.com/cuban-black-bean-soup/
Good stuff! The sofrito really doesn’t take long to start, & then I just dump the chicken broth all in with it and the beans and simmer. I don’t spend a lot of steps on it.
We have a bush lemon tree in our yard (paddock).
I just love it every winter I make tonnes of lemon butter and lemon tarts and lemonade- such a useful little tree.
I love your collection of odd plates, I have a collection of cup, saucer and plates that I have picked up at op shops and garage sales. It is fun to set all the odd sets around the table for morning or afternoon tea.
Love everything Anthropologie and to find a piece at Vinnies would be a dream. Unearthing treasures in an old garden can be fun, you never know what little treasures are lurking in the undergrowth.
Aaaaahhh, how lovely…I’m perched on a different coast, half a planet away, really touched by your words and images. There’s something about witnessing beauty – it descends with a quiet grace into one’s heart, I think – and I thank you for your contributions to my heart today…
~Susabella
Lovely!
Made your inspiration board my ‘ Favourite blog Friday’ today.
I love your cottage and seriously need you to visit my little beach place in NZ to give me some pointers on what to do with a very small place.
But in the meantime what colour white do you normally use, guessing Australia have the same brands we do.
Backyard from hell when we bought our place? Tick. Uncovering the care and hours of hard work by another possessed gardener? Tick. Sometimes, I felt like an archeaologist on a dig at our place. Or a soldier in Vietnam. The first job we had to tackle was chop out the running bamboo that had clogged the entire backyard. No more bamboo at our place now. It’s all at the neighbours’!
Lovely lovely images – I am a big fan of jam jars as vases! It’s amazing isn’t it what a garden can divulge? Lou x
How wonderful-just like “The Secret Garden”. It must be so rewarding to bring your garden back to life!
That last plate is so beautiful!!
how come i didn’t get an invite? you know how i love a good garden party….