Well I am good and I have to tell you I have been foofing around with the new deck and a bit of beach decor…it’s starting to look a lot like a coastal deck around here….it isn’t finished, the front door isn’t here and this whole cottage is a complete and utter mess, plus we have a few teenage boys here hanging around making it look even worse but it is getting there…
I couldn’t resist though doing a bit for styling, even though it’s not ready.
Originally I wanted Adirondacks out there, but now it’s done I am re-thinking this…so I have tried a couple of the chairs I already have hanging around to see what they look like…now I am thinking that actually French style vintage cafe chairs would be nice…hmmm so would the budget for those…
So I shopped the house…I want a few vintage bits out there and I want somewhere I can put my limoncello in the evening and display a vase of flowers, and a place to put things found beachcombing so that when we come in from sport or the beach it says welcome…
This is that old packing box that Miss Beach Cottage and Mr Beach Cottage found for me on the side of the road on the way to a sporting event at the beach on the other side of Sydney…they thought I would love it for beach decor and I did…not bad for free…best thing about it is it is easy to move around…it has lived in various places around here, and not looking bad on here either…
It probably will not be of much surprise to you to hear that I want hydrangeas on the new deck…but…with the hydrangea knowledge that I have acquired I am thinking it may just be a bit too hot out here for their liking…so I tried these out here in blue (I have white and pink too, but I am in blue phase at the mo’) and I love the pop of colour, though actually I love my white ones too so who knows….I need to find pots for them
…goodness, I am not keen on pot shopping, we’ve talked about this before…give me plain, simple and classic and not modern, strange shaped and some odd colour and I would be happy.
I am pretty happy with the terracotta ones I got for the Ugly Patio Area and the lavender so I will probs give those a go if I find nothing else. Also, aren’t pots so expensive? Do you think that too? Everything I seem to like if you times it by 3 means a big budget chunk. Story of my life I reckon.
I tried this coir mat out here…but what I am keeping my eye open for is either a grey one or a stripe one, the coir, to my eye, actually just blends in too much…
I am also planning to have some lavender on the deck too…I love coastal lavender…not quite sure what that is, but to me it means lavender that grows here…the fragrance plus the coastal air equals simply lovely…
To be honest I will probably be changing this up pretty often…in my mind I am kinda claiming this little area as mine…Beach Cottage playground…for styling and moving stuff around, my occupational hazard and yet another excuse to go foof with beach decor and vintage treasure hunting…not that I need any kinda excuse!
OK…see you soon…I have an amazing beauty secret/tip/recipe to show you soon…it’s from the Beach Cottage Facebook girls…I have been using it the last few weeks, and now I look twenty years younger, haha, well not really, but it’s dirt cheap and has made my skin feel soft…so that’s always a bonus…
Yours in foofing
p.s. had lots of emails about the enamel vase when I blogged it before…it is from Freedom, I wish it were a vintage one, but this one is pretty good quality and I am loving it..xo
It looks fantastic! So fun to see, too, when my side of the world is so cold and rainy. I love LOVE the hydrangeas! I want to just plant them everywhere!
Coming along very nicely my friend ! I like the chair that you have there, looks like it would be comfy with a big soft cushion. I have to wonder do you have night blooming jasmine there? Its a dark green vine with the prettiest small white star like flowers. The smell is luscious ! It grows very well, even survives our hard winters. Keep foofing ! Looks great !
Love the hydrangas and totally agree with pot conundrum. I have 2 large nicely weathered stone pots (that my husbands great aunt gave us as a wedding present 15 years ago) with ENORMOUS white fluffy hydrangas in them that are looking totally FAB at the moment – not to brag but Im so thrilled with them – beautiful green and white and plenty to pick.
Thanks for banana bread recipe – will try today – looks very good and cant wait to toast it – am hoping picky breakfast eating boy will embrace it, coz you did say it was healthy !!
Sarah you just have the knack for making things look gorgeous.
Wish you could pop over to Tassie and help me do the same with my shabby chic (but more shabby!) house by the beach.
Sigh.
Still got to find the perfect blue for the outside of the house!!!
You find the best stuff for free. Love that box and the white chair.
Couldn’t you (would you?) just paint a sisal rug with some beachy french stripes? Where have I seen a post about that before… (thinking thinking thinking)….Ah ha!
Hi Sarah the deck looks great!! It is fun to fill a new empty room/deck lots of ideas to try!! Does your deck have a roof over it?? to protect from rain/harsh sun??
This past Spring I got to re-do my tiny screen porch – one of me favorite additions was an outdoor rug. It really defines the space (silly, the 4 walls do that!). Having that small bit of pattern on the floor seems to hold everything in place, tie it all together and just give a nice definition to the space. I did a lot of online searching and found many options, but was lucky enough to find what I wanted at JC Penneys!
I love where you are going with the front deck Sarah and it will be great to see the regular foofing you do of it too
I need a jab of inspiration to get stuck into our patio area…it’s so plain and dull out there at the moment.
Hmm, can’t wait to hear what this beauty secret of yours is..I’ve been unplugged from fb quite a bit these days so haven’t been privy to what goes on there but my ultra cheap beauty tip is cleansing with honey, I swear by it
I’m just letting you know out of courtesy – even though I don’t live in the same city as you – it will be me following you in a car this weekend to compete to find another one of those tea chests / packing boxes.
I will wait for you to slow down and I will hopefully nab the next side of the road treasure find first
Well, the way I see it, you have to keep foofing the deck so the new wood will age the same way. You don’t want to move a chair and see a big brown spot where the wood was hidden and didn’t get that lovely gray patina, right? That would be my story to stick with… LOL
Looking good Sarah! Oh how I wish I were there. It is getting cold here in VA It is supposed to be 23 degrees tonight. UGH! I can’t stand it this cold. I agree with Kath keep foofing I have seen too many spots where the wood ages from not foofing around. Happy Day to you!
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
but it is getting there…
It looks fantastic! So fun to see, too, when my side of the world is so cold and rainy. I love LOVE the hydrangeas! I want to just plant them everywhere!
~Angela~
I know the same for me…love looking at the snow on blogs at this time of the year….I miss cold and snow…but not that much haha
x
x
x
Hi Sarah,
Love your foofing. Well done! It looks fantastic.
Kel x
Coming along very nicely my friend ! I like the chair that you have there, looks like it would be comfy with a big soft cushion. I have to wonder do you have night blooming jasmine there? Its a dark green vine with the prettiest small white star like flowers. The smell is luscious ! It grows very well, even survives our hard winters. Keep foofing ! Looks great !
yes we do I think…hmmm good idea! x
Coastal Deck coming along very nicely I’d say.
Love the hydrangas and totally agree with pot conundrum. I have 2 large nicely weathered stone pots (that my husbands great aunt gave us as a wedding present 15 years ago) with ENORMOUS white fluffy hydrangas in them that are looking totally FAB at the moment – not to brag but Im so thrilled with them – beautiful green and white and plenty to pick.
Thanks for banana bread recipe – will try today – looks very good and cant wait to toast it – am hoping picky breakfast eating boy will embrace it, coz you did say it was healthy !!
have a great day xx
I am jealous of your pots and your flowers
So lovely as always! Thanks for continuing to inspire us!
Megan
Sarah you just have the knack for making things look gorgeous.
Wish you could pop over to Tassie and help me do the same with my shabby chic (but more shabby!) house by the beach.
Sigh.
Still got to find the perfect blue for the outside of the house!!!
You find the best stuff for free. Love that box and the white chair.
Couldn’t you (would you?) just paint a sisal rug with some beachy french stripes? Where have I seen a post about that before… (thinking thinking thinking)….Ah ha!
Like this?
http://heidi-heartandhome.blogspot.com/2010/07/how-to-paint-sisal-rug-beachy-at-heart.html
Loving the yellow green and different sized stripes on this one:
http://houseandhome.com/design/diy-painted-rug
There’s a good video for it at the start of that second link…
wow thanks , I just took a look at the link, I would never have thought of doing that to a rug! x
Hi Sarah the deck looks great!! It is fun to fill a new empty room/deck lots of ideas to try!! Does your deck have a roof over it?? to protect from rain/harsh sun??
This past Spring I got to re-do my tiny screen porch – one of me favorite additions was an outdoor rug. It really defines the space (silly, the 4 walls do that!). Having that small bit of pattern on the floor seems to hold everything in place, tie it all together and just give a nice definition to the space. I did a lot of online searching and found many options, but was lucky enough to find what I wanted at JC Penneys!
Mary in MN
Very pretty! I love the way your green gummies add a bit of warmth (I love green). Do you have a shade sail/awning overhead?
no there isn’t any cover on the front. x
Oh, it just looks like one with the diffuse light and white sky . .
I love where you are going with the front deck Sarah and it will be great to see the regular foofing you do of it too
I need a jab of inspiration to get stuck into our patio area…it’s so plain and dull out there at the moment.
Hmm, can’t wait to hear what this beauty secret of yours is..I’ve been unplugged from fb quite a bit these days so haven’t been privy to what goes on there but my ultra cheap beauty tip is cleansing with honey, I swear by it
Hello Miss Foofer
I’m just letting you know out of courtesy – even though I don’t live in the same city as you – it will be me following you in a car this weekend to compete to find another one of those tea chests / packing boxes.
I will wait for you to slow down and I will hopefully nab the next side of the road treasure find first
It’s all looking gorgeous Sarah – well done
Have a wonderful day,
loulou, from hereiamloulou blog
x
Well, the way I see it, you have to keep foofing the deck so the new wood will age the same way. You don’t want to move a chair and see a big brown spot where the wood was hidden and didn’t get that lovely gray patina, right? That would be my story to stick with… LOL
I’d like to have a cup of tea on your deck. I’d also like to look 20 yrs younger. heh heh
Looking good Sarah! Oh how I wish I were there. It is getting cold here in VA It is supposed to be 23 degrees tonight. UGH! I can’t stand it this cold. I agree with Kath keep foofing I have seen too many spots where the wood ages from not foofing around. Happy Day to you!
Just clipped my last bloom from the hydrangeas. Alas, it is winter in florida.
Love the foofing! Laura
It looks gorgeous. Enjoy
xx