Thanks for the comments yesterday, I am sorry I didn’t get to reply to you all…I was out and about in the city for a birthday lunch…it was fab, and today I am out and about on the beaches doing sport…plus we are spending some time at the beach, plus going to look at a puppy…so I haven’t had a whole lot of time for you, but I have read every single one…thanks so much
My new thing for 2012 is replying directly to comments on here…I was really missing before how the comments section was not very interactive, sometimes I feel like I am talking to myself and then you were doing the same, so I have installed a new plug-in that means I can reply and you will get an email from me…yay! So here’s to me getting to know YOU more in 2012, I think you know quite a lot about me now, cough, cough.
oh and knobs and knockers…
on yesterday’s post many of you asked whether the door knobs here in Australia (and in the UK as far as I know) are always up that high, about two thirds of the way up……yes they are….I have never seen any that are any different…obviously from where some of you come from this isn’t the case???
So let’s talk knobs shall we, sounds like fun…. please fill me in on this more…errrrm quite where are your door knobs and knockers, and if your knobs are low, quite how do you fiddle and open them?
Spill the beans…
♥ ♥ ♥
So welcome to the first Beach ♥ Cottage Saturday Club of the year…. the day you get some downtime and take care of you…
there’s nothing too fancy schmancy… just celebrating life,
with a little bit of spare time for you
you certainly don’t need a bundle of cash…this is about celebrating the little things!
…so sit back, plan your Saturday’s and enjoy!
oh and of course, it goes without saying that you can do these missions any day of the week…
think of me when you are clubbing and oh, try and wear a ruffle!
Today, taking into account all the excesses that might have passed your lips or brushed your thighs in the past few weeks, and especially if you have made my Chocolate Tart, we are going chocolate and calorie free… this misison is with your eyes…and using your legs…to work off a few of those extra, ahem, pounds
♥ ♥ ♥
Your mission :
Should you choose to accept it
is this
you must
get yourself
some
comfy
clothes
and easy shoes
wherever you may
be
inner-city
deep in the woods
knee deep in
freezing
weather
or
baking
at the
beach
you must plan
a
open your eyes
& take it in
route
then ladies
you must head outdoors
in that fresh air
you must rediscover
all that is
around you
you must stop
and look at
that snow covered leaf
you must bend down
and pick up that pretty white shell
you must stop and
look over your
neighbour’s
fence
at their flowers
and
their new front door
you must saunter
and stroll
you must go easy
and
b r e a t h e
you must look
up
and gaze at the sky
you must
skip
a little
skip
and as you pass some other walker
taking in the air
you must
smile
wink
and say
G’day
Enjoy…
Here are a couple of discoveries from my walking around this place I love to live
I dutifully take you up on the Saturday Club and will go and get my hair done today (sans children)
Gladly – this will come with free time for me – the elusive word ‘time’.
Careful it’s a slippery little sucker and slips away from one in an instant if one isn’t careful.
Oh a puppy – now we have to guess some beachy name until you will reveal more.
I’m already thinking… of all our aussie surfers nicknames for it (or what about beachley after layne beachley).
Hmmm…i’ve arranged coffee time with the girls tomorrow. In Canada, our door ‘knobs’ are at about waste height. I even took small one out today to find a special birthday frock for her
Here in the states the door knobs are mid height to the door. I love the way yours looks…so charming and the knob is awesome. Don’t see anything like that around my neck of the woods -FL. Ohh, a puppy. Can’t wait to find out more about that! As for you replying to the comments, I have to tell ya, it does make it feel like we’re on a more personal level….like having a conversation! LOVE IT!!
Hi Sarah – I have gone around and checked all the knobs in my house . . I live in NZ, my house was built in 2000 as a spec house (ie not for a particular client). All the door handles are exactly halfway up the door – internal doors, external doors and ranch sliders. I’m sure this is to make it possible to install the doors either way (ie upside down if necessary) to get a right- or left-handed opening. The previous house I lived in was built around ’98 and was the same. The house before THAT was a mid-century flat and had high door handles. So maybe high door handles are a retro thing? And have become more of an ‘aesthetic choice’, rather than purely practical like my halfway-point ones?
(I am really going to try to go for a walk – even though it is hosing down as usual! La Nina isn’t doing us any favours this summer!)
A walk sounds fantastic. I’ve got two in already this week (my mission “possible”). Saturday may have to be a long bike ride around the lake with the kiddos but I’ll def make a point to take it all in.
Puppy? Oh how my children would wish you were their mother today. ❈ Although I suppose it wouldn’t be such a chore to have a dog in Australia? Can’t wait to see pics.
Hello Sarah….I , too, look forward to personal replys. One of the reasons I hardly ever leave comments is that if someone replys I never go back to read so……………….. I live in Kansas (and am so jealous of your beaches) in the USA and our doorknobs are exactly in the middle of the door. By the way, I love the new door color!
Ooops hello Paula. I know it takes far too long to go back to replies hopefully you will be getting this in your inbox. I am not sure quite where Kansas is but sounds good! ThAnks for commenting. I appreciate it sarah
Our door knobs here in the USA are about halfway down the door. I wanted to ask you about the straw bag you carry. I went on the website but couldn’t find that bag. I have 2 that are a bit smaller MEDINA baskets that I got at a local shop. Can you please….let me know which bag it is? I love yours and need a bag alittle larger. I plan on doing some thrifting and getting a haircut tomorrow for my Sat. Club…. ALONE!!!!! Hope you have a great day!
I’m going to take you up on the walk. I need to get out and enjoy the beautiful weekend expected here in Arkansas.
As for the knobs in Arkansas?? The are on the left or right hand side depending on your door and usually about waist high.
I love the way your new door looks!! The color is perfect. And I love the door knob up high, it is unique to us here in the US.
I wish you the best with your new puppy. I’ve raised mine since he was 3 weeks old. Bottle fed and everything. He is now 14 and is looking quite old. We know we won’t have him much longer and that, my dear is the drawback to puppies. They grow old.
The best part is the unconditional love and understanding eyes.
hello tabby/sarah – also going for a walk here in arkansas, the weather is gorgeous lately. and i agree with tabby about the doors, it’s not just new builds, they’ve been that way for ages. but when i was in the uk (most often in scotland) i loved the knobs being just enough higher on the door to make me catch myself everytime i reached down, instead of up for the doorknob. i’m usually a lurker, but had to come out of shadows when i saw another from the states (especially my state) commenting. love your blog, cottage, access to beaches, philosophy of clothing, chocolate, and decorating. have travelled many times to nottingham, england and edinburgh, scotland, but now want to come to your “lucky country”. especially in the middle of january or february.
oh Carol, you would love it! it’s an amazing country…though Jan or Feb is pretty hot most places if you are from the Northern Hemisphere…great to visit in Spring!
thanks for your lovely feedback, & welcome out of Lurkdom…it’s much better out here x
Hi Sarah, I haven’t commented before, but have visited now for a wee while, so I thought it was time to say hello!
I live in Hertfordshire in England and our door knob on the front door is half way up, and through out the house they are just below halfway. I love your new door, you chose the right colour!
Yep ours are all at about mid-height on the door in our mid-90′s built house. I think high door handles are a earlier thing here is Australia. I think they look lovely up high!
The door knobs half way up over here in the West of Oz. Our typical house here is a double brick with rendered/plastered walls and either a tiled roof or recently more popular tin roof. Not that anyone asked that, just pointing out the differences between the west and east coast. Love the high up knob though.
Yes – mid way up the door here, too (Canada). I miss the high knobs from when I lived in the UK when I was in school and then in Australia as well. I really liked how the lock was part of the knob in England. You’d just shut the door behind you and not have to worry about locking the dead bolt with a key. So much simpler although I’d probably be locking myself out of the house more often with that system…
I’m in Virginia, and all of the doors in my (fairly new, built within the past 5 years) townhouse have the knobs on the right side. At the school where I teach, some are on the right and some are on the left depending on what side of the hallway one’s classroom is on. But all of the knobs in my life are halfway up the door What do Aussie kiddos do about getting in and out with the knobs up so high?
HI Sarah, I hightailed it out to the Aussie bush to have a cuppa with my bush bestie and we rejigged her big girls bedroom until the sweat was pouring off us and we couldn’t laugh any more. Result one happy tween, two happy but exhausted ladies. Win Win, happy weekend.
In our house which is a hodge podge of old and new we have door knobs of varying heights, some in the middle, and some high up. I actually find the high up ones annoying when the kids can’t reach them and you are constantly jumping up to open a door to let a little one back in- good exercise I suppose!
I managed to slip out and get my brows and lashes done by a sweet girl who lives up the road and has a “salon” at her house. Dh took the rugrats to the movies while I pampered myself!!
I have a 1900 house in NZ and all the internal knobs are low – just below the middle. Front door, which is maybe not original, has knob just above the middle…. 60s extension door is high…
I noticed that you were replying to comments. I think that’s quite impressive when you get as many comments as you do! It does add the personal touch, though, which I think your readers will appreciate. Wishing you a lovely weekend!
Our doorknobs are about waist height in this old farmhouse. We have mostly original brass knobs around here.
I am definitely taking a walk today! I’m building back up to where I was before my surgery. And on a quiet Saturday, there should be more wildlife out.
One of the great things about getting a puppy is that you have such a precious bond with the adult dog later. SO worth the work.
It’s great and personal , the individual responses, though it may be extremely time consuming with your more popular posts.. It’s too hard for me to go for a walk out here in the paddocks, especially at this time of year with all the nasty snakes around, and the 40+ degree temps we had yesterday! Though I might go into town and go for a stroll.
A new puppy! How exciting! I have two 5 year old labs and they remind me everyday to have fun. Just got back from a long walk on the beach, 63F and sunny here today, normally should be 35F. Nice to feel the sun on your face and toes in the sand in the dead of winter!
I am sooo happy to have done the first Sat club for 2012 back home on the beaches!
To date- all of mine have been done in the English countryside…
It was gorgeous- early in the morning, before my house was awake…I walked basket in hand- to collect frangi’s from the end of our street- to buy the SMH…it was warm and quiet and home….
I love your new commenting- as a reader we both share commented via you- and I received it in email…so we could chat at yours too!
Looking forward to seeing what your family have chosen as a puppy- we are heading there too for our three now we are back home.
Happy Sunday….knobs are knockers are higher than miss.6 , but past 40 in this beach house
Happy Back to the Beach New Year, Sarah!
Here on the West Coast of Amerique the weather is rather like yours. We are having a most warm winter and that means our sail tomorrow on the “Lady Washington” (think Pirates of the Caribbean!) out of Newport Beach will be the experience of a lifetime!
Here in So. Cal. the door knobs are unremarkably 35 1/2 inches or 90 Centimeters off the floor on a door in a 6 foot, 8 inch opening. On a truly custom installation on an 8 foot or taller door, designers can change that to anything they desire, high low, centered on the door. etc. You name it. When I saw your door, I loved the high knob!
Love the color you chose!
I didn’t get a chance to pop in and check your blog yesterday but that was because I spent the whole day being led on a tour by a very close friend(and her hubby)of mine around Watsons bay! I got to admire the beautiful houses (and funny enough their doors too lol!), gardens, the cute little shops (well cafe/restaurants) by the beach, the bush track through a nudist beach (there was a lot of blushing and awkward looking at my toes trying really hard not to look at the bits I really didn’t want to see moments – we didn’t realise where we were until it was too late lol)…
We got to see a red and white striped light house (second oldest in Sydney) that is still in use today and drooled just a little at the gorgeous cottage tucked in next to it…. I will go back even through the nudist beach just so I can take my camera this time and take some great photos (of everything but full frontal nudity of course lol). You may notice that the whole nudist thing even though a bit awkward was the highlight and most amusing part of my day (all because it came as a surprise I guess lol)… Then headed home (full of inspiration) to share your lovely panettone creation with my friends and some really good coffee to end the day…I was spoiled yesterday and loved every second!
Well, I was at the beach today and I did pick loads of lil sea-y-beachy shells and conchs I love doing this. My boyfriend (now fiance) and me used to do that a lot. Collect shells and then divide it behind the two of us. kids we are.
I woke up unusually early today and the very moment I opened my eyes I felt like hitting the beach. It was calling me. I was the only one strolling in my pajamas though But that’s what i wanted to do.
Picked up some fresh crabs, came home and made curried crabs as well. What a beautiful day!
i have to transplant my beach cottage saturday club to wednesday, thursday or friday afternoons as that is when my little guy goes to pre-k. so, on one of those days, i will be wandering around following your instructions for some me time and discovering this world again…and you can put money on the fact that i will be heading to my fav fabric warehouse to look for some of that fat stripe-ity fabric to make me a ‘maxi’ skirt like the one you bought from supre. i am so obsessed with that skirt right now it’s not even funny!supre will deliver internationally but, alas, my bottom is not an xxs or an xs, so size-wise, i am out of luck orderign it. i will make one myself though…and i may even send you a picture!
teres xo
from winnipeg, manitoba canada where we are normally in the middle of a couple feet of snow and -30c weather but are relishing in hardly any snow and 0c temps!!!
Hi Sarah. We have an old cottage built in 1886 (in beautiful Devonport in Auckand, N.Z.) and oudoor knobs are really, really low – you almost have to bend down to open them – maybe people were shorter then ???? In our first house which was a 1930′s bungalow they were really high – we’ve gone from the sublime to the ridiculous! Love your blog. Glennie x
Sarah, I can’t believe you are looking at a puppy the same time we are, ha! We are in the process of getting our newest one, another smooth tri-color collie. We expect her to arrive next week at the earliest, she is only 7 weeks old now and we are very excited and ready to train her up to be a good girl in the world of humans. Our 6 yr. old collie is the sweetest with other animals and loves puppies so it is even a present for her, too. Yes, I was surprised to see where the doorknob is on your doors. In America, similar to Canada I suppose, knobs are just under 1/2 way up the door. Not a problem really. Well, off for coffee
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
Hi Sarah
I dutifully take you up on the Saturday Club and will go and get my hair done today (sans children)
Gladly – this will come with free time for me – the elusive word ‘time’.
Careful it’s a slippery little sucker and slips away from one in an instant if one isn’t careful.
Oh a puppy – now we have to guess some beachy name until you will reveal more.
(or what about beachley after layne beachley). 
I’m already thinking… of all our aussie surfers nicknames for it
Have a wonderful day,
loulou, hereiamloulou blog
x
Yay to getting hair done loulou xx
Hmmm…i’ve arranged coffee time with the girls tomorrow. In Canada, our door ‘knobs’ are at about waste height. I even took small one out today to find a special birthday frock for her
Go coffee and girls
Happy frock shopping. Sarah x
Here in the states the door knobs are mid height to the door. I love the way yours looks…so charming and the knob is awesome. Don’t see anything like that around my neck of the woods -FL. Ohh, a puppy. Can’t wait to find out more about that! As for you replying to the comments, I have to tell ya, it does make it feel like we’re on a more personal level….like having a conversation! LOVE IT!!
Yes candy I hope it will make it more personal round here
The knob is awesome candy. I lure it!, xx
Hi Sarah – I have gone around and checked all the knobs in my house . .
I live in NZ, my house was built in 2000 as a spec house (ie not for a particular client). All the door handles are exactly halfway up the door – internal doors, external doors and ranch sliders. I’m sure this is to make it possible to install the doors either way (ie upside down if necessary) to get a right- or left-handed opening. The previous house I lived in was built around ’98 and was the same. The house before THAT was a mid-century flat and had high door handles. So maybe high door handles are a retro thing? And have become more of an ‘aesthetic choice’, rather than purely practical like my halfway-point ones?
(I am really going to try to go for a walk – even though it is hosing down as usual! La Nina isn’t doing us any favours this summer!)
Yes I am now thinking it is the age of this house Nadine tho I have never known a different knob!
I walk in the rain….love it. Enjoy x
A walk sounds fantastic. I’ve got two in already this week (my mission “possible”). Saturday may have to be a long bike ride around the lake with the kiddos but I’ll def make a point to take it all in.
Puppy? Oh how my children would wish you were their mother today. ❈ Although I suppose it wouldn’t be such a chore to have a dog in Australia? Can’t wait to see pics.
Yours from the land of wet, muddy paws,
Jen
yep we are looking for a puppy to join our household Jen…will be fun! xo
Hello Sarah….I , too, look forward to personal replys. One of the reasons I hardly ever leave comments is that if someone replys I never go back to read so……………….. I live in Kansas (and am so jealous of your beaches) in the USA and our doorknobs are exactly in the middle of the door. By the way, I love the new door color!
Yep a puppy is on the cards Paula x. Fun!
Ooops hello Paula. I know it takes far too long to go back to replies hopefully you will be getting this in your inbox. I am not sure quite where Kansas is but sounds good! ThAnks for commenting. I appreciate it sarah
Our door knobs here in the USA are about halfway down the door. I wanted to ask you about the straw bag you carry. I went on the website but couldn’t find that bag. I have 2 that are a bit smaller MEDINA baskets that I got at a local shop. Can you please….let me know which bag it is? I love yours and need a bag alittle larger. I plan on doing some thrifting and getting a haircut tomorrow for my Sat. Club…. ALONE!!!!! Hope you have a great day!
Hi lovely lady. It is at market bag company but I don’t think they ship overseas.
Enjoy alone time shirl’
Sarah
Thanks Sarah! I’m going to check out my local shop again to see what they are carrying….off to get my hair cut!
I’m going to take you up on the walk. I need to get out and enjoy the beautiful weekend expected here in Arkansas.
As for the knobs in Arkansas?? The are on the left or right hand side depending on your door and usually about waist high.
I love the way your new door looks!! The color is perfect. And I love the door knob up high, it is unique to us here in the US.
I wish you the best with your new puppy. I’ve raised mine since he was 3 weeks old. Bottle fed and everything. He is now 14 and is looking quite old. We know we won’t have him much longer and that, my dear is the drawback to puppies. They grow old.
The best part is the unconditional love and understanding eyes.
G’day Arkansas! Enjoy the walk
Glad you like my knobs!!!
We are looking fwd to a puppy Tabby xxx
hello tabby/sarah – also going for a walk here in arkansas, the weather is gorgeous lately. and i agree with tabby about the doors, it’s not just new builds, they’ve been that way for ages. but when i was in the uk (most often in scotland) i loved the knobs being just enough higher on the door to make me catch myself everytime i reached down, instead of up for the doorknob. i’m usually a lurker, but had to come out of shadows when i saw another from the states (especially my state) commenting. love your blog, cottage, access to beaches, philosophy of clothing, chocolate, and decorating. have travelled many times to nottingham, england and edinburgh, scotland, but now want to come to your “lucky country”. especially in the middle of january or february.
oh Carol, you would love it! it’s an amazing country…though Jan or Feb is pretty hot most places if you are from the Northern Hemisphere…great to visit in Spring!
thanks for your lovely feedback, & welcome out of Lurkdom…it’s much better out here x
Hi Sarah, I haven’t commented before, but have visited now for a wee while, so I thought it was time to say hello!
I live in Hertfordshire in England and our door knob on the front door is half way up, and through out the house they are just below halfway. I love your new door, you chose the right colour!
Happy Saturday!
Nicola x
G’day Nicola and hello Hertfordshire…Mr BC used to work in St Albans….
hmm, my doorknobs in England were the same as the one here, looks like I am not the only one though lol X
p.s. welcome out of Lurkdom, I’d love to see you around here xo
Yep ours are all at about mid-height on the door in our mid-90′s built house. I think high door handles are a earlier thing here is Australia. I think they look lovely up high!
yep I do too…I am currently looking at all the houses I pass Becs and their doorknobs haha!
The door knobs half way up over here in the West of Oz. Our typical house here is a double brick with rendered/plastered walls and either a tiled roof or recently more popular tin roof. Not that anyone asked that, just pointing out the differences between the west and east coast. Love the high up knob though.
hmmm, thanks Erin for letting me know…I am now gonna be examining door knobs wherever I go!
x
I love reading your blog. It gets me excited for summer!
well thanks very much Amy…it’s summer here and I am lurving it!
x
I love Beetles! Wish my 13yo shared the same vision. According her her everything that isn’t now and present is the olden days
me too Robyn! ….13 yr olds are 13 yr olds
xo
Yes – mid way up the door here, too (Canada). I miss the high knobs from when I lived in the UK when I was in school and then in Australia as well. I really liked how the lock was part of the knob in England. You’d just shut the door behind you and not have to worry about locking the dead bolt with a key. So much simpler although I’d probably be locking myself out of the house more often with that system…
yes Julie i miss those old doors you slammed behind you…
I am glad to hear it’s not just me who has only ever had doors with knobs high up, I thought I was going mad for a second!
xo
Here’s a post with my favorite picture (so far) of my front door, decorated for fall: http://notjustbrides.blogspot.com/2011/10/great-fall-weekend-design-inspiration.html
I’m in Virginia, and all of the doors in my (fairly new, built within the past 5 years) townhouse have the knobs on the right side. At the school where I teach, some are on the right and some are on the left depending on what side of the hallway one’s classroom is on. But all of the knobs in my life are halfway up the door
What do Aussie kiddos do about getting in and out with the knobs up so high?
hmmm well little one has to kinda lean up and stretch to get the door open…
thanks for the photo…your entrance is beautiful and makes me want to paint my door white lol!
x
HI Sarah, I hightailed it out to the Aussie bush to have a cuppa with my bush bestie and we rejigged her big girls bedroom until the sweat was pouring off us and we couldn’t laugh any more. Result one happy tween, two happy but exhausted ladies. Win Win, happy weekend.
A bush bestie? Wowzas I like the sound of that! Any chance of an invite next time?. Cheers Deb x
In our house which is a hodge podge of old and new we have door knobs of varying heights, some in the middle, and some high up. I actually find the high up ones annoying when the kids can’t reach them and you are constantly jumping up to open a door to let a little one back in- good exercise I suppose!
I have never known another way except knob on door so high up….. always been same for me but since convo it does seem a bit odd Deanne. Xxx
I managed to slip out and get my brows and lashes done by a sweet girl who lives up the road and has a “salon” at her house. Dh took the rugrats to the movies while I pampered myself!!
Yay to pampering. I am planning spa time! Xx
I have a 1900 house in NZ and all the internal knobs are low – just below the middle. Front door, which is maybe not original, has knob just above the middle…. 60s extension door is high…
Hmm interesting Aisling. Seems there is no rhyme or reason to this ! Xx
I noticed that you were replying to comments. I think that’s quite impressive when you get as many comments as you do! It does add the personal touch, though, which I think your readers will appreciate.
Wishing you a lovely weekend!
thanks Liz, I was kinda wanting to get interactive, or what’s the point? glad you noticed and thanks for commenting
x
Our doorknobs are about waist height in this old farmhouse. We have mostly original brass knobs around here.
I am definitely taking a walk today! I’m building back up to where I was before my surgery. And on a quiet Saturday, there should be more wildlife out.
One of the great things about getting a puppy is that you have such a precious bond with the adult dog later. SO worth the work.
God bless! Have a great weekend Sarah!
hoping your surgery recovery is going well Fiona…thinking fresh air and walking will help
happy weekend to you too x
It’s great and personal , the individual responses, though it may be extremely time consuming with your more popular posts.. It’s too hard for me to go for a walk out here in the paddocks, especially at this time of year with all the nasty snakes around, and the 40+ degree temps we had yesterday! Though I might go into town and go for a stroll.
yikes, that is hot!
yep I am enjoying the interaction…I was getting to the point where I felt like I was talking to myself…not a good thing at my age lol
x
My knobs and knockers are quite low due to being in my 40′s…you know gravity.
oh wait…you meant my DOOR KNOBS AND DOOR KNOCKERS. Nevermind.
mine too! oh hang on actually they are on the floor x
A new puppy! How exciting! I have two 5 year old labs and they remind me everyday to have fun. Just got back from a long walk on the beach, 63F and sunny here today, normally should be 35F. Nice to feel the sun on your face and toes in the sand in the dead of winter!
wow sounds like you are having lovely nice sunny day x
Morning Sarah-
I am sooo happy to have done the first Sat club for 2012 back home on the beaches!
To date- all of mine have been done in the English countryside…
It was gorgeous- early in the morning, before my house was awake…I walked basket in hand- to collect frangi’s from the end of our street- to buy the SMH…it was warm and quiet and home….
I love your new commenting- as a reader we both share commented via you- and I received it in email…so we could chat at yours too!
Looking forward to seeing what your family have chosen as a puppy- we are heading there too for our three now we are back home.
Happy Sunday….knobs are knockers are higher than miss.6 , but past 40 in this beach house
Melissa x
sounds great! bet you are glad to be back! x
Happy Back to the Beach New Year, Sarah!
Here on the West Coast of Amerique the weather is rather like yours. We are having a most warm winter and that means our sail tomorrow on the “Lady Washington” (think Pirates of the Caribbean!) out of Newport Beach will be the experience of a lifetime!
Here in So. Cal. the door knobs are unremarkably 35 1/2 inches or 90 Centimeters off the floor on a door in a 6 foot, 8 inch opening. On a truly custom installation on an 8 foot or taller door, designers can change that to anything they desire, high low, centered on the door. etc. You name it. When I saw your door, I loved the high knob!
Love the color you chose!
thanks for giving us more information Christine on your door knobs!
sigh I am loving the sound of your sailing…any room for me in your suitcase??
happy days & happy new year
xx
I didn’t get a chance to pop in and check your blog yesterday but that was because I spent the whole day being led on a tour by a very close friend(and her hubby)of mine around Watsons bay! I got to admire the beautiful houses (and funny enough their doors too lol!), gardens, the cute little shops (well cafe/restaurants) by the beach, the bush track through a nudist beach (there was a lot of blushing and awkward looking at my toes trying really hard not to look at the bits I really didn’t want to see moments – we didn’t realise where we were until it was too late lol)…
We got to see a red and white striped light house (second oldest in Sydney) that is still in use today and drooled just a little at the gorgeous cottage tucked in next to it…. I will go back even through the nudist beach just so I can take my camera this time and take some great photos (of everything but full frontal nudity of course lol). You may notice that the whole nudist thing even though a bit awkward was the highlight and most amusing part of my day (all because it came as a surprise I guess lol)… Then headed home (full of inspiration) to share your lovely panettone creation with my friends and some really good coffee to end the day…I was spoiled yesterday and loved every second!
Also loving the email thing too… You are very sweet to think of your readers
thanks, I am enjoying the interaction!
wow I know exactly the lighthouse…and the houses and the cute little shops….LOVE it around that area…
cheers Alice
Sarahx
Well, I was at the beach today and I did pick loads of lil sea-y-beachy shells and conchs
I love doing this. My boyfriend (now fiance) and me used to do that a lot. Collect shells and then divide it behind the two of us. kids we are.
I woke up unusually early today and the very moment I opened my eyes I felt like hitting the beach. It was calling me. I was the only one strolling in my pajamas though
But that’s what i wanted to do.
Picked up some fresh crabs, came home and made curried crabs as well. What a beautiful day!
Hello Sarah..
Really I am just stopping by to say ‘hello!’.. Cannot believe this is my first visit.. but I can tell you, I’ll be back.
The ocean is in my soul. Dee
i have to transplant my beach cottage saturday club to wednesday, thursday or friday afternoons as that is when my little guy goes to pre-k. so, on one of those days, i will be wandering around following your instructions for some me time and discovering this world again…and you can put money on the fact that i will be heading to my fav fabric warehouse to look for some of that fat stripe-ity fabric to make me a ‘maxi’ skirt like the one you bought from supre. i am so obsessed with that skirt right now it’s not even funny!supre will deliver internationally but, alas, my bottom is not an xxs or an xs, so size-wise, i am out of luck orderign it. i will make one myself though…and i may even send you a picture!
teres xo
from winnipeg, manitoba canada where we are normally in the middle of a couple feet of snow and -30c weather but are relishing in hardly any snow and 0c temps!!!
Hi Sarah. We have an old cottage built in 1886 (in beautiful Devonport in Auckand, N.Z.) and oudoor knobs are really, really low – you almost have to bend down to open them – maybe people were shorter then ???? In our first house which was a 1930′s bungalow they were really high – we’ve gone from the sublime to the ridiculous! Love your blog. Glennie x
Sarah,
Love your blog! It has inspired me to paint some of my old hand-me-down furniture! Thank you for all your amazing ideas!
Sarah, I can’t believe you are looking at a puppy the same time we are, ha! We are in the process of getting our newest one, another smooth tri-color collie. We expect her to arrive next week at the earliest, she is only 7 weeks old now and we are very excited and ready to train her up to be a good girl in the world of humans. Our 6 yr. old collie is the sweetest with other animals and loves puppies so it is even a present for her, too. Yes, I was surprised to see where the doorknob is on your doors. In America, similar to Canada I suppose, knobs are just under 1/2 way up the door. Not a problem really. Well, off for coffee