Logan Wines

I love receiving mail. I think it is one of the most exhilarating forms of communicating! Yesterday I received a lovely newsletter from Logan Wines (You may remember I mentioned Logan Wines on my blog last year).

Hannah and Pete Logan do everything well, and I mean everything - even down to the newsletter! What a privilege to see my work featured on their newsletter. (I used to be a professional photographer, I come out of retirement for special clients! haha).

Pop over and check out their website - you will probably see some more of my work there too!

xx

©Kara Rosenlund

British Made

Here is one of my very recent finds! I couldn't believe my luck! Two sets of British string flags in perfect condition!

These flags were used as decoration to celebrate Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's visit to Queensland in 1954 - 58 years ago! Think I might decorate Frankie with them at our next market!

If you ever come across special finds like these, remember to Scotch Guard them against the elements!

xx

©Kara Rosenlund

Diamond Find

One of Timothy O's and my favourite things to do at home is to prepare dinner or a long lunch listening to vinyls. Our record player actually lives in the kitchen amongst the wooden spoons and milk jugs!

Over the weekend we found some new additions to add to our finely curated collection. One of them being 'Shilo' by Neil Diamond.

Now, don't get me wrong, I know what you are thinking, I do have very good music appreciation, however I did grow up listening to Saturday Night Jukebox courtesy of 4KQ and my mother, so I feel as though I have an immunity to Neil Diamond and those maracas.... until now!

My goodness, what vinyl gold! I'm absolutely in love with this album. 'You Got To Me', 'Kentucky Woman', and our absolute favourite 'Shilo' - a dedication to Neil Diamond's imaginary childhood friend - he was a loner. I love you Neil!

P.S. Don't you just love the 'Dot to Dot' cover artwork!

SUCCESS

Our Travelling Wares was a success on Saturday!!! We sold our beautiful stock to many happy customers who loved their new finds and also loved Frankie! We even had Rick from Frank Creates sign writing on Frankie at the market, which was an added element of interest too.

We had so much support from our wonderful friends and family and also our new friends that we met on Saturday. Thank you all so so much. Seeing all your familiar faces bright and early Saturday morning just melted my heart.

For all of our new friends you can also find us on Facebook.

Thank you and hope to see you at the next market!

K xxxx

Motto For Today

Cheeky Reminder

Frank Creates Frankie

Its been a very exciting week here getting ready for the market tomorrow, though I think the most exciting chapter has been saved til today!

Rick at Frank Creates is signwriting on Frankie as we speak/type. I love Rick's philosphy when it comes to his craft. Couldn't believe how lucky I was to find a Traditional Sign writer, ( big thank you to Sally at Studio60) as his vision compliments my own with Frankie.

More to share soon!

Frankie's Before Life

A couple of you have asked to see Frankie's 'before' shots. Well, here they are.

She came to us with a bottle green and pistachio interior, lots of 'bad boy' surf stickers on her windows (remember those board shorts from the early 199o's! ha), a ridiculous amount of electrical switches, some hippy affirmation stickers on the walls and a rather large family of the biggest ants you have ever seen in your life (hence the raid can on one of the above shots).

After numerous coats of Dulux 'White on White' for the interior (that pistachio just would not give up), and even more coats of 'Midnight Seas' on her exterior she has emerged as a beautiful little caravan, most happy when she is by the sea, listening to Timothy O play the ukelele.

I must admit, there were points, many points actually, where Timothy O and I did look at each other after a hard day working on Frankie and pondered how such a little thing could be so difficult and gruelling and ever thirsty for our attention.

Well, I still don't have the answer to this one, though we are very happy with how Frankie has turned out.

Pats on Back all round. x

Stock Sneak Peeek

Thought I would share a couple of shots with you of what will be on offer at the 'Travelling Wares' Market stall this saturday.

I personally love mixing vintage pieces with the new; it elevates the interest in your home and offers a unique approach to decorating a room. Be it the kitchen, bathroom or bedroom, you should always have at least one thing in each room that it older than you - which doesn't include your Nana! ha

Thank you all for your support with Frankie. I'm really excited about this new adventure. If you would like to be kept in the loop we have a facebook page now and I'm now on Twitter. Gosh, hope I have enough to chat about!

x

EXCITING NEWS Travelling Wares Launch

Finally I can share with you my EXCITING NEWS! I recently bought a gorgeous vintage 1956 Franklin Caravan (affectionally known as Frankie) and have turned her into my 'Travelling Wares' pop up Caravan Shop! Yup, thats right, I have a caravan now, which is also a shop!

A love of early morning hunting and scouring at the trestle tables in Europe has inspired me to get amongst it myself and share my objets d'art and found delights with you from far and wide.

Come along this Saturday to the Jan Power's Powerhouse Markets at New Farm and say hi! On offer will be European porcelain, Polish enamel ware, silver cutlery, small furniture pieces and goodness knows what else!

Free Roosters

I know its not my 'usual' genre of post, however I thought I would put it out there. Timothy O and I have a three gorgeous golden Pekin Bantam roosters to give away to good homes.

You can't have roosters in suburbia, or we would keep them. We have reared them since they were born and are now three months old (not as big as the illustration above).

They are all a soft golden colour, with their trademark feathered legs. The nature of this variety is very gentle and loyal, they always want to be where you are and love a cuddle and tickle.

Pekin Bantams are too small to eat (incase your thoughts were up to no good), they look big, but they are actually all feather - like all good males!

Big City Life

Ah, big city life, I must admit I do love it. Sydney is such a superb city offering a diverse array of offerings. So much so that one could almost be forgiven to find themselves at a loss when it comes to the age old question... 'Where are we going to eat tonight?'

** Scroll down to the bottom for the short answer.

Thought I would share some absolute diamond recommendations on where to dine in Sydney. These come from Sibella of whom I had the great fortune to catch up with.

First on the list is El Loco. A pop up Mexican Cantina in the Excelsior Hotel in Surry Hills. Pure genius! The best taco's I have ever eaten (seriously), plus they are a cool $5! Hurry, it is called a pop up for a reason people.

Next is the Beresford, also in Surry Hills. Perfect for both pre dinner drinks and also dining. Timothy O relished the $5 pints from 5 til 7pm (so much so that we found ourselves there the following evening!) and then we dined in the Trattoria at the back of the bar.

Ms G's is a modern Asian experience in Potts Point. The title is a play on MSG. Lots of fun!

My absolute favourite, The Commons Local Eating House in Darlinghurst. Impeccable service and exquisite food, plus rocking Whiskey Sours downstairs! I could very happily live there.

For a cheeky pastry breakfast try Bourke Street Bakery. Actually, don't just 'try', you absolutely must! You could be deceived in thinking you are in Paris with the quality of their Pain au Chocolat!

The short answer to 'Where are we going to eat tonight?'..... no where if you don't book!

K x

Morning Sydney

Ah, Sydney. Great to see you. Its been a while!

Yes - I'm in Sydney for the rest of the week, for a bit of work and a bit of pleasure. Love it!

xx

©Ken Done

Time Capsule

You may remember that the week before last I mentioned that I was off on a buying trip here. Well, this was one of my fabulous finds! A sweet 19th Century petite stool with cabriole legs - a real find!

This style of stool would of been traditionally placed in the bedroom, however the way I like to work when decorating or styling a room is to really mix pieces up and use them for diverse purposes. I think this would be perfect in a living room for additional seating when entertaining or to place a pile of your favourite books on.

The beauty with quality pieces of furniture is that most of the time they tend to be timeless, it is the fabrics and finishes that date. This little stool had clearly had a facelift some time ago and is in need of another one. So, off with the bottle green fabric and hello original dainty floral! I love seeing what fabrics were previously used; a little capsule in time! I'll keep you updated with the new fabric I chose to cover it with!

** UPDATE: our little stool has just been purchased. Thank you lovely client!

Invite Me

One of my favourite things to do is design invitations, for myself and other people. Call me old fashion, though for me there is nothing more exhilarating than opening up the mail box to be surprised to find a sweet little envelope containing a gorgeous and thoughtful tactile invite.

Honeymoon Dreaming

With a honeymoon destination in mind, I was trawling through my file of 'dream holiday destinations' last night when I came across The Huka Lodge in New Zealand.

This one has been on my dream list for some time now. Founded in the 1920's, Huka Lodge is considered to be 'the iconic New Zealand retreat'. The lodge consists of numerous suites and exclusive cottages; though the superb Alan Pye Cottage has taken my eye! I can just see myself having a glass of NZ Sauvignon Blanc on those white canvas outdoor chairs in the top shot.

What are your dream holiday destinations?

©images above from the Alan Pye Cottage, Huka Lodge