Book Launch 'A little bit of this, a little bit of that'

Happy Friday! Im excited about tomorrow's cook book launch of 'Little bit of this, little bit of that' by Isabella the Junior Masterchef winner and her family, that I recently styled!

Come along to the Mary Ryan's bookstore from 1pm tomorrow to meet the girls and to get your book signed! Merthyr Village, New Farm, Brisbane!

Buon Appetito!

Stamp Collections

Growing up I loved my stamp collection. Hours on end archiving these little pieces of art from all over the world, stamped with inky text bound for its destination.

I think I got my love of stamp collecting from my father; he had a large file drawer in his desk dedicated to stamps, nothing fancy or ordered, just a drawer full of tiny pieces of colourful paper. I would often open the drawer and run my fingers through the mass of torn edges... digging down deep to retrieve a special one... just like a luck dip!

I still use my stamp collection when I need reference and inspiration for fonts and layouts, they really are quite exceptional once you take the time to appreciate them.

K xx

Im off to Bikram Yoga today...

Cover Me

Being s visual person I am highly prone to being a touch impractical; I choose a book by its cover, I choose wine by the label, I choose spices by the packaging (we have way to0 many tins of smoked paprika in the pantry)..... I find details to be extremely important.

One thing I love to do is to decorate and rearrange spaces using the covers of books. Even though I appreciate the graphic fonts and repetition of the spines of books in shelves, I love book covers.... especially old ones. A bundle of inexpensive books on an armchair or a randomly placed book on a side table gives a space a hint of activity and purpose.

Gotta dash!

Talk to you tomorrow!

K xx

"A little bit of this, A little bit of that"

©Kara Rosenlund

Well, well, well... it has finally ARRIVED!

Yes, after all of the hints over the past couple of weeks I can finally share with you the book I worked on earlier in the year for Penguin Publishing. Styled by me and shot by Nikole Furnari, which will be available on the 31st of October.

'A little bit of this, A little bit of that' is the debut cook book from the Junior Masterchef winner Isabella and her twin sister Sofia, with their mother Sylvana and grandmother Nonna Rosa.

Best played out in the kitchen, the book captures their much loved family life in Brisbane through the language of food, love and laughter. Accompanied by touching personal stories, the girls share traditional Sicilian recipes have been past down from mother to daughter over the generations.

I absolutely loved working on this project. In amongst the devastating Queensland floods I would regularly visit the girls mother Sylvana for shoot prep. What would start off as a simple props appointment would turn into an all day expresso fuelled laughter marathon, with a delicious 'take home' bundle of Sicilian food!

If you are looking for that extra bit of inspiration in the kitchen or even that little bit of perspective in terms of family life, you will find it in this book... I guarantee.

I'll be sharing some of my favouite recipes in a couple of weeks!

K xx

Brisbane People!

Come along with me to the Merthyr Village in New Farm to meet the girls on Saturday the 29th of October from 1pm, where they will be signing their book and also judging the 'Cupcakes for a Cure' Competition! For our interstate friends you can find out when the girls will be coming to your neck of the woods here.

Penguin Books Australia

A very exciting cookbook is about to be released very soon! Five weeks to be exact! Can't wait to share some of the shots with you that Nikole Furnari captured and I styled! Told you it was exciting! Exciting! More to come soon!

K xx

Shoot Unveiled - Escape to the Coast

©Nikole Furnari

You may remember a couple of weeks ago I jetted off to see photographer and BFF Nikole Furnari for a few days. We collaborated on a lifestyle shoot in her new home town on the Bellarine Peninsula in coastal Victoria, inspired by the raw wild coastal beauty.

I always have a giggle when my carryon luggage is x-rayed at the airport when I'm styling abroad or sourcing. I really must appear like some smuggling gyspy woman, with pots and pans and baking racks and china and bones crammed into my carry on luggage. Clinking and clanking my way on to the plane, attempting to look as effortless as possible (you know you are only allowed a couple of kilos in the cabin!). It is always worth it though - Nikole brings a shoot together like no one else. I love her imagery and the energy she brings to every collaboration we endeavour to do.

Speaking of which there is another collaboration I'll be sharing very soon. It was until yesterday a top secret!

Pop over and have a read of Nikole's blog....

Kxx

A very big thank you to Sophie Rogers, our fantastic multi tasking chef on the day, the fabulous hair and makeup artist Sarah, charismatic models Kate and Tim and the lovely Steph - Nikole's super assistant!

Market Reminder!

Hope to see you tomorrow!

I have spent the day preparing and pricing stock and I must say that I really think I have out done myself this time - I can measure this by how much I actually want to keep and NOT sell! Hahaha!

Just finished packing the ute, plus the inside of Frankie and had to make an SOS call to my wonderful parents and ask them to take some stock into the market in their ute too for tomorrow! Thank you Mum and Dad! I love you!

Available will be a fantastic and an 'en masse' array of flatware, french tumblers, pickling jars (perfect proportions for vases), glass cake stands, a huge collection of baking tins in various shapes and sizes and really so much more. You simply just must come! So much beautiful stock to share!

I'm so excited! Delirious in fact! (apologies for any spelling errors).

Early night for me!

Hope to see you there!

K xx

Skull Friday!

©Kara Rosenlund

Just a quick post to say hope you all have a fantastic weekend! I have a busy one planned, with an exciting themed event I'm styling on Saturday. I'll have to share that with you next week!

I found this skull yesterday - what do you think? I love animal bones, skulls, antlers, hides, tortoise shells, just can't get enough of the natural form really.

Better dash, I have so much to share with you next week, if you are a fan of blue and white china watch out! I have found some beautiful pieces!

K xxx

The Kitchen Reveal!

©All Images Kara Rosenlund

Here you have it... finally the kitchen is finished.... a few of you have asked me while doing Travelling Wares at the market whether I use and decorate with similar objects to what I sell.

As you can see the answer is a firm yes! I love combining the old with the new. I definitely like to keep cooking tools at arms reach, so if they are going to be out they need to look beautiful too!

So, we are two rooms down so far, if you missed the bathroom here it is.

Watch out floor boards, we are coming with a sander and gusto!

P.S Below are a couple of before shots.

Moroccan Wedding Blankets

©Kara Rosenlund

One of my most absolute loves are Moroccan Wedding Blankets. I love everything about them; the tradition, the colour palette, the texture, everything!

This one proudly hangs in our hallway and is about 60 years old. I was SO completely OBSESSED by them that when Timothy O and I spent some time in Morocco everything seemed to revolve around getting my hands on a genuine wedding blanket - just like Prada, Gucci and LV there are many faux blankets out there - beware.

If a holiday to Morocco isn't on the cards any time soon then pop over to Table Tonic's online shop for a dose of Moroccan Wedding Blanket beauty!!

Louise at Table Tonic even recently mentioned me in her '9 Bookmark-Worthy Sites I (only) discovered' post.

- yippee!

K xx

Our Engagement Party

©Studio Sixty

Thought I would share a few images from our recent 1930's themed Engagement Party that we held in a little old croquet club by the sea at Woody Point at Redcliffe.

It was so wonderful to see everybody dressed up in full swing, very authentic, sipping out of champagne coupe glasses, playing croquet, conversing on hay bales and generally having a glorious afternoon in the winter's sun..... Thank you everybody for all your efforts.

If you would like to see more pop over to Studio Sixty's blog

K xx