Sunday, January 30, 2011

The Enchanted Home's Enchanting Bourguinon!


Last night I attempted the beautiful "Beef Bourguinon" recipe from "The Enchanted Home" and it was wonderful and my family devoured it! 


Some of the ingredients .... including potatoes and fresh thyme.....


                          ...... and fresh mushrooms ......


Cooking up a storm.....




Lighting the match over the dish was fun...


bubbling away.....


the melted butter and flour mixed together ....


Dinner is served .....


I served my beef with a creamy mash potato with a sprig of rosemary to garnish .... also a beautiful fresh green salad of cos with shaved parmesan and balsamic ... and little vine ripened grape tomatoes


Thank-you so much to "The Enchanted Home" for this beautiful recipe .... go to Tina's beautiful blog http://www.theenchantedhome.blogspot.com/
for a real treat!
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Friday, January 28, 2011

Coastal Clients!



I am in the middle of a fabulous design job at the coast with some fabulous clients.  They are so wonderful to work with and have put up with a great deal of waiting to get product transported up here .... but it is starting to come together!  This is what we are calling the "Something's Gotta Give" room.  The rug is from Dash and Albert and it is absolutely stunning and massive.  I wanted to do a real Hamptons feel in here as the position of absolute beachfront demanded that style.  We are yet to put up artwork and I am still sourcing a floor tripod lamp for the corner but we are so happy with the results so far.  I sourced a lot of the product from the lovely Heidi at French and English in Brisbane and also the Dash and Albert rug from the lovely Robyn of Magnolia in Brisbane.  I had been searching everywhere for my Something's Gotta Give rug and Robyn had sourced them from America.  I had the blue paisley cushions custom made to give a real Ralph Lauren feel.


As you can see the stripe rug really anchors the room and pulls it together.  The floors are gorgeous limed wood and give a light airy feel and is balanced by the limed wood ceiling. 


The quirky twist to the interior I achieved by the use of these two gorgeous tufted French style tub chairs.  The aim was a slight French Salon feel with a modern twist to work in with the Hamptons style.   They have lovely chocolate coloured turned legs on castors which reflect back to the kitchen cabinetry which is dark chocolate with white stone benchtops.   



Then just continuing with the blue theme I found these two gorgeous Ralph Lauren chairs from Robertson's on the Gold Coast.  They are absolutely beautiful and I am aiming to use them as they are such statement pieces.



The navy polished linen with the tufting and silver studding is incredible...... now I just have to find a home for it!
best wishes and have a wonderful week-end!
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Thursday, January 20, 2011

J.K. Capri ~ Italy


I just stumbled across this gorgeous, beyond stunning hotel in Italy on the Isle of Capri .......


              The blue/white palette is so elegant, cool    
                         and sophisticated ......


The attention to detail whilst still maintaining a classic interior but with a contemporary twist ......


Long flowing bed and French door drapes give clean lines and the all white palette is given depth with the architectural panelling and fireplace .... and of course the zebra pattern on the ottomans ..... just beautiful ..


Yes could definitely come and sit on one of these pool chairs .... just such a stunning property and with the Gulf of Naples as its backdrop it is idyllic ..... enjoy
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Monday, January 17, 2011

Happy New Year!




Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!  I know I am a little late but there has been quite a lot going on here.  To you, all my beautiful friends, I hope for you a truly beautiful New Year!
I hope all your dreams come true!  Let us sip some bubbles, taste some macarons and cherish how lucky we are!
I have posted some holiday pictures on my new blog http://wwwcoastal.blogspot.com/  as I thought they were perfect for over at the coast .......
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Friday, January 7, 2011

Some Christmas Photos!


I just wanted to share with you some
Christmas photos of my family.  Thank-you so much for all of your heartfelt wishes on the floods in Queensland.  It is amazing to me that you, who are so far away, care so much.
I felt I wanted to share these with you ....


                                 Our Christmas Tree ........


Our Nativity Set nestled amongst the presents ..... 


I started with blue and silver and then Georgiana said, "Mummy, we have to have every colour!" .....


Christmas Day ... Georgiana very excited with her Alice in Wonderland Chess Set ......


 Dominic and I enjoying a beautiful Christmas evening .....



Dominic with his cousin, Tom .......Christmas night ..........



Sustenance for the reindeer and of course Santa............



My beautiful boys on Christmas morn ....... there is no greater love .....


                          The little Princess is very excited ..........


My Christmas Turkey .... I think my beautiful American friends would be happy ... 5.2 kgs!!!!!!  I cooked 30 roast potatoes (we are of Irish descent), honey carrots, green beans and I stuffed the turkey with a very old family recipe!  I did pan gravy from the roast pork and I felt happy that traditions had been carried on..........


In the evening we shared plum pudding with my family including my Mum and Dad .... this plum pudding recipe is a very old one from my great grandparents ..... it is a boiled cloth plum pudding which takes four hours to cook ..... served with cream and ice-cream .....


My gorgeous Mum very happy with the plum pudding .....



                                     Happy Christmas!!!!!



Good wishes to you all ..... these are some of our fairy lights ....
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Monday, January 3, 2011

"A Flood of Biblical Proportions"


It has been a very sad, difficult time for so many in the city we live in.  The floods that are currently inundating our city are overwhelming and may well make history.  We are lucky enough to be on high ground so we are not directly affected but there have been so many people who have lost their homes and the situation is tragic. 


These floods have resulted from a very unusual season whereby we have had torrential, monsoonal rain for weeks on end and now the rivers that run higher than the Fitzroy are all flooded as well and are converging on the mighty Fitzroy. 


No one really knows where the river will peak but forecasts are that it may go over the 10m mark which will be higher than the 1991, 1954 and 1918 floods.  The airport has been closed and now all roads into the city have been cut off.  It is isolated.  We have been away and cannot return.




Police Officers wading through the water to help residents and above, flood waters over the runway at the airport.  It is very overwhelming and terribly sad for so many people.....

images:  ctv.ca
               abc.net.au
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