i think i've created a monster

Well look who it is...Buffy the Vampire Slayer as seen on Desire to Inspire's Monday's Pets on Furniture ...

She looks quite fierce in this photo doesn't she...I chose that one on purpose just so you'd see her true colours. See how the claw is curled ready to strike, and the tail's been flicking, showing off her temperament...and that glare! She would turn the Medusa to stone with that look she would.  The first born wanted me to use this shot of her...

but I was having none of that...she looks decidely un-slayer like here...and I know that's just a trick designed to lull the unwary into striking range of her paw or jaw. That cat is sneaky.

And I have to tell you...this new-found blog celebrity has gone right to her feline head! 

No longer will the Woolies Select brand cat food do for her majesty...oh no...now with her imagined celebrity status, it's this or nothing...

oh yeah...garnish and all.  Next thing I'll have to dismantle the courtyard (precious painted pergola and all!) and put in a trout stream...not that she would deign to actually do anything that involved any effort.

I'm waiting to get a demand for this next...

...perhaps the caviar, without the side of vodka...although nothing would surprise me about that cat...she has been walking with a decided tilt to starboard lately.

I could see myself purchasing something like this for her though...only because I like it...don't want you to think I'm getting soft or anything.

Do go and check out the pet post though...there are lots of really nice animals over there that you won't find here!

slayer images by me; others from here

p.s. the ghastly colour on my walls has to go...all ideas gratefully accepted!

style...but what style?

You know I love a little quizlet...especially when I have no clue what the result means...as in this quiz I found through Chinoserie Chic.
Apparently my style is 60% Nantucket, 30% traditional country and 10% modern elegant...whatever all of that means...and does that make me completely mixed up!
I did actually like some things about this picture below that apparently typifies my style....well not according to the last quiz I did which pegged me as Oriental Boho or some such. This one is meant to be beachy, meets country, meets elegant? It's quite white isn't it? Love white...just too afraid to do it...clumsy!

The things I like about this room are...the persian carpet (phew-ee..there's the oriental connection)...I have a couple of those... but not red ones...although I would like a red one for my study to match my red IKEA shelf...and my red notice boards...and my red chinese cabinet...would that be a red overdose do you think?

The squishy sofas...yep got two quite like those, except mine are not white...they have yellow slipcovers...and they are oh-so comfy...I will never part with them (that comment was for you MGM!)

The ottoman I am definitely in favour of...or as my good friend Chris and I like to call them...the ottoperson...politically correct we are! Chris and I made an ottoperson once from scratch...frame and all...it's in my living room...I'll show it to you sometime...it's cool! But not white either.

I like that coffee table, except I'm always bemused by coffee tables that you can't easily reach out and put your...erm...coffee on...or that nice cold refreshing chardonnay...or, as it's getter colder here...a good old Bundy and coke (if you've never had a Bundaberg rum you haven't lived bloggy people). 

I love the beams and the french doors.  I have beams (they're not white either but I really want them to be) but no french doors...bit sad about that...maybe next time.

However...can't stand the bookcase (and I LOVE books...why aren't there more books in there..that might have made a difference). Now THIS is a bookcase...and look... another ottoperson...

or this...don't you want that globe and mirror as well?

from Living etc and Apartment Therapy

And the chandelier...love chandeliers...always have

image from here

Crumbs...how did that white room sneak in there!

So that leaves us with...buggered if I know...I always thought Nantucket was a place! Pop on over blossoms and give this one a go...and if you turn out Nantucket as well...let me know what it means will you?

top image from here

weekend project ~ that pesky pergola

The positively persistent pergola painting procrastination is no more. Bet you're glad about that...just so the bad alliteration ends if nothing else. Did you think I'd ever do it? I wasn't sure myself but...I finished painting that bloody pergola yesterday...and here it is...ta dah...well a bit of it anyway.

While I was up a ladder painting the last almost completely inaccessible parts of the pergola...that is unless you're a circus performer, in which case it would be extremely good practice for your high wire act...it occurred to me why it's taken me so long to finish this. It's because I am scared of ladders!

This, dear bloggy people was a revelation to me. I'm no scaredy cat...I've jumped out of a plane for crying out loud...into shark infested waters no less...yes, really...I may have been pushed, I may have been many years younger, I may have screamed for quite a lot of it, but still...I did that. I've abseiled down the side of quite a tall building as well...gee that was fun (actually it really was)...and I've been at the top of the tallest mast on this ship (the Royal Australian Navy's Young Endeavour) with a microphone and a cameraman, in my old Defence PR days...ok I confess...that WAS scary...

...but when it comes to an ordinary old household ladder...nope, don't like it...don't want to be there. Even when there is a very good view from the top...which I can't show you because the photo I took was crappy...and I'm not getting back up on that ladder for anyone! So here's a picture of a nice gardenia I grew all by myself instead...I'm sure you won't mind...they're pretty and they smell good...

And here's what the vampire slayer was doing while I was getting much too closely associated with the large rhododenron bush I had to navigate while reaching those aforementioned inaccessible spots...

...that's right...like a typical cat...abso-bloody-lutely nothing! But then...when it was all finished, she thought she might as well come out from under the table and check out the paint job I'd done...everyone's a critic aren't they?

And I have to throw this in because it makes me laugh every time I see it...a bit of good old Aussie improvisation...

One night when a few of us were having dinner in the courtyard and the mossies were coming to join us, we needed somewhere to put the mosquito coil...and this was the solution one of my smart alec clever friends came up with.  A hooped skirt for a beer bottle...I love it!

So there you have it...quite pleased I am, and now I'm looking forward to the wisteria growing over the pergola so I have lovely white flowers hanging down...and quite probably dropping into the food and chilled beverages, but hey...who cares about that when you're sitting under a particularly pretty painted pergola (sorry, last time!)

I'll leave you with one last picture of the vampire slayer, because you guys seem to like her...yes, she looks cute...don't believe it!

Happy week everyone...I've got a busy one.

all images by me except for No.2 which is from here and No.3 from here

pear art ~ i saw the real deal

A few days ago I posted about my fetish love for pears...and apparently quite a few of you are similarly addicted...stylish things you are! Well...get this...I managed to fight my way through the madding (or should I say maddening) crowd to the National Gallery of Australia's blockbuster of an exhibition and saw this peary perfection there...

A Cezanne still life, thank ya very much...that man clearly liked pears as well...in the flesh, the realest of real deals...even if it was over the heads of a gazillion other people...these are the times when I'm especially grateful that I'm tall.

There were some other extraordinary pieces there...not involving pears...here are a few of my favourites...

Albert Besnard...Madame Roger Jourdain

This was stunning...took my breath away...the dress shimmered...it was like you could reach in and feel the fabric...well of course you couldn't because those nice looking guards would come and take you away to somewhere dark and dingy if you tried. Apparently Madame was a scandalous lady...and a bit fond of the morphine! 

Vincent Van Gogh Starry Night (like you didn't already know!)

Vincent van Gogh Imperial crown fritillaries in a copper vase...you heard of a fritillary...nope, me either...but I really loved this one

Vilhelm Hammershoi Rest...perfect for the tranquil townhouse don't you think?

Maurice Denis Young women at the lamp...I loved this one to bits...those girls would be bloggers today for sure

Pierre Bonnard Checked shirt (portrait of Madame Claude Terrasse at twenty)...bit young to be a madame don't you think??  Bonnard was influenced by a retrospective of Japanese prints when he painted this...got that bit of info from the exhibition book...which at $39.95 was a complete bargain...296 pages of post-impressionism art education in one handy 'beside-your-bed, flick through it before a dinner party so you appear to know what you're talking about' place.

Of course, me being me...I thought there was some crappy stuff there too! No doubt the MGM (my most gorgeous man for those not in the know), who went to the Australian National University School of Art for several years and has the piece of paper to prove it, will beg to differ with me on this...our taste being somewhat different, and me being completely and utterly without credentials...except when it comes to his work...which I of course love!!

I love living in this town.

Happy Sunday bloggy people...I'm off to finish painting the pergola, unless something more interesting...like root canal surgery for instance...gets in my way!

images from here or here

chuffed I was...goose I am!

Just when I thought I was getting it right...I realise I completely missed another award...what is going on here...I feel like Dame Judy at the Oscars I'm getting so much undeserved stuff thrown my way (not that the Dame is undeserving of course...just in case she's reading this...I bow down before her!)

But...Rachael at A Room for Everyone also gave me an award this week and I completely missed it...I am so sorry Rachael. She thinks I write funny...she might not think so now!

So skedaddle you lot...head on over to Rachael's if you haven't already and check out her lovely blog...it really is very, very good!

Forgiven? Please?
image from here

chuffed I am!!

Well...what a week that was! I got given three, yes people, three awards this week...two from Sarah at Molly's Maison (the sunshine award and the master of karate and friendship award...how funny is that?) and the Happy 101 award from Silvia at Casa Bella.  If you haven't already, make sure you scoot on over to their blogs immediately...ok, not immediately...read what else I have to say first...it will make you weep, and the really important bit's at the end :-)

Seriously, how lucky can one person get in a week! I feel a bit like Steven Bradbury when he won that skating gold medal for Australia at the Winter Olympics quite a few years back...when everyone else in the race fell over and he crossed the line first! Honestly I don't think I deserve this at all...I still have my blogger training wheels very much on...but that doesn't stop me from being incredibly grateful, chuffed and just a little bit proud! 

I know that there are 'rules' to these awards, but vis a vis my post yesterday about just being me...I'm going to have to break them a little...otherwise you'd be seeing right through me and I can't have that!! I think of these as being 'encouragement' awards...a little nod in my direction to say, hey kid...you're going ok...keep it up...plug away...you'll get there!  And I am and I will.

The master of karate award says that you have to tell people about your skills...c'mon, I read Sarah's...for crying out loud, that girl can spin plates like a circus performer...no way can I compete with that!  So I thought I'd tell you about a skill that I don't have and desperately want

...the ability to whistle so I can stop traffic, hail a taxi, embarrass my kids (surely one of life's great joys), express appreciation and/or...be completely inappropriate for my age. And now it's out there...you can be sure I will learn.

But back to awards, and getting a bit sooky for a brief moment (you still with me...this is the important bit)...I did want to acknowledge a few people for the incredible kindness and support they've shown to me. Of course thanks so much again to Sarah and Silvia, and now for a few others...

Ashlina at Secrets of Domestic Bliss...for being the first follower whose arm I didn't have to twist (i.e. not a relative or friend...but she is a friend now)

Kerri at Driftwood Interiors...even though she spells her name incorrectly...who I feel like I've known forever and we must surely have been separated at birth

Jackie at Home...who writes me the loveliest, longest comments (and yes Jackie I DO love them that way and hey...you remind me of me too!)

Stephenie at Decorating Addiction...for knowing that it will take us at least 12 months to stop being 'newbies' and because she asked me for some technical help...and a shock to me...I was able to give it!

Kristine at The Painted Hive...another new blogger like me who leaves the sweetest comments

Anna at Lona de Anna...who I plan to bug about her study experiences once I start my course in a few weeks time...be warned you poor thing! And her playlist is awesome...and so like my own CD collection.

So to you six...choose an award from the above, or choose not to...I won't be offended at all...but know that you're very much appreciated by me.

...and to all those other lovely people who've taken the time to comment on my blog when I know how busy you all are...including people who've been around the blogging traps for so long and who must get inundated...you show such generosity.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And now, enough soppiness...I'm off to start the round of social activities I have this weekend...when will I find time for my blogging I wonder!

soul food friday ~ just being you

As a very new blogger I've been trying to work out what I should put on my blog...there are so many different views and bits of advice out there. I've discussed this with a few of my blog friends this week who are also new to this obsession fun pastime. So...I've been thinking (always dangerous!)...should I concentrate on finding and posting lovely pictures, tell my story, practise my writing, seek advice from others, share the things I love, occasionally bore you witless with my projects (and just wait until I start the design course in a few weeks...don the helmets and flak jackets then thrill seekers!!) So yep, there's probably all of that, and more, that could be blogged about. And then I found this...and thought to myself...now there's a bit of good advice Kez...

So it's largely me being me that you'll be getting I suspect!

Have a really good day. I will be.
image from here

p.s. I got two blog awards this week...how chuffed do you think that makes me!?!  I'll be blogging about them over the weekend, thanking the lovely people who gave them to me and thinking about who to pass them on to...and I'll be using up most of the weekend doing that, because I surely need time to think of something really clever to say!

some very [insert your own word here] vases!

It's Thursday and I had to spend last night doing unpleasant things that involved numbers, receipts and forms instead of blogging, so no really personalised post from me today I'm sorry...sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day. But I stumbled across these very [as the header says you might need to insert your own word here...not sure I have an appropriate one]...where was I? Oh yes, came across these very [something] vase specimens on home-designing...and thought they'd be nice to share. Not really my style most of them, but they are certainly interesting.
This one falls over when you need to top it up with water...clever little thing

a new take on guns 'n roses...?

my personal favourite...the IV drip feed self watering number...too funny

a whale spouting flowers...kind of sweet...even Greenpeace might approve!

these are serene...I could have one somewhere in the tranquil townhouse

perhaps more a potplant than a vase..what are they doing under that lamp-post anyway, or is it a shower...in which case even more freaky...

whoa....definitely no words for this one!

Head on over to the site to see a few more and an explanation for how that last one works.

And next Thursday I'm thinking of starting a 'simple things thursday' where I try to come up with simple things to do that take no time but look ok...cause who has the energy to do much on a Thursday (or a Wednesday night)! 
...and wait till you see the great buy I made yesterday...bargain price but all class...but I guess you can judge when I'm ready to reveal!
Have a great Thursday.


all images from here

i think i'm in love with pears

I have a thing for pears.  I painted some once..I'm no great shakes as an artist...it was hard, but I persevered, even when I wanted to throw the bloody thing out the window...and this watercolour now hangs in my kitchen...

And when a good friend of mine bought one of these marble pears...well what was I to do?

Really, what choice did I have...I had to have one too right? (Susan you know imitation is the highest form of flattery don't you?)

Who wouldn't like a pear tart like this to eat on a coolish autumn night...

Lisa Wilkinson thinks pears are cool...a very popular morning TV host and the youngest ever editor of a national magazine in Australia - 21 and the editor of Dolly; 25 and they made her the boss at Cleo magazine (where coincidentally the first born now works!).  This hangs in her house. Honestly, who are we to argue with her?

Perhaps you'd like one of these hanging on the wall...race you for the Cezanne!

Then of course there's these humongous great pears outside the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra where I live (Canberra, not the gallery, although I wouldn't mind a night in there with all those treasures...it might be a bit spooky though)

I first saw these in Brisbane on display at Expo 88 (on the first day of the exhibition...actually it's exposition isn't it...I was giving birth to my son...the doctor was not happy to be attending to Ben's birth instead of Expo I suspect...but we were very glad he was...or wasn't, depending on how you look at it!)

And how could we forget this...

Some of these pear blossom branches in a great big vase would be beautiful wouldn't they...

Or perhaps some fruit 'art'...

...ok, perhaps not....I'm just being silly now!

What is it about pears do you think?  And why do they get such a bad rap sometimes...why do we describe a pear shaped person as one who's gone a little too far to the right of centre when it comes to svelte? Why do we say 'it's all gone pear shaped'..as if that were a bad thing.  No way, more power to pears I say!


image 1,2 - me; image 3, 5, 6, 7, 11 - google; image 4 via driftwood interiors (thanks Kerri!); image 8, 10 - flickr; image 9 - wikipedia