Making Limecello

Getting there!

2012-01-12T07:27:00.001+11:00

Sorry, I didn't update earlier! Here's how it looked after one coat, just on the front. We have done a second coat now, but due to Melbourne's heatwave early last week, we have one section that bubbled, and has had to be scraped back to raw timber and patched...... Boooooo. Hopefully the third and final coat on the front will be done this weekend!

Ready

2011-12-30T10:36:00.001+11:00

For the first coat. Here we go!

New York, New York

2011-12-19T19:50:00.005+11:00

...and Disneyland!

I always knew we were going to travel overseas for my 30th birthday, but we hadn't decided where. A nasty fall and a fractured coccyx (snowboarding) meant a snow trip to Japan was out of the question, and right on time, flights to New York went on sale!

We had a 3 day stopover in LA, and spent our time in Santa Monica, which was lovely! If you are heading that way, I highly recommend the Holiday Inn Santa Monica - fabulously located (halfway between Santa Monica Pier and Third Street Promenade -where all the good shops are) and quite economical too. We only decided to go to Disneyland at the last minute, but I felt like it was something I had to do...growing up, Disneyland was one of places you dreamed of, but never really thought you would see. So we went, and it was so much fun.

We then spent 10 days in New York. Sounds like a long time? It' a big city, and we only saw a very small part of it, despite spending every single day and night out in it having every possible experience. Heres a little checklist for you!

Times Square

Bike ride in Central Park

Pretzel from a Street Vendor

Ice Hockey (New York Rangers vs Toronto Maple Leafs)

Broadway Show (Spiderman!)

Empire State Building

Huge pizza slices

The subway (one of my favorite things)

Brooklyn

Wall St

A purchase at Tiffany & Co

Pastrami on rye from Katz Deli

Halloween

Statten Island Ferry

Anthropologie

Brooklyn Bridge

Boat tour around the island of Manhattan

FAO Schwartz

The Flatiron building

Kate Spade

Hangin on the corner of 52nd and Broadway (its a line from a song, and what started this whole crazy plan)

Starbucks

Shopping

Zeppoles

Soho (we spent 5 nights in Soho, and I could have stayed forever)

The High Line

Chelsea Markets

Hells Kitchen

The Natural History Museum

Dog run

Mexican food

A cupcake from Magnolia Bakery

Guggenheim

The Marimekko store

And many many moments, fleeting, but precious and never to be forgotten. In fact, there is a whole lot more, but I'm not sure reading a list for hours would fascinate you!

Tell you what - leave a comment on any one of the above (or anything else you can think of, New York related!) and I'll see if I have a picture of it to share!

Another hint?

2011-12-12T20:11:00.001+11:00

Does this pic help?

Trinkets

2011-12-07T20:53:00.001+11:00

These 2 boxes are currently residing on my bedside table! Can you guess what was in them? And the location of our recent holiday ... Where both of them were purchased?

Yikes!

2011-12-04T17:59:00.001+11:00

Where did I go? I've just figured out how to blog from my phone, and use Instagram....find me under gentlemay... So hopefully I can return to this www community.

Front hallway

2011-04-22T15:11:00.008+10:00

Way back, ages ago, I showed a moodboard for our front hallway. My wonderful Dad did all the work, as planned, and I have decorated it and redecorated over time, and this morning, I switched a few things around...again! I love this version, as it has a few significant touches.
Just in case you had forgotten - I am still learning to take decent photos. Judging by this photo, I still have a lot to learn!I painted the stripes ages ago...early last year I think, and I just love them. The cabinet is as planned, and stores our CD collection, board games and Molly's leash. The large empty frame has been sitting in the door to our spare room all week, and it adds some dimension here. The gold framed certificate is my husband's graduation certificate (Manufacturing Systems Engineering = nerd burger!), and I love the way the gold warms up the space. The morrocan lantern has been everywhere in this house, but this has been its longest standing location. We light candles in it which are always the last ones we blow out before bed. The light shade is this one and we have a matching one at the other end. I love the casual feel they add to the hallway - I think the chandeliers I originally wanted would have been too fancy for this house. The rug hides everything, and the little trunk with my handbag on it (which just happen to match the whole scene perfectly!) was my Mum's knitting box and sat in the living room of the house I grew up in for years. She just gave it to me recently, and I will love seeing it every time I walk in the front door.
The timber statue (can you see it against the dark stripe) was a wedding gift, and the yellow-y thing in front of it is actually the original light shade from when our house was built. They are too precious to throw away (I have a green one also!), because they are part of our homes history.
I took this photo sitting on our bed ( I am actually loving the unpainted, unstained, untreated timber of the doors we had installed as part of our major renovation recently. I am considering leaving them this way!) and you can see how well the stripes work with our dark charcoal carpet.

Happy Day!

2011-04-14T20:19:00.003+10:00

Autumn came in to battle, and Summer went down without a fight! Its a happy day here in the Limecello househould, where Autumn and Winter are our favorite seasons. Today was a new sofa/ottoman bed in lovely linen and white velvet stripes, first soup of the season and a glass of red wine - bought for cooking but better for drinking! Oh, its such a happy day!

GingerBoy

2011-04-10T08:53:00.014+10:00

Friday night I headed into the City (Melbourne) - via train, for a FANTASTIC meal at GingerBoy with some of my favorite girls, including these 2 - Alice, my sister and Katie, my gym/champagne/foodie buddy. This is a restuarant I highly recommend. We were warned that due to our group size (7 people), we would have to have the banquet, for $70 - including dessert, not including drinks. The big advantage to this method was that we didn;t have to make menu decisions - the wait staff just asked if there any dietry requirements (1 vegetarian and 2 no seafoodies), and proceeded to bring out course after course of deliciously flavoured, Asian hawker-style food. a couple of stand-outs for me were the green papaya salad, whic had me longing for another Vietnam adventure, and the pork belly curry, which was so rich - and right at the end of about 27 dishes, that I could manage one morsel! This dish whole fried Nemo (no, not really, but that's what we called it), looked amazing when served, and tasted even better. The lovely waiter stripped it off the bone for us, and the flesh was soft, silky and delicious, with a finishing crunch! Dessert...well, they say pictures speak louder than wordsWe received 2 of these platters between the 7 of us, and we all managed to find room in our full bellies to empty them! Delicious! Drinks weren't cheap (bottles of champagne were around $60), but really, it wasn't a 'drink-y' type meal. Focus was on the food and I'm so glad I could enjoy it all with a clean palate! We are already figuring out when we can go back! This is my first non housey foody type post. What did you think? I am hoping to improve my reviewing and word-y skills as part of my new 'must blog' plan. Help me out by being honest!

Good blog posts

2011-04-07T19:00:00.009+10:00

As in...I need some. I think about things that would sound interesting/intelligent/funny, but when I sit down to blog, it comes out all convoluted and awkward and I end up soundling a 15 year old teenager who just drank their first gin. And I'm not - 15, that is, nor am I drinking my first gin. That was ages ago...I still love the stuff though. And often I see stores or things online that I think others would enjoy. Then...I just don't blog them. SO I think I may try and expand my thought process a little. Instead of focussing purely on my house, I am going to try and incororate other things into this blog. Other things I love, and maybe even take pictures of! For instance...

Food

...which I love. Passionately. Really. This was my lunch a few weeks ago, shared with my Mum and my sister (see below!) I love these snacky/deli/picky type meals. But I also love going out to eat. So I might try posting about that.

Family...

...I see mine a lot. I love them. A lot. And we do fun things together. Both of these pics were taken recently, on a trip to Lorne (with my Dad, Jeni, my sister, her husband and me. Mr Limecello couldn't come...sad., and then one to Daylesford (with my Mum and Sister. Girls weekend!). So I might share them with you.

Holidays... ...I am not well travelled. But I am working on it. We went to Hawaii for friends' wedding not long ago. Loved it. We went to Vietnam last year...I also loved it!

And all sorts of random thoughts along the way. Now, what do you think...are you still interested? Is there anybody out there?

P.S. I am also trying to take more photos...and better ones. Its a learning thing.

I'm back

2011-04-03T19:17:00.004+10:00

Sunday evening at my place...a snapshot! Stuff on the dining table (that I promised pictures of about 4 months ago!), unpainted plasterboard behind the couch, church pew that needs sanding and staining. But there are so many things in this picture that I love, I can see past all of that. I think I have finally accepted that our home...wherever that may be...will always be a work in progress!

Yeah, so I'm a little slow!

2010-08-19T18:07:00.005+10:00

Ok, so I have just made the most amazing discovery. I know everyone else discovered this ages ago, but for some reason its taken me until now.

Its called Ebay, and I am in love! I am supposed to be saving towards renovations (kitchen, bathroom, laundry, electrical, doors, roof...Promise to tell you all about it soon!), but I made a fabulous purchase just a few weeks ago, and won my second item today!

Item 1: This gorgeous 80 year old (approximately) dining table.

It doesn't look like much here, but with a good clean, it came up beautifully! I don't want to sand it or stain it, as I love its charater so much. It reminds me of the dining table we had in my family home, growing up, and we bought it from a family who had it while their children were growing up too! We love it. We sit down and eat our dinner at it most nights, and instead of sitting with guests in the lounge room, we often sit around the table and chat. I will post pics of it in the dining area just as soon as my camera battery is charged! It originally came from a farm in Tangambalanga, near Albury, and is made of Kauri Pine. Oh...and it cost me $133.50

Item 2: A church pew!!!

We currently have a bench on one side of our table, but it's a dark stained timber, and it doesn't look right next to the lighter colour of the table. I am happy to mix my timber finishes (a new acceptance!), but the bench is both modern AND dark, so there is too much contrast. I am going to move the bench to the sitting room (to be!) as a coffee table, and replace it with this! I will most likely paint it black, which will look great with our white floors and shutters, and dark grey walls. I love it...and even though it wasn;t as much of a bargain as the table, it was cheaper than the cost of 3 chairs!

On the other side of the table, I think we need something a little more retro, to work with the light, and prevent the whole area from getting too 'matchy matchy', so I am thinking of perhaps some Eames DSW side chairs in Black

Or the original plan...the Tolix A chair in galvanised

What I love about buying items off Ebay, is the personality they have. I felt that my home was becoming too plain, and beginning to appear a little like I had bought everything on the same day, from the same store. It wasn't welcoming...it didn't feel like a 'home'.

These pre-loved pieces are making a big difference!

Bar Open

2010-06-27T11:02:00.009+10:00

Oh, where to start! There is so much going on in my head 'house-wise' at the moment, that I barely know where to begin.

Ok - dining area! All along, I have loved the Scandinavian aesthetic - hence the white on white on white!

Then, I found elements of this look didn't work so well in this house...since I don't live in a Scadinavian country, but instead in Melbourne, Australia! So I painted the dining room grey.But it still didn't feel right. We bought a new light...which we LOVED, but the rest of the room just felt bland. I have been playing with the house quite a bit over the last few days, instroducing some more 'neutrals', and lighter wood tones (a whole nother post!), and wanted to incorporate a little bamboo table my husband rescued when his parents cleaned out their office.

I had been intending to paint it, probably black (I am also introducing black...and loving it!) but I decided to leave in its natural bamboo finish for now. I added a few things we had around the house...and some that were still in a box, waiting for a home, from when we moved(!!!!), and now we have a little bar in the corner of our dining nook. You can also see our new light at the top there - it's retro style works really well with our bar. I just need to hang the print that is resting - it was a limited edition Dinosaur Designs one that came with Inside Out (I think!) a few years back, and I have never had a place for it. And now I do!

Oops...

2010-06-04T21:36:00.003+10:00

...I went on a holiday and forgot to blog! Sorry!
I will return to regular programming (in other words, sporadic posting with occasional pictures of somewhat completed projects!) when I stop dreaming of Vietnam.

Vitaminer at Ikea

2010-04-25T11:03:00.007+10:00

Have you seen this gorgeous range of fabrics and accessories at Ikea? I love the colours and the patterns. In fact, I am considering heading there this afternoon to pick up this blanket, to snuggle under in this chilly weather we have been having. Which I am loving, by the way!And the fabrics are only $14.99 for 1.2 x 3m. Very reasonable! Those hearts would make a cute headboard, especially if it was button tufted with a range of colourful buttons! I'm not sure my husband would go for it, but maybe for a child one day! In the mean time, I may have to make do with a cushion in my living room!

And these fun curtains! Not sure where I could hang them, but I think they would bring some cheer to your day!

They are hidden away in the children's fabric department! I would love to use them in my home...and I don't have any children (with the exception of my furchild of course!)

Hope!

2010-04-07T18:42:00.003+10:00

I know I have been MIA for a little while - I have been super busy with work, renos, social and family commitments. I do have some new pics for you...but not today.

It doesn't feel right to share how wonderful my home is when I have some very dear friends who are doing it tough...all the time. I am heading out for a very brief catch up with one of them later this evening, and it's all I can think about right now. I promise that when (not if, but when) they find a home for themselves and their precious daughter (Hope!), I will be ringing and writing every 'we come and fix up your house and garden in a weekend to help make your life a teensy bit easier' show, to go and visit them, and do everything they can.

Some people out there have a really rough life, through no doing of their own, and I remind all of you to hug your children, your partner, your friends and your family, and tell them you love them. And ring someone you know, who might be struggling a bit at the moment, to remind them you are there, and you love them.

OMG, OMG, OMG!!!!

2010-02-27T17:46:00.005+11:00

Ok, so clearly I am excited. Something wonderful has happened!

The lovely, Nichole, over at Sparrow's Nest has nominated me for a Beautiful Blogger Award!!! She has such great style (check out her AMAZING kitchen mural here), and I am really honoured. Thank you SO much Nichole!

So, the rules are:
1. Thank the person who nominated me for this award. (yup!)
2. Copy the award & place it on my blog.(yup again)
3. Link to the person who nominated me for this award. (yup - please do visit her beautiful blog!)
4. Share 7 interesting things about myself. (eeeek!)
5. Nominate 7 bloggers. (YAY!)

Alrighty...7 things about me. Oh wait, interesting things about me, that's going to be hard!!!

1. My hair went prematurely grey all over, and up until recently I coloured it. But now, at age 28, I have embraced reality, and gone natural.

2. I am a self confessed lazy perfectionist. I want things to be 'just so', but it takes me forever to get it done.

3. I love to cook, but I always use recipes for 'inspiration' rather than instruction. Or I don't even bother with recipes, and just make it up!

4. I used to be in the Rockabilly 'scene', and get around in hot rods, go to rock'n'roll dances on Saturday night to see bands (that always had a double bass in them), wear Brothel Creepers (shoes!) and pencil skirts and bright red lipstick and generally live a 50's inspired lifestyle. I still love the music and the clothes and the cars (I ADORE hot rods, and aim to own one - A 1928 Ford A Model Tudor, with a 28 stud side valve V8 motor, by the time I retire!), but am not 'involved' anymore.

5. I consider myself very fortunate to be young enough to use all the amazing technology we have now, but old enough to appreciate what it was like without a lot of it.

6. One word that came up a lot in the speeches at my 21st was that I am 'unique'. I grew up in a small town, and always wanted to be different, so I shaved my head, had piercings and wore unusual clothing. Not long before my 21st I realised that I didn't need these things to be different, I simply was because there was no-one like me anywhere else in the world. And I stopped trying. And people still consider me unique and interesting!

7. The first time I met my now husband (at a hot-rod show with my then boyfriend!), the first thought that ran through my head was 'WOW, that is the best looking guy I have ever seen'. We were friends for a few years before we got together, and we have now been together for 7.5 years, married for 3.5 years and I still think he is the best looking guy I have ever seen!

Are you still there? Have you fallen asleep yet? No? Good, because now you can head on over and visit these wonderful blogs!

1. Kellie @ Ada and Darcy

2. Kylie @ All Things Lovely

3. Rose @ Able Mae

4. Lesley @ Life at Number 10

5 Melissa @ Undomestic /Mumma

6. April @ A City Girl in the Country

7. Cyma @ CHEK

Thank you so much for nominating me Nichole, you really have made my day!

Be Afraid...

2010-02-24T10:20:00.004+11:00

...be VERY afraid. For your hip-pocket, that is!

Anthropologie now ships to Australia!

Is it too late to cancel my upcoming holiday and spend the money on gorgeous Anthropologie items instead? Hmmm...

Turns out I am a chair!

2010-02-15T17:31:00.002+11:00

Via Table Tonic . My new favorite blog, by the way. This is so funny! Ikea-arise your name here

Some 'almost' afters

2010-01-31T19:43:00.009+11:00

So, we didn't get quite as much done as we had planned, but still, there have been a few changes around here! Hopefully the new light will go up this week, and we will pick up some shelves for that empty wall in the dining room, but it's coming along!

Here we go...piccies! I take terrible pictures, it's something I really need to work on (I like to blame our camera, but really, it's just me!)

This is the pic from the internet listing of the lounge/dining room - it doesn't look too bad, but the living room was quite small, and the colours weren't right - and the kitchen was hidden away behind a door! The wall with the picture on the right has moved back about 2 feet, and also has a cut out through to the kitchen.

And now - our new white sofas (or one of them!), charcoal dining room - see how perfectly the colour matches our dog!

My husband won't be thrilled about this pic, but it's a 'mid-way' picture, taken last Winter.

We love the effect of the white shutters against the new dark colour! It also helps define the dining area from the living room. The light will be fantastic against this colour too!

This is another real estate picture. It doesn't look too bad either, but the benchtops were sticky...ew... the paint was quite grubby, and check out that lino! The tiling was atrocious and there was nowhere for the microwave! Plus...it had no character. We removed the return with the stools under it, replaced it with a cabinet, and added an island that we already had! We made a feature of a the bulkhead (which we hated, but won't come down until we do a complete kitchen make-over) by painting it in blackboard paint. I change the quote about once a month though!

The splashback needs to be painted again (they mixed the paint with the wrong base, so it will be a little darker, and the brackets will be painted too, and we need to add some trim along the top, but it's definately an improvement. You can't really see the limewashed benchtops here either, but they are great!

More excitement

2010-01-28T07:51:00.003+11:00

Our sofas, with their new white slip covers, are being delivered back to us on Saturday afternoon!
The light for the dining area is being picked up on Friday afternoon, and we are hoping to get the walls of the dining room painted dark charcoal before the sofas get back...wet charcoal paint and white sofas are a scary combination...but dry charcoal paint and white sofas? TO DIE FOR (I hope!)!

OMG, sale time!

2010-01-25T19:03:00.002+11:00

The Lucient Pendant light, and the Tolix A Chair (in a galvanised finish - a replica too) are both ON SALE right now. Mr Limecello and I are going internet shopping tonight...woohoo!

Hopefully this weekend I will also have pics of our temporary kitchen makeover - I am painting the splashback tonight!

Lights 'n' Chairs

2009-12-17T21:56:00.007+11:00

Ok, so I have a whole lotta lights I love, and a whole lotta chairs I love, and I have to say it like that, because I love the song 'Whole Lotta Rosie' by AC/DC.

I think they all work together, but the styles vary quite a lot, and I was trying to figure out how to make them all work in our dining room, study nook and kitchen, without any one area seeming too industrial, too rustic, too cottage-y, too modern or too retro. And incorporating white, metal/stainless steel and dark wood tones!

BUT, it would seem, I have finally come up with a plan...and both Mr Limecello and I LOVE IT!

1. The white drum light (which we already have), and white slip-covered sofa (we have nearly finished paying our slip covers off, and will hopefully have them by the end of January) are the living room. I thought it was important to include them as a reference.

2. The Barbados light from Beacon Lighting is perfect for our study nook, as its a bit of a feature, but will soften all the hard edges and corners in the little area. The Bertoia chair (yes, it will be a replica) will add a little glam in stainless steel, and not dominate too much either...its a pretty small area!

3. The Lucient pendant from Click-On was the final piece of the puzzle, and I only spotted it this morning in the latest Home Beautiful. It will be just right over our dining table (the Liatorp), with the cross chairs (again, we already have these) and our dark wooden bench on the other side. The Tolix A Chair is one we have both loved for a long time, and will sit at the heads of our table (we keep it in its oval format). If we paint the dining area grey (which is pretty likely!) both the light and the end chairs will sit beautifully against the colour.

4. And finally the kitchen. We will hang 2 of these Foto shades over the wood topped island in the kitchen, and the Ghost stools (replicas again!) will bring a bit of 'fab' to the kitchen (stay tuned for an update on that plan too!)

We both love chandeliers too, so fortunately there is room for 2 of them in our hallway!

I am so happy just looking at the plan...I can't wait to make it happen...even if it takes a couple of years!

Guess Where I am Going Tonight?

2009-12-10T13:24:00.003+11:00

Hmm, probably not really worth a post, but I am going to Ikea tonight! I haven't been there since just after we moved into our house...9 months ago! That's a long time in my world! No interesting purchases intended (just one kitchen cabinet frame!), but that's not to say we won't come away with a haul of items.

We are going to do some investigations into benches for the (new!) entryway, beds (not sure about buying a bed from Ikea, but will have a look anyway!), sofa-beds, kitchen appliances (namely, their fully intergrated dishwasher!), kitchen door styles, sinks for the laundry...and kitchen and maybe some shelving too!

And have a good look at all the other fun things!

UPDATED POST VISIT: I have to say, I was a little disapointed. I don't know if it's because I see so much of it online, or because my taste is developing (just a little!) but it just wasn't the same. For the first time ever, I noticed some of the poor quality, and the fact that a lot of the whites weren't 'white' enough. Still plenty of good things though (lighting, storage, fabric etc), and we are pretty certain we will be getting an Ikea kitchen (but will go elsewhere for the dishwasher).

Lovely New Blogs

2009-12-08T21:39:00.004+11:00

Via Ada and Darcy , I have just found 2 (new to me) gorgeous blogs! Chek and Life at Number 10 are both great reads, full of pretty pictures and inspiration!

And while I am talking about other blogs, please head over to Pottering About, for pics of Rose's latest quilt...which I ADORE! It is gorgeous!!!

Hopefully some pics of our reno's to come soon - walls and ceiling are painted, first coat is down on the floors, and maybe some trims will get done this weekend!

Benefits of running...

2009-11-11T07:16:00.003+11:00

...early in the morning!

1. Seeing really beautiful wood doors (3 of them!!!!) by the side of the road.

2. Umm...sorry, thats the only benefit I can think of right now.

I am really hoping they are there when I go back tonight...I felt it was a little unfair to knock on someone's door (the one attached to the house, not the ones on the side of the road!) at 6.30am.

Might do a drive-by before work actually and see if I can squeeze them into my car!

UPDATED: They were gone by the time I drove past an hour later. It wasn't meant to be.

Light and Dark...Dark Grey in fact!

2009-10-15T13:14:00.003+11:00

After seeing these stunning pics over at A Life's Design, its confirmed. I am going to paint our dining room dark grey. All the white features pop so beautifully against it, and it will highlight our gorgeous shutters - plus seperate the room from the living room, and give it a little 'intimacy'. You can see the room here. Ooh I can just imagine!

I don't think we have anything on on Sunday...should i do it then?

Speaking of light and dark - dark grey, I have decided this is going to be my other 'colour' to break up the white. Each room will have a charcoal/grey feature of some sort in it.

In the bedrooms it will be the carpet and in the bathroom, the floor tiles. The dining room will be as above, and in the kitchen? Well, I have decided our wall unit/pantry/ display cabinet would look incredible in grey, filled with white china and colourful accents, with the rest of the kitchen in white.

The only room I can't decide on, is the living room. I was thinking maybe charcoal roman blinds in front of our bi-fold doors, but I am concerned they will be a little heavy and distracting. Maybe a rug...maybe a light...maybe a button tufted ottoman? Now there's a thought!

Bonus

2009-10-11T21:39:00.004+11:00

After all that wonderful-ness, my husband disapeared for half an hour or so this evening and came back inside with a huge bunch of lilies from the garden, for me. They are now on the dining table in 3 vases, and 2 will be distributed to the bedroom and kitchen shortly. He is THE BEST!

A real gem

2009-10-11T14:37:00.011+11:00

Today has been a real gem of a day. A dead-set sparkler - just like the pretty above (from cutdiamonds.com).

I knew it would be when I first saw the weather for today - forecast for 21 and sunny - our first hit of Spring (and perfect for a wedding - Congratulations Benny and Rita!)

Mr Limecello and I slept in and woke when our dog-child's tail started to wag. We are in dire need of a grocery shop, so breaky was a little simple, but delicious (cereal with passionfruit yogurt and tinned peaches), but chased down by my latest obsession - Twinnings Peppermint Tea. I am completely addicted!

We had always planned on a nice long walk, and we headed off to Westerfolds Park with the pooch. I had never been there, but my Husband spent a fair bit of time there back in his teens. And after today, I think we will be spending a fair bit more time there! Its so beautiful, right here in the suburbs, and there is a great track that does a complete loop of the park .We did 2 laps (about 9.6km) and it was so nice just to chat to each other, with no interruptions!

On the way home we took a random detour and managed to catch the tail-end of the Nunawading Farmers Market - where everyone was selling off their produce for a song. We picked up some beautiful asparagus, leek, felafel (which had us racing off to get a bunch of parsley, so we can have tabbouleh and felafel sandwiches!), free range eggs, 2 loaves of bread (for the price of 1!), a couple of home-made vegie pasties and a muffin- or 2! Its a plastic bag free market, so fortunately we had our own hessian bag in the car (Mr LC had his suspicions the market was on I think!

So we picked up a few bargains, and headed home with a fresh pastie for lunch, which we followed with an alcoholic beverage each - a Corona for him, and a glass of my favorite budget white for me.

All this and its only 3 o'clock. We might head out to see Mao's Last Dancer later on (free tickets, coutesy of a late start last time!), or just stay on home on the couch with the sun streaming in the bi-fold doors - no, a blanket! Its just started raining, which will give the garden a good water!

It been a pretty fabulous and budget friendly weekend this week - friends over for home-made pizza, sundaes and (store-bought) wine on Friday night and sunshine and gardening yesterday, plus my Mum dropped in for a cup of tea in the afternoon. Life is so precious, and this weekend has reminded me just how good it is!

Entryway again

2009-09-27T09:00:00.002+10:00

Oh, just a quick excited post! My wonderful Dad has offered to do all the building and plastering for us, so we can keep saving for a holiday! He is going to take some time off work and do it all over about 4 days!

I love my Dad - he is awesome!

I have also decided to get our sofa slip covers made while he is here, so the mess won't get the current sofas dirty (they take them away for 2 weeks to make the covers!)

So progress shots should be just around the corner!

Entryway moodboard

2009-09-13T18:40:00.002+10:00

Here it is!

The moodboard for our entry way and hallway. Let me give you a little rundown.

Obviously, the walls are white, as are the floors.

The white cabinet is instead of a hallstand. I will get one eventually, but we already have this cabinet, and its not getting used. Plus it will add storage that will be lost when we halve the hall cupboard to become doors.

The turned wooden stool will give me somewhere to sit while I tie my shoelaces, and will sit under a little green frame which holds the brooch from my wedding dress. A little sparkle sparkle, and a happy memory too.

I have wanted this hanging rack for quite some time now, and despite the cost, my husband agrees. Its a special 'piece' that we would have for years to come, and gives people such a lovely sentiment when they walk in the door. Above it (if there is room!) I will hang this round mirror, with a mirrored frame - the perfect piece to reflect the light from the chandelier! This may not be the exact chandelier I use - it may hang a little low - but something like this would be so nice!

Our hall cupboard door will be a nice panelled one, with a crystal handle (and I haven't shown them here, but we will have glass french doors, next to the cupboard, also off this hallway, leading to the loungeroom)

The large picture is my husband and I on our wedding day. My wonderful sister and brother in law had this pic enlarged and printed on a canvas for us as a wedding gift. Its quite big (about 50 x 70 cm), and will go right at the end of the hallway, so its not too confronting! The framed pics are ones I am gathering at the moment of family over the years - my sister and I as toddlers, my grandparents on their first weekend away together, etc. Not sure yet whether to frame them in black, or a dark stained wood - which would tie in nicely with the wooden stool.

I love the grey rug with the circles (have you noticed a bit of a 'circle-y theme here?), as the 3 bedrooms which run off this hallway will be carpeted in charcoal, and the bathroom will likely have charcoal floor tiles too, so it ties in, but the circles break it up (or I might just get the green one, and never mind it matching anything else!)

So this is the hallway in my mind..Perhaps its time to start on the construction!

The making of an entryway

2009-09-09T12:54:00.007+10:00

I love entryways. I love hallstands, and welcoming spaces, and homey touches, like hooks with scarves on them, and a place to sit while putting on your shoes.

An entryway was something we did not have in our last home - see that door there, not even 1 foot from the sofa - THAT was our front door!

So I was super excited when we moved to a house with a hallway and an entryway. Unfortunately, the said entryway has no walls - they all have doors on them, and is not wide enough for a hallstand. Boo!

Also missing is a few walls is our living room. Major dilemma - the main entryway to our living room is off the hallway, through double doors, that lead you straight into the back of our sofa! (yes I should draw you a floorplan...and I will...soon!)

Solution - close up the double doors, gain a wall for our sofa to live on, and move the door just a little further down the hall, so you walk into the side of our living room. There are so many benefits.

But I had to run it past our trusted advisors - first, my Dad, a builder for about 30 years, who was well known for his talents in making spaces work!, and Jeni, a close friend - also my Dad's partner - a seriously talented draftsperson (just ask Steve and Jules - my brother and sister in law!) and interior designer who totally 'gets' what we want to achieve.

Last night they gave us the tick of approval for our plans, and moving forward, we will be calling builder next week for a quote! And hence, my excitement about entry-ways. I can see it already - large white cabinet with mirrored front, a dark stained, turned wood stool, a hall runner...and a chandelier! I feel a mood board coming on!

Saturday Morning in Winter

2009-08-29T12:05:00.010+10:00

At my place, looks like this...

Husband reading the (delivered, the old owners forgot to cancel their subscription!) newspapers, dog/rat/cat/bunny/seahorse (as she's known) hanging around, and making sure she is in 'the middle (between us...always!), and me enjoying the view!

You can see here our white floors, painted walls, plantation shutters and somewhat colourful accessories. Considering this room used to look like this (from a slightly different spot!),

we are very happy with the result.

We are hoping to replace the light with a chandelier at some stage, but the white drum is a good temporary solution!

I can also finally show an 'after' of our new wall, plastered and painted (the floors still need to be done, obvioulsy!)

Remember the before, urgh...such a dark space, with no visability from/to the kitchen and that walk in pantry, which was wasted in a house this small!

And the after (though, due to the rain I am standing inside those doors for the after, and have cut out most of the loungeroom!)

Though, with the kitchen in its current state, I'm not sure how keen I am on the viability - check out the missing kickboards along the bottom. Not a good look!

Inspiration Pictures

2009-06-19T13:28:00.003+10:00

Well I thought I would share the pics I have saved in my 'Inspirational House Pics' Folder, or a few of them anyway...and give an explaination as to why I love them. Now, embarassingly, I downloaded them long before I ever dreamed of having my own blog, and I haven't got the links back to any of them. If you know where they came from, please let me know!

I love stripes, green, pink and coloured, painted furniture. The sofas are a great shape, and I also love the wood panelled walls.

I think this colour scheme is beautful, and the main house colour is top of my list when we paint our house,

Chartruse green...again!...and pinky-red, with plenty of white and vintage all together! I adore the phone, and the hit of modern with the Teknobili side table. The light is pretty special!

The eclectic mix here, the lovely tones and the stunning bedhead all get me with this one.

This image is much more grand...and well beyond the style that this home will ever be, but the shape of teh chair, and the combo of chocolate wood and white drew me in!

Now, the people have just arrived to install our shutters, so I better go and supervise!

Ooops...

2009-06-17T16:01:00.001+10:00

...again. I am still getting used to this bloggy thing! I don't have any afters, because its not finished yet, but here are some before and 'during' pics of the wall re-arranging.

You can see from the floorboards where the old wall used to be. The doorway is now much more open, and we have a lovely little alcove in the lounge, which we will wallpaper, and also hang a feature light in. It has power and phone lines there too, so will house a our phone, and one day, when all our bedrooms are being slept in, will be home to the laptop too.

The wall has been plastered now, but my phone won't talk to my computer so I can post a pic! Sorry.

Also, some sad news about the kitchen. Freedom kitchens - complete disaster. Had it all priced through a custom cabinet maker instead, but financially just not possible. We will Ikea it up a bit, improve the storage, make use of our lovely new wall, and save save save for a little while. Its does mean, however, that we can move forwrd with a few other things too!

And happy news...our plantation shutters have arrived, and we are just waiting for an installation date. YAY!

...and the walls came tumbling down!

2009-05-20T13:49:00.000+10:00

Sorry, 2 posts in a row with out pics. But the builder is at our house RIGHT NOW tearing down our walls and building new ones! V. exciting! Will have befores soon...they are stuck on the camera right now, and the cable could be anywhere in the study/box room/kitchen/pantry (our second bedroom is doing quadruple duty right now!

Learning to blog!

2009-05-16T12:46:00.000+10:00

So I just had a look through my settings, and realised that a few of them needed an update! Anyone can now comment (yes Jules, that includes you, as I think you and Emily are my only readers!)

I also updated the blogs I follow, as I only just realised that a lot of them weren't showing up...oops! Check them out, if you don't already...my fave this week is 'The House that A-M built'. She's an Aussie with the most beautiful taste...and moves into her newly built house in just a couple of weeks!

Boo..and YAY!

2009-05-16T10:23:00.000+10:00

So, the kitchen designer cancelled. Because we have to change some walls around, they won't come until its done. So, the solution to that is...get it done! Hopefully next week! YAY! Very exciting.

And in my disapointment, I decided to buy some are for the walls. This Etsy seller had a fabulous 2 for 1 offer (its closes today, get them while you can!), and I purchased this print

which is unfortunately no longer available, and this one which can be purchased here.

I have been a fan of Annechovie's work for quite some time, so I was thrilled to finally get some of my very own! Hopefully our postie doesn't try and fold these in half, which he does with everything else!

(Images from Annechovies shop on Etsy)

Kitchen Obsession

2009-05-12T17:31:00.001+10:00

One more day until our kitchen designer comes. In the mean time, I have created some moodboards to keep me inspired!

Spot the differeence! The basic concept is white shaker doors with Ice Snow Caesarstone benchtops around the perimeter, with dark stained oak on the island. White subway tile laid in a brick pattern. Stainless steel 900mm oven with concealed rangehood. Double ceramic farmhouse style sink with modern pull out faucet. White plantation shutters on the windows (these are already ordered), chrome cup pulls for the drawers and these gorgeous patterned ceramic handles for the cupboards (from ebay seller Knobsmacked). The gorgeous 'Moss Rose' Royal Albert teacup given to me by my grandmother will be box framed in a dark frame with a white matt and green border, to spread love through the whole kitchen. We are currently deciding between light stoney coloured walls, emerald green walls (have not yet discussed this option with my husband!) and the same Natural white that is currently on the rest of the house. 2 lights to hang over the island will be either industrial style metal ones (from Ikea!), or the cane ones from Beacon Lighting. And a splash of modern classic in the form of 2 Kartell ghost stools. What do you think?

For Jules!

2009-05-10T17:37:00.000+10:00

My dear sister-in-law has just been here, with her wonderful husband (my husband's brother!) who repaired our computer, and told me I HAD to provide a new post cause she was sick of the old one!
So, news here at Casa Limecello is that a new kitchen is on the cards! Thanks to Freedom's 2 years interest free period we have been planning away, and they will be here this week to advise and quote. We have also had the builder in to talk about wardrobe doors and banquette seating, but will likely forego the doors for now...so we can get our dream oven! The banquette seating will be done when the walls come out! Yes, thats right, walls are coming down, and the walkin pantry sacrifuced for more loungeroom space.
Below are some pics from my inspiration folder...apologies, they were all gathered over the last couple of years, and I don't know where from, so no links...or credits (eeep, super sorry!)!

This is just a sneak glipmse of this kitchen, but I love the all white, and combination of open shelving, glass doors, and solid doors. The marble splashback is pretty lovely too!

I love the feel of this kitchen...and the sink too! My husband has said this is the type of sink he is wants...and its not negotiable! Ok, I say! Love the shaker style doors too!

I ADORE this kitchen. The shaker doors, the marble benchtops, the crisp white...and that magnificent green! I am 'green' with envy at this one!

More marble, more shaker doors, but a pretty duck egg/Tiffany blue in this one. So pretty!

We have also ordered some pretty gorgeous plantation shutters, that should be here in about 6 weeks! The waiting is killing me...but will be totally worth it!

I am speckling the keyboard with flakes of paint

2009-03-16T22:00:00.000+11:00

I have to list everything in dots points today as my brain is scattered...I think its the paint fumes.

*Settlement went perfectly. Our conveyancer said she wished they all went that smoothly.

*Only one couple showed up for our open at the old place. They put in a perfect application the following day, and have signed the lease papers! YAY!

*The lino and carpet came up and revealed pristine hardwood floors.

*My husband is incredible and sanded all the rooms with varnished floors with a little mouse sander. I love him!

*My wonderful family have been amazing. They were there the day we settled helping lift the floors, removing staples until 11.00 at night. My sister and her husband have been over every day helping with whatever we ask them to do...filling cracks, cutting in..oh and FEEDING US EVERY DAY! Yes thats right, beautiful food every night...risotto last night and spag bol tonight. AND they brought over toilet paper the night we moved in, without us even telling them we forgot it! My mum and her partner came over yesterday and today, and did an amazing job too, they are great painters!

*I love the colour we picked out...'Natural White' by Dulux in super flat. I am yet to paint any trims, but we are using 'Princess Bling' by Taubmans in high gloss. Natural white is also going on the floors.

*I have no pics uploaded yet, but have been taking plenty.

So it is all going very well, and I am very happy!

Settlemenspection Day tomorrow!

2009-03-10T20:05:00.000+11:00

Tomorrow we settle on our new house, and our old home is open for its first inspection for prospective renters! So its a big day. My husband is painting, I should be packing and I just found out I am on a work excursion (to a paper mill...pretty cool!)all day Thursday from early til late, so need to make sure I take 'casual clothes suitable for a day out with boss and clients!' with me tomorrow. I may even have to iron tonight....yikes! (or maybe I can pursuade my lovely sister to help me out with that at her place tomorrow night!)

Oh and amoungst all this excitement, my bedside tables arrived. They are so awesome...full run down soon!

Better get back to it...those boxes are calling my name (or is it my bed!?)

Old house

2009-03-02T18:38:00.000+11:00

Our current home is featured this month on the Real Living website, here, which gives a good idea of the styles I love!

I got quite emotional writing it all down, but then, of course, realised we are moving onto something bigger and better.

I am freaking out about the actal process of moving all our stuff today, though!

I broke my promise!

2009-02-28T10:52:00.000+11:00

I promised my husband that I wouldn't buy any furniture for the new house...until we lived there. With only 1.5 weeks to go, I broke my promise...oops.

For a long time we have needed new bedside tables. We currently have one of these painted cream, on one side, and one of these in white on the other side...I hated my Rast so much I replaced it with a chair!

But we have just order these wonderful pieces of loveliness!

2 of them! Discovered via Belinda, I had dreamt about them, but was concerned the shipping would be too much! But just under $30...for both of them! They will be here in about 2 weeks...just in time for the big move! Excited!

Oh dear...

2009-02-28T10:04:00.000+11:00

I can't remember my Flickr login details...and my alternative email address is not working. Do I sign up as a new user? I feel like that is wrong! Its driving me mad as I can't post any pictures here!

Feeling lucky...

2009-02-10T19:03:00.000+11:00

It is 1 month until settlement day. But I feel sad. Because there are many people out there who have lost everything, everything they love, cherish, have worked for, saved for, built, created. We spent all weekend trying to decide whether or not we should put a new roof on our house, while out there, people's roofs were all that was left. Its devastating, horrific, a complete nightmare. So far, all my friends and family and colleagues have been safe, but so many of them know people who have lost their homes. It's so far from us, yet so close. My husband and I have stopped thinking about what we can do to improve our new home this week. Instead we are deciding what we can give to help others rebuild their lives.

Sorry!

2009-01-24T10:35:00.000+11:00

Sorry, I've been bad! You see, my computer died (AGAIN!) argh, and it was my sister's Hen's night last night, and the wedding is tomorrow, so I have a little bit on at the moment! I have been majorly involved with both!

I used Marthas Pompoms to decorate and they went down a treat! My sister is even wishing she could cancel the 2 huge bunches of flowers for their ceremony site, and decorate with these instead! Its a bit late though...boo!

But I will do a pic heavy post on it all when my computer comes back to life! Invites, decorations...and the lovely Hen herself!

In the midst of it all we went to the bank to sign some more documents for our new house...and dealt with complete moron. He looked at the paperwork that we needed him to witness like he had never seen mortgage documents before! GAH! Isn;t it his job to know all about that stuff! Seriously!

Better go...there is bridey stuff to do (like wash all the punch glasses from yesterday!)

Urgh, what a 3rd post subject

2009-01-14T21:43:00.000+11:00

Ok, so I can't belive I am writing about this in only my 3rd post, like its the most important thing ever! Its not really, but since we aren't really buying anything...except this!...before we move in, its really all I can post about for now. So...here it is!

Thats right...a television! You see, our new lounge room is pretty small, and awkwardly laid out. And although I am not a huge fan of TV's on the wall...or TV's on display at all... its the only solution here. So we are getting a white one, with a built in DVD, so there are no other boxes, and hopefully the white will help it 'recede' a bit. Never mind the giant black square in the middle when its switched off!

We currently have our tv and stereo in a cabinet, and people often ask if we even have a television. There will be no hiding this beast though. The stereo on the other hand, is a bit of an issue. I think we will play CD's through the TV most of the time, and upgrade our stereo in the next 12 months... I have that picked out too. Guess the colour? Piano white!

Its the ONLY one I could find that was white. Seriously, who would have thought a white TV was such a bizarre concept. Black does not go with my decor! I can't be the only person in the world who feels this way?

Why!

2009-01-11T11:08:00.000+11:00

Why 'Making Limecello' I hear you ask?

Based on the saying 'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade'. The global credit crunch was on, a recession was potentially approaching and house prices were falling. This was our chance to move to 'stage 2'. Leave 'stage 1' - a 2 bedroom townhouse in the west (now a renovated two and a half bedroom townhouse with private courtyard), move onwards and outwards. 'Stage 2' - a 3 bedroom weatherboard home on a subdivided block, in need of a major facelift!

Life gave us lemons, but I thought limes were more appropriate, because I love green and we have a gorgeous lime tree...And I prefer limecello to lemonade...its tasty!

The planting of a seed

2009-01-11T10:51:00.001+11:00

Well, here I am. My first post! A bit of background first I suppose! My husband and I were coming to the end of a 5 year DIY renovation, looking forward to spending some quality time together, enjoying all our hard work and chillin' out. Then...madness struck! Why not use the lovely home as equity, and buy something else! So we did!

We currently live in Melbourne's west, about 9km from the city. Great location, improving suburb, close to amenities etc. One MAJOR problem. Our entire lives are based in the eastern suburbs...family, friends and work! And... our new house!

Here are some pics...there is plenty of work to do.

Prior to moving in, we will paint, paint, paint and paint. Walls, ceilings and floors! All white!