For the love of Pie

This pic borrowed from http://signsaysopen.blogspot.com

When I was in Melbourne recently, I couldn't resist visiting one of my favourite shops: Wilkins and Kent. From the website, it looks just like a furniture shop, and indeed they do sell some gorgeous custom made furniture. But they also sell beautiful handcrafted and thoughtfully chosen things, including some lovely products from fellow Australian Etsy sellers, like Able and Game and The Rabbit and the Duck. Kitchen, garden, decorative and functional, I am in love with most of their stock.

This pic borrowed from Flickr

This time, I walked away with a fantastic pie dish by Riess, a classic Austrian cookware company. I wish I could have afforded the whole range. See how pretty they look on the shelf? And this is the one I chose:

...now I just have to decide what to make in it! Any suggestions?

I want, I want, I want!

Is it lame to wish for a quicker internet? My poor capped situation is driving me up the wall. So, this week, my biggest wish is for Telstra to lift their game, and then, I have two lovelies that have cheered me up this week.

Melbourne Greeting Card by ableandgame
Soar - bracelet by thingomatic

The Best of Health in Melbourne

My work is now stocked in a great new shop in Melbourne, Rude Health.
Owner Julia describes her emporium as being full of "polka dot fifties dresses, crocheted alien birds, silk high-waisted undies, Little Red Riding Hood capes, stripy one-piece pyjamas, paperboy woollen caps and felt lungs in jars. Every item is sweatshop-free and made in Australia."

Sounds great to me.

Rude Health
17 Irwell St.
St Kilda
Melbourne, Australia

Production Line

All dressed up and ready to go: some patch pocket dresses and vest and pants sets for a lovely new shop in Melbourne, Rude Health. It as yet doesn't have a website but I will let you know the details as soon as I know!

The Tale of Emma and the Lovely Plate

Let me tell you a little story.

One day when Emma was living in Melbourne, she and her boy decided to visit a local vintage and antique shop that she had admired going past on the tram. She was delighted with many of the items for sale but was especially taken with a particular lovely German plate, 1950's, with a geometric pattern and beautiful colours.

Emma really wanted to buy this plate but sadly, she was a little bit short of cash, and a bargain this plate was certainly not.

"Oh dear," she sighed as the boy steered her out of the store, "how I would love to own that lovely plate."

Every day afterwards she sat on the tram and stared wistfully into the shop window, where the plate was not on display, and wondered whose house it was sitting in, and whether its new owner was treating it with love. A little part of her still hoped that it was on display elsewhere in the shop, and she intended to return when she had saved enough cash. If she was lucky, the lovely plate might still be there!

A few months later, Emma and her boy found themselves moving back to Sydney. It had been a very busy time, working, packing, running her Etsy store, and farewelling her Melbourne friends - so much so that she hadn't had a chance to go to the shop. As they were driving out of Melbourne, 4WD full of boxes, plants and clothes, and balancing a fishbowl on her lap, Emma looked out the window a final time at the shop and felt sad that she would not buy the lovely plate, after all.

A few more months past. Emma and her boy settled in to a new life in Sydney. Christmas and New Year came, and with it all the family and friends and social events. Emma forgot about the lovely plate sitting in Melbourne.

Then the day of Emma's birthday arrived. She was excited but a little apprehensive as her family were away on holidays, and her boy had decided to go to the cricket for the day. Not to be disheartened, she had a lovely day shopping in the city and enjoyed a lively dinner at Chinatown with her friends. When they finally got home, Emma said to her boy, "What a great day! I am so tired, I am going straight to bed."

That's when her boy produced a sneaky present from under the bed. He had bought it 5 months ago and had been hiding it in manholes, at work, in his laptop bag, at his parents' house, and finally in the top of our new wardrobe, but somehow it had survived and was now sitting in Emma's lap.

It was the lovely plate.

THE END

Days at the Races

Here in Melbourne it's Spring Racing season. A time of hats, heels, and hoofing it at the racecourse with every other keen punter in the heat. What fun! And of course it meant for me an opportunity to make headwear from random bits around the house. A chopped-up eco-bag, a cushion cover from the $2 shop, and a bit of pleated taffeta whacked on to some peacock feathers, and voila! Instant sass and style.

In other news, an interstate move is on the cards - we are going back to Sydney. I will reluctantly leave Melbourne, which I love living in and find a city of culture, quirkiness, cleverness and beauty. I will miss it a lot but have made a pact with myself to come back often for shopping trips and the like.

A Lazy Day At Home

This week, my sewing skills and expertise have been extended - I have been very busy working on an unusual project. She is a large rag doll for a dance company. She was an interesting challenge!

I am pleased with how she turned out. She hasn't got a dress yet, but it will come!

This week the Melbourne Comedy Festival has been on. Sadly, Ross Noble, my favourite and

first choice was sold out, but not to be deterred we got tickets for Nina Conti, a great UK comedian who is a ventriloquist. Now the image that springs to mind on hearing the word "ventriloquist" is a creepy one, I'll admit. But the puppets Conti uses are super cute (in appearance, at least ) and I enjoyed her show immensely.


I am enjoying Food Safari on SBS so much lately that I have made Wednesday nights "Experimental Cooking Nights", ie. cook something from a book or magazine cutting that you have never made before! I think of it as a useful expansion to my Recipe Culling 101, which is still slowly going! Last night was a combination of Jamie Oliver and 1080 Recipes, the classic Spanish tome (that is the only word suitable for such a weighty book!). Jamie provided us with chargrilled BBQ pork fillet, and 1080 gave us rice with beans, capsicum and onion. Accompanied with corn on the cob, it was a delicious, satisfying soul food meal. Yum! And all made whilst watching George Columbaris of the Press Club, one of our favourite restaurants, work his magic on Food Safari.

It's getting cooler here which means the joys of winter plants in my little garden. Yesterday I stocked up on primulas, foxgloves, pansies and some more herbs for my ever-expanding collection. I am itching to get outside and plant them so this edition of blog is finished!