Summer - we can't wait!!

Summer is just around the corner. The days are getting a lot warmer. What does summer mean to you?

For us it means hanging out at Kingscliff (in Northern New South Wales) eating  freshly peeled prawns  on the beach with a beautiful cold white wine.

My favourite part of the day is waking up and taking my cup of tea down onto the beach. I sit and watch the world wake up. The beach that the unit sits on is next to a sacred Aboriginal site. The Aboriginals are allowed to use this land in the way they have for hundreds of years. The beach is traditionally named Wommin but more recently Dreamtime and I feel that the Aboriginals called it this as they too appreciated the incredible beauty of the area. It is an area that they celebrated in and that had an abundance of food.

My kids are surf mad. They love going in and trying to stand on their foam boards. My daughter is the keenest in the water as she could be in it all day long. 

This is Coco or the "old lady" as we affectionately call her. Even she is water crazy.

Can't wait for school holidays and hanging out at the beach.


GJx

Getting ready for Christmas

Liz Williams Christmas House

As a traditionalist and coming from a long line of traditionalists much fanfare goes into organising Christmas day and the presentation of the table.


I just adore the first photo. It is a very elegant table that isn't overly cluttered.

Because I am a traditionalist by nature I find I am rather boring/predictable when it comes to colours to use for the table. As my children are still young I find that red is such a symbolic colour for this time of the year and I that I steer to it every time. (Note my photos that I have posted - not a lot of red - maybe I am broadening my tastes).


Two years ago I had 22 for sit down lunch and 26 for dinner. We did turkey, ham, pork,  baked vegetables, gratin of cauliflower, broccoli with pancetta (so yummy), a very decadent carrots in Cointreau just to name a few. I am also requested year after year to do my orange, rocket and pine nut stuffing. I will dig out the recipe and share it with you as it is perfect with Turkey and is a lighter stuffing. Luckly it was a fairly mild Christmas day by Queensland standards!

Photo courtesy of Completely Coastal

I will keep on posting more inspirational pictures for Christmas as they come to hand.

Happy Wednesday. Swim trials this afternoon so my girl is a little nervous. She has put in a huge effort and I am hoping for her sake she does a good breaststroke time.

I have a crazy day so better go and get stuck into it.

GJ

Friendship

This has been the year for me to truly understand the meaning of friendship and to define my friends into categories. It may sound ruthless but with the last couple of years being very difficult for me I have learnt some invaluable lessons about my circle of friends.


I am beyond fortunate to be able to have three amazing and truly special friends who I have known since grade one at school. We all have a very special bond and do truly love each other without judgment or motive. We are incredibly lucky. I also have another friend who I met during my final two years at boarding school in Toowoomba. She too is an incredible person who has been an amazing support. I love all of these girls so much. Thank you and you know who you are.

I have found myself thinking about friendships and what it means to people to have friends. Some people seem to be all about how many people they know with no concern about the quality of friendships they surround themselves with. Other people have truly deep and special bonds with their friends but will only have a few that they put effort into. I have always been the later type but I don't think there was ever a conscious thought process about that. It just happened. I did go through a stage where I did surround myself with many people and everyone of them has eventually let me down. They have been terribly judgemental, rude and you could argue that they are adult bully's.

My beautiful friends have all had a particularly difficult few years as well. Some more than others! We have all been on the journey of a lifetime and some have done it in public arenas and some have done it without anyone else knowing. As I said I love you.

I am dedicating today to all the beautiful friendships that exist. Thank you for being there for others.

That's an interesting way to start the week but after little sleep and much reflection I thought that if I express it in my post it may take a load of my mind.

Thanks for letting me ramble.

GJ

My love of Blue and White



Eddie Ross Design Womens Weekly

Since being a little girl I have chosen to surround myself by blue and white. As I have gotten older I have collected a lot of blue and white and still affectionately love it.





Photo from Black and Spiro



Kelly Proxmite



Martin Laurance

Kelly Proxmite

Garden Court Hotel

Absolutelybeautifulthings Blog and also see Black and Spiro

Hermes has released their version of blue and white and I am crazy about it.

Hermes

Hermes

Hermes

We have a quiet day planned and looking forward to it. The luxury of a quiet day between now and Christmas will be hard to come by. Enjoy your day.

GJ

Style at Home

Summer is around the corner

BNO Design

This week you could feel it in the air. It was warmer and the kids came home from school asking to hop in the pool. I love this time of the year when the house is all opened up and the breeze flows right through. Seeing that I will be in the garden this weekend I thought I would post some beautiful photos of pools and gardens.

Wishing you all a blissfully happy Saturday. Going up to get my coffee and then everything will be good.

GJ

BNO Design

Beckwith Interiors

Bathrooms to Inspire



Photo courtesy of Ashley Goforth Design

Bathrooms are made beautiful by the combination of lovely lighting, tiles and fittings. Marble and other natural stones make it feel luxurious.

Natural lighting is essential. The other thing with bathrooms is storage. I have so many products and never enough room and my bathroom has more storage than most. When planning a bathroom can I recommend that a lot of thought should go into storage solutions. Whether it be concealed behind mirrors or doors and drawers it will make your bathroom work for you.



Photo courtesy of Ashley Goforth Design 



Photo courtesy of Country Living

Photo courtesy of Duan Curry Bathroom

Photo ourtesy of Elisabeth Weinstock Design

Photo courtesy of Porchlight Interiors

Photo courtesy of M Carter & Co Bathroom

Photo courtesy of Emily Gilbert

I have overloaded you with photos and I am sorry for that its just that there are so many to look at and a lot of small details worth considering. Look at the window dressings above and note that in some photos they have used timber blinds and curtains.

Its Friday - yeah!!! Busy day with swimming squad this afternoon and art classes. Hope you have a lovely day. I bought the new Veranda and Elle Decor magazines yesterday so I am looking forward to reading them with a cup of tea. I also need to spend some time in the garden. My gardenias have flowered which fills my heart with a lot of joy. Its such a shame that they turn brown so quickly. Hope you have a lovely day.

GJ