Summer mantel

After the mammoth task of packing away the Christmas decorations I decided to freshen up the loungeroom with a bit of bright colour.

I love decorating the mantelpiece and try to create different looks each time I do it.

This time I have gone for a fresh blue, yellow and white theme with a collection of bottles, Mozi fruit tea lights and flowers from the garden. Loving the dahlias.

I'm also clearly still loving "the stick".

And of course some iceberg roses.

The garden is in between blooms at the moment so there's not a lot out. I love the yellow with the blues though. Must plant more dahlias :)
Well, did you guys have a lovely weekend? I have to say I did. After some pottering in the garden the lovely Kerry and her partner Richard came to visit. That means Kerry is now privy to all the dodgy, fallen down bits at Molly's Maison. We had a great time! On Sunday I went to the farmers market and came home with some lovely flowers, a plant and some fantastic French pastries. Boy, the pastries didn't last long. Lyndon was lucky I didn't eat his!
Have a great week bloggies. Looks like being a warm one here :)

xx

A pretty table

I was sitting reading the newspaper at the dining table on the weekend and couldn't help myself, I had to get out the camera and take some snaps of the table setting.

The light was so nice and luckily I had borrowed the DSLR from work again.

Pretty daffodils...

Gorgeously fragrant freesias from my garden...

There's those pretty Dinosaur Designs vases...

I love a pretty mixed up combination of prints with flowers.

I know it was a couple of days ago now, but how disappointing was The Block for all the contestants? All that hard work, blood, sweat and tears and the contestants walked away with little (apart from Polly and Waz).

Didn't they all look gorgeous at the auction? I'm sure they'll all go on to do great things, they were such a likeable bunch. My biggest question is what will I watch on tv now?? It's a disaster.

**

I'll be back in a couple of days with a very special birthday here at Molly's Maison.

Someone's turning 7 years old!

xx

Dinosaur Designs and Ikea goodies

I have been very slow with this post, but finally, here are the little goodies I acquired from the Dinosaur Designs Extinct store.

I resisted all the jewellery to buy a small resin plate, bowl and vase to go with the blue vase I picked up recently.

I think they're lovely, especially when the sun shines through them.

You might remember I had a quick stopover in Melbourne. I took the chance to run into Ikea for a  very quick looksee. I was hoping to pick up some more Ribba square frames but they didn't have any!

I had only about half an hour in store (how cruel). Given I also had very limited space in which to pack anything I purchased I decided on these three vases.

Those two larger ones were only $2.99 each! How crazy is that? Of course if you add in the cost of the shuttle bus to and from the airport, baggage storage and tram fare, they cost a lot more than $2.99.

Oh well.

Can you see a bit of a colour theme? I just can't help myself when it comes to blue glass. Blue anything for that matter.

ps. thinking I should have ironed my old tablecloth...

xx

Dinosaur Designs Extinct store visit

Last Friday I flew into Sydney and before I caught the train up to Newcastle I visited the Dinosaur Designs samples and seconds store called Extinct.

It was exciting. The colour was overwhelming. Look at all those bangles!

Shelves upon shelves of resiny goodness.

Necklaces galore...

It is a small store but when I was there it was filled with enthusiastic shoppers.

I was one of them :)

The prices were great, starting at $35 for rings. I found the prices of the homewares to be about half of what they are in the retail stores. Exciting!!

I treated myself to a few little pieces in the blue/green range thanks to my lovely Great Auntie Ila who gave me some spending money. I haven't taken a piccy of them yet as the light has been so crappy here due to the hideous weather. Sorry :) I will do it soon though.

So, I would highly recommend a visit here.

Up next, more Newcastle sights...

ps A couple of you mentioned catching up when I was in Sydney next. I would have absolutely loved to have caught up with my Sydney bloggy friends but knew I only had a really limited time. Hopefully next time I get back up there.

pps. a few of you also asked about my IKEA shopping. They didn't have the frames I wanted so I had to treat myself to a couple of little inexpensive trinkets. Nothing too exciting. A post coming though ...

xx

A mantel re-style

To amuse myself while I patiently wait to get on with renovations, I revamped the mantelpiece in the lounge room again.

This is a new photo that I took and had printed up nice and large on a beautiful thick cotton rag paper. I do plan on having it framed but in the meantime it's hanging off some painted dowel by a couple of bulldog clips.

The photograph dictated my colours for the mantel. One on my little treats when I was in Sydney a few weeks ago was this brilliant cobalt blue Dinosaur Designs resin vase. The colour is stunning and needless to say, I am dreaming of a mate for it. That gorgeous rose is David Austin's Jubilee Celebration.

The other end of the mantel has some pretty red sweet pea flowers, geraniums and a cute tea light. You can see a hint of the vase that's featured in the photo artwork.

As soon as I've decorated my mantel I am thinking of my new 'theme' for the next time I do it.

Oh, by the way, have any of you been to the Dinosaur Designs Extinct seconds and sale store in Sydney? I am wondering if it's worth a visit? Do they have much to choose from? I'd love to know :)

xx