Sneak peek

You may recall me posting a while back about my craft room dilemma. Well I finally bit the bullet and bought a desk (and it's white)! The pic above is of the top part. Whilst waiting for the desk to arrive (more on that little drama anon) I couldn't resist displaying some of my hubbies espresso cup collection, and some fav books I have been exploring recently. It totally didn't go with the decor in the rest of our house, but I think the colour on the white palette looks so pretty (and hence the reason why I chose white as the backdrop for my craft room)!

The remainder of the desk arrived during the week, and once I have it all sorted I promise to post some pics. After all this time, you would think I would have locked myself in the craft room all week crafting up a storm...bizarrely I have been rather fixated on decorating the new room and setting up just so, rather than getting any actual craft done! I've also had a busy week at work, and have preferred vegging on the couch when I get home than doing anything productive. Thank god it's Friday and the weekend is just around the corner, I am definitely ampted to spend tomorrow in there making some pretties! The weather is cold and dreary here, perfect weather to stay indoors I say.

Dreaming of pretty rooms (when I should be getting ready for work!)

How gorgeous is this bedroom! I don't know what it is about it, but it rocks my world! I love it. The colours and decor are just right. Nothing like my own bedroom, in fact, nothing like what I would normally go for - but hey, it works and I love it!

The second room also got me dreaming. I am so used to seeing pics of gorgeous things that I just can't get my hands on in Hong Kong. I wouldn't have any trouble with this room though - we have millions of antique shops in Hong Kong that sell exactly those cupboards (there called Chinese wedding cabinets), and antique bird cages are a plenty! Yippee

I have been in a refurb/redecorate kind of mood recently. Me thinks me needs to go shopping (shhhh, don't tell Will)!

Images from Coastal Living via Beach Vintage

Signatures

One of my fav things to do whenever we visit home is to head to Hastings Street in Noosa for a little retail therapy. Signatures would have to be my all time favourite shop! You know those shops that as you enter you feel instantly good - well that's how I feel when I
enter Signatures.

Their gorgeous home wares are spread over two floors, and it is quite possible to waste (well I wouldn't exactly classify it as "waste") hours and hours in there. Not to mention the huge amounts of cash that inevitably get spent whenever I am allowed to enter!!

We normally spend a week in Noosa after Christmas, and I can tell you I have been known to visit this shop every one of those 7 days. This year I didn't have the luxury of time, and had to confine myself to a couple of minutes in there:( I managed to buy a few souvenirs (see pics above) - and walked out with a smile on my face.

Oh I wish there were stores like this in Hong Kong...

side note:

you may not know this but Hong Kong apartments are so small that people don't usually entertain at home. The result of this is that home ware stores don't seem to be as plentiful in HK, and people are more reluctant to spend money on interior decor. One of the things you may notice when you visit HK is the amount of peeps you see on the street with designer handbags etc. In the past you have probably assumed they were fakes - but alas, this is not usually the case (and to tell you the truth, it's usually only the expats that would dare be seen with a fake)! You see, people don't use their homes as a show of their style, affluence etc., they use themselves! In order to do this, they have no objection to splashing huge amounts of cash on designer fashions that they can then show off around town. In Australia, we usually invest quite heavily in our homes - this is their equivalent! I once had a secretary who would quite happily invest her entire months salary on a new "it" bag, every single month (preferring to live off her husband, or parents for the essentials). At least she looked good!

Image 1 - Brown Button

Image 2 - taken by mwah

Balthazar et Valentine

Whilst out shopping with a friend on Saturday afternoon we stumbled upon the most gorgeous children's toy store I think I have ever seen (well except for FAO Schwarz in NY that is)! A common complaint amongst parents (or so I hear) is that good ole fashioned wooden toys are hard to find. Well not in HK apparently!!

Little Beetle (cute name hey) was filled with timber toys galore! Stove sets, ironing boards, tool sets, even BBQ's (complete with timber shish-kabob set) were a plenty. They had market stalls and all kinds of timber groceries. I know how much little girls (and boys too) love playing shop! The toys are all imported from Europe - which makes them all the sweeter if you ask me - french milk crates, hessian shopping bags, pastries... you name it, they had it!

Whilst I could hardly be seen purchasing any of the above mentioned (sans child), I had to settle on some cute little dolls (which I think is totally acceptable mind you). I absolutely fell in love with the Moulin Roty range of soft toys. Completely by coincidence, I purchased the 3 in the first pic - aka Birdie, Balthazar, & Valentine (I also had to take Little Felicie home too - she was so sweet and has the cutest little dress)! The packaging was absolutely gorgeous (this always wins me over). I am completely smitten!

All I need now are some bubs & birthdays to give me an excuse to go back and visit the lovely shop again!

xox

Weekend Flowers

It's been a while since I posted any pics of our weekend flowers (sorry about that)!

On Friday night I stopped in at the little flower stall in the Wanchai market and bought myself a bunch of white orchids. The best bit about them, aside from how pretty they look, is that they only cost me $12 HK dollars (that's less than $2 Aus dollars). I guess they grow in abundance in Asia, and so they aren't expensive. Gotta love that!

I was doubly spoilt on the weekend though, cause my lovely husband bought me home a bunch of flowers on Saturday after he finished work. No pics sorry, the weather was rather gloomy on the weekend and I couldn't seem to get sufficient light to get a good pic:( The one above I took early Sat morning (before I received the other bunch!)

I {heart} fresh blooms in the house!!!

Happy Monday peeps!

xox

Homemade preserved lemons

We really love Moroccan cuisine in the Holden household. Trouble is, every time I pull out the recipe books and set my heart upon a lovely recipe, it always calls for preserved lemons (which I don't usually - well until now - keep a stock of in the kitchen).

After seeing this post on Sunday Suppers, and being inspired by their chicken tagine with preserved lemons, green olives and golden raisins, I decided that I wouldn't be caught out again.

Yesterday I set to it and jarred up two jars brimming to the top with lovely fragrant preserved lemons. Not sure how long I have to wait until they are technically "preserved" but I will be waiting with baited breath!

Image 1 - taken by mwah yesterday in our kitchen

Image 2 - Sunday Suppers

happy 60th birthday mum !

I must confess, I am a bit late with this post!

My wonderful mother turned 60 on Wednesday and I wanted to make sure that I wished her a Happy Birthday from the blog.

Unfortunately we didn't make it home for her birthday, but we were thinking about her all day (and certainly wishing we had flown home)!

Happy Birthday Mum, hope you had a fabulous day!

xox

Image from here

Spending time with our (not so little anymore) nieces!

Another special moment from our trip home at Christmas - spending time with our (not so little anymore) nieces, and their mum & dad.

I have been holding off posting about this special moment cause I wanted to take some pics of the gorgeous Chrissy present my sister-in-law Kathy made me. Unfortunately, cause I only get time to blog in the early morning and late night, the light hasn't been good enough to get the perfect shot. Instead of holding off any longer I have pinched some pics from Kathy's fab blog (hope you don't mind Kathy!).

Isn't the bag gorgeous, Kathy is so talented and I felt super special receiving one of her handmade goodies.

Our nieces start Prep next week, and when we were home we got to see their little uniforms. I can't believe they are off to school already, how time flies!

In case you missed it - these two little cuties were the lucky recipients of the gorgeous Southern Sassy Pants pillows last year.

Image 1 - taken by mwah at Christmas

Image 2 & 3 from Kathy's Kreations

I wish I lived in NY so I could...

... ask Amy Atlas to make one of her incredibly gorgeous dessert tables for our next party!

such eye candy...

num num !!

xox

Amy Atlas (Part 2)

I couldn't resist sharing some more Amy with you...

Enjoy!

xox

All things Hermes

I have a little obsession I haven't told you about...

I LOVE all things Hermes, especially their scarves!

I am not normally fussed about high end designer brands, but there is something about Hermes that I truly love. I have started collecting their scarves, not to wear cause I am not a scarf wearing kind of person, but to frame and hang on the wall. Their designs are so unique and colourful, and each one has it's own story to tell.

One of my fav things to do when I am in the city is pop into the Hermes store, just being in there makes me feel so good! I love going through the scarves and looking at all the beautiful designs, then showering myself in un jardin sur le nil and floating dreamily out of the store.

My husband has a small collection of espresso cups, so for Christmas I splurged and brought him one from Hermes, isn't it divine!

Cheese heaven

Isn't this cheese table adorable!

For those of you that love cheese (and that includes me!), I was so inspired by these pics and the story over at Sunday Suppers. The gals at SS were asked to guest post over at Martha Stewart's wedding blog: The Bride's Guide with Darcy Miller, and this is what they came up with.

Whilst their table was designed as a wedding dessert table, I think it would be just as befitting at a cocktail party. In fact, I am trying to think of reasons to host one soon, just so that I can prepare one of these gorgeous tables!

In terms of weddings though, the best thing about this idea (aside from the fact that it looks so darn good), is that it is attainable for every bride (and budget). I have a few friends getting married this year, and I am definitely going to recommend this idea to them!

Speaking of cheeses, on Friday night we celebrated a friends 40th birthday with a few drinkies at a new bar/restaurant that's just opened in Hong Kong - Posto Pubblico. Whilst I was still recovering from a bout of food poisoning and was off the wagon - both in terms of food and drink - we sat near the open kitchen (a rarity in HK I must say) and I watched the chefs prepare the most awesome looking food. The dish that particularly caught my eye was a pasta made with fresh Parmesan. Basically (from what I could see anyway), the chef just threw the hot pasta into a huge wheel of parmesan (that had a whole carved out the middle), and swished it around until it was all creamy and gooey. It looked so darn good I wanted to take the plate right out of her hands and gooble the whole thing.

It got me thinking though, what a fabulous idea for a dinner party. Whilst the purchase of a whole wheel of parmesan is a little OTT, I wonder if I could source a not so big wheel that would have the same effect... Then I got thinking, you could serve the pasta in a big bowl on the table, alongside the parmesan and a platter of all kinds of yummy accompaniments. Your guests could then make their own pasta however they fancied. YUMMO!

All this will have to wait however, as the diet continues... I was helped along last week by the food poisoning, but I am resolute that this week I am going to continue to be good! Wish me luck.

Hope you had a fabulous weekend! The weather in HK was divine - a little chilly, but nice and warm in the sun with gorgeous blue skies. I was even lucky enough to get to spend the whole weekend with Will (who had Saturday off)! I feel almost ready to face a new week...almost!

xox

Image via Sunday Suppers

Meeting baby Matthew

Back to the special moments we had on our recent trip home, one of the definite highlights was meeting baby Matthew, the adorable son of our dear friends Andrew & Andrea. Oh, and of course seeing Andrew & Andrea was pretty good too;-)

Unfortunately (as you can see from this pic), we only got to spend a short while with them at the airport before our flight out. Just goes to show how jam packed our trip was hey...

Foodie inspiration!

Following our visit with Dee & Laz, I have come home full of enthusiasm on the foodie front. Trouble is, it is in complete contradiction to the diet I have just started...

The books above are on the top of my book list, but I may just have to hold off on purchasing them until I have progressed a little further on the diet front, seeing as though it is only day 2 and all...

Perhaps I can use this as inspiration to keep me on track, the sooner I shift the weight, the sooner I can purchase these books and cook up a storm!

Wish me luck :)

xox

Hanging at the beach house with dad & his mates

Ever since I can remember Dad has had 3 best mates - George, Chris & Dan. While we were home we managed to get all three together at dad's for a BBQ. It was so nice to catch up with them and hear what everyone is up to.

It was also nice to spend some time at the beach house, albeit the ocean was a bit rough:(

Fun times!

xox

Visit with Fairy Godmother

Visiting my FGM is always a special event - I LOVE spending time sitting in her back garden room catching up on the years events over a cup of tea or a vino (depending on the time of day!)

Ros is so special to me, and I dearly miss her companionship throughout the year. Thankfully she is up with the technology and we do communicate quite regularly via email, but it's not the same as sitting on the couch together nattering about everything and nothing!