Absolutely Beautiful Things

Anna Spiro, you are living my life! Or at least the life I aspire to......

I have just been reading about Anna and all she is getting up to on her blog absolutely beautiful things, and I must say AMAZING!

all images here

Anna is an Interior Designer based in Brisbane and owns a shop called Black & Spiro. Her blog is a lovely mix of inspiration, family, art, design, and loads of COLOUR.

Oh, and she has a son called Max too. Anna I think we could be besties. Heheehhehe.

xxx

Cutest thing.......

here

Chubby lil' shark baby, I'm in love.

Have a great weekend.

xxx

Mystery solved

My poor baby boy has been unwell for weeks. I finally took him to the doctor on Monday for tests. The verdict? Salmonella. Oh Max! I feel like a bad, bad Mother today.

Sorry bub, for not realizing how sick you must have been feeling. You're a brave boy!

Here's to a speedy recovery!

xxx

Foodie crush

Last night I had the sublime pleasure of dining with Mr Gregg Wallace at his Putney cafe cum restaurant Wallace & Co.

Gregg was on fine form.

It was such a treat to meet someone who is so passionate about what they do.

Gregg was such an enthusiastic host. He talked to every single person in the room and answered question after question with boundless energy.

Some of his more memorable lines of the evening, delivered in typical Gregg gusto........

'Right you lot, anyone got any questions for me? Hair loss, weight loss, love and marriage?!'

'Yes, my wife did tell me I hold my fork like a toddler!'

'Show me someone who is not a food lover, and I will show you a corpse!'

It was so interesting to hear him talk about his friendships with John Torrode, Michel Roux Jr, Jamie O, Gordon, Hugh Hairy-Animal (Fernley-Whittingstall hahahaha!)

The food was simple but delicious. Tomato tartlet, potted duck, salmon with summer vege and lemon verbena hollandaise and a summer berry jelly with elderflower ice cream to finish.

For me the stars of the show were the veges fresh from Gregg's Surrey farm. Wow, I was waxing lyrical about peas and carrots, but honesty I had never tasted peas and carrots like this!

For more info on events coming up at W & Co. have a little looky at the website.

Thanks Gregg!

P.S. I can reveal in this Brown Paper & String exclusive.........Gregg Wallace's favourite pudding is..............Rhubarb Crumble!!!!!

xxx

Wind

Arrgghhhhh! Is anyone else over the wind in London today?

It's making me tetchy, itchy and bored.

Dumb wind, you can go now.

P.S. Wind + lipgloss = blurg!

xxx

Weekend musings

Hello all.

Really loving these images found over at Parcel Post blog.

Quite keen to knock up some rosettes from old maps. I likey likey.

Hope you are all enjoying the weekend?

I had high hopes for ours but have a sick baby (again) and working husband.

Sometimes I wonder if the two mornings a week Max does at nursery are worth the bugs he picks up?! Grrrrrrrr!

Looking forward to next week though.

I have the Chelsea Flower Show, dinner with Greg Wallace (Masterchef judge) at Wallace & Co. and my beloved upholstery course. Fun times London style.

xxx

I did it!

Trying to work the new 'do'!

Sorry about the lame photo's, but thought I had better show you all the results after your kind comments......

Thanks Melissa at Bob Hair in Fulham. Love your work.

xxx

P.S. FYI, I went for the 'Jenna'!

Ship shape style

While things are conspiring to keep us in the UK for a while longer, my heart is still drifting to my little seaside cottage in NZ.

Maybe I have idealized it so much it will be a major let down when I finally see it again.

Or maybe it's just as perfect as I remember?

These pics have me thinking all over again about 'Nautical' as a theme and how very much I LOVE it.

My hubs has a wooden dinghy at home, do you think I will be able to persuade him to install it above the bed?

xxx

Chairspiration!

I kind of fancy painting my upholstery course chair mint green after spying this 'before and after' over at Design Sponge blog.

It's just all kinds of lovely!

xxx

Art for all & a bloggy birthday!

I am so excited to have discovered 20 x 200!

A website selling very limited runs of original archival quality art & photographic prints.

10" x 8" prints are going for only US$20!

Here are a few of my top picks.....

Cool hey?!

xxx

P.S. Today is my blogs birthday!

I have been blogging for one whole year.

Thanks for all your support, lovely comments and being my 'online community'.

You guys ROCK.

Going for the chop!

Dear readers,

Here is your chance to really make a difference.....

Well not really, ha! But I could really use your advice.

Which of the following lovely but pretty short haircuts should I go for?

I am soooo over the long scraggly excuse for hair that sits on my head!

Bah! It's so over bleached and dried out.

I gotta get the chop.

1. Sienna

2. Jenna

3. Kirsten

4. Alicia (I think that's her name?!!)

5. Beautiful Asian lady

Votes please people!

xxx

In it's raw state.....

My chair!

The chair for my upholstery course.....

It's a 1930's oak dining chair with quite lovely detail on it's back.....

My plan is to either sand it back to reveal the lovely oak and finish it with a clear varnish or paint it white and distress it a little. (Thinking option 2 is the way to go!)

The fabric I am using for the pad is by Ian Mankin on the Wandsworth Bridge Rd. A treasure trove of simple linen upholstery weight fabrics.

It's this grey Newbury linen.....

Bring on Wednesday night, I'm ready!

xxx

Mothers Day

My Mumma & Baby Max

Dear Mum,

Happy Mother's Day!

I wish I could be with you today, but I am glad you will be having a lovely time with Dad at the Lake.

Just wanted to say a huge I LOVE YOU and THANKS.

Thanks so much for being the best Mum. I am only just starting to realize all that being a Mum entails. And you did it three times over. Respect!

I remember being so proud when I was little that you were the 'face' of Y.F.C. and had your picture on the side of a bus. My Mum the beautiful.

I remember when I was 20, moving into that crazy warehouse flat and you came and cleaned and cleaned, so it would be at least slightly livable!

Thank you for being so forgiving when I told you I had lost Grandma's watch, I stewed about that one for years, and you took all the stress away by saying it was OK.

Thank you for letting us kids move home about a million times, even in our 30's!! Eeeeck!

Thank you for loving and welcoming Richard into the family.

Thank you for being the BEST Grandma to Max.

Thanks for ringing me heaps and saying you miss me (Miss you too!)

I think you are amazing.

I know I was a difficult baby, toddler, child, teenager BUT can I make it up to you now? Hehehe!

Love you soooo much Mumma.

Your Jo

xxx

Nest egg

IN LOVE with this painting......

Wish I could remember who painted it and where this image is from - sorry peps.

Thinking of painting something like this to go with my Birdie Blossom cushion in our bedroom.

Feeling very creative!

xxx

Back to school

Today I have that slightly nervous, queasy, 'butterflies in the stomach' feeling.

I can't work out if it is nerves or excitement.

Tomorrow I go back to school.

Well, not really school, but I am taking a night class in upholstery.

I have to say, apart from my blog this will be the first creative, just for myself type thing I have done since Max was born.

Crazy eh??!!

It feels like the start of something......maybe I will be great at it, and it will be my new career???

Babysteps Jo!

xxx

The weekend recap....

What a nice weekend had by the Cardiff clan.

I am very happy to have my husband home after being 'lost at sea' for two weeks - yay!

The wedding on Friday was a good excuse to drink a midday Pimms at our local Crabtree Pub.

I got a little bit dressed up and donned a summer frock and my Nana's pearls.

(My Nana would have approved of Kate.)

Richard tres bronzed......

Trying to get a nice shot of Max and I, that was NEVER going to happen!

We also had two nights down in Hamble and did some exploring of the New Forrest.

What a beautiful area, especially Beaulieu.

Stupidly, I forgot my camera and even my trusty iphone was dead, so no pics, but we will head back there one day!

How did you all spend your long weekend?

xxx