Reflecting on the good things.

Mirrors are just wonderful. Placed well they can create a sense of more space, light up an area, double a lovely view, hide a problem area... 

I have a huge collection of mirrors. Most I have found on the side of the road or op shops. I have one lovely one that I bought years ago.  This is part one as I am just having a re think of mirrors in this home (and garden). My daughter just got a mirror for her outside deck area. It makes an amazing difference, making the area seem larger and reflecting her pretty plants.

Laying a mirror on your dining room table as a centrepiece works to reflect your flowers and candles and looks really pretty.

A mirror behind flowers, candles or anything lovely will create a look of real abundance! In my hallway my flowers honestly look twice as good due to the mirror behind them.

I am having a re arrange as in this house I haven't used mirrors as well as I did in my last home. My last kitchen had a huge mirror which reflected the gorgeous chandelier. It was amazing, it was like there were two chandeliers in there. It was a great trick! 

If you think of them as a way to double the things you love and hide the things you don't you can place them to really make things look lovely. Or place things in front of them that you love and double up.

I love mirrors in the garden. They can hide an area you don't like or an ugly fence and reflect a beautiful area. I used one to hide my tin fence and reflect my pretty bird bath...

In a courtyard or small garden mirrors and plants can make your area seem so much bigger and full of plants or flowers. A mirror to reflect a water feature or lovely area just is amazing! A mirror at the end of the garden makes it seem as if the garden goes on and on... 

If you have a dark area in your home well placed mirrors will lighten it up. I am amazed at the effects of them. 

Less than perfect mirrors I have found end up in the garden mostly. It is a good idea to secure them and I wouldn't have a mirror where a child is riding a bike or running around. But carefully placed they are just gorgeous!

Some of my garden mirrors have come from old dressing tables and wardrobe doors. My husband knows I love them and he always watches out for me. 

Today is hot and windy. Nasty! So I am staying in other than watering the garden and having a play with the mirrors in this house. (and a clean up!) Really they can work wonders for you. On the other hand you never want to place a mirror where is is going to reflect anything you DON'T want more of!

Have a lovely weekend! xxx

Looking back. Valentines Day a few years ago!

A while ago I read a post somewhere of a lady who was very sad that it was her wedding anniversary and they had no money and so could not celebrate. Well, financial hardship is awful, I agree, but no reason not to celebrate and my mind exploded at her lack of imagination. But unfortunately lots of people equate celebrating with store bought gifts, champagne and so on which do cost money.

My mind went crazy thinking why not write your husband a love letter? Sprinkle the bed with rose petals and light candles? Greet him at the door wearing nothing but your best high heels? Cook his favourite dinner or look through your wedding photos together... anyway you could go on  forever with free ideas to make the day special.

Same with Valentines Day. Adding to financial worries is not really a great idea! There are just so many things you can do that are sweet,  special and free or very low cost. It doesn't make them any less gorgeous or memorable.

A few years ago in our first home I planned to make a special dinner on Valentines Day. I baked a brie in puff pastry with walnuts and cranberry sauce. Served with a little salad and lovely wine. I actually forget what I did for desert but once I made individual sized pavlova and served with strawberries and cream but I made them each in heart shapes. They were lovely!

So in the afternoon I took our little table out into the front garden and set it ready so Andy would walk in and see this...

And as he walked in he was beaming as he could see something special was happening. You could stop there and be a success as doing something like this says you have made an effort because you care. Simple! 

I remember in the morning I had packed Andy's lunch and everything in it was heart shaped... the only picture I have is of the little pancakes...

I'm sure when he opened it he laughed. But I know he thinks these things are sweet and gets all flattered that I would do it! I know it blesses his heart and he feels loved.

When the girls were little I would do something for Valentines Day. Just about anything can be cut or made in a heart shape, from toast in the morning to cheese, biscuits, sliced fruit... anything. A biscuit cutter does a neat job. It just adds a little sweetness.

A very simple treat was fairy bread. I am amazed still at the reaction you get when people see Fairy Bread, the simplest thing of all! I did this for a little girl at afternoon tea and her eyes nearly fell out!

It really doesn't take much. It is the thought, the care, that touches someones heart that you would want to make something special for them. A little note in the lunch box, a special treat, a thoughtful text during the day. 

One thing I know for sure is that a little planning makes things possible and easy. Last minute you sort of have no time and either spend lots of money to make up for it or feel bad you didn't do anything special. So that is why I am thinking of Valentines this week, there is a week to go. This makes it easy. A few sneaky little preparations and it becomes exciting and something to really look forward to. 

I also think it's a great excuse to do something outrageous and brave. If there is someone you like and they don't know it give them a little something on Valentines Day. You never know!

The word is mightier than the gift.

Valentines Day is only next week! I love to celebrate it as it is beautiful and it means a lot to  many people. I am sentimental so it means a lot to me!

We all know we have been affected by the words of others. Enormously. We remember and treasure beautiful words and they can be the dearest things in our hearts.

Also we all know how words can hurt and leave us bleeding and last forever.

I learned this early. My Dad would come down on us like a ton of bricks if we ever said anything mean. He had been a victim of a lot of bad words. As an adult he told me he had a school teacher when he was little who said he was dumb and he would only be a street sweeper. He was left handed, dyslexic and very shy. This school teachers words were still with him! But in his case they motivated him to great success and he said to me she was dead now, in a disappointed way.... obviously not knowing she was so wrong! (I think what a cow!) It caused me to never allow bad words in the home. All the time I knew of people who screamed bad words at each other in the home. Just no! 

In my own life I am easily wounded to hurtful words and yet really uplifted by beautiful or kind ones. They really stick. 

Amongst the treasures in my heart are words my Dad said to me after his Mother (Nan) died. We had all travelled home after a long day at Nan's funeral and it was a long trip after a long day. We had been blessed by having two weeks with Nan in the local hospital so we were able to see her everyday and she came out of hospital to my home. After school the girls and I would go in to see her, the girls would sit on the bed and chat to her. Also this time Nan saw my early embroidery and was just over the moon admiring it and encouraged me so much. This was one of my most treasured times and I am so grateful for it.

Anyway these two weeks was wonderful. She felt mostly well and happy and even enjoyed the trip down there which was in a plane and she could see Dad's farm or so she believed!

At the end of the fortnight I saw her off, Dad drove her back to the city and as I waved to her I knew I would never see her again. We had known this would be likely our last time...

Anyway forward not much more than a week and here we are back at the farm after her funeral... late at night.

I had a bath and wandered into the kitchen. There was my Father looking exhausted and worn, in his pyjamas, leaning on the kitchen bench in such a defeated way. And he said to me "Belle I want to thank you for being so good to Mum. You and Mum were like Angels to her." 

And just like that Dad had said something to me so big and so special that years later they are my treasure. It mean's a lot to me for heaps of reasons, one is that Dad referred to angels.

So that is my little example of how words can be.

I think at anytime, but we are talking about Valentines Day, words cannot be replaced by gifts. Most women I think could think of nothing lovelier than a love letter from their husband. Just wow!

In my world I think many men work so hard to support and love their families. And many don't get much thanks. Worse they feel they cannot provide enough. A love letter to tell them all you love about them, appreciate what they do would beat any gift.

Little notes from the children about what they love and what they appreciate would only add to it!

 I am going to post some ideas for inexpensive and lovely gifts but they will not be as special as this. 

To me Valentines Day is just an extra excuse to be sweet to someone. I am planning something for the old ladies Andy sees in the nursing home. If they never get visitors I would bargain it's a while since they got a Valentines Day gift. Well, I'm fixing that!

People's exteriors are tricky. With men I have a theory that the tougher they seem the softer and squishier they are on the inside. Telling them how much they are loved and appreciated might just be the biggest thing to them ever. 

I love Valentines Day! 

Make your own topiary tree (and refresh your home)

Yesterday I rearranged flowers, dusted, had a big clean and then stared cleaning up the garden after the storm.

As I went about pulling flower arrangements apart and moving things around it reminded me just how much a re arrange freshens things up. It makes such a difference. It changes the energy in a room. So now I've started I will keep going! 

Several side tables are all fresh and look nice now anyway. I went to work on a couple of topiary trees I had in mind since falling head over heels in love with some from Pottery Barn. Have a look at theirs if you want inspiration! Now they have some real ones for around $500 each. They are stunning. Apart from the fact I am not going to pay $500 for one (that might then die!) they are really beautiful.

This is how my first one turned out. The good thing is Andy fell for it and thought it was alive.

To make your own is pretty easy. You need a pot, oasis florist foam (available in cheap shops) a stick... I think a really stick is best, greenery (for a ball you need a surprisingly large amount) and you need moss of some kind, real or fake for the pot. Hardware stores/garden centres have them.

The centre is usually a round oasis ball. These are expensive. So I just cut a block into a rough round shape with a knife. Also fill your pot firmly with a block of oasis and leave a space around the top for moss. Fill in any gaps but cutting and squishing oasis to fill them. 

Stick your stick into it firmly and your round ball on top and then you are simply adding sprigs of greenery to fill that ball. Rotate it and try to evenly cover it adding things in a sunburst style. 

Now that sounds easy and is but the thing is to get the look you want you need to notice proportions. I suggest finding a few pictures of topiary you love. They are your guide. Notice how big is the ball of greenery in proportion to the pot? Ok so mostly you will find the ball is a few times larger than the pot. Getting this about right is important. And how tall to make it? Notice this by imagining how many pots you you stack in the space where there is just stick? Mostly you will notice it is about 3. Studying these proportions and copying them will get you the look you are after. Too short and they look stubby, if your ball of greenery is too small they look weird! If this is hard for you go see some real ones and measure the size of the pot, the length of the stick and the size of the ball. 

Another point is you want to avoid perfection. Nature isn't perfect and that is part of the charm. So a slightly crooked stick is better than a dead straight one. A slight lean won't hurt either. That's charming and sweet.

There are a lot of fake or dried greenery that will look lovely. I would mist these with water so they don't get dusty. Dust is the all time enemy of things looking fresh and real! 

The second one I made I used wire to form a heart and wrapped wire up and down a stick to secure it. Then I "trained" ivy around it, wrapping as I went to keep in roughly in place as if it had grown there. Easy. It looks really sweet too and is a lovely pop of greenery.

This morning my little tree looked so cheery in the sunlight. I really like it!

I have the bits to make several more. I am thinking of attempting the two or three ball topiary, I will see how it goes!

A little change around and refresh made all he difference. Back to the pottery barn catalogue to decide what to copy next!

Beautiful imperfections.

Beautiful old tins seem very romantic to me. In the same way as trunks and chests do. They are so lovely and have so many uses.

I really adore crackles and age showing on things. I don't think it should be covered over or restored as it is beautiful already!

This tin is one of three I found in a shed. they don't even have lids but I just love them. I added a transfer to each and they will be my wooden spoon/spatula holders in the kitchen I am working towards!

To me this is so romantic and shabby. It makes my heart melt!

I have an old tin with an original transfer and I imagine it came from someones old kitchen which I just love. It is not in good shape inside so I wouldn't store food in it. I keep my biscuit cutters in it so it is really handy.

With my vintage style transfers I have managed to make a whole heap of things I have collected seem to match or make sense at least!

They are the sweetest addition to so many things. I think I have an addiction. Still there are worse things I could be addicted to!

I have finished repainting the lids of all my jars. They are very pale pink and have rose tops. I did over thirty in various sizes. A few are huge old ones, most are medium in thick old glass, some with a blue/green tint in the glass. I love those ones!

It is a good idea to add clear varnish over your transfers so I paint over a couple of layers.

What gets me is the difference it makes to have really ordinary things with a touch of what you love. They make me happy every time I look at them! They make me want to collect rolling pins and aprons. Have pretty kitchen curtains and pot holders. Make scones and have tea parties!

I have a funny little thing... when progress on anything is stuck I just do anything at all that is a small step towards what ever it is (in this case improved kitchen). Any little step is still a step in the right direction. Last year I got a new fridge. It made the hugest difference to the kitchen and my day. I love this fridge! So little steps towards my dream kitchen!

A little bit everyday gets you there!

I always think your front door area is really important yet mine is a constant challenge because of the hot sun getting under there late in the day. It is quite lovely to walk in, we have a white picket fence and you go under an arch of jasmine through a gate and up to the front door. But my small pot plants do not last long here, the heat in that spot just is a killer!

So after moving the herb garden I thought I would tackle this. There is also a row of hydrangeas to one side at the front and a row of roses the other side. These usually look pretty good, the hydrangeas take a lot of watering but the roses are really tough.

Today it is blowing a gale. I can't even get a leaf free photo! But it is cooler, around 30, so that is some relief.

I have decided to fake it! The trees are real and grow just fine. (the wire is fairy lights which light them up at night) But the geraniums aren't real. I think they are lovely colour and so far they have fooled everyone. I hope this works and my battle with smaller pots in this spot are over. I guess I'm facing some garden realities.

I have a whole patch to change that is not handling the heat waves. There are about thirty plants that I will move and replace with something tougher. But these can be moved to somewhere with more shade and also I will give the girls some as they are both establishing gardens. Since a pot of anything is $12 to $15 mostly the 30 I have to move and give away are certainly well worth taking the trouble over. Now the weather is still awful and digging up 30 plants and moving them (digging new holes) is daunting. I will treat it like everything else, I'll break it down and do three a day, on the days I can. It's amazing how this works. I can easily move three things today and get them watered in. After this process I'll start replanting and make it look nice.

I learned a big lesson from a lovely lady who lived over the road from me. Her name was Pat and it turned out she had known my Grandfather! He died when I was four so this was amazing to me. Pat was in her nineties and living at home with a huge garden. She was great and I was allowed to pick her apricots, peaches and nectarines! In return I took her eggs. Anyway her garden was lovely. I asked how did she manage it? She had a man mow the lawns and that was all. She said that everyday she pulled four weeds. That's it. We all are overcome with the enormity of things and she just pulled four weeds everyday. I couldn't even see a weed she was so on top of them. So since I have adopted the do a little bit everyday philosophy and it is truly amazing how this adds up! And it works for anything, cleaning, re arranging a room, painting the house, anything!

So this is how I garden. It might not be spectacular but when anyone comes they say "you've done so much in the garden!" and it makes me happy with it. Well, most of the time, on a day like today blowing a gale everything is a mess! But my potted colour looks much nicer than my depressed plants that they have replaced!

Lots of herbs in a small space.

My herb garden out the back is so sad. Continued heat and wind has beaten me. Luckily I had picked so many bunches of herbs and used so much. It is the furtherest spot in the garden which I water with a watering can. Even a few times a day has not kept up. I have had to replant it twice a year for three years. I give up! So I am going to turn it into a little succulent garden as I love mini succulents, they look like little flowers and this will suit the spot. (and they are easy to collect as we all have some in our gardens and they grow easily from cuttings).

My solution is a tiered herb garden right at the back door. Easy to water, gets some shade, wonderful to just go to the back door with scissors and grab the herbs I need as I cook. Much easier!

Now I have only just planted this and there is room for more herbs yet. 

The only pot I needed to buy is the very top one which was only a couple of dollars. I used a garden stake to go through the holes to secure them together and stop them from toppling.

I save water in the kitchen ie from cooking vegies, from the teapot, from rinsing out things and from running hot water, I catch the cold in a jug... so all this will be easy to use on this little garden.

In a few weeks I will take some photos of how it is growing. 

Now this area gets protection from the wind and part shade but plenty of sun. I think it will be less of a battle!

As I planted this I could see each plant gets heaps of root space. In theory they should grow amazingly!

After feeling conquered by the heat I am really happy I have found an easier way as there is no way I am giving up on the endless supply of fresh herbs we like to use everyday. Its too good. 

I still hope to produce enough to give some away. I think too picking plenty and often just encourages thick growth... well I hope so! 

Now it is going to be 43 today so I am setting up some shade over this later. As I have driven around many people have umbrellas, sheets, towels and all sorts of things over their plants. Once garden looked almost entirely wrapped in sheets. And after a fortnight ago I understand why. I need to collect some old market umbrellas to use in this weather. Any tourist in Adelaide now would wonder about this strange phenomenon of wrapping your garden is sheets! I must take some photos of this as it does look funny but it will save what otherwise will be lost! I am off to water and cover!