Lake Windermere UK Best Tea Experience

I was lucky enough to have high tea at The Old English Hotel. We were holidaying right on Lake Windermere. Beatrix Potter lived near by and wrote most of her stories based on the animals she met in the lakes district. The swans were so beautiful there, I can see where she got her inspiration. I really enjoyed the high tea at this hotel. The view was amazing. The chairs soooo cushy. The tea just perfect. It is in my top five happy places in the world!

Friends Beautiful Wedding

One of my friends recently got married and I loved the way they decorated. It wasnt your everyday run of the mill boring wedding stuff, roses, cherubs etc. They made most of it themselves. There were bird cages on each table with paper cranes hanging inside. The birdcages were placed on top of circular mirrors which reflected the cranes and made it look magnificant in the candle light. The wedding gift for guests were beautiful little asian containers with almonds inside. Their cake was a krispy kreme cake, really effective and not nearly as dear as a over the top iced cake. (not nearly as yummy either). I loved this wedding. But what made it a happy memory were all their friends and mine sitting around the table having a good old laugh!

First Birthday Party

Here are some photos from my daughters first birthday party. I created a pink and green spotty theme in our backyard garden. It was really fun and very simple. She loved playing under the trees. We set up a play area for the little kids (with only pink and green toys). I bought pink number one party hats but jazzed it up with a piece of pink tule. I bought pink cups and added green spots on them. I made her party bags from the pink tule and tied green and pink dotted ribbon on them. The little gift was a green or pink mini maracca. The cake was a giant number one in pink with vine leaves made of green musks and spearmint leaves. The flower was halved marshmellows and a yellow m and m. The fairybread was cut into shapes like butterflies (using cookie cutters) with musk sticks as the body. She had butterfly cup cakes, ladybeetle and frog gingerbread and finger sandwiches and mini quiches. The table runners were just pink tule. This party was so much fun to set up and then sooo much fun to celebrate my daughters first birthday.

Happy Easter

HAPPY EASTER! Easter is a special time to spend with family, I cant wait. Have a wonderful holiday and remember the true meaning (hint: it isn't about chocolate). This picture is adorable and I found it on an easter card from a junk shop for fifty cents. It says Easter is... the perfect time to send you warm thoughts.

Spencer and Rutherford Handbags

These handbags are my achillies heel. They are so divine. I often just browse through their on line store wishing I could have them all. There is something special about these handbags that make you feel like a lady when you carry them. They also manage to catch people's attention. They are not cheap but so far mine have lasted years and they still look as good as new. The Spencer and Rutherford on line store is one of my happy places!

Cooked With Love

Yesterday I read Anna's blog Absolutley beautiful things She had created a beautiful subtle heart thinking about posting it to Pia Jane bijkerk's blog. She is an artist who is creating a book called "my heart wanders: a collection of subtle hearts in special spaces". Today while cooking my daughter her baby food I cut opened a red onion and was suprised to find a beautiful heart. I had been racking my brains to how I could find hearts in nature and they found me instead. I cooked my daughter her dinner with love in more than one sense of the word. I am no artist but I took photos anyway. The world is a wonderful place. My new found heart is going to be in my daughters tummy tonight!

Wedding Day Decor

Wedding Table Setting. Susan Stanford Events created this atmosphere for my wedding. It looks very pink and it WAS. I loved it and my husband and I look back at this with such happiness. Instead of cake toppers for my wedding cake, I bought these royal doulton figures, my wedding dress looked very similar to the statue and my husband was in the navy at the time so it was perfect for us. I think I got my bug for dinner parties and party planning from my wedding!

Andy Warhol in Bris Vegas!

I am very excited about the Andy Warhol exhibit at GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art). Usually Brisbane gets ignored when it comes to of exhibition tours. I believe that GOMA has brought to Bris Vegas a place worthy of such artworks as Andy Warhol's. You can download a free audio tour from their website or click on my link. I think his portraits are my favourite and have been etched in my mind forever, especially Marilyn Monroes. It will be my happy place until the tour moves on, on the 30th of March 2008.

BLUE KITCHEN TEA

I hosted a kitchen tea for my best friend recently. She told me she wanted blue, which I struggle with at first. I love pink too much. I created blue cupcakes, had a blue netting running along the centre of the table and used blue ribbons on the mini silver tongs that served as place cards and little gifts for the guests. It was a wonderful afternoon, but the champagne glasses did get more of a workout than my beautiful tea cups.

This was the table setting I created for my birthday afternoon tea. I love using my tea cups. My collection is what they call a crazy tea set because it consists of all different types. They are all Royal Albert though and are mostly vintage. I love the thought that they have been used in other peoples parties and afternoon tea gossip sessions decades ago. My Mum bought me the napkin rings from an op shop, they are sooo beautiful.

Welcome

Welcome to my happy place. As you may have noticed, my happy place is currently empty. However it soon will be full of wonderful things and words of wisdom for you all.