Wallscapes!

I blame The Block for this...wholly and solely! I remember now, as I sand, scrape, and sugar soap... the reason why I stopped watching said "Block" many seasons ago:  It makes me want to renovate! We have lived in Casa Kitchen Kitsch for almost 11 years and in that time have renovated 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, put in new floors and used copious tins of paint in the quest to remove all traces of the previous owners' passion for multi coloured sponge effect walls.

When we first moved in we hired professional painters to take us back to a neutral palette with a couple of "feature walls"...remember those??! I was happy with the result and frankly more concerned about my heavily pregnant stomach than the colour of the walls.  But as soon as I popped Miss M out (if only it were that easy) I was a woman with a mission....so it was off to Bunnings I went. I returned, paintbrush and paint tin in hand and proceeded to splash bright purple paint all over the toilet walls.....post partum psychosis purple I called it.  It was about then that the first episode of The Block went to air. Of course, since then there has been no stopping me; I swear there are so many layers of paint the house is nowhere near as big as it was when we moved in!

To the point, Ms K!! As all Brisbane'ites are aware, over the past couple of months the sun has forgotten us and that, teamed with The Block, has once again fuelled the fire to paint. The area I have started on includes a hallway where I had a gallery style show of family pics with standard brown timber frames which of course have all now been taken down. I'm after a similar style of wallscape but want to szhuszh it up a bit with some colour.  Here is my vision:

Loving the colours!

 

Fantastic! But not for my white walls.

 

Update of the '70's mirrored wall panels...

Casual but elegant!

Huge impact but not for a hallway...

This would get me voted out of the house....!

Cheap chic, great for the craft room that I don't have.....

This one made me laugh longer than I should have!

 

 

Great idea for when I start on the outdoors...

Of course when The Block is over and the sun shines again all of this craziness will stop...just hope I've finished the house by then! Sorry Mr.D....xx

xxMs.K

Rainy Days and Mondays....

.....always get me BAKING!!

Today's special is a double whammy of a biscuit.  I know of people who will put a meat pie on a breadroll and spaghetti in a taco and the idea of putting a biscuit in a biscuit...well....also insane.....until you try one of these. 

I got my inspiration from a youtube video Miss M was watching and as always, I've tweaked it a little.  You will need:

180g of softened butter
1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Optional: fun measuring cup duck and if I was showing off I'd say the gorgeous Nigella Lawson's blue mixing bowls purchased at Victoria's Basement for 70% off!!
.....and my secret ingredient: 80g mini Oreos....cute eh?

Follow the usual recipe for biscuit making ie, cream the butter and sugar, beat in the egg and vanilla, sift in the flour, salt and baking powder, stir until combined. Now comes the fun part.....

Take two teaspoons full of the mixture and roll each teaspoon full into a ball then flatten with your hand. Pop the little Oreo button onto one flattened ball then top with the other flattened ball and gently mould the two sides around the encased Oreo..... should look a little like this....

Place on a lined baking tray and bake for 20 mins in a 180 degree C oven.  Should make about 24 little parcels. They will come out of the oven looking a little like this.....

 

A bit boring to look at, I know, but wait till you take a bite!!!

.......... and there's the WHAMMY!!

By all accounts next time I'll be doubling the mixture as my 2 girls ate a dozen between them for afternoon tea today before I even got a chance to pile them on to a vintage plate, dust them with icing sugar and take a pic. Try them!

xxMs K

Kerivan, Kerivan, wherefore art Thou, Kerivan??

The tireless search continues.....I had been reading over some of my previous posts when I stumbled upon a lovely quote from way back in December 2011 when Mr D had announced that he was happy for me to finally buy that Vintage Van of my dreams and my words of wisdom were "half the fun will be in the looking".  What the heck were you thinking?? It has become more of a frustration than a pleasure as one van after another proves not to be "the one". 

Sadly us Queenslanders are not spoilt for choice in the VV department whereas if I lived in Victoria or South Australia I'd have already bought, renovated and be living the dream in my own van.  My search sees me on eBay, Trading Post, Gumtree and Caravan and Camping Sales....multiple times a day.  I have even joined a VV forum where all day every day people talk vans pre 1970.

If I think too hard about it I guess I'm a little fussy with my check list.....so best not to think too hard. It can't be TOO BIG.....

or too small.....



 



It can be "bubble" shaped....

 

(more of a "dot" than a bubble!)

Or "toaster" shaped.....

In my wildest dreams I would own a Shasta!!! Love a bit of fin.....and the name Shasta...

Or at a pinch I'd gladly superglue these two sides together!

                                                                            ...very gladly actually...

I would happily have neutral and sophisticated....

Frou frou...

                                                                                         .....or not....

Gypsy??

 

 

or my fave red and turquoise....

 

So all I can do is soldier on and hope that one day she will be sitting somewhere unexpected, waiting just for me.  Let's hope this post has distracted you enough that you don't notice I haven't posted since October....I have no excuses.....

xxMs.K

Vintage Styled Wedding Fun

 

 

These "old girls" have worked hard, played hard, been soaked, gently bathed and hung out to dry....as have I, in the post wedding days. By all accounts my beautiful friends' vintage styled wedding was a roaring success and the hard work, sweat and tears...(or is that "beers"?) were so worth the months of planning, crafting and kilometres driven to make sure all went smoothly.  I take my hat off to those who style weddings as a profession; lucky for me the bride was well organised, knew exactly what she wanted and let her fingers do the walking.  Makes me really appreciate the ease of online shopping and sites like Pinterest that give so many fabulous ideas for that special occasion.

I took a few pics for your viewing pleasure, although, photographer I am not!! Enjoy......


Wishing Well....Vintage Style!

 

 

Kids Table

 

Vintage Words of Love

Yes Please!

 

"Do You Play Croquet??"

Badminton

 

Champagne Station

Polaroid Wall

 

 

Hello Lovelies

 

 

Ball Jar Delight

See Mr.D, I do collect this "old junk" for a reason!!

xxMs.K

Today is the Day!!

 

 The excitement is growing in the Kitchen Kitsch house....well everyone else is asleep but I'm excited for two lovely friends are shouting it to the world that they want to live happily ever after...together. Bright and early today I'm heading up the mountain to beautiful Maleny to help set up (some would say "style" but I'm no show off) their family property for today's nuptials.  Looking outside the sun is rising, the wind we saw yesterday is now non existent and I just think today may be as fantastic as Spring ever gets.  Brisbane was certainly made for Spring. Gorgeous!

So last night I packed the car with 40 of my carefully wrapped precious teacup trios, vintage cutlery, "handcrafted" vases and candle holders, cake stands, dessert trays....blah blah blah....you name it.  I feel so blessed that Ms A wants to decorate her special day with what some see as space wasters but I see as beautiful pieces of history.  Speaking of history, I'm hoping that in between "styling" and "nuptials" my Mr D will take me for a drive to look at the farmhouse I've been lusting after and if I'm exceptionally lucky the romanticism of the day may just convince him that a family of 4 should live in a dilapidated 70 year old 2 bedroom house....just maybe....

Best wishes to a lovely couple.....Ms A and Mr D xxx ....I've got some toenails to paint!


xxMs.K