Happy Christmas

Season's greetings to Sunday Collector readers. I can't believe there are 102 posts on this little blog since the first night I logged in and talked about Mr Gardner. I really do love putting together stories, and it's made that bit sweeter by you - thanks for taking the time to check in over the last six months. I'm off on a Summer holiday down to the South Coast of NSW, but my travels and finds will be back in early 2011. And, for those who are interested - above is my version of the Christmas tree this year (mainly due to being completely over them by December after all my Christmas shoots). When it came to wrapping all the gifts, I raided my ribbon collection (which was starting to get a bit ridiculous in size), the bells were purchased from E & M Greenfield, and I made the swing tags from and an old Women's Weekly. The squirrel was purchased from Orson & Blake. The garland is made from twine and yellow decorations from Polli. I hope you all manage to have a relaxing break. Remember: Eat lots of fabulous food, drink good bubbly, and wear sunscreen. See you back here soon.

A new key

An early Christmas present came our way yesterday in the form of a key to our new flat (Plus a big fat mortgage, thanks Santa). We won't be doing a huge amount to it just yet, as we will be renting it out for a while (don't worry potential tenants - paint/carpet/light fittings/curtains will be replaced very soon). I do love how the building is frozen in time though, and we will be keeping many of the lovely original fixtures. I'll be sure to post some photos up after the mini face lift. In the mean time, feel free to share with me your thoughts on the best white paint/good looking carpet/favourite pendant light. I just love a project. Note: The last picture is of the garage, I'm already imagining my collections piling high...

Du Plessis + Sons

Henke opened up the 'miscellaneous goods emporium' Du Plessis + Sons in downtown Manly back in October. It's obvious all the treasures have been sourced with her very considered eye - and I really like it. I left the store with a swag of Christmas gifts - including the ceramic jigsaw plate (which I haven't gifted yet, I hope the recipient isn't reading this post), and the Fly N Vee Flyswatter from super cool design duo Page Thirty Three. This afternoon, I discovered Adriano Zumbo has also opened up around the corner from where I live. If Manly keeps this up, I just may never leave.

The Festive Weekend

The silly season was in full swing over the weekend. We were completely spoilt by friends and family at three celebrations. Lots of fun = lots of photos. On Friday night, we were guests at a truly impressive dinner party. Below is my husband standing in front of the Manly view. (Photo taken by one of the hosts - Andrew McIntosh...he's a guy that calls photography a hobby, and I love his work).A table setting for Christmas (complete with menus). We ate vodka-infused jelly for dessert. The main meal was salmon that had been smoked over chardonnay-soaked bark chips. I'm serious. It was delicious, and now, of course, my husband wants to be a Salmon Smoker (If there is such a thing).
The lovely candles burnt long in to the night - and saw us through two too many bottles of wine.
Saturday found us at my Aunt and Uncle's place for an early Christmas lunch. My Aunt has always been a fan of decorating a 'non-Christmas' tree. My Uncle has always been a fan of cooking amazing food. Good day all round, really,
My niece thought so too.
My three year old nephew was busy all day tending to the chickens. We left lunch with that-morning-fresh eggs.
Sunday brought more silliness in the form of drinks with old school friends at The Beresford
Kris Kringle gifts were exchanged from Santa sacks made by my clever friend Rachel. I think she needs to make more of these, they are just so lovely.
I have to admit - I have found Christmas a little ho-hum in recent years, but for some reason, I am really enjoying it this time round. Bring on the pudding and brandy butter, I say.

Outside Lounge Room

Sorry to talk about me, but I was quietly very excited when I spotted the new issue of Real Living in the newsagent today - a story I styled back in September made the front cover. The weather was on our side that day, and we shot in the late afternoon light at a gorgeous home in Palm Beach. The idea of 'taking the lounge room outside' came about from being an apartment dweller - I'm always entertaining outside. Just not always with a cowboy hat on. Photography by Chris Warnes. And...for all the Orecchiette and Cauliflower recipe requests - here you go.

Budget Shopping

Who doesn't love a nice surprise in the post? On Friday night, I arrived home to a parcel from a lovely girlfriend that contained a card and this bag from Lark. She knows me so well. Oh, how I do love Op Shops. Pictured above are some of my thrift purchases from the past few months. Most of all, I love the idea of giving a stranger's old treasure a new home. The cane lounge has to be my favourite recent find. I look forward to the post christmas house clean-ups...Op Shops are always brimming.

Two Shops

I had to make a mad dash off set a few days ago to purchase items from two of my favourite stores. We needed a hand prop in the form of an old-school Slinky from Remo General Store in Bondi (the place to go for any random Kris Kringle gifts that may be on your list). I then drove on to Darlinghurst to pick up a vintage dome lamp shade from Ken Neale. I haven't mentioned Ken on here before, but I certainly should have. Ken is the king of collectors in all things 20th Century Modern - the film industry would be lost without his bulging warehouse full of beautiful period items for hire. It's worth visiting the showroom in Darlinghurst - literally 4% of his personal collection. His minimal (and matchbox tiny) christmas window display made me smile too - Ken is not one for frills.

Cauliflower

Out of all the veggies that live in our crisper, I often forget how exceptional cauliflower can be - until I remember my grandma's incredible cheese/white sauce creation I was raised on. Cauliflower made another rare appearance in a dish my husband made last weekend - combined with Orecchiette pasta, bread crumbs and pancetta. It may sound like a strange combination - but it works. Let me know if you would like the recipe.

The Gift Tag

In my opinion, a good gift tag can seal the deal when gift wrapping. My collection above combines home made creations and a few purchases. Someone else who appreciates a good tag is Jane from Emerald + Ella. Jane has graciously offered all Sunday Collector readers a free set of Sewing pattern manila tags (seen in my third image), with every purchase. Just mention Sunday Collector at the checkout. Don't know about you, but I'm eyeing off the vintage garden markers.

The Big Camera

As a props buyer in the film industry, you often rely on people who like to collect. For example, David from Penrith who collects vintage cigarette lighters or Brian from the Telstra Museum who can show you the exact phone Australians were holding in 1962. The photo above was taken on set today, and I wanted to share it with you for two reasons: 1. The super size* plastic camera belongs to Rob and Irene from Bowral- who have the largest collection of vintage camera equipment in the country. (Irene also has an impressive collection of Barbie cars, if anyone is interested). And 2. I want to buy the camera to hang in my home, but unfortunately it's not for sale. I might ask Irene just one more time. *Super size = over 40cm in length...it's super cute.