Royal Heirlooms

This post may seem naff to the Republican readers out there, but I am just a little bit excited about 'the wedding'. For the really important reasons, of course. I can't wait to check out who designed the dress, how Kate wears the hair, if the Queen cracks a smile. The media hype got me thinking about my own little royal collection at home (pictured above). Will my future grandchildren buy a tacky (but kind of expensive) souvenir like this in a thrift store in 40 years time and think it's beautiful? Enjoy the day, Wills + Kate, it's going to fly.

Orange Easter

As most of you know, I told you all about Mudgee in this week of guest blogging recently. We took advantage of the extra long weekend - and it was a treat to be back there again so soon. I ended up helping my sister Hannah by working at the Logan Tasting Room for a few days, which was fun (I find the public are generally so charming when chatting about wine). As a fellow collector, Hannah always has something new in her home for me to check out, and I wanted to share her new collection of plates with you. Anthropologie (possibly the best shop ever) has collaborated with UK artist Lou Rota who used decoupage and collage to create the Natural World Dessert Plates. They are just too precious for the kitchen cupboard, and definitely deserve a wall space, don't you think?

Living like a Rock Star

I promise this will be my last post on treasure hunting in Bali. I just couldn't leave out these two gems...I know these won't be to every ones tastes, but if you feel like living the rock star dream for a day or two, you won't regret visiting these two places. Nammos Beach Club is situated 100m down a limestone cliff - access only via an inclinator.

We spent the day swimming in the ocean and ate lunch under the grass and bamboo pavilions. I was in heaven, even after getting dumped by a wave on to rocks - surfers 'reef rash' and all.

Two days later, we spent the afternoon at The Rock Bar. We watched the sunset as the fishermen set off for the evening. Can you believe a place like this exists on a Monday morning when we are all sitting in Sydney traffic??

That's it from me for Bali, I hope you have enjoyed my travels. To be honest, I don't think I have even touched the sides of this magical island. We will be visiting again, that's for sure.

Jalan Laksmana

You are probably getting the idea by now, food was a focus for us in Bali. We stayed around the corner from the street Jalan Laksmana, which is a long strip of restaurants, fashion stores, art galleries and...the beautiful Cafe Bali. The restaurant was founded by a French Architect, a Dutch Interior Designer and a Moroccan Restaurant Manager - which explains the romantic and cosy decor.We first visited as a big group for a late dinner over a long lace draped table.

Squashed velvet cushions just asking to be squashed some more.

A very sweet lighting treatment leads you up the staircase.

We went back a few days later for an early breakfast. I had boiled eggs with soldiers - always a holiday staple for some reason. My husband looks quite pensive here, but he's just reading the menu. Serious business.

New day, new petals.

Two types of sugar in old enamel ware on bright oil cloth. So lovely.

This is an unrelated image, but I forgot to tell you about this shop on Monday. The Prisoners of St Petersburg is my pick for fashion. The hole in the wall also sells great vintage sunnies - it's about 200m down from Cafe Bali.

Sea Circus

I've got another gem from the island of Bali today. The welcome drinks for the wedding were held in the heart of Seminyak at Sea Circus. Don't you just love the name of this place? Says 'instant fun' to me.

The sweet collection behind the bar.

Natural timber tables decorated simply with tiny tins of flowers.

This is Tristan, an old friend of mine. He encapsulates how we behaved all holiday - lots of relaxed laughter with funny friends. Kind of like schoolies, but with older kids.

I recommend the milk bottle carafe of Pimms to get you through the Bali humidity. The Wolf Pack is also yummy {Absolut Vodka and Cointreau spiked with lemon, 3 tropical juices and kaffir lime}.

The prettiest louvers I have ever seen.

I'll always snap a photo of a bathroom I like, and this one was no exception.

The wedding party was welcomed with open arms by the gorgeous co-host Charlie - check out the super cute Sea Circus blog here. I'd recommend visiting for breakfast or a fab cocktail, anytime of the day, really - it's just such a lovely place.

Dream Catching

We certainly ate our way around Bali, but I managed a healthy dose of shopping too. The 'heart flutter' I mention in my blog introduction was in full force last week when I found the hand woven dream catcher above. I spotted a smaller one in a beautiful shop display and ended up getting vague directions to find 'Bananas Batik'. Off I went - I walked, asked a second shop owner, and walked some more. Finally, the sixth shop owner knew exactly where Bananas Batik was. And there she was - in the upstairs workshop, amongst about 40 other individually designed dream catchers. It was a tough choice, but I'm happy with the yellow beauty that now hangs on the wall. Back to the previously mentioned shop, Jewel Rocks - this is definitely a store to visit, above are photos of their eclectic displays and my new little collection - perfect gifts for people back home. Visit Bananas Batik / Jalan Raya Seminyak 17A Bali-Indonesia

Treasure Hunting in Bali

It was so hard getting to the airport on Friday night and actually leaving Bali after such an amazing 10 days. My camera was in overdrive all week - instead of bombarding you with a thousand photos all at once I'm going to spend the week sharing my list of top picks. First off the rank is Potato Head Beach Club - recently opened on Seminyak Beach, we visited three times we loved it so much.

The facade of the building features over 10,000 original Dutch colonial-era shutters sourced from all over Indonesia. As you can see, the interiors didn't disappoint either.

Gorgeous merchandising in the store downstairs, Eleven.

I love these chairs - buy similar at Doug Up on Bourke.

If you do get to visit, order a Kookaburra cocktail and sip it on your own daybed by the pool. You will feel kind of famous.

PS. The miniseries I worked on at the end of last year starts tonight on the ABC. Tune in to Paper Giants : The Birth of Cleo at 8.30pm. It's been getting some great reviews.

R+L Bali 2011

As mentioned in the last post, we are currently sunning it up (with sunscreen) in Bali for a wedding celebration. Next weekend seems too long away, so I decided to load up the laptop and share these photos from last night. The wedding went off without a hitch at Villa Infinity in the Bali country side. Gelato coloured confetti was tossed, berry mojitos flowed, and dancing with tambourines under a ribbon pavilion went well in to the night. I took 100+ photos, but I think you get the idea from this small selection, it felt like we were on a decadent film set. The gorgeous bride wore Amanda Garrett, and the groom has never looked so dapper with a bow tie. We have just returned from the Sunday 'Recovery BBQ', and the last photo shows the Guest Welcome Pack that greeted us on arrival to our villa on Wednesday (the sunglasses were for today). It was so much fun, I want the whole weekend to happen again...

Avocado Devotion

It was impossible to walk past this blackboard recently. I was a kid who chose avocado on wholegrain toast over Fruit Loops, and my devotion to this breakfast still lives on. Infinity Sourdough Bakery in Manly serve it with salt, pepper and lemon (delicious, and I love their outdoor seating), but my mum always made it with a healthy dash of Cornwells Lancashire Sauce. If you have not tried this, you must. On another note, we are of to Bali tomorrow for 10 days to celebrate this wedding. I cannot wait. If I get bored of cocktails by the pool, I'll check in, but if not - have a lovely week, and see you back here really soon.