this & that

Adele, singing along to Adele songs (among others).

Some recent etsy favourites: this gorgeous ceramic dish, these cute ceramic planters, a classy pair clogs (I love them in mauve & marina), this pretty nature-y embroidery & a set of adorable magnets.

From UpWorthy: Dogs through their ages. Things little kids say. Talking about kindness.

Really enjoying playing with A Color Story for my instagram photos.

Dreaming of far away places (always): Christmas in Zurich. A colourful town in France. Dreamy light in Florence. Canals & bikes & buildings (aka, Amsterdam). & Paris, of course.

I love pretty much everything in this shop/gallery.

Anyone up for some baking? Something like a swedish tea ring, or greek new year's cake, or perhaps blueberry-carrot muffins, thyme + cornmeal cake or maybe you need a birthday cake? Actually, if you think about it, it's always someone's birthday, somewhere - so really there's no excuse not to bake a cake...

lovely links...

This past week we've been having some gloriously sunny (if not particularly warm) days & cold, cold frosty mornings. Makes a nice change from grey days, although the rain is always welcome & grey skies have their own beauty...

An intriguing new space in Adelaide that I can't wait to visit.

Amazing creations.

There are always interesting stories to be found on Upworthy, like a generous university President, a poster with an important message or a different take on a tradition - just to name a few.

Yes please: blueberry hazelnut cobbler cake | sweet plum sorbet | strawberry buttermilk pancakes | chocolate coconut cake | blueberry oat crumble muffins

Paris wanderings, spectacular Kauai, romance in Lisbon, a charming cottage, Paris at night.

Loving right now: Redbubble have started offering spiral notebooks, these handmade map journals, a super adorable pouch, this cosy cat cave (pity I don't have a cat), these shoes.

& your daily dose of pink flamingo.

~~~ also, Happy Birthday! to my awesome sister Kathryn ~~~

lovely links...

It's raining! We haven't had a big rain in far too long. I'd be quite happy with the rain sticking around for days - we had lovely warm & sunny weather for the Folk Fair & I think cooler times are ahead.

It might be autumn here, but on the other side of the world its spring, with orchards full of blossoms.

If you are in Adelaide this weekend you should check out the Good Earth Market special event at the Flinders Street Market - I'm wishing I could go...

Some gorgeous images of childhood.

A touch of nature - flowering spring bulbs, unexpected butterflies, a beautiful wander, a cloud of pinkness, golden light, autumn magic.

It's raining today - wish someone would take me out for coffee & doughnuts. Or bake me a batch of chocolate filled hazelnut cookies. Or banana buttermilk bread. Or pear & walnut cake.

Adorable ceramics, beautiful ceramic jewellery, elegant ceramic dishes & bowls, ceramic pods.

& a bit of cuteness is always a good idea.

lovely links...

Autumn has arrived - warm days, cool nights & crisp mornings, although I wouldn't be surprised if we got another round of heat. What we're waiting for though, is rain...

Many faces (or hands, or feet...).

Lots of exciting things coming up at the Flinders Street Market.

Snowy magic. The beauty of winter on film. Sparkling sunshine & ocean blues. Spring-time in Paris (+ here). Magic mountaintops. Rosy beauty.

Too many baked things I'd like to try - lemon, poppyseed & blueberry streusel pound cake, overnight spiced sugar buns, zucchini pistachio bread, rosemary soda bread, double chocolate banana muffins (although I have made these once already, I'd be quite happy to eat some again...). Anyone feel like baking?

Another reason that music is awesome.

five things | cover versions

I'm pretty sure it was one of my sisters that suggested a series of 'five things' posts - books, songs, foods... the possibilities are endless really.

Being pretty bad a narrowing down lists of things (& forget about picking favourites most of the time) I figured that if gave myself more specific parameters, then it might be easier to actually choose. So, since my playlist on YouTube features quite a few covers, this seemed like a good place to start...

These are in no particular order & I'm going to admit right off that I'm not always familiar with the original versions, I've just come across the covers & enjoyed them...

~ Paradise (Peponi) - The Piano Guys
This is one of my favourite Piano Guys songs & one on the list that I do know (& like) the original version of, but I think I prefer the cover - there's just something really special about this version...

~ Wrecking Ball - Sarah Blackwood, Jenni & Emily
This is one of the songs where I don't know the original, but I love the vocals in this version, so I'm quite happy just listening to the cover.

~ Sara Bareilles - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Sara is one of my favourite artists & I know & like the song, although it's not something I listen to a lot. I really enjoy her version - although I basically love most of the things she performs...

~ Radioactive - Lindsey Stirling & Pentatonix
Totally unfamiliar with the original of this song, but love the violin/cello + vocals in this version.

~ Somebody That I Used to Know - Walk off the Earth
Again - don't know the original song very well (I have heard it though) - but love this cover. I really like their version of 'Trouble' too.

I could add several more songs here, but I'm going to make myself stick to just five...

lovely links...

The hot, hot days have started (quite abruptly, or so it feels), but we're still getting some lovely cool nights & mild days - thank goodness, I'm not quite ready for summer...

Shake up your work routine.

Been hanging out on instagram - all sorts of lovely & cute, delicious, wanderlust-inspiring & beautiful...

Awe-inspiring places. Beautiful countryside. Interesting cities to wander in. Magic light.

I've been enjoying watching this project all year.

I'll have some maple syrup cake please. Or vanilla bean confetti cookies, perhaps triple chocolate & vanilla crumb cake, or a peanut butter & dark chocolate skillet cookie, or maybe a chocolate chip buttermilk cake? I'm not that fussy really.

& getting excited about the Christmas Bazaar.

lovely links...

It's been cold, wet & well, wintry here recently - makes me want to spend my days baking, reading by the fire & drinking copious amounts of tea...

Been enjoying following Ali & her family on their big adventure.

Mums are awesome. & we should tell them so.

This will probably make you cry (but you should watch it anyway).

A bamboo forest. Somewhere in Utah. The vast sky. A touch of loveliness. Beautiful woodland belles.

Speaking of baking, there are lots of delicious sounding recipes out there, like apple kuchen, or pear, raspberry & amaretto cake, or sage & walnut bread (because home-made bread is the best), or these blueberry & cream cheese rye muffins, or kahlua crunch cake just for something totally indulgent.

A story.

And the Doctor, of course.

lovely links...

Since I'll be well & truly into my trip by the time this post appears, I thought I'd run with a travel theme...

Beaches, rainforests & good food in Queensland.

Beautiful New Zealand 1 | 2 | 3

Memories of an European adventure.

A walk in the jungle.

Lovely, lovely spring time London 1 | 2 | 3 + here too.

Paris is so beautiful, especially in spring (it kind of blows my mind that I will have been there by the time this posts).

Colourful Milan.

One morning in New York.

Mist, mountains & lakes 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

& hopefully by now there is a travel photo or two over on my tumblr.

lovely links...

Lots of lovely autumn sunshine & blue skies lately, still waiting for rain, but enjoying the sunshine while its here...

One song, many languages.

A comic about love. Some thoughts about beauty.

I want to try making some of these little journals - so lovely.

Gorgeous & amazing tunnels of trees.

One gorgeous sister (a recent graduate), photographed by another gorgeous sister.

Almonds in baked goods are the best, like in say, almond cake, or biscuits, maybe a baked pancake or perhaps a tart, scones or some biscotti - in pretty much anything really.

Some famous rejection letters.

Autumn glory 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

lovely links...

Enjoying some beautiful autumn weather lately - cold, crisp mornings, followed by warm, sunny days. We could probably use some rain, but I'm sure that's on its way too...

This will quite possibly make you cry (sorry) - but in a good way, honest.

And this one might make you smile.

An inspiring jeweller.

Some thoughts on messing around.

Investigating hygge (this kind of makes me want to visit Denmark).

A good dose of lemony citrus-y goodness in the form of baked goods - meyer lemon pecan cookies -  lemon, almond & chia seed muffins -  mini citrus tarts - lemon ricotta almond cake - meyer lemon magic custard cake (I really want our lemons to hurry up & ripen so I can try this).

A gorgeous wedding, in a gorgeous forest.

Featuring flowers: Pink. Orange. Pale. Autumnal. Arranged.

A magical, snow-covered city. Also here & here. Plus, too sweet not to share.

A collection of cuteness 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

lovely links...

Thankfully, the heatwave is finally over & we've had a nice big rain, followed by a bit of mild weather - it was a record-breaking heatwave, and I'll be quite happy if the new record isn't broken any time soon...

Some beautiful fiction. And here too.

Playing with their food. & speaking of playing, I'd love to try out a swing set like this.

Cool & colourful.

A creative & inspiring day in the life.

Thoughts about vision & brilliance.

Portraits of humans. Also, portraits of childhood loves.

Sweet & (somewhat) healthy recipes to tempt the taste-buds: jam & sunflower thimbles, strawberry coconut & chia muffins, vegan cheesecakes (blueberry for me please), cashew butter granola, pear chocolate scones (scones are healthy, right?)

Something about surface design: part 1 | part 2

A September morning.

Bright & beautiful yellows to wear 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

lovely links...

Summer is well & truly upon us - we've had our first super hot stretch, as well as some scary moments, which has reminded me that we should be thankful for all the good things in life...

Awe-struck by the gorgeousness of Patagonia.

Snooping through Brooklyn in 1978.

Shedding a different kind of weight. Plus, you're beautiful (yes, you).

What one guy did with $25,000.

A fancy afternoon tea (or three) in London? - yes please :)

Anyone for ice cream? I could do with a scoop of dark chocolate ice cream, or perhaps something fruity, like raspberry or roasted plum or maybe cinnamon for something different or just combine two awesome things & make ice cream cake.

Loving this tank top & this one too - also, this bag & I rather like this watch.

Dreaming of Middle-Earth.

Some majestic mountains 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

lovely links...

The summer weather has definitely arrived these past couple of weeks, plenty of hot, humid days - I don't mind hot days - much - but I survive much better when overnight/early morning is still nice & cool. Can't complain too much, as we've had some mild weather too. And some cool rainy weather - it really can't make up it's mind lately.

Anyway, a pretty random collection of links this month, to while away a bit of boxing day...

Going to start with some cuteness - this little dog & then there's darcy...

Kathryn finished her year-long self portrait project.

Some sweet treats (not that most of us need any extra this time of year): ginger molasses cookies, Polish vanilla custard slice, coffee roasted almond dark chocolate bark, passionfruit curd cake.

A sunny day in London.

New York in black & white.

Discovering some bits of our country, through someone else's eyes (plus those pancakes sound pretty good).

Wonder if any of these punctuation marks will catch on?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A selection of beautiful images 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

lovely links...

Life feels like it has been very busy lately - work & market preparation & appointments & such. I will start sharing some Brisbane posts soon, just been getting my head around what to post & which photos - we took so many. Which is awesome, but kind of daunting...

Speaking of travel, I've been admiring some European adventures - autumn in Paris, London from above, a Literary Guide to Oxford, coastal Dubrovnik & beautiful Munich.

Some time-travelling fiction... & who else could it be when speaking of time-travel...

The end of summer, an interesting comic, an invisible bike helmet, about a family.

Always chasing the glorious sunlight 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Something different this month, some delicious looking savoury recipes: mushroom ragout on oven baked toast, a tomato tart, mushroom burgers with Asian slaw, a frittata sandwich & a mushroom tartine.

A few recent additions to my playlist - this, this & this.

& just because - go little mouse, go!

lovely links...

The blossoms are mostly gone, but there are still plenty of signs of spring around - new growth, honeysuckle, baby birds, weather that is up, down & blowing us away...

Lovely, romantic photos of people in love...elegance amongst the blossoms, good humour by the beach, fun with a bicycle, a magical Uluru elopement and joy by the river.

What would you choose to learn?

An interesting talk, a garden in Stockholm, some beautiful spring blossoms, gorgeous portraits.

Beautiful black & white photography 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Some scrumptious coffee recipes I'd love to make (or just eat, if anyone else feels like baking?): Espresso Cheesecake Brownies, Vanilla Bean & Espresso Spelt Scones, Frozen Mocha Cake, Cappuccino Swirl Snickerdoodles (such a strange/awesome name for a biscuit) & Cafe Mocha Cupcakes.

& just for fun, some definitions of love from literature.

+ a little video about our local library, featuring yours truly (briefly) :)

lovely links...

It's my birthday today and although I'm not getting cake & presents (if I'm getting any - everyone has been very sneaky this year) until tomorrow, I have been promised pancakes :)

Stunning New Zealand mountains, majestic New York part 1 | part 2, breath-taking African mornings, afternoons & nights, the ever dreamy Paris (& one more, because I couldn't choose between them).

Take some time to smell the roses, embrace the power of the meaningless, make it work.

Some superb landscapes 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

A few tea-infused recipes I'd love to try: Black Tea Cake with Honey Icing, Earl Grey & Poppyseed Muffins, Earl Grey Dark Chocolate Cupcakes & another Black Tea Cake with blackberry lime jam & honey whipped cream.

The beauty of the everyday: greenery, people, spring, bringing a touch of nature inside.

Also this song, this song, another & this one too.

lovely links...

More rainy days, interspersed with a smattering of lovely, mild, sunny days & a few frosty mornings. The rain is good for the garden & the farmers - it's also one of my favourite sounds the fall asleep to.

A beautiful farmer's market in Telluride & a market on Granville Island.

Some surreal self-portraits, a cold & frosty morning. Beautiful weddings elegant, colourful & in the mountains. A beautiful dress with a beautiful story.

Some gorgeous portraits 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Elsie & Emma recently celebrated six years of blogging at A Beautiful Mess - they blog about recipes, craft, life, all sorts of good things. Love this scarf tutorial, this one too & a super cute stamp.

It is perfect baking weather - time for some cake perhaps? Like Spelt Flour Carrot, Pear & Almond, Rhubarb Vanilla or Honey, Pear & Pistachio.....they all have fruit in them, so they are almost health food ;)

& not new, but still totally awesome.

lovely links...

Even wetter & colder than my last links post, we have had a very wintry, rainy start to winter. Thankfully it didn't rain on market day, so we're doing our best to enjoy it...

Very much enjoying Rosa's 100 days of Summer - this, this & this, with many more to come (she's only up to day twenty-two & I had trouble only picking three).

There are so many wonderful places - visiting Seattle looks like fun (especially Pike Place Market), hiking in Arkansas, or walking around Gothenburg.

Some beautifully foggy photographs 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

A beautiful Scottish wedding (check out the bride's shoes), a lovely Melbourne wedding & an atmospheric Lake District wedding.

We're focusing on eating extra healthy for the next three weeks at least, so some (reasonably) healthy recipes that look interesting: Vanilla Chia Pudding, Winter Greens + Crispy Quiona Salad, Lazy Girl's Zucchini Pasta, Chewy Granola Bars.

& the lovely Kellie from 74 Lime Lane featured my jewellery over on her blog.