What I did in my holidays, by Nicola Duncan

Happy 2012, everyone!  I can't believe it's the end of January and this is my first post of the year (thanks for the nudge, AJ!).  I wondered where the time had gone, what had I been doing with myself all this time - as it turns out, quite a lot!

Eating, drinking and being merry was really easy these holidays, thanks to a house guest who really should have made it onto Master Chef.  The only downside was having to get used to doing all the cooking again after she left! 

I went lantern crazy decorating the garden and the deck for my New Year's party, thanks to the Lantern Shop.  Don't you love it when you leave a purchase to the last minute, then panic because your online order probably won't arrive in time, only to realise the shop is in your own city - yay!

Apart from that, I read like my life depended on it, devouring the autobiography Open by Andre Agassi in just 3 days.  I admired him so much as a player, and now even more so as a man. 

Love the fact that I bought this for iPad for a fraction of the price of a hard copy

While reading Open, I watched hour upon hour of the Australian Open.  I watched every hit of every ball of the Murray/Djokovic semi-final and could watch it all over again - if only the outcome was different!

Buy this print on Etsy

Check this out for a hilarious Andy Murray poster - couldn't bring myself to post it!

Thank goodness I finished reading Tim Ferriss' The 4 Hour Work Week before the tennis started - the 5 day media 'fast' he puts you on (well worth doing) would never have worked otherwise!  You gotta admire the guy for coming up with one of the simplest, yet most enticing titles I've ever come across and overall this book is very, very interesting ..... and it might just work, so watch this space!

It's Keep Calm and Carry On all over again - the 4 Hour Work Week mug, courtesy of Zazzle

Then I jumped with joy to discover this, something I've been looking for for a very long time (i.e. show me the quick way to do what I want to do, so I can get cracking before I lose interest and move onto something else!)

Laurie's book is a real find - I'll dig into this in more detail in a later post. 

It wasn't all relaxation - the decision is made, the bathroom is going!  I can style it all I like but damp asbestos and rotten timbers are a whole other story.  So the floor plan is drawn and the inspiration is building ....

A colour scheme emerging perhaps?  It will be the budget buster of 2012, so it's just as well I also built DIY flyscreens for the whole house during the holidays - I saved $1100!

It's amazing what you find when you search DIY on Google images!  This 1979 album cover was designed by Barney Bubbles and was printed in 12 different versions onto real sheets of wallpaper - courtesy of John Coulthart at feuilleton

Finally, I played Words with Friends (the app version of Scrabble) until I could hardly focus ....

Photo by sharisse florendo

And ate large quantities of popcorn at the movies watching TinTin, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Muppets - no one can accuse me of not having varied tastes!  

So welcome to 2012 everyone.  I hope you're settling in nicely. 

I hope you had a chance to do some things in the holidays that made you happy and that you can see some good things coming your way this year.

I've got loads to share over the coming weeks, starting with a visit to the Design & Decoration Fair in Sydney later this week, so keep reading and maybe even pass make space on to a friend! 


Til next time, Nx

A merry little xmas

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

Let your heart be light

From now on

Our troubles will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

Make the Yule-tide gay

From now on

Our troubles will be far away

Here we are as in olden days

Happy golden days of yore

Faithful friends who are dear to us

Gather near to us once more

Through the years

We all will be together

If the fates allow

So hang a shining star upon the highest bough ....

And have yourself

A Merry Little Christmas now

I wish you joy, peace, laughter and good health

This Xmas and always

Nx

The promise of what's to come ...

It's September 1 and Spring has sprung!

Of course we could get into lengthy discussions about why Australia marks the seasons with the first day of certain months, and why it's not about the solstice and equinox Down Under, or the recently read (and quite fascinating) fact that "in Australia, there are five named and identified seasons in the Kimberley, six in the Darwin/Kakadu area and the Wik people of Cape York have eight".

Be that as it may, there's no doubt whatsoever that today is a beautiful day here in Brisbane and standing out in my backyard with the sun on my face conjures up all the notions that Spring brings with it.

Like blowing away the cobwebs, real and metaphorical, and opening up our windows to light and fresh air ....

An interior from Kevin McCloud's Choosing Colours

Of decluttering, getting rid of what we no longer need (responsibly of course) and organising ourselves to tackle the start of a new phase in our lives ....

One of many fantastic shot's from Apartment Therapy's Hot House tour of Kelly Reemtsen's LA loft apartment & studio.  Delicious photos by Vanessa Stump

Or not!

From Moroccan Interiors

A bit of  'spring cleaning' perhaps ...

I have now discovered Kelly Reemtsen's very cool art thanks to the Hot House tour above.  I'm pretty sure this is called Cleaning is Addictive (photo from Kelly's website). 

And a chance to brighten up our homes with fresh colours and patterns ....

Fabric and a vintage thermos - my best holiday buys from Rumah Bebe in Singapore.  The drink bottle caused some problems at airport security until I eventually poured out the contents!

So now's the time to get that outdoor space looking good for summer ....

Entry #7 in the Re-nest Small Cool Outdoor Spaces contest

And get those summer dresses and shorts out of storage ....

Taken from Pattern by Orla Kiely

But don't forget - most importantly of all - Spring is the perfect time to stop and look around us, in our gardens or nearest green spaces, the time to really take notice of what nature is up to.

The promise of what's to come ......

A budding yellow Kangaroo paw - taken in my backyard on the 'first day of Spring'!

Happy September 1 everyone.

Til next time, Nx

Is it summer yet?

My family back in Scotland would laugh out loud.  I live in Queensland, but of course I hail from that much colder (yet stunningly beautiful) country, where winter lasts for months on end and where summer happens on a Thursday, so you'd better have your shorts and swimmers at the ready, because you don't want to miss it.

And yet I still struggle, just a little bit, in winter - even when winter only means a couple of months where the mercury dips below 20 degrees Celsius!  A 'hothouse flower', my mum calls me.  I always look forward to the turning of the winter solstice corner and with that out of the way this week, my thoughts are turning to spring and summer and my colour radar is picking up on hues of sunshine and blue skies ....

Small but perfectly formed pops of yellow and turquoise in plenty in the apartment of Spanish Designer Mikel Irastorza.  Image via the always-inspring yellowtrace - click here to see more of the apartment.

I find it so strange how colours just sneak up on you. I've never been one for yellow really, but lately I'm being drawn to it more and more - maybe 'Yellow is the New Orange', a post that made me smile this week from the folks over at prairie hive.  Combine yellow with those favourite shades of turquoise or blue green, and it really is a fresh and summery winner.  I've only been doing this blog for a few weeks, and look how much of this combo has snuck in already ....

From left to right, a photo of mine, two colours from the Kevin McCloud Mid-Century Modern range for Fired Earth, Soprano wallpaper from Graham and Brown (and that chair again) and a recent feature from Livingetc

I also realised how many touches of these colours I have dotted around the house ....

From left to right, some bottles from my (growing) Avon collection, blue mud bowl with Penguin pencils and yellow Pienet Kivet fabric by Marimekko (now discontinued I think), and one of many secondhand finds with those 50s buttons

So it's time for us here in the Southern Hemisphere to start daydreaming of summer ....

via karma button

Of long lazy lunches ....

I must write down the source as soon as I find the image - if this is yours or you know where it's from, let me know!

And making the most of our outdoor spaces ....

Umbrella by OEKE, Acapulco Chairs in Turquoise & Neon Yellow, reversible cushion from Thomas Paul (and I did see this on one of the blogs I follow but can't seem to track back to which one - if it's yours, let me know and I'll credit)

Of sipping homemade lemonade (or just arranging some lemons in a jar if making our own soft drinks is too much of a stretch!) ....

via Decor8, photo by Julia Hoersch

And last but by no means least, of days at the beach in this beautiful country I am so lucky to call home ....

via Eclecticrevisited

What gets you thinking about summer?