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Light Fittings I love – the cheap andthe chic

07 Monday Jul 2014

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I think lighting has a huge influence on the vibe of a house and one of my favourite parts of the house renovation process is choosing the lighting. When it comes to chic – I’ve been coveting these gorgeous Lee Bloom cut glass bulbs for the last 12 months.

Gorgeous, hand blown cut glass light bulb

Gorgeous, hand blown cut glass light bulb

I think they’re super elegant and super simple and they add a touch of sparkle to any ceiling. I’m currently playing around with configurations for a couple of my rooms … Loving the Chandelier version too!

Leem Broom cut glass chandelier - so elegant.

Leem Broom cut glass chandelier – so elegant.

…and the decanter version is super gorgeous. I’m a huge fan of Waterford crystal and always set my table with their glassware. These light fittings also from designer Lee Broom are just divine and would provide the perfect mood lighting for any setting!

Decanter Chandelier - gorgeous lighting ideas!

Decanter Chandelier – gorgeous lighting ideas!

When it comes to cheap – I think one of the best lighting styles around are these simple paper flower globes from Ikea. I’ve had to ship them in from overseas in the past but they’re available on trademe now for around $200.

Cheap but still very chic - this Ikea light fitting is around NZ$200 and makes a statement!

Cheap but still very chic – this Ikea light fitting is around NZ$200 and makes a statement!

Just as stunning by day

Just as stunning by day

I’m amazed at how often these cheap but chic light fittings feature on overseas design shows like Grand Designs – after a million dollar makeover, they hang a $200 light fitting and it works perfectly – my philosophy is that a little goes a long way if you choose carefully!

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My Kitchen renovation

06 Sunday Jul 2014

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I’m starting to think about kitchen designs for my new kitchen – which currently looks more like an office kitchenette than a family kitchen and hub for entertaining. I was looking at the last kitchen I renovated in our old house. Here’s a quick before and after:

The original kitchen was a testament to 80’s or perhaps early 90’s design. Wooden tones, accented by terracotta tiles and brass fittings.

This was the before shot of the kitchen, very 80's/90's!

This was the before shot of the kitchen, very 80’s/90’s!

This was the finished product – we removed a small wall, opened up the space to create open plan living and the highlight was the 3 metre long kitchen island bench – perfect for sipping cups of tea with girlfriends, helping the little one do her homework or setting up pre-drinks and nibbles for Saturday night dinner parties. I LOVED this kitchen….

The new kitchen, wall removed to make it open plan, 3 meter long Island with stone bench and bench seating for six

The new kitchen, wall removed to make it open plan, 3 meter long Island with stone bench and bench seating for six

After shot of the kitchen

We ended up with a very functional, elegant kitchen that cost around $12,000. It took a lot of shopping around to deliver this kitchen for that price. Original quotes to complete this look were in the range of $22,000 – $35,000. However we managed to replicate that look – with great results, including the stone bench for just $12,000 (excluding appliances).

The lighting and flooring were in addition to that too but that’s another blog!

I can’t wait to get started on my new kitchen!! Off to seek some inspiration this afternoon.

Ax

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I love DIY!

06 Sunday Jul 2014

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I love DIY… While it sends shudders up the spine of many – it makes me happy! Show me a dilapidated, tumble down wreck of a house and I’d prefer that any day to walking in a unpacking my bags into a completely finished home. I guess I like the challenge, the feeling of accomplishment and the never ending opportunity to complete a small part of the project each weekend to keep my hands and mind busy. It’s also a great excuse to shop with legitimate purpose almost every weekend 🙂 – knowing that my purchases are all contributing to the master project. I renovate with a tight budget in mind and believe you don’t need endless money to achieve a great result. My last home was a villa in Grey Lyn, Auckland which – neglected and unwanted remained on the market for months before we took up the challenge. I realise now that other than the comments of friends and a few hazy instagram shots, I barely have any records of the time spent in that house and all the fun and satisfaction we had renovating it. So I have resolved to document my future projects a little better – by blogging occasionally about my projects as I go about transforming my new house. Ax

What do I wear to the Polo?

19 Tuesday Feb 2013

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What do I wear to the Polo?

It’s almost time for the annual sojourn to the BMW NZ Polo Open at the Auckland Polo Club in Clevedon. As a regular on the event circuit in my previous professional life, I attended many a day at the Polo and also helped judge the best dressed filly of the two-legged type.

However it was always more of a challenge than it should have been with much confusion over the dress code.. and one of the questions I was most often asked was ‘What do I wear to the Polo!?’ So here are a few tips:

1. There may be horses on the field, but you shouldn’t dress for a race day. No fascinators, heels or party dresses. Instead wear something chic and appropriate for a long, hot day in a sunny country field.

2. Summery dresses, elegant shorts or casual trousers. Whatever fashion option you go for, the key is to make sure the fabric is natural – and breathable – otherwise you’ll swelter in the steaming heat.

3. Footwear should also be ‘field friendly’ – so opt for glam flats or wedges (no stilettos!) The stomping of the divots is a long held tradition and as everyone heads out to stomp, all eyes are on your feet so opt for beautiful sandals or colourful wedges – no jandals!

4. Sunglasses, a good sunhat and some long sleeves to throw on for added sun protection as the day goes on are also essential.

The key to dressing for the Polo is to look elegant whilst still being somewhat practical about the function of what you’re wearing!

As far as the event itself, the best advice I can offer is to watch how many drinks you down! Most of the invitations will see you hosted in a marquee with the alcohol flowing and it’s very hard to keep on top of how many refills you’ve had over the course of a long and usually very hot afternoon. The heat, combined with the socialising also results in you downing far more alcohol than you had intended – so be warned!

Enjoy x

Say goodbye to shampoo …

18 Monday Feb 2013

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In my last blog I posted a quick suggestion for using baking soda as a deodorant. I try to be as chemical free as possible – and one of the most useful additions to my beauty bag is baking soda. My top five uses for it are:

As a deodorant
Toothpaste
Shampoo alternative
Stain remover
All purpose household cleaner

See my last blog for details on how to use as a deodorant and quick tips below for how to replace chemical laden household products with baking soda …

To use as a shampoo, mix 1/3 cup of baking soda with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a cup or container. Then when you are in the shower, add 1/3 of a cup of warm water. Mix it round and pour on your hair, working it through to the roots like you usually would with your usual shampoo. Depending on your hair, you may need a little more baking soda or you may choose to do an additional rinse with vinegar at the end to clarify your hair. However it’s easiest once you’ve made up the above recipe to amend to suit your hair type. When you first use the baking soda/vinegar mix, it will take a little while for your hair to adjust but it’s worth it in the long run. Personally I find the vinegar a little strong so I only tend to use it occasionally at the end of a wash. The baking soda and vinegar combination is all you need to keep your hair fresh and clean, however if you miss the fragrance of shampoo, you can always blend your own oils and spray them in afterward check out my recipe for lavender linen water in an earlier blog. That makes for a great fragrance! I did go for two months using only a baking soda wash for my hair and it worked really well, however my preference is to alternate with my ecostore shampoo from time to time. I usually do one ecostore shampoo wash once a week or once a fortnight. Some will say this defeats the purpose, but for me it’s the perfect balance – keeping my hair in great condition with practically zero use of nasty chemicals. I definitely feel better for it!

To use as toothpaste, simply sprinkle the dry powder onto your toothbrush and then add a little water, scrub your teeth as usual, rinse and repeat if necessary. The baking soda is magic as a toothpaste – not only cleaning your teeth, but also deodorising your breath and it whitens as well!

To use as a stain remover: place clothing item over a bucket in your laundry tub. Wet the stain with water from the tap – make sure the fabric is sodden. Carefully sprinkle the baking soda over the stain, leaving a small pile of baking soda (maybe 3 millimeters high). Leave to dry, rinse off and review the stain. It can take several applications to remove entirely, however it’s worth persisting as it tends to lift the stain altogether with a little time and patience.

As a household cleaner: I am a big tea drinker and I tend to leave the tea bags in the sink after I’ve made my cuppa, by the time I come back to clear up and put everything away, the tea has stained my ‘stainless’ steel tub. So a quick fix it to sprinkle baking soda on your sink, leave for five minutes, then use a dish brush or sponge to scrub the tub and viola – it’s super clean and shiny. Baking soda definitely does a better job here than chemical laden cleaners.

As with everything it’s good to test the recipes to see what works best for you.

Enjoy!
x

The joy of …. baking soda!

12 Tuesday Feb 2013

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While most of you will be familiar with baking soda as an indispensable addition to your pantry, I think it’s one of life’s little magic powders with so much more to do than assist with your baking. I’m a bit of a hippy at the end of the day. I grew up in a family of scientists including my father who was an industrial chemist. He spent his days working with big corporates as well as running his own business, working up chemical compositions for everything from household bleach to instant soup. As a result we were all very aware of the chemicals and poisons in everyday products – even back in the 70’s – and as such avoided them as much as possible.

Most of my friends have a ‘wonder product’ – it might be mascara, anti-wrinkle serum or magic hair product but for me it’s baking soda! Yes – good old baking soda – it costs a couple of dollars and I use it to wash my hair, as a deodorant, stain remover, household cleaner and more. The wonder of it is that it does all these things, without costing a penny by comparison with the lineup of products you’d otherwise use – but most importantly for me – without adding a toxic overload of chemicals to the household.

In the coming weeks I’ll share some of my recipes and tips for using it – so hopefully you can substitute baking soda for a chemical alternative you may be currently using.

Here’s a really simple way to use it as a deodorant:

Get a damp facecloth, sprinkle a teaspoon of baking soda onto the cloth and run under your arms. There – done! A chemical free, cheap alternative to supermarket products, that works just as well. As with anything new you want to put on your skin, always patch test the baking soda to ensure you won’t have a reaction to it though!

More baking soda recipes to come. …
x

Sneaky mummy – sneaky lunch!

15 Tuesday Jan 2013

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I am always trying to be a sneaky mummy when it comes to squeezing as much nutrition as is possible into my four year old, however lately I’ve been trying to do the same for myself. I figure if you can put a few extra ingredients from nature’s medicine cabinet into your lunch – why wouldn’t you?

My favourite lunch this week is scrambled eggs with a healthy dose of herbs. The recipe is great for the kids too if they like eggs. It not only tastes great but it helps to boost my immune system, increase Vitamin A and C levels and more. For this lunch which takes about 3 minute to make, I add:

two eggs
fresh cut herbs from the garden
plus a little milk and salt to taste

Today I added:
Parsley – which boosts the immune system, is full of vitamin A, K and C,
Basil which is rich in carotenoids like beta-carotene, acts as a digestive and is full of eugenol which is great for bones and connective tissue as well as being anti bacterial
Oregano – high in iron and manganese, packed with antioxidants and tastes great too.

All you need to do is scramble your eggs, add whichever herbs you have growing fresh in your garden just as the eggs are about one minute off being cooked, in quantities that suit your taste – if you hate parsley leave it out and add something else.

That’s really the beauty of the recipe, it’s so simple, tastes great and can be ‘made to order’ depending on what is flourishing in your garden.
Enjoy!
x

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Dream Sweet ……

12 Saturday Jan 2013

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With the weather heating up it’s getting harder to sleep and I have been experimenting with a few different options to aid with a blissful slumber.  My favourite, along with crisp, fresh linen is a spritz of lavender linen water.  I have plenty of lavender growing in my garden, but for this recipe I use lavender essential oil from an organic health store to really give it a kick. 

Lavender is an amazing addition to nature’s medicine cabinet – offering a range of benefits including antifungal and antiseptic properties, improving blood circulation and digestion but it’s best known for its assistance in reducing stress and nervous tension and inducing sleep and this is where the linen water helps.

The trick is to make the bed and spritz throughout with lavender linen spray and then about five minutes before you head to bed, pop an additional couple of sprays around your pillow.

I have also found it works really well for my four year old – helping her to drop off a little more easily than usual.  All you need – to make one cup of linen water which lasts for ages – is:

1 cup of distilled or mineral water (I just boil tap water and leave to cool before mixing)

15 – 20 drops of essential lavender oil

..and 2 tablespoons of vodka

The vodka acts as an emulsifier – without it, the oil and water won’t mix, however, if you prefer not to use alcohol in the mix, then you can just use the oil and water but you’ll need to give it a really good shake prior to spraying. 

You can use cheap vodka but don’t ever buy cheap oils – otherwise you may end up with a synthetic version of the lavender oil which lack any wellbeing benefits and will likely smell cheap too.

The linen water can also be used as a spray prior to ironing, however you don’t want to risk any splodges of oil on your clothes so make sure the mist is very fine and the bottle has been shaken very well too.  I don’t iron because I use a clothes steamer – so I only use it on the bed linen!

It’s so simple – just mix the three ingredients up, pour into a spray bottle and shake well.  That’s it – and then you are on your way to a blissful slumber!

x

Sneaky mummy…

10 Thursday Jan 2013

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I have found one of the hardest things about being a mum is trying to get enough nutrition into a little person who recoils at the sight of fruit and vegetables. Whilst my four year old will consume an endless quantity of apples and carrots – that’s it and all other fruit and vegetables it seems are off the menu. As a result her diet has been less than varied and repeated attempts to get her to eat anything from oranges to spinach has failed – so I had to get sneaky!

Because the pace of life has generally moved at such a frantic pace for me over the past few yers – juggling being a full time mum to my little one and a writing job that’s kept me out late most nights as well as other projects, I needed a quick and easy solution which fast became a family favourite – ‘frozen juice pops’ – well that’s actually the name the four year old gave them but it’s stuck.

SO every day Felicity now scoffs mouthfuls of strawberries, oranges, blueberries, nectarines and even spinach and brocoli – and keeps coming back for more. It’s the simplest thing, really just frozen baby food and i’m sure you’ve all been whipping these up for years too – but if not here’s a quick recipe:

1 punnet strawberries

1 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup of cranberry juice

two handfuls of spinch leaves or two florets of brocoli

small nectarine

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend really well into fruit smoothie adding a little water to make sure it’s the consistency of a liquid as oppsed to fruit pulp, then pop into ice cube trays or iceblock moulds to freeze.

You can mix any fruit or veges into it. I always go for the sweetest seasonal produce to avoid the need to sweeten it up – however if the mix does need to be sweetened a little, I add 1/4 cup of lemonade to it at the end (after blending). I always test taste before freezing to make sure the vege content isn’t overwhelming the fruit flavours, if it is, add more furit to taste. It’s best to pour through a sieve before freezing to ensure there’s no lumpy surprises at the bottom too!

My daughter and all her little friends love them on a hot day. Usually we get the cry for ice blocks but instead of feeding themselves up on sugary treats that are often full of food colouring, they are loading up with nutrition and they can’t tell the difference because they are so yummy!

They also make a cheeky cocktail for mum and day at the end of a long summer’s day by popping a couple of fruit pop cubes into the blender with your favourite tipple – good with vodka and then add to soda or lemonade. Yummy with a kick of nutrition.

x

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The freedom of holidays!

08 Tuesday Jan 2013

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Holiday time is wonderful for so many reasons, but one of my favourite benefits is the freedom to think and the time to indulge in those things you’ve wanted to do all year but not got round to. When life’s usual schedule keeps everything running at a frantic pace, the opportunity to stop and think is lost. I am constantly running from place to place, cellphone in one ear, trying to get my preschooler dressed with the other, as I run out the door, late for kindi drop off and an appointment!

When everything comes to a stop, I find time to look after myself and my family with proper conssideration, to connect with friends and to take time out to pamper and nourish myself mentally and physically.

This holiday, the very simple pleasures have been a joy. I have planted a herb garden which is flourishing! So satisfying and so beneficial to help create nourishing meals! Every night our meals are accompanied by delicious fresh herbs full of medicinal benefits. So far I have planted thyme, oregano, mint, parsley and a few others but my favourite this week is basil. It’s packed full of phytonutrients and is often referred to as the ‘king of herbs’. It’s full of vitamin A, Vitamin K, potasssium and more. Basil is also packed full of iron – of which I am deficient according to recent blood tests and has anti oxident properties along with plenty of other health benefits.

The mint has also been a winner. I have been chopping the fresh cut leaves and leaving them to infuse with hot water to create a refreshing after dinner cuppa. Great as a digesstive aid and to clense the palate. Plus mint has anti microbial benefits, is full of vitamin A, vitamin C and beta carotene. Otherwise springs of mint go in the water jug with slices of cucumber for a cool drink with just a subtle mint taste.

I am willing to admit that the health benefits from adding my fresh grown herbs to my evening meal may be real or imagined, however it’s likely to be doing me more good than harm and just the satisfaction of seeing the garden thrive is benefit enough for me!

One of my resolves for 2013 is to continue as I began – to stop and smell the roses – and focus on health, wealth and happiness – but all in the right order.

x

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