Have a pretty weekend x

It's mum's birthday Sunday (Happy Birthday Mummy B!) - and in the words of my wise mother "there just aren't enough hours in the day" at the moment. Escape for a couple of moments into these pretties - my Friday finds at Fffound. PS Ok, so I know purple is supposedly in this season, but I'm really not happy with the purple finding its way onto my blog (see the titles of blogs on my blog roll)... It just happened....overnight...tried to fix to no avail.....any suggestions fellow bloggers? ta.

Here I go again....

Yes, cover your eyes, I'm going to rant about the hot weather again.... 39oC is forecast for Thursday - optimum bush fire conditions unfortunately. Fingers crossed that doesn't happen. How lovely would it be to spend the day at the beach lounging on colourful deck chairs and wearing cute swim suits. Anywhere but in the office crunching numbers. images from Marie Claire shoot styled by Jane Roarty.

More Beautiful Colour

How good is this place? Living etc have found the best yet again. Read more and see more here.

You're Invited to Join...

The Short Wedding Dress Club has officially opened its doors! As a member you will receive a monthly picture post card e-mail with a short wedding dress from a current collection or an inspired old one. All you have to do is e-mail me (brownbuttonstore @ gmail .com) or Martha B. (windinmysails @ gmail .com) so we can add you to our address list.

Note: E-mail addresses will be used only for the club.

pssssst! - how exciting is this? Always been a huge fan of a short wedding dress, the incredibly stylish Martha B from Nibs Blog presented me with 'life membership' to the Short Wedding Dress Club last year, and now we invite you to join us! Single, engaged, married, divorced, we don't care. The only requirement is that you love a short wedding dress - please join us x

Where I do the blogging business...

The gorgeous girls over at Mondo Cherry asked me to take part in a 'show us where you blog and tells us a bit about it' post - so here I go. I'd like to show you a stunning work station with colour coordinated stationary, an inspiration board to rival that of the one to the right of my posts by Diane Bergeron, but to be honest - my little laptop sits on my lap while I'm curled up on the sofa usuallywhile I'm multi tasking with a glass of wine, TV on, and chatting with my house mate. At least I managed to clear away the piles of mags and wine glasses for the photo.

A bit about where I blog? My white slip covered sofa - purchased from one of my favourite local haunts, Tangent. What can I say, I went in to buy a wedding gift and came out with a lay by slip for my sofa.... Art work - Surprise, surprise, also from Tangent. I currently live walking distance from Tangent but a couple of years ago I rented with friends and lived even closer to Tangent. A few impromptu champagnes and we thought we'd go shopping. Out I came with two Jane Price originals that cost a month's mortgage payment. Crazy I know, but I love them. Let's just say that kind of shopping certainly doesn't happen now I actually have a mortgage! (the one on the left is ALWAYS falling off the wall. Stupid 3M hooks....) Pillows - The stripey silk one is really a little worse for wear these days but can't bring myself to get rid of it. Purchased from One Rundle Trading Company when they started out, when their store was actually at One Rundle Street, it is still my favourite. My Rubie Green cushions are my latest loves - east village in raspberry and megan, Michelle Adams' prints are the bomb and Amanda at Oliveaux was the best in assisting me with my purchase. The others - the orange and white from Black & Spiro, the navy and white knitted beauties are from Laura Ashley and the pink pretty is from Uccello. Now, to tag five other bloggers to show us 'where they blog'... Daisy Pink Cupcake, Delight by Design, Make Room for Living, Sweet & Low, Paisely St Claire x grrrrr blogger is at it again - help! Why does it not sure the spaces and formatting I can see on 'edit posts', anyone? sorry!

Two days of bliss.

It's hours away from the weekend. Phew. Breakfast with a lovely friend who is 'with child', Lunch at The Lane (again......poor me), off to the 'Garden' Saturday night (it's my first time, how bad is that) and Sunday I will be 'playing shop'. Enjoy your weekend lovelies xx

Photo by Tim James

White & Colour has got me hook, line, and sinker..... again.

Ikea rugs stitched together to make stair runner - genius! Brilliant living space - book cases, colour, warmth - what more do you need Such beauty on the 'landing' - heaven! Dining space - white board is the chalk board of the new millennium - it's working for me! Awesome kitchen space - the kitchen bar from yesterday belongs in this kitchen, it is totally delicious, isn't it? Ok, this room belongs to the daughter of the house, I had a beautiful bedroom as a girl growing up (well beautiful by my tragic tastes as the era provided!!) - but I would sleep like a dream in this room. I'm a sucker for a conservatory at the best of times. But one full of white and colour. You've got me. Guaranteed. Main bedroom = you had me at hello. The back door - the hedge, the heart. How can you not think Millie a la The Laurel Hedge? Enjoy your weekend x house at Living etc

Baby Steps....

Today is one of those days, when you know that despite one too many cups of coffee, its going to be a struggle, even if your coffees were made at this all time hot stuff kitchen bar. So I take up the mantra from one of my family's all time favourite movies "What about Bob". Baby Steps..... "Baby steps out of bed"....."baby steps into the shower"..... "baby steps out the door"....."baby steps down Kensington Road" (actually, those have to be a bit more than baby steps, otherwise it would take me all day to walk to work)...... "baby steps through every six minutes that make up a unit, of which ten make up an hour, of which they are at a minimum 7 and a half of in my accounting day". You get the picture.

Back to the kitchen bar.... you wait until you see the rest of the house! Tomorrow my friends, tomorrow, apparently patience is a virtue x

Strange = Cool

Ok, too cool for school - loving the look of Strange Trader. (thanks for the heads up latest Australian Vogue Living, courtesy of subscription for Holly - you are the sweetest! x)

Oh, and while I'm making demands and talking jewellery, throwing in a pair of these earrings by Debbie Fisher wouldn't hurt either. Please. Thank you. And, um, while I'm being so precocious, I take no responsibility for my expensive taste either. Yeah. So there. (code for "me trying to be cool" So not working, is it?....didn't think so.)

Dear Birthday Fairy....

.....despite my protesting, begging and pleading, you still insist that I turn 30 in 40 days. NOT. HAPPY. So if you are going to go through with this incredibly horrid deed, why don't you try and sweeten the deal by delivering a Tiffany mini bead bracelet. Hey, it's the least you can do...... you big meany.

This week's fav finds on ffffound

Fabulous ffffound - witty and wonderfully beautiful things to post when I'm being a lazy blogger. Enjoy lovelies xx

Currently (Speed) Reading....

Book club is Thursday. Behold above, the book of the month.... The book I still have significant amounts to read. So I'm making like Kath, even though I am Kim, and speed reading til Thursday. Alternatively, if anyone has read and would like to summarise it in point form in a comment below - we'll be BFF!!

Happy Valentines Weekend Lover Lovers xx

Spend your weekend with the ones you love. And spare a thought for those who lost their loved ones this week, and those who were badly burnt and are currently receiving treatment at the Alfred Burns Unit. If you'd like to spare a few dollars as well as thoughts, click on the link to the right to donate to the Burns unit via the Julian Burton Burns Trust. Julian is a friend of mine who was badly burnt in the senseless Bali Bombings a number of years ago. To use a cliche, he has turned tragedy into triumph by establishing a trust that raises money to assist those who have been burnt, research into burn treatment and educates in burn prevention. They have pledged $40,000 to the Alfred Burns Unit to help in the treatment of the Victorian Bushfire victims and 100% of the money you donate will go to the Unit. It still seems a nightmare when you watch the footage on television, hoping it is all just a bad dream we will wake up from sometime soon, I can't bear to think how those who have lost everything and for some, everyone in their family, must feel. Lots of love to you all xx

image via ffffound

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I'm a total slacker so I apologise for not saying a huge 'thank you' until now to those who have recently awarded me with a blog award. Shucks! Thank you to La la lovely and Porchlight Interiors for "sharing the LUV" with me...... to Beulah Designs for this beautiful award that promotes the propagation of friendships between bloggers..... and to The Pampered World for the "honest scrap" award. As part of "honest scrap" i have to share 10 honest things about myself....honestly? it is really late and I need to go to bed. And when i do my list I want to at least attempt for it to be half witty and interesting. So I promise to think about it over the weekend and come back with my list next week. I know - I'm now supposed to give the awards to other blogs, but it's too difficult - too many good blogs. So please, feel inclined to consider yourself 'awarded' and play on accordingly. You guys make my day, every day xx

A taste of things to come...

People who know me well, know that I am hopeless with a capital "H" at keeping secrets. So it is no surprise that I keep letting slip information about my 'baby', Brown Button Trading. Brown Button has been the most brilliant creative outlet for me - don't get me wrong, I love my job, seriously I do, I like being an accountant, but there was a little pocket of 'creativeness' that needed to get out- and this blog has not only allowed me to do that, but has allowed me to meet some awesome people also. But now I need more. And like a friend said so well tonight,' let's face it, you can't get to creative in your job as an accountant, if you do, you would probably get arrested...' So I'm working on a petite online retail store - home wares, jewellery, stationary and some bubba stuff. It's a couple of weeks away, and don't you worry - you'll hear about it when it's finally ready! Incredibly eclectic and totally random - I hope to introduce new brands and products regularly. I think I may be totally mad but I figure other people may be madder, and that is quietly comforting. Now, reason for the post?..... ahhh, that is right - I always get side tracked..... My fabulous housemate is one of six. The youngest are identical twin girls. One is in Melbourne working for Megan Park (I squealed and got too excited - I'm hopeless, Megan Park's home is in my favourite home file) and the other is back from overseas and the most talented photographer. She is the bomb and doing all the product photography for my store. Above are some of her shots. Not bad, hey! I think I've convinced her to sell some of her work on my site as well.... Til then, enjoy her beautiful work! xx