According to Instagram, my week looked like this:
- I went to the beach – again! That makes it two weekends in a row. Must be a record for me.
- I attended my first ever Kids Business Bloggers Brunch – and found some quick and easy Christmas crafts from Spotlight. (Quick and easy being key words for me.) I’m on my way to Spotlight this afternoon!
- I also met the girls from Brown Sugar at the Bloggers Brunch, who gifted me a beautiful coral striped scarf, which went fabulously with my coral Dinosaur Designs bangle and Tom Ford lipstick in Wild Ginger.
- I’m still loving Sydney’s magnificent show of jacarandas this year. Front lawns and footpaths everywhere are awash with jacaranda confetti. And the sight of backlit jacarandas in the warm glow of the late afternoon sun is one of my favourite Sydney sights. It means summer is just around the corner.
- I went to an excellent Blog Photography Workshop to brush up on my DSLR skills. Hosted by the fabulous Little Paper Trees (check out her blog now) and led by lifestyle photographer Emma Scamell, we covered an incredible amount of skills in just one wee day. The workshop was held in the studios of one of my favourite Sydney shops, Little Paper Lane, so it was a day filled with lots of laughs, creativity and neon. It’s a very neon Christmas this year at Little Paper Lane – check out the riot of colour in their window displays!
- If you’re in Sydney and you need some Christmas present inspiration, make the trip to Little Paper Lane in Mona Vale. Or check out their superb online shop. I dare you to resist pulling out your credit card! I shopped up a storm, and stocked up on Washi tapes, ribbons, an awesome extra-large alphabetical stamp set and neon gift cards. So lovely.
- I also met a very cute duckling (it had just hatched in my friend’s home incubator!)
- I found the sweetest-smelling baby pineapples from the organic grocer in Avalon.
- I stopped by The Boatshed in Palm Beach for some ice-cream. They always have the most magnificent displays of fresh fruit and flowers.
- I took out 10 minutes to watch the Melbourne Cup, and decided to make a last-minute bet. Should have stayed at home.
- I took delivery of a very sweet box filled with Chupa-Chups, and the latest candy-inspired collection of lip gloss, nail polish and eye-shadows from L’Oreal Paris.
- I met the guys from Rust-oleum at the Bloggers Brunch and discovered a brand new world of magic paint and spray paints. I’ve got to get a can of their white matte spraypaint which gives your average jam jar a beautiful white ceramic-like finish. Genius.
Phew, what a week. Did I mention that I also launched a brand new craft tutorials website, Crafttuts+? More on that very soon!
Tell me, what did you get up to? You can follow me on Instagram here. I’d love to see your Instagram pics, too!
p.s. I made 2000 ‘likes’ on Facebook! Hooray! Thanks everyone for following me. X
According to Instagram, this is what the past week in my life looked like.
I went to the annual Dinosaur Designs garage sale in Sydney and snapped up this amazing coral resin bangle. I’ve wanted a wide DD bangle for ages and I love the coral-like texture as well as the amazing colour. It POPS and it looks fab with my ever-growing collection of Breton stripes.
Amanda Talbot mentioned that she’s a Wee Birdy follower on Twitter in Sunday Life magazine, along with some other brilliant bloggers including @Will_UK, @decor8, @citysage and fellow Aussie @interiorsaddict. Check out Amanda’s excellent design and interiors blog, Snoop.
This delicious New Zealand rainbow trout with horseradish cream on toasted rye was just one of the canapes I feasted on at a Tourism New Zealand reception at Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal. There was also an incredible performance of the Haka. Afterwards, I watched the sun go down over Sydney harbour and showed off my new Country Road booties.
I also met Swedish glassmaker Göran Wärff at David Jones, where he is currently exhibiting some of his stunning limited edition pieces for Kosta Boda. His use of colour throughout his work is legendary, and these purple and orange vases were two of my favourites.
I was also invited by Nuffnang to secret squirrel launch about a brand-new blogging product. Follow NuffnangX to find out more.
And we had one of those rare evenings out with our 18-month-old toddler who happily accompanied us out to an early dinner in Darlinghurst. We headed to Gelato Messina for dessert, arguably Sydney’s best ice-cream. We shared a tasting plate of ‘Schmeckel’ (peanut butter and white chocolate-coated pretzels); salted caramel and white chocolate; dulce de leche (milk caramel); milk chocolate and peanut butter fudge and chocolate fondant ice-cream. Oh boy.
What have you been up to? Do you love Instagram? I’m addicted – I love scrolling through the lives of Wee Birdy readers around the world. Find me on Instagram – I’m @WeeBirdy.
According to Instagram, this is what the last week or so in my life looked like. We went back to Cockatoo Island in Sydney today to see the rest of the Biennale of Sydney. It finishes next week so make sure you catch it before it goes. It was a glorious day on Sydney Harbour, and I loved wandering around the old industrial buildings exploring the installations.
I really loved Li Hongbo’s extraordinary Ocean of Flowers; a wondrous landscape of multi-coloured honeycomb paper sculptures that upon closer inspection actually folded down into revolvers, arms and bullets. And Phillip Beesley’s incredible Hylozic Series was well worth the half-hour wait, with a delicate and interactive forest of fibre-optic lights that responded to movement and touch. I hate to say it but it reminded me of the fantastical world of Avatar. But don’t let that put you off: it was truly incredible!
And predictably I rather enjoyed Maria Fernanda Cardoso’s Museum of Copulatory Organs, which is entirely dedicated to the genitalia of insects. And it was FANTASTIC; imagine delicate ceramic and resin sculptures of the most extraordinarily complex penises. Who knew the penis of the bean weevil was the “spikiest in the world”? Apparently, it’s not size that matters. It’s shape.
We also headed back to Quay restaurant for our seven-year anniversary and feasted on Peter Gilmore’s seven-layer chocolate cake and jersey cream with “ethereal sheets”. Amazing.
And if you fancy the awesome vintage Mr Men toddler pants, they’re by My Poppet Shop for My Messy Room.
What have you been up to? And if you’re on Instagram, find me @WeeBirdy.
It’s Bastille Day tomorrow and Sydney is celebrating, so grab a baguette, beret, and any other French cliche you can muster and get your French on. Breton top optional.
1. Have breakfast at Le Petit Creme in Darlinghurst
Get the day off to a Frenchy start at this bijou Darlinghurst cafe. The legendary Eggs Benedict is rich and creamy and is served on toasted brioche with your choice of ham or salmon. And if you like hot chocolate, I heartily recommend that you request ‘le bol’, which, as you can imagine, arrives in a steaming hot bowl. You may need to loosen the top button on your pants as you waddle off down Darlinghurst Road.
Le Petit Creme
118 Darlinghurst Road
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Tel. 02 9361 4738
2. Head to North Sydney Markets for their Bastille Day celebrations
The monthly markets will be transformed into a proper marche tomorrow, with live French music, French food and French products in addition to the usual line-up of stalls. The organisers are also on the look-out for the “most fashionably dressed French shopper”.
North Sydney Markets
220 Miller Street
North Sydney
(Plenty of parking in Ridge Street car park)
Tel. 9922 2299
3. Grab a croissant from Saint Germain Patisserie
Arguably Sydney’s best croissants can be found at this wee patch of Paris in Redfern. The rich flaky buttery crescents of pastry are baked daily by French baker Gwenael “Gwen” Lecampion. Or you could always go for a pains au chocolat. Oh god, I really need to stop writing about French pastries right now.
Saint Germain Patisserie
88 Rosehill Street
(corner Gibbons Street)
Redfern NSW 2016
Tel. 02 9319 7161
4. Buy a French charm bracelet
If you’re after the gorgeous French friendship bracelets by La Môme Bijou that I featured on Wee Birdy yesterday, you can find them in Sydney at Mr Rose in Paddington. However, I’ve been informed that there are only two pieces left, so run, don’t walk. Mr Rose also stocks scarves by luxe Parisian label Jean-Jacques Rogers, as well as tights and stockings by Cervin Paris and Polder jewellery. Otherwise, head to Tiny Bird in Avalon for the range of necklaces and bracelets by French label Inspirations by La Girafe. Prices start at AU$39.
Mr Rose
31 Norfolk Street (corner of Gurner Street)
Paddington NSW 2021
T: 02 9368 1423
Tiny Bird
Shop 9, 20 Avalon Parade
Avalon NSW 2107
Tel. 02 9918 0214
5. Head to dinner at Sel et Poivre
Personally, I can’t go past the incredible Creme Brûlée at this old-school French bistro, but by all means, go ahead and have all three courses. There will be live accordion and “bonne humeur” tomorrow to celebrate Bastille Day. Bookings are essential.
Sel et Poivre
263 Victoria Street
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Tel. 02 9361 6530
Header image of My Darling Clementine ‘Paris’ cards via Home Girl London.
Bastille Day garland Fine Art Photography print by Magalerie’s Etsy shop.
Are you doing anything to celebrate Bastille Day tomorrow?
Click here to read about my favourite shops in Paris.
I can’t stop looking at plants. Indoor plants, to be specific, with trailing leafy tendrils. The kind of plant you might find hanging in Annie Hall or Mary Wilkie’s apartment in 1970s New York (confession: I may have spent a disproportionate amount of time focussing on indoor shrubbery during my most recent viewing of Manhattan. See? I just can’t help myself).
Luckily for me, the clever people behind Sydney’s Garden Life also have a bit of a thing for ‘70s potted classics, and they’ve paired the likes of Boston Fern and Mother-in-Law’s Tongue (such a misogynist yet strangely evocative name for a plant, no?) with some rather delightful modern pot and planter options. In fact, their eye-catching window currently features a collection of Boston Ferns cascading from local ceramacist David Edmonds’ hanging wire planters.
It’s this very ability to source The Perfect Plant with The Perfectly Matching Pot that makes Garden Life a winner in the design and style stakes. The lush calm oasis of greenery on Sydney’s Cleveland Street (just opposite Follow Store) certainly looks the part, mixing centuries-old Greek urns and Turkish yoghurt pots with modern ceramic pots and plants, water features, garden furniture and astro turf bunny sculptures. And while you could easily spend $1,250 on an incredible antique pot sourced from overseas, you can also pick up Indian chai cups for $5 (which look great with mini succulents). In fact, there is a wide range of extremely affordable pots and planters that give IKEA a run for its money, including an excellent range of simple white modern pots starting at $15.
It’s also a very useful one-stop shop for presents, especially for those who you think have everything – after all, who wouldn’t love a little piece of potted perfection? Take, for instance, Samantha Robinson’s hand-thrown beeswax-style pots in milky pastels with succulents for $40. Other great buys include vintage French terracotta seedling pots for $12, and small Turkish pots for $15, as well as the vibrant 1950s Turkish tabak plates and bowls from $95. There is also a good range of Egyptian Siwa date baskets, which start at $45 and can be used as planters or storage. I couldn’t leave without a stunning Rhipsalis succulent, which has the most pleasing trailing tendrils for about $50.
Garden Life principal Richard Unsworth and his talented team also offer a landscape design service, where they can turn even the smallest patch of garden (or balcony) into a lush green retreat straight out of the pages of an interiors mag. Richard, incidentally, is the Gardening Editor of Australian home design magazine Belle.
A new-ish addition is the café at the back of the shop, which looks out onto a courtyard and where you can get small light meals and a very good coffee. And sitting outside looking out on to pretty Young Street, you kinda forget that the roar of Cleveland Street is just metres away.
Garden Life (the online shop is also very good)
357 Cleveland Street
Tel. (Shop) 02 8399 0666
Tel. (Twig Cafe) 02 8021 6406
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
Opening hours (shop)
Monday to Friday 9am-5pm
Saturday 9am-5pm
Sunday 10am-4pm
Opening hours (cafe)
Monday to Friday 7am-5pm
Saturday 7am-5pm
Sunday 8am-4pm
Click here for more shops in Surry Hills.
Photography by Lucas Boyd.
Click here to see the full photo gallery.
Does this look familiar? While Follow Store is the relatively new addition to the Cleveland Street independent retailscape, the charming heritage-listed shopfront is actually the former home of Bird Textile, the first (and ahem, only) Sydney store I reviewed last year before The Pregnancy of Terror commenced.
When Bird moved on to fresh (online) pastures earlier this year, the former 1890s chemist was snapped up by Brooke Johnston and Sarah Thornton, the clever ladies behind the hugely successful Finders Keepers Markets (read my review of the Sydney market here).
A big part of Finders Keepers’ success is down to Brooke and Sarah’s artful skills as curators. So many craft and design markets are a bit ‘samey’ and become ho-hum with the usual suspects and copycat products. But Brooke and Sarah keep the line-up fresh, original and clever – and Follow Store is the exciting (and permanent!) new home to some of Australia’s best design and handmade goodness.
Highlights include the rather special line-up of jewellery, including the genius pencil shaving necklace by Victoria Mason, vitreous enamel hexagon necklaces and brooches by Megan Perkins and animal rings and earrings by Momoko Hatano. There is also an excellent range of art prints by Naomi Murrell and Gretchen Mist starting at $33, and original watercolours by Emma Leonard.
Other stand-outs include intricate papercut artwork by Hardwick and Cesco and beautifully made leather bags by Oktoberdee. Add to that an array of homewares, stationery and a small range of clothes, as well as an in-house collection of lamp shades and jewellery (with more on the way).
It’s all a wee bit exciting – like the markets have come to town and set up permanent residence in Surry Hills. And with neighbours such as Garden Life, David Met Nicole and the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide’s best new restaurant, Porteño, this wee stretch of unlovely Cleveland Street is fast becoming Sydney’s hottest little spot.
My top five picks:
1. Candy Stripe Cloud garden chalkboard bird stakes, $24.95 for a set of four.
2. Erin Lightfoot porcelain bangles, starting at $55.
3. Minnen geometric timber brooch, $40.
4. Gretchen Mist art print, $33.
5. Bespoke Press vintage map envelopes, $14 for a pack of five.
Click here to look at the full set of pics.
Follow Store (The equally terrific online shop is now live)
380 Cleveland Street
Surry Hills, Sydney
Tel. 02 8068 2813
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.
Opening hours:
Wednesday to Friday: 11am-6pm
Saturday and Sunday: 10am-4pm
Follow Store are also on Facebook and Twitter.
And they have a good blog, too!
Refuel at Twig Café (inside Garden Life) for coffee, Mint for breakfast and lunch, and at the Norfolk for drinks (and their delicious tacos).
{Photography by Lucas Boyd}
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