A Little Melbourne for Monday

I hope you all had a lovely weekend! I've been on vacation for the last few weeks, and slowly getting back into the swing of things. How did Christmas creep up so quickly? Yikes.

We were in Tahiti, then headed to Australia to visit family. I posted a number of pics on instagram, but thought I'd share a few more bits of Melbourne. I love it there....

Checked out the restaurant at Prahran Hotel. Incredible design. 

Stumbled upon Von Haus in Melbourne, early one morning. Tiny space inside, with room for up to 6 outside. Loved it. Wish we could have gone back for wine time ;) 

The National Gallery of Victoria had a fantastic exhibit on called Melbourne Now, showcasing design of all kinds. Pretty amazing. If you visit Melbourne, you have to visit the NGV. Such a stunning place.

Above is a designer from Spacecraft making screenprints in the "Community Hall".  

 I had the opportunity to check out the Big Design Market and did a post for Poppytalk. Over 200 incredible designers set up shop in the beautiful Royal Exhibition Building (a world heritage site).  Click here for the whole story.

If you'd like to see more of Melbourne, my home away from home, click here and here. 

Have a great day!

janis

x

TGIF

Happy Friday! This week has been over-the-top busy. I've shot everything from a banana bread queen, to a festive cocktail party story, to pretty bed linens and a lovely home - an interesting variety. One thing I've realized....I need a helper/assistant to help with coordinating things. Yikes. More on that in the new year!

We're heading back to Australia for Christmas with my husband's family. Can't wait. To wrap up the week is a sample of some the festive decor I look forward to seeing on cute shops all over Melbourne and Sydney....

janis
x

Brighton Bathing Boxes

I wanted to share one of my favourite spots in the Melbourne area; the Brighton Bathing Boxes. We made a quick pit-stop on our way to Phillip Island.

There are about 80 of these happy little boxes dotted along Dendy Street Beach. It would be fantastic to hang out on the front stoop of your bathing box, sipping a cold beer. Sigh. Apparently, if you would like to own one be prepared to dole out around $200,000. I'm out.

That's it for today. Looking forward to really catching up with you all when we get back to Vancouver!
Have a lovely day! 
janis
x

Good day, Sunshine

It was a pretty dreary day, here in Vancouver, until I was given the Sunshine Award from the Pink Panthress . Thank you Pink Panthress! Bloggers are just all shades of sweet.


I thought I'd post some random sunshiny pics to celebrate. Bring on the the sun!

Ok, so this isn't a "sunshiny" shot but I love the chair, and it will soon be sitting in the sun in our back yard. This fantastic deck chair is by Gallant & Jones . Thanks Tamra and Gwyn!

I would like to pass on this award to a few other bloggers that are all very different from each other and are just doing their own thing. So I pass the Sunshine Award on to:

A Day in the Country 

Little Pheasant 

Tamara Modern Mommy 

Flourish Design and Style 

RedhedGingerbread 

The Zhush 

Head Over Heels 
Now you should pass this award on to a few bloggers of your choice, and don't forget to give them the heads up!

Melbourne vs Vancouver

These two lovely cities do seem to battle it out for top spot on the "most livable city" list. My husband is a Melbourne boy and I'm a Vancouver girl, so it makes for a fun rivalry. Vegemite vs peanut butter. We're back in Vancouver now, so back to November rain (isn't that a song?). I like to think rain keeps the skin young and fresh. One can dream.

I shot over 700 images while in Australia, so I thought I should show you a few more pics. Perhaps one more post next week as well then straight into Christmas!

These happy little boxes of hope look like they've never seen any post other than birthday cards, and postcards from faraway places. Certainly never an overdue hydro bill. Postboxes, like these, are dotted all over country roads throughout Victoria. Love the rakish look they all have.

This is Nelly the goat. She was the sweet and happy natural lawnmower belonging to Rob's sister Cathy, her husband Peter, and kids Frankie and Tom. Nelly passed away last week. She was about 20 years old. I feel bad because I yelled at her when she chomped on one of my lenses. Sorry Nelly. R.I.P.