Jelly-cious

When I was little jelly came in colours and flavours like orange, lime, lemon, raspberry and if we were getting fancy or having guests we might lash out with 'port wine'.

We would pour two packets of crystals into a large cut glass bowl, (have a little taste), measure out the hot water, stir and stir until all the crystals had dissolved (have a warm tablespoon of syrup) and put it in the fridge for four hours.

The other day I was walking through the supermarket and found a whole new array of flavours. They are in cute little boxes, so colourful and promising so many memories, that I just had to choose a few old favourites and others I was curious about. Lemonade, Creaming Soda, Strawberries and Cream and even one where you can create your own flavour.

Made up in pretty little moulds, they are such a happy dessert full of childish goodness!

Toasty Homemaker

Phew, what a few weeks it has been. Moving into a new home is always busy and there has been so many unexpected surprises I have to share with you.

While I rediscover what I have in boxes, there are some pleasant additions finding their way into my home that I hadn't expected.

I shall have to tell you all about all of them, but here are my first pictures of the new Bugatti from Italy.

(A girl is allowed to be a little lavish when she is compelled to use a stash of  loyalty points!)

Isn't she a darling? She also came with bun warmer and some lovely little sandwich baskets that fit in the slots for deluxey toasties.

She has lots of lovely buttons and settings, just like any well dressed Italian girl.

And she lights up beautifully when you turn her on and make your selections.

Come visit me so we can get all toasty!

xx

A Little House Warming Present

As you know, I am soon to be moving to a lovely little house all of my own. I am leaving behind an established life for one more austere, but one more imperatively self-determined.

This also enables me to have a few small flourishes of my own. As my funds will be quite restricted for the next six months or so, these indulgences also have to be delightfully thrifty.

My new kitchen is teeny tiny. Without my pantry or the oodles of cupboards I am used to, I decided to use my bench space more functionally. A girl does love a decent aesthetic, and after a little research and nifty bidding I have secured these kitchenette delights.

This is the seller's photo, and I am very excited to be picking up my babies tomorrow. Can you see their gorgeous font? So many suffer the fate of the (quite rare I believe) salt cellar, and lose their lettering. But not these. I have been looking at some of their cousins, and although this set is sans-Coffee, I don't mind, as these days coffee is usually kept in the freezer.

Don't you love their standard colours? Flour is usually red; Sugar, grey or cream; Rice, teal; Tea, pale green and Coffee usually a browny-orange.

I can't wait to fill them all up. And then you can come for tea from the tea canister, and I shall make cakes from the flour canister. Then, after prattling through the afternoon, you can stay on to an early dinner and we shall have something nice with rice and a pinch of salt from the salt cellar. Then we can take an evening stroll in the 50 acre park near my home, then come back for something cozy.

Come by.

xx

Yes Sir, She's My Baby

It has been a long and exhausting search, but I am so glad to have found my new home.

It is more than I ever hoped for. When I lost the home I lived in for so long I was not sure I would be able to afford another beautiful Deco-rus baby.
My situation had been rather restrictive, I shan't bore you with the ugly bits, but suffice to say I sold everything I had of significant value to secure her. I could not procure help from friends, family or the bank (as I am still at university without a significant income), so it has been quite a tenuous time for me.

Our housing market has been a little inconsistent in the past few months, so even though I sold lower than I had first anticipated, I was very fortunate to purchase again in the same market.

Here she is, my Deco darling. She has gorgeous ceilings and a back yard for my puppy.  I am so very grateful to have her.

(The furniture is not mine. These are the "promotion pics".)

xx

Beauty Left Behind

It is difficult to relinquish that which one loves. To avoid the loss we hold on to the beauty. I shall miss my garden of crepe myrtles with their beautiful barks and crimson flowers, the roses which were fragrant and bright, my tiered front lawn and my fruit trees: apple, plum, lemon and olive.

And inside, I shall miss my ceilings. Here they are so I shan't forget them:

The Formal Lounge:

My Bedroom:

Entrance Hall:

Dining Room

(This is also where I sit and write. The dome in the centre is slightly recessed.)

She is so beautiful. I shall miss her gorgeous hues which my cousin, with his artistic and steady hand, painstakingly highlighted for me.

But now, at least, I shall always have her here.

xx

Flowers and Open Fires

What a busy month it has been. Assignments already, and I am just about to sell my little ol' house. I have all these people traipsing through and I hope someone will love my gorgeous Deco darling as much as I and meet my conservative reserve.

I really should post some pictures of her, but the estate agent has documented them in such a way that I cannot copy them down as images.

But as I adore flowers, here at least are some pictures of them in the dining room.

I love these Bouvardia. They start out as little four corner pockets and then burst into these stars. And they are crepuscular (which is one of my favourite words) because they are scented in the evening.

... and these are my pink Lilies with some deep maroon Alstromera

... and here they all are with the Gladioli, which were too tall for my camera screen.

You can see the mantelpiece in the background. I sit here in front of them with the fire on while I write all those essays and papers which sometimes see me work through until morning.

Soon I will be living in a teeny tiny house. I hope she will be Deco-rus and fiery, just like this one. I don't mind if she is smaller.


Wish me luck!

xx

Sing a Song of Sixpence

My cousin recently imparted a wonderful aphorism: the only thing worse than a bad decision is no decision at all. Of course that is not always correct, but after being away from my blog and having no entries for so long I hope I can apply it in principle ...

I really should be spending my time reading, as university is back in full swing. I have only 13 texts this semester, but much reading none-the-less. (This is much better than my first semester in first year, when I had 21, one of which was War and Peace.) Instead I have been filling my obligations in preparation for house hunting as I am finally hoping to buy my very first home on my lonesome. I am so looking forward to it.

But unfortunately there is some pricking of my thumbs and with it wickedness this way comes. I really should have a damn good down payment on my teeny-tiny house, but someone is withholding access to my funds. There is manipulation afoot, but even though I am trying to be as fair and graceful as I can, it does not seem as if equanimity has its rewards. I could adopt the same position as my opponent, but I do not like the method of their dealings, so I am thinking of letting my solicitor take the said person out for a good shaking. Somehow that seems a bit awful. Quibbling over money is such an ugly thing, but they are being so mean!

Between university and home(s) over the next few months I am sure to feel like a blackbird baked in a pie. I am looking forward to when all this crustiness will be opened so I can begin to sing.

xx