Mademoiselle Rose

Carolyn Westbrook Home and a fabulous new magazine

Cruising around the internet I recently noticed that Carolyn Westbrook, who has a lovely book which I have owned for quite a while, as well as being a vintage queen, has opened a new website with lovely products, a blog and an online magazine which is definitely worth a visit!

 

I love this photo.  It was used on the cover of the Where Women Create book which I've had and loved for a while ... so inspiring.  This is my favourite workspace from that book, it's so vintage and looks like a space that is really pretty but still well used. 

 

Another angle of her workroom ... I love the floorboards.

I love the way she uses all the old found "junk" and puts it together and makes it look great!  I wish I could do it ... unfortunately a lot of the time my old junk just looks like a pile of old junk!  This porch is not only so lovely to look at, but most importantly looks really comfortable!

  

I also love this area ... again a lot of old stuff but looks so lovely put together.  I've just finished working on my kitchen (almost ... a couple of things to get done before I show you all!) and my workroom ~ I'll put some photos up soon ~ and my next project is to get a potting area together.  With a huge garden to design (got it sorted with inspiration from visits to Foxglove Spires and the War Memorial in Canberra) and lots of planting, I really need to learn to sow seeds to keep the cost down and also to get what I want with the cottage plants, so a potting area will be a must!  Something like this would suit me just fine!

Visit Carolyn Westbrook's new website and blog ~ it's definitely worth it.  Her online magazine is a neat idea ~ not sure how often she will update it ~ but for some extra gorgeous photos it's worth a visit often!

Speaking of Where Women Create, Stampington have a new quarterly magazine called Where Woman Create, which I've been wanting to order for ages, and I will soon.  I think the first magazine looks absolutely fabulous.  I love checking out creative women's workrooms.  I've bought magazines from Stampington before and they are such good quality they are almost like books. 

  

This is the first one and below are some pictures from it...

 

 

If only mine would stay this tidy ~ it's an ongoing effort!  But aren't they just gorgeous!

  

This is the current issue just come out ...

 

Sunday (above) is the stylist who works with Fifi on the shoots for Romantic Country magazine which is always gorgeous.  I love her colours, so light and bright.

Just from the pictures above, it's easy to see that everyone has their own style of decorating their workrooms ... some are light and bright (like mine ~ I love lots of light, which is probably why I love white on white and the first thing I do in the morning is open the curtains to let the light in) and some are quite dark and moody.  So interesting!

Romantic Little Cottage

Hi Everyone!

I'm sorry I've been a bit slack lately, I've been so busy around the home doing gardening (yes, digging more holes) and at work, and the weather here has been soooo cold.  It's winter here in Australia, but we're sub-tropical in Queensland, which means we don't get so cold here as elsewhere, but I think that just makes us more whingy and whiny when it does get cold, because we're not used to it!  It's amazing how little you want to do when it's cold.

Anyway, I thought I'd better pull my finger out and post something, especially when my honey said my blog has been a bit boring lately!  Geeez!!

On Friday I had a day off work and just relaxed, so nice!  I did actually get the paint brush out though and painted one corner of my lounge room just because I wanted to see how it will look white instead of yellow!  I was tempted to do the whole room, but it's so hard by myself as I have to drag the kitchen table around all the walls and put a ladder on top of that as we have 12 foot ceilings and I'm so short.  It's the only way I can reach, but it makes me a bit scared being up so high.  Since there's a bit of heavy-type furniture in the lounge as well I decided I just have to be patient (definitely NOT one of my virtues), since my luvy said he would help me do it if I wait another week. 

It'll be great as he does the top bit and I do the bottom bit, and we use this fabulous new Dulux paint called "Once" which is just the best.  We've painted the whole house with it and as the name implies, you only have to do one coat.  It goes on a bit patchy but as it dries it thickens to the equivalent of two coats, so we only have to do it once!  Good hey!  It comes up a treat and my honey and I will knock the lounge over probably in about an hour.  So hopefully next weekend we will get it done!  Here is a sneak peak of my bitsy painted wall with one piece of my new lounge suite...

I was cruising around some flickr sites the other day and came across this fabulous site by Monticello Antiques in Portland in the US.  Big wow!  So frustrating not to be able to jump in the car and visit these fabulous places.  One thing that really caught my eye was their little cottage houses made completely out of recycled wood and windows.  They are just so pretty and would make a great work room.  You'd really want to work if you were going into these little pretties!  Of course here in Brisbane you wouldn't put the windows in the ceilings as you'd cook in the sun, but I suppose you could put up some sort of roof curtains for when it's hot.  Here are some gorgeous photos, and for all my US readers, lucky you if you could go and visit Monticello Antiques but everyone else can visit their blog!

I'll tell you what, if I had my time over again work-wise, I'd become an apprentice something related to building with wood.  I reckon for a builder, these little cottages would be fun to make, and I know exactly where to buy all the bits....*big sigh* I'd love to be able to make one of these, or even use the inspiration to make something similar with these bits and bobs!

PS:  I have two copies of the latest Romantic Country for sale for $12 each.

  

Country Cottage * New Hearts for sale...

Just a quick post ... if you loved Anita's beautiful hearts I displayed a few posts back she has some new one for sale now on her blog.  Take a peak and email her if you would love one.  For sure I can recommend them, they are really gorgeous and I love mine!  Be quick, a lot of them have sold already.

http://ein-stueck-garten.blogspot.com/