Shop Love - The Corner Shop

Every morning without fail you will find me breakfasting at The Corner Shop in Yarraville.

In fact you will quite likely find me there at other times of the day as well. 

My partner-in-crime (K.J.) and I meet there every day for what we term our morning meeting, of course no actual work is ever done but it does serve to set us up right for the day. 

At first we were a little embarrassed at the frequency with which we attend but now we have embraced it and have even been known to frequent the place up to 3 times in one day!

Clare and Iain who own The Corner Shop are very understanding and have even stopped rolling their eyes when we walk in.  The staff have become so used to us that they don't even pretend to serve us anymore - they just place our order in front of us almost before we have sat down - one day we are going to freak them all out and order something completely different.

 We both treat it as a pseudo office - my shop is just down the road, K.J. works at The Sun Theatre - and whenever we can swing it we meet up there before work, after work, before and after the movies - so many opportunities...

 Our favourite table

Apart from the fabulous staff (Hi Hannah and Eve!) and owners, the decor is right up my alley.  Clare's interior aesthetic is very similar to mine and we have had many absorbing discussions about furniture, fixtures etc.  Clare and Iain are about to open 2 new ventures which is fabulous and I'm sure they'll have all the style and warmth of The Corner Shop.

more stunning photos of The Corner Shop can be found here.

For The Caravan

Colour Immersion

Teal how I love you - green teal today..

Fantasy

I got a present today - Surfer Boy went off to a friend's 40th and came home with a massive box of books for me.  I now have over 50 Fantasty titles to work my way through!  My fairy god-father is downsizing and knowing we share authors in common, packed up his stash and has gifted it to me. 

There is volume after volume of David Eddings, Stephen Donaldson, Robin Hobb, Terry Pratchett...... In fact I think I now own the entire David Eddings and Leigh Eddings back catalogue.  I'm a bit beside myself and don't know where to begin. 
Surfer Boy was less amused with every book I pulled out - even I don't know where I'm going to put them all.

I now have another pile of books that I have doubled up on so if you see anything you want let me know.  I'm off to start reading....

Peeping In

Check out the gorgeous home of Sweedish artist Tove Mauritzson.

We Did It

As of an hour ago we are the proud owners of a caravan!

There has been a lot of talk about it but I never thought Surfer Boy would actually agree.  Last weekend we missed out on a van at auction that went well above our price range.  We didn't even get a chance to bid.  I thought that that would be the extent of it but today Moondoggie called me in from where I was reading my book in the sun, with the words..'Dad's found a caravan but it's up in 30 minutes!'  I thought he was kidding but sure enough Surfer Boy was on EBay and had found a beauty.

After much finger crossing we won the auction and have spent the last hour looking at each other in a bemused fashion - we now own a caravan.  They are words I never thought I'd hear myself say.  Mind you a couple of years ago I couldn't have imagined even wanting one!

Our lovely lady is feeling a little sorry for herself but as she is made of timber I have high hopes of Surfer Boy resurrecting her and restoring her to her former glory.  We think she was made in the 50's but we'll have to look in to that further when we pick her up.

Despite her war wounds she has so much going for her and will be a fabulous project for us both.  S.B. can work on her bone structure while I work on her face lift. 

Her details are fabulous - all original Bakelite handles, rounded mouldings, so many things that I have fallen in love with.

While we're not-so-patiently waiting for the house to be done we can get our teeth into our new love!  Stay tuned for updates...

Bibliophile Addiction

I know I post way too many pictures of bookshelves but I can't help myself - they are my favourite part of any home and considering the amount of books I own, they are going to need to be a major part of our renovation. 

Literary Gem

'I realise I've been betrayed by the two vices that fiction promised I'd adore.  Sal Paradise held up bottles of booze like a housewife in a detergent commercial.  Holden Caulfield reached for his cigarettes like an act of faith.  Even Huckleberry Finn tapped on his pipe with relief and satisfaction.  I can't trust anything.  If sex turns out to be this bad, I'm never reading again.  At this rate it will probably burn my dick and I'll end up with lesions.'

Charlie Bucktin
after trying booze and cigarettes for the first time.

(Jasper Jones - Craig Silvey)

Eye Candy - Tom Welling

Peeping In - Christiane Bördner and Marcus Gaab - Berlin

Pictures via Freunde von Freunden

So many things I love in this home and office - those dining chairs have me lusting but then my husband says I have an unnatural obsession with old chairs so it's not surprising.  Is that a deer head on the wall of the office?  And those windows in the last photo... well, words fail me.

The E.K. Special 1961

Our lovely friend Ronnie is over for dinner and as much as we love him, we love his car more!!!

Kitchen Stuff

Surfer Boy is intending to make the stools for our island bench but today a wholesaler visited at work to show me a range and I noticed these metal stools - not what I was supposed to be looking at as I own a children's store, but apparently I can order these too - love wholesale shopping... 

I have also fallen for these metal bins that I am determined to fit into my kitchen!  Perfect - one for recycling, one for rubbish - now to find a spot for them.

My Happy Place

Point Lonsdale Back Beach this morning

- Photograph by the very talented Nikole Ramsay

There Goes My Baby

This is definitely next up for movie night - but first I have to track it down...

Kitchen Tiles

 The design I have fallen in love with for my kitchen tiles is unfortunately not a tile but a piece of material!  This is a problem but not one that can not be overcome I am thinking.
Surely there is a way I can make this work....
I have tossed around a few solutions - material behind clear splashback glass.... it comes as wallpaper so maybe apoxy over the paper.... Photograph  it......

As I thought, there is a solution to every problem.  It turns out you can have tiles custom printed!!  Choose your tile, upload your image and away you go.  Fan-bloody-tastic.

Now I just need to know if anyone out there has had this done?  Does it work well?  Is it astronomically expensive?  do I need permission to reproduce the image?  Thoughts please people.

Good Friends are Priceless

It's been a long week already and it's only Tuesday!  After a big weekend celebrating a friend's 40th I got slammed by the dreaded gastro and spent the rest of the weekend wishing someone would end my misery. 

I've survived the last couple of days on the odd square of Vegemite toast and have been feeling very sorry for myself.  Until this morning that is.  My gorgeous friend Krissa turned up at our 'morning meeting' with a present for me.

Not my birthday - just a 'love' present apparently and gee am I glad she loves me...  how cool is this?

Now I too can look super stylish even though I don't drink coffee.  This Tea Lovers Eco Cup even has a teapot button that you can wrap your teabag string around while the tea is steeping.

I love it and the fact that it looks like a ceramic ginger jar has me completely smitten.

How lucky am I?  Krissa's gift coupled with another friend who brought me chicken soup to work today has made life a whole lot brighter.

I may even make it through the week.