An alternative to Easter eggs?

Great mug - an Easter gift that's much better for the waistline, unless you fill it full of Easter eggs or hot chocolate and marshmallows of course (like any good chocaholic would).

Image: Not on the High Street

Monday shop post: Strangetrader

Strangetrader is a gorgeous store in the gorgeous NSW coastal town of Byron Bay. It is a mixture of the beautiful, the unusual and the curious...

As the owners thoughtfully explain on their site, "Strangetraders is an ever evolving concept that came about by a desire to travel and a passion for seeking out beautiful objects in the most unlikely places."

Following this theme, on the Strangetrader site you'll also find some very inspirational shots from Italy, Japan, New York and Turkey. I get a serious case of wanderlust just looking at these pics...

And even though I'd love to take a quick trip to Byron Bay (and Bangalow too of course), the great thing is that Strangetrader will ship their goods anywhere in Australia (for a flat rate of $10 for under 10 kilos) and internationally also.  And to top it all off they have a great blog that's always interesting to read.

[All images from Strangetrader]

A weekend at Cape Otway

Last weekend we made the 3+ hour journey from Melbourne to Cape Otway Lighthouse for my husband's annual family get together. The journey there was wonderful, we stopped off along the way to check out some 'old wares' stores in a quaint little town on the Otway Ranges and I scored this lovely little celadon green jug/vase to add to my collection...

Then we had a quick bite to eat at a lovely (but considerably over-priced) cafe in Lorne, and back in the car again travelling along the Great Ocean Road at Hugh's request we stopped at a little inlet to 'explore'...

We finally arrived late in the afternoon to join the 30 or so other family members, to stay at the Cape Otway Lighthouse cottages...

After a slapdash BBQ, the resident lighthouse keeper/tour guide gave us a sunset tour of the lighthouse and told us a bit about the marvellous history of this wonderful beacon of light...

The next day we had a lazy breakfast and went for a quick walk to the lighthouse station schoolhouse.  We walked through this amazing grey arch of twisted branches...

...to emerge at the schoolhouse...

After a family lunch to celebrate St Patrick's Day (my husband has Irish descendants) and a cousin's 50th birthday, it was back in the car for the journey home.  On the way out of the Cape Otway Lighthouse national park we spotted this little fellow fast asleep perched in a tree right next to the road...

All in all, a wonderful weekend away. We've vowed to leave the city more often for mini-breaks, so next month we're off to Brisbane for four days. Can't wait!

Interior Design: Made by Cohen

This lovely house designed by the Melbourne based design firm Made By Cohen has just been featured in the Australian Vogue Living 'Before + After' special edition (it was my fave B+A from the magazine). Anyway, I thought you might like to see some pictures of this gorgeous space.  I know that if I was ever in need of a designer Made By Cohen would be at the top of my list.  The light, clean lines and brilliant use of space are a winning combination.

All images from Made By Cohen.  Check out their site for more beautiful images of their work.

Art: Michelle Giacobello

If I'm a good girl and get all my work done today I'm going to take a walk to the Louey and Lane Gallery to admire the work of local artist Michelle Giacobello - lucky for me the gallery is open until 7pm on Wednesdays!

I have fallen for this gorgeous little painting by Michelle titled 'The Appointed Place':

Her landscapes also really appeal to me. I'd love to purchase the following painting titled 'Counting Sheep', but I think it's already sold. I wonder whose wall it is gracing now...I hope it has a lovely home and that it is enjoyed each and every day.

Other landscapes by Michelle Giacobello that I also adore...

'Diversion'

'Fig'

'Weekends at the farm'

'And they were lovers on that day'

'The softness of proteas'

All images are from Michelle Giacobello's website. To see more of the beautiful paintings by this talented artist, check out her site.

Inspired: table runner

Inspired by this pic on the sneak peek over at Design Sponge today, I'm finally going to learn to use the sewing machine I have tucked away in the cupboard (I don't even know how to thread it!!) and make a linen runner for my very long, very much loved dining table. A simple Easter project for me :)

(Image: Design Sponge)

Wouldn't it be lovely to be seated around this table with friends, sharing a meal.

Regular blogging resumes / Monday shop post: Mac Pelican

I've had quite a busy time working on some large work projects over the past few months and so decided to take some time away from blogging so I could concentrate on these projects.  I think this was actually a very good thing for me ... the blogging pause gave me time to think about what I blog about and I realised that I was probably blogging more for others than myself.  Plus I write and patch up learning materials for a living and I found that I was starting to see blogging as just another writing task that I had to commit to, rather than something joyful and creative.
So after some time away I feel rejuvenated and I've decided to focus more on blogging about things that I really like whenever I feel like it - not sure exactly what this means yet, but you're welcome to drop by any time to take a look.

Lee :)

To start the ball rolling again, I thought I'd post a few pictures of a cute little shop in Hawthorn, Melbourne, that I want to get around to visiting when I get a spare moment.  It goes by the very intriguing name of Mac Pelican and the address is 842 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn. Hope you like it too.

All images from Mac Pelican.  You can check out their site for lots more lovely pictures.