Year of No Rubbish Purchases - Month 2

Not only is this year about not buying rubbish, it is also about buying things of quality which last and last.  So this post is about money.  Avert your eyes if you have to.

Step 1, I bought Pepper the cat a tray for his food and water bowl to replace the Ikea one I had.  Given I have to look at it every day I thought something pretty would be easier on the eye.   Do you like it? It's French and it makes me think of Missoni a bit.  Or Paul Smith.  

Step 2, I took the plunge and did something I have only ever done for my wedding. I had a piece of clothing tailored for me. And what better than a black pencil skirt?  As a lawyer, one's professional life is paved with black skirts.   I cannot count how many I have bought over the last 20 years.  Now, I want one which lasts more than a year or two.  

So these fantastic people came and sized me and produced a beautiful, classic, wonderfully fitting black skirt.   Barring massive weight gain or loss, I hope it will last many many years.  And it cost only a little bit more than a skirt from a shop.  

The fabric is by Dormeuil which was established by three French brothers of the same name in 1842. They hit on the idea of importing English fabric to France.  Jules Dormeuil had a truly global vision it seems.  He opened their first store in New York in 1880.  When the company celebrated 150 years in business in 1992 the lights of the Eiffel Tower were dimmed in their honour. 

Dormeuil manufactures amazing soft wool. They also say that they invented the 'Pashmina'.  They were and are the fabric of choice for many Savile Row tailors, and I can see why.  The fabric breathes and at the end of the day, any creases just fall out.  

They made some cracking ads in the 1970s.  Are you offended by this ad? I love it.   And her sunnies.  And his red shirt and tie combo.  And the light planes and Aston Martin in the background.   

And what about this one?   That's a snake on his lapel.  

I was going pretty well this month until the global economy interfered.  Here's the thing, when I was backpacking around Europe in the 1990's the exchange rate of the Aussie dollar was pretty forlorn.  I could get 1 British pound for 3 AUD.  And the US currency was not much better (1 AUD would buy US 0.60 cents).   This made travelling very expensive, and is one of the reasons I put off travelling to the US for so long.    Of course it also made travelling fun and challenging but many Australians can remember the power of the mighty US$ in Eastern Europe and what it could buy.   And how many Australian dollars we had to exchange to get that currency.

Today, things are different.  Over the weekend the Australian dollar hit parity with the US.   Now I know that this is bad for the farmers and other exporters.  And perhaps for local retailers because the stronger dollar has meant a huge boost in online overseas sales, and I have been one of the statistics.  An added bonus is the reversed seasons.  Shop online in the UK and US and you can pick up their summer season's clothes on sale just as we are going into summer ourselves.  

(Side note:  quality clothes in Australia are expensive. I do actually try to support Australian designers and manufacturing especially original good quality designers like Scanlon & Theodore.    Whilst I am a bit sad that the Internet is maybe making it harder for them to be competitive, I think there will always be room for great High street retailers.  But at the end of the day a top is a top, and $450 is too much Lisa Ho.  And don't start me on denim.  Why would I pay $400 for a pair of J Brand jeans from the shop up the road when I can buy the same jeans for half the price online?)  

I bought these summer sandals from Revolve (on sale and very cheap):

And this necklace (not sure where I will wear it) from J Crew (on sale and very cheap):

I used a shipper for the J Crew stuff.  They were pretty reliable and quick but their shipping charges are almost Cath Kidston-esque.

And I end on this note - compare prices always.  This beautiful J Crew shearling trimmed jacket:

Is  $380 AUD on the J Crew website (converted from 378) and $415 on Net a Porter (converted from 255 UK pounds).  The difference is simply that between the two currencies. 

Do you shop online? Surely I am not the only one?  

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Our Bedroom in the Style of Miu Miu

For all the happy chat of pink and dreamy bedrooms, I have a husband who will not put up with a girly bedroom.  I don't think I mind that much, I rather like our austere blue and white bedroom but it does mean that it can be hard to redecorate.     I decided recently that I am rather taken with the combination of blue or grey and yellow in a bedroom.  

Like this:

Or this:

Or this:

So, I thought I would have a lampshade made up to match the mustard yellow shade which is on his side.  It is not that easy to find a large drum lampshade.  I have literally looked everywhere, and there was hardly a drum shape to be found. And when I did find one it was too small.  I eventually found out by chance that the local Chinese reproduction junk shop (called Chinatique) will custom make lampshades. 

So I provided them with a crisp mustard coloured linen, and two weeks later, my economically priced lampshade was ready.   Richard from Chinatique is my friend now.  And he does business the old fashioned way, and likes to seal the deal with a cup of jasmine tea.

Whilst my shade was being made up I had second thoughts.  And I was still not 100% sold on my blue and yellow idea when I came across this Miu Miu ad in the September US Vogue.   Apart from the wierd-a-rama green and purple eye makeup \ no eyebrows look and completely impractical breast exposing yellow bow dress, don't these colours look amazing together?

Am I so shallow that I need a fashion ad to justify my colour choices?   No, not at all.  But isn't it funny when you have an idea and see it reflected back at you in some other place?   

It means I am either the Zeitgeist Lady or just very unoriginal. 

Anyway, this is the new lampshade:

And here is a poor quality image with the old 1950s shade on the left.   Am still pretty unthrilled with elements of this room mainly the bedside tables.   But that as they say is a work in progress. 

I have never ever decorated with yellow before. I have to admit, it makes me happy.  

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Indian Dreaming

For those who are not Australian or from other parts of the Commonwealth, you may not be aware that the Commonwealth Games are under way in Delhi at the moment.  I was so excited for India when they won the chance to host the Games.  Unfortunately scandals, delays and some controversy marred the build up to the Games.   At time of writing, Australia has won 143 medals, more than 30 more than the next country (England).  Which makes the Games either pointless or brilliant, depending on your point of view. I tend to favour the former.  

I have never been to India but I believe it is a place, like Italy perhaps, which changes you forever.  

To kick off, two beautiful modern Indian interiors:

Something soft and restful:

Then, the hotel to die for. Have you ever stayed at an Aman resort?  We have toyed with the idea of the one in Java, and also Ubud in Bali but the furthest we have ever got is lunch at the Amandari and Amankila (both on Bali).  I think they are a bit outside my budget.  This is the Amanbagh near Jaipur.

And of course, some Indian reading.   These are my five must read Indian novels.   They capture all the magic, mystery and spirituality of India.   Each of these books I have brooded on for some time after finishing and to me, that is the key to a great book.

This book demonstrates the power of luck and opportunity better than any other I have read.

This book is set in in Mumbai, in India, in the middle of last century when a bad decision or an instance of bad luck can change your life forever.  

I won't describe it further other than to say you must read this book. It will make you a more humane person. 

This book is about old India and the British Raj, and its clash with the new.  Set in Chandrapore, the book follows an excursion to some caves led by doctor Aziz and the life changing consequences of that day. 

If not the book,then you should watch the excellent Merchant Ivory film of the same name. 

I read this book for school when I was 15.  Set in India in the 1920's It is about a little girl who lives on a river which feeds into the Bay of Bengal. Harriet is in that time between between childhood and adulthood and the rhythms of her life are disrupted and changed in this deceptively simple and subtle book. 

At more than 1300 pages this is one of the longest novels ever published in a single volume in the English language (I actually read it when it was published in a three book series).

This amazing evocative epic book is set in post independent and post partition India, and follows Mrs Rupa Mehra's attempts to arrange the marriage of her daughter to a suitable boy.  

It sounds simple, but it is not. There is a wonderful array of eccentric, personality filled characters, and Vikram Seth manages to cover a range of political and societal events like Muslim education,  the caste system and the land reforms. 







I have to be honest. I am a bit scared of Gregory David Roberts. He was an armed robber who broke out of jail in Melbourne in 1980, skipped the country, fled to India and lived an adventurous life including gun running in Afghanistan and working as a slum doctor in Delhi.  This book is lengthy but worth it.  Whilst it is true that he escaped from prison, Roberts has since clarified that parts of it are fictional. 

This book is a fascinating glimpse into modern India.  

(Images: (1) via Indian Summer Blog (2) from Contemporary Indian by Henry Wilson (3) Elle Decor India (4) (5) Tobias Harvey via Sarah Kaye (6) Amanresorts)

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12 years ago today...

on a bright, sunny spring day, I carried these:

wore this:

sat in here:

ate this:

and married you.

Happy Anniversary my darling.


Thank you for all your words and acts of support, encouragement, common sense, comfort and love.   


May there be many more years of the same.

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Farewell Rowan Springs

Last weekend we visited my mother and stepfather at their farm in the northeast of Victoria. After a long, straight and boring drive up the Hume Highway, we turned off left near the mountains to an idyll with a wonderful garden and home which my mother has made hers over 19 years. 

It was a home also to thoroughbred racing horses, some sheep, and many cows, including some baby pet cows called variants of Daisy and April.    It is a hard life, running a large property, there is always something broken or leaking, something to fix, some cow giving birth in a back paddock, a phone line out due to a storm or hawks feasting on the hens which my mother has given up trying to keep.  The winters are long and cold, and the summers baking and bushfire prone.   It is all a bit much to manage at almost 70 years old, and as a result they have sold the farm and are moving to the nearby town of Benalla.

So this visit was a swan song of sorts.  And although I have not visited nearly as much as I should have over the years (or maybe that is why) I felt really sad over the weekend, at the thought that I will never see this vista again:

(sunset over the front paddock)

And of course, now having children at the correct age, I can see just how much they would have loved to come back here over and over again.   My daughter was quite upset when we left to come home, and I now wonder how I can fill the farm void which is left there.    The local park is not nearly as much fun.  And I loathe those places anyway. 

After all, is there anything better than running with no boundaries in the sunshine:

(if you look closely you can see a small Spiderman on the tennis court) 

Swinging on the swing:

Eating special blue and yellow desserts made by my mother:

(pineapple jelly, blueberries and meringue)

Or sitting on the stile and contemplating the wonder and magic of life at 3.5 years old?

My mother is a strong believer in pot, vase and bowl gatherings, they are just everywhere in the house:

And she loves buddhas just as much as I do:

She also loves a spot to sit, preferably, for her guests, with a Pimms and book:

And most satisfyingly for the children, the animal count was quite high: cockatoos and wedge tailed eagles in the sky, tiny lizards in the driveway, a pelican and many ducks on the lake, frogs at night, a dead sheep by the roadside (well that was not so nice especially when my son wanted to touch it badly), black and brown cows and bulls everywhere, hares jumping through the paddock and also some smaller rabbits, and Nellie my mother's little terrier dog running and yapping beside us all the way.

On the way back we were driving along the road above, when I saw a tortoise on the road.   Yes, a tortoise.  I didn't even know they were native to Australia.  But there it was, slowly crossing the road.  I stopped the car and reversed back, and went to pick the tortoise up as I was concerned about him getting squashed by the next car.  He had a 25 cm long shell, quite large, and a scaly long neck and clawed feet.  Just like a dinosaur.  The children loved him and peered intently at all his bits, neatly folded under his shell.

And when I picked him up again to carry him to the other side of the road, what did this tortoise do?  He weed on me.   All over my hands.     And that, dear reader, is something not many people can say has happened to them. 

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Thrifty Tuesday Chinese Style

I confess, I am not really a thrifty person.  I am the person that always gravitates towards the most expensive thing in the shop even before I know its price.  

So, if Anna's Thrifty Tuesday encourages some more thriftiness in my life, that has to be a good thing.  

Here are three things I love which cost no more than $25 all up.   I have them in our main bathroom, and that way the children can look at their serene faces when they brush their teeth.  

I bought these about 2 years ago from the local Chinese 'junk' store for $10 each.   They have that wonderful exotic 1940's Shanghai look to them.   They are quite small, only about 9 cm across, so whoever painted those features has a delicate hand.  

They sit on the bathroom bench with this: 

I bought this on our honeymoon many many years ago in the market in the centre of Istanbul.  It cost $4.50.  I don't know what the material on the top is but I love the carving.   This is also quite small, about 7 cm across.  

One day, when I have a dressing table, I can use them for ring storage.   But at the moment, they give me quite a lot of pleasure as they are.  



Happy Thrifting.   

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Maris and Broad Bean Soup

We recently ate a lovely meal at Maris, with a friend who was out from London for his mother's funeral.   I do love this little intimate restaurant, with its marble topped tables,  fantastic sommellier, bread which comes complete with whipped French butter and something olivey, beautiful big glasses and a lovely buzzy busy feel.

I had a superb piece of grilled black Angus rib eye steak, perfectly cooked.  And for desert a banana meringue with soft ice cream and something passionfruity.  But the very best was the entree, a simple green vegetable soup. 

Since that time I have been searching to replicate the spring green freshness of this soup. I have tried soup with zucchini, broccoli, potato, all to no avail.   I hit pay dirt with this recipe,  which is simplicity itself.

Ingredients

A cup of podded broad beans

A cup of frozen or fresh peas

Half a cup (or maybe more) of thickened cream

Half a cup (or maybe less) of chicken stock

Method

Bring a large pot of water to the boil.  Add some sea salt, the broad beans and the peas (I put the peas in a sieve so you can retrieve them earlier if needs be).   Simmer until both are cooked.  Pod the broad beans and put all ingredients in a food processor.  Add as much cream or stock as is necessary to get a thick consistency. Reheat gently.

This soup is completely perfect for Spring.  Enjoy! 

 



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