Friday 27 September 2013


Relaxed Days Ahead…….
Hi Vintage Lovers,

 
My wish for cooler weather has been granted!!!
It has turned rather chilly here, with rain, thunder and lighting expected also tonight.
The fire in the kitchen is on and roaring and looks fabulous with the new shades of green.


As this may be the last fire for the season L
and being a Friday night also, we have decided to whip up an apple crumble for dessert tonight.
Yum O!!!

 
I am planning some relaxed days ahead, school holidays start today in South Australia and I am looking forward to taking it a little easier over the next few weeks. Maybe even a few extra lie-in's, although that may not happen with kids that are normally up at the crack of dawn!!   


A few days in the garden are also planned to finish some jobs that have been on my "to do" list for a while now.
 
Enjoy your weekend.
Mel xx

Wednesday 25 September 2013


The wearing of the Green…….

Hi Vintage Lovers,
 
We painted our kitchen last weekend......
 

the colour suits her perfectly. 
A gorgeous green room that I just love.
 

 
We ended up choosing the darker green colour, Grey Green by Dulux. It seemed to suit the kitchen better and all the fixtures and fittings.


 
It certainly highlights the original brick fireplace. We used the paler green inside the fireplace. That colour is also by Dulux and is called Pale Vellum.

 
The weather has been beautiful here this week so far, we haven't needed the fire on at all. I am sooooo keen to see the fire roaring and to see what it looks like with the new paintwork. We may just need to pick a cooler evening to try it before it becomes too warm.
 
We moved our table and chairs into the kitchen last week also. We were so keen to have it in there and see what it looks like and start having meals in the kitchen.


Our 1900's kitchen table and kangaroo back chairs suit perfectly.
Can't wait to see our other furniture in the kitchen. All in good time, skirting boards must come first.

Hope you are having a great week.

Keep smiling. J
Mel xx
 
 

Monday 16 September 2013


Blueberry Muffin Recipe
Here is my blueberry muffin recipe as promised.
 

The recipe is very similar to the choc-chip muffin recipe (that I have previously posted) and also is quick and easy to whip up.



Blueberry Muffins
 
1/2 cup of butter or marg.
 1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of plain yoghurt
1 teaspoon of vanilla bean extract
3/4 cup blueberries (you can use any berries, frozen or fresh)
3 cups of self-raising flour

Preheat oven to 180C. Combine butter and sugar. Add eggs, milk, yoghurt, vanilla and flour to the butter and sugar. Mix thoroughly. Then add berries and mix thoroughly again. Place in muffin tins and bake for 15 - 20 mins.

Enjoy.
Mel xx

Friday 13 September 2013


It’s the weekend…… Yay!
Hi vintage Lovers,

Thank goodness it's Friday and the weekend.
I don't normally do the TGIF thing, but this week I am.
It has been a super busy week and I am sooooo looking forward to a quieter weekend.
 
All the jobs I had planned to do this week didn't even get a look in. They will be next weeks jobs now.
I have to keep reminding myself that "Rome was not built in a day".
I am one of these people that can't sit still and have to be busy all the time and I am always planning projects months ahead of time.
 I send Wayne nuts at times!!!!!


We have lots planned for the weekend so there will not be much time for taking it easy. I bought some hydrangea plants this morning and am planning to plant them tomorrow morning, and will also be doing some more bits and pieces in the garden. Sunday we will be making headway in the kitchen with the painting.


We will be having the fire roaring this weekend again as we are back to winter here. It has been so cold and wet over the last few days and it looks set to continue over the weekend. 
I am not sure where spring has gone this week!

We also have friends popping over for afternoon tea on Saturday, which I am planning to bake some Blueberry muffins for. I will pop the recipe on the blog on Monday for you all.

Have an enjoyable and relaxing weekend.
 Mel xx


 

Wednesday 11 September 2013


You can never have too much Green...can you?

Hi Vintage Lovers,
 
We are deciding on colours for the kitchen this week at The Old Croft and of course the colour choices are all green.
Surprise! Surprise!!!!!

I am a creature of habit, ask anyone who knows me!
We all have our little habits and one of mine happens to be the colour green, with a bit of cream and burgundy thrown in for fun.
 I have considered other colours, well for a few brief few seconds anyway, but I always seem to return to my old favourite.
I have loved the colour green since I was a child and I have no intentions of changing now! 

So the green colour choices have been narrowed to a few and we have painted samples of these in a few spots in the kitchen. Maybe a few is a slight under exaggeration! A bit more than a few, but you do have to be sure, don't you? You need to see it in all areas and how the light plays on all the angles.


We are leaning towards the darker green colour at the moment. It seems to suit the room better and works with the other fittings that we already have. We still have a week or two to decide though.
 
  
 We have had a bit of luck come our way this week also -
we were able to get the green glass lamp shades we were after.
 
I am soooooooo happy.
 
 
 The staff at Old Adelaide Restoration have been brilliant and went out of their way to find us these shades. They are made by an old glass factory in Vianne, a small town in the south of France.
 
 
The Vianne Glass Factory was in operation from the 1920's to 2005. They specialized in ornate and etched glass for all types of lamps and shades. The glass was all hand blown, which is just fantastic to have shades that are so unique and individual.
 
 
The three lights look fantastic and really set off the kitchen beautifully.
 
Just what the kitchen needed.

 
 I am certainly looking forward to painting.
You can never have too much green, can you?
 
Hope you are having fabulous week.
Mel xx

Friday 6 September 2013


The First week of Spring……
Hi Vintage Lovers,


We have had the most gorgeous start to spring. The weather has been fantastic and I have spent most of the last two weeks out in the garden, which I have loved after months inside over the winter period. The spring warmth just makes you feel so much more energised and ready to enthusiastically take on any challenge in the garden.


I have started planning out new garden beds in the front garden as well and doing lots of weeding and pruning. I have decided to completely re-design the two garden beds at the front of the house. There wasn't much in the two garden beds and what was there is so over-grown that I decided to just start again.


We have an existing path that leads from the front gate to the front of the house. We have decided to keep the path but pop in a weeping birch half way along and create a paved walk way going around the tree. Then the garden beds on either side of the path I will plant out with a symmetrical pattern, with hedges, roses and bearded irises in between.

I have always loved my roses. They are such an age old plant that really speaks of tradition and I never get tired of them, even though they do take some work during pruning season.


But first I have been busy weeding, pruning and removing unwanted plants and lawn. I have also uncovered quite a few little gems along the way, like bulbs and bearded irises which is fantastic. I feel like I am on a treasure hunt!


My plan is to get the area prepared and ready for planting next year. Although I do need to plant all my bearded Irises in the next few weeks, that I kept from our old house, that have multiplied beautifully. I have decided to dig out the gravel from in front of the store house and pop them all in there for now until I am ready to plant them in the front garden.


I am sure I will have more than enough to fill the two areas either side of the little path in front of the store house, plus the irises in the front yard (that I have discovered) and I still have a large container of irises down at Mum and Dad's, whom have been kindly looking after them for me. 



Hope you are having this gorgeous spring weather also and you have time to get outside and enjoy it over the weekend.

That's my plan for the weekend. J
Mel xx