Category Archives: food

10 THINGS THAT MAKE A BEAUTIFUL HOME

Posted on by shaynna


We all love flicking through the glossy pages of magazines and peering into celebrity homes, but to often it is followed with a sigh of ‘oh but I could never have that’.
You may not have their home, location or budget and you are constantly aspiring to the home of your dreams, but the essence of creating a home is universal. 
As an Interior Designer I get the opportunity of creating beautiful homes and work with incredible budgets but in the end we are all after the same thing.

1. Shelter – the basics are covered by a roof and walls. Due to poverty, disasters (as we have seen all to often recently with the natural disasters that have hit Far North Queensland, New Zealand and Japan just recently).  Our shelter is a basic necessity and a home provides this.  Size really doesn’t matter. Everyone needs a place to call home.

2. Happiness – if you can walk in your door and have a smile on your face at what you see, then you have a happy home.  Stop wishing and wanting what you don’t have, and look at what you DO have and what you can do to make it look and feel better.

 pic MILK

3. Family & friends – A home is a place that is filled with laughter and it has an environment that puts everyone at ease.  A place people want to be.

 pic MILK

4. Food – cafes and restaurants are a wonderful treat but home cooked food feeds the soul.

5. Sanity – Having peace of mind that everything has a place means you aren’t scattered all over place. Order creates time for you to do more things instead of wasting your time looking for that lost bill (found one this weekend!), the car keys and falling over all the toys in the house. 
Being organized DOES give you sanity (and sometimes you find cash : another true story!).

pic KIKKIK

6. Security - displacement is very real and if you have a place you feel you belong to then you know you are wanted and will feel secure about you and how people respond to you.

 pic

7. Nature – our plants are what feed the earth and feed us as people.  There is something about the connection with the earth that brings peace & serenity.  Even if you only have a courtyard, growing herbs in a pot is enough to give you a healthy link with Mother Earth.

 pic H20 

8. Pets - Someone to care for and give back love can add years to your life.  Having a pet means responsibility, but that makes us better people in the long run. For a long time pets have been used for therapy in nursing homes, injured able and brain affected people.  The feeling of having a pet in your life creates a very different love that we have with humans.

pic  PAWTRAITS

9. Freedom – A home is a place to express who you are and how you want to be without being judged by the world.  You may get judged and laughed at by your immediate family but hey, isn’t that what family is for?

pic MILK

10. Love – after all, love makes the world go round and if you have a home filled with love you really ‘have it all’

What do you think are the elements that make a home? You could agree with one of the above (or even disagree) or you may want to share one of the top things that makes your house I home.  I would love to hear from you.
Shaynna

Posted in cooking, family, food, friends, garden, home, house and garden, love, organise | Leave a comment

NOT SO SERIOUS PLEASE

Posted on by shaynna

We are bombarded with food blogs and we are blown away by their amazing talent but I came across this blog that not only have to die for ‘sweeties’ recipes but happy to interject just a little bit of fun in a couple of their pictures.  Not only was it clever but it made me go through the whole blog to see if I could find anymore pictures like it. Sadly I didn’t but it made me think, was it a clever marketing tool or just a bit of fun they had on one day?
Have you found any clever blog/websites like this?  Post them here so we can all share them.

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BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL PT 2

Posted on by shaynna

Tranquil river in the heart of Bright
Front of Boynton’s Feathertop Winery, and well we did have to sample their hospitality.
I am so grateful Bright has the most stunning scenery to explore on foot and bikes as there is so much food and wine to explore that you have to keep active to work it all off!

We walked to town , rode the Mountain trail (which happened to end up at a Feathertop winery- of course!) and finished our arduous day with an in-house massage, stoked the open fire, played cards and enjoyed the peace.


Riding the bike trail
It’s easy to get lost in the grand scenery, but don’t forget to look down.
You never know what you might see!

The last morning we had a long breakfast with the morning papers (yes we did it hard didn’t we) and I took myself off to explore the local shops while hubby rode his bike to get his fix of local football.
The shops were a great mix of craft, lollies, kids toys but the shop that sticks in my mind the most was Country Tales book store. It IS what every bookstore should be. Rows and rows of books with lots of little stands showing favourite books with individual reviews. Once I had my selection and went to the counter the girl behind the counter was so enthusiastic, knew the books I picked up (and everyone else who came to the counter) and talked about how much she loved them that I couldn’t wait to sit under a tree and get lost in them. She had just opened the store 5 days before and her passion filled the shop and rubbed off on everyone that entered. I do hope you get to Bright and her store as I haven’t had such a wonderful retail experience like that in a long time!


Go to the Country Tales Book Store and ask for Sally, she is gorgeous!!

So that is our 3 day adventure in Bright, Parts 1&2. I hope you get to this magical part of Victoria as it has put a spell on my husband and I and we are planning to go back again next year.

P.S. I didn’t ask the outcome of the local footy, but to my defense he didn’t ask about my shopping either ;)

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BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL PT 1

Posted on by shaynna



After a four hour drive (with our stop to Benalla) we passed our first winery, trail of Autumn leaves were beginning, but what made us stop was a fence made of bikes.
Bike riding to Bright is not a simple task but there is a disused rail line called the Murray Mountain Rail Trail that has been turned into a bike track. I wonder if this fence is made from some of those that didn’t quite make it?
We made it to our accomodation – The Odd Frog with two choc frogs to greet us and our food fest had begun.

A ten minute walk into to town and we walked the streets to find a restaurant to celebrate our 10yr wedding anniversary for the evening. Most were closed on a slow Thursday so our only options were a small cafe or cuisine at Simones, who by the way has two chef hats.
‘We are expensive’, was our introduction to an inquiry if they were open. Yes, it was but hey 10 years married is a bit of a milestone in these times so ‘expensive Simone’s’ it was. Dinner booked and now to fill the rest of the day.

The beauty of Bright is everywhere you turn is a park or outdoor area more stunning and inviting than the next. Opposite Simone’s we stepped into the boutique Bright Brewery and decided on a sample tray of their beers. Seeing as though I hate beer I had a sip of each and left the tasting to my husband. What made the bitter taste more palatable was the view of the weeping trees, oaks and if you have kids, they can play on the fort-like playground as you watch from the outdoor bench seats.
Back to room to get ready we used the telescope on the suspended balcony but didn’t need it as we were almost at arms reach of the local kangaroos.
Relaxed and ready for the the evening we made it to Simone’s and luck be it a food critic was on the next table so we also got the best food and best service possible.
Verdict – expensive, but definitely worth it. (Oh, and lucky we went there as I was surprised with a diamond ring for our anniversary – wouldn’t have been so glamorous in a small cafe!)

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