Red Shoes

Well hello again :) It's School holidays at the Picket Fence House so time for relaxing, getting out and enjoying this amazing winter weather we're having and pretty much  just appreciating what we've got. It's not a bad world , we are blessed xx

I guess for those who don't know me, you should know now, that I love the colour red, I love splashes of it here and there , little splashes to accentuate a vignette,  and big splashes to add some industrial vintage  "wham bam " to my world . I love it in clothing and I especially love red shoes.... Dorothy had it going on in the Wizard of Oz...red shoes rock.  I am a completely boring non drinker , alcohol doesn't float my boat, but if I did partake , you can guess the colour of the wine I'd drink :)  I grow red apples, red roses and yep , paint my toenails... surprise surprise ... Red.  Red is a true colour, honest and sincere, vibrant and positive ... some times over the top, I think if I was a colour , for sure, I'd be red :)

I  have an artist /antique dealer/vintage industrial specialist friend in the mountains , the best kind of like minded friend, she gets my need for vintage and can talk fluently about patina. She loves Chesty Bond and gardens and photography ....Alicia :) You win the gold ribbon for classy friends xx Click her name to visit her Face book page, make sure you hit "like" ....  check out her blog , I am sooo lucky to know this woman she's a legend !

This is what she sent me this week,

A red fire bucket ( I mentioned patina ) ......Enid Blyton's  Mr Meddle is red too :)

An awesome piece of red vintage cast metal..... for the days when you have no friends at which to sock a tennis ball.....

And some shoe stretchers , ( because lovely as they are, Dorothy's shoes wont fit me)

Here at the Picket Fence house we are working on our chook yard ..... Hen's on Holiday :) It's a work in progress but here's a taste. They are going to live in here .Once the Reno's and polka dots are finished , I'll add some bunting  and frock it up further.

Second thing you need to know about me ... I do nothing by halves :)

Baby Picket Fence loves red !

Red antique tins, of which I confess I have far too many,

Vintage industrial red bottle carriers , great for holding a vase of flowers on the table, or throwing bunches of flat ware into when you're having  loads of friends around for a meal .... great to just sit on the shelf and look ...well...red :)

This old Rabone measure reminds of my father, when I was a young girl, I'd spend what seemed like hours attached to the end of a similar tape measure as he planned and dreamed, and made memories I  now treasure.

After my last post, I was over whelmed by the number of lovely emails I received sharing my love of vintage colour ( some of you I can't reply to as your web pages had no reply email contact.. If this is you , I apologise...consider me grateful xx ) I love my colourful walls too, it's me, it's my style and I agree, I'll never fit into the white wall thing... It's like those stupid designer skinny low rider jeans that are everywhere these days ... some things will NEVER fit this Picket Fence Chick, so I'm not even going to try ;)

I love your comments so please say Hi , and I love followers so join my cheery crew and follow my ramblings,  the link is in the side bar under the follow me heading , I'd love to have you :)

Oh and put on those red shoes , I'll look out for you !!  

Sharing with Sarah at A Beach Cottage Good Life Wednesday
and Courtney's  Feathered-Nest-Friday

Colour My World.

Hello again Picket Fence Friends, I hope your week was shiny bright and wonderful :) 

I was talking to a dear friend about my house this week, it's colourful , no two ways about it. I love colour but have been thinking of doing the white wall thing, I really need to dip a toe in but I'm hesitant because as much as I'm attracted to the current clean look of industrial whites, my heart is firmly planted in colour. The_Color_Kittens  by Margaret Wise Brown was, and still is, a favourite little golden book in the Picket Fence House. 

I decided to show you some photographs of my house as you would find it if you walked in now.I've not included the Picket Fence children's spaces because a) I think that they are entitled to a little privacy and b) their rooms looked like bomb sites :) The bathrooms are also on the excluded area list because they are on the need to renovate list and are currently, seriously ugly. I'll show you the sewing room in a future blog...it is a work in progress :)  Now, if you like the beautiful box with the vintage wall~papered exterior below , check out Adeline Country Cottage This girl floats my boat, she is very  talented  and just about the loveliest person you could find online :)

See, wouldn't white walls look awesome here ?

The Green apothecary style drawers came from Melbourne but were originally purchased in Jamberoo Antiques. Prior to that they lived on a ship serving as a provadores cabinet. That paint is around 200 years old....sigh...still my favourite thing in the house xx

This is the family room, the lead light was originally the fan light over the Ritz Hotel front doors in St Kilda. The hotel changed hands and all the RH product was sold off ...it has lived a varied existence since then. I bought it in a decaying condition, had it shipped here in pieces and had glass replaced and repaired. Did I mention that Mr Picket Fence is a VERY patient man :)

The our lady statue below is an original Mattei bros & co. church statue, I had her posted here...amazingly she arrived intact.

A favourite spot in the family room :)

We have no built in robes...we love free standing cupboards. The one above houses the Picket Fence kids toys and board games.

Ignore the cat clawed lounge ;) I told you I was photographing "as is" ....this is how it is ! The chiffonier was one of the first things Mr Picket Fence and I bought together at auction, the mirror was his grandmothers and the Vladimir Tretchikoff  print was my Grandmothers.

Our house is full of children's books. My favourite is Enid Blyton. Again such lovely colours on the jackets !

I need to distress this bookshelf , it's on "the list"... read it's story here The Must Have White Bookshelf The Peters ice cream light dates from the 1950's , we turn it on every night.... I also had this posted ( another miracle !) I love Australian advertising....hence below.

Note above, my friend Chesty Bond....made from vulcanised rubber ...some would say the ideal man ;)

I love Globite and old suitcases, great for hiding magazines and less than pretty kids toys, Lego and , matchbox cars and blocks.

Where we eat, talk and unwind :)

Hmmm You can never have too much green china ! Note the Saint Rita Statue ( Patron Saint of lost causes)

How Baby Picket Fence see's the world ! ( The scales are our fruit bowl )

I love fifties sunbeam mix~masters . I have green and blue too, not pictured here.

A quiet corner, see I can do quiet ;)

My mother and my Grandmothers handbag's hang in the hall.

More green... this time in glass! Eeek, check out the patina on my silver ( I love patina)

My kitchen window...this was not the best shot I had, but had to be included ;) See the photo bomber. His name is BJ xx
Well I'd love to hear what you think of the Picket Fence House? It's a work in progress, loads of fun :)  A big thank~you to all my recent followers and  to people leaving comments. This is massively flattering ! And if you're not  following, click on the follow me button on my sidebar. I'd love to have you visit.  Thanks for dropping by , you make my day xx

  

Linking to A Beach Cottage Good Life Wednesday  and http://maxabellaloves.blogspot.com/

The Versatile Blogger Award and the Sponge Cake Recipe.

Wow Picket Fence Friends , I've been given an award. I'm rather tickled, for a relatively "Newbie" blogger, an award from your peer's ranks pretty  high in the feel good stakes... And I was awarded this by TWO gorgeous Blog Diva's  .............
     The Lovely Alix of the wonderful crafty, vintage, English blog   Used-To- Bees and the very Sweet Brenda, an Australian blogger behind all things vintage and beautiful on her blog Vintage Sunday.  Jump on over and visit their blogs, you couldn't find two nicer girls.

OK . Apparently this award comes with rules. The first being to thank the people who gave you the award and slip in a link to their blogs..done xx The second is to share 7 random things about yourself...oh my!
Well here goes.
1) I am a shameless optimist . I firmly believe that although you can't really change the way the world behaves to you; you are completely in charge of how you perceive it. The words "Choose Your Attitude" are written on a chalkboard in the Picket Fence Pantry :)
2) I used to play a Baritone Euphonium in my high school band ( I really wanted to play a flute instead, life works in funny ways)
3)I am a twin, My brother and his family are a big part of our Picket Fence life. I'm very aware of the connection between twins... he understands me :)
4) I have a younger brother as well, equally gorgeous and with his own lovely family. We are blessed to have each other ( I think anyway, lol) When these families get together the Picket Fence household gets very loud and very happy :)
5) My favourite food would have to be lollies...particularly Allens spearmint leaves and redskins :)
6) I don't like spiders, snakes or vermin.... who does ?
7) The thing I love best about Mr Picket Fence is his sense of humour...he makes me laugh heartily at least 3 times every day. He is my hero xx

With that done ( harder than I thought !!) I now have to pass this award on to 7-15 worthy blogger's and let them know I've done so by dropping them a message . Sneak a peek at these girls pages,  I've put them in no particular order, they all make my heart smile :)
Adeline Country Cottage
Deekie Bell Design Studio
Five Brothers One Sister
Lucy Violet Vintage
Bower Bird
Shoestring Splendour
3 Pickles
Time Worn Style

All lovely blogs, so do hop over and have a read xx

After many requests ..... The kid proof Sponge cake recipe :)
5 eggs and a pinch of salt in the mixer for 10 minutes , gradually adding 1 cup of caster sugar over the first two minutes. When the mixture is light and fluffy very gently fold in, with a metal spoon 3/4 of a cup of sifted s/r flour and 1/2 a cup of cornflour. Pour the mixture into 2 greased spring form pans {with non stick paper on the bases} and bake for 20 minutes in an oven at 180 degrees Celsius . Run a knife around the edge and release immediately, cream, icing, and eat xx


 
Linking in with Sarah from  A Beach Cottage Good Life Wednesday

A Heart-felt Thank-you. If I Knew You Were Coming I'd Have Baked A Cake !

Hello gorgeous Picket Fence friends!
 Wow , it's been a big week in blog land :) So many visitors, I'm thrilled . This is really just a very quick thank-you to all that have visited my blog, my stats have soared and your beautiful comments make me look at my family and smile xx
I went to a garage sale this morning and found the sweetest little wire cake stand. Yay time to make another cake !

We made a basic sponge, you know, five eggs , some sugar and flour, a lot of air and a hot oven, if you want my recipe, let me know and I'll post it. In the mean time, I thought I'd share some photos of the Picket Fence Children cracking some eggs, the recipe called for 5 eggs  :) we went through 10. If there was a sound track here, it would be a chorus of giggles, with the odd Eeewwww to break the laughter! I love the way children break eggs, its a steep learning curve.

 

 We had fun with this alone... The cake was a bonus xx

 Add some icing, some cream, a Cadbury Flake, some hungry tummy's and yep, you have a recipe for a wonderful afternoon. Another, more wordy, post coming soon, I promise :) This lucky Picket Fence Mummy was given an award! More about that shortly.
Until then, enjoy your weekend, maybe even ( bad joke alert).....get cracking  xx

A White Cane Chest of Drawers and A Sewing Table.

Hello Picket Fence Friends, Wow what a fabulous weekend and here we are hopping into Tuesday already :)
A few weeks ago I picked up some Garage sale treasure. One of the highlights of my week is the Saturday morning thrill of a garage sale. I'm in a fairly full house at the best of times, years of collecting and a family of six has resulted in a house packed to the rafters so these days I work in terms of hunting for things based on need, or purchasing with a promise to myself that in bringing home the said item I will part with something else .

I've been hunting a chest of drawers for a little while now, Miss Teen Picket Fence needs no encouragement to leave her clothes scattered across her floor, she's perfected same, she has a lovely big cupboard, however her very flimsy chest of drawers gave up a drawer around a month ago, and the "floordrobe" has never looked finer ;)

When I spied this mission brown cane set of drawers, I knew I'd hit pay dirt, I love cane, and with some paint and different knobs I felt it could look quite lovely, the $10 asking price I paid in a heartbeat, threw it in my van and smiled all the way home. The tray on top is lovely too, it came with 15 kg of copper nails, but I loved the industrial patina, polished up, it will hold crayons and pencils for the Picket Fence children / artists ;)

 After 3 coats of Dulux "Antique White USA" it looked like a different piece and with the addition of some glass knobs from my personal stash I think it takes on quite an elegant shabby air .

 Here's a close up of one of my treasured glass knobs, I squirrel these away, finding them on eBay, and second hand stores, actually, sometimes I buy furniture just for the fittings. With old glass handles, in my eyes, the beauty is in their imperfection, a lot like people, it's their tarnish and patina earned from years of use, that give them value. The easily obtained reproductions just don't swing it for me, I love my vintage xx
 The other exciting part of my week was the purchase of a sewing machine, Mr Picket Fence came home with our newest addition. Obviously my years of not so subtle hinting had not been in vain, and with a generous sale at a local store we had a deal. Happy wife, brownie points for Mr Picket Fence and little girls eager to learn how to sew, we were all happy.

 The story continues as alas, again I needed somewhere to put it. I dragged out an old table stored under the house, it had a pretty blue laminate top but it's charm ended there, ugly stained pine legs left it looking a little tragic, but on the upside it was a good size and sturdy ....

 Again,out came the paint and the perfect spot for a decal I'd lashed out on, (I know it's too far to the left) I fixed it after I took the picture :) forgive me .

 Here's a closer look at the decal , made by Mae they are fabric ,reusable and oh so sweet xx
 I have a room in the house which was serving as our "chuck it" room  basically anything which didn't fit anywhere else ended up in here, along with (lol) dusty exercise bikes, and future eBay items, piles of fabric and clothes to be sent to charity, think messy room of shame and you'd be close. I'm working on converting this into a sewing room, the desk is a start. I will show you when it's done.
 Feel free to leave a comment, as I love comments and do join me on facebook , the link is also on my side bar :) I  hope you have a wonderful week, doing what you love with people that appreciate you, and thank you for stopping by (your visits make my day) xx
                                                                       Linking up with Sarah's Abeachcottage Wednesday Linky Party