Coffee After Soccer

Most winter Saturdays after a chilly morning at soccer, my husband and youngest son sneak off to a local cafe.   They order a coffee for Dad and a hot chocolate for the boy (and sometimes an extra little treat).

Today my daughter and I joined them.  A little relaxation before I went off to face the supermarket and Saturday chores.

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Backyard Harvest: Rocket

As a backyard vegetable (herb?), rocket has much to recommend it.  It grows strongly throughout the southern winter when the rest of the vegie patch is pretty bare.  Its peppery leaves are delicious in salads; it can be steamed as a vegetable or mixed into a risotto; and it makes a fabulous pesto with walnuts or pecans.

Today I made one of my favourite salads using some of the rocket in the garden.  Simply scatter rocket onto a flat dish, shave some parmesan over the top (I use a vegetable peeler to do this), then drizzle over a simple vinaigrette.  Yum!

What have you harvested this week?

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Sweet Lavender

"Best among the good plants for hot, sandy soils are the ever blessed lavender and rosemary, delicious old garden bushes that one can hardly dissociate."
Miss Jekyll, Home and Garden, 1900


Today's post features lavender because it is the only plant (apart from indomitable rosemary) flowering in my winter garden.

Have you ever noticed how every lavender flower is made up of many tiny flowers?

Can you tell that I'm itching for spring?  

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Jazzing it Up

Tonight my eldest son played jazz in a hotel.  We sat at tables eating dinner while he and his band (and other bands) played on stage.

He played three trumpet solos and we were enormously proud.  For a kid who nearly died earlier this year, he is absolutely thriving. 

Unfortunately, we missed the last few sets because our first-grader was sleepy and we had to go home.

But I still have jazz playing in my head.

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Precious little things

Adoro toalhas de cozinha, adoro as cerâmicas da Ninainvorm, ando louca para ter uma peça dela (ah! adoro pratos na parede), adoro as bandeirolas da Purl Bee e também adoro as tijelas da House Doctor! Adoro mochos em louça, a cor turquesa, todas as cores, na realidade, e tudo o que diga "Love" - não há palavra mais bonita!

Fiz este moodboard para partilhar convosco algumas das pequenas coisas de que gosto. Adoro partilhá-las convosco.

Credits: Ninainvorm, Atelier Lzc, Emma Bridgewater, House Doctor, Purl Bee, FattyDeMonsey; Greengate

I love tea towels, I love Ninainvorm's ceramics, I'm dying to have one of her plates (oh, and I love plates on the wall), I love Purl Bee's party garlands and I also love House Doctor's bowls! I love ceramics owls, the colour turquoise, every colour, in fact, and everything that has the word "Love" written in it - that's the best word of all!

I did this moodboard to share with you some of the things that I love. I love sharing it with you.

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Cool like dat

"Great design starts with a good idea".

É assim que chegamos à loja online da Uppercase, uma revista canadiana de design. Com ilustrações e fotografia maravilhosas, a revista tem o charme vintage que tanto me encanta.

Visitem o site, onde podem ver online as últimas edições, ou naveguem no seu diário Uppercase - journal. Design all over, com edições hard cover lindíssimas. "A magazine for the creative and curious".

O meu presente de anos perfeito!


"Great design starts with a good idea".

That's what you find when you arrive at the online shop of canadian magazine Uppercase. With wonderful illustrations and beautiful photography, it has the vintage touch that I love so much.

Visit their site, where you can flip through their magazines or go to their blog Uppercase - journal. Design all over, with amazing hard cover editions. "A magazine for the creative and curious".

My perfect birthday present!

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Late night mist...

Hello my dear friends!

Hoje vou-vos mostrar um quadro de que gosto muito. Quando preparei os anos da Carlota, aproveitei para completar a decoração da minha sala. Não tinha os quadros que eu queria, por isso fui procurando, procurando e encontrei esta maravilha. Adoro as cores, adoro o orvalho da noite... e gostei imenso da pintora, a Belinda. Podem ver o seu trabalho no blog Gretchenmist.

Ainda me falta emoldurar uma pequena imagem que me enviou. Quando estiver pronta, mostro-a aqui!

Tenham o resto de um bom dia!

Hello my dear friends!

Today I want to show you a print that I fell in love with. When I was finishing my living room decoration for Carlota's birthday party, I realized I hadn't the prints that I was dreaming of... In my search for the images that meant something to me, I found this lovely one, made by Belinda. I love the colours, I love the misty feeling... You can check her work here.

I still haven't framed a beautiful small print that she sent me, but when I do it I'll show some pictures here.

Have a nice day!

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