Casserole Central

Now that it's Winter here in Sydney the cooler temperatures call for heartier meals. Cheesey potato-bakes, rich casseroles and roasts all make for a happy family (and thicker waistline in my case). I am well-prepared for this cook-fest with an array of casseroles fit for a feast!

Here are some favourites...

A cute cast-iron casserole by Cousances - originally a rival to Le Creuset who bought the company in the 1950s.

A lovely Noritake casserole, I love the crisp white and dark blue.

A fab enamelled casserole with cast-iron body and steel lid, I love the retro pattern on this, it was made by Swiss company Von Roll.

I'm sure I've featured this beautiful green casserole before but couldn't resist showing it again, fab!

This lovely aqua blue baking dish is perfect to make a pie for two :-)

A Denby casserole in a lovely steel blue/grey.

Initially I loved the retro pop-art look of this casserole but eventually decided it wasn't for me and sold it on eBay, it now has a new loving home :-)

And last, but definitely not least, ANOTHER Raymond Loewy Le Creuset Cocotte, I LOVE it! It's wider and flatter than my turquoise one...

Don't they make a lovely pair?

Blues, greens and a little white

I don't think anybody's going to be too shocked to learn that my favourite colour is blue, followed closely by green. I also love subdued greys and whites. Here are some favourite finds from the last while in these lovely colours :-)

The colour and shape of this jug are absolute perfection, $1 at a Church Op Shop.

These lovely green casseroles were a couple of dollars each in Vinnies.

I've wanted a cook's measure for ages and was holding out for one in blue or green, I'm delighted to have picked this one up for $4 in Salvos.

I love the organic blobby shape of this salt crock - 50 cents in Vinnies.

These adorable pale green ceramic little mice are for holding cocktail sticks, cute! - $1.50 each in Salvos.

Beautiful duck-egg blue cups and saucers found in Salvos for $2 a set. There's a surprise...

... a heart on the inside :-)

A lovely little leaf design dish - think I paid $1 for this.

I think these are Sake cups - 50 cents each.

More Sake cups? - $1 each.

Lovely bendy vase - $3 in Vinnies.

A nice ceramic container for my bamboo utensils - 50 cents at a Church Op Shop.

A teeny pot - 50 cents.

A pair of gorgeous organic-shaped Alex Liddy milk jugs $2 each in Vinnies.

And finally a cute little pottery bowl - 50 cents at a market.

Soulmate

Nine years ago today, on Midsummer's Day, I married my man. It was a wonderful day, celebrated with close friends and family. By no means a whirlwind wedding, we'd already been together 8 years, we both knew we had found our soulmate.

I love this man, he's a wonderful, fun, caring and affectionate Dad to our 3 little men and works hard for us all, which allows me to be a stay at home Mum to our munchkins, something we both feel strongly about.

We are very different people but feel exactly the same about the things that matter.

I'm so glad that all those years ago, the guy reading Margaret Thatcher's memoirs, the man with the bright blue eyes, gorgeous arms and opinions on everything was the one who stood out and stole my heart :)

So childish!

I LOVE finding cute vintage children's toys and decor for my boys, things just seemed so much more well made in the past. Some of our most enduring toys are ones I have found at markets - when the batteries have worn out on their flashing, beeping and squawking new toys, the boys keep going back to the lovely old wooden cars, trucks and puzzles that never lose their charm.

I have featured lots of my kiddy finds in the past, here are some newer ones (forgive me if I have posted some of these before, I am getting forgetful in my twilight years ;-)

This beautiful wooden toy piano is a big hit with my littlest man - it cost $3 at a market, about the price of a pack of Paracetemol (I need them after listening to him hammering away on it all morning).

This wooden "mouse" is beautifully crafted, when it's not being played with it just sits there looking lovely on the toy shelf :-)

A complete Ravensburger Fairground puzzle, made in 1973, the same year I was born. See? I told you I'm in my twilight years!

A pair of wooden wobbly headed Korean dolls, I know there's a name for these but can't remember it.

Bambi was one of my favourite movies as a child, I was delighted to pick up this vintage edition of the story.

Board games are always popular with my eldest son...

...but it's my middle munchkin who's the biggest fan of these giant chunky dice as you can see.

A little man can never have too many cases to put his things "fings" in.

Another charming little vintage child's chair to add to our collection...

...Hoot likes to hang out here.

A cowboy lampshade, Babar height chart and globe add more vintage charm to our playroom.

Cute blue cars!

How cute are these dinosaur fairy lights? I will never forget the smile on my S's face when he saw them lit up for the first time :-)

I plan on doing something crafty with this cowboy fabric, at the rate I complete craft projects perhaps something for my grandchildren?

Comeback

Hello everyone, just popping in to say, yes I know I have been an abysmal blogger the last couple of months, it's been a VERY busy time but hopefully all will settle down in the next few weeks and normal blogging will resume, look forward to catching up and sharing some lovely finds with you :-)

Huh???

Did anybody else have problems with Blogger the last couple of days? My post about my boys totally disappeared for a day and then reappeared with the comments gone. For one horrible moment I thought all my comments on all posts would be gone, but it's OK they're still there. It's made me think about doing a backup of my blog though, does anybody know how to do that? I'd appreciate any help :-)

What if...

My love of vintage Pyrex is no secret. The fab colours, retro patterns and shapes are so visually appealing and still functional. So why, oh why, is new pyrex so BORING??? What executive meeting resulted in the decision "Let's just make plain glass". Boring bowls, baking dishes and casseroles, all look the same.

Lots of companies looking for a sales boost have turned to a new generation of designers to give their products a new lease of life, so why can't Pyrex do the same?

Imagine elements from these fab patterns applied to your new bakeware and mixing bowls...

Orla Kiely

Orla Kiely

Liberty of London

Liberty of London

Liberty of London

Cath Kidston

Cath Kidston

Amy Butler

Amy Butler

I think if Pyrex commissioned the likes of Cath Kidston, Orla Kiely, Amy Butler and Liberty of London to give their products a new lease of life, their sales would go through the roof.

Just a thought, sigh...