♥♥♥ Le Creuset ♥♥♥

Today I just thought I'd share some new additions to my Le Creuset collection. This cast iron cookware is a dream to cook with and comes with a lifetime guarantee, so I always snap it up if I see a piece I like on special or vintage pieces at bargain prices.

The new collection in Rosemary green is so pretty, such a gorgeous colour and this 24cm casserole is perfect for soups :-)

This 22cm casserole in the Dune/Almond colour is perfect for mashed potatoes cooked in chicken stock and mixed with chives.

This limited edition 22cm shallow casserole comes in really handy for my cheesy rice bake, yum!

This wok is MASSIVE!!! I love Thai green curries and chicken chow mein.

Ever since finding my first vintage Le Creuset saucepans designed by Enzo Mari I have never looked back. I much prefer these to cooking with stainless steel or non-stick pots now, the enamelled finish on Le Creuset pots is a dream to clean up and when looked after properly lasts a lifetime. I was delighted to snap up this set of 3 pots for a steal, the wooden handles are awesome too, no worry about burning your hands on the handles!

Speaking of Enzo Mari designed pieces I am thrilled to have finally added one of his casseroles to my collection. He designed these for Le Creueset in 1972 and this one is in lovely condition. I also have a lime green baker designed by him.

These stoneware bean pots are in the really pretty Satin Blue colour, they are perfect for single serves of comfort food like Chilli Con Carne or Cottage Pie, perfect to eat on the sofa with a fork :-) Try Sophie Dahl's Shepherd's Pie or Nigella Lawson's Chicken, Mushroom and Bacon Pie :-)

And finally, a utensil holder also in Satin Blue, I now have these in 3 different colours and they look lovely together :-)

If you're a Le Creuset fan too and would like to see the rest of my collection I shared it here :-)

Bowls, I have a few

My name is Alice and I collect bowls. Too many bowls. But what is one supposed to do when they keep finding such cute little shapes and designs? 

These bowls are a mixture of old and new, there are some vintage classics in there by Arabia of Finland, Fowler Ware, Royal Doulton and Villeroy and Boch as well as new designs by Jamie Oliver, Robert Gordon and Anthropologie.

Someday when we settle down and build MY dream kitchen, I will have gorgeous little purpose built shelves for all these beauties, they're just too pretty to be hidden away in cupboards :-)

Anyone else out there have a bowl obsession?

All mixed up

I absolutely love clattering about my kitchen, making a big mess with pots, pans and bowls everywhere. We have a dishwasher but I am "old skool" and prefer to wash by hand. In the 9 months we have lived in this house the only time the dishwasher has even been opened was the day we moved in when I checked that the last tenants hadn't left anything behind.

I've mentioned many times how much I love kitchenware and some of my favourite things to collect are mixing bowls and jugs. I have LOTS, some vintage, some brand new, all very loved :-) Here are my favourites...

I love this vintage large lotus bowl, it cost a couple of dollars as far as I remember.

Another vintage classic shaped mixing bowl, again I think I paid about $2 for this.

I got this lovely beige "Delicious" mixing bowl with spout in the Myer sale.

A classic styled blue Tala mixing bowl, from Victoria's Basement, one of my absolute favourites!

Another market find, a cute white bowl with spout.

I love this pretty pink Le Creuset mixing bowl from their "Junior" range :-)

I got this fab red snowman mixing jug from "Meadows and Byrne" in Ireland last year, can't wait to use it at Christmas :-)

This beautiful huge robin egg blue mixing jug is another Irish purchase, I got my lovely Dad to buy it for me last year then lugged it back on the plane to Australia with me :-)

I love these blue vintage "Fowler Ware" bowls, made in Australia.

Yet another buy from Ireland, I adore this Mason and Cash red strawberry bowl.

This Le Creuset teal mixing jug is from Myer.

I got this fab pink mixing jug on eBay.

I love the vintage patina on this bowl, a flea market find.

I bought this gorgeous set of Nigella Lawson blue nesting mixing bowls on Amazon, they are a gorgeous shape to hold under your arm while mixing :-)

And no bowl post would be complete without some Pyrex of course! I have never seen the pattern on this large cinderella bowl before, anyone know what it's called?

And you couldn't possibly forget my leaning tower of Pyrex could you? ;-) To see those bowls in all their glory click here.

Oh this is only the tip of the iceberg but that's all for today, I wouldn't want you getting too bowled over (sorry I couldn't resist ;-)

Even in a house full of boys...

... a girl's still entitled to a little pink, right?

Nesting

Wow! I HAVE been a slack blogger so far this year but I am officially back! It's been a busy few months with D starting school, recovering from our big trip and moving house. It always takes a while to find the right place for everything when you move doesn't it? But here's a little corner of our new kitchen that I am 100% happy with :-)

You might recognise my pale blue painted shelves from a previous post on the playroom in our last house, well let's just say that "display" is not a word in my boys' vocabulary and this shelf always ended up lying empty despite my efforts to make it "all nice" so now it has a new home in the kitchen :-)

On the top shelf (left to right) a cute vintage blue flowered canister, Villeroy and Boch "Acapulco" ramekin, retro aqua and white egg cups, red and white dandelion bowls from "Meadows and Byrne" in Ireland, a Nigella Lawson ceramic blue juicer and tiny duck-egg blue tagine, I bought a set of 4 of these in TK Maxx in Ireland, they are so cute for storing spices, salt and pepper :-)

On the next shelf are a pair of birdie bowls, blue and white on top is by Marie Claire from Myer and the bottom bowl is from Target, a set of 4 dessert bowls from Kmart, 2 more of those tiny tagines and a gorgeous pair of turquoise Le Creuset hearts from TK Maxx in Ireland.

On the bottom shelf a set of Jamie Oliver blue fluted bowls, ANOTHER tagine, a tiny orange Le Creuset cast iron casserole, a pair of bowls from Anthropologie and a Fortnum and Mason tea caddy.

Up on the white built in shelves are various vintage "things" (left to right), vintage green Royal Staffordshire plate, Finel teapot, Krups white scales, made in Ireland, specials chalkboard and red Persinware scales, made in Australia.

On the lower shelf (left to right) gorgeous Gien French vintage plate, aqua berry crate from Anthropologie, Nigella Lawson cookie jar, red vintage plate, Nigella Lawson cups and saucers, white rooster platter and pair of Fowler Ware bowls, Made in Australia.

I love the sight of all these little bits and pieces brought together, they get used a lot and I love the mix of old and new. I did a LOT of shopping in Ireland actually, so I foresee a post on that in the near future as well as a heap of photos from our trip, there are just so many it will be a mammoth task going through them all!

My Le Creuset Addiction - New Additions

I LOVE cooking with cast iron cookware, especially Le Creuset, it is an absolute pleasure to use so when I see it at bargain prices I can never resist.

I bought this fab retro Le Creuset roasting tray/baking dish on eBay for $24.99. It is from the "Mama" range by famed Italian modernist designer Enzo Mari, I've been looking for one of his pieces for ages so was overjoyed to get such a great piece in such a fab colour for SUCH a low price!! The eBay seller didn't mention the designer in the item description or title, if he had it would have sold for a lot more! I know from watching Enzo Mari pieces on eBay a lot!

This lovely pink ceramic mixing bowl with handle and spout is from the new Le Creuset "Junior" range, aimed at kids, well I'm a big kid at heart and this is MINE!!! I got it on Amazon in the UK, their prices are a fraction of what Le Creuset costs here in Australia, even taking shipping into account.

And finally, another teal / Caribbean blue piece to add to my collection. This lovely shallow buffet casserole was another Amazon purchase. How I LOVE shopping online :-)

Le Creuset - Old & New

I have made a few additions to my collection of Le Creuset cookware recently. First I'll share my gorgeous new giant casserole!

I absolutely love this Caribbean / Teal colour and have wanted a HUGE casserole for ages for my bulk cooking of dishes such as cottage pie, meatballs, fish bake etc. This is the 28cm casserole which costs $579 in stores such as David Jones. I got mine from UK Amazon for $175, had it shipped to Ireland for free and my lovely Dad brought it over for me on his last visit. Thanks Dad! You saved me $400 :-)

Now for my cheapest Le Creuset find ever! I got this 20cm pot in a Church rummage sale about a month ago, it was marked $2! Look at the lid...

When the lovely old lady behind the counter saw it she said "hang on, there's a chip in it, I'll give it you for one dollar"! I nearly cracked up, this little crack does not affect the function of this pot at all, I actually already have a couple in this colour (posted about here), one the same size as this with a different style lid, but these pots are so fab for cooking soups and making sauces I could never have too many :-)

At the same rummage sale I picked up this lovely 20cm gratin dish for $3! I have 2 round ones in the same style that I use all the time, love them!

And finally, at another flea market a few weeks ago I bought this Le Creuset skillet for $3. It was in HORRIBLE condition, the whole outside was caked in black baked on crap but I knew a good soak and some elbow grease with wire wool and it would clean up a treat :-)

The inside still needs a bit more work but for $3 I'm not complaining!

Let them eat cake

To be honest cakes never last very long in our house, but I still like to display them prettily for those few minutes before they are devoured by my 3 little horses (and myself).

I have built up a little collection of cake domes and stands, some new, some old...

This lovely 2 tiered cake stand is by Laura Ashley, it took a lot of perseverance to get my hands on one of these after seeing them online in the UK store who unfortunately don't deliver to Australia, they weren't available in Laura Ashley Australia stores who charge about 4 times the amount for their products as the UK stores anyway. Luckily I finally found a UK eBayer who sells brand new Laura Ashley homewares and was willing to ship to Australia. Hurray!

These vintage glass cake plates with domes cost a few dollars each in Vinnies.

Vintage glass cake stands in small, medium and large...

You can't have too many cake stands can you?

This glass dome cost $2 at a market.

It looks great teamed with this cake stand...

Or this pretty vintage cake plate.

And lastly, a simple white cake stand from David Jones :-)

That's all folks.

Now if you'll excuse me, there's a vanilla slice awaiting me, better wolf it down quickly before school pickup!