the cosby sweater project

Visit The Cosby Sweater Project for more genius.

Images: The Cosby Sweater Project. Via: Frankie Magazine

for you

My little gift to you for May is one more small copy of Forty Kegs at the Apollo (approx. 5x6.25" in size). I'll be delighted to post it to the first person to email me who hasn't won before. It doesn't matter whether you live in Australia or abroad, just don't be shy and don't forget your postal address!

Photo: Heidi Adnum

the end of an era

Every Oprah fan knows that these last few days have brought TOWS to an end after twenty-five years on air. The final episode airs this evening in Australia. In the winter of 2009, my friends and I sat in our tiny London lounge room and called the ticket line in Chicago non-stop for almost an hour. This wasn't the first time - we had been trying to get tickets for over ten years (like so many others!) - but it was our lucky day. The four of us went on to see two shows in Chicago and then spend up big in The Oprah Store. Mel and I used to watch Oprah together while we were studying at university in Australia: We'd take off one hour every afternoon to watch TOWS, become enlightened and eat a packet of chocolate biscuits. To visit Chicago and see Oprah, together, was one of the most special experiences of our lives. Will took this lovely photograph of Mel and I sitting on 'Oprah's chair' that was on display in the store. If you would like to personally thank Super-O for all the years of love and inspiration, you can sign the guest-book or send her an email. 

aedriel originals

Many of my childhood friends had those adorable hand-painted pre-school kids plates (not me, unfortunately!). Do you know the ones? They had the cutest kids drawings on them, along with their name (in best 3-5ish years old handwriting). I thought of those when I saw Aedriel Moxley's Simple Silhouette Personalised Plates. As well as beautifully hand-sketching and painting your silhouette of choice on the front of the ceramic plate, Aedriel includes the name and date on the back. A perfect gift for mums, dads, aunts and uncles, another great use for my clients' images, and they would suit just about any kitchen decor, don't you think? Wouldn't they also make a fun and quirky gift for your friends!

Photo: Aedriel Moxley

vintage fabric good will bunting

Over the weekend I finally got around to updating my Etsy shop with some new Good Will Bunting made from vintage fabric. I love shopping for vintage fabric because I never know what's going to turn up next and it's always fun taking something old and turning it into something new. Please meet these four blue-tone babies, Beach House, Blue Rose, Ice Cream and Lolly Shop. 

Photos: Heidi Adnum

laura berger

I love Laura Berger's illustrations. They're so whimsical and uplifting. Laura is based in Chicago and you can find more of her work in her shop and on her blog. It's hard to pick favourites, but mine would be Things I'm Thankful For and There Are Lots of Nice People to Meet. 

Images: Laura Berger

interrobang for mother's day

For Mother's Day I bought my Mum The Everyday Bag from Interrobang in chocolate brown. It's handmade in Sydney, Australia from recycled seatbelt webbing. It fits nicely under her arm and is a good size for the stuff most of us haul around. Take a peek at the shop for great (and unusual) gift ideas. 

Photo: Interrobang

baked ricotta with tomato and olives

It's been far too long since I last posted a recipe. Things around here have been ridiculously busy - more on that soon! The days are getting shorter and colder here and most of the summer fruits and vegetables are gone. I found this is Karen Martini recipe and thought it would be perfect for the last few tomatoes and capsicum on the vines. It's very easy to make (except for peeling the capsicum; something I'm really terrible at) and is bound to please your vegetarian friends and family. Pop into the comments for Karen's full recipe.
I used some huge, gnarly tomatoes:

Fresh thyme:

Capsicums (the recipe called for yellow but we only have green/red on the vine):

Fresh ricotta:

Ricotta on olive oil, tomatoes on ricotta:

Rest of ingredients on ricotta:

Bake:

Remove from oven when ricotta has browned:

Photos: Heidi Adnum