Christmassy Punch

In 2009 I released a children's cookbook entitled 'Little Kitchen'. In it I featured one of my favourite recipe creations 'Christmassy Punch'. The punch combines Rosewater & Cranberry flavours & is quite divine, if I do say so myself! As you can see, the colours speak so heavily of Christmas, with the bright-red berries & hints of grass-green mint. The first 'Little Kitchen' cookbook is on its second print-run & is available for purchase online.

www.littlekitchen.com.au

Christmas meringues

It's no secret that I love poring over Martha Stewart's annual Christmas magazine. These sweet beauties were featured in one of her past holiday-themed editions, much to my delight. Mini peppermint meringues with a swirl of red colouring do much to gladden the heart. They would make a welcome edition to my dessert table come Christmas-time!

www.marthastewart.com

Christmas tea-towel

This gorgeous screen-printed tea-towel is from Australian mother & daughter team 'Annabel Trends'. The company started in 1967 & is now one of Australia's leading giftware retailers. I love the graphics & colours chosen....so celebratory!

www.annabeltrends.com.au

The Propery (Christmas)

Megan Morton is an Australian-based stylist & author who has opened up decorating mecca, 'The Propery' in Alexandria, NSW. 'The Propery' is a treasure trove of mostly one-off pieces, hired out by stylists, to create the amazing pages featured in many Australian lifestyle magazines. I love how Megan's prop range doesn't overlook Christmas, some photos of which, are featured here.

www.thepropery.com.au

Cool Christmas Card?

Ok. I'll be honest, this isn't a Christmas card per se BUT wouldn't this concept make an awesome festive greeting? I love how this brochure folds out to become a 7-point star. This piece features in the folio of Daylesford-based visual designers 'The Foundry'. I recently visited their store & really liked their design asthetic.

www.thefoundry.com.au

Vintage Christmas Baubles

Anyone who knows me well, knows I love collecting vintage, festive-themed decorations. I started my collection at 12 years old & have steadily built on it year after year. My collection includes my grandfather's glass bird decorations from when he lived in Switzerland. My parents' Christmas light set from before I was born & my paternal grandmother's Christmas figurines. However, not everything in the collection has been handed down from generation to generation. These vintage baubles (pictured) are similar to a set I purchased last December. They're from US online store 'Copperton Lane' who luckily ship world-wide!

www.coppertonlane.com

Christmas Cupcakes

Newly-launched & Melbourne-based, 'The Cupcake Wrapper Co.' creates cute cupcake patty-cases to pretty up any event. Pictured here are two of their 2009 Christmas designs which are available via their website. I really love how these promo images feature vintage Christmas figurines. Very sweet!

www.thecupcakewrapperco.com.au

Christmas Cookware

I'm loving Nigella Lawson's limited-edition Christmas mixing bowls. Fashioned from light-weight, durable melamine, these ergonomically shaped bowls are available world-wide from UK web-store BlissHome.

www.blisshome.co.uk

Laduree

'Laduree' is one of those places that has been on my 'must-see' list for longer than I can remember. Parisian in origin, this salon of all things sweet, has now grown to include many locations world-wide. 'Sweet Arrogance photography' captured this image inside the Laduree tea-room in Harrods, London. I thought the macaroon tree looked very Christmassy, hence it's inclusion here!

(Be sure to select the English version of the website)

www.laduree.fr

Christmas Folk-Art

Sanna Annukka is a Finnish designer & illustrator who created this limited-edition Christmas biscuit tin for English department store 'Marks & Spencer'. A lot of Sanna's illustrations are influenced by the Finnish fables and fairytales she listened to as a child. I love her use of big, bold graphics & the simple yet striking colour-palette.

www.sanna-annukka.com

Designer Christmas Wreath

Both these wreaths were created by Australian Industrial Design team 'Polli'. The 2 creative Sydneysiders also design Christmas ornaments & Christmas cards, but these beauties are my definitely my picks for a Merry Christmas!

www.polli.com.au

Christmas everywhere you look!

Last Sunday I attended a Lavender harvest festival in Hepburn, a quaint town not too far from my home. I saw this fully-grown blue spruce on the day & felt inclined to stop & photograph it's majesty. It's not very often you see this typically European/American-looking tree in Australia. It looked very festive with it's maturing pinecones & offered much-needed shade on what turned out to be a 36 degree C day!

www.lavandula.com.au

Twinkling lights...

For me, there is something positively uplifting about seeing brightly-coloured Christmas lights. They instantly put a smile on my face & turn my attention to my favourite holiday, no matter what time of the year it is. I purchased similar lights to those pictured here over 15 years ago as a teen.I nearly forgot about my set, were it not for the Kate Spade flagship store I shopped dry in NYC last Christmas. The store had some very cute Christmas windows that my photos do no justice to...but you get the idea!

Decorating the larder - Christmas-style!

At Christmas-time everything in my home gets a festive make-over, including the larder! In 2009, I teamed a beautiful Blue Spruce & Poinsettia plant with some vintage Christmas elves, wreaths & ornaments. The large, holly-adorned vintage confectionary holder is especially precious as it belonged to my grandma. These vintage decorations date between 1920 - 1960. I think the simple colour-palette worked well in my first 'botanical themed' Christmas display!

New Year's Good-Luck Piggy

One of my very best friends, May, just got back from a festive-themed holiday in Europe over Christmas & New Year's. On her return she gave me this gorgeous marzipan piggy from Germany. According to local legend, it is customary to have a piggy (wooden, ceramic, confectionary, real or otherwise) in your home at the start of the new year as it brings prosperity & good health the year through. Cheers to that!

My Advent Calendar

I attended the gorgeous 'Magnolia Square' Christmas market in Melbourne Nov 2009. The hall it was held in was decorated in a 'White Christmas' theme. Lots of white Christmas trees, white wreaths & white festive decorations - it was quite magical! I purchased this unique advent calendar by LIPP DESIGN at the event while soaking up all the other gorgeous wares on sale. The ceramic deer used in my advent display was my grandma's. I love it as it reminds me of her every time I see it.

www.studiolipp.com.au

Christmas Creatures

How I love these Christmas cuties.....

Designed by Madeleine Rogers (founder of UK design house 'MIBO'), these print & make-at-home animals were released in 2009. You can purchase the Christmas Creatures .PDF online via PayPal. The file retails for approximately AUD 6 and is emailed to you within 24 hours of payment receipt. Alternatively, if you don't have a printer, 'MIBO' also retails & delivers pre-printed, flat-packed Christmas Creatures world-wide!

mibostudio.co.uk/#/christmas-creatures/4536565310

Christmas Booties

So I have a bit of a "thing" for brightly-coloured clothes & shoes? But really....can you blame me?

These indoor booties aren't available anymore but that makes then no less pleasing to eye off. How hilarious & cute are they with their felt Christmas bauble shoe lace ends? And plus, with lime green being my favourite colour they instantly receive a 100% approval rating in my book. Once again, all hail, queen of colour Kate Spade.

www.katespade.com

New Year's Garland

What a glorious injection of heart-stopping colour! I cannot wait to make this celebratory felt garland to decorate my home for the new year. Designed and fashioned by 'Purl' a gorgeous crafting shop in Soho NYC. Full crafting instructions await you! Please visit: www.purlbee.com/new-years-garland

The Original Christmas Card

What a novel idea for a family Christmas card! This holiday greeting first featured on "Abbey Goes design scouting". It was created by US design-student Abbey's partner, Tim. I really love how the parent silhouettes equal the baby & how red, green and Christmassy tartan put a holiday spin on this simple but striking piece of festive art. www.gogoabigail.com/blog

Little Dummer Boy

In 2009 for Christmas, I bought a real, potted fir tree, decorated it with twinkling lights & went with a slight "woodlands" theme! Think glass acorns, owls, squirrels and mushrooms. My table & larder were also adorned with mushrooms & greenery. The brightly-painted ceramic mushrooms that feature here (on top of my vintage toy drum) are actually salt & pepper shakers purchased from a flee market in Melbourne. They're circa 1950 & made in Japan.

Tinkerbell's Christmas

I often find myself arranging shelves at home with odds & ends, all through-out the year, but especially around Christmas time. This tinkering helps me figure out how pieces fit & work together visually. This image featuring 'Tinkerbell' & some beautiful vintage Christmas baubles is courtesy of 'Seesaw Designs' - a US Graphic Design & Letterpress Studio. This arrangement was displayed in their studio. Christmas simplicity at its best! www.seesawdesigns.com

Spotty Christmas Wreath

This insanely-beautiful Christmas wreath was dreamt up by Swedish craft bloggers "Pickles". The two creative minds behind this whimsical piece of felted holiday art, offer a handy little online tutorial on how to make the entire wreath yourself. Time consuming but definitely worth the effort....Don't you agree? www.pickles.no/wonderful-wreath

Nigella = Christmas

Best-selling food author & champion of all that is homely, Nigella Lawson first published her Christmas cookbook in 2008. At the start of this year, I stumbled upon her Christmas cooking series on DVD. I have been watching the DVD for the past week dreaming of spending Christmas in Paris, indulging in wonderful culinary delights (as she does at the start of one of her episodes).

Check out Nigella's newly re-vamped (and very gorgeous) website: www.nigella.com

Melbourne's Christmas Spectacular

Each year, Melbourne's casino stages a 'Christmas Spectacular' (essentially a Christmas-themed light & sound show). Today was the last day of the show so I decided to get on down & check it out. Granted, the show is the same each year, but there's something reassuring about seeing this show return year in, year out.

Uptown Manhattan

Every child's dream (I think) would be to live in a world where it was Christmas everyday.

Wouldn't it be magical to be surrounded by over-sized candy-canes, seemingly huge Christmas Trees and forever-smiling Nutcrackers? This photo of Uptown Manhattan made me feel just like a kid in a candy store!

My New Year's Resolution

My "New Decade" resolution?

To "live" a month in Paris (so I don't forget my French)
& a month in NYC (so I don't forget how to shop).....

Hope everyone's 2010 is filled with things that bring them joy!

More Festive Shoes!

Along with the green pair, these shoes also made it back to Melbourne from New York.

Green & Red shoes.....festive or what?

New Year....New Shoes!

Are these not the most magical and whimsical shoes you've ever seen?

Newly acquired, I wore these Kate Spade shoes to my family Christmas celebration along with the matching ring. Fun......