don't let...

ffffound

love storm

ffffound

What to Go See This Weekend at the Movies

This weekend brings one must-see movie, Funny People. The latest flick from Judd Apatow (The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up) takes a turn for the darker and dramatic. Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, and Leslie Mann star in the bittersweet dramedy about a famous comedian who is diagnosed with cancer. He's forced to reevaluate his world. He becomes the mentor to a young, amateur comedian, and, in turn, learns a lot about life.

More of Summertime

Here are more pictures of Liliana Mumy enjoying the summer. Enjoy.

That's All Folks

Well, that's all from me this week. I am taking an early mark and heading away for a few days. I'd just like to thank the Skirted Girls again for having me over at their table this week. I really did have such a wonderful time. Thank you also for all of the beautiful comments you have left me this week too. You are all very, very kind. Looking forward to being back here next Tuesday. Have a great weekend!!

Image via Lolitas blog

Blue & White Lamp Heaven

I am so excited to say that we finally have some beautiful blue and white lamps available at Black & Spiro. As you can see above the girls have just unpacked them this morning and they are about to be put into the shop. We have some white crackle lamps and some really great orange lamps available too. Oh, and we also have some more new blue and white ginger jars which just came in this morning as well...just in case anyone is interested!!

jackie + john

jacqueline sent me this picture and this...

With all of the love that you post, I felt compelled to share my favorite love story - the following post to my personal blog which references an evening I spent with the man I love. He's typically opposed to any type of dancing, but on this particular [magical] evening he took my hand and led me to the middle of a crowded floor in a bar with no dance floor. We danced alone to the carefully selected music of the jukebox - the soundtrack of our lives together playing - and it was beautiful.

"As I sat in a crowded room full of strange faces,
soberly observing,
imagining the mysteries behind each set of unrecognizable eyes,
I turned to see this smile.
A sparkle in his eyes, his arms outstretched,
in an instant our bodies were contiguous
where, even over the thump, thump of the deafening beat,
our hearts rang strong against one another.
Tangled together,
we were a pendulum amongst battered barstools and broken tables.
Strangers' stories lay neglected and forgotten,
a heap of mystery in a cold dark corner.
For this is the only story that matters.
It is kept safe and warm between our beating hearts.
Eyes locked, we could not help but smile:
"This is Love."

Talking Around The Skirted Round Table

A huge thank you to Linda, Megan & Joni for inviting me to their Skirted Round Table for a chat. I had a fantastic time talking with you all yesterday. If anyone is interested in hearing our discussion click HERE to be directed over to The Skirted Round Table.

confidence

ffffound

Vintage Chairs

Sorry about the terrible photos however, I just had to snap a few shots of these pretty chairs I recently had recovered for one of my clients. They were her mother's chairs which we have worked into her lounge room scheme. We covered them in a black and white ticking and had box pleated skirts put around the base of them. I wanted to keep the timber frame in it's original condition so as to show the age of the chairs.

autumn

ffffound

i am so tired of the heat + humidity! looking forward to cozier days.

Summer Days

Actress Liliana Mumy has been enjoying her summer. Here are pics.

i'm 17 and in love

ffffound

i received this email:

"i dont have any adorably cute pictures of us to make a person squirm, and i have no perfectly flawless story to tell but thats what makes my love so beautiful. he was my best friend, when i met him, well we were both a little pre-occupied, he was trying to get over an ex that he had been so sure he was in love with and i was well on my way to falling head over heals for my fling which quickly turned boyfriend. though that didnt stop us from talking, we were in two classes together back to back from eachother and so every day wed walk to math from religion. well minus the days that id see my boyfriend in the hall, and i always felt myself fell a little sadness when i had to part with my bestfriend to talk to my boyfriend. not that i wasnt crazy for the boy, but it was just always so much easier talking to dominic (the bestfriend) then it was ryan (the bf). dominic was always there for me, he was a goof and a funny buddy and though i was falling fast for ryan i couldnt help but create a feeling for dominic that he admited to returning. i tried to shrug it off but it was hard. we dont have any romantic way that he swooped me from ryan, actually we started to distance, ryan was jealous and i wasnt in the mood to argue so i just, distanced myself from my bestfriend. it hurt. even after we broke up i found myself trying to keep my distance, maybe ryan would take me back, thats what i always seemed to want. no dominic didnt say anything about how we should be together actually the start of our relationship was a really rocky one, im not sure how we did it but both of us were suffering from a broken heart. i had only been with ryan for about four months but the reality of it was that he had become everything to me and more. he was my whole world and he promised me forever just to break my heart and string me along. though dominic was always there to listen, i avoided talking about it, really, me and my best friend could never really say we were just friends. we always 100% had a crush on eachother but it was never the right time to admit it openly and try it out. i remember it really clearly, valentines day was coming along and ryan was trying to win me back, said he wanted to see me i of course said yes, but kept a back up plan with dominic just incase. i knew better then to actually expect ryan to keep a plan and i wanted to see the best friend i had been avoiding so it worked. when ryan bailed like i had expected dominic invited me over to his house to watch some movies, eat some popcorn and just hang out. we watched the movie sure, his arm wraped around me. i remember my heart beating 50 miles an hour and wondering how i could sit there in his arms and feel so comfortable, like my heart wasnt completely broken inside of me and my life hadnt fallen around me months before. it was mr and mrs smith, we joked around about it, goofed off, cuddled, but when the movie ended and the whole room fell dark minus the small glow off the now gray tv screen he looked at me, and we sat as close as we could be and just sat there. our forheads touching and looking in eachothers eyes. i had never felt so comfortable in my entire life, just laying in his arms made me feel tired but i kept my eyes as open as possible to watch his. it took us a good 15 minutes siting like that for him to finally kiss me, i hadnt exactly expected it, i knew he liked me, he knew i liked him, but it wasnt like we were in the possition to date. though, that didnt stop us, we spent at least three hours every day texting eachother after that, and not the cute best friend things we use to say but cute i miss you i love yous your amazing sort of things that we loved. i hadnt been that happy since me and ryan broke up. we have no real love story but i am in love with this boy. 5 months later and i can honestly say ive never been happier with anyone in my entire life, hes perfect and amazing and though he has his flaws, i love him for them. we fit perfectly together and my family loves him. i miss him when hes gone and i try to spend every minute with him i can. when im sad or scared i talk to him and he cheers me up and makes me feel safe in an instant. were in love, im sure of it, hes told me hes in love with me every day since the first time he said it. he told me hed remind me every day for the rest of our lives. he doesnt believe in forever but he said he knows no matter what our love will be around even after our bodies fade away. its only been 5 months but if it were up to me id marry him tomorrow, i know were not gonna just end in a month, and im not gonna be niave and say ill be with him forever and have kids with him, but i still hope i will. cause hes amazing and perfect and i love him. did i mention i love him. so like ive said, we dont have any cute pictures and my friends dont go gaga at us cause were so cute, but were perfect for eachother. i promise ill never hurt him. i just thought id share that, even though it probably bored you. im 17 and in love, who knew that was possible ?"
_________________________________
it didn't bore me! it amused me. i am happy you are in love. best to you both ♥

Dakota Has Fun

Here are new pictures of Dakota Fanning that you haven't seen. From last fall.

waiting to kiss you

thank you sofia!

forever

thank you to patty for sending this my way!!

i cried! this is so beautiful and has to be one of my favorite submissions ♥

Friday Flowers

Here are some beautiful tulips which I just arranged in a vintage jug for the shop. I love this little corner in the shop at the moment and these fresh tulips fit right in. I hope you have a great weekend. See you next time!

xx

Anna

kissed into a smile

thank you to hannah!!

’never a lip is curved with pain
that can't be kissed into smile again.’
-brete harte

Cupboard Makeover

I have an old cupboard at home just like this one however, at the moment mine certainly isn't looking as chic as this one.

At the shop I have lots of bits of left over wallpaper from displays we have done. I'm thinking I might use some of these bits to paper the back of my cupboard door.

My little cupboard is in a hallway near our kitchen and currently it is bursting at the seams with sheets and towels. I think I should move the sheets and towels into my larger laundry cupboard and fill this little one with some of my special pieces of china.

This pretty image has inspired me.

Image - Vogue Living

things i like

thanks j

one time...

One time, i started bleeding nose blood out of nowhere.
And i have a napkin in my pocket so I start to wipe the blood away,
and right away he yells "No what are u doing!?" And then he puts the whole napkin in my
nose. I felt so stupid sitting there on the bench next to him with a whole napkin
stuck up in my nose. About a minute later something falls down from the tree above us.
And you know that second when something has just happened but none of you can figure out what?
We had a moment like that. Until we realized that a bird just pooped on my forehead/jacket.
We both started laughing our buts of. "STOP LAUGHING!" I said.
He stopped laughing saying "I'm sorry! But... You would have laughed just the same way if
a bird pooped on my face..." And he was so right. So there we were.
Me with a napkin in my nose and bird poop on my forehead, and him wiping the poo of.

Now he will always remember me as "That girl who started bleeding nose blood at the same time
a bird pooped on her".

We have stuck with each other for 9 months now. I know that I don't show it that well,
but Holy fuck - I LOVE this man.
___________________________________
thank you hanna for sharing your pic + your story!

From the Files

This image {above} is one I've kept on file since mid last year. It's from an article Inside Out magazine did {May/June 2008 issue} on former Vogue Entertaining & Travel & Vogue Living Editor, Sharyn Storrier Lyneham's home.

After spotting this image in my files earlier this week I remembered that Vogue Living had done a story on Sharyn's home too {January/February 2008 issue}. I found a copy of the story and thought I would post the image Vogue Living published of this very same room.

I just adore the look of this sunroom - it's so fresh and pretty, inviting and mismatched and how divine are the fresh Hydrangeas?! Apparently those to die for cushions on the cane chairs are vintage.

These days Sharyn is in partnership with Australian Fashion Queen Belinda Seper in their unique concept store, Edit.

Image 1 - Inside Out Magazine, Image 2 - Vogue Living via Edit

Looking Forward To This...

Michelle Adams is at it again with her business partner, photographer Patrick Cline. Here's what they are about to launch into;

{Excerpt taken from M.A. Belle}

In a time when shelter publications are turning their last pages...

OUR MISSION is to reopen the doors of accessible design. By embracing an online platform we provide inspiration at the click of a finger, directly connecting our readers to their favorite products and resources. Our freedom from page limits means that we can share more content in each issue, delivering an intimate look into the way people really live. At Lonny, we value independent thinking and believe not in following trends but rather in making choices that lead to happiness. We believe that good design and affordable design can coexist and that true inspiration can be found in the teeniest of homes or in the grandest of spaces.

Coming Fall 2009 ;)

I will definitely be checking back for updates on their new venture!

A Fresh New Life

In my work I try as much as possible to encourage my clients to reuse, repurpose, and reinvent their old pieces or pieces which may have been passed down to them from family members. I often get little old stools or chairs or lamps dropped into me from clients wanting me to choose a fabric which would work with the rest of their things. They usually just leave it up to me and then I deliver the piece back to them with a fresh new look.

I was recently asked by one of my lovely clients to make some cushions out of some old embroideries she had. I thought I would post them here today as I have become a little obsessed with them myself. I wish I could take them home and add them to my cushion collection. I think they look great mixed with the black and white geometric cushion. They even have the old pencil markings on the fabric which we kept.

Images - Anna Spiro

no matter what i do...

ffffound

Jodi Lyn O'Keefe's Breakout Role

Anyone who regularly watched Prison Break the last two seasons might find it hard to believe that Jodi Lyn O’Keefe considers herself a mild-mannered pacifist.

“I’m really non-confrontational... I don’t even like to argue,” said O’Keefe, who played to perfection the ruthlessly homicidal operative Gretchen Morgan, aka Susan B. Anthony, on the nail-biting serial drama. The blue-eyed beauty regularly doled out punishment as if ice water coursed through her veins -- until Fox cancelled the series after four seasons of surprise and suspense.

It turns out, however, that Prison Break’s death sentence has gotten a very temporary stay of execution. Fans of Michael Scofield and his felonious cohorts will be treated to one last adventure in the form of a direct-to-DVD movie entitled Prison Break: The Final Break. And as fate would have it, the recently incarcerated Gretchen plays a major role in Scofield’s final caper, which, true to formula, involves yet another prison escape.

The movie, comprised of two additional unaired episodes and released as of July 21, will answer any lingering questions surrounding what happened to the characters in the four years between the demise of the insidious “Company” and Michael’s tragic death, which left many grieving viewers angry or in flat-out denial.

Upon learning Michael’s fate, “I kinda had the same reaction as everybody else,” said O’Keefe. “So we think he’s dead, but he’s not really dead and now they’re going to explain how he’s not really dead.” Since the series finale aired this past May, fans have been peppering her with theories on the show’s controversial ending, even proposing that perhaps Michael faked his death for reasons yet to be explained.

While she wouldn’t reveal any plot secrets, O’Keefe understands why some people are inclined to believe that the finale was a fake-out. After all, she recalled, “I cut off Sara’s head and put in a box -- and all of a sudden, I didn’t,” referring to how Gretchen decapitated Michael’s love interest in season three, only to reveal in season four that it was all a ruse and she was very much alive.

Speaking of severed body parts, was there ever a better pairing of TV villains than when Gretchen reluctantly partnered up with vile, one-armed sex offender Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell? Together, these two baddies could do no right.
“He’s so good at being so bad,” said O’Keefe of Robert Knepper, who returns as T-Bag in the movie. “I was actually nervous for the first couple of scenes we worked together. I was thinking to myself, ‘Can I live up to how creepy he is?’”

Previously best known for playing Chuck Norris’ daughter on Nash Bridges, O’Keefe not only delivered more than her fair share of malevolence, but she also discovered that she was a lot tougher than she thought.

As it turns out, “I’m pretty good at fighting. I did a lot of the stunt work myself,” said O’Keefe, who once allowed herself to be waterboarded in a torture scene because she thought it would look less genuine if her stunt double stepped in. “Then I’m thinking, ‘This is not such a good idea,’ as they put the plastic wrap on my face,” she admitted. “That gave me nightmares for I can’t tell you how long.”

Despite the occasional nightmare, O’Keefe has been living a dream for the last two years. “The most memorable thing about this whole experience is learning that I can actually do this,” she said. “Because I had my doubts in the beginning.”

--Brad Barth

Little Bits of Loveliness

Just because I think they are pretty.

Image 1 - Domino Magazine, Image 2 - Tiny Happy

The Hart

The Hart Lodge in Tauranga Bay of Plenty New Zealand looks like it would be a beautiful place to visit and if you were feeling a little extravagant you could fly in on your own helicopter and land at the property's helipad. If only I could flit off over there for a few days. That would be nice!!

Interviewed by Holly Becker

I feel like this week is becoming thank you week here at ABT. Today I would like to thank Holly Becker for the very kind post and interview she has done on me over at Decor 8. I very much admire the way Holly always supports up-and-coming young designers, artists, crafters and shop owners on her blog. Thank you again Holly!

never thought i'd find her

thank you nancy!

Stepping Outside

I've been collecting a few pictures of some outside areas I like. I thought I would share a few of them here with you. Creating a space outside which feels like it could well be inside is something I love especially living here in sunny Brisbane where we practically live outside....in Summer that is!!

Image 1 - via the libertines, Images 2, 3, 4 - via sweethome style