Tour de Melbourne
Recently I was lucky enough to get a long weekend trip down to Melbourne, sans kids, to catch up with my BFF Yvie and her husband Dan. I even got to see her Baby Bump! Very exciting!!! Pics of that coming soon. We had such a great time with Yvie taking me to so many great places - we walked up and down Smith Street, Brunswick Street, went to the City, went to loads of Hot Chocolate places (San Churro for thick creamy Mexican Hot Chocolate, Coco Loco for amazing Art Deco experience and cinnamon Hot Chocolate with warm brownie and handmade white chocolate ice cream) and even visited a handmade market at the Town Hall in Richmond. We went for dinner to a great Indian restaurant and I had a couple of expensive cocktails and some amazing “bar snacks” (they were so much more) at a wonderful restaurant/bar called Seamstress, that was decorated to honour its history as a former sweatshop, with fabric and industrial cotton reel art and old old sewing machines.
While I was there, I wanted to give the aforementioned “free” Canon 500D a spin so I did a little tour of their house interior. I thought you might like to have a look too - don’t you just love peeking into people’s lives and homes? I think we are all just voyeurs at heart.
above: they have this little row of coffee and tea pots on the top of their kitchen cupboards, along with a bamboo steamer and other bits and pieces. So very them. They love coffee and they love their little pleasures.
above: again in the kitchen. I love this clock so much. I always want to steal it, but they would probably notice me trying to slip it under my jumper on the way out. Notice the flash of red above the blind.
above: the view from a hallway window. Love it! Brick wall with green grass. There’s about a metre between the window and the wall and it’s not oppressive at all. I think it’s the old red bricks that have been there for so long. I really do love it, it shouldn’t be there and yet it just is.
above: prized possessions, put on Lay By and lovingly visited (and paid off) over many months. Such patience and persistence! A Shag artwork and some amazing “gum tree” lamps.
above: they have two cats called Stripy and Fluffy (actually they’re called Lewis and Dolly) and so I made them two more for extra company. They love them. They want me to make another one for the Baby-on-the-Way because these are not for Baby! Yvie says: mine!
above: one of many bikes in this house, inside and outside. I slept with this one in my bedroom when I stayed. I hung my jacket over the handle bars to keep it off the floor, but don’t tell Dan.
above: so beautiful. A light feature that is the first (and only!) item for the spare room - baby room makeover. Hey, you’ve only got three months left, you know!
above: more bikes. This time outside. I tell you, I watched a LOT of Tour de France with them late at night. I learnt a lot too - for instance, I didn’t know that there was a polka dot jersey and that the jersey winners like to colour co-ordinate their socks and their riding shorts if they win the jersey. Hey, it’s France - they love fashion.
above: I have to say that I don’t know what these are, but they have been on the wall at every house Yvie has ever lived at and there is something calm and beautiful about them.
above: they bought this for each other (and themselves) for their recent first anniversary.
And here they are - the most gorgeous and wonderful friends - Yvie and Dan…
Thanks for letting me stay and taking me to so many great places! Now when are you coming to visit us in Canberra???
EDITED TO ADD (from Yvie):
The butterfly lightshade is made by Alex Earl: www.alexearl.com.au (he has some other beautiful light pieces as well as furniture) and the little metal sculpture is by Peter Mclisky: www.petermclisky.com.au - I think both are based in Melbourne
Oh, and we got the gumtree lamps from one of our favourite shops in Northcote: www.inthewoods.com.au (We first saw them at the festival lounge of the Melbourne International Film Festival a few years ago and then couldn’t believe our luck we we spotted them in the window of In the Woods!!)
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tags: dan, family, friends, holiday, melbourne, tour, visit, yvette, yvie
Oh, I just love the light feature - so gorgeous!!
Oh, I HAVE to know where that light fixture comes from! I need it…
Kelly and Jess, I updated the post with the info about where to buy many of the things mentioned in the post! Thanks for prompting me!