January 2012

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A Perfect Moment

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Loving this shot of turquoise inspiration. What a fabulous vibrant colour this is. It reminds me of the colour of the water in Bora Bora. I also love this colour used as highlight in a beach house - it injects colour, fun and energy into the space. Toss in some turquoise scatter cushions, add a table lamp or some ceramic bowls in turquoise or splash around some turquoise artwork and watch the place come alive!

1. Man boards 2. Mila Hanging Pendant Lamp 3. Lithuanian Linen Napkins & Placemats 4. Glass Bottle Collection 5. Dauville Aqua Nesting Bowls 6. Wooden Spreader 7. Embroidered Flower Linen Pillows 8. Covered Jars with Blue Stripe 9. Mila Table Lamp

Melissah xox

Images via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Vintage Beach Chic

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I had an indulgent night in on my own last night - well not quite on my own, I had Marilyn, Grace, Audrey and Bridgette to keep me company! I watched an old movie, read the latest Vogue, ate leftovers (no cooking, no washing up required) and flicked through a couple of my favourite books on the beautiful Grace Kelly and the gorgeous Bridgette Bardot to cap of a perfect evening!

Melissah xox

Images via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Cottage By The Sea

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My husband I are keeping an eye on local real estate - hoping one day to be able to move to a little weatherboard shack within walking distance of the beach ... our little cottage by the sea, like these cute ones above. Well we found one on the weekend and went to the auction on Sunday. It is a bright blue beach shack in desperate need of love and attention ...or bulldozing, but it's in a great position one street back from the beach. Anyway my little dream was shattered when it was passed in at 1.8 million. Are you kidding me???

So it looks like we will be staying put for a while longer waiting to win Tattslotto!

Melissah xox

Images via 1-2, 3-4, 5, 6

Summer Fit

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The thing I love about summer is that it's so easy to get out and exercise. Most weekday mornings I go for a jog with my husband, year round but it's much easier to get out of bed and get motivated when it's warm and sunny. With summer comes so many great outdoor acitivities - I love sailing, beach walks and bushwalking, my husband is a mad keen surfer, the kids surf, swim and spend the holidays riding their bikes or on their skateboards. We are all just having fun doing what we like doing but we are getting fit and being healthy without even really thinking about it! What's your favourite thing to keep fit?

Melissah xox

Images via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

A Beach Bonfire

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Australia is full of deserted, secluded beaches that would be perfect for building a beach bon fire. I have romantic visions of guitar playing, toasting marshmallows and laid back conversations under a starry night. It's one of those simple things in life that I have never checked off my list. There's a couple of reasons - one is it's illegal in Australia to light a fire on the beach and two summer is usually a total fire ban so open fires are prohibited. I often see the remnants of a firepit on the beach left by young, foreign backpackers travelling around Australia. - they don't know the local laws and that's all part of the big Australian adventure for them.

Melissah xox

Images via 1, 2, 3, 4

Aussie Beach Attire

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This post is for Cynthia from Beach Coast Style - she has a fabulous beachy blog so check it out. She was asking what a 'rashie' was so what better way of explaining than showing her a pic! This is my new 'Roxy Australia' swimwear outfit I bought for Australia Day celebrations. I like to be colour co-ordinated so I also have the cap and thongs (flip flops) to match. So here I am as a typical Aussie beach goer at my local beach, complete with boogie board, rashie, boardies and bikinis. My sixteen year old has her eye on this one! (Check out yesterday's post if you need any translations on the terminology!)

Melissah xox

Photos by my hubby!

Contest: Pets and Your Well-Being

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You have to love the motto of the Best Friends Animal Society: “Our mission is to bring about a time when there are no more homeless pets.” Now that’s an idea everyone can support! And while this la

rgest animal sanctuary in the United States is certainly worthy of donations of money and time, the organization’s publication, Best Friends magazine, is currently asking for something that is actually pretty easy for a lot of us: they want us to share just exactly what our dogs mean to us.

The editors of Best Friends magazine want you to tell them, in 35 words or less, “In what ways do you believe pets improve your overall sense of well-being?”

Send your answer and a photo (no cell phone images) to: editor@bestfriends.org

While we’re thinking of the Best Friends Animal Society, it’s worth mentioning that they do an amazing amount of work. For instance, there are currently close to 2000 animals in their sanctuary in northern Utah. They are also involved in special events and outreach programs to help animals in need around the country. It’s an amazing organization and you can see more information about it here.

Aussie Slang

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When I started blogging I never realised that it would be such a global arena. I have noticed friends and followers from more exotic parts of the world have been a little baffed by some of the 'lingo' (language) I use in my posts. 'Aussies' have a reputation for being carefree, relaxed, happy-go-lucky with an entire vocab of words (slang) only understood by fellow Australians.

So to help out our friends from across the globe here are few translations :-

aussie (pronounced ozzie) = Australian

g'day = hello

thongs = flipflips

mate = friend

rashie = lycra t-shirt for beach / swimming

barbie = barbequee

prawn = shrimp

bloke = guy / man

icy poles = popsicle

bathers = swimming costume, togs, cossie

fairdinkum' = no kidding

The list goes on but these are few that may pop up in my posts from time to time.

Melissah xox

Images via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (That's me in the rashie!)

Happy Australia Day

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Today is Australia Day - it's the middle of summer and a public holiday so the best way to celebrate is to gather some friends, fire up the barbecue, kick back for the afternoon and enjoy the sunshine. Whip up a pavlova and top it with fresh strawberries and cream, make some homemade lamingtons and serve up some mini meat pies topped with an 'aussie' flag. It might not be the most sophisticated of parties but it will sure to be a load of fun. Go on, throw another prawn on the barbie!

Food images via Donna Hay

If you are feeling energetic here a few ideas to host an extra special Australia Day beach barbecue. Send out some red, white and blue invitations. Fill up some big ice buckets with cold drinks, hang the Australian flag from the balcony, hand out pairs of thongs (flip flops) with Aussie gift tags to your guests, bundle up knives and forks with a serviette and tie them with red and white striped ribbon. It's amazing how much more fun your friends with have if you put in that little bit of extra effort!