Tracey's Vintage Art Clusters

Today I received a lovely surprise in my inbox from Tracey who lives in Sydney and is a collector of vintage paintings among other things. I couldn't wait to share the pictures of her clusters with you and here's what she had to say about herself;

"I am actually a part-time collector (my husband says accumulator!) collecting mainly antique paintings of roses (for my dining room), vintage art deco paintings of women (for my TV room) and vintage paintings of flowers for my daughter's bedroom (which she doesn't want anymore!) I also collect antique French fabrics (which I have made into cushions and trim on blinds for my formal lounge), antique silver and cranberry glass and antique sewing items. Of course, that is just scratching the surface. Full time (my real life) I am actually a Maths Teacher! One day, I will live my dream and open a shop selling vintage and antique items and one off pieces of furniture (I have more sofas than rooms!)."

Thanks for contacting me Tracey I love your vintage artwork clusters (my favourite being the top one) and I'd love to see some pictures of your other collections too!!

Fueling twigs & honey :: Our organic garden

Somewhere between piles of netting and silks and the buckets of paint and half emptied boxes, I squeezed in a bit of gardening this weekend. Matt and I were on attempt #3 with the studio wall paint color and FINALLY, got it right! We also went to a lovely nursery over the weekend and picked up a beautiful ginkgo tree (one of my favorites) among other plants. If I ever learned anything from studying Urban Forestry, it was that the ginkgo makes a wonderful tree in urban settings in terms of return on investment, low maintenance, aesthetically pleasing, and overall hardiness. While at the ag school to go to during my grad school years, I had to take a gardening course because it would be a shame not to! It was one of my most memorable and fulfilling courses I ever took and really steered Matt and I on a path of eating healthy organic and locally grown foods, or foods we could grow ourselves. I have been gardening since I was a tot, but never admit to having a green thumb by any stretch of the imagination, but the class did teach me so much and I'm hoping our little garden is fruitful in a couple months time! So here's to growing your own food the organic way! I hope that it will help me ward off migraines and cravings for sweets.... If I grow it, I have to eat it!

Our humble little garden. I should have taken a "before" picture. In keeping with the "organic" plan, I hand weeded this plot. It was pretty overgrown with weeds! I shoveled and turned over the soil and mixed into the top few inches, organic compost, an organic booster blend, and some extra soil to give our veggies a fighting chance. If you can believe it, here's the list of what I planted: 2 types of cucumber, Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, jalapenos, hot peppers, 2 types of bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, butternut squash, honeydew melons, watermelon, 3 types of strawberries, snow peas, peas, 5 types of lettuce, thyme, basil, rosemary, dahlias and cosmos (for color). Hard to believe it fit, huh? Just goes to show that you really can grow your own food in a small space. What is your excuse? ;)

Lovely cosmos bloom.

Cyclamen, inpatients, sweet peas, and dusty miller plants waiting patiently to be potted.

Our ginkgo!

Another Week Begins

I love filling my blue and white ginger jars and vases with fresh pretty flowers just the way Meg Braff has done above - so pretty!! I hope you all had a great weekend! To start the week here at ABT I would like to thank Grace over at Design*Sponge for featuring my 2 wing chairs in her before & after series - thanks Grace for your continued support. I'm looking forward to lots of great posts here this week so stay tuned!!

Image via House Beautiful