Mother's Day...at the Cottage Garden Nursery.

What a glorious day for Mother's Day here in Brisbane. It is sunny with a slight, cool breeze and perfect blue sky. I was over at the nursery early this morning, just before the breakfast customers started arriving,  restocking after a hectic pre mother's day rush yesterday.  Gillian's Garden Cafe is absolutely booked out and Catherine in the florist is bursting with  stunning bunches and arrangements and it was lovely to be in the nursery before all the busyness of the day begins. It felt a bit like Christmas morning before the children wake.

There are lots of new furniture arrivals to show you.

I couldn't resist this sweet meat safe cupboard. Such fabulous colours and finish. Beside it is a kitchen table with pale green legs and creamy rails...I forgot to take a picture of it on its own.

I had two of these large clam shells, but one sold as soon as it arrived and this is the last one. It is a great size for a fruit bowl.

Charming child size deck chairs. I love the old canvas and the shabby green paint.

Stunning pedestal base and one of two ornate pots.

Four folding style vintage chairs, sold separately. They have a strip of canvas on the centre of each back and a lovely warm brown finish with luscious wear. When I got home from the nursery I couldn't wait to sit down with a coffee and look at the new House and Garden mag that Chauncy had given me as part of my Mother's Day present and what should I see on the cover ? A pair of very similar chairs....funny  how that happens. I don't think the ones in the mag are as nice as these...but I could be biased..he he.

Stylish cane table, perfect for indoors or out.

Classic marble topped washstand with tiled back. These are so romantic I feel. It was hard to photograph in the morning sun that was streaming into the nursery.

Every Mum's essential, a sturdy rocking chair. This one has nice delicate turnings.

Silky oak writing bureau.

The colours on this simple stool are just a perfect sunshiny combination.

Valet stand, these are making a big come back as people remember just how handy they are.

This one may look like a simple little cane side table but actually it is a sewing basket. I will explain...The top has a hinge and lifts up. Below would have had fabric that was stitched to the inside of the seagrass cane supports  creating a fabric basket for all ones sewing, embroidering or knitting to hide away neatly. 

I hope everyone enjoys the day.  

Today's Bulimba Estate, Recent Shell Finds, and Inevitable Change.

This morning we went to this old home in Bulimba and purchased some furniture, bric a brac and other interesting collectables, some of which is pictured in its state of transit below. I will show you more soon. ( As a side note I always feel sorry for old furniture when it is moved. It has been sitting in a house for years and years and then suddenly it is picked up, moved and put in a new location. Yes I know it is furniture and has no feelings but still, if it did have, it must be a shock.) 

The estate was literally doors away from this house, pictured below.

It is a large old Queenslander on a corner block.

Kristen and I helped the previous owners some time ago and we fondly remember the house as "The House of Shells", as we purchased hundreds and hundreds, and that is no exaggeration, of shells from it. We had trunks full of them.

This is what it used to look like. If you compare the photos you can see that the verandah has been opened up. The enclosed verandah was where the majority of shells were in the house, some of which you can see below.

Coincidentally I had only taken a picture last week of the last of the shells from this house when I took them over to the WAC. It is funny how things go.

And keeping on the Shell theme, below is a picture of a recent clam shell find. It is a nice fruit bowl sized one as you can see from the orange I have pictured with it.

But to use Indiana Jones' Crocodile Dundee words..." that's not a Clam Shell

THIS IS A CLAM SHELL"  You can see the difference in size...yes it is the same orange.

It took some effort to move but what a beauty!!

Oranges and Lemons Omnibus and don't forget to check out the skips

I took these Giant clam shells to the garden centre on Saturday, I thought they looked great with lemons and oranges in them. The one with the lemons in them sold yesterday so in future all I will buy is two bags of lemons for display rather than a bag each of lemons and oranges for variety.

Retro metal phone table and patio setting that came from the same groovy, retro, house as a bar I have pictures of below.

I love old typewriters...

and old books.

On to the WAC.....

Super groovy bar with lots of fab features,

like the tea towel holder and cupboards,

like this fab pull out drinks tray.

Recliner mid century chairs, pictured is one of three pairs.

The windows at the WAC suited last weeks weather....full of umbrellas. So clever but hard to photograph.

  We went to a house last week that already had two full skips in the driveway. Always remember to ask the people if you can look at what they have thrown away just incase you can use what they have thrown away.

This was the first piece that caught my eye, fortunately this old art deco gal had no chips from being thrown away.

This beswick horse saldy was not so lucky and had to be put down.

Also remember (but for some you would have to be a hard core vintage lover like me to attempt ha) to check the bins when you see full skips, as folks often fill them up at the same time when clearing an old house.

This is how I found this bin when I opened the lid.

The treasure trove went all the way through (yes this meant I had my head in a bin...not for the faint hearted) it was like they moved the black bins into the lounge room and emptied the china cabinets straight into them.

Here is just some of the items I salvaged.

While a lot was broken, from just being thrown in, it was amazing what survived intact

Of course you cannot break old collectable tea towels

Hope you all have a good week.