Monday 29 July 2013


The Fires are Roaring…..
Hi Vintage Lovers,


 
 
It has been so cold here........Brrrrrrrr.....I have spent the week rugged up.
 
We have the fires roaring since we have been home from our holiday. The fires have been fantastic, especially the oven in the kitchen. It is my favourite in our old lady.

 
 
 We have also been cooking on her every night. You can't beat wood oven cooked food. We even baked muffins last night in the wood oven.
 
 
They baked perfectly but we did leave them in a little too long.  It will take time to perfect the art but not bad for a first attempt. They tasted delicious. I have missed my baking and can't wait to try another batch of muffins or bickies in the next week or so.
 
 
We have cooked plenty of soup also over these cold nights, I wonder if  we need Agatha! I still can't wait for her to come though!
 
The plastering in the kitchen went well and looks fantastic. I will blog about that soon.
 
Hope you are having a fantastic week and keeping warm in this chilly weather.
 
Mel xx
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 


 
 
 
 

Monday 15 July 2013


So Many Ideas……….
Hi Vintage Lovers,

We are still on our road trip but on our last leg now. We have been back to Ballarat and are now in Geelong for a few days, then on to Mount Gambier before coming home.
 
 While in Ballarat again we spent a lot of time at Sovereign Hill, which was just fantastic for gathering ideas for The Old Croft. I am coming home with so many ideas for our old lady and her garden. Too many to count.

The gardens were fabulous not only in Sovereign Hill but around Ballarat also. I cannot wait to get home to get started in the garden. The hedges, weeping trees and maples in the gardens look fantastic.

The gardens were full of  all my favourite plants, roses, aggies, clivias and hydrangeas to name a few.

I have so many ideas and thoughts for our garden buzzing around in my head right now. It's hard to think straight! 






They make and sell quality items such as cookware, tinware, and blacksmithing, using tools and techniques just like it was done in the mid 1800's. We couldn't resist buying a few items.


We are coming home with two of these brackets to create a shelf above Agatha the Aga stove..........


and some S hooks for hanging on the old ladder in the laundry. I bought the old ladder earlier this year and have been waiting to find the right hooks to suit it before hanging it up in our laundry.
 

I am keen to create a similar look to this..........


 
We all loved Sovereign Hill and Ballarat and have bought a membership to Sovereign Hill to support them and as an added bonus we receive free entry for a year and 10% off all purchases within Sovereign Hill. Yay!!!!!
 
I can't wait to go back.
 
Thanks for popping in, Have a fantastic week.
Mel xx

 
 

 

Friday 5 July 2013

A Road Trip.....

Hi Vintage Lovers,
 We have decided to go on holiday for a few weeks. While we are away the plasterer and the electrician will be able to work their magic on our kitchen in peace.
 So we have embarked on a road trip. I just love road trips.
We flew to Melbourne over last weekend and drove up to Ballarat, a place I have always longed to visit.

From the moment we drove into the outskirts of town I fell in love with Ballarat. The delightful weatherboard cottages that have been lovingly restored and looked after for many decades. The old buildings in the city tell a story of the money that was in Ballarat during the gold rush era and each and every one of them is just gorgeous.


The beautiful house we are staying in at Ballarat.

Visiting Sovereign Hill (an 1800's replica town) was just the most amazing experience. I loved every minute of it. The level of detail was incredible and for the day we simply forgot the real world beyond the gates. All the shops sold quality items just like they used to be made, not the plastic junk of our era that is thrown out in no time at all.


The main street of Sovereign Hill.


The kids loved gold panning........



and discovering the forgotten game of coits.
 


 There was so much to see and do. We spent two whole days in Sovereign hill and I would love to go back for another day if we have the time.

We are heading to Melbourne this weekend to see the football and do some city sight seeing which should be a lot of fun.
 
Our trip takes us back to Ballarat next week though - I just can't wait..........

 Have a great weekend.
Mel xx