©Kara Rosenlund

Hello Monday! How was your weekend? Mine was a bit unexpected…. what I was expecting to do was to be able to catch up on some work; all my travels lately means I’m a bit behind on a few things…. however come Saturday I seemed to have forgotten about that plan….

I gathered a whole bunch of eucalyptus around the corner, I was meant to be exercising, however I took my secateurs just incase and came home with armfuls of foliage – still counts as exercise I’m sure…..

… the washing machine got a bit of a workout, boring, but a necessity  after consecutive days of overcast weather the sun finally came out and with it big blue winter skies…

… I went sourcing and came across this collection of old horn spoons…. love the organic patterns on them…

… I also came across a few old and weathered emu eggs…. I’m more of an ostrich egg fan myself, however I couldn’t resist how rough and worn this trio of eggs were…..

… Timothy O and I discovered by accidents, there were squeals of fright that we have a little furry freeloader living in our basket on the deck… For the past few weeks I had been collecting household paper in the basket on the hook to help start our fire…. obviously a basket filled with paper also means a great little warm spot for a possum to take up residency… the possum is inside the paper bag, inside the basket…. yup, total sleuth this possum…

… came across part of a hornet’s nest on the ground while out and about….picked it up and now it’s in an old bottle being appreciated….

… I found this old tray used to bake ‘Caneles de Bordeaux’, little french cakes… I bought all the ingredients and was about to start baking when I actually read the method that helps sometimes Kara – refrigerate batter for 24 hours….eeekkk…. so, the batter is in the fridge right now, I will bake these for the blog this week and share the recipe….. if it all goes to plan of course…

… Come the afternoon Timothy O and I found some new records… Ahmad Jamal, such a cool dude and an amazing jazz pianist….Bobbie Gentry, this particular album was actually a dud, sorry Bobbie… and some Muddy Waters &.Howlin’ Wolf, gold, complete gold…. love Howlin’ Wolf…. the film Cadillac Records helps fill in some gaps if you are interested in old American blues….

….. Timothy O filled the ute with a load full of firewood from out of town… he then had to chop it up all weekend into smaller pieces….. sore arms today I think…

…. while out in the country he also picked up some pine needles to use in his new smoker for our backyard wood oven…..

… so we cranked up the wood oven and placed the smoker in and smoked a chicken… not one of ours, a freerange one from the butcher….

… Come Sunday we discovered a salvaged shop had just opened near where we live….. so we thought we should pop by and see what’s kicking…. as soon as we walked in I was completely taken with this pair of old arched windows…..I love architectural salvage…. so what was planned as a quick swing by trip, ended up taking a little longer…. then the rest of Sunday was taken up by Timothy O apart from chopping wood and I moving this pair of great big oversized windows from room to room and rearranging furniture  completely trashing each room as we went until finally they seemed to work in the bedroom…..house is still a bomb….

Hope you had a great weekend.

K x

©Kara Rosenlund

Hello There….. yes, I skipped town for a couple of weeks… I travelled high and travelled low and am now happy to be back at home… here are a couple of images from my iphone I took along the way….  cheap thrills, pinching apples from an orchard, warming up by a country fire and my favourite of all – coming home and playing vinyls while watching the rain come down…. Back to normal blogging routine now.

K x

Photography Nikole Ramsay

It’s been a bit busy around here over the last few days… zipping here, zipping there….. I just found out that our wedding is appearing in this coming months’ Country Style Magazine….. can’t wait to see it….. incase you missed our wedding on the blog a while back… ten months ago, wow, that has gone fast… you can see part one here and part two here … and if you are super keen our honeymoon here.…

Enjoy.

Kara x

We are back tomorrow at the market with Frankie the caravan. Gorgeous weather has been forecast… come and check out our new wares…. Jan Power’s Powerhouse Market, New Farm 6-1pm x

K x

©Kara Rosenlund

Ah, the weekend feels like it was forever ago now, however this is what we got up to… Saturday morning clocked around and I made boiled eggs for Timothy O and I using our new egg cosies, pure joy… our girls aren’t laying right now as they are still molting – you can’t lay and regrow feathers at the same time they tell me… cheeky free loaders….

I had the ‘Trixie’ cosy….

After breakfast we couldn’t find the chickens anywhere in the yard…. sheer panic….. as I was hightailing it out the front to see if they had escaped onto to the street through the garden I heard a little ‘cluck’ from the sofa…. they had snuck upstairs, down the hallway and were all bundled in the living room together…. never trust a chicken…. they are sneaky… ha…

I filled up this new piece of furniture which I recently picked up on my travels down rural Victoria…. it doesn’t fit inside, oops. so it is happily on the back deck….

… I found some amazing blue and natural nautical rope…

… and then I worked late into the evening on a project I hope to share with you soon…

Sunday was a bit random actually. There is a house two doors up which is being demolished. An elderly lady who I used to wave hello to passed away about two years ago. She lived alone and would seldom receive any visits from family or friends, except the ‘meals on wheels’ people who would deliver her meals through a tiny hole in the wall. Her large family house has been vacant for some time, so when I saw the demolisher people on Sunday I asked if I could have a last look inside….

… an old bar which I’m sure saw some laughs and good times back in the day…

… the family room upstairs…

… bedroom…

… must admit I felt a bit sad after I left the house…. I just wanted to piece the story together in my head… people’s spirit and joy really are the most important elements when it comes to a home… if you don’t have that the home will always feel empty…

… so I came home and backed a cake…. a Madeira cake…. I love how the top splits right down the middle… recipe tomorrow.

… then packed a few days worth of bits into my bag and I hit the road again… I shall be back for this weekend’s market at the Powerhouse.

K x

©Kara Rosenlund

This recipe is a really quick and simple one. I love recipes that make you look like you have gone to a lot of trouble when you really haven’t. Something sweet and lazy for a Sunday afternoon treat. I even used store bought sweet pastry, that is how lazy I was on Sunday, however you are most applauded if you have the extra time to make your own pastry.

Ingredients

• Store bought sweet pastry
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 5 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup chocolate pieces
• 1 1/3 cups pecan halves
• 1 tablespoon bourbon

Preheat oven to 180 degree and grease a 22cm tart tin with a removable base.

On a lightly floured surface roll out pastry to cover you tart tin and to be about 3mm thick. Press pastry into the bottom and up the sides of the pan and trim around the edges. Fill with a piece of greaseproof paper and fill with baking weights or rice to blind bake for 12 minutes. Remove paper and weights.

In a large bowl whisk together eggs, sugar, light corn syrup, 4 teaspoons of melted butter and vanilla.

Scatter chocolate pieces evenly over the base of the tart shell. Pour whisked filling over the chocolate and then arrange the pecans on top.

Bake until filling is set, 45 to 60 minutes. If pecans are browning too quickly place a piece of aluminium foil on top of the tart foil. Remove from oven; while still hot, drizzle with bourbon. Let tart cool completely before serving.

Yum x

©Kara Rosenlund

It was so lovely to be back at home after a few weeks away…. I spent most of Saturday unpacking ute loads full of bits… including this ‘new/old’ mirror’….

… plus this beautiful old oil painting which I found at Hen’s Teeth Trading in Tocumwal…. a great shop I can’t wait to return to again….. just realised the mannequin with my hats on it looks a bit like that scene from E.T… ha

Lots of beautiful old glazed stoneware bottles which made their way here to Australia on clipper ships in the 1800′s…..

It was actually a cold and drizzly day and when you live in humid hot Queensland you don’t want to miss any opportunity to light the fire and put a cardigan on…. so we did just that….

A very good friend of mine surprised me with a very generous gift of Koto Bolofo’s ‘La Maison’; a volume of 11 beautiful books. Koto Bolofo is the first and only photographer to have been granted unlimited access to the secret workshops of the luxury goods house Hermes. Hours were poured reading these detailed books….

Our floral forager friend Phil dropped in and hung out with us at home… I made a lunchtime feast of trout and vegetables… while Timothy O and Phil dug holes in the backyard for a garden project…. thanks Phil. I got out of that muddy job ….then the afternoon turned into the evening….

… then Sunday arrived and of course it was Mother’s Day… so much love for our girls….

I received this amazing set of crocheted egg cosies from Timothy O the girls…. specially made by Vanessa Ion…. I came across her just recently while in Sydney…. my friend MM took Timothy O and I to another friend Nadine’s amazing bakery / cafe Flour and Stone and insisted we have the ‘Boiled Eggs and Soldiers’…. which came out with little crochet egg cosies… Terence the Fox was keeping my eggs warm…. I lost the plot with pure excitement! Thank you Trixie, Gigi, Bettina, Coco and Nigella….. how thoughtful of you.

Bettina looking at her crocheted self…..

…think she was a bit disappointed to find an egg under there….. ha….

… Mum and Dad came over to celebrate Mother’s Day and we made a casual long lunch together….

I then made a Pecan, Chocolate and Bourbon tart….. the perfect dessert for a drizzly, chilly weekend. Recipe tomorrow. It is so easy.

K xx

©Kara Rosenlund

Where to begin….. what a big two weeks it has been since my last post…. I am so sorry about the minor posting lapse…. thought you wouldn’t mind too much…. this post will make up for it I hope… xxx Grab yourself a cup of tea… it’s a long post today….

Two weeks ago I hit the road from Brisbane to drive down to Melbourne to host my ‘Vignette Workshops’ with Megan Morton’s ‘The School’... I also had a little capsule ‘Travelling Wares’  market pop up at the workshops…

I headed out to Toowoomba, through to Goondiwindi, down over the border on to The Newell Highway, through Moree, Narrabri, then out to Gunnedah for my first evening stop.

I came across this very sweet cottage on sunset at Gunnedah …. the matching candy striped chairs made my heart sing…. I imagined a sweet old couple who come out at dusk, sit down on the chairs and listen to the radio together or Slim Dusty and watch the cars and life drive through their town…

The next day was much of the same; out to Coonobarabran, down to Gilgandra, Dubbo, Parkes, Forbes, Narrandera, Jerilderie, Finely and Tocumwal…

I just loved how much the landscape changed…. Cotton country, cattle country and dairy country… so inspiring to see the changing colour palette of all these different regions…

One very classy Motel I called home for a night in Tocumwal…. even the 1970′s shag pile carpet was original in the room… eewww…..

The landscape just covered me with the goosebumps….. the beauty was electric….

Then I finally arrived in Melbourne Town… and was greeted by a beautiful array of autumnal colours…..

I arrived at my girlfriend Amy’s house which was such a comfort…. after being on the road for three days it was so welcoming to share a beautiful home cooked meal with her and her gorgeous little family of boys….

Amy’s rooftop at dawn….

I then made my way over to Small Giants in St Kilda which hosted The School’s Melbourne Roadshow by Megan Morton…. a stunning sprawling mansion in St Kilda, one of the last remaining, with grand proportions and extravagant art deco finishes….

An exquisite chandelier…..

Preparing the room for the evening ‘Vignette Workshops’…. it was so wonderful to meet so many people… thank you so much to all who came to the classes….. I had the best time and I hope you did too xxx

Foraged branches and flowers all made their way into the Small Giants residence… courtesy of my wonderful new foraging friend ‘A Floral Frenzy’ Phil….

The heady fragrance from the flowers was captivating…. and the sheer beauty of foraged wild garden roses as opposed to farmed roses was breathtaking…. seriously…. I now want to plant a rose garden in the backyard… and maybe sleep in a hammock amongst them all at night…

Branches and branches of foraged crab apple for the classes….

Part of our market pop up…..

Timothy O flew down for the workshops and on one morning we had a few hours spare, so we went for a little walk around Prahran where we were staying….. we came across Wootten….. this amazing guy named Jess who makes the most incredible crafted leather wares…. more coming on that later…. he needs a whole blog post dedicated just to him….

Timothy O and I then headed over to see Sue from Trove…. we share such a similar eye…. I just fell in love with her shop on High street Prahran…..

Early the next morning Timothy O and I hit The Camberwell Market….. founds lots of treasure for home….

Then before I knew it Timothy O had flown out and I was back on the road…. me and my ute, being so in awe of the beauty of Australia….

Loved this little cottages’ nook out the front……

Some amazing sale yards outside Gundagai with early morning fog…

Dawn on a foggy morning near Goulburn amongst the golden gumtrees….

So, that was Melbourne….. the next School Roadshow with myself and Megan Morton is in July, I have just released another day after the first and second days have sold out. If you would like to come along click here.…. then The School’s Roadshow goes to Tasmania….x

Normal ‘Weekend in Pictures’ coming tomorrow;

Sounds weird, though I really missed you guys! Glad to be home and back to blogging.

K xx

©Kara Rosenlund

Have you see in yet?… Have you seen our little cottage on the front cover of this month’s Inside Out Magazine? I can’t believe…. I really can’t….. there is even a really beautiful story on the inside on page 70 about our journey with our house and our general lifestyle…. the  talented Megan Morton wrote the story and I photographed it only recently…. you should check it out… even if I do say so myself…. it has been such a long journey renovating…. we feel ever so proud…..

House, I love you, you did well and you shone…. Timothy O, Mum and Dad, what an amazing exhausting journey we have all been on together…

When I get back from the Melbourne road trip I will share some of the ‘back catologue’ ‘before’ shots with you all…. you will shudder… I promise! She wasn’t always beautiful….

K xxxx

© Kara Rosenlund

Happy Monday! Here we go… Weekend in Pictures…. let’s just say this weekend flew past.. I didn’t get up to my usual cooking or recipe experimenting, or even hanging with the girls bad chicken muma... It was just a ‘Wham Bamm, Thank You Mamm’ kinda of weekend….with lots of loads of clothes washing from our last road trip…. On Saturday I attending my friend Lulu Lucky’s debut calligraphy class at the upstairs studio of Anna Spiro’s shop ‘Black and Spiro’… it was divine…. there was one moment where I swear I felt like I was up in a roof top studio above Paris, in the 5th arrondissement, circa 1940 and all the ear could hear was metal inky calligraphy nibs scratching on heavy weight paper….practising and writing letters to loved ones… while perfecting our kerning along to the musical talent of Edith Piaf ….. what a joy Saturday was….. I came home with my calligraphy tester sheet and shot this image….. let’s just say I’m much better at photography than I am at calligraphy….

Come Sunday morning Timothy O and I had a pot of tea in bed… we never do this….. and how much of a luxury it felt…….

… we discussed my driving route for Monday morning’s today’s road trip down to Melbourne to host my ‘Vignette Class’ with The School….. If you are in Melbourne you should totally come along!

My new friend from Sydney James Gordon and his dog Bob made this amazing paper rose for us while we were there last week…. I am absolutely in love with it…. I found the perfect place to hang it….. he is a paper genius….

I walked into my local secondhand book shop while waiting for my coffee Sunday afternoon and I found this book…. I only just recently discovered this book after staying with a good friends’ mother in Tamworth, enroute to Brisbane last week….. (more to come of this story soon)…. am in love with this book G.E. xx

Late Sunday afternoon I built up this pretty vignette…… I drew upon my pressing road trip for inspiration…. I can’t tell you how exited I am to get back out onto the open road and witness all the beautiful colours and landscape once again! Melbourne I am so exited to meet you all this Thursday and Friday in St Kilda! If you too would like to come along to one of my Vignette workshops you can book here.…. tickets are $120 and I promise you it will be a night filled with inspiration, laughter and joy! The best kind of cocktail.

Kara xxx