A Neutral Breeze

Mum's things on her fireplace mantel @ Straddie.

Happy Ned having the best time on the beach.

Not another person on the beach.  Just me & Ned...pure bliss.

Neutral chair, ethnic cushion, antique mirror and natural rug @ Black & Spiro

There seems to be a neutral breeze in the air for me at the moment.  Maybe it's because there is just so much colour happening out there and I usually prefer to move against the current.  Not sure but it seems as though a dash of neutral is like a breath of fresh air for me right now.  Note, I said a 'dash of neutral'.  Don't worry I won't be going all beige but I really am enjoying a mix of neutral with colour. 

On the weekend I went to my parent's beach cottage which sits on the most beautiful, quiet beach at Straddie and it was a perfect breath of fresh air for me.  I can't believe that Ned and I were the only people {well Ned is a dog not a person} on the beach on Sunday morning.  We walked for over an hour and we didn't pass 1 person except for the man in his surf ski.  It was quite extraordinary and just so refreshing.  It's amazing what a bit of fresh sea air and time on your own can do for your head and soul!!  It definitely gets rid of the cobwebs. 

xx
Anna

Happy Summer Days

"Time slows at the Summer House.  The pile of books you have set aside for Summer reading awaits leisure time in the hammock.  The days begin and end in long shadows and quiet anticipation."  - Terry John Woods

Our Summer holiday was perfect in every single way.  We spent most days here at this beautiful beach swimming and playing in the sand.

We found lots of fabulous shells.  Harry's friend B found the big creamy coloured shell in the photo above.

Harry was obsessed with snorkeling in the big rock pools and looking for treasure.

And treasure he found.  He stumbled across this fabulous big old shell in one of the rock pools which he and his father snorkeled over the top of at high tide.  It now sits proudly on our sideboard at the beach house amongst all the other shells they have found over the years.

Ned our Golden Retriever spent every minute he possible could on the beach and if he wasn't swimming or running he could be found resting in the shade under the umbrella.

You couldn't wipe the smile from his face.  I am unsure who was the most depressed today coming home...Ned or Harry or Max or Brad...actually I think I was the most sad about leaving the beach.

Although most of our holiday was spent at Straddie we did manage to spend a few days down at my cousin's beach house at South Golden Beach just north of Byron.  Whilst there we visited the Easton Pearson pop-up shop and my cousin reminded me of the pop-up shop I opened about 12 years ago over at Straddie for the Summer.  It was called Holiday Things and I had totally forgotten about it until he reminded me of it.  Pop-up shops seem to be all the rage these days but 12 years ago nobody had really ever done it before....well around our part of the world anyway!!  Did anyone go to Easton Pearson's pop-up store in Byron or Noosa?  I absolutely loved the beach umbrella they had and if they were for sale I definitely would have bought one!!

Happy times were had.  There were lots of laughs and lots of cuddles and I cherished every single moment I had with them.  As Harry said when we drove off the barge this afternoon -  "it's now back to the real world mum..."

A Passion for Beach Hats Part 2

I have talked about my passion for beach hats before. You may recall that post where I talked about my love of using hats as decoration, especially in a beach house. Here are a few more images I have been collecting which may inspire you to use hats as decoration also.

I am hoping to purchase a lovely hat this Summer to add to my collection. If I am successful I may need to purchase another vintage hat block as my 2 other hat blocks are becoming a little overloaded. As a tide me over I recently resorted to placing a few of my hats on top of a vase I have on our table at Straddie as below.

Maybe I should consider a lovely hat rack for the wall as an alternative as I think Brad & Harry might be getting a little overwhelmed with all the hats piling up on the table!!

image 1 - tom scheerer, image 2 - toast, image 3 - anna spiro, image 4 - tom scheerer

It Has Potential

This little old fisherman's cottage {bottom image} is one I've often admired on my morning walks over at Straddie. I think this house has so much potential and when you look at the top image you might possibly agree with me?!

Image 1 - elle decor

Loving Ruffled Kitchen Skirts

I love the informality of ruffled kitchen skirts. I'm thinking from a budget conscious point of view this might be a fun option when we renovate our kitchen at our Stradbroke beach cottage. Are they a pain to use and keep clean?? I would love to hear from anyone who has had these before...

image 1 - mary ruffle, image 2 - skona hem

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

Click on image to supersize!

Well, this is it....this is where I say goodbye to you all for the holidays! It's been the most amazing year for me, Absolutely Beautiful Things and Black & Spiro and for that I have to thank you all as you are my supporters, my friends and my clients. Your continued interest, support and enthusiasm for me and my work has certainly overwhelmed me this year and I am truly humbled by each and every comment you leave me or email you send me.

Over the holidays make sure you watch out for the January issue of Australian Country Style magazine in which our beach house at Stradbroke Island will be featured {sneak peek above}. Back in October I was very lucky to work with talented stylist Shannon Fricke, amazing photographer Jared Fowler, intelligent and super interesting writer Barbara Sweeney.....and the very lovely Victoria Carey {deputy editor of Country Style}. What a lovely group of people they are and I would just like to thank them so much for including our Stradbroke beach house in the January issue.

Well my friends, I truly hope that you all have an amazing Christmas and that the New Year brings you all that you dream for. I will be taking a few weeks away from the blog to spend with my family at the beach and I will be back here sometime around the 19th January 2009 with lots of 'Absolutely Beautiful Things' to share!

Take care, Merry Christmas & bye for now....

xx
Anna

More Straddie Pics...

This is the main bedroom - I used an old cane bed head I found which I painted blue and the shades on the lamps are made in a new floral fabric I love. I threw lots of patterned cushions on the bed which I dressed with a plain white quilt. The bedside tables are white painted timber with basket drawers - perfect of the beach.

Here is one of the flower arrangements I did in an old blue and white jug. I placed it into a vignette on the big old white sideboard I have in the dining area. Note the India Hicks candle - one of my favourite scented candles.


This is the little shelf Harry and I had fun filling with bits and pieces found from around the Island and some pretty jars from the back of a cupboard.

Harry and I went over to Straddie late last week to get the house ready for some tenants arriving. I also had my handyman come over to do some bits and pieces around the place which was SO great. He hung the little old printer's shelf I found at one of my favourite junk shops on the wall above the blue inlay chest on the back deck. Harry and I scouted around the Island looking for things to fill it with. We found shells, stones, bits of wood, dried fern leaves, dried seed pods and a few little jars I had hidden away in the cupboard.

When visitors/tenants are coming to stay at the house I love to fill it with fresh flowers & foliage which I pick from the middle of the island....usually I pick lots of pretty Banksia and other Australian natives which I place into big vases. I do it in the hope that it makes the people staying feel special. I also love to leave little luxuries around for the visitors to use. For example I leave lots of beautiful candles, a pretty set of place mats and napkins so that they can entertain their family & friends on the back deck, pretty soap in the bathroom etc. etc. I like to make it the way I would like it if I was renting the house. Anyway, I received a lovely text from the visitors staying in the house at the moment saying how lovely it all was and they particularly loved the fresh flowers. So all the hard work does pay off in the end!! Please email me anna@blackandspiro.com.au for enquiries about renting the house for a holiday.

I have posted some more images above as I have been asked by readers to share some more pics.

Straddie

Well it was a lovely weekend at Straddie. The weather was beautiful even though it was cold. We had a great lunch yesterday with our friends and my mum and dad on the back verandah. I thought I'd share some new photos of the house with you. Please email me anna@blackandspiro.com.au if you are interested in renting the house for a holiday and I can send you some information.

Straddie Flowers

Last weekend while my mother was arranging her Swamp Mahogany flowers which she picked from the seafood man's house (see Monday's post) I was arranging Banksia which Harry and I picked out in the bush down a sandy track in the middle of the island. The Banksias have all been in bloom over at Straddie over the last month or so which has made the 20 minute drive from the barge over to our house very attractive. I decided to cut some for an arrangement on my dining table and this is what I created.

**Note to my readers abroad Banksias are an iconic Australian native wildflower/plant.