Hello Monday

Monday again! the weeks are flying past aren't they? My frangipani tree is in flower and it's very hot here with huge storms every afternoon. How is the weather where you are?

Summer

It feels good to be warm, summer is really here with trips to the beach, bougainvillaea everywhere and splashes of colour to brighten the days.

A lot of lavender

I have been busy in my garden with the arrival of spring, the lavender has been growing so well. I think the secret really is to leave lavender alone to just get on with it, it seems to be working for me here in Sydney. I am thinking about making lavender oil once it has dried, does anyone know how to do this??

A weekend in the country

We just spent a most wonderful weekend in the countryside where my parents live, it was a weekend of food and flowers. My parents grow their own vegetables and have the most wonderful garden, it was a visual feast and here are just a few shots with many more to come!

Broad beans from the garden to the plate and sweet peas and cosmos

February

February here in Sydney is still very much about blue skies and water, summer is drawing to a close and I will really miss it, hopefully it will stay around a little bit longer.

A week of flowers

 Summer here in Sydney is all about colour and the best place to find it is in the flowers.
I have white in my garden

Red, yellow and green down the street

and I bought pink today

I hope your weekend is full of pretty colours

Hello Friday

I have been exploring more of my new neighbourhood lately. I love all the wonderful colours of summer here in Sydney.

I have also spent a lot of time walking along the beach in the early evening enjoying the beautiful light and warm rays.

There is a real summer feel now, the temperature is about 28 degrees most days and the nights are balmy and full of the sounds of cicadas. It feels good to be warm and by the sea at this time of year. I am linking up with Friday Finds over at Kim Klassen's cafe today, do pop over at have a look.

The countdown begins...

I bet you thought this was going to be a Christmas countdown, no, this is the summer countdown. I took a walk along the beach at Bondi early this morning and the temperature was rising and everyone was ready for the sunshine and the summer.

So much was going on, it was fantastic to sit and watch the world go by with my takeaway coffee. Apologies to those of you who are feeling the cold at the moment but you are more than welcome to come and sit on the beach with me anytime.

Frangipani and sea shells

I am now the proud owner of a frangipani tree in my back garden. I have been watching it since we moved in in August when it was completely bare and finally it has flowered.

The flowers seem to only last one day and then drop onto the grass so I lovingly scoop them up and I have been placing them in my bowl of sea shells and I can't stop picking them up to smell that amazing perfume.

I am also continuing to do my course with blogging your way and for the last week it has been all about styling your photographs. I had no idea how much was involved including the need to place everything in threes or fives, the picture below shows my styled attempt for three items and the rules apply to food and interior styling.

Our homework last week was to make a styling board on Pinterest - how do you all feel about pinterest? how do you get followers? I feel a bit lost on pinterest like I did on twitter....

It's the weekend

How are you spending your weekend? the sun is shining here after a week of rain and thunderstorms. The heat continues to rise as summer approaches. So many lovely colours around at this time of year.

 time to grab a cup of coffee.

 and pull up a deckchair

Have a lovely weekend.

My garden shed

Summer is a time when the garden needs so much attention, constant pruning and weeding and general tidying as everything continues to come to life. I love my garden but when I sit in it I see all that needs doing!