Pirelli 2016

Love the new calendar from Pirelli- tons of strong, real women shot by Annie Liebowitz

Yao Chen- who is probably the most famous person on earth

Serena Williams looking most intimidating

Amy Schumer looking gorgeous- she clearly ignored the memo that told her she could keep her clothes on 

images via pirelli

Gerringong to Kiama coastal walk

This 12 km walk is one of the highlights of a stay in Berry. Hugging the coast, the walk passes through country meadows, ancient remnants of rainforest and sea platforms.

We started our walk from Loves Bay in Kiama.  

Along the walk, there are plenty of signs to tell you what you will be looking at. 

As you can see the walk passes through tribal lands. The totems seen here represent the trees that once covered this area.

This land was cleared by early settlers who were given the right to live on the land rent free as long as they cleared it for farming. 

For many years, this walk was not open as there were disputes about the ownership of parts of the walk. Lucky for us, the local government was able to settle with the then owners.  

 As you can see the views are incredible.

I love these pebbled beaches and the coastal flats. A lovely sunny day is perfect for a walk like this. 

gorgeous! 

Happy New Year

From all of us to you...have a great New Year's Eve.  We're heading off to the Berry Fair then back to HKG tomorrow night.   See you at the store on the 5th January!

images via pinterest

Gifs made ages ago

Totally love making gifs...here are a few from a few years ago

inspired by lotta agaton

don't you feel like a fresh cup of tea?  

Tumblr

I know, I know- you think I have a lot of sites...between my wordpress site, this one, facebook, tumblr etc I am trying to cover all my bases.  The Tumblr site will be much more inspirational images for my brands  and I will link more to this for info about what is new instore.

Here's a sneak peek.... don't forget to take a look

eclecticcool-interiors.tumblr.com

The best guacamole recipe ever

I've recently consulted a nutritionist who has revolutionised my eating habits.   The biggest change is to minimize carbs in all its forms and eat things that are protein rich.   The other big change is to try to eat 5 smaller meals per day.   

One of the things that the nutritionist recommended is to eat more dips and snacks.   I think she meant vegetables more than chips but there are just so many celery sticks a girl can eat.   More about my nutritionist later.   

Guacamole is always a good choice for  dip.  It's packed with good fats and you can add tasty things such as cherry tomatos and chilli for flavour.   

My guacamole starts with a base of avocado, roughly mashed with a fork and bulked up with either sour cream or plain greek yogurt- then you can add the flavourings.   Really anything that goes with Mexican food can be added here.  Think ingredients of a taco!

Here's the recipe.

Best Guacamole Ever

1.5 to 2  avocados

3 Tbsp sour cream or plain greek yogurt- depends on if you want a creamy or slightly sour taste
3 Tbsp chopped coriander/ cilantro
4 cherry tomatoes chopped roughly
1 spring onion/ scallion finely chopped
3 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1 jalapeno chilli chopped roughly

1-2 Tbsp lime juice to taste

Mash the avocado up with a fork and add the sour cream/yogurt, lime juice and sweet chilli sauce. Stir until smooth and evenly combined. Add the other chopped ingredients, stir through and serve with a side of corn chips, bean chips or veggies.  Make sure that you do a bit of a taste test.  If it is too sweet because of the chilli sauce add a little more lime juice to balance the flavours. 

You could also throw in some red beans to add more protein.  

Corn chips are delicious here, but if you want more protein- use white bean chips or check out what they have at the health food store.   

I love drinking this with a fresh lime soda.  We are very familiar with this in Asia but it is quite uncommon in Australia- not sure about the US or UK.      

Fresh Lime Soda

serves 1

1/2 to 1 lime  freshly squeezed

lots of ice

sparkling water to top up 

slice of lime

sugar syrup* to taste

I like to make these individually but you could multiply the ingredients and make it in jug if you wish.  I always add the sugar syrup separately as adults like it quite tart but kids like it sweet.   

* sugar syrup- combine 1 cup of water and 1 cup of caster (superfine) sugar in a saucepan. Dissolve on low heat, bring to boil  and cook for 2 mins.   Cool in refrigerator.   

This is the perfect combination!

A trip to the beach

The simplest pleasures in life are much overlooked.  I know long walks on the beach are a cliché when it comes to romance, but it is one of the most calming things to do.

This is what the beach looked like at 6pm yesterday.  We're lucky our local beach is called Seven Mile Beach for obvious reasons. 

Oh, poor little jellyfish.  

It's always fun to write messages in the sand. 

Turning to dusk. 

Our new blog platform

Hi everyone,

I've decided to join blogger to make faster and shorter blog entries....you can still read the same content on the main site but I wanted to make it a little easier for me to include info from the store.

There will be lots more inspirational images and more everyday things about what's happening in the store and in the world of design.

from top left:  black and white encaustic floors and black steel // dinosaur designs platters making food prep easy // my favourite tribal rugs // writing some thank you cards // white subway tiles with contrasting grout // choosing this split rail fence for our rural property