EXPLORE all the trends – from styling to sell, the importance of art, the latest design trends, the iconic feature wall and many other ideas including what’s the latest out there…. This section will help you dress your home, throw new ideas at you and inspire you to experiment with “tried and tested” guidelines that I’m sure will arm you with the best advice to sell your property and enjoy life.
Christmas Delight! |
29.11.17 |
Need some inspiration and a new dessert this Christmas?
This is the yummiest and prettiest little cake to celebrate the season and one of my favourites!
225g unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped)
250g caster sugar
6 eggs
350g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
250g sour cream
icing sugar, for dusting
vanilla bean custard, to serve
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350ºF. Place the butter, vanilla and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 6 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves into a bowl. Add the flour mixture and sour cream in 2 batches and mix until just combined. Spoon mixture into a very well greased 10 cup capacity Xmas tree cake bundt tin. Smooth the top and bake for 45 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to sit in the tin for 15 minutes before carefully turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Lightly dust with icing sugar and serve with vanilla bean custard.
Serves 12.
Image and Styling: Kirsten Jenkins
Top 5 Homeware Shops |
29.11.17 |
Are you one of those really organised people that already has all your Christmas shopping done!? If not, don’t despair – I have come up with the Top 5 Homeware shops in the Eastern Suburbs to help you find some wonderful Christmas pressies to fill everyone’s homes.
THE BAY TREE – 82 Queen Street, Woollahra.
Beautiful homewares and kitchen items, especially for those who like to cook.
Click here for more details.
PIGOTT’S STORE – 53 Ocean Street, Woollahra.
Pigott’s sell a range of Indian hand blocked printed fabrics, quilts with matching pillowcases, tablecloths and napkins, dresses, tops, nighties, sponge bags and melamine trays and waste bins. They also stock a changing range of furnishings, lamp bases and shades, throws, cushions, rattan ware, embroidered bed linen and accessories sold only in store.
Click here for more details.
EIGHTEEN TEN – 66 Queen Street, Woollahra.
THE design store for more than twenty years! They carry a variety of homeware brands from around the world to offer you a choice when decorating your home or looking for that special gift for your loved ones. Extensive range of travel goods for business, leisure and everyday use including Tom Dixon, Mandarina Duck and more.
Click here for more details.
Image: Instagram
PAPIER D’AMOUR – 8 Cross Street, Double Bay.
If you’re serious about stationery, Papier d’Amour is a must-visit. Their dark wooden interiors give the store an elegant vibe – and they offer monogramming for your planners and notebooks, which will make you feel very important in office meetings. Towards the back of the shop lie stacks of paper and envelopes in colours you won’t normally find, like mustard, aqua and fuschia.
Click here for more details.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS – 209 Avoca Street, Randwick.
An independent homewares and gift store located in the heart of Randwick, Sydney. The shop is thoughtfully curated to reflect a lifestyle inspired by travel, creativity and entertaining and is stocked with a colourful collection of goods that showcase the best of local Australian makers, as well as international artisans and crafts. Includes an array of unique textiles and furnishings for your home, sourced from all over the world. Indian blockprints, woollen blankets, cushions, napkins and tablecloths accompany resin tableware and woven baskets alike.
Click here for more details.
Australia’s first bubble tent! |
15.11.17 |
If you are the adventurous type and are always looking for the next new fun place to go then this is for you!
Bubble Tent is Australia’s first inflatable homestay. It’s located roughly halfway between Mudgee and Lithgow, around 200 kilometres north-west of Sydney.
The tent is designed to shield you from the elements while maintaining uninterrupted views of nature. So you can sleep under the stars but still stay warm!
Image: Bubble Tent Australia
The bubble tent is close to national parks, eco and heritage tours and cellar doors. Activities nearby include helicopter flights, hiking over the 1000-acre property, abseiling, canoeing and fishing.
Click here for more details.
Best of Woollahra – Cafe Parterre |
07.11.17 |
If you haven’t had a chance to pop in to the new Cafe Parterre, you need to now! I am loving the new cafe and can’t get enough of their delicious fresh bread and fantastic coffee – and lets not even start with the perfect peaceful space surrounded by everything beautiful!
Recently featured in Broadsheet: “Parterre specialises in antique objects that Haigh sources from flea markets and dealers in Europe. It’s all one-offs: one day there might be French windows from the 19th century or a zinc farmhouse table, the next day something completely different. The cafe occupies the courtyard behind the shop. There’s heated outdoor seating and a communal table inside a glasshouse that was imported from Belgium.
Image: Broadsheet
The menu has a small selection of breakfast items – Bircher muesli, avocado with herbs on toast, a breakfast salad with smoked salmon – and tartines (toasted sandwiches) for lunch. The croque monsieur with Dijon mustard, béchamel, gruyère and leg ham is a French classic, but of the other tartines, Owner -Haigh says, “the Australian version of French cuisine is more relaxed.” That means customers can order their chicken, celery, honey, almond tartine, or their tomato, basil, mozzarella tartine without the bread. Although with bread from Organic Bread Bar, you probably don’t want to do that.”
Definitely a must to visit for a lovely relaxed lunch or even just a coffee with friends!
Click here for more details
Image: Cafe Parterre Instagram
SELLING homes is not just a career; it is an art form – one that is carefully honed over years of life experience and knowledge. And, I can proudly say, that I still absolutely love what I do – day in, day out.
For over 30 years, I have immersed myself in real estate and have built an untarnished reputation in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, among my peers and with my clients – many of who are my friends. People say I exude positivity, and I accept this as the highest compliment.