Sallys house - & the Lavender farm

 

Hello dear friends & readers

 

It is no secret to you all that I like to live my life vicariously through other peoples homes :-)

And so at the begining of December when my friend Jane suggested we take a drive up to Auckland to see her sister Sallys new home  -

I jumped at the chance!

I dont get up to the city very often -

so it is such a treat for me when I do

Sally had moved house since Jane & I last visited her together

She was now in an amazing place perched on the side of a hill

with wonderful views through the bush to the water



Sallys dining area looks out onto the native bush hillside (note the handcrafted owls on the dining table - gifts ready for Jane to take back home for nieces)

 

 



note the handmade rag wreath on wall

 

the thing I think I love the most about Sallys house

is that she has this total vintage look running right through it

unlike myself,  with my eclectic mix of mismatched items

 

 

 

 

 

 



Looking through to Sallys kitchen area - LOVE this shelving

 

 

Note Sallys collection of vintage aprons hanging on her vintage hook

Imagine gazing at this while cooking dinner . .

 

 

Sally had begun her christmas decorating before we arrived

I LOVED her tree decorated with snowflake ornaments

she had hand-made from vintage wool blankets

 

 

 

 

 

 

She had been framing some old calendar pictures for her wall

I fell in love with this pastel grouping of pictures :-)

 

 

woops - sorry to chop some off but was trying to get couch in also :-)

 

Off from her dining area she has the loveliest little private courtyard & she has set up a little seating area

with her vintage cane chairs & granny rugs

 

 

 

However . . .

it was when I saw her craft room I got seriously envious! ! !

 

 

this is my idea of what heaven would look like ! !

 

 

Note the doiley bunting across the window

 

 

 

Oohh I wanted to stay in this room forever ! !

 

 

vintage tea wagon holding craft supplies

If there is a syndrome called "craft room envy"

then I definately have it ! ! ! 

 

the cross stitch up on theleft is Sallys handwork

 

 

the wall above her work desk

Sally has a real "dottie angel" look with her decorating I feel
very Granny chic -
This is the chair I got to sit in with my cuppa

 

 

(I think it had been Sally's Granny's chair)

 

A couple of pics of Sal's bedroom I snapped

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

vintage crochet bedspread & handmade cushions

& a final snap of the dining area before my camera decided to "die" on me :-(

 

door to courtyard just to left of photo - note pile of vintage wool rugs on stool

Sally writes a blog of her crafty makes

you can see more of her wonderful handwork here . . .

 

sistersofsylviacraft

Jane & I had the very bestest days outing
It is so exciting to visit "the big smoke"
especially when it doesnt happen that often.

(I must add a footnote here -
the house was actually much nicer than my pics show
I blame my outdated camera having yet another "off "day)


And then yesterday morning I had to take another little trip
this time just around the corner from where I live -
to Alphra Lavender farm
I had to take some more of my D.L.E cards to Bev
& this is what I saw on arrival, out my car window. . .






 

 

Bev & Ian have been running the lavender farm for 15 years now

you can see the wonderful products they make & sell in their

on site shop at the lavender farm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They are hoping to begin their yearly flower harvest next Friday

& then they extract the oil in their distiller

 

 

 

to be made up into all their lovely products.

Honestly it is a feast for the senses paying them a visit

both visually & aromatically

 

 

 

the above bushes are 5 years old now

I remember when Bev first planted them

& had such a problem with rabbits constantly digging them up

 

 

 

the small bushes in front were planted last October

& the ones behind a couple of years ago

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can go visit their website here

 

www.lavendergreen.co.nz 

 

 

Bev has a beautiful garden to complement the lavender


Before I go I just wanted to share with you a christmas gift I received
that I had actually requested sometime ago
This gift was definately not romantic nor personal
but has actually made such a difference to my life already


 

 

Yes - I now have a gate buzzer !!! :-)

 

 

 

Although we seem to be having a few volume problems

it is rather loud ! !

 

Even  deaf ol' Mr Wolf heard it yesterday

& beat me out to greet the lady in her car

who didnt see his approach & when he put his head around her door . . .

she let out this bloodcurdling scream ! ! !

It was awfully embarrassing (for Me not the dog)

I apologised profusely & she did also for being so dramatic

once she saw the big deaf ol' fat fluffy was harmless

then when we got in the cottage . . .

I got a fit of the giggles ! ! !

honestly, I could not stop laughing at her scream

I was mortified - at myself

(I actually seem to spend an awful lot of time apologising for that flipping dog & his antics)

 

stupid ol' Mum making things up about me again & that stupid o'l gate buzzer

Well thats about it from me this week folks -

but just wanted to send out a bit of a plea . ..

is anyone else having problems uploading pics with blogger??

for some reason the browse pics button I used to use has gone

& I now have to go into HTML to add pics instead of Compose

which instead of 1 hour to do a post -

takes me 2 days ! ! !

If anyone has a solution to this I would appreciate any info

but please bear in mind . . .

I am NOT computer savvy

 

Wishing you all a happy weekend ahead

thanks, as always, for stopping by

much love, hugs, friendship,

Julie Xoxo