Lillies and French Country...

French Country Decor
Fabulous white Belladonna lilies with orange toned throats...
French Country Decor
Photographed in the morning sunlight...
French Country Decor
The sunlight shows the gorgeous colours 
of soft lemon coloured buds...
French Country Decor
Lilies and shabby chic...
French Country Decor
or do you call it French country style?
French Country Decor
There is nothing like the addition of fresh flowers to any vignette...
Just adds something special I think.
French Country Decor
Patterns on metal vase...
and a white stick heart...
French Country Decor
Metal flower with a delicate pearl centre on a simple corked bottle...
French Country Decor
My heart jumps with pure shabby delight!
French Country Decor
What joy beautiful things can bring to your day...

#frenchcountry



The Queens Gardens...

The Queens Gardens are in Nelson, New Zealand...
There was not a whole lot flowering as it is still early spring,
 But I did find the most beautiful tree peony. 
It was a delicious bright pink... 
The blooms were absolutely enormous. 

Tree peonies come in a huge array of colours.
They are extremely hardy and thrive best in a part sun/part shade 
and even a full shade site.
It's best to keep an open situation around them 
as air movement around the plant helps keep it healthy...
Tree Peonies prefer a fertile soil which is neutral to slightly alkaline.
They hate wet feet so well drained soil is a must.
Now this is something I would love to have in Mia Bella Gardens...
And right now it's top of the list of must haves for my garden!
 Here's some more pictures of the Queens gardens...
The ducks were happily cruising the lake... 


Isn't this guy soooo handsome?
Look at those stunning emerald green feathers!
And I discovered this wonderful gnarled old tree.
I also wanted to share with you some photos of my new treasures...
Of course I went shopping...
and I was gifted some special family heirlooms from my grandmothers estate.
 New pieces for the home included this lovely wooden heart garland...

The hearts are so sweet...
 And I am loving the detail
 on this burnished metal filigree ball!
 And of course a new heart for the collection was needed...
 in gorgeous white washed metal.
and these stunning heirlooms, I remember from my childhood.
Don't you love it when your Momma has a clean out?
 This crucifix is small but heavy,  
and it made from brass...
Very special as it belonged to my grandmother.

Peanut Butter and Orange bird Feeders...




The orange tree at Mia Bella Gardens is bulging at the seams!
In fact all the citrus trees are loaded with fruit...
And every season...
we eat it, bake with it, Juice it, gift it, 
and share it with the birds...


And that's what this post is all about...
Nutty orange bird feeders!
They are pretty simple to make...
In a bowl combine:
softened peanut butter, rolled oats, crushed cornflakes
or whatever you have on hand:
chopped nuts, sunflower seeds, wild bird seed.
Basically the more dry ingredients you use, the more peanut butter you need.
I also added some of the diced pulp of the scooped out oranges,
and some of the juice too,
mainly because the waxeye birds I am making these for...
 LOVE oranges!


Then all you do is stuff the scooped out orange skins with the mixture...


And there you have it.  


This would be a great activity for the kids....
Kids love mixing messy stuff!
Messy play was always a favourite of my children when they were little,
so keep this one in mind as a perfect activity 
to break the boredom of the summer holidays.


Once you have created these bird delicious treats,
 pop them out on your feeding table...
or you could attach string to the orange skins before filling
with the mixture so you can hang in the branches of a tree.


Believe me - it will not be long and the neighbourhood birds 
will be converging on these with complete delight!
These wee cuties are called 'waxeyes'
 or for those of you who are interested in the tech stuff:
 The Silvereye or Waxeye (zosterops lateralis) is a very small omnivorous 
passerine bird of the south-west Pacific.
It is found in Australia and New Zealand.


My little feathered friends just went crazy over these Nutty Orange feeders....
I get the feeling I'll be making another batch next week,
 and the next week,
and the next week....




New Laundry Picture....

I stumbled across these FREE printables the other day 
while looking for graphics for my laundry makeover.
The laundry decor is tired...
Time to change the beach cottage styling
and create a little touch of French Country!
The first step was a new piece of artwork.
And boy was I excited to come across a blog called
'Dorothy Sue and Millie B's too'
The Queen Bee Printable was perfect!
Available with a white or blue background...
(I chose white)
Or reversible graphic.
Pop along to
and have a look.
All I needed to do was print it, trim to size, and frame it!
And here it is.
 And here it is again on the laundry wall...
Doesn't it look cute against the blue?
Thank you http://dorothysueandmillieb.blogspot.co.nz/ !





Strawberry Buttercream Frosting....

Oh my goodness...
This frosting is divine!
There's no artificial food colouring in it at all...
Only pure delicious strawberries!

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

With beaters - whip together 1 cup of soft butter 
3 and a half cups of icing (confectioners) sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
and 3-4 tablespoons of strawberry syrup.
 I made my own strawberry syrup which is simply 1 cup frozen strawberries 
that is simmered over heat until soft,
 mushed with a bit of help from my potato masher, 
and strained through a sieve...
(Blend the left over pulp for a fab smoothie 
with a scoop or two of icecream, 
a tablespoon of sugar and milk.  
YUM!)

So all you do is beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and syrup...
It looks a bit greyish to start with...
but just beat it...
 and beat it some more...
and a wee bit more..
Until it is thick, fluffy and the palest pink!

I baked a simple butter cake to test this frosting on, and it was perfect!
It would work well as a piped frosting, but I didn't have time to do this...

Basic Butter Cake:

125 grams soft butter, 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
3/4 cup superfine caster sugar
2 eggs
BEAT until creamy...
then add...
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour 
and 1/2 cup milk.
Place in a greased 19 cm cake pan. 
Bake at 180 Celsius for 20 minutes 
or until cake skewer comes out clean.
Cool, then frost.

(Note: this recipe makes a small cake 
so increase quantities if large cake is desired.)



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