little reminders

slowly adding to my veggie patch! Mmmm mmm pretty colours

a beautiful gift from my beautiful Mum who supports my fancy for begonias!

'from little things, big things grow...'

one of my favourite pots (for obvious reasons!) had a hair transplant. this sweet indoor plant seems to be happy in it's new owly home!

new baby basil plant after the last one went all sorts of funky. And not in a good way!

gorgeous new pastel pinky goodness

check out these incredible roses from Mumma & Pappa bear's garden! They smell as wonderful as they look & have been fresh & delightful for days on end.

Car boot sale score :) little bit in love with this one

happy potty projects. I am positively brimming with ideas! It is starting to keep me awake at night!

retro mustard cups? $6? Absolute swoon.

My tomatoes suddenly went bonkers. I am addicted to eating them straight from the plant or popping them in the oven with fresh basil, olive oil & pepper... flavour explosion!

the colour of this hydrangea plant makes me feel happy

more tasty morsels! I'm afraid to say that these have been eaten since their photo shoot ;)

An artists suitcase full of their painterly treasures found at a garage sale for a couple of dollars. I can't stop peering inside & experiencing wafts of inspiration

Life has a knack of keeping us on our toes. Sometimes it takes stark, painful, sorrowful reminders to snap us out of blissful ignorance & realise, to full extent, how painfully lucky we are. 
Short of bombarding you with photos of my family & friends that lately have been making me all kinds of weepy with affection, I felt at a loss as to how I could express this feeling on my blog. So, the other day, I went for a little walk around my humble abode taking snaps of sentimental treasures. I need to do this sometimes when sadness gets the better of my heart.
Go & give someone you love a big kiss on the cheek? It will make you both feel giddy with lovelines. And who doesn't deserve THAT every now & then?
xx Jessie.

it was hot

Mum & Dad often teased me about the fact that, when I was just a pint-sized Jessie Lee, I begun every story I wrote with 'It was hot'. It still gets brought up now! But those exact words seem completely appropriate for this post. We have had a few consistently warm days now & everything seems to have a golden tinge. Although my little shoe-box sixed home is warm enough to melt your toes & the walk to & from work suddenly seems like a sweaty chore, the shampoo is hot when you squeeze it out & the leaves on everything are crispy, I can't help but relish the balmy evenings... the sun soaked tomatoes sprouting in the garden & the opportunity to wear not much more than my ugliest tank top! Summer days like these will forever remind me of running through the sprinkler with my brother & sister, squealing at the shock of cold & making sure to avoid the bees on the grass. Or of homemade iceblocks in plastic holders with a little hole for slurping. Of long lazy visits to my grandparents, my Grandfather sundrying apricots out the back, Nanny sitting beside the fan playing puzzles with us. I can remember fish & chips on the beach, digging holes in the sand that were big enough to sit in, trips to the swimming centre & fresh colourful salds for tea. These are warm, lovely memories in my mind & they trickle back to me as soon as things start to get toasty. 
Although it can be hard to keep the plants in my garden looking lush & green, I spent some time on Saturday, tending to the potted darlings & making sure everything got a good soak. It was also a good excuse to plonk myself at my desk & make some mess. It all looked a bit like this. 

 xx Jessie

my beloved desk + art making space

Paints in an old green potato stand that I found at a garage sale. It holds all my arty thingys perfectly. I was going to give it a little makeover but I think I like it this way

Pot of ink, a bulldog wearing a hat and an old cigar box... The essentials for any good work desk ;)

my indoor plants keep me company on cold, dreary days. Most of them are incredibly low maintenance and really just need a sunny sill and the occasional water. The Kalanchoe (on the right) is one of my new favourites. It's star shaped flowers are so delicate and they come in just about every shade you could imagine. This started out as a humble little plant from a sweet old lady at the Markets a couple of months ago. The plant on the left is an African Violet which seemed to tuck itself away for most of winter. I was really excited to find some baby buds poking their little heads out this morning. Can't wait for it to flower.

A print from the Marion markets last weekend (my new favourite markets!!). It is the most interesting sketch and I took a liking to it straight away. I wish I knew who it was by. Up close, it reminds me of something by Toulouse Lautrec. Everytime I look at it, I notice something different. And sometimes I'm sure their expressions change behind my back...

This fella was an exciting find. Apparently, he is Danish! oo la la. He has seen more of the world than me! I'd love to know how he ended up amongst tea pots and old tools at the Pooraka markets.

I wish I had bought more of this incredible plant when I had the chance. It has proved to be so hardy and just grows and grows at a rapid rate. The long tentacles freaked me out at first (they look like spiders legs!) but I'm quite fond of them now. The prints in the background were a couple of dollars each. They are quite badly water damaged in parts but I love them.

I am really drawn to everything about this postcard. Recently, I've begun to build a little collection of old postcards that I find beautiful for one reason or another. More on them later. I think they deserve their own post!

oh tins, how I love thee!!!

 

 

Parts of the wall behind my desk. The pictures are changing constantly, depending on my mood or new things I find that are visually inspiring.

The funny looking elephants cut from various magazines and papers were a result of a lonely winters weekend living in Melbourne a few years ago. Although they are a bit tacky and child-like, I couldn't resist putting them on my bedroom wall when I rediscovered them in a forgotten box of cuttings. They seem oddly at home in my mish-mash of a bedroom and I quite like the idea of them hovering above my bed, keeping the bad dreams away. This is yet to actually work. But I'm remaining positive ;)

'Desiderata' would have to be one of my favourite pieces of writing of all time. Every time I read it, I am reminded to make the effort to be more patient and understanding. It is so easy to become frustrated and sad about certain situations but these simple words somehow have the power to put everything back into perspective. That can only ever be a good thing. Sometimes we give up on our private little quest for happiness and the last line is all I need to see to regain some hope 'Strive to be happy'. So simple, yet wonderfully true. If you have never read it, take a couple of minutes and have a look here. I hope you find it as heart-warming as I do.

messy desk = productivity = happy Jess!

Elephants wearing pretty clothes, a card from the one I love, vintage advertisements and some solid, wise words... 'Never love anyone who treats you like you're ordinary' - Oscar Wilde, you genius.

More love notes from loved ones, free postcard yumminess, more elephants, and a photo that I hold incredibly close to my heart.

Margot gave me the milk bottle for my paintbrushes.. Adore it! My sweet Mr Mr sneakily purchased the caramel coloured owl for me at the INCREDIBLE Bowerbird Bazaar last year. It was in the very early days of getting to know each other and needless to say I was ridiculously chuffed when he presented it to me at the end of our market perusing. The pretty white owl was a generous parting gift from some special friends at my old work and the rest are garage sale bits and bobs

An ugly owlish darling that watches while I paint. He's perfect.