Share the fragrance around please!

In this grim financial times, a lot spread around makes all the difference.

I try not to splurge on flowers and fragrances for the home much. After all, when $15 can buy 4 punnets of strawberries enough to supply Hannah's lunchbox with her morning and afternoon tea munchies for a fortnight, it's a no-brainer to forgo the lovely bunch of roses. So when I have access to the best mother-in-law and her lovely winter-bursting camellia tree, I try to fill my home as much as possible with bunches of the blooms :)



I am also fond of fresh scents through the home but cannot often afford the $40-50 splurge on my favourite picks from the Abode Aroma range. I know it can last up to three months... and that spreads the costs alot, but it's been tight times lately.

I've recently hit on a great way to spread the aroma around the home!

This is my Lime and Coconut Abode Aroma diffuser. (Did you know you can make it last longer by using way less reeds than provided?)

Do you like my fantastically polkadot-ty cruet set? I just love the shapes... like commas!

There were two things that made the lightbulb in my head light up:
1. I wanted that fragrance in my bathroom and other places in my home
2. I had a bottle on my bathroom window sill that ... looked so lonesome.

It's a beautiful wine bottle in the loveliest shade of jewel-blue. I placed it on our bathroom window sill just for some interest in the tiny room. For weeks it's stood there, mighty lonely...

Remember the 2 premises above? Well, I poured a tiny bit of my Lime and Coconut into the wine bottle, sacrificed one reed... and now my bathroom smells beautiful!

But it was still lonely. Looked odd. So I had enough of it today and went through my things to find it mates...

First, there was this:



It looked odd, and I like things in groups of three or fives... So I got out another glass bottle I love and added it to that...



Then that quickly got ditched on account of uglyness!

I knew after that attempt that it needed something blue to highlight the delicate blue tones of the bottle. I raided my dresser and am now happy with my final attempt:

Liz Taylor's Jewels and her gorgeous home

Firstly I apologise for not being as frequent as I'd like in my blogging. I'm not really into re-posting the already-posted-to-death things... I like to make my posts as personal-to-my-musings-and-situations as possible... and sometimes that hits a "bloggers' block"!

I have been rather focused on my family (daughter's been on school holidays) and looking for part time work that allows me to work from home.

But I did want to share a MOST inspirational home with you.



I first discovered Elizabeth Taylor as a young child entranced with Cleopatra (1963).



I remember thinking what gorgeous eyes that seem to drag you in forever and ever. Then I heard in my teens that she had eyes of the most unusual shade of violet. I also read that a genetic hiccup blessed her with double rows of eye lashes! No wonder her eyes were the main star!

And of course we can't have a blogpost about Liz Taylor without incudling her iconic jewels! (Just a few...)

The La Peregrina Pearl; a perfect pear-shaped natural pearl once owned by Bloody Mary, Queen of Scots; a gift from husband Richard Burton. Karipearls includes a great story about her La Peregrina pearls... now only with great pics of the piece, but also highlights her passion for life, her largeness of character and her.. normal-ness!

The divine Cartier ruby and diamond necklace, presented by husband Mike Todd

The 33.19 carat Krupp diamond, an engagement gift from Richard Burton. She is known to have worn this rock more than any other of her pieces.

The 69.42 carat giant Taylor-Burton diamond

The stunning emerald and diamond necklace by Bulgari, a gift from Burton

The massive Bulgari 321-carat Burmese sapphire pendant in a diamond and sapphire sautoir necklace, from Burton

You'd think this blog was all about her jewels, don't you?

Well... it's actually about her beautiful ranch-style home in Bel Air, California, for 30 years until her death in March 2011. Her property sits on just under 1.5 acres of land (very modest compared with other uber-celebs). 7000 sq feet of that was devoted to the house that was surrounded by a bricked motor court, swimming pool, stunning landscaped gardens, a hothouse for orchids and a koi pond with a waterfall.



I couldn't get enough of Elizabeth Taylor's gorgeous home featured in Architectural Home Digest July 2011. For someone who has such fiery tastes in jewellery, her newly decorated home is peaceful, exudes warmth and casual living. Taylor worked with Waldo Fernandez in 2010 and the gorgeous actress passed away during the Architectural Digest photoshoot.



Her house was redecorated in a beautiful shade of blue to reflect the iconic lady's gorgeous eyes. Paired with warm woods, grey-whites and punches of fushcia, the result is a gorgeously calm, bright and beautifully relaxed abode.












The beautiful gardens feature many roses; the hybrid tea rose Elizabeth Taylor, introduced in 1985, abounds.




Since Ms Taylor's death, her house has sold. We have lost yet another style and life icon.

Pics of her home via Architectural Home Digest

George Nelson Clock

Via blueantstudio

I think any one of the George Nelson clocks would go perfectly in my home, with my penchant for white walls and brightly coloured furnishings!

I particularly love:

Via Fancy House Road

One of my favourites, the Ball Clock, 1947

Via Flickr: monitorpop

But I think my favourite sculptural one is the Sunflower Vitra:

Available from Design Public for US$1085

But because we're trying to teach my 5 year old daughter to read time and numbers etc... I'm afraid our very-basic round clock with easy-to-read numbers will have to do for now!