the original whiskey ball ...glam like Gatsby

I love love love my oversize ice ball mould from The Original Whisky Ball.  Today I am sharing how fabulous these giant ice balls look in the tipple they were planned for, whisky.  I am a whisky drinker myself and these ice balls have made the experience that much more glam.  If you are not a whisky drinker see how I made a gorgeous lemon slice ball for other drinks here.

The mould is easy to use, simply fill to water level mark on the side, pop in the freezer, and wait until its frozen.  I refill my mould every evening so that I have a supply on hand.

The fab thing is the ice ball melts quite slowly and doesn't dilute your drink as fast as several normal cubes would do.  And of course they just look totally fabulous.

It's so James Bond, and yes I know he was a martini drinker, but they hadn't invented these yet!  I am a convert, The Original Whisky Ball is officially my favourite product of the year so far, and a fabulous present for the guys and girls in your life that have it all.

The Original Whisky Ball supplied a mould for me to test, but as usual, all opinions are my own.  Images by Eva Burgess of Build House Home.

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Australian inspired Christmas setting...plate tutorial

This year I wanted to bring a little bit of Australia into our Christmas decor.  It seems to me that Christmas decor is all about Northern Hemisphere flora and fauna: deer, holly, snow, pine trees.  Its pretty, but I live in Australia, in the Southern Hemisphere where its sunny and warm at Christmas time.  So I decided to take inspiration from our animals and weather: golden sunshine, koala's and wombats, eucalyptus.  

The photos of the place setting show just how easy the plate setting is to put together.

• Start with a gold charger and a white plate.
• Fold a white napkin and tuck the ends under the plate.
• Cute a length of polka dot ribbon and tie loosely around the plate and napkin.
• Repeat with a length of gold sequins.
• Add golden animal figurine.
• Finally add leaves, here I have used an olive spring but for my final setting I plan to use eucalyptus.

Spraying the Aussie animals was easy to do.  I made a spraying cube out of an old box and applied several light gold sprays.  Turn the animals between the sprays to make sure the gold covers everywhere.

Watch this space to see the entire Australian Christmas concept, and I hope you are inspired to try something a little different at your house this year too.

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A simple dinner party table setting

I love having friends for dinner, cooking delicious food, setting the table and making the house pretty.  When we entertained over the weekend I decided to iron the white table cloth and do something simple.  White plates, pale grey soup dishes, white serviettes and simple white daisies in duck egg blue tumblers from Mud Australia.  Finished with candles in simple glass vases from my favourite two dollar store.

Fresh and simple for a summer evening with friends.

Fresh and simple for a fresh new year.  Hope its a good one for all of us!

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pop up party... in the garden

This was supposed to be a beach party, the car was packed, the guests invited, and the heavens opened in a tropical thunderstorm.  No beach party!  Surprise! the party was at our house instead and I didn't have time to set up a thing.  So the next day I set up the beach party in the garden instead, you can see Miss J helping me out below.  We will just have to plan another one for the beach.

How to arrange your own layered table wreath

• Place hurricane lantern in center of table.
• Lay long pieces of eucalyptus along the table with the stems starting at the center (at lantern).  The stems are quite firm and woody creating a great structure to hold the other flowers.  
• Arrange other flowers into the eucalyptus, hiding their stems in the leaves.  It looks best if the stems all run the same way, pointing towards the center, giving the impression that a bouquet of flowers has fallen over and spilled onto the table.  
• Make sure the flowers spill onto the place settings, very romantic and loose.
• Nestle tea lights into the arrangement.

Choosing colours

• The grey eucalyptus are a soft base that set off the creamy white garden roses, white berries and pink snap dragons.  
• Crisp white table cloth and pink touches to finish.

Fun finishing touches (from my favourite $2 shop)

• champagne pink mirror glass tea candles
• pink polka dot napkins 
• white plastic plates 
• bamboo cutlery tied together (back to back) with pink elastic bands

Half way through photographing the heavens opened again, I never really got a good shot of how pretty the table looked right across.  I was forced to scoop everything up a second time.  This time I put the long suffering flowers in a vase, and third time lucky we enjoyed our very own picnic in the garden, sitting on cushions on the lawn and surrounded by bees and flowers.  

There is a real delight in creating these little parties in unexpected places.  See my pop up party at home and valentines mini celebration here.  The next one will definately be at the beach...  

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valentine's party...diy lantern chandelier

I threw a little valentine's party for my family this week, really an excuse to dress up the table and make some fun food.  Also a good excuse to visit my favourite $2 shop and decorate with lots of pink.  The lantern centrepiece was quick and easy to make, none of the lanterns cost more than $2 and I used nine.  
The trick with the lanterns is to vary the length they hang as well as the sizes, see below for a more detailed diy.  All in all it took me about half an hour once I had the rope tied over the table.

Setting the table

I wanted to diffuse the pinkness a little so I used a piece of pink and blue fabric as a simple tablecloth.  I bought this piece a few years ago to make cushions but never got around to it, looks better on the table anyway.  Its only 1.5 wide by 1.5 long and was around $35 per meter, not a huge investment for a very pretty result.

Fun food details

I also bought pink and white striped gelato cups, and matching straws, at my favourite $2 shop.  
Filled little bottles with pink cranberry cordial and finished with the straws.
Made strawberry jelly in the gelato cups and topped them with a red celophane heart chocolate.
Not a lot of time for a whole lot of smiles.

Suggested combination of lanterns:

• 2 large plain pink
• 3 small plain pink
• 3 small pom poms
• 2 small polka dot lanterns
• pink organza ribbon for tassles

Hanging instructions:

• I started at the centre with the two larger lanterns and then filled in around them.
• Use the hanging lengths as a guide and push them closer together to create a full effect.
• Remember to walk around the table to see that it looks good from all sides.
• Hanging lengths shown in cm

Tieing tassles to hang straight down:

If you do a simple knot to tie the ribbons they don't fall prettily.  To make them hang straight down tie them similar to a business tie, see below.

Step 1 - Fold ribbon in half and thread top loop over the lantern wire

Step 2 - Open the loop and thread the ribbon tails through

Step 3 - Pull tails firmly downwards

Step 4 - Center ribbons on lantern

I heart the chocolate details, this little bit of red looks fab with the pink and blue scheme.

Its not to late, stop at the $2 shop, buy some jelly, and you will have a valentines party of your own in no time.   

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10 ways to entertain effortlessly during the festive season

Be the hostess with the mostest this festive season.  I am no Nigella, I can't cook like Jamie, and I never manage to style my food like Donna Hay, but I do love to entertain.  Here are my tips for ensuring that both you and your guests will have a good time, and that's really what its all about.

Hostess with the mostest tips:

• Plan a menu where at least half of the dishes can be prepared the day before or on the morning of your event.  Cuts down the cooking and clearing up you need to do just before your guests arrive.
• Create a drinks station.  I always make sure I get my guest their first drink, but after that its hard to make sure everybody has their glass filled all the time.  A drinks station with fresh glasses, iced water, and ice bucket allows guests to get their own drinks during the evening.
• Decorate with fresh flowers.  Even the simplest bunch of flowers makes your home look loved.
• Set the table the previous evening or in the morning.  After we have done the first round of food prep I spend a few hours setting the table and doing the flowers (can you tell I like this bit?).  This way you aren't rushed before you need to get into the final food prep, and you get to enjoy a pretty house while you are getting ready.
• Load this dishwasher in the afternoon and empty it before your guests arrive.  Not only will the kitchen be nice and tidy but you can pack things straight into the dishwasher during the evening and keep it tidy as you go.
• Team work makes prep easier to do and more fun. 
• Freshen up your guest bathroom with a few flowers in a small vase or bottle, several fresh hand towels rolled and stacked as a smart restaurant does, and a lovely hand soap.
• Tidy the house the evening before your event.  It always takes longer than you think and its one less thing to worry about the next day.
• Create a party play list to set the mood.  Then it's a simple as plugging in your smart phone and enjoying your evening.

Your guests will be more relaxed and enjoy themselves more if you are relaxed too.  So plan ahead, do your prep work early, and remember to enjoy yourself.

Photograph taken by Graeme Myburgh at the Festive Fiesta pop up party I threw here.

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Christmas table...pomegranates and polka dots

This year we are having a non traditional table that I hope will still feel like Christmas.  Lots of white linen with a gold polka dot twist, and pomegranates instead of holly.  
See how we made our centrepiece here, I hope it inspires you to make your own.

I am delighted with how it is looking!  I would love to make a feature to hang over the table, perhaps a piece of driftwood dropping with gold baubles, but we will have to see if time allows.

The oranges, pinks and gold look so zesty against the black wall and I am loving the gold polka dot tablecloth, so festive!!  

I used thin slices of reclaimed timber to hide the base of the flower arrangement.  We had these as leftovers from another project but you could buy thin strips of wood at your local hardware and paint them any colour you want.  Simply cut to wood to size and hot glue together at the ends.  

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Flowers by Build House Home

Gold polka dot tablecloth

Gold chargers

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What ever you are doing this Christmas I hope its full of love and peace, laughter, friends, family and fun.  Have a wonderful festive season.

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pop up dinner party at home for the festive season

I love the concept of pop up parties, but in reality can be a bit hard to do.  Especially with a toddler in tow.
So I thought how cool would it be to create a pop up space at home -  a little extraordinary in the ordinary, a little bit of fantasy for just one evening.

I wanted to set the table up in the garden surrounded by fairy lights, but some heavy rain storms meant it had to be plan B, our wide hallway.  I threw down a rug and moved our outdoor table and pillows indoors for the evening.  Then I strung the glass doors with fairy lights and lit candles to create a romantic glow of light.

Watermelon and lime agua fresca kicked off the evening, followed by a delicious Mexican inspired menu made by my amazing hubby.  Wraps with lamb, pomegranates and honey coriander yoghurt, or deconstructed chorizo with jalapeno green sauce, chunks of pineapple dusted with salt and chilli powder, and a grapefruit granita with a mojito sauce to finish.   Delicious!

I found gorgeous bunches of natives in yellows and oranges at the flower seller this morning. 

Wax flowers, pin cushions and kangaroo paw form a zesty base that could be Christmas or fiesta.  I made a low arrangement for the table centre with a few candles, finished with white plates and white napkins.  Fresh, fun and simple.

Sitting on cushions on the floor with the glow of candlelight and fairy lights, what fun.

The space was transformed, it didn't look like our house at all.  All the fantasy of a pop up party, with all the comforts of home and a fully equipped kitchen close at hand.  I didn't use anything I didn't already own, I just moved things into unexpected places.
I hope you are inspired!  Go on, string up some lanterns or fairy lights, and throw a pop up party of your own at home too.  Make sure to tell me what you created!

All images by Eva Burgess of Build House Home, except 5th image by Graeme Myburgh.

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