In a Pickle

aka- IAP (In a Pickle) is a cafe located in a hidden group of shops at the intersection of Martha St and Newman Ave on the Coorparoo- Camp Hill boundary. These shops are nestled in an enclave of Queenslander and some Federation style architecture. Many houses in this area are currently being renovated or have been so in the last few years. It's a nicely "monied up" area and full of families.

The Martha St shops comprise of many "foodies" and some gorgeous gift ware shops, jewellery and hair and beauty stores. The precinct is well known to the locals and frequently busy. I've spent the last 12 mths coming and going as I've worked on part of the newest development there and I've come to love browsing thru the shops and watching how they trade.

In a Pickle on the corner is very popular any time of the day. As soon as you walk thru the door you are met with a gorgeous display of food in the cabinets and also their packaged products on the counters.

You can stop in for coffee, breakfast, lunch etc and they also offer catering for functions as well as pre cooked meals to take home and heat up.

Mouth watering macaroons.

Plenty to choose from for both big and little people.

One of the other parts of their business is their cooking classes for both adults and kids. That's where I found myself last week with my eldest attending the "Tapas" class. He came out an hour later beaming and carrying a box full of goodies that he'd made. He was so excited he even repeated his efforts the following night to cook dinner for the family.

Check out these condiments stocked by IAP. I love the old Vacola bottles. I actually use these as vases in my own house. My grandma and mum used to preserve jams and fruits in these when I was a kid, so it was a bit of a memory trip to see the bottles here.

A couple of the regulars!

If you're not from the area, program the gps and weave your way into Martha St.

Check out IAP's website and perhaps be tempted with a class.

www.inapickle.com.au

Venetian Laundry

This is the sister store of Streets of Harlem at Noosa. It's owned by the same people and just located at the other end of Hastings St. The same eye catching quirky design tricks were used, but obviously a very different look and all new little details. It's a clothing store, but with a more feminine edge.

They have a coffee cart permanently at their shopfront and being totally eco friendly they dump the used grinds into the front circular garden, as they're great for keeping snails away and break down into compost. Not to mention the gorgeous smell as you walk past.

White washed counter.

Paper cranes and post cards swinging from the clothes line. Watch out Sleeping Beauty!

The old clothes rack used for product display.

The change rooms- book pages with lacquer finish and tea dyed curtains.

Does Granny know her couch is missing?

More paper cranes.

Tortured willow and bird silhouettes.

Venetian Laundry is a pretty cool store to check out!

Steel your eyes.

This is a steel storage yard in an industrial estate that I sometimes drive past. Every time I get stuck at the traffic lights and I am intrigued at the blocks of beautiful colours. The other day I turned off to have a proper look at them. They are some type of steel plank. I think similar to the ones used for the platforms on building scaffolding. I just think they are really pretty in an otherwise boring area. They remind me of Autumn colours.

Sometimes inspiration comes from the strangest places.

Watch this space!

Behind this hoarding at Indooroopilly shopping centre the new look Jon Le Court hair salon is taking place. This fitout is opening in a bit over 1 week. I'm very excited as it will have a really eye catching design feature.

Here's a peak from my visit yesterday. There was a lot of dust floating around- hence the snow effect.

Stay tuned for pics of the new store.

Happy Easter. Hope you get lots of the good stuff!



Pretty Cushy!

I love these cushions I spotted at Freedom today.

Here comes Winter. From the touchy textural wools in the craft stores to the tactile home wares. Time to snuggle up with a book in front of the fire.