back on my block

A few people have been asking for updates on my reno. We are in the last weeks and I just can't wait for it to be done. As much as I really like seeing my builders each day and enjoy working with them, I can't wait till they're gone!

Here's the progress from the past few weeks. The front windows were pulled out including the front door.

And then it was rebuilt with a new double hung window to catch the prevailing breezes. The old hopper windows look cute, but are not great for breezes. The existing french door panels were moved along to keep the original character that I fell in love with and a new front door has been installed.

A new window was cut in for a bedroom. I have been conscious the whole way through my design to work with existing walls and minimise the cutting needed. All the existing walls are double brick cavity, so by working with them it kept my costs down.

Storm water pipes were connected with the help of one of the apprentices on school holidays.

3 new bedrooms have now been constructed with the new doors currently being installed. I love these doors. They're Corinthian Moda.

Ahead of me is a heap of painting and landscaping and at the end one massive skip bin to fill.

Belmondos to go

Here's a cute little market store from my fav location 2 hrs up the highway- Noosa. This stall is nestled between the entries to cafes and resorts on the footpath. It's up the end near Netanya and Cafe LeMonde.

The stall can get wheeled away at night and the doors close across the permanent fridges and shelves.

I loved all the fresh produce and the way it was all displayed. It services guests staying in the surrounding resorts, as there isn't a supermarket within walking distance of Hasting St. Beach goers can also grab a pre made salad or sandwiches and drinks.

And this little screen at a nearby cafe also caught my eye. It appears to be a powder coated iron.

I am trying not to bore everyone with house pics at the moment. The reno is at the tail end and I'm now at the stage that most renovators get- over it. Sick of the dust etc. Although I did get to put a few plants into the previously bare barren sections of garden. It was very therapeutic and made me excited for when the end has come and I can finally garden without worrying about gardens being trampled. I was relocating plants out of necessity today as we have the final wet cuts being done tomorrow. The big saw for brick cutting. And some of my plants were in the way.

South Pacific

  

South Pacific the musical has arrived in Brisbane. I saw it this week and it was lovely and definitely worth it, if you are considering this one. It had the very distinct sound of Rodgers and Hammerstein and at any minute I was waiting to hear "Surrey with the Fringe on top."

Qpac- Queensland Performing Arts Complex did it very well, with the foyer bar decked out with an amazing tropical swag of fabric and one of the downstairs bars covered in grass fringing.

The sets were amazing especially that of French plantation owner Emile de Becque. It featured the gorgeous arches and lots of shutters and faux tropical plants. The whole time it was making me recall some of these very tropical plantation style images from my various design books.

Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream

  

Happy days... those that know me, will know that computer technical stuff is not my strong point, so thanks to a bit of mucking and reading of discussion groups, I've been able to post this whilst Google Blogspot is still sorting out their problem with loading images.

Anyway, a happy new year from the Blogasphere. After a little hiatus from posting for a while and enjoying R&R in my new house, I managed to also squeeze in a day trip to one of my fav locations- Noosa! A friend and I enjoyed a very enjoyable and delicious lunch at Bistro C. This was our view. Just perfect Noosa weather looking out onto Main Beach. The food was sublime with so many choices that I would have been happy with any of the other 4 dishes I was deciding from. If you are thinking of enjoying a meal here whilst still the holiday season best to book, as it was packed.

www.bistroc.com.au

While we were also enjoying some Retail Therapy we found an amazing new store just opposite Aromas coffee. It's called Nitrogenie and they make their own ice cream using Liquid Nitrogen to instantly freeze it.

They run only 4 ice cream flavors at a time, but change these often.

The thing that caught my eye while having coffee at Aromas was the amazing amount of steam that would periodically appear. This is the freezing part happening.

Each flavor sits in the kitchen aid mixing bowl and the white frozen goose neck on the left is the liquid Nitrogen valve. It's used initially to freeze the ice cream and then for a quick blast if it's starting to thaw.

Here's a freeze happening. It's absolute theatre and draws crowds from everywhere.

The blue top bottles on the left are the cream containers and you'll see also the big L.Nit. cylinder.

Restaurants have been using liquid nitrogen for years to make their ice cream, as it saves on time and also freezes the ice cream into smaller particles resulting in the smoothest creamiest that you've ever tasted.

I had the white chocolate raspberry swirl and it was Amazing! This is their prototype store with plans to quickly open else where and I can't wait.

Back soon....

Happy 2013.

I'm attempting to get back with some exciting new posts, but am currently having problems loading pictures. I'm not sure if it's my lack of computer skills, but possibly a fault with Google Blogspot as they have been writing about it on their website.

Hopefully it won't be long.....