Drawing @ St Agnes

Yesterday Ispent the most delightful day with my sister here...

...at the stables at St Agnes Homestead in Kyneton...

Learning to do this...

...that is, I was learning how to draw with pencil and inks.  The above images are of the beautiful, nature-filled artwork by the very talented, very lovely, and very inspiring artist Sarah Gabriel. I cannot remember the last time I have felt so totally immersed in what I was doing - the hours just flew by! Such a lovely way to spend a Monday.

Not only was Sarah very inspiring, so were our lovely surrounds. Here's a few more images of St Agnes Homestead:

I very stupidly forgot to take my camera and so have to use these images from St Agnes and Lauriston Press for this post - my sister did however take many lovely photos. I'll repost or link to her post when her photos are up, in the meantime these will have to suffice. Note to self: Keep your camera in your handbag at all times! Now that's a good new year's resolution.

[Images: 1 & 5-9 - St Agnes Homestead; 2-4 -Lauriston Press]

Pearl Beach beauty

This lovely Pearl Beach (NSW) house featured in the latest issue of House and Garden - I really like the both the exterior and interior paint colours and I'm trying to convince my husband that we should use similar colours on the house we've just bought. He wants to go all white on the exterior. A bit boring if you ask me.

The other amazing thing about this house...the family also let it out as a holiday rental! If you're interested you can find more information here.

Anyway, on to the eye candy (click on any of the photos for a closer/clearer view)...

The dark, dramatic exterior...

The light and airy interior...

The house renovation was designed by Connor and Solomon Architects.

[All images from Stayz]

Friday far away: Lizard Island

Being inundated with work at present means that I'm dreaming about lolling about on daybeds in tropical environs with a good book in hand and no internet. Lizard Island in Queensland fits the bill perfectly - I could look out onto the deep blue sea all day long.  A girl's gotta dream!

[Images: Lizard Island]

And somewhere to stay...

While I'm thinking about my forthcoming visit to Kyneton, if the day trip extends to an overnight stay, Apartment 61B would be a lovely place to stay...

[Image: Macedon Ranges Interiors]

If you've been to Kyneton, do you have any 'must see' or accommodation suggestions?

Country idyll

One of the nice things about Melbourne is that there are some really lovely places in the surrounding regions that are only an hour or two away, and just perfect for a weekend getaway. Take very recently opened 'Twigs on High' luxury B&B accommodation in Trentham, situated between Woodend and Daylesford (two perfect getaways in their own right), it's described on the site as 'luxe country', and looking at these gorgeous pictures I can understand why...

Want to stay at Twigs, then check it all out here.

P.S. Please excuse my absence from my blog the last week or so, while I wish I was somewhere very lovely like Twigs, I was actually in Wellington, New Zealand work. Not quite the same thing!

[All images from Twigs]

Villa in the Huon Valley

The latest issue of Australian House & Garden (January 2011) has a lovely feature on the B&B retreat, Villa Talia located near Cygnet in the Huon Valley, Tasmania. It looks very, very appealing from the front hallway...

To the magnificent vista...

And everything else in between...

I've always wanted to do a road trip around Tasmania, and when I do a stopover at Villa Talia would be quite lovely.

[All images from Villa Talia]

How delightful

How delightful would it be to stay at the Red Brick Barn for the weekend?

Ninety minutes or so up the highway from Melbourne is the town of Castlemaine and nearby the smaller town of Chewton - my father actually lived in this town for a time when he was a little boy. Anyway, two Melburnians (Glenny Eastwood and Daniel Burgermeister) have created the oh so beautiful Red Brick Barn guesthouse in the goldfields town of Chewton. Can you believe that this gorgeous guesthouse is only 3 years old? It's a testament to Daniel and Glenny's keen renovation and recycling skills.

You can click on each of the following images for a close up:

You can find out more about Red Brick Barn and see more beautiful images at their website.

[All images from Red Brick Barn]