Our Soiree

And a lovely night was had by all.... Our Champagne & Chandelier evening was a huge success. Bernadette O'shea was as gracious and engaging as always, Kathy Heath did a charming talk on setting the perfect dinner table and all my staff were gorgeous wearing their Lily-g aprons. The waiters looked rather fine in their aprons as well ( but not too sure if pom-poms on men will become a trend.) lol. We raised a substantial amount for Breast Cancer awareness and everyone got to taste 3 delicious Champagnes all on a MONDAY NIGHT!!....Thank you to all that attended.

This is our signature Chandelier which had pride of place for the evening. We had Tulips, Snap-Dragons, Peonies and Roses (I KNOW!!! Peonies in March??? Love Qantas)

These yummy and beautiful Cup-Cakes were donated on the night by Nim Alan who makes fabulous cakes:- http://www.cherrypink.com.au . Thanks Nim x My lovely shop...This is the Caribbean room lit up and viewed from the street.

The Caribbean Room inside...candles, leather suitcases, mini pineapples and lots of palms.

Our gorgeous table...Lauren did the flowers..Peonies and Roses. Baby cake stands with our dragonfly place card holders and our new beautiful linen. More photo's to come....

Toasty with Designer Guild

Just in these gorgeous Designer Guild Throws...Won't we all look lovely with these around our tootsies for winter.

Happy Easter!!!

Harry brought baby chickens home for Easter!!! (Just what mummy needed)I would prefer one of these little cuties. Anyway just battling at the moment with my camera so will post the photo's of the Champagne and Chandeliers night soon. Hope you all have a fabulous and safe Easter. Melinda x

Well we are in work....waiting for the "Event" to start. Will post many, many photo's to let you have a laugh. xx

" There comes a time in every woman's life when the only thing that helps is a glass of Champagne" Bette Davis

Again sitting up late at night doing a tad bit of blogging to detach from the long day of working on shop, attending school functions and trying to fit in some semblance of normality in my life. Soooo I thought I would be a good girl today and book an appointment with my friendly female G.P. I was long overdue for a check up, and seeing as I am turning 40 in June I thought it was time to be a responsible adult and give the cholesterol, liver function and the lady bits all a thorough once over so I can rush head first into my 41st year without any backward glances or worries that I'm taking my health for granted etc etc.

1st lesson I learnt today.....Friendly Female G.P. Not so Friendly!!!! Apparently seeing as I am turning 40, I am "Now on my way TOWARDS MENOPAUSE!!!! HELLO????? isn't 40 the new 30???? Can someone please call up my dumb doctor and let her in on the secret that ALL OF THE MAGAZINES ALREADY KNOW!! and have been assuring me of for all of this time......40 is wonderful!!! And not old!! Really! Not...is it???? Well I know it's not young but....oh well what the hell..I feel young inside....Very immature in fact :)

2ND lesson.....Big Son's Easter Service is no place for Little Son...When Jesus is being nailed to cross as he is every year and all is quiet and sombre in big hall full of teachers, school students and parents. 4 year old yells in very accusatory tone "It's the same ending as last year!!!" Apparently judging by glares from very intense Alpha mummy sitting near me....laughing at my devilish off springs innocent outcry is not the acceptable response. Must remember to be more appropriate.

3rd lesson.....There is more than one way to set a table! Crisis point!! I am throwing lovely soiree to celebrate my ownership of Lily-g. I have invited lots of V.I.P clients, Architects and important Business like people. In my typical Melinda impetuousness and lacking any sort of for-site to how absolutely flat out I would be, I promised a small talk on the "perfect table setting" But there are soooo many table settings! I can't decide....Do I do Easter table to be seasonal? dinner table? Lunch?? Brunch?? Country??? I am over-idea-d (new word) with all the information regarding tables settings, and frozen with indecision! And using too many exclamation marks!!!

But on good note my lovely speaker Bernadette O'Shea who is Australia's absolute expert on Champagne is giving a talk and notes on some yummy Champagnes we have chosen for the night as well as signing her fabulous book..."Champagne and Chandeliers" So all is not too bad. Also, my store is looking absolutely gorgeous, so all of the hard work is paying off and my boys love their old worn out rocketing towards Menopausal mummy so it is a happy day after all....maybe.

p.s Doesn't "How to throw a B.B.Q" have a nice ring to it??

Lovely Bernadette...I think I need a little drink of something...not very impressionable at all am I??

When Mellie went to Market.....she got Bling!

OK, So I'm a Gemini, therefore I collect sparkly stuff.

It is in my D.N.A. I am a bower bird I fly from location to location and anything that is shiny/sparkly...I am compulsed to have...especially gold sparkly or silver sparkly, I just have to have it. I then take said sparkly item home to the groans and bemusement of all my friends and their cries of "Not another gold/silver sequins shirt, skirt, top, purse etc. (and in reality never end up wearing it just a mad un controllable compulsion)

So it is to my extreme happiness that as owner of MY OWN store and therefore controller of stock purchases and the big decision making...I get to go NUTS!!!! and get what ever I want! yay!

So when I saw the new Sophie Kyron range I fell head over heels with it and am going to add it to the little jewellery cabinet that in front of my shop and watch it all twinkle happily.

But I'm betting this time my friends will want some too..

Beautiful for Winter. Can't wait for it to arrive.

This is their signature piece and rightly so.

The Joys Of Retail 'Be careful what you wish for' is an age old adage that is ringing true for me in the running of Lily-g. I wanted new stock and by god I'm getting it!! By the truckload...so much in fact that I am finding it hard to get it out onto the shelves. Oh well more working bees for this Thursday and Sunday. Also, a huge box turned up today, which is about the size of the divine french double vanity that I ordered! Either that or there's a fridge sitting up on my mezzanine level. I have jewellery, fabric, throws, candles, bath products, pots, plates, cups and cutlery everything BUT the kitchen sink but I DO have the bathroom one. lol Soon the bed I ordered will arrive and I'll set up the boudoir upstairs and then if I get too exhausted I'll just sleep at the shop!! So please if someone sees my family tell them I love them and mummy will be home soooooon.

Charming and authentic old battered suitcases have arrived...lovely for storing linen, photo albums, baby keepsakes.

Hooked on pineapples as you will be able to tell by my carribean room.

Lovely occasional table for your entry or loungeroom.

This Camper Desk is stunning in real life and have found the perfect chair to go with it. Very Ernest Hemingway.

Fabulous Chairs At Lily-G Was reading Judy's blog and to my surprise and delight saw that she had shown 2 of the gorgeous chairs we are stocking in lily-g's Carribean/Coastal room (the bottom style are in a beautiful dark timber but white looks great too). I have two of the chairs from the top picture myself and they are fabulous! They also have pockets in the side for tucking your morning paper into while you sip your coffee...

Painting & Sometimes Decorating

Well have finished first two coats of paint (pistachio green doesn't go down without a fight!!) and probably need another two before I can call it Caribbean White....then it's full steam ahead! Have picked the wallpaper and the deliveries have started....12 boxes arrived today alone! So tomorrow, myself and my busy little team of worker bees are going to be unpacking, invoice checking, computer inputting and then displaying all my lovely, lovely goodies that piggy brought back from market...SO EXCITED!!!

Got all the new staff who are fabulous, and lovely and very user friendly for a boss that has her learner plates on. The girls are fully qualified decorators, designers and over all creators of gorgeousness. I am a very happy bear (insert smiley face here....I'm too embarrassed)

Have a great weekend.

Melinda

This looks so pretty. We are getting similar Charger plates at lily-g. Wonder

what was served up?? Sorry am girly girl love pink and green together. What a

wonderful colour in the vase....love the candles sticks....gush gush

What a beautiful happy space. I love the light fixture with all the collected beach flotsam and shells.

Loving the soft mint and the tin pannelling on the front of what must be the FRIDGE!!

That is absolutely gorgeous.

Aaah whats not to love in this kitchen?? Strong and clean, with fabulous

cabinetry and the panelling is gorgeous. Perfect balance to the soaring white exposed beam ceiling We are getting big cane shades similar to this and

I think they will look perfect in my Carribean room.

Claude Monet was so far ahead of his time. I have always found his use of colour inspirational and his gardens in Giverny are a must see experience if you go to France. Monet's house

The kitchen...you can't see them, but there are

dozens of copper pots hanging, just ready for making

preserves, terrines and all sorts of yummy french country

dishes.

When I went to Monet's house I bought his cook book, it has all

his favourite recipes from his life in Giverny.

Friends and I had a Claude Monet dinner party. We all

prepared a dish from his book, decorated the table in gorgeous

flowers and lots of mismatched french crockery and drank french wine.

After dinner we got the paints out and did our best impressions

of french impressionism!

A great evening! lots of fun, creative..and best of all...lots

of food!! Highly recommend it!

No wonder he was inspired to paint!!! His fabulous

gardens and water lilies outside....and these amazing

rooms inside.....Now where are my canvases and easel again??

Love old trunks for stacking, coffee tables and storing all your old baby keepsakes.

On my wish list....authentic vintage Louis Vuitton!!

Travel was once so grand...high tea on the main

deck, dinner dances and lulled to sleep with the

rolling waves. A tad different to the travel "experience" now don't you think??

If I get my way and I can downsize

my house on the bay for something

smaller closer to the city I will be able

to finally buy my dream 'beach shack'

Nothing grand or over the top (budget won't allow it anyway)

I just want a little house that we can fix up

and spend the weekends in. Bare floors, high

ceilings and big verandahs with lots of lush green

and hopefully a sniff of the ocean (not expecting views ha!)

These pictures are mainly from a beach house from

the site Coastal living, and I think they are a

fabulous example of the fun you can have when decorating a

a little beach shack. The colour pallet is one that

has always inspired me. Pristine white with fabulous teal, aqua and green

accents. Fun, childlike fabrics and clean fresh lines.....all beautifully

executed and all do-able on a small budget..hunting for all the

accessories would be half the fun.

If you were driving past lily-g last night and looked in you would have been witness to the most impractical moving team in the history of furniture manoeuvring!!!! Me (with my ineffectual muscles) and my lovely friend Tanya with the help of her sister Lisa were attempting to move a very large and ridiculously heavy buffet into the other side of the shop. There were many pauses for strength building glasses of Cloudy Bay and team building laughter but alas it proved too heavy and way too funny. Thank you to the lovely man out with his wife on a walk who came in and took charge and moved it while his fabulous wife had a twilight shop :) Oohh the glamour!! p.s bet he won't walk past our way again at night.

I know I might seem a little

obsessed with bedrooms at

the moment, but with a new

business to run and two small

little boys...sleep seems to be

becoming an obsession. I like

elements in all these bedrooms.

Definitely the last one with

the white bamboo four poster

would be a haven of heavenly

snugness. Which one suits your

sleep fantasy?? They are all

different but all appealing in

their own right.

Love how the bold print on the

floor just packs a clean punch

amongst all that feminine billowy white.

I love this room from Velvet and Linen it is such a great use of space and such an inviting area to sit and have chats with friends. Love how the television is no where to be seen and that the chairs are all positioned for conversation and not for watching t.v I'll take watching the fire any day. Love the corner where she has collected pieces more so for their shape and the contrast of tones and textures than for any purpose. The balance is lovely.

New Instore

Stunning new pieces due to arrive in store, with Easter not far away now is the time to start thinking of decorating your table. I'm loving the wiener cake stands perfect for placing individual cup cakes or part of your Easter egg display. We can organise to send direct to you email us at lilyg1@bigpond.com

An update

Had Harry's bday party on Saturday, and of course mummy went crazy over the top on all things Hawaiian for the luau theme, just can't seem to do things in a sane and measured way...I have some deep neurosis when it comes to any type of entertaining in my home. Everything has to be perfection and matchy matchy and themed (crazy) just adds 10 times the workload... but I do love that moment when I stand back and see how lovely everything looks and there is something about a perfectly presented table that makes me strangely contented (I know, I know!!) Anyway it was a fabulous day even when some rude guests actually had the NERVE to move things around and EAT!! my beautifully organised food (nearly slapped some hands ha ha) The day was a success and I was very proud of my big 7 year old. Sharnel from http://www.thecupcakecompany.blogspot.com did a gorgeous job on Harry's little surfer cupcakes :) On a non neurosis note had absolutely fantastic time in Sydney yesterday running all over the Eastern Suburbs with Judy looking at gorgeous things and buying some fabulous pieces for lily-g. I can't wait for it all to arrive at the store!!! I am madly loving all the absolutely gorgeous fabrics I saw from Designer Guilds new collection today.... I went a tad overboard and bought a sinful amount of their amazing sample books (oops!!) Aahh well a girl must shop. Turning the upstairs mezzanine level into something new and exciting...I see all that space and I just have to fill it with beautiful things. I will be posting lots of photo's and inspirational pieces to keep you all up to date and would love to see what you all think of my ideas as they blossom. xxx ps here's some clues

Well!!! What a learning curve the last couple of weeks have been! Firstly I have been truly humbled by the warm and open welcome that I have received from all the Lily G customers, and wholesalers, it has made such a difference and what could have been a bumpy ride has instead turned into a brilliant one (except maybe the lawyers... they seem to create a huge fun vacuum wherever they go), but other than the legal handbrakes, all has gone fabulously!! I mean, I know how dedicated the Lily. G client base is...I know that I am in terrible trouble from all you lovely ladies out there if I err from our "Look" I have truly big shoes to fill and I'm sitting here with a big cold glass of N.Z Sauv Blanc in hand feeling very confident in my ability to continue to bring to you all the gorgeous furniture, fabrics, home wares and amazing things that makes us all soooo happy!! So stay tuned.....we've finished the first furniture fair have 2 more to go and then the end result will be a brand spanking new layout and absolutely too many fabulous pieces and gorgeous special little treasures that the shop will be bursting at the seams. I have a few secret plans afoot as well so keep checking in and have a laugh at my expense as I navigate through all the minefields that lay ahead and try and keep the bank at bay!! ha ha! p.s my technical ability will improve expedentially... so tonight it's just a few words of thanks and soon I will add in lots of lovely pics. xx

Bedroom love

If you are like me and retreat to your bedroom to escape from all the demands of being a mum, wife, cook, cleaner and all round miracle worker, burrowing down into crisp freshly laundered sheets with big fat pillows and a fabulously intoxicating book is sometimes the greatest pleasure in the world and with all this rain about it is even more heavenly. I love, love, love a great bedroom...I think it is a true reflection of your own individual style. We are turning our Mezzanine level into a Boudoir with a gorgeous french en suite and I can't wait to fill it with all the most beautiful bathroom products, linens and towels... This bedroom has that cozy look of line dried sheets, fresh flowers and some happy light filtering in.....I can see myself there waiting for a lovely cup of tea and some breakfast in bed (ha!) more like the kids to come and jump all over me and eat it all one me :)