Hi everyone. Back safe and sound from my brief stay on Magnetic Island and I am happy to report that the...well...the report that I went there to write is well and truly almost done! I am convinced that it's easier to work in a beautiful location...and this may, or may not have been the view from where we were working. 

At the outdoor table...that's Enzo the deaf and blind beagle...in a beautiful 26 degrees Celsius temperature...

Which was not the temperature when I stepped off the plane in Canberra this morning. No, that was a mere 8 degrees! And yes, I know I will get absolutely no sympathy whatsoever. But despite that, I thought you might like to see a few pics of the island...it is a very lovely place, no doubt about that, and I'm very envious of my colleague and friend David and his lovely wife Kim and their family who are happily living their dream there. Thanks so much for having me!

Some of the wildlife...

...although I think there may be wildlife of a different kind when the backpackers descend en masse!

This was the Friday night RSL markets...a funny little collection of food and craft stalls...

A couple of things made it home with me...a ceramic tag and fridge magnet...I really like the messages on them...

...and now I'm going to delight in the very last rose from my garden that graciously hung on until I got back and make this lovely warming paella...and share it with the MGM with a nice glass or two of red...there are some benefits of not living in the tropics it seems. I think these two may  have been pleased to see me as well, just quietly! 

And tomorrow...a day of catching up with you lot...couldn't think of a better way to spend some time! See...I really was working, and I've missed you :)

If you haven't already, don't forget your chance to "bag" a great leather tote! Very bad pun...sorry...just happy to be home! Even though this was rather nice...

Oh dear...another week of trying to limit my choice to ten. It's ridiculously hard to do...but here goes.

by Amanda at small acorns - an 'across the Tasman' style queen!

photographer Simon Upton via Table Tonic

You may notice that the pics I choose are very often full of colour...but knowing the penchant for white around bloggy world...I try to please you all! I'm good like that. Not too much though...I don't want to corrupt my boho sensibilities...

by vosges paris

there is a criteria of sorts for this weekly list...

via design*sponge

but it would spoil the fun if I told you what it was...

by la porte rouge

via everything fabulous

The next one is especially for the first born...if only the vampire slayer was this cute...

via maison des lilas

via a perfect gray

via the diversion project (3rd week in a row...but far too good to leave out!)

via hey gorgeous

Oh and did I tell you? Surely I must have...this week's top ten is winging its way to you from Magnetic Island! This may have been a photo I took yesterday, after many hours of work of course!

And for my leather tote giveaway, don't forget to click here or over in the sidebar.

I did have another soul food post planned for today. It was about getting older, but I figured it could wait...as I'm not quite old enough just yet to have to worry about making it to next Friday. Because when I saw this post at Leah's blog, I thought doing this might be less depressing nicer. I couldn't track down where it originally started. There are, dear bloggy peeps, simply not enough hours in the day for that. You ready? OK, here we go...the pictures will give you some clues!

f I were a month, I would be October, revelling in the glory of spring, without the pesky winds of September

If I were a day of the week, I would be Saturday, with the work week over and half a weekend still ahead
If I were a time of day, I would be midnight, grateful for the day just gone and looking forward to the next
If I were a planet, I would be Earth, because of the whole Mother Earth thing (boho remember!)
If I were an animal, I would be a giraffe, elegant but a bit goofy
If I were a direction, I would be constantly changing, ready for the next adventure
If I were a piece of furniture, I would be a day bed, big and comfy and with room for two
If I were a liquid, I would be hot chocolate, a bit wicked but oh so comforting
If I were a gemstone, I would be a pearl, lustrous and tactile and slightly imperfect
If I were a tree, I would be a japanese maple, living in a courtyard sheltered from the winds
If I were a tool, I'd be a paint brush (not sure if that qualifies as a tool really but cut me some slack)...I'd be a paint brush, making everything beautiful with a simple stroke
If I were a flower, I would be a gardenia, beautiful to look at, wonderful to smell...and slightly temperamental :)
If I were a kind of weather, I would be a gentle breeze, soothing
If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a violin, but only in the hands of a classical maestro who could move others to tears with the beauty of his (or her) music...can you have a female maestro? Just wondering.
If I were a colour, I would be hot pink, but come back next week...I'll have changed my mind!
If I were an emotion, I would be joy
If I were a fruit, I would be a pomegranate, most beautiful on the inside
If I were a sound, I would be a bellbird's call, a childhood memory
If I were an element, I would be fire, warming not destroying
If I were a car, I’d be reliable!
If I were a food, I'd be a banquet, with something for everyone (technically speaking not one food, but hey, it's my list)
If I were a place, I'd be Venice, in all her magnificence
If I were a material, I would be a hand woven textile
If I were a taste, I would be a delicious one
If I were a scent, I would be coriander
If I were an object, I would be a book, well read, much loved, shared
If I were a body part, I’d be eyes, wanting to see it all
If I were a facial expression, I would be the Mona Lisa's smile, ever so enigmatic
If I were a pair of shoes, I would make sure you were comfortable wearing me and looked as good as you hoped you would


You might like to do this as well if you're stuck one day for a blog post...and I'd love to hear what you'd be! It was quite fun. And as much as I love it, if someone could tell me how to get "if I were a carpenter and you were a lady.." out of my head now, I'd be grateful.
pomegranate image from here...aka Nanette from Rummage...love her blog and...check out her Flickr stream

Remember how I said I'm tired by the time Thursday rolls around? Remember I said I'd just post pretty pictures on a Thursday because that seemed like an easy thing to do? Ha! Who did I think I was kidding?

via la maison boheme

Remember how I said I'd start to stockpile images I loved throughout the week? Well that wasn't the problem. That was spectacularly easy given what we see on blogs every day.

an image by Nanette at Rummage

The problem was far more complicated than that... 

via greige

The problem was...if you'll bear with me... 

via the diversion project (Jules makes an appearance for the 2nd week in a row!)

...the torture involved in whittling it down to just ten...from the around eleventy-three I'd collected.

an image by Louise of Vintage by Lou Lou

Goodness it was fun though...

an image by la porte rouge (you really must visit this site if you haven't already...she always takes the most stunning photos)

via busy being fabulous

via home-designing

via the diversion project (bloody heck there she is again...banned next week! Joking.)

an image by Johanna of vintage

Oh ok...just the one more because it made me smile so much!

via the laurel hedge

Crumbs...what have I started!

Do you know Danielle over at Hello Owl? Each week she hosts a 'My Place & Yours' bloggy get-together. She lives in the bush...I think she likes the company...go and visit! When I saw that this week's theme for My Place & Yours, chosen by Hayley from Our Unique Journey, was things in your home that make you smile...I thought I'd have a go...and to be honest work has been so full on I didn't have any other post up my sleeve. Are you ready for a glimpse into the tranquil townhouse and the style that makes me smile? Well, I smile at:

• colour, pattern and texture...

On my coffee table, a carved stone box I bought in Vietnam, a cloisonné bowl from a trip to Beijing, a little pot from Oxfam, and a glass thingy I made with my very own hands in a course at the Canberra Glassworks...I love that place. And under it a rug from Iran [I didn't travel for that one] and an embroidered velvet footstool. 

• whimsy...

My 'of course they can fly' pig. It's a cast iron money box but no money I'm afraid. Strange as it may sound, I think if my house was burning down I'd want to save him...even though he's as heavy as all get out. I'm sure it's a him. Maybe not...what do you reckon? P.S. the brown woodwork does not make me smile...it will be going to paint heaven very soon.

• the classic beauty of blue and white china...

I had more but I got rid of a lot when I downsized...I think I may have to start collecting again...there's space on those shelves for sure. And yes there is blue and white in the bottom left pic if you look very closely!

• reminders of my travels...

Vintage mongolian wall hanging...I bought this when I was lucky enough to work in Mongolia for a few weeks in 2005. It's hand embroidered (this one sewn in 1958) and signed by a woman, or perhaps it was a girl whose name means Honey in English. I liked that. These hangings are used to line the inside walls of the gers (yurts) lived in by nomadic Mongolians.

• flowers (and candles) in the bedroom...

Flowers and candles anywhere really...but there's something special about having them in the bedroom I think. And I love my black wall. I always smile when I see it and congratulate myself for my bravery!! Isn't that right Jules...go see hers here??

• funnily enough...

My John Denver autograph. Oh stop laughing! John and the pig are getting saved if the house is on fire. Hey, maybe I should call the pig Denver?! If you're a true tragic like me you can read my post about John here. It has lots of pretty pictures :)

• buddhas...

Yes, bloggy peeps it's not called a TRANQUIL townhouse for nothing. I have lots of buddhas...they're serene. I mainly have enigmatic ones like these but I do have a couple of laughing buddhas as well. This is a collection I will definitely be keeping and growing. Fashionable or not!

• last, and definitely least...

Capturing the vampire slayer in a very unflattering pose! Oh yes, that is smile worthy. Laughable actually.

Thank you Danielle for hosting My Place & Yours...it was fun taking a look at things around the place from a different perspective. I had lots more I could have included...the 22 year old for instance...who sometimes makes me smile...but not last night when he spilled red curry all over the carpet! That was more a grimace than a smile. And the MGM when he visits of course...he's very funny so it's more laughing than smiling.

Come back tomorrow for my weekly picks of the top ten images since last Thursday. Oh the blog stalking I've been doing for those! Gasp-arama-ness.

all images taken and picnicked by me