The embellished ballet slipper....

 

A pair of my darlings satin ballet slippers, embellished with a discarded pair of earrings, no longer worn...alas my days of after five wear are behind me...still shaped by her little toe, straining to point and dreaming of floating across the stage to Mozart...

 

....now hung on the corner of a portrait of a real ballerina, because she now has real ballerinas' pointe shoes...

 

But these will serve as a reminder, that all little ballerinas had to start somewhere...

 

 

...hung prettily on her wall, much as her brothers displayed their sports trophies...

 

...a delicate reminder of an era lost, and skills gained.

 

Even if you don't have a dancing daughter, ballet slipper can be had for very little. Try eBay or your nearest Dancers Shoppe.

 

The earrings? Well I was a bit of a glamour girl once and these were expensive...but I'm sure you have your own treasures with which to embellish your ballet slippers.

 

What's on your Tray of Bliss today?

Cook Seasonal and save!

Check these out...lush eh?

These are my strawberry iced tea Gluten Free Muffins.

So easy, just use my Basic Muffin Recipe, add those strawberries that have gone smooshy in the fridge, ice with icing sugar mixed with some Berry flavoured iced tea, and squiggle with some strawberry topping decanted into a squeezee bottle.

Too easy!

We waste very little here.

Smooshy fruit is always baked into muffins or slices. In fact I look for smooshy fruit at the greengrocer for that reason. Seasonal smooshy fruit can be got for mere pennies and also means you can eliminate or reduce the amount of sugar, butter and oils in your baked goods. Just replace some or all of the sugar and butter for a great guilt free baked treat.

Some of the best muffins and teabreads I've made have been laced with mashed up fruit, that many I know would have tossed in the bin. Now, don't be silly about it, rotten is rotten. But if it's just a bit soft and past it's best, then go for it.

In season here at the moment, remembering it's Spring in Australia, are berries of all kinds, guava, coconut, pineapple, mango, mangosteen, apples, mandarins and much more. If you can't find somewhere to squeeze some of that lot into your diet, then there's something wrong!

Look for your seasonal fruit guides on your local statutory body's website...everyone has one.

It's a great way to save big dollars on your food bill!



The Teen Bohemian Bedroom Makeover...

  

My daughter adores the Bohemian-Shabby-Chic-Gypsy look.

 The thing about this particular look is that the devil is in the detail. This style thrives on overkill and one can simply not execute it well, without going totally OTT (over the top). Restraint is not one of the elements of the Boho style.

In an effort to recreate French inspired lace drops, I searched everywhere for pretty lace panels to hand simply over the windows. I looked at many options for achieving this effect, and finally stumbled upon some lace table runners at the discount store for just $2.50 each, that I fashioned into faux blinds, by seaming them at one end, and attaching them to the window frame with that stretch curtain wire. This gives a very pretty window treatment for very little outlay.

A favourite collectable teddy and antique French boudoir doll, watch over our girl when she sleeps, and they're seated on a vintage vinyl pouffe.

Her bedside tables reflect the French inspired theme, with curved top, legs and crackled finish. Favourite trinkets are displayed here...a shabby chic clock, a dancing bride and groom in a music box cloche, and a vintage brush and mirror set.

Here's our lovely $12 vintage mirror, to which we applied a cute little bluebird decal...

...her vintage Carlotta Edwards print, circa 1963, of Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn in Pas de Deux, prettily reflected...

....and more birds...

...a silver one swinging from her drawer, vintage tray with pretty kitten in background...this one she says reminds her of the Mockingjay in her current favourite book, The Hunger Games...

...a pretty pastel blue tin one perches merrily on the window treatment...

...and some little wrens framed by lacy leaves and gilded, wink at her cheekily from the side of her desk...

Then there's the bed...

The bedding is a source of great pleasure to her. Unable to decide upon a single theme, we went for a bit of everything, simply endeavouring to tie the colours together. So with a happy Spring palette of blue, apricot, pink, green, red and white, we've managed to achieve a strangely harmonious display, which she simply adores. And it's totally in keeping with that 'OTT' idea that this style seems to demand.

 The coloured patchwork quilt is a 'topper' sourced on eBay for just $15, and stitched to a pretty blue floral printed sheet to use as a light summer cover. The pink and white patchwork is another eBay find, labelled as a 'cutter' for even less. It's a little frayed around the edges and has some worn patches, but it's incredibly soft and just the thing to snuggle around slender shoulders in the wee hours when the temperature drops. And those Mexican ladies...aren't they the best? I remember having a cushion with just this kind of print on it when I was very young. My daughter saw this fabric when I bought it for another project, and just had to have it. So there it is, as a bed scarf, with those glamorous ladies grinning up at us every time we enter the room!

Here's a vintage 50's quilted satin bedjacket, an item long shunned by the modern girl, as unnecessary, but charming as a piece of art,  hanging from her wall chandelier...

....a 'B' for Ballet, or Bohemian or Beautiful...whatever you like, embroidered in silk ribbon, a thrift shop find for just $15...

...and that gorgeous Shabby Chic Pas de Deux, faded and lovely, with her very own pointe shoes hanging prettily from one corner... her absolute favourite, hung since this shot was taken.

So, now we're done.

I guess it's on to other areas of the house...perhaps that Snuggery for lil' ol' me.

What's on your Tray of Bliss today?