Blue Ball Mason Perfect Jars

Hello!

I hope everyone has had a lovely day? The weather here at Lou's House and Garden has been strange... it was dark, grey and pouring rain this morning and then after lunch... hot, muggy and sunny.

With all this weird and humid weather my roses are looking a bit sad as they have been overrun with black spot. :( I have been trying for a while to rid the horrible fungal disease with no success, so I gave up last week and cut back all my roses that were affected. So I will have to wait for Autumn for the next full blast of colour. So...

In the meantime I have been admiring these Blue Ball Mason Perfect Jars...

I first noticed these jars on one of my favourite blogs (http://postroadvintage.com). They were manufactured in the early 1900's as preserving jars and have now become a collector's item.

After falling for these simple but unique pieces I searched and searched to purchase some from the USA (as they are very difficult to find in Australia).

I am happy to announce that I had success in bringing some to over!! :)

These jars are perfect for use as a jar (haha), a vase, for storage or just display. They have been very popular in the USA as table centrepieces to hold flowers at weddings. If I knew about them back when I was organising my wedding, the theme would have gone in a completely different direction! They are blue, antique and hold flowers... they are soooo me! Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda.. right??

I love having these jars around Lou's House and Garden. One way I put them on display is as a hanging vase / lantern.

Beautiful.. right???

Using a bit of galvanised tie wire I have been able to produce these gorgeous pieces.

If you want to have your own unique, useful and beautiful antique please feel free to visit my Ebay (loushandg) or feel free to contact me through Lou's House and Garden.

Sleep tight!

Love! Love! Love!

A few new things...

Hi all,

nearly 6 months ago I left my full time job at a law firm in order to work in an environment where I could be surrounded by products in which I had a genuine interest. 

I have been working for a furniture and homewares company since and my staff discount has just kicked in! :)

One of the items that I purchased was this set of plant pots. 

As soon as I saw these beautiful pots I knew I had to have them. Being blue and white they suit my home decor, but they also have a timeless look that will compliment my homes in the future.

At the moment I have the pots in our BBQ area in the backyard. I would love to have them out the front to greet any visitors, but don't want to risk them being taken by an admiring passer.

I am in love with ceramic garden stools at the moment (which I am sure will continue), so when work got some in I had to have them too! :)

Both nice to look at and practical, ceramic garden stools can be used as a seat or as a side table.

I love the unique colour of this particular stool as it gives an antique look. 

Prior to my current job, my handsome husband purchased one in white for me for my birthday. 

A slightly different style but of course the white compliments everything! This particular one looks great in our master bedroom. 

Have a great day!

French Kitchen Chairs

Good morning all!

My latest fun project has been restoring some kitchen chairs.

The chairs were originally a stained pine but with a little paint and a sand I was able to turn them into gorgeous chairs. Painting them white will allow them to fit into most colour schemes and by giving them a sand they have that very popular antique/vintage look. The overall look shouts french provincial / shabby chic / beach cottage.

Chairs are another obsession of mine. I have a number of occasional chairs that are never really used, but hey, they look great!

These gorgeous re-furbished chairs would make a great addition to any home that followed the french provincial theme...

 

If you are interested in purchasing one of these chairs (4 available) please contact me or visit my ebay store loushandg. 


P.s - loving the blue ball mason jars in these photos? You can have your very own... coming soon! :)

Brownies

When I was young my Mum always used to bake biscuits for me to add to my lunch box. One of my favourite treats She used to make me were brownies.

Since moving out of home I now bake my own brownies...

I thought they would taste even better served up on my Cornishware Blue and of course a cutting from my blue hydrangea looks perfect in the picture! :)

For some reason my brownies don't look like the ones you would see served in cafes and bakery's. The bought ones are usually thicker and more moist.

I think next time I bake the brownies I will use self raising flour (instead of normal flour which is in the recipe) and not keep the mix in the oven for as long so the biscuits are not as dry.

As soon as I find the perfect mix and method I will publish for all to share.

Hope you are all enjoying this beautiful Saturday afternoon.

First day of summer

Good morning!

today is the first day of summer and it is cold and cloudy outside.

Storms and rain are on the forecast for Sydney for the next couple of days and this means all the flowers in the garden will wilter and be damaged. So I've been doing a fair bit of pruning and bringing all the beautiful flowers inside... why not enjoy their beauty!!

I wanted to share some of my favourite little beauties with you... enjoy!!!

Abraham Darby Rose

Virgo Rose

Blue Hydrangea (my current obsession)

Abraham Darby & Monsier Tillier

Hessian Artwork

Good morning all!!

For a while now the wall behind our couch has been bare. I just haven't been able to find what would fit the space and suit the room. 

I am going through a phase of loving hessian. I love french provincial/country/shabby chic/vintage style and hessian fits in with this mix of style perfectly! 

So after reading some of my favourite blogs I was feeling inspired and creative to make my own masterpiece. I had some hessian sacks (which we were going to use for a bed for Daisy), and some white frames that I had collected over time. 

Simply cutting up the hessian to fit into each frame was all it took to create our lounge room artwork...

Daisy watching over with much curiosity.

I picked up two of these gorgeous cushions from Freedom (www.freedom.com.au) the other day and they look great on our couch under my new wall art!!! Loving the linen with blue and white stripes. Matches my theme for the whole house perfectly! Love love love it!!!

Have a great day!

Mwah! xoxo

Fresh strawberry and white choc chip muffins! yummy!!

Yesterday I made yummy strawberry and white chocolate chic muffins. They are delicious!!!

Every week I make a fresh batch of muffins using the same recipe but just change the flavours. In the past I have made milk chocolate chip, double chocolate chip, banana, lemon and berry. But this particular mix is my favourite so far.

I picked up the strawberries from the Warwick Farm Trackside Markets www.warwickfarmtracksidemarket.com.au (awesome markets!!!). For once I got a punnet of strawberries that are not deceiving by looking red and fresh on the top and then mushy and yuck on the bottom. All of the strawberries were fresh and yummy.

Here is the great recipe I use for my muffins...

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of self-raising flour, sifted
1 1/4 cups of vegetable oil
3/4 cup of milk
1/2 cup of caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cups of flavour (e.g. mashed banana, strawberries and white choc chip, milk choc chips etc)

Method
1. Preheat over to 180 degrees (fan forced);
2. Grease muffin tins;
3. Mix all dry ingredients together and make a well;
4. Mix all wet ingredients together and pour into the well;
5. Add flavourings and mix well until just combined;
6. Place in tins and bake for 20 minutes.

This recipe makes 12 small muffins.

ENJOY!!!