These are a few of my favourite things...

This months Country Home Ideas magazine has arrived and it's chock full of goodies:)

Firstly I wanted to mention this place - So French. After seeing the full page ad in the mag I remembered my last visit there and how much I treasure this store.

So French is situated in Bowral in the beautiful NSW Southern Highlands. The area itself is picturesque and historic. Growing up, this area was always my families "sunday picnic spot" as it's only 1 1/2 hours south of Sydney and I have alot of fond memories from those times. Fortunately I still get to visit Bowral regularly as my father has lived in the next suburb - Mittagong (All aboriginal names) for the last 10 years. Unfortunately not regularly enough.


So French is run by Linda Dunsire and is a perfect little boutique selling Antique and reproduction French furniture and homewares.

So many shops sell an abundance of mass produced furnishings it's so refreshing finding a store like this, where you are guaranteed to discover something unique.

http://www.sofrench.com.au/

The next beauties I found in the magazine were these lovely hostess aprons by Annabel Trends. I have a terrible habit of not wearing an apron while I cook and have oil stained plenty of clothes *blush*. Perhaps owning one of these will encourage me to kick that habit :)

http://www.annabeltrends.com/index.htm

Next are these adorable ceramic placement settings.

Made by an American company called Place Tile designs, they feature name placement cards, menus, cheese labels, wine labels etc and you KNOW I'm loving the robins egg! :)


Julia, have a peek, you may find some ideas for your preparations ;)

http://www.placetile.com/main.html

For the next two images please excuse my dodgy scanning once again. Unfortunately they don't show up the stunning intricate detailing of these french architectural prints. I LOVE THEM!






I thought these handmade cushions featuring a floral base, linen panel and vintage button were too lovely.


Made by Nicola Stairmand from Fat Bird Farm, they are inspired by the birdlife in her Yarra Valley, Victoria home :)



http://fatbirdfarm.com.au/






Finally I found it coincidental that for weeks I couldn't remember the name of this particular retreat in Heathcote, Victoria and after featuring it and discussing it on several blogs, an 8 page spread about The Olive Grove retreat was featured on not one but two Australian magazines this month lol.



http://www.olivegroveretreat.com/




http://www.countryhomeideas.com.au/index.php