Tray Gardens ... catch my column in Page7 seven ...

I started this blog ... thinking more the pictures...lesser I'll need to talk ... I do admit I love to talk ... and I can get carried away ... but I am experiencing its another thing to be writting for a magazine ... :)
Rack your head honey, come up with those pages ... phew!
Never the one to miss trying out something new ... I have agreed to pen down my thoughts for Jaya... editor over at Page 7 Seven and MediaVoice Mag ... based out of Chennai.If you manage to get your hands on one of the issue ... catch up with my banter ... yeppy yeah! more of Rajee ... ;);)
 My column in the Feb. issue was about tabletap  ... well ! ahem ... I like the sound of ... the Tray Gardens ... really one hell of a fav. and absolutely fun ... thingy to try ...

... I was over at a friends place sometime back and I have to admit I loved her version ... with big river rock and seasonal flower pots ... right off the nurseries ... you'd have been immediately drawn to that corner  too ... :)
Would love to hear all your thoughts ... may be you are already hunting for a tray  ... a platter ... so what is it going to be for you  ... sand or stones ... ;)
I really love sharing my thoughts here ... and hope you enjoyed this one as well ...
Will update you about the March issue which just hits the stands ... Ah! didn't I say more of Rajee banter ... share with me your thoughts and stay tuned for tons of my banter ... ;)

Winner, Award, Autumn & Sneak Peak....

Today is officially the last day of Summer here in the Land Down Under.

I am not one to say 'oh' or anything like that. The thought of getting into longer sleeves, light scarves and getting the throw rugs out puts a spring in my step.

I am looking forward to re-lighting our big ol kitchen fire (see above) also.

So I have been thinking of other ways to introduce warmth into our home and found these beauties...

via sweet paul

An amazing knitted lampshade.

Although I don't think having it turned on would not make my hover about it waiting for a small fire to start...loving the bottle though.

via sraige

I know this doesn't go with warming up the home, but I just love it so much

and maybe it could hold some magazines by the sofa.

via anthropology
And who wouldn't want to curl up under a throw like this? Perfect colour too.

With the thought of cooler weather I have finally had the chance to get cracking on new cushion designs and came up with this...

marley & lockyer
Vintage Botanical images on linen.
In this new range is Vintage Bird prints too...I am in love with these.

But lets get on to the giveaway winner. Dah, da da dah

Sissie from Sissies Shabby Cottage =0)

I still cant get the random.org generator thing to paste onto my blog so if you know, please inform me...I'm hopeless!!

Oh, and I was given the Stylish Blogger Award again by the ever so gorgeous and uber talented Kelly McGuill from O so D.

How sweet of you Kelly. I wont bore you again though with 7 things about me as I only done it a few posts back. thank you Kelly and thank you to each of you who entered the giveaway, blogged about it, posted on your sidebars, joined FB and this Blog...you are all so wonderful =0)

I will be having another giveaway soon.

Ness xx

Celebrating Julia Reed

When it comes to parties, I really don't think you need an excuse to throw one. "Just because" can be one of the best reasons to host one. But sometimes it's fun to have a point to your party. Better yet, it's nice to have a guest of honor.

For the past few months, I had been mulling over ideas for a party. Maybe a birthday party for somebody? A bon voyage fête? And then late one night, it hit me. What about a party in honor of Julia Reed? Now, if you're thinking how neat it is that I know Julia Reed, stop. I don't know Julia Reed. I'd love to know her, but I've never met her. I adore her writing, admire her sense of humor, and think that she must be the life of every party she attends. But she didn't attend my party. Rather, she was the guest of honor in absentia.

I'm sure this sounds crazy to most of you, and maybe it is crazy, but I have a group of neighbors and friends who are just as crazy about Julia Reed as I. When we get together for drinks or dinner, Julia Reed inevitably comes up in conversation. We cook her recipes, drink her drinks, and talk about her like we know her. That's why I knew I could throw out the idea of having a Julia Reed party and not worry that they would think I had lost control of my mental faculties. In fact, everyone was gung-ho in favor of the party. After all, they knew that any party with Julia Reed (real or imaginary) means good food and a lot of libations.



So let's start with the drinks- sometimes, they're the most important part of a party. In honor of New Orleans, the home of Julia Reed, I served French 75s, one of my favorite warm weather cocktails. (You know that any drink with gin and champagne can't be half bad.) My neighbors David and Scott brought Satsuma Stingers. And of course, there was wine. A lot of wine. I wanted to take a photo of my drinks table (the living room half of the Kittinger table) once it was set up and looking pretty, but I didn't get a chance to. Once everyone arrived, the table immediately looked like it had been hit by locusts. I guess that's a good sign, right?





For the food, we wanted to serve dishes that Julia Reed has written about in her books and her former New York Times food column. Because she is Southern, we are Southern, and our style of entertaining is Southern, it means that the food mostly consisted of cheese, pork, and beef. How my ancestors lived to such ripe old ages, I haven't a clue.




If you've read Queen of the Turtle Derby and Other Southern Phenomena, you might remember Julia Reed's chapter on funeral food. It used to be that anytime somebody died in the South, you showed up at the family's home bearing a beef tenderloin. Fortunately, nobody died around here, but I did serve a really tasty tenderloin with a mustard horseradish sauce.




Some of you are probably very familiar with Sausage Balls. If you're not, then you're probably thinking that they sound kind of trashy. Listen, don't knock 'em til you try 'em. My sister serves these to her guests in San Francisco, people who are either super health conscious or big time food snobs. They might snicker, but then they proceed to inhale them. Julia Reed also wrote about these tasty morsels in Queen of the Turtle Derby.




My friend Angela is a fellow Julia Reed fan. When she met Julia Reed at a book signing, she had the author autograph her copy of Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties: An Entertaining Life (with Recipes) not on the title page, but rather on Julia Reed's favorite recipe. Want to know what it is? Mary Bell's Pimento Cheese. Angela made the pimento cheese, and it was delicious. You can see how we made a dent in it.





And of course, we couldn't forget that it's Mardi Gras, so David and Scott brought a King Cake. When Scott ordered it, the bakery asked him if he wanted it decorated. Scott asked them what that entailed. Turns out it entails beads, doubloons, and that lovely feathered mask. Oh, and horns too. Why not go for broke? Angela, David, Scott, and I just had to get our picture taken with...it.

That photo placed in front of the King Cake? It's a photo of Julia Reed's New Orleans house that she wrote about in The House on First Street: My New Orleans Story. David and Scott took it while they were down in New Orleans last weekend. (Told you we were crazy for Julia Reed.) In a way, it almost made us feel as though our guest of honor was actually at the party. Well, almost.

Julia, next time you're in Atlanta, come on over to Plaza Towers. We're ready for another party!

Slowly but surely ... on his road to recovery ... a lil' bitty about ... Doginder

an old pic ... Prerna introducing Doginder and Aimee to Bamboo shoots ... :)

We can't thank you all enough for all the prayers ... in moments of despair ... hope and prayers ... keep you chugging along...don't let you give up ... and we know that there were soooo many being sent up for our lil' boy ...

Many of you wanted to know how Chotu Singh is doing ... so I thought I'd update you of his current recovery status. Shuttling between home and hospital everyday for his doses of steroids and physio,Chotu is yet to support himself on his hind legs. Due to nerve compression he has lost the control over them ... I don't want to use the P word to state his condition ... because somehow I feel more comfortable saying he is working towards getting up and about on his legs again ... I don't know why but ... I guess its about denying and dealing with the issue ... keeps the optimism going ... ??? ... my way I guess  ...

His family is working sooooo hard. It is a labour of love ... loads of labour and tons of love ... :) ...  to keep those beautiful eyes twinkling and cheerful ...

His buddy Aimee is just soooo excited to go and see him everyday ... keeps his spirits high and gets him excited enough ( for sometime) to chew his fav. chewy bone ...  Ah! and some bit of Pigeon chasing by Aimee also gets him to sit up ... Sofiee, his naughty buddy will have to wait a while because we want to be carefull about not hurting his backbone at the moment and Sofiee the baby that she is ... can get all excited and jumpy ... :)

It is the most amazing feeling to go and see him everyday ... thankful for all the prayers that have made sure he is with us ... his beautiful eyes slowly trying to follow Prerna's every movement ... and his blissful look when he knows Jaspreet ( Prerna's brother ) is home ... 

Its a patient wait  ... and we are all praying that he is able to get back onto his legs and give some more morning joggers a run for their ... ;) ... you know what ... but that's another story ...

Loads more prayers ... tons of love ... all headed your way... Chotu ... GET WELL SOON ...

French Style Bedrooms

Amazing Villa French Style Bedroom


Romantic French Style Bedroom


Beautiful French Style Bedroom With Wooden Furniture


Classical French Style Bedroom


Elegant Hotel French Style Bedroom


Beautiful French Style Bedrooms With Minimalist Beds


Simple French Style Bedrooms With Beautiful Beds


Green French Style Bedrooms With Curtain Combination

Busy designing & GIVEAWAY REMINDER. 1 day to go!

For a lot of you in the North Spring is on it's way, which means that Autumn is about to start here in Australia. This is always a good time for me creatively as the cooler weather keeps me inside and for some reason, inspired.

lately I have needed to be as very soon I will be taking my little business, Marley&Lockyer to...
The Niche Designer Markets are going to be held on April 1st & 2nd this year with 2 more markets to come in August and November (I will be at the November one also). If you are in Tasmania, I would love for you to stop by the M&L stand and say hi and introduce yourselves.
It will be at the Inveresk Tram Sheds and will feature some of Tasmania and the Mainlands finest Artisans and Designers. Click on the link to find out more.

Today I spent the day playing with new clay designs. In particular, clay earrings.

Here they are waiting to have their backs put on and onto their little display cards.

I tried some of the plain white clay ball earrings out and took this pic with my web cam, so it is not the best quality.
Keep in mind it is my creative day today, so I have no makeup on and my hair is not done.

I did try to get a close up of the Bird earrings as well.

Loving these little pretties with the bird heads, and surprisingly

they are not heavy at all.

Don't like heavy earrings.

Web cam shot again, poor quality, but I had to show =0)

Lots of new tags have come out of today's venture indoors,
including some tags I had made back in July which I had never photographed.
If you are a Marley&Lockyer Facebook follower you will be able to see the rest.


My poor office is a mess, but my picture wall is coming along and I have more to add yet,

but haven't quite had the time for the moment.

I do love the vintage french prints which were a gift hanging on the left there

and my little canvases to the right.

If you are wondering what the little person is at the bottom it was a gift from our little Mason

on his first day of school...it's supposed to be me!

That's what I have been up to of late. I hope you have entered the GIVEAWAY

(see last post) as it is drawn tomorrow.

Ness xx

all pics by me.

The magic of gold ... ;)

 One of my fav. craft projects is a can  of gold spray paint  ... and exploring the next thing that'll look ...WOW !  all sprayed up ... :) ... seriously ... I've tried ... bug infested dry leaves of almond trees ... you can see I used those for a tablescape here  ... dried flowers ... fruits ... and I have to say  ... they do look nicey ... :)

... so when the good folks from Hindustan Times called up for that photoshoot and interview I mentioned in an earlier post ...  I was a lil' hesitant ... honestly haven't had much going with the home projects ...

...and so to get the house ready for some good shots ... I got cracking with accents ... and ofcourse the old fav. can of gold spray popped out of the store ... :)

...this whole gold thingy with gold spray paint started quite by accident ... as a new bride ... and no budget for a home do-up ... I once used a spray painted river rock as a paper weight on all my magazines on the coffee table ... thanks to that windy apartment ... this idea has stayed with me ...

... only this time I used small pebbles I had collected from the beaches of Porbandar (Gujrat) last year ...

... oh! this big one I stole from Sarah ... Hey! nothing like a smart talking mum eh!... ;) ... uhuh ! no harm done  ... my lil' girl is really happy with  her gold stone (I did return it to her after this shoot ) ... what did you think ... :)

... the paint may be the same ... but  the texture of the stone or the thingy you are spraying ... is a defining factor ... when it comes to the final look ...

... the cool ... magic working ... can of spray paint ... you'd actually get a whole range of brands ...  the stationer's keep brands like the can you see in this picture ... but your hardware guy will have a whole diff.brand range ... and ofcourse more shades of gold than you'd be comfortable to decide between... :)

... some old ... shell plates came in handy to display my collection ... this time ...

... hope you got some idea brewing in your mind ... may be silver is the color for you ... oh! have you been thinking of covering some old piece of furniture with spray paint ... wow go for it ... of if not than hang on ... I'm sure I'll be doing some more goofy things around the place ... I'll sure give you that final push of confidence ... ;)

And I'll look forward to hearing from you incase you kind of likey some ideas here ... I sure hope you do ... :)