The rise of the toys and tea in Berry

Yes. The time has come and they are all around us; Toys! All saying "Pick me, Pick me, Pick me, I'm the right present to give!"

Stressful?

It can be. I know it is for me. So before it all starts becoming completely crazy, I went, in good company, to Berry for a nice tea and plenty of pretty things to see.

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The Tea Shop. A must see and taste in Berry.

There are a LOT of nice boutiques in Berry.

Most of the time I forgot to take pictures!

It certainly was a lovely trip, stress free and very inspiring. 
Now I'm back in my garage/studio, sewing, crafting and trying to get il all done for Christmas.
Most of the presents will be handmade this year. I can't wait to show you what I have done so far. Pictures to come soon!

Old Fashion Fair ... with circus flair.

Last Sunday was the Brookvale Oval fair. Antoine used to go as a kid and was keen on reviving his cherish memories. So off we went with his parents and sister.
I was so pleasantly surprised to find this:

A Circus Playground!

 Mia was just as thrilled as I was!

Walking sticks, tight rope, juggling, Hula Hoops ...

You could try everything for free. 

 There were clowns,

and "Robert Bubbleman" with a fantastic Bubble Show.

Of course, there were also rides and jumping castles, animals, a band and an ecstatic crowd ...

You've got to love these crowd shots ...

We concluded the day with the inevitable poney ride. We actually took turn queuing up for this and after a good 40 mimutes, it was finally Mia's turn.

And as always, she loooved it!

Sitting in line in memory lane ... 30 years ago, guess who was riding the poney...

Market, Merguez and Birds of Paradise

Sunday was blessed with sun after all and everyone was out and about. The Frenchs Forest Organic Market was crowded and more than ever it was a feast for the mouth and the eyes.




































Between the flowers and the vegetables,

I'm not sure which ones are the prettiest ...

Vegetables?

Or flowers?

I let you decide.

I'm not sure what pleased my eyes the most, but I can tell you what made my mouth very very happy!

Merguez!

Now, I'm not a sausage person. But these are no ordinary sausages! The Komlaba Merguez are ridiculously delicious! Merguez are spicy sausages originated from South of France/North Africa: I don't handle spicy very well so i was a bit wary of sampling but incredibly these don't burn your mouth, they just burst with flavours! You can actually taste the spices, not choke on them! I LOVE them!

You can visit the Kombala website for recipes and orders but I reckon they are perfect just thrown on the barbecue.

I bought a kilo and put it in the freezer where it will stay

until our first spring barbecue.

And because I could already picture myself enjoying eating out in the garden again, I bought a few plants at a very reasonnable price;$42 for the lot.

Hopefully, they'll soon give us stunning flowers like this.

To brighten a rainy day ...

I love these Bouquets. 

Louis has a gift for drawing flowers and I thought I'd share with you these treasured pictures of mine, to brighten a grey, rainy, spring day and possibly weekend ...

Van G. Louis?

What a brilliant choice of colours!

That's how I always have a vase of fresh flowers at home .... just for me.

Maybe we should have called him Vincent after all ....

Sunflowers by Louis.