A single woman’s right to…

shoes an ornament free house.

All my life I have lived with the blessing curse of being “she who is given ornaments”.

It may sound like a miniscule thing and obviously, it’s nice to be given something rather than nothing at all…but there is a point at which one has to say…enough is enough, particularly:

• when one is also cursed with a paucity of storage space and an over-abundance of style and a lack of places to put things…
• After decades years of moving collections around, packing them, storing them, dusting them, polishing them and agonising over where they would go…
• Given my preference to re-use, recycle and purchase responsibly (and by responsibly I don’t just mean in terms of my homeowners lack of budget) and sustainably…
• Given my current lack of items I actually need, as well as items I would like to have…and as opposed to ornaments or tokens others think I might need or want or should have.

So enough is most definitely enough, from now on there are house rules:

• No more ornaments, unless I choose them
• No purchasing of unneccessary items (NB – shoes are not unneccessary)
• Items should meet a specific requirement(s)
• Items can be decorative/design-oriented while still being practical
• Items can be things I want, but would not buy straight away
• Items do not have to be expensive

What I have done, to aid those of you who have expressed a wish to purchase an item to grace my domain, is list things below that I either do need, or do want and will be buying as soon as funds are available.

There is a whole range of things – from cheap packets of seeds through to big items.

Don’t be scared of the big items, they are only on there because this list is going to also be a record of what I need to purchase too…(meaning I am the one who should be scared, not you ;P)

Where I am trying to indicate a specific type of thing, I have included a link…so you know exactly what sort of terracotta pot I mean – it doesn’t mean you have to purchase it, nor purchase it from where I am linking to – it’s a guide to the appearance of the item or the brand…

Kitchen things:

• corkscrew
• trivet (its a thing you put hot pots on so you don’t leave hot pot marks on your nice bamboo cutting boards)
• a mini whisk (so’s I can whisk things in little pots)
• a meat tenderiser (one of those hammer things so I can hammer dead meat…it sounds disgusting, but it makes great schnitzels)
• a knife sharpener that suits a variety of knives (sushi just aint the same without a sharp nice…altho I think I have invented a new style of sushi that I like to call “Squashi”)
• 1 x ikea trygg serving bowl (yes I know ikea can be tvattas about sustainability, but they are cheap…which is no excuse but it’s the only one I can offer)
• Gin and Titonic Ice Cube Tray
• cake tin (one of the round ones that comes apart)
• a shallow baking tray (about a3 sized – pick the designer, not the cook ;P)
• a cooling rack
• a proper italian pasta maker/machine

Bedroom things

• KAS Ripple Throw in charcoal
• Quilt Cover - Dominique White by Logan & Mason – King
• Quilt Cover – Flocked Leaf charcoal/grey by Modern Home (Target USA) – King
• Sheet Sets (Flat, Fitted + 2 pillows) – Lilac, Spearmint, Pewter, Granite or Watermelon - Queen
• Etsy – BiBBon’s store: Eyemask in Trees are Good

Garden things:

• Bay tree
• Seeds: Parsley (the wrinkled one), cat grass (dactylis glometra), chives (normal and garlic), loose leaf lettuce, leek, rhubarb, soya bean, bush tomatoes, shallot, dichondra
• Bulbs: hyacinth (blue), grape hyacinth (blue), dutch iris (professor)
• Rosemary (blue)
• Australian native violets
• Native wisteria (Purple)
• Seedlings – Coriander, Basil, lemon thyme
• Liriope (Royal Purple)
• Wild iris – dietes grandiflora
• Terracotta Pots – 25cm diameter – x 4
• Terracotta Round Bowls – Size 3 – x 2

Outdoor things:

• Domayne Crown doormat (front door) – given the doormat is her majesty’s preferred location when surveying her domain, the crown one is the most appropriate
• White Solar Powered Shoji Lanterns – Bunnings have them cheap
• BBQ implements

Pretty things:

• Phalaenopsis orchid (white) x 2
• Phalaenopsis orchid (pink / mauve / purple ) x 1
• ikea bladet vase
• freedom capsule vase (s, m and l)
• Retro Bullet Planter (White, small)
• Tord Boontje Garland Light Fitting (2 x Silver, 2 x Black)

Other things

• ikea benjamin stool x 2 (not made anymore :\)
• ikea bekvan step stool (x1)
• expedit 4×4 and 2×4 – black-brown – 3 each 1 x expedit 4×4 and 2 x 2×4 – black-brown
• Floor Lamp – arc, chrome shade
• Table lamp – Newport x 2 (Discontinued)

That’s all I can think of for now, I will add to this as I go along – so ultimately this list will also show you my progress to things I want to achieve, where  I have been given things  as gifts or purchased them myself, I will cross things out.

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