Procrastinating

Firstly may I say thank you to everyones lovely comments concerning my upcoming trip to New York. I appreciate the excitement you feel for me and it is lovely to be able to share this news with you. Now the most pressing thing on my mind, of course, is packing. I have my wardrobe and shoes mostly sorted but am in a dilemma about whether to pack boots. Would this be overkill for October? I am taking super comfortable Merrill walking shoes, a low heeled mary jane for dining out and am also debating whether to pack a pair of sandals. Will it be warm enough for sandals during fall in NY?? I stalk the weather reports and read trip advisers for recommendations but am getting mixed signals about what the weather can do during October. I have decided to take my light wool coat just in case. Any suggestions would be appreciated as I'm trying to stick to my usual three pairs of shoes limit. While I sat this morning in my pretty room deliberating world peace and which shoes to take I snapped some instagram photos and wasted time playing with filters because isn't this just the best thing to do when procrastinating? And writing blog posts when I should be actioning all sorts of jobs and errands!! Annie xx

Am I the only one having trouble with the new blogger interface layout? My draft is written with appropriate spacing then preview and published post is bunched together plus I can only enable the large size photo and I prefer the extra-large option plus the photo is no longer displayed in the draft, only codes? :-(

Counting the Days until....!!!!!

Oh yeah we are leaving for New York in less than two weeks!! I am excited about this trip for many reasons...I have never been to the east coast of America, NY has been on my list of must see cities and it is Mr red roses and my 30th wedding anniversary. I know, that achievement is a miracle in itself! We have our plans all mapped out and it will be thoroughly wonderful and I dare say I will be hootin and hollerin just like the sailor boys (from one of my favourite musicals by the way). Photos will be taken with gay abandon which I shall be Instagraming like nobodies business. Free wi-fi in the hotel and hot spots will be utilized I assure you. Lots of action is happening at the house before we fly away so the remainder of this year makes for hectic times. Fun Fun Fun! *Apologies for the scrunched up post, the clip may have altered something or this new fangled blogger interface might be playing tricks on me? Annie xx

The Art of Pottering About

Saturday morning is one of my favourite times to cruise through my home..pottering about.
I adore rearranging, sorting, plumping up cushions, flower arranging, admiring my surroundings and snapping photos.
I can spend an incredible amount of time pottering about my home and seeing the beauty in everyday things. Even a glance through a window screen from our upper storey to the blue sky and towering trees.

Might be classed as wasting time to some folk but I argue it is good for the soul.
Enjoy your weekend and spend time just pottering about, you will benefit .. I promise.

Annie xx

Screens are common in Australia for keeping out flies, mosquitoes, birds, snakes, lizards, spiders, beetles and any other pesky fauna which would like to invade a household.

Celebrations and Blue Skies

Last weekend saw us skipping down to the New South Wales south coast for a family celebration.
We enjoyed ourselves immensely and it is always great to catch up with far flung family members. The weather was perfect if just a little bit windy and chilly.
Just look at our brilliant blue Australian sky...glorious.

In the blink of an eye the weekend was over and it was time to fly home with our memories.

Hope your weekend was lovely too

Annie xx

Back to Basics

Instagram collage 

A new blog layout...again.

I have reverted back to basics with my blog. Simple and no nonsense.

This blogging caper has reaffirmed what I always knew about myself..I like to keep it simple.

Simple doesn't hurt my head!

Annie xx

The Things We Do

I took this self portrait photo for Instagram showcasing my locks. Why?
No reason at all, just felt like fluffing around.
Mr red roses watched me then proclaimed 'geez you're a worry'.
He makes me laugh and he has a point!






Click on my Instagram follow button over on the sidebar to see my gallery of photos if you feel inclined.
I do have a lot of fun on Instagram.

Annie xx

A Test Run

Hello all. This short post is a test of the Blogging app I have installed on my iPhone. Increasingly I'm getting lazy about switching on the computer so if this app works for me it will be great for those days i wish to get a post up quickly and maybe to use when travelling.

Kitchen Love

Gosh it's been a week since my last post..time does fly.
To kick off this gloomy winter Monday in my neck of the woods I'm sharing photos of my kitchen. Those of you who've been following this blog since the early days (a year this August!) will know my family commenced a major renovation on our little piece of paradise set in the trees. A few of my blog friends have suggested I show more of my home and so here we are, the kitchen was a major exercise and I think it deserves to make an appearance on this little blog.
I was intending to share before pics then realised they're stored on the desktop and if I shut down the laptop to start again etc etc this post will never get up darlinks, so you will just have to use your imaginations.
So imagine an original 1990 kitchen in varying shades of blue with a servery bench top the size of a airport runway. We totally gutted the space in February 2011. The result is a design which Mr red roses and I conjured up. We'd renovated the kitchen in our last house using white cupboards and black bench tops and found that aesthetic suited us brilliantly so it was a no brainer to run with that scheme again. I can't see myself ever getting tired of black and white contrast. Clean, clutter free surfaces in my kitchen make my heart sing..
All in all I am beyond happy with the design and functionality. I hope you enjoy taking a wander through these photos I took on the iPhone soon after we moved in after the renovations.

I am very proud of my house because Mr red roses and I toiled extremely hard and extraordinary effort was poured into transforming this house.
You've surely heard the saying..'Blood Sweat and Tears', well it applied to us!

Entertaining is figuring in our lives once more since the dust has settled (figuratively speaking).
There's still a laundry to build and exciting plans for the outside entertaining area. All the fun and joy of major works (fingers crossed) are to commence in the not too distant future and the testament to our optimism is the cement mixer has been uncovered and hauled out to be press ganged into earning it's keep once again.

Wishing you happy tidings this week and stay safe.

Annie xx

A Pleasant Saturday Afternoon

Mr red roses and I ventured out for a walk along the Brisbane River today. Sunny, warm, hard to believe it's winter.
Huge redevelopment of the commercial port area has seen mega expensive apartments springing up.
Our beloved pooch enjoys a stroll although her advancing years are catching her up so when she lags behind she is scooped up and carried. Bless her.
A stop for bruschetta and coffee afterwards was in order before heading home.
All in all a pleasant Saturday afternoon enjoying the delights of our city.

Annie xx

Tuesday and Instagram

Happy Tuesday all.

For some unknown reason to me my Instagram photos are not loading on my sidebar and while it's probably easily rectified I shall put on my lazy hat and wait for my IT literate son to sort out the glitch. 

Meanwhile if you click on the newly installed 'followgram' link on the sidebar all my photos are displayed. As I have mentioned before I am having the time of my life with Instagram taking visuals of fanciful things and just recently discovered a free app called Frametastic and now my addiction knows no bounds!

I shall leave you with a serene shot of the most divinely scented candle and the most vibrant red nail polish my nails will be sporting by days end.

What girl doesn't enjoy having gifts bestowed on her...I Love It!

Thanks A-M & FF 

Pink Slippers and Rumination

Rumination

1. To turn a matter over and over in the mind.

2. To chew cud.

How in the devil's name is this word and it's meaning associated with a photo of pretty pink slippers you ask?

My gorgeous new slippers are the perfect foot attire when sitting in my rocking chair to Ruminate. Mr red roses informs me I ruminate a lot. Maybe chewing some cud might be beneficial although I'll keep that up my sleeve for desperate times.

For several weeks (probably more) I have toyed with the direction of this blog and how I need to proceed. Often I have wavered with throwing in the towel like all bloggers who are finding their own unique path and not because I run dry of ideas but dithering over HOW often do I want/need to post. The direction I'm journeying along has become apparent to me and herein lies a dilemma. My creative side is nudging me to be more prolific with posting with emphasis on a photo to convey my thoughts because I'm no wordsmith. Sure I can string a sentence together but if I'm honest I find composing time consuming and laborious and I truly admire bloggers who write so eloquently (and probably don't do a gazillion drafts with endless checks in the process).

Changing to a different format like Tumblr was considered but my kids and a couple of wise fellow blog friends advised I can still mould my blogger blog into what I desire and I ran the risk of losing my connection with my blog readers which didn't appeal.

A part of my blog journey has been to answer all comments because I appreciate and value the effort my readers take to do this. There are literally thousands of blogs circulating so to capture the dear folk who stop by RRC astounds me. The rapport I've built up with many of you since commencing the blog last August has brought me untold joy and I certainly don't wish to lose this camaraderie.

I guess what I'm trying to say is if I step up my input into this blog I may not have time to answer comments as frequently, sometimes not at all? Also I want/need to find time to follow and comment on my favourite blogs which is important to moi. Truly there just isn't enough hours in a day and I suppose we each need to discover what works best for ourselves.

Even as I waffle here about this issue I'm feeling overly dramatic but I would be sad if any reader felt I had lost interest in what they had to say. Far from it, I read every comment twice before publishing and again after publishing. Your words make my day!

Finding the quirky angle or beauty in a photograph brings me a silly amount of joy and I'm revelling in this. Who knew! 

The Instagram app on my iPhone has become addictive due to the fact it is quick, easy, followers can easily leave a comment or push the Like button. Instant gratification which has lead me to question the merits of blogging for me personally. So much so I find I'm taking photos that could be displayed to perhaps better effect on this blog. I'm no photographer as such..heck my hand-me-down SLR is still on auto, I don't use any whizz bang features or tricks and I still haven't learnt how to crop. *Note to self...Read the Manual Annie.

Finding something to snap helps me focus on the beauty in my life and surroundings plus it's also a great stress reliever and stress is front and centre in my life at the moment. My husbands workplace is going through very turbulent times and I have a health condition I need to get my head around. 

I do feel like I'm waffling now so I hope you get what I'm saying. Basically I'm going to attempt to bombard you with more frequent succinct posts which hopefully are entertaining.

Well that's the plan! I live in hope.

Now if all this talk of Instagram wets your appetite please don't ask me how to set it up to link to your blog from your smart phone because I took the lazy easy option and asked my incredibly smart son to install it! However you can visit here where Beth has written a post on how to set up the gadget-thingamy-whatsit.

For those not familiar with the workings of my Instagram sidebar just place the cursor over a photo and a brief description appears then click on the picture for an enlarged vision. Each day I usually place a couple of pictures of whatever takes my fancy. 

Fun fun fun!

Righto then I'm off to boil the jug for a cuppa and contemplate reorganising my wardrobe. A far bit of cajoling is happening to get my daughter on board to do the deed for me!

Take care one and all...

Annie xx

A Bouquet

Beautiful palest pink roses used in a bouquet for a bridal fashion shoot which was styled by my talented daughter.

This photo is on the sidebar temporarily so I couldn't resist including it on my blog to share their sheer beauty and keep the memory forever.

Perfection.

Which leads me to ask...'which is Your favourite coloured Rose'?

Annie xx

Wednesday Wanderings

London.

I love London to bits. Visiting England again one day is on my must do list. Our first trip there was in 1984 as a young married couple, hauling backpacks and staying in some rather cheap and less than salubrious accommodations. 

In 2008 we had the pleasure of taking our two grown children to this magnificent country and gained much pleasure in showing them the wonders of London town.

A week was spent in a delightfully cosy Kensington flat during November (brrr it was getting chilly for this Queensland girl) and one morning as we were heading out for the day we spied this very cute black taxi which had been given a quirky and colourful make-over.

Did I mention I adore London?

Annie xx

Ps. I'm having oodles of fun with Instagram. Look on my sidebar to view my attempts at photography. Fun fun fun x

Wednesday Wanderings

Today I have chosen several photos snapped on our sailing trip last week around the Whitsunday Islands.

Luckily we experienced glorious weather and fairly calm conditions. 

I hope you enjoy these images. 

 Bat fish

 Whitehaven Beach

Three wild goats out for a midday stroll

 Just hanging around

 Hamilton Island 

 Mode of transport is golf buggies. Cute

 We moored at Hamilton mariner for a night 

All very tropical and lovely and special don't you agree?

I am blessed to live in a beautiful part of the world.

Annie xx