Necessary Purchase?

When determining a budget there are those inevitable conversations about what are necessary purchases and what are not.  It seems my husband and I have different ideas about what is a necessary purchase and this can make for some interesting negotiations on my behalf.  My most recent example are these awesome skull jewellery boxes I read about on Peep my Style.  Necessary?  Yes!

 

You can buy them here

M xx

Bali

We were lucky enough to head to Bali for a mini break over Easter.  I had never been to Bali and had heard mixed reviews from people we'd spoken to but I was really keen to see it for myself and explore as much as we could in only four days.  Turns out you can get a lot done in four days and we had a fantastic time away.  

While there is so much more to Bali than the shopping, there are some great retailers around with some really creative fitouts and visual merchandising like the below.  

 

Turns out my favourite purchase from the trip is something that didn't come from any of these shops but came from a roadside stall in rural Ubud.  In the pursuit of getting a great photo of the rice paddy fields I had stepped down off the road and stood alongside a local market stall.  Hanging up outside were these amazing buffalo skulls!

Not knowing whether we could get one back into Australia I was hesitant about buying one as it would have been horrible to leave it at the airport.  The lady offered us the top one for $50 which was such a great offer  we couldn't refuse.  Turns out it was absolutely fine to get it through customs so now 'skully' is home with us and I couldn't be happier with it!

Now I just need to find somewhere to hang it. 

M xx

P.S the latest issue of Adore Home is out and look what is on the bottom right corner of page 25! 

Wish List!

Manyara Home, the retail offspring of event and interior stylist Rouba Alamein, has recently launched an online store full of beautiful pieces that have been handpicked from around the world.  If I could choose someone to swap places with for a week then I'd love to swap with Rouba... what a great job!

I thought I'd put together my Manyara wish list of things I must have for my home!

1. African Lidded Basket.  You could use this as a washing basket but personally I think it is too beautiful to put your dirty clothes in! This would look perfect sitting in our loungeroom.

2. Vintage Surabyan Mirror.  This beauty I would hang just near our front door.

3. Horn candle wall sconces.  To continue my love of horns, skulls and antlers these would go in our hall way...

 

4. Rattan Clutch. Ok so technically not for my home and more for me but I couldn't not put this one in!  A perfect summer clutch.

5. Painting in Canvas. 

I love both these images and can't decide whether I prefer the black or white background.  Although I would love to have them both from Manyara these images have made me wonder whether I could come up with something similar myself...  When we were in Kenya in 2012 I took the below photos, unfortunately I am no professional photographer so they are nowhere near as beautiful as the Manyara images (those eyes are just amazing!) but maybe after a play on photoshop I could get a similar effect?  I'll have a go and let you know the outcome!

Check out Manyara Home website for more amazing pieces here.

M xx

Images: 1 - 6 from Manyara home and the final two are mine.