Thursday 29 May 2014

It was once known as a Self-Potrait...

Photo: (NBC News)
How obsessed have we all become with the selfie? It’s as though we live our lives through the images we choose to put out in the universe. I don’t take selfies of just me much but rather with my daughter or a family selfie.  So much so that the word "selfie" was crowned as Oxford Dictionaries' word of the year for 2013. Amazing right??

The Science of Selfies: How Pictures Help Us Claim Our Identity
BY ALAN BOYLE
 Read more…. click here

Signing off with a family selfie – Enjoy Life…..

Wednesday 28 May 2014

Reminiscing

Nearly six years ago my darling husband said “I do”…  I still look down and smile at my rings that symbolise so much to me – PURE LOVE.

What's in a Name?


What’s in a name you say?? Well – a lot. To me it was an easy decision to come up with another business name (which we did back in 2010), we were looking for a name that was just one word that had meaning.. So Bucklebury’s it was.
The meaning behind the name, for starters I have many pieces of antique jewellery that are in the shape of a buckle, so I best start there….. I have a true love for Buckle jewellery and it is the meaning behind the jewellery that captures my heart every time. The symbol of buckle jewellery resonates with me, it represents eternity, fidelity, loyalty, strength and protection. The buckle arches itself around and then threads back into itself creating an eternal loop, it threads through the buckle and tightly clasps shut. This to me symbolises resilient strength of loyalty, love and eternity.
It has also been known to represent independent ladies of that era. A woman that wore certain styles of buckle jewellery was to be known to have a voice if you like. You could talk politics, woman’s education, equal rights etc. You see, woman back in the day, they held the views of their husbands, when socialising, they were to talk sewing, cooking, craft. Boring if you ask me. So – as I’m a chatterbox who has no problem in the independent department. Bucklebury’s felt right.
The only question was – what is one word that has the word buckle in it??? We wanted it to flow, be easy to remember but still symbolise our industry of Antiques. Then Princes William proposed to Kate Middleton and she use to live in a town called Bucklebury a village in West Berkshire. That was it – it was English, pretty and now had a royal link. Perfect for our future in the antique industry…

So, there you have it – Bucklebury’s was born….

Monday 26 May 2014

Chocolate Crush

Whenever we decide to head into the heart of Sydney to spend the day living the city life, my first thought always goes to visiting the beautiful Strand Arcade, it’s a visually beautiful building both inside and out. But that’s not why I want to go there, it’s for my taste buds – you see we have an iconic Australian family owned chocolate retailer here in OZ that’s simply the best in the Southern Hemisphere. Haigh’s Chocolates!!
 
I’m a simple pleasures type of gal but it’s Haigh's Milk Marshmallow Kokettes that has me buckling at the knees. These babies are simply divine to your taste buds. Simply put, they are vanilla and raspberry marshmallow coated in milk chocolate. That’s it – I’m in!!!!!

Here’s a great chocolate recipe from the Haigh’s website – give it a go and let me know what you think?? 

 Chocolate Peppermint & Coconut Slice
Image: Randy LarcombeRecipe by: Chris Smith
Ingredients
_________________________________________________________________
·         4 x 60g individual Haigh’s Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
·         75g unsalted butter, melted
·         375g desiccated coconut
·         190g caster sugar
·         190g unsalted butter, melted
·         4 large eggs
·         50g fresh mint, chopped
·         2 x 100g Haigh’s Milk Peppermint Chocolate Tablets
Directions
________________________________________________________________________________
1.    Preheat oven to 170ÂșC.
2.    Break up the cookies, place into a food processor and process to a fine crumb. Blend with the melted butter and press into a 20cm x 20cm cake tin lined with baking paper.
3.    Mix together the coconut and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter then the eggs and lastly the mint and mix until combined. Pour the mix on top of the biscuit base and bake for 15-20 minutes until slightly golden and textured. Allow to cool. Break peppermint chocolate into pieces and melt gently in either a microwave or a bowl over simmering water.
4.    Cover the top of the slice with a layer of the melted Haigh’s Milk Peppermint Chocolate. Using a fork, make a swirl pattern in the chocolate and using a knife mark out the lines where the slice will be cut. Put in the refrigerator to set and then cut along the knife lines.

Enjoy Life…



    

Sunday 25 May 2014

Getting Her Cowgirl On...

We decided to head to the local Rodeo last weekend and what fun we had. Miss Liv got to dress up and  I can't believe that I had a cowgirl outfit still in it's packaging, see sweet boy (aka: my husband) - I was meant to shop online for this over 3 years ago, just in case we ever got the chance to go to a Rodeo .......
 As usual, we were nearly the first ones there, I always like to arrive on time. By the time the rodeo started the place was full and all of a sudden I felt like a city chick - where was my big white cowgirl hat - I did leave without one, not sure I would have the need for one in my future. Gee - the girls looked mighty fine, I can't believe how much sparkle can come from one cowgirl - The belt, the jean pockets, the trim of their hats, the silver spangled boots - for just one moment I wanted to be them, all kitted out in their getup... It all came crashing down when I realised I would have to mount a horse, I was out, besides, my nose was already running and I had an itchy throat, that's right, I'm not good around animal hair.
Singing our National Anthem - Liv took her hat off and held it to her chest, oh so cute.    
 Ladies I can't go without saying, there is something about Cowboys in jeans and chaps... I think I spent most of the night looking at the cowboys then the bulls and horses they were riding......
 So - back in the day, how much has a Rodeo changed since it started in Australia in the 1880's?? I'd say - not much, maybe head gear has been introduced but it's still a country tradition and the hats are just as big....
  
  Enjoy Life...

Playing on Repeat


She maybe 3 but she has her first crush - Mr Hunter Hayes. The song 'Somebody's Heartbreak' sung word for word... Although she is far too young to understand heartbreak, she sings it as though she has a broken heart, the pain in her little animated face makes us smile from the inside out... It's beautiful to watch. Oh - that's right, again and again and again, lucky we like his music.

Enjoy Life...

Wednesday 21 May 2014

Can't Leave Home Without Them...


So I’m a woman that has the morning ritual of hair, makeup and jewellery before I even consider walking out the front door. There is the odd day or two where I want to be carefree and be al la natural, but mostly I’m doing the same old thing every morning before I can greet my day with the nous it needs…
You see – I started in the jewellery industry when I was a sweet 15 year old girl. My mother’s friend owned a jewellery shop in a small shopping centre near my home called Christina’s Jewellery. She asked if I would like to start a part-time job there. I was transformed, at the tender age of 15 I had strict rules on how I was to present in the shop - even though my only job for the first year was cleaning Bohemia Crystal. I was to wear stocking with all skirts, if I was wearing a peep toe shoe, my toe nails must be painted, now racy red was out, that was considered a colour for the ladies who came out after dark – at 15 I had not a clue what that meant but I wasn’t going to get in trouble for wearing the wrong colour, so pale pink it was. My hair must be tied back in a bun, similar to ballerina’s, so there was to be no flyaways’ as if I had just come from Bondi Beach. My investment in Hairspray begun and I have never had a hair out of place since, to this day I wear my hair shellacked to my head when wearing it up… Personal grooming was a must.
It taught me a very valuable lesson, which I still value today, how you choose to be seen by the world. Don’t get me wrong people – I dress for myself first, always have and always will, but I like to present myself in a way that makes me feel great on the outside but that it also matches how I see myself on the inside.
Because I wear my hair off my face most of the week, I say wearing earrings helps frame my face. I feel naked without a good bold pair of earrings on. Some people can’t leave home without their watch on or their gloss on but for me it’s earrings. If I leave home without them – that’s my day ruined – dramatic I know, but it’s how I feel.

So – being an Antique Dealer and having the luxury of being in the Jewellery trade for the past 23 years, I’ve got me some pretty amazing earrings. I absolutely LOVE antique earrings, I’m often choosing my outfit around the jewellery I wear, can’t say any of my friends do the same but I just love matching my clothing to my jewellery choice of the day. Here are just a few of my fav earrings, they all have meaning, whether I was given a pair for an anniversary or a birthday or as I like to say an “IDI - I Deserve It” present… IDI’s came about when Clients would come in and say things along the lines of “If only it was my birthday coming up”, “I love these for Mother’s Day, but the kids will get me flowers” and my all-time favourite is when a client comes in and say “I’ll need to check with my husband”. This was where I would simply say that you need an “IDI”, why we woman still guilt ourselves into feeling that we don’t deserve to spoil ourselves sometimes is beyond me…

Here are just some of my Spoils………
Enjoy Life...

Sunday 18 May 2014

Places we love to chill...

She maybe 3 but she is our little powerhouse.... I thought I would first share her fav place to chill and read to all her fluffy friends - her bedroom... 

It started as her nursery, we have now moved to stage 2, a little girl’s bedroom... It has to be my favourite room of the house, I guess it is the one room in our house that is filled with such fond memories, and a lot of firsts, from all those late nights feeding her on my rocking chair, to nights when she was sick and I would stroke her forehead and whisper shush in her sweet little ear, dancing on her bed and now every night we do family cuddles or as Miss Liv likes to say "Flamily Cuddles" it’s a beautiful space for her and for us. I sometimes just love to sit and reflect in her room.
  

What would it have been like back in the day???? A little less bright, a little less warm and certainly not a place where a little girl could jump around on her bed.........However, bedrooms in the Victorian time were considered a place of sanctuary, so maybe things haven't changed that much after all.


Enjoy Life..