Favourite Things Project: Storage

This week for the Being Tazim Favourite Things Project, the topic is creative organised spaces. As both John and I have a tendency to leave lots of stuff laying around (mostly bits of paper, bills and magazines), we've had to make sure that we have plenty of storage places available to hide it all. I wouldn't say any of them are creative as such; they're just what I consider a necessity!

In the living areas, we have magazine storage boxes under the television cabinet...

...a lockable cabinet to hide all of my study mess in the dining alcove...

...a giant plastic apple to hide little bits and pieces...

...and a vintage Kartell magazine rack which I love dearly.

In the bedroom, we have a couple of old suitcases (the top one holds the drawings and paintings I did as a child, and the bottom one holds yet more magazines)... 

... and a red Pantone canister that holds all of my button badges.

In the office, we have some plastice drawers which I covered with textured wrapping paper (they hide all kinds of random things, most of which probably should be thrown out)... 

...and a Kartell Componbilli unit for all of John's sculpting materials.

And, finally, in the kitchen, I have an assortment of red canisters on the windowsill to keep tea bags and sugar.

 As I currently have a big pile of magazines sitting on one of the side tables, some on the floor and others in piles elsewhere, I should probably invest in more storage boxes sooner rather than later!

Mozi products

I have often admired MOZI products, particularly their totally gorgeous olive oil decanters, but don’t own any of their products for myself (aside from a freebie tea towel that my mum gave me — it was attached to Country Style magazine, I think). And today, thanks to a link to the MOZI website posted by Inside Out magazine on Twitter, I successfully wasted (or improved — I can’t quite decide) part of my day admiring their wares.

I think their favourite design of mine is ‘The medina’. I think the reds, blues and whites are a perfect match for our home, not to mention the cute little birdies. Blog readers, my birthday is not too far away, so I’m adding all these to my wishlist.

Oven mitts and pot holder…

The delightful decanter…

An apron that I’d look very glamorous baking in…

Tea towel…

And the side plate, mug and place mat…

Ok, that's enough dreaming for one day...

Back in the real world!

Well, now I’m back at work after eight lovely weeks off. And, while I did my fair share of lazing around the house not achieving much (ahem, three seasons of 30 Rock), I also managed to achieve some constructive stuff (including some things on my 2010 to do list!).

Aside from the big event of getting married to my lovely husband, the painting of our bathroom is now all but complete, aside from a few edges. I’ll expand on that hopefully this weekend once I’ve managed to take some decent photos. And, of course, our stunning planation shutters were installed in the living room and bedroom. That’s two things struck off the to-do list!

I also decided that my more formal ongoing studies (a Bachelor of Arts with a triple major in Literary and Cultural Studies, Film Studies and Australian History) were not enough, so I enrolled myself in an interior decoration course. I’m not really looking at following this as a career path, but simply looking to improve my skills in this area. I decided to go with the Brisbane-based Beaumont School of Interior Design and Decoration, run by Tracie Dunne. Even though I am enrolled as an external student, Tracie was kind enough to let me sit in on one of her classes during my time off.

If anything, my studies will certainly help my blogging activities, I hope! And, who knows? Maybe one day I’ll marry my newly acquired skills with my years of editing and publishing expertise and land a prestigious position with Inside Out or Real Living!

Banana and blueberry muffins

I was in a baking mood this morning, so I had a look through my Frankie Afternoon Tea book to see if I could find anything with minimal ingredients (as, being Labour Day, all the supermarkets are closed). I had most of the ingredients for the banana muffins, with the exception of buttermilk - I decided to improvise with low-fat organic milk, and it worked just fine. I also added some frozen blueberries and rolled oats to make them extra healthy.

Most of you will probably recognise the tea towel - it's the Rob Ryan-designed one that comes with the 10th anniversary issue of Inside Out, available now. This issue I finally got my act into gear and posted in the subscription form, and I'm looking forward to my copy arriving in the mailbox every two months!