Mademoiselle Rose

I work full time in the court system as a court reporter, so unfortunately during the day I see the dark side of life, and at night and on the weekends I'm a shabby romantic girl, loving all the beauty of the whites and pinks and roses. I go away a bit with work to the country areas, but soon that will end, and I will certainly be happy about that!

About three years or so ago, I was lucky enough to see the Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic programmes on TV and found my style. I'd always loved vintage and antique and lacy but never really knew what to do with it all until I saw how she put it all together and oh boy, you couldn't stop me after that. I was totally enchanted and inspired and now decorating my home is my biggest passion.

I'm not a rich gal unfortunately so it's a work in progress. I found I couldn't buy a lot of things I wanted from local shops, not the pretty glass knobs and vintage lace and the pretty inspiring books. So I've hunted and scrounged and my home is on it's way. Probably only about a third of the way there, but definitely getting there. A few months ago, my hubby said to me, "Oh, now I see what you're doing!" A big milestone! I've seen the look on his face when I've bought this decrepit old piece of "junk" home and you can see he's thinking, "What the heck is she thinking?" But he doesn't question me much any more as he thinks I know what I'm doing! Tehe!!

Although few months ago I decided I needed a big inspiration pin board for my work room which I've just done up. I want to pin up all those inspiring pictures from Romantic Homes magazine and pictures of the things I want to make and notes I jot down of ideas that pop into my head. And it had to be huge, not a little one, a huuuuge one. I thought to myself, where the heck am I going to get a big ornate frame, I'll probably have to buy a new one with a mirror in it for hundreds of dollars and take the mirror out. And what do you know, a few days later I found in a second hand shop an old decrepit, but absolutely gorgeous and huge shabby ornate frame. I couldn't believe my luck, and gee only $20!

So I asked my hubby to go pick it up for me and when he got home with it he had to say it, "What were you thinking buying this old piece of junk, and the bloke in the shop couldn't believe someone actually bought it!" And here's me thinking it's the best thing I've ever bought! Gee, after all this time, you'd think he'd learn. Anyway I haven't revamped it yet, but will in the next few months and I KNOW it will be the best thing in my house.

I'm a pretty lucky girl really, because my hubby doesn't stop me from doing anything. His philosophy is, "So long as you don't touch my computer room you can do whatever you like with the rest of the house!" Yippee!! Luckily he loves it anyway!

The only time I got the raised eyebrow was when I suggested buying a pink fridge. It's probably the only time he has said no, but I told him I was only joking anyway. Of course, if he had said yes, I would have gone out the next day and bought one!

My latest passion is collecting vintage and antique dresses. I've just bought an Edwardian wedding dress from around 1910 and I can't wait to receive it. I've posted a photo of it below just because I love it so much and want to show it off!. I can't wait to collect my next antique dress. It has to be a bustle dress from around 1875, so I'm keeping an eye out for just the right one!' Why oh why do I always love the expensive things in life!

Anyway, that's a little bit about me. I've put a photo of me here ~ of course I found the best one I could. I don't quite look as good as that most of the time, but I'm not going to post a photo of how I normally look as I don't want to scare people away! Unfortunately I'm starting to look a little shabby and vintage, like my home!

I love also my little business I have at Paddington Antique Centre here in Brisbane. I started there about mid-2006 and I'm having a ball with it! Boy, it's hard work, but I love how these old pieces of furniture turn out after I've finished them. Luckily people seem to like what I do as my things are selling quite well. Mostly I do the furniture there and my website is for the smaller items I can't put in my shop.

Paddington Antique Centre is like a mall of shops individually owned, and since I'm not there to watch things, it's best to keep to the big items there. At least people can't put a wardrobe in their pocket and walk away with it without anyone knowing it, although I was told someone took off down the street one day with a coffee table on their head, although not one of mine luckily!

If you are ever in Brisbane drop in and take a peek. Mine is one stall amongst about another 50 so there's plenty to see. Stop by "My Shop" on my site here for some pics of my shop which I will update as often as I can! I'm also going to try to remember to take photos of some of my goodies before I do them up, and then after so we can see how it went from an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan!

Thank you for reading about me, and having a look through my website. I hope you see something you like!


This is me!	This is my beautiful 1910 vintage dress. Isn't it gorgeous!	This is me and Kev!