Monday, December 31, 2012

Bye Bye 2012


Wowsers was 2012 a big one!
Turned 30, married to my best friend, (& all the celebrations that went with it), had our dream honeymoon in France & Italy for 6 weeks, (& saw the end of the Tour de France on the Champs Elysses!) became an aunty (twice!), had my appendix out (that was a surprise), celebrated one year of Sally Rhys-Jones Interior Architecture & had some great jobs finished!
And my husband (who is a police officer) has just found out he has been transferred to a new station, (much closer to home & much safer!)
And because of his job, he always has to work on new years eve - so today we are having our celebrations during the day - I'm meeting him down at palm beach (he is riding his bike!) and we are going for a dip, hiking up to the lighthouse & having lunch at the Boat House!
I hope you all have a lovely end of 2012 & here's to an amazing 2013 full of happiness & wonderful experiences xxxx

Saturday, December 29, 2012

My week

If you follow me on instagram (sally_rhys_jones) you would have seen most of these - but heres what I've been up to the past week! 

Baked far too many gingerbread men that were promptly devoured by my husband.

Hosted our yearly girls xmas brunch - seriously - i love any excuse to a) decorate b) cook & c) drink bubbles! 
I found the cutest little snow globes for everyone too!


Finally got an hour by the pool on xmas eve! (before it got stormy again - Sydney is having some weird weather!)

Woke up on xmas morning at my in laws & had a rainy morning breakfast before heading to my sisters house & then to my husbands family.

Was seriously spoilt with some of the divine things below! 
Books I've wanted forever, a new black handbag (patent & rose gold = yum!) & a vintage crystal decanter!

And of course ate way to much! 
This whole plate was handmade by me, my mum, my mother in law & our neighbours! 
Rum balls are my xmas specialty!

The only spot of post xmas sale shopping I've done so far were these Kiehls Limited edition (sass & bide) Creme du Corps body lotions 
(half price on the sass & bide website & come in the most amazing packaging!)

And this morning, just cause we hadn't eaten enough already, we had brunch to celebrate Bens Aunties birthday.
Lots of eating, more bubbly & swimming in the pool with the kids - fun! 
I made baked eggs with fetta & spinach with sides of roasted tomatoes & mushrooms!

Reading over this post has reminded me how truly lucky i am.
Hope you all have had a wonderful xmas break with your loved ones.
xx

Friday, December 21, 2012

Christmas Playlist

With Christmas day on tuesday i thought over the weekend might be the time to compile your Chrissy day playlist! 
Yes, this is a great list, but um, Hello! Where is 'All i want for xmas is you' by Mariah Carey?!
Or any of Michael Buble's covers! Ill be adding those to my playlist!


Wednesday, December 19, 2012

6 sleeps!

Good lord there are some amazing christmas images floating around in Pinterest!
Gives me the warm holiday fuzzies!









Tuesday, December 18, 2012

ODC Insider; Wallstudio & My Sweet Prints

Today I'm having a chat with Janette Baker, the woman behind My Sweet Prints & Wallstudio. 
When i started my blog a few years ago, i recall Janette was one of the first people who commented on one of my posts and its been great to see how successful her business has become. Its such a pleasure to see her prints hanging in friends homes! 
I found it really interesting to hear about Janette's background & also about the newer venture, Wallstudio (hello flamingos & pineapples!). 
I hope you enjoy it too!

Name: Janette Baker
Job description/ Role:
Owner and Designer of My Sweet Prints and Wallstudio canvas art.

Educational background:
I started a Bachelor of Business in Banking in Finance, as my gap year saw me working for an investment bank. But after getting through the first year I realised it just wasn't me. So I studied Graphic Design at Shillington College which was a fantastic hands-on studio environment. When I finished my Design studies I worked at ACP Magazines in advertising design on the Homes titles. It was amazing to work on my all-time favourite masthead Real Living as well as Belle and House and Garden.

Does what you studied at university relate to what you currently do?
Having done the first year in a Business degree has turned out to be invaluable as it gave me the basic knowledge in, accounting, marketing, management, law etc. I would have been pretty lost over the last three years in small business without that fundamental knowledge. And of course my Design studies are what gave me the skills to start the businesses in the first place.



Tell us a bit about My Sweet Prints/Wallstudio?
My Sweet Prints is a range of prints, most of which are personalised and typographic in nature. There are lots of children's/nursery design but also beautiful wedding/love/home prints. And Wallstudio offers three collections of contemporary, on-trend and affordable canvas art; The Abstract Collection, Welcome to the Tropics and The Wallstudio Classic Collection.

What are your favorite pieces?
I just love the 'Welcome to the Tropics Collection' which features Pineapples, Flamingos, Palms and has such a bright summery vibe to it. But I also love 'The Abstract Collection'.


How has your work evolved since you started?
I guess I started out focusing on children and nursery prints with My Sweet Prints as that has been my own focus with two small children of my own. And now with Wallstudio I get to design things that I love for myself, my own home and asthetic.

Who are you clients & how do you find them?
The My Sweet Prints customers are generally women with young children and we are so thrilled to have lots of loyal customers who come back to order prints for each child, their friend's new arrivals, marriages etc. We have been really lucky to have been featured in many magazines and newspapers over the years. Hopefully we have the same success with Wallstudio!

How did you find starting your own business?
I started My Sweet Prints on a whim over three years ago. I had designed a few prints for friends and everyone kept saying 'You should sell them!' so I set up an etsy shop and it all started from there. We now have our own online site www.MySweetPrints.com.au and over 35 shops who stock our prints. My sister-in-law Sue now works with me too! I started Wallstudio canvas art back in 2011 as I wanted to offer affordable, on-trend canvas art featuring bright colours and patterns. But shortly after launching it, I fell pregnant with my second son, and Wallstudio sort of fell by the wayside. We have now spent a lot of time researching and designing a new range consisting of three collections which make up the new-look Wallstudio and we are so excited about it!

Did you start off doing this ‘on this side’ while you worked full time?
No, I started My Sweet Prints when I was at home looking after my first son.

How have you marketed yourself & your work?
When I first started My Sweet Prints I sent out a mini press release to blogs and websites and I have advertised on a few blogs from time to time but I've found social media to be a great form of advertising as I've had a blog (www.MySweetPrintsBlog.blogspot.com) for nearly three years as well as twitter (www.twitter.com/mysweetprints), facebook (www.facebook.com/mysweetprints) and instagram (@mysweetprints & @wallstudio).


What is your favorite part about running your own business?
I love the reward of seeing your business grow, getting orders from return customers, lovely emails and recognition in press. 
I also love the flexibility of being able to work from home.

And the hardest?
As much as I love working from home I find it really hard to juggle looking after the kids, working, and growing the businesses (which is something I seem to be able to spend endless time on).


What does your schedule in a typical day at work look like?
I don't really have a schedule as I work around the kids and when they are sleeping whether it be day or night. But I usually try and spend at least an hour or two on work every day. Luckily Sue looks after the day to day admin, customer service and the packaging and posting. So I'm able to spend time on business development, marketing etc.

 

Who or what inspires you?
I'm a magazine addict so I get lots of inspiration from home and fashion mags but also things like window displays, colour and nature.

Any favorite websites/blogs/magazines?
My favourite design websites are decor8, Jen Bishop's Interiorsaddict, and The Design Files. 
Magazines are Real Living, inside out, Belle, Adore, Lonny and Rue.

Favorite drink?
It would have to be coffee... with two little boys giving me the run around day and night I can't live without a morning coffee!

And outside of work what do you love to do in your downtime?
Spending time with my family and friends. 
Shopping, eating out and just generally any quiet time I can manage to get (silence is golden when you are around kids all day).




Monday, December 17, 2012

Crazy pre Xmas week (& a wish list....)

This week is going to be a crazy one! I am working on a fairly big job & need to have all the concept drawings done this by friday!
As well as do most of my xmas shopping & also host our annual girls xmas brunch on saturday (which I'm really quite excited about!).
In my travels this week looking out for things that i can buy for others for xmas, I've seen far too many things that i was tempted to take home myself (but didn't!) here are a few, and most would also be great gifts for any woman in your life i think!.....

Gorgeous green glass jug & tumblers in Freedom - perfect for summer do's (& christmas brunch's....)

These totally divine paper cups (with lids!) from Domayne $7.95
Wouldn't they be ace to make your coffee in at home to take with you!
(i did buy these for someone else!)

Tan leather & gold studded sandals from Seafolly - $89.95 you can't go wrong!

These pants from Witchery.
Have always liked them, but thought they'd look horrible on me - finally decided to try them on & loved them!

I LOVE pretty much anything T2 & have quite a collection going - for $70,  this teapot one would be a lovely addition to my family!

Mum & i also went paddle boarding for the first time yesterday & had such a good time!
Pretty easy & totally relaxing. A voucher for a beginners lesson could be something fun for the outdoorsy type!
We did it at Jameson Park paddle in Narrabeen.



Friday, December 14, 2012

Christmas Styling by Emily Henderson

Oh be still my beating heart! 
How AMAZING is this Christmas party styled by Emily Henderson!








Wednesday, December 12, 2012

IDH guest post - Christmas Picks!

Today I'm over on In a Designer Home sharing my Christmas picks from their site!


Monday, December 10, 2012

Miranda & Flynn

Hottest & Cutest mum & baby going around.
The pic with the balloons?! argh! so cute!




Friday, December 7, 2012

Xmas wish list! Books!

Now that its December & we can officially talk about Christmas as much as we want i thought i would share my Christmas book wish list! And, well, you know, incase anyone (ahem* Mum, Ben) who might need to know is reading! All three of these books I've lusted after for a little while now - they cover three of my favourite topics! Food (& Guillame Brahimi is a bit delicious himself, i developed a bit of a crush on him after watching French Food safari before our honeymoon!), being poolside & fashion.


Guillame - Food for friends. Available here 

Poolside with Slim Aarons available here

Christian Louboutin Available here

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Classic Kitchen Inspiration

Happy Monday! One of the projects I'm working on at the moment is a country style classic kitchen for the most divine cottage! 
Today I thought i'd share some of the colour pallet & overall inspiration.