Farewell 2014

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2014, what a year you have been.

Blackbird became my job, we moved house and literally moved a house, moved cities,  began renovations on our first home, had our Coco Darling, Lost our Coco Darling, Gained 15kgs, Lost 22kgs ( and counting ) Celebrated 5 years of marriage, went to Vietnam,  Opened a pop up shop and got ourselves our puppy Frankie Blossom.

It has been a hell of a year, we have been so heart broken, so defeated, but we have been so happy, so thankful and have become far better for it. In saying that, I am happy to see the back end of you 2014. 2015, you better be a great year.

 I want to thank all you beautiful, wonderful and dedicated readers, I never thought anyone would want to read about my life, our Coco, home renovations or my DIY’s. But you did! And you do! So thank you, I cant wait to share what is happening in 2015.

Wishing you and your families an incredible, simple, beautiful and refreshing holiday season.  See you in the new year!!

Until next time,BlackbirdBLOG signature

YES PLEASE | Gino Dripper from Flight Coffee & Giveaway CLOSED

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GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

I have never really been a morning person, In fact it is usually best to not speak or even make eye contact with me before my morning brew.  But in the last few years I am trying to take a slower approach to life . Starting with that liquid gold.

 The Gino Dripper is all about the journey. Coaxing you gently out of slumber, making you take a moment to pour, to wait, to breathe and finally to drink. Becoming more of a ritual than a need. And she is not just a pretty face with her hand blown, borosilicate double walled glass, her clean lines and refined ease. She is smart too. The angle of the interior cone and size of the 3 holes at the bottom are specifically made to ensure the optimal distance for water to travel through the coffee bed, producing a pure and full  flavoured  coffee worth writing home about. Paired with her bangin’ serving decanter, she is the perfect gift for that coffee connoisseur or a treat for yourself.  And just when you think she couldn’t get any better, she is tough enough to hit  the dishwater, what a gal.

The Gino dripper is available through the wonders that are Flight Coffee, for individual sale, or a handy gift pack. 

And because they are so nice, they are giving away a SIX MONTH COFFEE SUBSCRIPTION. The winner will recieve a 200gram bag of  ground or whole beans the first week of every month for 6 months.

Giveaway only open to New Zealand residents

All you have to do is head to Instagram, follow Flight Coffee and Blackbird and you’re in to win! Good Luck!

* This post is in partnership with Flight Coffee

Until next time,BlackbirdBLOG signature

HOUSTON DESIGN CO | giveaway CLOSED

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GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

It is no secret I am a fan of Houston Design Co. As I shared on my Yes Please the other day, she is on my Christmas wish list.

From the moment I stumbled across her little corner of instagram I was hooked. A clever and extremely adept women creating dreamy ceramics? Needless to say, it was a rather instant a girl crush.

And now the long anticipated shop has arrived, stocking her impeccable wares  of platters, planters, plates and the cutest little creamer jug.

Holly has kindly gifted a  set of side plates for us to giveaway! So here is your chance to win. All you have to do is head over to Houston Design Co, have a gander and come back here to tell us in the comments which item you covet the most.  There are also more options to enter on our Facebook & Instagram.

Plus, she is also offering a discount exclusive to Blackbird Readers  : Enter the code | blackbird at checkout for a 15% discount! What a gal.

Valid until the end of December.

Until next time,BlackbirdBLOG signature

MAKE IT | orange ornaments

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Every year I decide on my new Christmas ‘theme’ and hunt high and low for the right decorations, as well as try my hand at making a few.  And the next year, I don’t like them anymore and I generally give them to the op shop. So this year on my quest for a more thoughtful Christmas I decided enough was enough.

After reading this article again in Kinfolk

“Instead of buying a bunch of meaningless ornaments just for the sake of having something to hang, let them accumulate over time so they have real stories and significance attached to them. In the meantime, adorn your home with more temporary accoutrements such as leafy satsumas, or fragrant oranges “

It resonated with me, and so I decided to do just that.

I used two oranges, cutting them around half a centimeter thick, nice and even. I then took a baking tray, lined it with grease proof paper (otherwise they stick like no bodies business) and popped the oranges on. With the oven at 120 degrees celsius, I put them in and waited. Mine seemed to dehydrate in around 2 hours. Make sure to turn them a few times or they will stick a little. I then used cotton thread and made a loop to hang them from. And that was it! Unbelievably easy.

So this year our tree holds copper lights, wooden nut crackers I bought in America the first year we were married, and dehydrated oranges.   Simple, but quite pretty really.

Until next time,BlackbirdBLOG signature