All I can say is that Yellow is so hot right now! It seems that everyone I speak to - customers, peers, colleagues and friends are smitten with the colour in every shade and in every context. Although tangerine has been chosen as the 2012 colour of the year, it sometimes takes a little moment for these trends to filter down through to the Australian interiors markets. So here's my prediction 2012 is the year of the Yellow. Sunshine, lemon, mustard and canary - you name it, they'll want it. I think also with times of uncertainty we reach out subliminally for visual indicators to lift our spirits and give us hope. Yellow is the perfect colour for this, creating an instant physical reaction in our psyche's of happiness and delight. Personally I'm a killer fan for a silvery grey, black, white and yellow colour scheme, but with the strong trends in colour blocking that are around try teaming yellow with orange, fuscia, emerald and azure. Play around, be adventurous and come up with an infusion of yellow in your home that suits you! I've included some of my favourite examples of injecting yellow into your life - enjoy! xx

(what a simple and easy way to make a dramatic entrance! Love the idea of a bold colour for the front door and this yellow door makes me just want to knock and say 'HELLO!')

(I'm a HUGE fan of an animal print and these raspberry red cheetah print cushions teamed with the mustard zebra stripe mattress make me wanna scream!)

(Upcycling is the greatest trend going on in our industry at the moment. These revamped stools show that interior style can be cheap and chic without scrimping on quality. Pair upcycled pieces with eye catching and unique designer furnishings to create a wonderfully eclectic and multi dimensional space in your home. )

I've stumbled across The Aviary in a magazine recently and just marvelled at the funky fitout of this rooftop eating house located in central Perth. I could definetly consume a Cider or two on a lazy afternoon at this fabulous bar. Very cool - love! xx

I've been trying my hand at being a green thumb over the past few years and have often been disappointed by the over usage of the word 'express' by the nursery workers in relation to many plants. I love the idea of spending time pottering in my garden, letting nature nurture me back to life after the stresses of the working week. However this use of 'express' plants in relation to their growing abilities is very misleading for a person such as myself with very little patience at all. To me, express is a matter of weeks - not months or even years! I want to see a direct result from my hours of hard work and toil and I want to see it now! Anyway, my point is, finally after 3 years of being in the soil my garden is coming to life. The recent hot, humid and clammy weather has done wonders for my plants and the garden is now adorned in bright hues of hot pink, orange and yellow along with citrus trees being weighed down heavily by their fruits - finally I see the reward! xx

Australia Day is a real tradition amongst our friends. With the Christmas hustle and bustle mainly being amongst the family realm, it's our excuse to reconnect and spend a bit of time with one another enjoying good food, wine and Australian music. Usually we rotate amongst each others homes each year but this year we had decided an adventure was in store! The plan was to loadup the 4WD's and take a picnic BBQ up to Double Island Point for a day of soaking up the sun and lazing in the lagoon like waters of the Rainbow Bay side. Unfortunately the weather gods haven't been very kind to any of us and have a soggy celebration in store for tomorrow! I had had plans of recreating this gorgeous BBQ recipe I found in this month's Gourmet Traveller Magazine which I've been dying to try. Unfortunately these will now go on the backburner for another outdoor social event in the near future, but in the mean time I thought I'd share them with you anyway - they scream sunshine to me on this dreary day anyway! YUM!

Soy Glazed Prawn Skeweres

Serves 4
Cooking Time Prep time 45 mins, cook 8 mins (plus pickling, marinating, chilling)

90 ml	soy sauce
30 gm	honey
30 ml	mirin
1 tbsp	finely grated ginger
1	garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tsp	sesame oil
36	medium uncooked prawns, cleaned, tails intact
270 gm	dried soba noodles
12	spring onions, trimmed and cut into 4cm lengths
9	shiitake mushrooms, halved
For brushing:	vegetable oil
To serve:	toasted sesame seeds
Cabbage and daikon salad
30 ml	mirin
20 gm	caster sugar
100 ml	rice wine vinegar
100 gm	daikon (about 1/3), cut into julienne
350 gm	Chinese cabbage (about ¼), thinly shaved on a mandolin
2	spring onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp	sesame oil
To serve:	toasted sesame seeds

1	For cabbage and daikon salad, stir mirin, sugar, ginger and 80ml vinegar in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil. Add daikon, transfer to a non-reactive container and refrigerate to pickle (25-30 minutes). Just before serving, drain daikon (reserve 2 tbsp liquid), combine daikon and reserved liquid in a bowl with remaining ingredients, toss lightly to combine, scatter with sesame seeds and refrigerate until required.
2	Stir soy sauce, honey, mirin, ginger, garlic and half the sesame oil in a small saucepan over low heat to combine. Transfer to a non-reactive container, cool slightly, add prawns and refrigerate to marinate (20 minutes). Meanwhile, soak bamboo skewers in cold water.
3	Meanwhile, cook noodles in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender, drain, rinse under cold running water, drain, toss in a bowl with remaining sesame oil and refrigerate to chill.
4	Preheat a barbecue or char-grill pan to high heat. Drain prawns (reserve marinade) and thread onto bamboo skewers, alternating with spring onion and mushroom. Brush lightly with oil, then barbecue, turning occasionally and basting with remaining marinade, until just cooked through (2-3 minutes). Scatter with sesame seeds and serve with cabbage and daikon salad and chilled soba.

This recipe is from the January 2012 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller.

A recent break in Melbourne has got me thinking about what makes this city so special. Sure it's vibrant, cultural, super savvy and jam packed with delicious places to indulge your taste buds but so are a lot of other cities. There's a certain je ne sais quoi about the streets, a mixture of casual and cool, along with individuality brimming at the seams! It's so layered and a melting pot of nationalities, style and energies. Everywhere you turn there is something new and exciting to get involved in whether it's a street festival, bars with overwhelming lists of boutique ales and vino's to test to your hearts content, roof top bars showing cinema classics in the centre of town as the sun (very slowly) descends over the city, all night treasure trove book store with a plethora of unique titles to delight in, classic old school italian cafes like something straight from the set of the Soprano's or the latest gastro pubs with all vying for the quirkiest, most trendy of fitouts. I thought I'd share a few of my favourite little finds on this latest trip.

Enjoy xx

With the year already off to a cracking start, I am feeling an overwhelming sense of positivity amongst my friends and family about what 2012 will bring. It helps that the summer holidays have hit town in a big way, with tourists abound and the sun basking on our shoulders - Coolum is flourishing. It seems that everyone who crosses our path seems only too eager to brush off the constraints of 2011. 2012 seems to hold a renewed and invigorating energy that the year ahead can see us all breathe a little easier and achieve some of those much needed goals that got stuck at the bottom of the pile last year! Personally, I've got a list a mile long of achievements I'd like to knock over, not least the construction of our new pool at home. Although a modest structure, our swimming hole will be the piece de resistance to our renovations so I'm hastily pulling together some ideas of how this little gem can complete the back yard hopefully in time for Easter! Here's a little inspirational ideas board I've collected.

It has been a mammoth end to the year and I have a strong urge to say thank you to our customers. Your enduring positivity towards Watermelon Red, your understanding and love of what we do and the loyalty and support you have shown us throughout the year does not go unnoticed. It feels that it has been a year where the coast community has stepped forward and really embraced supporting local businesses, to support unique entities and individuality.

This christmas I wish for you to all have a safe and happy celebration with your loved ones and to see in 2012 with a bang! I wish for the new year to bring prosperity, healthy and wisdom to us all and I very much look forward to seeing your friendly, smiling faces in the store early in the new year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! XXX

We've spent the last couple of weeks giving you some great Christmas gift ideas for him, her and them. Over the next week we'll take it a step further in our gift guide for 2012

Today - The Out laws!! Notoriously difficult to buy for you want something personal, but not that personal. Below are our hot tips for keeping in the circle of trust this Christmas!

1.Baltic Amber Reed Diffuser $59.95         

2.Wine Cooler Esky Tote $49.95

3. Striped Mexican Hanging Chair $74.95   

4. Lalita Rainbow Cushion $99.95

5. Iconic Australian Houses 70/80/90 $79.95

Merry Christmas and Happy Shopping  xx

It feels like an age since I've written a post but I have a very good excuse. Fresh back from a glorious break in Fiji I'm feeling rejuvenated and ready to tackle the next few months which will prove a crazy time with several interior project installations, Christmas trading and summer school holiday madness! Can you believe it's October already? Where has this year gone! We do have something exciting in the works though to cap off what's been a whirlwind year with the launch of our Online Shop re-design in approximately two weeks.

A much more consumer savvy approach with lots of our signature colour - I think you'll like it very much! Be sure to stay tuned for news in the coming weeks. xx