Live Yodelling.

Yes, I thought that might grab your attention. That was how the day ended. Here is how it started.

Drive through the Dandenong Ranges, full of gorgeous autumn colour.

Browsed some super gorgeous boutiques in Olinda I have to tell you about.

Heaton & May is a truly lovely little store jam packed with delicious goodies. An eclectic mix of stationery, little purses, badges, a cowboy lamp, lovely notebooks and jewelry all caught my eye. I couldn’t leave empty handed and bought a fistful of cute little whimsical badges (worthy of blogging, hmm… maybe one for tomorrow!), a couple of gift cards that are destined for frames and the kid’s rooms.

But best of all was this red cloche beanie I fell in love with. It’s by Otto and Spike, a Brunswick based knitting mill who according to the ladies from Heaton & May, have recently branched out into their own range. As a knit designer, it’s so exciting and inspirational to see local textile mills doing the business. Note to self- you can do this!

The other great shop was called Mine-Kids in Olinda. It had great clothes and shoes, kids furniture (like the mini duck egg blue wing backed chair I am absoloutely smitten with!), handmade softies, a selection of beautiful picture books and some totally cool dinosaur skeletons. I wish I had been less shy and asked to take a photo of the enormous brontosaurus on the counter and the bushy branch suspended from the ceiling with birdies and stuffed letters (by Memi) and the like dangling off, and the super cute animal wallpaper behind the counter that apparently is Florence Broadhurst. Oh, and the finger puppet stage window display… I think you get it, I could go on and on.

If you’re up there, go and have a look. Oh yeah, and here are some of the dinosaurs (and also my little monsters who wouldn’t get out of the frame).

But the main game was the afternoon tea at The Cuckoo. I have always wanted to go there, ever since I was a wee bairney. Mainly because it looked (to me age 9) like a Hansel and Gretel house. If I had been inside, it would have lived up to my expectations.

Everything was so olde worlde Bavarian with love hearts carved out of the backs of chairs, cuckoo clocks,  accordian music. There was bell ringing with audience participation, an all you can eat buffet and waitresses dressed in traditional bavarian attire. There was also of course, the live yodelling I alluded to earlier.

It was like being on a different planet.

It was pure kitsch.

It was great!

Happy Mother’s Day. x