Wee Birdy

Happy Kate and William day

Aaah, there's nothing like a right royal knees-up to bring this Birdy out of the woodwork. I've just finished making the coronation chicken (thanks to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's cheat's recipe) and the champagne is on ice, so I thought I'd pop in while the wee boy sleeps. The palace may have banned an official royal wedding tea towel, but that hasn't stopped some of Britain's designers whipping up their own version. I particularly love Gemma Correll's gorgeous corgie tea-towel (above), which is available from Lapin and Me.

A wee early bird arrived!

I'm delighted to announce the arrival of my very own early bird - a baby boy two weeks ago. And those are his tiny toes above!

I had planned to do more blogging before his arrival but the last few months of pregnancy were pretty rough. So I'm relieved he's finally here and we're all doing very well.

Hope to delve back into the Wee Birdy nest as soon as things have calmed down a bit ... see you all soon. XX

Photo by Uncle Luc (Lucas Boyd Photography).

Thinking of Queensland

My thoughts are with Queensland this afternoon, and all those affected by the devastating floods. I've spent the afternoon watching the horrifying images and news unfold on ABC24, and I can't imagine the fear and anxiety that people must be experiencing. Brisbane has been told to prepare for the worst over the next few days as the destructive fast-moving water hit the city today.

If you can, please donate to the Premier's disaster relief appeal - here's the link to all the ways you can contribute and help those who have lost everything: http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html

I'll be updating this post as more ways to donate or help the appeal come to hand:

• Bid generously on a piece of hand-made jewellery using Tasmanian Myrtle timber (above) in That Vintage's auction, with all proceeds going to the Premier's Disaster Relief: That Vintage QLD Flood Disaster Relief Appeal Auction.

Show and tell: Christmas Eve at my place

Just in case you thought I forgot to update you on the Christmas baking, here are my snowflake gingerbread with some very wonky icing (they got a bit sticky in the humidity this morning) ...

...and here are the apricot balls. Still have to cross Hugh's peppermint creams off my list. And some very last-minute wrapping.

What's happening at your house? Is it snowing? Have you got everything done for tomorrow?

Show and tell: my vintage Christmas decorations

One of the nice things about being back home in Sydney is that I've been reunited with my boxes of Christmas decos. And the ones I picked up in London (like all the birdies from Liberty) make excellent additions to the collection.

But my most precious decos are these vintage ones, including the rather charming '70s three wise men which hung on the family tree when I was a little girl. The Bradley-style angel is identical to the one that I also loved when I was about two years old, but the original one is still in use at my mum's place. She added to my collection last week with some gorgeous vintage glass baubles and beads, which are almost identical to all my vintage-inspired decorations I bought years ago.

What about you? What's your most treasured Christmas decoration?