Green

Say hello to my 'new' sparkly cardigan. Lush green stripes plus lots of sequin and bows on the pockets. It was love at first sight. And it's Kate Spade.
And it was only $75. Not bad for a designer knit. I didn't buy it on-line though, I bought it the old fashioned way, in a shop. It's from Love My Vintage, a shop specializing in designer labels that are second hand. My friend Elaine found Kerri's shop at Clayfield and took me there a few weeks ago. We had a great afternoon trying on designer finds and some crazy hats.
Finally, I saw this knit in Zara when I was in Sydney recently. The colour meant I had to have it and the price sealed the deal, $25.

Confessions of a Shop-A-Holic: Part 2

Regular readers know that I love on-line shopping. I've already shown you pics of my new navy blazer and my green Christmas party dress which were bought on-line. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

I've bought books from the States, suits and shirts for my husband from the UK, bouncy cows for the children (plastic not live), as well as magazines and all sorts of odds and ends from ebay. And with all that on-line shopping, I've never had a problem. Until now.

In February this year I bought a pair of sequin harem pants and a stripy sailor t-shirt from J Crew. J Crew don't ship directly to Australia, so I chose Shop USA as the delivery company. I know that J Crew sent my clothing to Shop USA as I received an email confirming it. J Crew were great. It was the next step where I came unstuck. Shop USA were supposed to send the clothing to me in Australia. But they haven't. It's June now, so that's four months since they received my clothing from J Crew. So the question is, what do I do now?

Ms G's & The Society Inc in Sydney

I've just returned from three days in Sydney. I arrived with a list of shops and places that were a must visit. Saturday night Mr Not-So-Handy and I went out as I was really keen to try Ms G's at Potts Point (and Mum babysat our girls). I'd read great reviews about the place and was impressed by the chef when he was on Master Chef recently. But, truth be told, I was not prepared to be gobsmacked. And I was. Basically, it's Asian fusion style dining in a super hip converted terrace. We had the beef cheeks with noodles followed by an amazing dessert. But it's the decor that really did it for me. I haven't seen anything like it.
It's like dining in grandad's tool shed complete with ropes, buckets, pulleys, keys, upside down vegemite jars and other bric a brac giving an industrial chic vibe.
The entire back wall of the terrace house has been replaced with floor to ceiling windows with city views.
It was done by Sibella Court from The Society Inc, who is a consultant to the Merivale Group, which own Ms G's as well as the Establishment. A standout was the wall papered with photocopies of pages from selected mens magazines. It sounds a bit weird, but it looked great.
The decor, the dining and the atmosphere were so cool. And fun! But they don't take bookings, so plan to wait. We waited for about 1.5 hours for a table which was fine as we happy to have a few drinks first. Next time I'm in Sydney, this is where you'll find me. Or shopping, but more on that later in the week.

(Photos from the society inc)

Black Kitchen

I've been thinking a lot about having a black kitchen. Not all black. Just some black cabinetry with lots of white paint for the walls. I'd have a large butlers pantry but no over-head cabinets. What's your view? Does black belong in the kitchen?

(Photo via elledecor)

Jewel Box

I was flipping through the new Inside Out magazine this month and found a jewel box of a house. The house has white walls and dark wood floors which is the perfect backdrop for the plush velvet sofas, silver tables and vintage furniture. It's owned by Chelsea de Luca the Brisbane based jewellery designer. See more photos of her home on her website here.

Four Fabulous Women

Last night I attended a Women in Queensland cocktail event at Allens law firm. Wow! I was so inspired by the four women who spoke. Each woman is an expert in her field and each one started their career by doing what they love. They were: fashion designer Sacha Drake (pictured above) who makes frocks to flatter every figure; Bernadette O'Shea Australia's leading expert on champagne, author of "Champagne and Chandeliers" and winner of the prestigious best French Wine Book of 2010; Danielle Crimani (digella)who is known as the 'Baking Queen' for feeding 10,000 people during our floods; and finally, Jude Munro who is the Chairperson of Queensland Urban Utilities (and former CEO of Brisbane City Council).

As leaders in their field, the women were asked what success meant to them. It was fascinating to hear them all say that success meant they were now in a position to give. During the floods Sacha was able to donate dresses to women who'd lost everything; Bernadette was able to host champagne evenings to raise extraordinary amounts of money for St Vincents de Paul and others, Danielle organised a people's army of bakers to feed our volunteers and Jude worked on strategic planning issues with the Lockyer Valley.

What amazed me about these women is that this work was in addition to the running of the businesses and homelife. They were so much more interesting than models or celebrities who we normally hear about on TV or through magazines. PS. You can see me and Coco in this last picture just before I left home for the event - I wore an emerald green wrap dress from Barkins (it's a few seasons old) with Tom Ford's Cherry Lush lipstick.

Tea Cake for Catherine

Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, smashed it out of the park when she met the Obamas recently. She wore a dress from her favourite UK chain store, Reiss. However, I feel as though she could do with some cake, as she's awfully thin at the moment.
Maybe she needs some of my apple crumble tea cake which I baked on Sunday. It was so cold on Sunday I decided to do a bake-off and made this cake, some cauliflower soup and a spaghetti bolognese (for the kids).
There wasn't much cake left after Mr Not-So-Handy discovered it. He has a very sweet tooth. I'm happy to share the recipe if you'd like to try it.

Coco Republic

I went to the preview of the Coco Republic sale today (the sale is open to the public tomorrow with up to 50% off). I had the kids in tow so I was worried about the potential bill from kid related breakages. But the staff were wonderful and even had a kids table set up with interesting toys. Phew! So with the kids occupied, I started my search for discounted designer furniture.
This bedroom set-up caught my eye. I particularly liked the bedside tables. They've got a Moroccan vibe and are painted in a brushed silver. They looked great with the black lamps and black, crocodile seats at the foot of the bed. The bed itself was interesting too with the headboard and base covered in a fabric with a herringbone pattern.
Always love a herringbone fabric. I bought a few small things. I'm not ready to make any really big purchases for the house yet as I'm still picking the structural elements like the windows and doors. But I did buy this very handy step ladder (photo above). It will probably go in the butlers pantry when the house is built. But then again, the kids could certainly use it to reach the basin in the bathroom. I also bought a set of five circular mirrors, I don't have a spot in mind for them yet. But I think I might include them in a picture wall. Sorry, i don't have a photo of the mirrors.
This chair would make a real statement in a bedroom or a loungeroom. I always like a room to have a statement chair. This one is covered in a taupe and cream houndstooth fabric. Also, it has lovely turned legs. And there's plenty more in store.