hello prettiness

Now that's what I call a bridal bouquet. Peonies, roses and feathers - oh my!

lady in red

I love Rachel McAdams and adore a good frock {and a heel - natch} so this shot's a win/win all round. Do I mind that the frock is almost an identical colour to the curtains? Nah, not so much... She still looks gorgeous.

what's cooking wednesday

We're here again? Already? Okay then, here's the menu for this week...

Tonight: Glazed salmon, wilted spinach and sushi rice. The other night I made caramelised pork and served it on sushi rice {cooked and seasoned as if I were making sushi} as per Nigella's recommendation and it was soooooo good. Try it.

Thursday: Hubby and I are off on a date to have dinner and check out a performer - Adalita from Magic Dirt - oh yeah.

Friday: Garlic prawns, linguine and salad.

Saturday: Steak and roasted vegie salad.

Sunday: Off to the markets to find a suitable roasting meat. Mmmm.

Monday: I'm going to do that caramelised pork again. Let's hope I can remember the ingredients {I made a caramel with palm sugar and hot water, then added garlic, ginger, smoked chilli paste and ketchep manis. Smeared this over a pork fillet, salted it, marinated for 30 mins, then seared the fillet till golden. Then I sliced into thick slices, and added to the marinade to the pan and finished cooking the pork. Served on a bed of sushi rice with wilted chinese broccoli. Good stuff}.

Tuesday: Lamb salad.

Phew. You?

PS: Kitchen from Something's Gotta Give. Love.

some pretty breathing space

Sometimes you need to take a deep breath and smile.

in memoriam

Like most of the blogging community I'm lighting a candle and sending love out to Lori who lost her husband is such horrible, tragic circumstances. Rest in peace Tony.

I hold it true, whate'er befall;

I feel it when I sorrow most;

'Tis better to have loved and lost

Than never to have loved at all.

Lord Tennyson

a new beckham baby

Just after Posh was quoted in Vogue magazine as no longer trying for a baby girl - the Beckhams have announced that baby number four is on the way.

Bless.

They do make beautiful babies these two - and I don't think I've ever seen a celebrity father as genuinely affectionate with his kids as David is.

green with envy

I've been turning a fetching shade of green due to envy a bit lately. Reading my friend G's facebook status updates have me being infused with emerald as she's currently in Paris with her hubby enjoying champagne, culture and far too much fabulous food. Bliss.

These Alaia shoes are just the most glorious shade of green don't you think? And pretty too...

house p*rn

I'm pretty forgiving of a film if it offers something for me to sigh over - particularly house-po*n. Last night I finally got around to watching It's Complicated and realised that nearly every film that has a house I lust over has one thing in common Nancy Meyer. Seriously, check out this blog that has an extensive list of Nancy Meyer films and gorgeous interior images from them.

Obviously, number one in the House P*rn category has to be Something's Gotta Give - honestly, that kitchen!! It'd have to be one of the most googled kitchen's in history. But I didn't realise that Nancy had a hand in The Holiday, although looking at this gorgeous living room I should have realised. Do you know how much I now NEED this ottoman? Perfection.

PS: It's complicated was fun. I realised how much I do like Meryl Streep. And what I love about her is how amazingly sexy she is - honestly, that's one woman who just seems so damned confident in her skin. And there were plenty of giggles on offer to. And the house po*n, let's not forget the house p*rn {and in this case, bakery po*n, mmmmmmm}.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to ward off tons of google searches here looking for something inappropriate... * Ha - edited to, well, edit that word. Honestly people - nothing to see here, move along...

what a doll

If I were a movie star, or a rock star, and somebody told me they were making a doll version of me I'd squeee. Yep, I'd be damned excited. But what happens when you get that weird doll that looks nothing like you?

For example, you may be wondering why I've posted a pretty pic of Winona and this weird, ugly-looking man doll above. That's because the weird, ugly-looking man doll is meant to be Winona... Um, right. Sure, the doll has a waist, and boobs, but apart from that they've really just chucked on some kind of low-rent GI Joe head!

No squeee from Winona - probably just a squeal I'd imagine...

{To see some more hilarious dolls from the 90s go here. Go on...}

what do you like about your house?

Last night we had some lovely friends over to dinner. It was one of those perfect nights. Everyone was relaxed, happy and in holiday mode. We sat up in the pavillion while the kids swam, and then, once it was dark we moved down to have our dinner on the back veranda while the kids ate inside and watched a DVD. Then, at about 8.30 the kids asked if they could go for another swim and we said "Why not?" and turned on the pool lights, and moved back up to the pavillion.

Bliss.

That's the kind of night memories are made of. I love that we've managed to make so many lovely friends who are also raising such gorgeous children. Seriously good kids. The two boys happily played with my gal, which is great as they'll be spending a week together in Provence, and our other friends have the most gorgeous little girl who enchanted us all. You know those children that are just so sweet, lovely, funny and fabulous that you can't take your eyes off them? That was Miss R. My gal hasn't stopped raving about her - she really was utterly enchanting. And so happy! She didn't have her swimmers, but happily sat there watching the big kids swim with the most beautiful little smile playing about her lips.

Bless.

But on to the topic of this post. What I love about our house is that it makes nights like that possible. Where the kids can have fun, the adults know their safe, and that we have enough changes of scene to keep things interesting.

You've got to be happy with that.

PS: this shot is not my house - but don't you love that candelabra in the corner? Why waste a spot when you can make it pretty?

flowers for friday

How glorious are parrot tulips? Watching The Tourist the other night made me remember how much I adore this flower. It also made me realise that Venice is a spectacularly beautiful city that I really do need to visit again. Another realisation: Johnny Depp is not always hot {I know! Wash out my mouth!}. Finally, Angelina Jolie - really needs to eat something. She's always been uber-thin, but she was distractingly so in this film...

But anyway - tulips - pretty!

cute potential couple alert

So, apparently they spent new year's together - and the rumour train totally has them together. I'm with that. I love Sandy, and while I do have issues with Ryan's often obvious foundation {dude, match your skintone and BLEND} I think they'd have fun together.

Cute!

best job in the world?

Blake Lively is the new ambassadress for Chanel Mademoiselle Handbags. Best. Job. Ever. Seriously, free handbags and you get to hang out with Karl - surely that'd provide dinner party anecdotes for a good 700 years or so...

PS: that bag? Oh MY!

good gear

I don't know about you, but I often truly, deeply believe that if I have just the right piece of equipment I'll be better at something. Take this Cath Kidston tea towel. If I owned this I wouldn't leave any washing up 'drying' on the sink for a couple of days... Nope, my sink would be consistently pristine.

I'm always considering the next best thing to make me a better duster. Have you seen those spinning lurid green dusters advertised on TV? Oh, I so nearly dialed that number - until I realised that I have two dusters {um, gathering dust} in my pantry. Every week I'm consumed with envy as I sit at my desk and watch next door's cleaner come in and dust around all the inside of the windows I can see. I know, weird. I've no idea what else she does - but gee I'm envious of the dusting. Despite my asthma and hayfever dusting always falls into a non-essential category for me: way after vacuuming, mopping, cleaning bathrooms, washing, cooking etc.

You?

best breakfasts

Oh, I do have me a hankering for some delicious pancakes topped with berries. Have a look at these pretties I saw over at martha stewart - scrumptious!

what's cookin' this week?

We're getting back into entertaining this week - hurrah! So here's what we'll be eating this week.

Tonight: the gal's off to her grandparents' for a couple of nights so we'll have a simple steak and salad dinner.

Wednesday: still no child - I think I might try a pork stir-fry.

Thursday: Child being returned by grandparents - who I'll repay by cooking up a meal. I'm going to try chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, potatoes and green beans.

Friday: two couples and assorted kidlets for dinner tonight. We're going to Provence this year with one of the couples so I'd best check out my Provence cookbook to find a suitable meal. For pudding I'll be making my new fave - nectarine clafoutis and vanilla bean icecream.

Saturday: Thai beef salad.

Sunday: The farmer's markets re-open - hurrah! I'll be buying something yummy and cooking it up.

Monday: lamb on the bbq I think.

PS: I adore this pop of colour and use of a screen door on the pantry. I'm tempted to take the screen door off our side veranda, paint it and pop it on our pantry. Unfortunately I've hidden away our fridge, recycling bin and rubbish bin in our pantry so it's not quite as peep-worthy as this one...

shoe boop be do

The first shoe of the year has to be pretty ridiculous don't you think? So these Versace numbers fit the bill. Despite their outrageous platforms - I think the colours and the straps on top are divine. Plus, they'd finally take me to the height I feel I deserve to be {actually, by the look of them, they'd take me over 6 foot!}.

Ah lofty heights...

oh joy...

Why is it that putting the Christmas tree up is accompanied by carols, good cheer and big smiles, while putting it away is always a far more subdued event. I think next year I'm going to make the taking down of the tree a far more festive event - and do it with songs, champagne and a true sense of welcoming in the new year.

I think the hardest thing to take down was this garland. I love how beautifully it frames the rose in the centre of the leadlight on our front door. I love our leadlight - not only is it beautiful - it also has a lot of meaning. See, my mum and step-dad made it for us - using glass from my beloved Nana Rose's front door. Hence, the rose. I loved my nana enormously, in fact, she was the inspiration for our daughter's middle name - as her surname was Rose and she always grew beautiful roses in her garden.

Every time I walk down the hallway the light shines through the beautiful shades of amethyst roses and dappled glass and I remember happy times with my Nana. That's what I mean by surrounding yourself with things that are not only beautiful - but have meaning. I truly believe that your eyes should dance around a room and alight on things that cause your heart to sing.

What's making your heart sing today?

11 things...

Like many, I'm not a fan of the new year's resolution - however, the new year plan I like very much indeed. I like having goals, and working toward them. It's always baby steps, which is why goals kick the ass of resolutions - resolutions are all "I will do this" whereas goals are "I'm moving toward this..." much better.

Here's my aim for this year {and why yes, I am being cheaty and adding things I've already put in motion - half the fun of lists is the retrospective adding and crossing off}.

1. I aim to stress less. I don't like being stressed, it doesn't suit me. And apparently when I'm stressed my eyes do this weird, fast darty thing - that can't be good.

2. I aim to move more. I love walking, love it. So this year I plan on doing a lot more of it. I'd like to think every day, but I'm aiming for just a lot more of it.

3. Love more. I want everyone close to me to know how special they are. Whether it's with a look, a touch or a smile - I want them to know every day what they mean to me.

4. Dance more. Dancing's the best, it makes me smile. I aim to organise or participate in events that involve dancing - or at the very least, pop in my Zumba dvds and get myself moving around my living room.

5. Laugh more. Every smile is a gift, and a laugh is an even greater one - I'm going to look on the funny side of everything.

6. Talk more. Call my friends and chat.

7. Study more. My husband bought me another year of French lessons - this year I'm going to dedicate an hour a week to homework to let some of the learning sink in.

8. More music. Love music - never listen to it often enough. Must rectify that.

9. Surround myself with all that is splendid. Sounds marvelous doesn't it?

10. Prepare for Paris. I don't want to miss a second that we're spending in my favourite city - so this time I'm going to work out exactly where I want to explore - and spend hours walking around it.

11. Aim for excellence. I want to sit back and smile at everything I offer up knowing it's as excellent as I could make it. Whether it's work, a blog post, a cuddle or a meal - why do it if you don't do it as well as humanly possible?

So, what do you think? Achievable?

happy new year

No matter what you're doing this evening, I hope you have a lovely new year. Can't wait to catch up with everyone in the new year!

birthday brownies

Rich, gooey, chocolately. Nothing says "Birthday" louder than a pile of brownies.

birthday gal

It's our gorgeous gal's 11th birthday today. For 11 years we've been blessed with the most beautiful child who has the sweetest nature to match her gorgeous face. She's full of cuddles and giggles and fills our hearts with joy every single day.

She's a loving friend, an adoring cousin and niece and a much-loved grandaughter who smothers her grandparents with love in return. She adores her family and has made some truly special friends over the years who'll remain with her for life.

She's an extraordinary dancer, a great cook, a fabulous netball player and a devoted reader. She's a fashion diva with an eye for style - and a love of a good frock. She loves fairies, mermaids and all things magical. She's got her head in the stars - and her eye on the moon thanks to her new telescope.

This is such a special day. Eleven years ago we rose at dawn and went down to watch the sunrise at Bronte Beach knowing that later that day we'd be meeting our gal (eight days overdue - so an induction was called for). At 6.43pm, that evening we finally laid eyes on our beautiful girl. I fell deeply in love with her and love her more and more with every passing second.

She's a blessing, one that we're forever thankful for.

Happy birthday poodle - we love you to bits and pieces xxx

nothin' like a dame

The doyenne of pink has a few wise words on how to enjoy the New Year festivities - and they still ring true. Pop over here and have a read.

what's cooking wednesday

Can you believe that this is the kitchen in the apartment we didn't rent in Paris? I know, it's spectacularly gorgeous, and I'm totally copying it in my home one day {ps: this apartment had black and white striped bedroom walls and the most incredibly gorgeous white, wingbacked, buttoned, leather headboard over the bed - to die! - but I love the apartment we're renting more. After all, who cooks in Paris?}

Anywho - this week. What's cooking.

Tonight: simple lamb steaks, couscous and a carrot salad. Why carrots? Because I have a huge bag of them in the crisper...

Tomorrow: it's my gal's 11th birthday! Hurrah!! To celebrate we're following tradition and heading out to our fave French restaurant - Bistro Tartine. Hmmm, pork belly, duck confit or steak? Decisions, decisions...

Friday: um, that'll be new years eve. A quiet one for us. Nibbles and champagne by the pool followed by fireworks on telly. Bliss.

Saturday: let's start the new year with a healthy mango, poached chicken and avocado salad shall we?

Sunday: no farmer's markets {sob}. I think I'll do a standing rib roast on the bbq with a few salads on the side - one roasted vegie, one wilted greens and lemon zest.

Monday: caramelised pork, sushi rice and wilted greens

Tuesday: something from Nigella's Kitchen - a present Santa very kindly bought my gal. Bless.

parisian chic

When you're staying in Paris, you might as well make it as amazing experience as possible don't you think? That's why we went all out and decided to splurge on a two bedroom apartment. See this pretty in pink room in the last two shots? That'll be our gal's room. And see that view down onto Rue Saint Honore? Yep, that's from our living room. And I'm still pinching myself that we'll be in Paris on Bastille Day. Fireworks AND the Eiffel Tower? Oh, I'm dying...

clutter busting

Ooooh, we're doing some rather wonderful de-cluttering here at the moment. It started accidentally, on Christmas Eve when we couldn't find our gal's Santa sack. It just had to be in the linen closet - so I ended up throwing out every single towel and sheet in an attempt to find it {before remembering that I'd put it on my wardrobe so I wouldn't have this problem this year. Whoops}. But at least that left bare shelves that I could wipe down with lavender oil, and refold all the towels and sheets that got into a tangle. I ended up rewashing all the sheets, and now they're all organised and Martha-esque in categories of single, queen and blanket. Beautiful.

My husband's also ploughing through rooms while I work and we've been giving loads away on Freecycle. Our old trampoline went before Christmas to a family with five kids. Our exercise bike is being collected today by a man who's recovering from cancer and wants to get fitter - and our old coat rack is going to a girl who's chuffed as she's been searching for yonks.

Gotta love a clean-out!

feeling festive, then flop

Oh, this is that odd time of year isn't it? Surely you should still feel all festive, you know, gearing up to new years and all. Instead, it's kind of like some limbo-land. Certain businesses and cafes close, people are in holiday-mode, while others {such as myself} are still working.

Thank goodness I'm working from home. A few years back, when I still caught the train down to the big smoke two-days-a-week, I went to work on Boxing Day {ah journalism - two guaranteed days off a year, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day}. So I get off the train and realise that virtually every cafe in Surry Hills has closed over the break - eep. No coffee, and no food! Thank goodness a trek around the suburb revealed something open.

Well it's rainy here today, and a little bit gloomy. My husband has this week off so he's on gal-entertaining duty while I work.

Now, finally, onto these shoes. Should I have a glamorous New Years bash to attend these would be just the shoes to do it in. Instead, this year I think it's just me, hubby and the gal - and some french bubbles while we watch the fireworks on telly. Bliss.

You?

don't you think...

Life's too short not to be fabulous.

merry christmas

I won't be posting for a few days so I just wanted to wish you all the merriest of Christmases and a rather fabulous new year. xxx

christmas is the time to...

We're nearly there! Only two more sleeps!! How's your festive season treating you? Mine's treating me to a wee bit of a hangover this morning after a few too many champagnes last night, "t'is the season..." And apparently I decided to sleep by tying myself in knots - or at least that's how I feel this morning. But a good night was had by all, and a few more good nights were arranged. Got to be happy with that.

So I'm going to be diving into my work this morning - no point trying to shirk it. I've got a few more essentials to tick off the to-do list before shutting down for Christmas.

Enjoy your day x

what's cooking wednesday

Obviously not a great deal is cooking this week as it's nearly Christmas {squeee!} . However, this year I'm determined to be organised and ensure we actually have food in the house for Boxing Day {I always forget, and as we have Christmas lunch and dinner at my in-laws we have no leftovers}. I imagine there'll be plenty of liquid refreshments on offer, so here's what I'll be whipping up.

Wednesday: we're off to a friend's house for a Christmas celebration - just the mums and kids while the dads do dinner together. It's going to be really simple - we're ordering in pizza. However, I am bringing a pudding - so I might just do a special christmas ice cream mix... And champagne, natch.

Thursday: it's the Twilight Farmer's Market so we'll be eating there {gozleme probably - we're all addicted} and I'll be buying some saltbush lamb and Burrawang's Spring Hill Beef for meals later in the week.

Friday: Christmas Eve! We're off to a Carols in the Park event down at the beach. So a picnic's in order. Then we're off to my in-law's for supper. I'm taking Turkey meatballs with a mint and cranberry dipping sauce this year. Mmm.

Saturday: Christmas Day - hurray!

Boxing Day: Salad and whatever meat I've picked up at the market.

Monday: Meat from the market again, and more salad.

Tuesday: BBQ I think - let's hope the weather thinks so too.

oh! christmas!

Excuse me, but have you ever seen a more divine Christmas setting?

I'm dying here. Dying.

a good drying day

Well the weather mightn't be what we'd expect for this time of year, but today was what is known in the trade as "A Good Drying Day". Bright blue sky, a little warmth - and winds - lots of wind.

A good drying day makes me happy. I love hanging out clothes and towels knowing they're going to be lovingly dried by the wind. Ideally I'd have done some sheets - but that wasn't to be. Is it too much to ask for another Good Drying Day tomorrow?

{and another thing I'd like to ask for is this laundry - prettiness!}

festive footsies

T'is the season for fabulous footwear non? I am seriously in love with these hot pink Miu Miu numbers as they'd be the perfect accompaniment for the lipstick red frock I'm planning on wearing on Christmas day. And then I spied these Diane Von Furstenburg pretties and just imagined them with a full-skirted little black dress - divine non? This is a colour I absolutely cannot wear - with my olive skin it makes me look dreadful, but on the feet, well, surely I could get away with that.

On the Christmas wish list perhaps? {which, by the way, is empty - there's nothing I want. Well, aside from piles of euros to spend in Paris during the July sales...}

baby it's cold outside

I'm more than a little bit in love with this festive tune - and oh, these boys... So adorable... PS: that mantle, oh I'll be needing one of those one Christmas.

the inside story

Not having a camera at the moment means that I'm missing out on a lot of shots. The iPhone camera's great, but in low light it's lacking a flash. That meant I'd missed a focussed shot of the interior of the rainbow cake. Luckily there was a teeny, tiny sliver left and I snapped this for you. Yes, ideally it would be styled on a pretty cake plate with a teeny fork, but you'll forgive the rather rustic background of my well-worn chopping board won't you? After all, the colours are soooooo pretty!

taste teste

Have you tried the Etsy Taste Test yet? I did and look what it decided I'd like. Yes, thank you Etsy I do like this very much indeed.

over the rainbow

If there's a birthday cake guaranteed to bring out the ooohs, the aaahs and the 'awesome' it's this. Our rainbow cake with white royal icing {and a hundreds and thousands 'rainbow' on top} was a smashing success. I found the recipe over at not quite nigella and I must send her a big thank you. It was a simple butter cake coloured with gel icing {very important - these are vivid colour yet don't affect the taste or texture of the batter}.

The cake topped off a wildly successful party. The girls had fun making rainbow bracelets with the different coloured strings I'd bought {beads, not so sucessful, some of the holes too teeny to thread}. Then there was a riotous game of Celebrity Heads {my husband's inclusion of the school principal was inspired - hilarious}. Then the food. The sushi platter I'd ordered in was swooped on. The honey chicken wings gobbled up, as were the pizza and the pesto pinwheels. The surprise love was the olive oil and balsamic dipping bowl I'd put out with the baguettes - obviously a lot of restaurant-savvy kids as it needed constant topping up.

Then there was a spot of dusk swimming, despite the weather. And some beautiful, thoughtful presents.

My kitchen may still need mopping of some multi-coloured icing messes, but it was ever-so-worth it. Now, bring on Christmas shall we?

flowers for friday

My hydrangea from last year is still kicking on. Still teensy, but it does have flower heads {these are from last year}. Hopefully a bit more love, water and sunshine and they'll take off.

It's my gal's birthday party today. The rainbow cake's made {and looks awesome!}, cupcakes are baked and all the shopping's done. All we have to do is cut up the salad stuff {vegies and fruit} and throw a few things in the oven at 5.30. Oh, and cross all our fingers and toes that the sun breaks through this grey old day. Pool parties could quite do with some sunshine - even some twilight ones!

money matters

At this time of the year I tend to get a bit reflective when I have a spare moment. There's nothing like Christmas craziness to make you assess what's important. Last year, when I was frantic around Christmas I asked myself a question, "If I don't do this will anybody cry or die?" if the answer was no, then obviously it wasn't worth bothering myself over.

Lately I've been pondering money, and what's worth spending money on. Obviously I feel very strongly that holidays are the perfect thing to spend money on: you're broadening your horizons, experiencing something new and creating memories that'll last long after you've paid the bills. Our holiday next year in France and England is going to be worth every cent - and I'm determined to savour every second.

It's interesting to watch people and ponder their priorities. I never like to judge, we're all different and we all have differing things that make us happy. But sometimes you've got to wonder how many people really stop and think about what makes them happy. Truly happy.

Is it a high paying or high status job that means they have to spend hours and hours and hours working? And when they stop working how often do they immerse themself in something that makes them feel joyous? That money they're earning, are they spending it on something that makes them smile?

I'm working hard at the moment. Harder than I have in a long time. I'm doing something I've never really done before and it's a steep learning curve. But it's enjoyable. I'm creating something and feel like I'm achieving. I'm also making sure I still spend time doing things that matter. Today I took a break and went and swam some laps in the pool. I love our pool, and our backyard, every dollar we poured into it was worth it. I loved swimming those leisurely laps, and tomorrow I'll swim with my gal, watching her do handstands, racing her and then sitting by the side while she plays her imaginary mermaid games.

You can't put a price on those moments.

They're what make me happy.

nothing but the truth

what's cooking wednesday

Well, it's 5.45am and I'm just back from dropping my parents at the airport. What a lovely week's holiday we've had. Sure, I was working while they were here - but at least I got to have coffee and lunch breaks with them which I wouldn't have if I were working in an office. After a week of functions, picnics and outings it's time to get back into some form of reality. Here's what we'll eat this week:

tonight: chicken provencale with roasted vegies and green salad

Thursday: Husband's off to a cocktail party {as you do} and the gal and I shall be baking cupcakes and birthday cake. I think I'll do some salmon on the bbq.

Friday: The big birthday party - 5pm to 8pm. We'll be eating party food - but as there's sushi on the menu that's not a bad thing at all.

Saturday: Nothing planned - bliss. Easy dinner of lime and pepper chicken breasts on the bbq with a shredded vegie salad.

Sunday: I have a hankering for seven hour leg of lamb - so that is what I shall be cooking.

Monday: poached chicken, mango and avocado salad.

Tuesday: Let's try for fish on the bbq again - a white fish this time. And mango salsa {c'mon, it's mango season, best make the most of it...}

Then Wednesday my hubby's out with some boys - so we gals and the kidlets are catching up at a friends for dinner and bubbles and swimming. Noice.

You?