Daggy awesome dads

Hello world!

Today's post is about my dad, and what a lovely man he is.

Even though he has this insane habit of arriving a half hour early to EVERY event known to mankind, and a general propensity to lecture on boring stuff like superannuation and tax, overall he’s pretty alright.

Plus, I think his general interest in current affairs and history has probably played a big role in cultivating my inquisitiveness (translate - nosey parkerness) and love of ole timey stuff, so I really am thankful to have him in my life.

Speaking of old timey stuff, my dad has also recently joined me on my quest for collecting old skool knick knacks.

Given this, I was really touched when at a recent family dinner; he presented me with a vintage German beer stein from the Tuggeranong Homestead Markets. Inne nice?!

I think the stein/mug pre dates the fall of the Berlin Wall and is quite the collectors item, so thanks dad!
That's all for me today folks, hope ya'll are keepin it real, and say hi to your dad for me, cuz dad’s rule!

Until next time...Rose. xx

Sydney Weekender

Hello world!

Hope you're still with me cuz I know it's been a little while between drinks. So, you know I had an awesome but incredibly busy time in Sydney over Easter. Somehow in the space of three days we managed to:

• pick up the ultimate nanna blanket on the way to Sydney, via a market at Exeter

• schlep to our fave daggy Asian joint, Harry's Singapore Chilli Crab (yes, that's the ACTUAL name) and consume a 2.2 kilo mud crab between the three of us (oh man, the sweetness of the crab, with the fiery chilli sauce was so good)

• race through the Museum of Contemporary Art, where I unfortunately missed the Anish Kapoor exhibition, but managed to eat the most delicious eggs cocotte at the MCA cafe

• meander around the The Rocks market, where I picked up a beautiful Silk Diva Tunic  from Anna Pryor

• scoff one of my fave dishes of all time, the roti canai, at the once hatted, yet still awesome Mamak 

• Nip into the Sydney Antiques Centre, where as someone who collects tea pots and vintage tins,  picked up the Holy Grail = a tin tea pot (what are the chances?!)

• Dash through IKEA, because I physically do not know how to visit a city without nipping into a furniture store (oh I also went to Matt Blatt on Oxford Street). AND to top it off...
• attend a Big Fat wedding of 500 (yep that's 50 with an extra 0)

Phew! Summing it all up, I'm not sure how we managed to do it without going insane, well we kinda did, but that's what happens when you travel with an 8 year old and my Mother.

Oh did I not mention that my Mother, who also travelled from Canberra, insisted we visit a random distant relative with her, in some unknown part of Sydney, because you know, we had so much spare time.

When picturing said Mother, think, Imelda Marcos/Margaret Thatcher/Martha Stewart/Oprah Winfrey rolled into one. So basically a scary perfectionist dictator with a penchant for shoes and a heart of gold, who always gets what she wants. Bless.

I'm hoping this weekend will be way less cray cray, but ya never know with me!

Until next time...Rose. xx

Flowers on the wall

Hello world!

This week’s post is all about flowers, both literal and metaphorical.

I love flowers, I like them in the garden, freshly cut in a vase, I like them on fabric, and I like being one.




Cue screech to a halt noise. Say what?? She likes 'being' a flower, lady be cray cray.

What I mean in my own weird way is that I like being a wallflower.

Wikipedia defines wallflowers as people who are inherently shy but once you get to know them, they are like the definition of awesome...

And even though many people, including some of my closest friends are still shocked by my admission of wallflowerness, it's how I've always rolled.

Like I said, it's not like I'm a total anti-social pariah or something, it's just I'd much rather stand back against the wall and observe people than be the female incarnation of Redfoo, know what I mean?

Anyway, all this talk of walls has reminded me that I recently papered one. You know so that I could stand against it, being a wallflower and all.

 The Husband doing the leg work.

 The result.

Even though I have no segway, here's some snapshots of my Birthday.



I gots me a coffee machine from super store Aldi. Now I get cafe quality coffee right at home and get to be even more manic. Yaya!

The Husband took me to the Nishi building at New Acton. Check out the amazing wooden frame that envelops most of the multi story building. It's so post modern and awesome, I really love it.

 We also went to Lonsdale Street Traders, a unique warehouse space that houses a whole range of groovy pop up stores.

 Cute vintage clothing store Hipsley Lane  is one of the many groovy stores in the Traders. I would have bought a dress had I been able to try one on. It was 38 degrees (again) and none of the stores had air conditioning. Stinkin summer!

  
On that happy note, I'mma say Sayonara.

Until next time...Rose. xx

I bought a zoo...I mean a sofa!

Hello world!

Just wanted to report what a lovely weekend I've just had. Even though it was a relatively short long weekend (stay with me) as in only one extra day off, I had just enough leisure time, combined with fun outings as to render me very very satisfied.

I also bought some stuff, some much needed, other's catering to my horrible shopping addiction, like the cardi below, courtesy of Aussie discount store, Big W.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I love Big W knits. Seriously, for a fraction of the price of high street labels, you get really good quality, comfortable knits. I paired my new purchase with my favourite polka dot dress from my trip to London last year, thanks Topshop!

See, my love for polka dots also extends to my wardrobe.

Since Lily has recently moved out of our parents’ home (which I'm sure she'll be reporting on soon, right Lilz?!) we thought it only fair (and kinda convinient) to off load some of our old furniture, including my beloved Ikea (Ektorp) two seater which previously sat in our study/den.

But, in its place now sits this super funky 1950's vinyl sofa, purchased by the Husband. 

Even though it's not something I would normally jump on (I mean this is a metaphorical sense unlike Tom Cruise), it looks wonderful our home. As I've said in the past, your home is where your heart is, and I think it should be a reflection of you.

So the Husband, who cites Frank Lloyd Wright as one of his architectural hero's and loves furniture from his era, is chuffed to have this sitting proudly in our home.  

For those in Aus, hope you're all enjoying your short week, and for those sitting in faraway lands, sending good vibes for the one ahead. Until next time...Rose. xx

Me want your style ( update)

Hello world!

Given the tag line of this blog, lovers of couture and all that, Lily and I are often caught waxing lyrical re the sartorial choices of the people around us, and our style icons.

Like most things in life, we have very similar taste and pretty much see eye to eye on most things fashion-ey.

Having said that, I definitely lean towards the more quirky, boho, vintage look, while Lil'z is much more streamlined, often teaming classic tailoring with lux accessories, which sometimes can be a far better choice, as my affinity towards the quirky has sometimes seen me fall victim to some pretty horrendous trends - hello 80's revival ala ra ra skirts and neon off the shoulder tops, shame on you Rose, shame, shame, shame.

Anyhoo, before I embarrass myself further, here are my fave style icons:

Zooey Deschanel
Oh how I love thy whimsical style with your oh so perfect bangs

Love the fabric.

 .

My favourite city in Europe for style is defo London. Having visited Europe for the first time earlier this year, I was in awe of the place. The people of France and Italy were all so beautiful, and reeked of such glamour, that it figuratively hurt my eyes.

But, there's something about London. I think it was seeing the experimentation with colours and textures which really grabbed me. Plus as a lover of face art, I loved that the ladies were so bold with their make up.

Brit girl Lily Allen. Fellow wearer of winged eyeliner and lover of vintage.



Speaking of Brits, I have to give a shout out to one of my favourite designers of all time and fashion royalty, Vivienne Westwood.

Could a dress get any cooler?! 

Again, as someone who leans towards the Avant Garde (and melodrama) I really don't think they make em any better than Ms Westwood. I recently saw some of Ms Westwood's pieces at The National Gallery of Australia and my was I in love. Plus, I was insane enough to purchase a Westwood bag when I went to Hong Kong in 2008 (pre mortgage). I don't take it out very often but I'll treasure it forever.


The rest of my style icons in no particular order:

Gwen Stefani
Love her funky vintage/punk style and ever present red lip.

If I was a rich girl...I'd buy your wardrobe.

Sonam Kapoor

Indian Bollywood actress, Sonam Kapoor, is considered one of the most stylish women of India. Here's why.

Are y'all sensing I might like a red lip? 

Chloe Sevigny
The ultimate fashionista, blending quirk with couture.

Can I have your pins?

Michelle Williams
While it's hard to look away from her beautiful face, I love how she keeps it simple, focusing on beautiful tailoring and sweet delicate details.

This Vera Wang dress is one of my ultimates.

UPDATE!

I forgot to mention Miroslava Duma, the former Russian fashion editor, now storming the fashion pages with her bold, eclectic and oh so expensive wardrobe. While I wouldn't dream of attempting her look I am defo intrigued.

 

Until next time...Rose. xx

Weekend wares

Hello world!

As promised it's time for weekend show and tell.

Culinary Update

 

As stated in my last post, last Friday Miss I, D and I headed to Rubicon for a long overdue catch up. 

 

    

As you can see, the restaurant is utterly enchanting, especially the extension at the back with its' beautiful fairy lights twinkling above you as you tuck into dinner. And while the decor gave me food for thought (hello fairy lights on the roof of moi new deck) the actual food um didn't.

And again, while the service was reasonably attentive, I did feel a little intruded upon with the waiter constantly hovering over us with a jug of water that was ever so close to falling on our laps.

As for the food, given the $33 + price tag, plus general reputation of being a restaurant of fine foods, I was disappointed.

 



Menu highlight

My entree of red claw yabbies, with gorgonzola gratin was the highlight of menu, but the rest of my meal, along with those of Miss I and D were well... a bit bland.

On paper, the chicken with mushroom and chestnut stuffing, crisp skin barramundi with chive and potato dumplings, and wild mushroom raviolo sounded divine, but in reality the execution lacked flavour. All in all it was a nice experience but I probably won't be back again.

Onto far brighter things, I had a ripper of a Sunday, with a fabulous brunch at Ona (Manuka) and scoring two tapestries at a garage sale.

 

While I had planned to add to my collection of vintage tins at the antiques auction, I ended up walking away with a lovely vintage toy box for Little Rose, and the Husband found this awesome camera at my in-laws, who are also collectors.

So it was defninitely a Sunday of "Scores!!".  Anyway it's Sayonara for now. Until next time...Rose. xx

   

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

Hello world!

It’s Lily here. First and foremost I have to apologise for taking so long to fulfil Rose’s promise of blog entries by her ‘uber cool sister.’ However, they say that good things come to those that wait sooo....here I am! Rose and I joke that my mother basically had the same child 6 years apart. We like a lot of the same things, laugh at jokes no one else would find funny, and have an uncanny tendency to say exactly the same thing at exactly the same time. Naturally the next step is to blog together! 

I recently co-planned a bridal shower for one of my closest friends (the wedding is in 10 days, seriously excited) so today I’ll give you a taste of what I put together with the hope that in the process you can learn a little about me. First step to holding a successful event is planning, planning and oh, did I mention planning? A neurosis for organisation and order is something Rose and I share, but in this case it served me well as the bridal shower went off without a hitch. Invitations were sent well in advance, presents were purchased weeks before, and the menu was decided on way too early. I don't want to give the impression that I'm some Martha Stewart goddess as there were definitely some bumps along the way. We only finished making the food half an hour before guests arrived leaving us with a last minute scramble to make ourselves presentable. I also left the pastries that I had slaved over cooling in the oven until half way through the party Rose reminded me that it’s pretty crucial to actually serve the food you’ve prepared.    

They say that first impressions count. In the case of a party, invitations are the first thing that a guest receives so I think it’s important to get them right. I may be old fashioned but I think sending out an invitation beats a facebook event page any day. I know our guests appreciated them, and we took care in picking invitations that reflected the mood of our event – a dainty afternoon tea!

Bunting! It was Rose that introduced me to the wonders of bunting and boy am I now a believer. The bunting was the only decoration we added to the room, but it was enough to give a real feeling of festivity. Credit for the bunting goes to my co-planner who spent hours cutting triangles out of wrapping paper which we then taped to string. Blue and white was our theme for the shower, but said co-planner decided to add in the white and black damask which I love. It also helps having a sister whose home is seemingly decorated for the purpose of dainty afternoon teas.

The something blue

Mini photo album/scrap book as the something new. Antique teapot, sugar pot, and salt and pepper shakers as the something old. 

In deciding what presents to get the bride to be I set the theme ‘something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.’ All the guests contributed to the presents and we were able to find some really lovely gifts for the bride to be. 

For entertainment we opted out of playing any X rated games which are often seen at bridal shindigs, instead we followed the motto - tame games can be fun! (I actually just made that up, but let’s roll with it). One of the games we particularly enjoyed involved each guest writing down who their celebrity crush is and why, with the bride having to match the celebrity to the guest. Just to provide an example mine said ‘Ryan Gosling. Have you seen Crazy, Stupid, Love?’ Now I may have provided that example purely so I could finish the blog with a picture of Ryan Gosling but as my next saying goes – use picture references of Ryan Gosling whenever possible. I thoroughly recommend everyone get behind this one!

Hope you enjoyed bridal shower wrap up J

Xx Lily 

Can't have an afternoon tea without delicious treats

Party favours