Monday

I flew back from a glorious weekend in Perth late last night which I spent with an old friend who's back for a while after studying abroad. 3 years worth of stories. I love and miss you V. Nothing beats the friendship that can continue where it left off years ago.

Since culling my wardrobe this year I've not had many exciting outfits to blog, so here is what I wore to work today. I'm well and truly sick of tights.

- Scanlan dress & belt
- Sussan jacket
- Witchery necklace & flats

instasydney

I have needed to run away from the reality of my 9-5 existence (more like 8-8 these days) more than ever. And the only way to not spend the weekend also trying to make the impossible happen for some people is to run away as far as possible.

Thank goodness for quick flight times.

Charlie & Co burgers and truffle and parmesan fries, macarons, drinks in the sunshine at Opera Bar.

Boot scootin'

What better way to procrastinate getting out of bed to go to the gym than trying to decide which new boots to buy for next winter. Right as summer is about to start.  Typical me.

As I'll be taking most of next year off, the pony hair boots couldn't be justified.  I couldn't blame my clients for needing them.

Instead I hit the practical route and got these.  They will probably serve me better and wiser next year and could well come to France with me, depending on when I go.  It's all about the inner dialogue justifying it to the wallet.

The real issue at hand however is what on earth I'm going to wear this summer, if summer ever decides to arrive (last night I had the heating on).  Most of my wardrobe was sold or thrown out this year and I hate all the fluro tank tops they're trying to make me wear.  May just live in a sarong.

And the winner is.... ME!?

This time last year I was wandering the streets of Paris.  As I've written a number of times, it was one place high on my bucket list that I wanted to tick off.  I worked pretty hard to make it work - somehow!   I didn't know at the time but my body was in the midst of being taken over by an autoimmune illness, perhaps the reason why I didn't see any of the magic city past 8pm.  Apart from late night cocktails at Opera Bar at Crillon Hotel.  In my experience, every stereotype of Paris was a myth - Paris was clean and beautiful, people were not uptight or snooty and if I made a little effort to speak French, they all made effort to speak English.  The high end stores were a delight - I encountered the loveliest sales assistants from Chanel to Hermes to Maje and everything in between.  And I still drool at the thought of the Raspberry Tart at Laduree.

You can read my posts from that trip HERE.

There were plenty of things left that I hadn't had a chance to see.  I never made it to Versailles and most of the museums went unvisited.

Yesterday, unlike most Melbournians, I headed to work, leaving my phone in my car by mistake.  When I finally got around check it late last night, I had a bunch of missed from a mobile number I didn't recognise and just as I picked it up the number rang again.

Rewind to last Saturday as B and I were enjoying breakfast and papers at our favourite cafe and I had sent my details, entering a competition thinking that surely nobody ever wins those things, let alone ME!?!?!

Well I got the shock of my life last night when the lovely Laura from the Melbourne French Festival - Paris to Provence called me to say I'D WON A TRIP TO FRANCE!

I have no idea how or when this will all take place (maybe for my next birthday???) and where do I want to go?  Paris?  A farmhouse or chateaux?  Maybe I'll offer my house for a house swap and hope there's somebody that wants to spend time in Melbourne whilst I'm in France.  MIND IS BLOWN!

Either way, I am so fortunate and so privileged to have won.  Maybe my luck will continue today with a win at the races (Mount Athos?) and the $100mil lotto draw.. (I do promise to share and be generous!)

WOW!