Confessions of a sugar addict...

I got carried away. 

Last Thursday I was at the Camilla & Marc afternoon tea, chatting to Camilla herself and some other lovely ladies, and the next thing I know a giant plate of macarons appears in front of me.  The same me who hadn't touched sugar in weeks and who without thinking grabbed 2 macarons, and then two more... and then two more.  JUST LIKE THAT. 

It set off an out of control sugar binge for 5 straight days, so bad that I'm sick and lethargic today. 

Back to the drawing board for me.

LMFF 2012 - Alex Perry Presentation

What's more exciting than an invitation from the divine Josh Flinn on the eve of LMFF to the Alex Perry presentation?  Not much!

The scramble to find something to wear resulted in the purchase of two dresses, none of which arrived in time, rendering my new lipstick the most important component of my outfit. I'm a woman of many talents, none of which is finding something to wear in a wardrobe full of clothes.  No wonder I'm selling virtually all of it...

The show was nothing less than spectacular.  Lots of glamour.  Lots of white and nude with a dash of red and plenty of sparkle.

And I must mention the Tony Bianco shoes that the models were sporting, along with every second person in the front row.  You heard it here first.

Thank you Josh and Alex for having me xxx

Palette Melbourne Launch

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the launch of Palette Melbourne at their concept store in Malvern. Palette is designed and made in Melbourne and at amazing price points, helps you build the ultimate wardrobe to take you from the office to a night on the town and building your lock. I love the fact that it's a well edited collection with all the pieces working together (the ultimate capsule collection) with essentials to take you through for years to come.  It's the perfect place to start when you're starting your wardrobe.


Thanks for having me girls... the cocktails were just as delicious as the collection! X

”Fashion is the armour to survive the reality of everyday life. I don't think you could do away with it. It would be like doing away with civilization.”- Bill Cunningham

How true is that quote?  How powerful can an outfit, or a killer pair of shoes make you feel?  How many times has a certain look helped me feel like I know when I'm talking when presenting something that I KNOW I'm out of my depth with.

If you haven't seen this documentary yet, do yourself a favour and find a way to watch it.  I'd been meaning to see it for months, but something always got in the way.  When I got wind of the fact that it was screening for one final week at Palace, I switched around my diary and unplugged and saw it one late Monday afternoon.  Blackberry was off, iPhone was on flight mode and I sat in a cinema at 3pm on a weekday.  Totally indulgent but I'm so glad that I did.  The world didn't combust without me.

Bill is such a simple individual, who up until recently lived in one tiny room at Carnegie Hall, sleeping on a mattress that sat on crates.  And his infamous blue jacket is a jacket that Paris street sweepers wear, which he wore to receive his French Legion of Honour award.  This documentary will make you laugh and cry and humble you enormously.

First world problems...

My internet died this week.  During the busiest month of the year for those living (and blogging) in Melbourne - Fashion Festival, F1 parties, Food and Wine Festival, Comedy Festival, French Film Festival and every Oscar nominated film being released at the same time... phew!  Add to that a kitchen renovation (a self managed one, mind you) and a naturopath prescribed detox that has me waking one in a cold sweat at 2am one morning and shivering the next.  

But all is well that ends well.  

I have most of the day to blog while dad replasters the kitchen walls (I love you dad)... and I'm continuing to sell most of my belongings on eBay.  I vowed to reclaim my life back in 2012 and I have not wavered.  And after spending a year searching for an affordable sheepskin for my bedroom, I'm beside myself at having finally found one!

How are your resolutions holding up??

Meet Marvin - part one

 

Marvin dress, Witchery leopard print clutch (similar here or here or here), Zomp shoes, Sportsgirl necklace

 

Marvin top with brass neckpiece, Zara shorts, Witchery sandals (similar here)

 Meet Marvin. The Sydney label is the brain child of Melody Hasse and Liza Rowe both of whom have some serious design pedigree having working for the likes of Akira Isogawa and Hussy.

I've been lucky to play around with the S/S collection "The Spirit Will Rise" over the past week.  The collection has a hint of tribal in wonderful fabrics, playful prints and brass detailing.  The pieces translate from a breakfast, to the office with a blazer and a night out on the town.  And the best thing is, the price points are fantastic, with most pieces under the $200 mark and able to be mixed and matched with everything that's currently in your wardrobe. Instant love.

Look out for part two of my post in the coming days!

The weekend

This past weekend marked the last weekend of summer. Each year summer seems to be quicker and quicker. I thoroughly enjoyed the long days and squeezed in some beach time, a trip back home, a perfect weekend in Sydney and lots of trips to the cinema.

Tomorrow I'm finally seeing Bill Cunningham: New York during a late afternoon session and hoping to have the cinema to myself.

This past weekend was HOT and I managed another trip to my favorite sea side idyll - Portsea. The ocean temperate was perfect for swims and the late summer sun not too harsh. Simple happiness.

OPI The Muppets collection... Designer de Better

I've completely and unexpectedly fallen in love with this polish. It's one of the easiest polishes to apply - it dries very quickly and stays put for days.

It's a little bit more OTT than I'm used to (I'm a Bubble Bath girl at heart) but I'm enjoying the playfulness. Summer has decided to stay so a little bit of sparkle compliments it just fine.

Sugar free update

Since converting to mostly organic and free range products and curbing my sugar intake, I have been much happier. I now survive on much less sleep and can concentrate for longer periods (believe it or not last year I barely lasted 5 minutes). Not to mention a completely flat stomach.

As a test I had a small handful of mini Easter yesterday afternoon which resulted in a feeling of hangover today. Ewww.

Don't despair though, I'm still eating amazing foods.

Coconut yoghurt is a salvation. It's creamy and filling and believe it or not has no sugar in it at all. Along with halloumi cheese.

Last days of summer..

Enjoying being able to wear shorts for a few more weeks. And the stars aligned and I found the Zara sequin in the Melbourne store. The very last one. Yesssssss!

I Quit Sugar

I quit sugar.  Yep. 


This is the year that I look after myself, so this week I made a pact to quit sugar. I've tried to do this before, but this time I'm serious.
Last night, after a horrid day at work all I wanted to do was dive into the giant box of Ferrero Rocher (to my credit it's been in my posession since Christmas and I have not opened it).  Sugar is always the easy option.  Chocolate, cakes, snakes, jams, nutella, Not to mention the sugar that's added to pretty much everything we consume anyway.  I don't know about you, but it seems to be that the easiest thing to grab while on the run is sugar laden?  Sometimes when the day is crazy, all I will eat is an almond croissant.  My body has pretty much told me that I have to stop.  It's inflamed and it hurts and I need to change my ways.

Sarah Wilson's ebook has been a good helping hand. 




Probably the best $15 I've spent all year.  It's quick to read and easy to follow.  It's not patronising, but it's scary and realistic at the same time.  I don't think that I'm overly dependent on sugar, so I'm not doing the extreme and quitting fruit.  I love fruit and it's a staple of my diet, but I am steering clear of the fruit that's too high in fructose.  Sugar is inflammatory, it's ageing and it turns into fat.  The biggest revelation has been the fact that fat isn't fat, fructose is.  One is encouraged to eat full fat products as they contain the least amount of additives.  And lets face it, fat fills us up.  I'm all about grilled halloumi, lots of salmon, daily gym sessions and weekly infrared saunas. You should see my skin after 40 minutes in that sauna.  Amazing!

I'm not trying to lose weight or be Gwyneth Paltrow.  I just want to be healthy.

So, I quit sugar.

I love Sydney

Sometimes you just need to get away. I've been to Sydney many, many time and am very familiar with it. Yet every time I go I love it even more. I usually hire a car and explore the surrounds. There's only so much the CBD can offer. And it's Frugal February, so staying away from shops is the best idea.

My friends on Twitter warned me that the weather wasn't great but boy was I grateful that they were wrong. It was sunny and hot. Just how I like it.

Upon arriving in Sydney I stuffed my face with Zumbo macarons (the Milo one pictured was perfection) and on attempting to go to Oxford Street, I took a wrong turn and ended up crossing Harbour Bridge and ending up under it, in Kirribili in a tiny little park. Love a surprise.

I'm really looking forward to a quiet February. I do not have too many commitments and I'm over the moon about that.

Hoping to return to regular blogging and blog visits too!