Friday Files & The Lui Bar

Last week (after a day of meetings) I had cocktails at The Lui Bar with a friend.   It's on the 55th Level of the Rialto buildling in Melbourne.  For me, it's a cross between Le Bain (Meat Packing District, NYC), Red Sky Bar (Bangkok) and The Roosevelt (Potts Point, Sydney).    I loved the old school decor against the backdrop of the Melbourne sky.  Oh, and they make really great cocktails!

Love the elegance of the silver tray featuring as the table top

(must try this @ home).

Delicious Manhattan!!

A few hours and a few cocktails later...

**



Bits & Pieces from around the www this week:

# Shoe Obsession - must buy this book

# Soapy heirlooms

# Cat ring love

# Idiot

# Finders Keepers (design and art market - Sydney)

# Go Gatsby - have a cocktail

# Why cats paint (what?)

# Super cute lollipop case

Romantic Moment #1

Ok, this may sound odd, but about four days ago The Boyfriend put my hair up in a ponytail.   There was good reason.   I had been to the hairdresser earlier in the day and I was in the process of washing the dishes, when my hair kept crawling irritatingly on my face (I'd had my curly hair blow dryed straight).   I asked The Boyfriend to find one of my hair ties (that took much  longer than I would have liked) and to put my hair up and out of my face.   Why am I telling you this?   Because it was, strangely, a very sexy and romantic moment - for me anyway.   I've never had a guy put my hair in a ponytail (except my hairdresser of course).     Perhaps it was sexy and romantic because The Boyfriend was struggling and asserting "I've never done this before..." in response to my impatient berating.

I've casually found excuses over the last few days to ask The Boyfriend to do it again (assume this is how a fetish starts) and he has kindly indulged me in this odd behaviour.    I find it particularly sexy when he tries very hard to get my crazy curls to submit and be as neat as possible in the ponytail. 

I can strongly recommend that you ask your significant other to put your hair in a ponytail.   Give it a go - I'm interested to know if anyone else finds it sexy and romantic.   Or is it just me? 



Speaking of romance, you have to check this out - hilarious.  

Art Underfoot

I am currently obsessing over tiles.  I must say I can only ever recall seeing "play it safe" tiles in my previous homes and the homes of my friends and family.   Tiles create personality and atmosphere in a space and I vote for more people to experiment with tiles in their homes.  Here are some of my favourites.



Essential Winter Ingredients

Winter kicks off in three days, though I must say I feel like it arrived yonks ago.  I can barely remember summer.   Whilst I am a self-confessed summer girl, I do love winter fashion.  The layering, coats, boots, scarves and gloves.   I also love nights in, by the fireplace/heater, curled up on the couch with a blanket reading a book, getting lost on the www, watching a movie or just hanging around doing nothing.  Here are my essential winter wardrobe/handbag pieces.   What are yours?

1. A statement ankle boot @ Guiseppe Zanotti

2. Sleek black jacket @ Saba

3. Cashmere love @ Alexander McQueen

4. Easy to throw on knit dress @ Marcs

5. I'm cold bitch beanie @ Urban Outfitters

6. Do not leave the house without Lucas' Paw Paw Ointment (or live with ugly chapped lips)

7. Fun gloves @ Allanah Hill

8. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (one of my favourites)

9. Basic knit top @ Marcs

Sunday Bake

As you know, I love my Sunday baking (in my mind at least).   The whisking, beating, sifting and mixing of ingredients before putting it all in the oven and then spending the next hour cleaning up the kitchen is so fun!   This morning, instead of having a sleep in and then taking a relaxing walk down to Woollahra for a coffee and the paper, I made this delicious lemon and yoghurt cake.   I imagine it will be perfectly delicious with a cup of coffee this afternoon.  I found the recipe here if you want to give it a go.



Hello Friday, I have missed you

I was invited for dinner at an old friend's house during the week and it reminded me of the value of a home cooked meal and the simple pleasure of sitting in a living room, when you're away from home for a whole week for work.    The delicious dinner was acommpanied with a red wine which is so yum I have to share it with you.  

It was a Rosso Quattro 2009 from South Australia.  Delicious and easy drinking.  I'm glad to see the back of another big week @ work and looking forward to a quiet weekend reconnecting with The Boyfriend.  What are your plans?



Check out my favourite links this week:

# Hilarous Embroidery (yes, there is such a thing - buy it here)

# Human of New York - you have to click this link

"Do you need the cane?" "I need it when I'm wearing these shoes."

# Brilliant Gym Gear

# Creative Concerns (awesome Tumblr site)

# Amazing Point Piper apartment for sale

(I celebrated new years eve 2013-14 here)



# Celine (lambskin) knot headband/necklace/wristband - LOVE

# Rick Kids on Instagram

Would you...

1. Wear this Cat Lace Veil Headband?

I'm in.
It's super cool (I love a good veil) and slightly ridiculous @ the same time (I'm getting Minnie Mouse
vibes)  It's by Maison Michel Paris, known for their beautiful veils and animal ears.
Check them out here.  



2. Wear these "jeans"?



I'm out.



Party Fingers

Rings have been my favourite jewellery piece for as long as I can remember.   It's the one piece I will not leave the house without.  I go through phases with rings and I have favourites which I wear for days at a time or weeks or even months.   As a teenager (of the 90s) I would pretty much have a ring on each finger and sometimes multiple rings on each finger - it was very cool.   I eventually transitioned into the more mature "one ring look".  But, I have been loving the finger parties that have been going on for a few years now and I'm tempted to jump on board.  Do you like this look? What do you think - Y/N?   Should I get back into it?



Two Random Monday Morning Thoughts...

1. Nothing more!

2. Brilliant



Friday Files

This week's beverage obsession has been sake.  In particular, I have over indulged in cold Shirakabegura sake - it's dry, smooth, easy drinking and seriously addictive.  I love it!  I am planning on hunting a bottle down over the weekend for our home collection.  Until then, I will definitely be enjoying a glass or two of red wine tonight to celebrate the end of another working week.  Happy Friday!

Top 5 links I loved this week:

# Love a good loafter and these are super cute

# Love this ring

# Blow (don't try this at home)

# The craziest clutch I've seen

# In my eye @ Delfina Delettrez

WTF

Heard of SNURK?  They're a firm from Amsterdam and they have designed a soft cotton, high quality duvet cover with photographs of cardboard boxes on it, it's called Le Clochard (French for bum/begger).  Why?  To remind us all of the plight of the homeless!  That's the line they're taking.  There is something that doesn't sit quite right with me thinking that I should take a moment to consider the plight of the homeless (freezing through winter nights) whilst sitting amongst all the privileges of life and snuggling under a high quality duvet which looks like (but is far from) a cardboard box.  What?  After a bit of digging on the net, it turns out there has been some controversy surrounding this design.  What do you think? 



Ok, this is a creepy WTF!  It has a name - forniphilia ("a form of bondage and sexual objectification in which a person's body is incorporated into a chair, table, cabinet or other piece of furniture").  British sculptor Allen Jones is the artist.  All of this craziness and objectification went down in the 70s and suffice to say that Mr Jones is not very popular amongst the feminists.   I don't really know whether to laugh or get angry.  What do you think?

 

Would you ...

1. Wear this bikini?

Summer is a hell of a long way away (but it's always on my mind).  Would you wear this hot dog and fries bikini?   I guess you would need to be super thin so nobody would judge you (or your suggested eating habits)?   Wonder if they have a no carbs version?  Perhaps with salad and veges?

2.  Eat a piece of this cake?  

Yep, it's what it looks like - it's a brain cake.  Not very appertising.  Would you eat a piece?   I don't have a sweet tooth so I'm out (phew)!  This is a great site for cool cake design ideas - check it out.

Boot It

'Tis the season to pull out your coats, scarves, gloves and (my personal favourite) boots!   Autumn is wrapping up and we are heading into winter (fast).  One of my favourite things about winter (other than the red wine and thick warm bed socks) is the boots!  I wear boots just about every day during winter and it's  important to have a few different styles and colours to mix it up.  There is nothing sexier than a knee high stiletto boot, though I have more recently embraced the ankle boot!   I love boots over jeans, tights or with a short dress/skirt.   I buy at least one new pair of boots every winter and this year will be no exception.  I'm on the hunt for more this season.  Here are my top 10 favourites.



1. Jeffrey Campbell (Zomp)

2. Salvatore Ferragamo (Saks)

3. Burberry (Saks)
4. Verali (Iconic)

5. Jimmy Choo (Saks)

6. Giuseppe Zanotti (Saks)

7. Siren (Iconic)

8. Uggs (Uggs Aust)

9. Gucci (Saks)

10. Phillip Lim (Matches)

Two Random Monday Morning Thoughts...

I love a man who knows how to use a drill.  Good thing The Boyfriend is a builder.  I came across these absolutely impractical but adorable knitted tools over the weekend.  Check them out here.



One day closer to Friday.  Happy Monday!



Travel for Work

I remember before I started working full time in the corporate world, I craved a job that provided the opportunity for lots of travel!  I thought it was sexy.  The images in my head looked a bit like this.

After twelve years of working with more business travel than I care to remember, I can confirm that there is nothing sexy about twelve+ hour days in back to back meetings, followed by lonely nights in a hotel room generally working through the night, no private jets, no views of the ocean and very little down time to explore a new City.   Reality is, it looks more like this.

I spent this last week interstate for work and am very much appreciating being back at home and in my usual habitat this weekend.   I get three nights back at home before I have to do it all over again.  Which gets me thinking, how do you survive travelling for work? 

Here are my top 5 quasi-survival tips:

1. Find good coffee.

2. Call home!  Regardless of how busy you are, take a few minutes to call home (ET managed to do it).

3. If you have friends in the City - arrange a catch up (even if it is late into the night after days of meetings, a friendly face is therapeutic).

4. Good concealer (to hide the panda eyes after all those late nights working). I am currently loving Napolean Perdis' Mighty Concealer Pen.

5. Eat right.  Finding a great place to eat good food (with good company if possible) after a long day of meetings goes a long way.  My favourite in Melbourne (where I spent the last week for work) is Hanabishi.

Takashimizu (cold) Sake - Delicious

Wagyu meat ball, edamame, good (bashful) company and wasabe!

Sashimi & Sushi Love

More Sashimi - Yum