week.end

Hope you all enjoyed the Halloween weekend. On Friday evening Curt and I were lucky to enough to attend one of the most incredible parties I've ever been to, hosted by my dear friend Natalie. She and her fellow housemates had entirely transformed their home in honour of their 'Vampires of Burntwood Manor' gathering. I opted to be a vintage vampire and the lovely hostess was a delectable vampire nurse. Every surface was filled with ghoulish artifacts, no wall or ceiling was left unadorned and the outside seating area featured no less than a selvaged fireplace filled with hordes of candles. Totally amazing. Would love to share more images but the fog machine they hired (impressive) meant most of my pictures came out fairly hazy.

The rest of the weekend was dominated by relaxing, hanging out with friends, and a little cooking... and then of course eating. One of the highlights of the weekend's culinary adventures was a perfect Saturday breakfast of sourdough toast with caramelised onions, mushrooms and feta. I also managed to fit in a little shopping thanks to the arrival of pay day. One of my top finds with was a darling enamel butterfly necklace which I spied in a dusty jewellery cabinet whilst walking past the window of one of our local charity shops. I'm really quite fond of it and only had to part with the grand sum of two hundred pennies to call it my own.

just a minute in...october

Gorgeous photos above by whynat on flickr

I thought I'd join in on this for a bit of fun...Liss from Daydream Lily (one of my very favourite inspirational blogs) has been doing it for a while. Click over to her post to read a bit more about 'Just A Minute' and where it originated from. If you're a blogger feel free to join in too, coz it's always fun to hear about what's rocking other people's worlds! Comment and let me know if you do and I'd love to come over and see.

Reading... Hmm, mainly magazines. My mother has a suscription to Vogue and she saves them all for me so whenever I go back home for a visit I settle myself down in the evenings for a blissful catch up on all the ones I haven't read yet. I've also been eyeing up the latest issues of Lula, Elle Decoration and Nylon but have sadly been without the necessary funds to purchase them. Sigh.

Listening...to Lungs by Florence and The Machine. I have this album in my car so everytime I drive anywhere I can usually be found singing along to it at the top of my lungs, generally hideously out of key.

Watching...the X-Factor, religiously. It's my guilty pleasure. At least now I am a mother I have a valid reason for staying in on a Saturday night (who am I kidding, I would so stay in to watch it anyway).

Buying... Very little! Thank goodness today is pay day as I've been scaping by with literally pennies for the last two weeks. I blew my budget in the first half of the month doing fun stuff when my Canadian friend came to stay. I did however purchase a a high waisted, tulip shaped floral skirt that I am very in love with.

Loving... Being a wife..it's all been peachy so far! Also, my Matthew Williamson perfume, my red check flannel shirt, Lila's new words (night night, lovely, and bath time) and our official wedding pictures- I'll share a selection of them soon.

Wanting... To constantly eat sweet, delicious, comforting things. Food is never far from my mind but this month I've been craving all the bad things-cakes, chocolate, anything with ridiculous amounts of cheese involved. Arghh, must stop eating! I blame it on the change in seasons.

lady with a camera: gen kay

It's been a while since I featured an awesome female photographer in my 'lady with a camera' series so I thought it was time to get back on the program and share the work of the very talented Australian fashion photographer Gen Kay.

She started out her career in Japan, making a name for herself there and then in her homeland, shooting for magazines including Vogue Japan, Nylon Japan and Lula. She has recently started to focus on shooting short films with a super 8 camera. Check out her website to see more of her work.

week.end

Our weekend involved a long walk through the woods in the crisp, sunny autumn air and baking again, which was needless to say followed by mass consumption of the delicious results. This time it was the turn of cupcakes (my birthday gifts came in very handy here). I eventually decided on what seemed the healthiest option, as the recipe didn't actually require any sugar and guilt free cupcakes are always a winning plan. They turned out to be so good- Curt described them as tasting like a cross between banana bread and carrot cake- that I thought it would only be fair to share...

Honey, Banana & Pecan Cupcakes

Makes 32 (mini ones)

100 g (3 ½ oz) unsalted butter, chopped

350 g (12 oz/ 1 cup) honey, plus extra to drizzle

250 g (9 oz/ 2 cups) self-raising flour

1 teaspoon mixed spice

150 g (5 ½ oz/ 1 ½ cups) coarsely grated carrot

1 ripe banana, mashed

70 g (2 ½ oz/ ½ cup) chopped pecan nuts, plus extra to sprinkle

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350° F/Gas 4). Line 32 mini muffin holes with paper cases.

Melt the butter and honey in a small saucepan, stirring until combined. Allow to cool.

Sift the flour and mixed spice into a large bowl. Add the carrot, banana, pecans, eggs and honey mixture, stirring until the mixture is just combined and smooth.

Divide the mixture evenly among the cases, and sprinkle the tops liberally with extra chopped pecans. Bake for 8 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of a cake. Transfer onto a wire rack to cool.

Drizzle a little honey over the cakes before serving.

Recipe adapted from this book (which uses macadamia nuts instead of pecans, but I couldn't get hold of any, and pecans actually worked out brilliantly).

eight-london

The Rebecca dress

I'm very excited to announce the launch of a new London fashion label, EIGHT-LONDON, which has been masterminded by two very talented young ladies (one of them being an extremely good friend of mine...I'm so proud!)

Their first collection consists of twelve designs, all expertly crafted with the most exquite, gorgeous fabrics. I was lucky enough to attend the preview evening at the stunning location of Somerset House in central London, amidst an exhibition of the iconic black and white images by the legendary fashion photographer Norman Parkinson.

Be sure to check out their website to see the full range and for more details and prices. If you'd like order one of the beautiful, unique items, it will be custom made to your measurements and you can rest assured in the knowledge that you won't be walking around in the same Topshop dress as everyone else. Perfect.


The Claire blouse & the Jennifer skirt


The Liberty blazer


The Louisa dress


The Zoe dress

The Laelia dress

anthropologie in london town!

Yay! Today is a very exciting day, the first Anthropologie store on this side of the pond is opening its doors on Regent Street in London. On the downside it will probably lead to me drowning in a sea of debt as I struggle to rein myself in when I set foot inside. I can't wait to loose myself among all the delights I know will be waiting within those walls. For anyone who is not already aware of Anthropologie, take a look at their US website to see what they are all about. Think gorgeous, inspirational clothing, accessories and home decor with a crafty/handmade, vintage aesthetic.

The brand is owned by Urban Outfitters and there are definitely crossover elements between them but where Urban Outfitters is young, hip and edgy I would say that Anthro is more feminine, sophisticated and aspirational. If there are any UK residents wishing to check out this new palace of general awesomeness and beauty, here is the address of the store:

158 Regent Street
London, W1B 5SW

A second store is also due to open on the Kings Road in Chelsea in early 2010. Be still my beating heart!

The images above are of the Anthropologie stores in America- via their website.

dream wheels

Image by scuba dooba on Flickr

I heart this car! All hail the Nissan Fiagro, the most beautiful car on the road. Despite the fact that it has little wheels which mean it can't reach speeds above about 60mph, and a tiny backseat which would in no way fit Lila's car seat. Not to mention the incredibly small boot that could never hold the improbable amount of stuff we now have to take everywhere with us due to the aforementioned diminutive, loud and messy member of the family. Oh but they are just so pretty.

Yes, totally impractical but I can still dream. There is a garage near to us which sells them and every time I drive past it and see them lined up in their candy colours I decide which one I would choose. But then I always change my mind (at the moment the blue one is my favourite but the pale pink version will always hold a special place in my heart, though I do wonder if if might make one feel a bit like Barbie!)



Image by NWT 2005 on flickr