Latest Buys

Do you remember I was harping on about wanting lots of lovely Iron furniture back around the time of my Birthday? (here)

Well, we finally picked up some simply DIVINE pieces on the weekend. I am yet to take delivery of these lovelies, but here are some sneaky iPhone pics I took in store at the wonderful Empire shop in Mt Lawley.

This fabulous old filing cabinet is huge and will be a delight to fill with all my little table items, candles, stationary, napery, cutlery, photos… and so on…

(Ooo, how did i miss that fabulous Mirror in the above pic? Hmmm…)

And then there is the long searched for 'perfect dining table'…

I love how the cabriole style of the leg bases completely transform this very industrial cold material into a rather classical looking design piece fit for even the most uppity of dinner parties.

We actually went out looking for a house, but having failed in that search we settled for things to put in one!

Busy Busy and Bargains Aplenty

I have been too busy for blogging lately, which is sad as I should find time for it, however there has been so much going on at the moment with my first Photography Assignment (9/10!), completing a course on share trading on the ASX and the ker-AZY sales on in Perth at the moment.

We have been making the most of the huge discounts at David Jones and stocking up on a multitude of quality household items. I am very fond of my new Jamie Oliver saucepan set ($500 off), Le Creuset grill pan and French Oven (half price!), new additions to my Wusthof knife collection (30% off), and the only thing that has managed to distract the Boy Person from the upcoming world cup madness… his new Jura coffee machine (which had an amazing $1600 off!) from which I am enjoying a delish flat white at this very moment.

So I hope to settle back into normality next week, and get some time to browse blogland a bit, I do miss it so.

Have a fabulous weekend people! x

Image: By Aimee for Live Lush & Laugh

Retail Therapy

On Saturday I went out to start my great search for a dress to wear this weekend. I did not have a great deal of luck in that department and ended up getting terribly side tracked, as one so often does, and came home with a pile of lovely, but mostly unwearable, goodies. I thought I'd share with you my little pile of loot...



I went a little bit book mad. I went in to the store with the intention of buying the Silver Spoon, but as you can see, I also managed to sneak a few more into the cart. A little book on French Cross Stitching, because I have been wanting to try it for so long, but the patterns and books you normally find on the topic look like they belong in the home of someone rather more senior in years. If I am going to take up old lady activities, I shall at least do it in the styliest manner I can manage!

The Europe Book appealed to my itchy feet and is full of inspiration for new places to visit next time I am over there. And finally, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, because I know I have to read it at some point and even though I have a pile a mile high of books not yet read, I decided now was the time to part with the cash for that one. Because it was there. Do I need a better excuse?

With the French Cross Stitch book purchased, I obviously had to immediately buy some hoops and thread, so I did. And finally, because no shopping trip would be complete without a new item for the wardrobe, a gorgeous navy and white tee, shoulders bejewelled and padded (eek.. first shoulder padded purchase since I've been old enough to buy my own clothes!). Lovely.

I was done then, and ready to head home. However, a gorgeous display of luscious new Mor products was there to see me out, and as it just so happened that we were getting quite low on hand wash in the en suite (only about 2/3 of a bottle left), I grabbed some of the lush Italian Blood Orange hand wash and lotion...



Not a bad wee stash at all :)

Dress Drama Over

Thanks to Mr. Baker, I am now 'Frocked Up' with a lovely little number, its not white, but cream, and I figure thats good enough, I mean Sir Dick is a man after all, he's not going to know the difference!

Now for the shoes...

Fitting Room Nightmare

I have an event this weekend that I am quite excited about, and I have stupidly put off buying a dress for it until this late stage. So I shall be trawling the shops every lunch break and after work all week until I find something 'with a splash of white' as the invite suggests.

I did not get off to a good start yesterday. I went to a department store in the city, a fairly well known Australian department store (no, not Target) in order to peruse a number of different collections all in one hit. I found the only two dresses in the entire store that were white and not completely hideous and ventured into the changing rooms.

One sexy little Sass and Bide number was whipped on and then directly off again at lightening speed due to it being wrong on so many levels. So that left one option, not the ideal dress I had in mind, but a very simple shift, a little bit chic, a little bit fun and a little bit sparkly, a little bit Hepburn and a LOT expensive.

Oh well, I'll give it a whirl, I thought. It was one of those zip down the side under the arm jobbies due to its lovely snug and shapely fit but lack of stretch. It slipped on nicely and once zipped up it looked 10 times better than it had on the rack, I was quite pleased and satisfied that I looked pretty good in it, but the stripes of sequins were not really doing it for me enough to shell out the cash there and then. I'll pop it back and keep it in mind as a last resort.

Now this was at about 4:10pm.

Fast forward to 4:12pm... Oh S#%@! How do you get it off?!

4:13... Sequins... falling... seams...popping....

4:16... OK, just keep cool... lets try another approach...

4:17... F*%$#! F&*^! SH#@! BOLL@KS!

4:18... Oh it's really hot and stuffy in here... arms are tired... perspiration forming...I feel faint...

4:19... Is that a sales person I hear out there?? PLEEEASE don't remember that I am in here... go away...GO AWAY!

4:19:30... Phew she's gone. Now if I can just wriggle the lining up a bit with my pinkie... while I dis...lo...cate... AAAAAAAAAAGHH... I am going to have to pay for it. Its the only way. Rip it off, confess, and part with lots of cash for nothing.

4:21... Text to the Boy Person: "Stuck in dress, send help"

4:21:15... Reply from Boy Person: " :D "

4:21:30 Thanks love. Really helpful.

4:23... Don't start crying, there must be a way, you got it on easily enough...

4:24... Wriggle... pant... squeeeeze... puff.... YES! OH THANK YOU GOD, ALLAH, ZEUS, MICK JAGGER, JOHNNY DEPP.... All you gods out there that I prayed to... Thank you.

4:24:30... Dress still OK, QUITE a few sequins on the floor though.

4:25... OMG! Who is that monster in the mirror?! I look like I've just had THE best shag of my life. SERIOUS bed hair, sweaty red face, boobs have escaped from bra in the struggle...

4:26... OK, dressed, hair brushed, face less red, make up smear on dress hidden.. Go go go!

4:28... I made it. I am free! Free from the dress, free from the store, free from buying the stupidest dress I have EVER had the misfortune to try on.


I mean really, that has to be a serious design flaw. I would just like to clarify here, that the dress was a lovely fit, it slipped on easily enough, it was NOT too small for me.

So why could I not get it off? I mean, there was no warning label "This dress requires a shoe horn and an assistant to help remove it in one piece" and I am sure it was from the 'Ready to wear' collection, not the 'Ready to wear... Once, and then cut it off with a pair of scissors' collection.

Or was it designed with the confidence that any woman who wore it would look SO good that as soon as she went out in it, men would immediately fall all over her, seduce her and then ultimately tear it off with their teeth?

Who knows. All I know is that it was the most terrifying fitting room experience of my life.

So my tip for you dear readers is this, if you see the dress below (under coat) on a rack anywhere... leave it there.