That city of light
My whole family’s been struck down with ‘flu and we’re all feeling a little sorry for ourselves at the moment. It seems a fitting time to flit through pics of Paris from our recent visit.
The most inspiring sights? The Eiffel Tower, Le Jardins Tuileries and Sacre Coeur give you a little thrill just to be there, of course, but mostly I was entranced by the window displays and statues, particularly in the Marais where we were staying. Details in street lamp ironwork, metro signs and gates. Perfectly clipped trees, hidden gardens spied through huge ornate doors, and the glow cast by sun on stone during the golden hour. The pastel rainbow of macarons in patisserie windows, and the delicate balancing act of fitting two plates and two drinks on one brasserie table.
I’ve returned with a clear idea of the next book’s feel and layout, and a thousand design ideas buzzing in my head. It will be a little French-inspired, to be sure, but very Australian, too.
I just read somewhere we came second place in a poll of countries with the best quality of life, after France. I don’t know… I reckon it’s a tie. Even if my blocked nose feels differently today.
Simple pleasures
Riot of roses
Post-holiday malaise has kicked in, and it’s making me want to hunker down and sew, sew, sew – by hand. Take up a painstaking beading project that keeps me busy for months, parked next to the fireplace. Totally change the house around. Fill it with flowers. And I’ve cooked more hearty meals in the past two weeks than I have in ages. But there’s nothing wrong with a little winter hibernation. Without it, who could appreciate the spring half as much?
I found this lovely vintage print for next-to-nix at the Rozelle Markets this morning, along with several bunches of flowers. A perfect start to the weekend, and some things to admire as I prick my finger for the umpteenth time.
Lovely lute girl
Stem of orchids for the mantel
Sneak preview of new book: A Life in Frocks
Book club & High Tea at The Victoria Room
I’m finally able to talk about the new book, and am starting to feel really excited about seeing it in print in just a few short months… finished copies hit shelves on 1 November.
What’s it all about? Well… for as long as I can remember, I’ve been passionate about clothes. They are my first, and most enduring, love affair to date. I buy far too many glossy magazines, and puzzle over how I can spend half my life shopping, yet still find myself standing in front of a vast rack of outfits each morning, despairing that I have nothing to wear. Over the years, clothes have comforted me, given me confidence, lured potential lovers, made me invisible, secured jobs, aged me and given back my youth. And yes, they have betrayed me.
A Life in Frocks is about the ‘divine obsession’, a woman’s love for clothes. In particular, it’s meant to be a personal, entertaining, joyous – and seductive – exploration of the significance of clothes, filtered through my lifelong sartorial infatuation.
To read pre-publication endorsements from Vogue’s Kirstie Clements and Melissa Hoyer, click here and scroll down the page. The first event in the schedule is a book club talk at The Victoria Room on Saturday 20 November, with Books & Nooks. More details to follow soon.
A tour of the Burgundy brocante & countryside
A field of sunflowers from a moving car
When I think of Burgundy I think of sunflower fields spied from the back of a car, dusty little villages, and the grand architecture of Cluny; home to an impressive abbey. But most of all, I think of the rustic stone farmhouse we stayed in on our France trip, games on the lawn, and the bustling brocantes we visited on Bastille Day in the small village of Cormatin. You can see we were blessed with gorgeous weather.
And the beautiful linen… I could have filled up a ship container with the stuff; along with plush armchairs, vintage trunks and chandeliers aplenty. How to narrow these down to a few images? Tricky indeed, but here they are.
Stay tuned for Paris…
Crisp white linens
A fixed brocante-style store selling all manner of vintage items
Globe artichokes - my favourite
Antique journals
I wish this fit in my suitcase
I wish this WAS my suitcase (alas, too heavy)
Excellent street sign... only in France
One of many chandeliers
Buttons galore
Old bottles aplenty
Mix 'n match china
Cluny Abbey's vaulted ceiling
French lavender
Farmhouse geraniums
Ah... the Burgundy countryside
Film giveaway to The Kids Are All Right
The lovely people at Hopscotch Films are offering Crafty Minx readers 10 x free double passes to the new film, The Kids Are All Right, a sexy comedy of errors starring a superb cast; Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo and Mia Wasikowska.
A warm and fun film about a very modern family, it’s being compared to Little Miss Sunshine and was a huge hit at Sundance. Opening on 2 September nationally, here’s the blurb below.
To win a free double pass, leave a comment here by Sunday 22 August telling me what your favourite, most inspiring film is and why you love it so much – winners will be chosen randomly from the best responses.
The Beauty Bubble – latest Vogue article
Check out the current issue of Vogue for my latest article, ‘The Beauty Bubble’. What’s it all about? Front-row seats, upgrades to first class, faster service… there really are perks for looking perfect (as if we didn’t know! actually, there’s much more to it than that…)
Fascinating people I interviewed for the piece were NY-based Aussie model, Nicole Trunfio; actress, model and producer of the HBO series In Treatment, Noa Tishby; sociology professor Salvatore Babones and psychologist Denise Greenaway. Let me know your own thoughts on the subject if you get a chance to read it.
There’s no place like home
Leaving on a jet plane
You may have noticed it’s been a bit quiet here of late – that’s because we’ve just returned from the UK and France. There’s something zen about turning off the mobile, ignoring emails and going offline for a while. It’s a retro idea in the era of iPhones, but I’ve returned feeling all the more refreshed for it.
Mostly a holiday, I also managed to sneak in trips to the flea markets and vintage shops of Paris and Burgundy for fabric and other collectibles for the next craft book (due out next year), and a few interviews for The Crafty Kid, which came out there in July (click here to see one with the magazine & website, Hot Brands Cool Places). I also visited lots of nifty new stores to witness for myself just how hot craft and recycling have become since my last visit (smoking hot), and gathered absolutely loads of inspiration for future projects along the way, which I can’t wait to share with you soon.
Here’s some snaps from farm life in the UK, where we spent most of our time, and a few favourites from London. I miss the heat, garden, friends and family (most of all) already, but it’s delicious to be home. Stay tuned for part two with Frenchy pics and the fruits of my brocantes treasure hunts.
Perfect English roses
A slice of herbaceous border
Divine David Austins
Stonehenge - a hop, skip and a jump away from our home away from home
Statues in a Hyde Park fountain
Admiring dinosaur bones at the Natural History Museum
Regretsy if you want to LOL
My fab web designer Lyndsay of White Pixels told me about this site recently when we caught up for coffee – it cracks me up.
April Winchell set up Regretsy to feature the worst items to be found on Etsy. I’m not one for pointing out other people’s crafting mistakes (lord knows I’ve made enough of my own) but there’s something for everyone here… or not. She’s even written a book about it – good for some light relief.
This party’s got to stop
Rupert Thompson's new memoir
I met one of my favourite novelists when I was a book publicist, and have always remembered how much I enjoyed Rupert Thompson’s company over a few days at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival. So of course I was eager to read his first memoir.
This Party’s Got To Stop is one of those rare books which make you stop and stare into the distance every few paragraphs or so, savouring its poignancy and perfection. It’s an extraordinary story about his father’s death, but conveys so well the seeming randomness of events, and our way of dealing with grief and the unexpected. I’m totally immersed in it.
A poem for mothers
I’ve been packing up old clothes of Olive’s to re-home them and it struck me, once again, how quickly she is growing… talking a little now, and curious about everything. ‘Whassat?’ is the common refrain, as I explain for the umpteenth time it’s a dress or a pillow or a key.
My friend Sophie sent me this Kate Llewellyn poem recently, and it’s too true, and lovely, not to share:
You used to lean
on that cot rail
and wait
with the vigour of a flame
to leap into my arms
two feet tall and two years old
a sagging nappy
archless feet soft as cats’ tongues
and trodden underneath
a thick and clammy waterproof
warm from sleep
the sheet ruched at the end
toys heaped and confused
neglected as the dead
a duck stuck in the corner
I could see the basket of your ribs
your hands were opened
and all your bones and life
leapt up to mine.
*Shoes above by Embroidery Baby.
