Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS IS HERE and we are about to head out for lunch. I wanted to pop my head in and say a huge THANK YOU for all of your lovely words and for supporting this little corner of the internet even though I have been a little silent this year. This Christmas is a special one of us as we are celebrating Christopher's first and it is so fun to see the excitement in his and Robert's eyes. Even though Christopher doesn't understand much he is thrilled to get to play with wrapping paper!	Wishing you a beautiful Christmas with your friends and family and hoping Santa was good to you! We had a little fun setting up this over-styled photo shoot this morning. I think we have too much time on our hands! Enjoy, enjoy today and I will see you back here soon xx

Shuk

Last night I was invited to the first birthday celebration for Shuk - a North Bondi cafe / bakery / deli which is inspired by the central marketplace in Israel known as The Shuk. David joined me and it was one of our first date nights back home and nice to relax outdoors with a cocktail and some nibbles in the warmth of the Sydney sun. The cafe commands a corner position with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating and a lovely selection of fresh breads and bagels for sale.

There aren't many opportunities these days to wear a clutch which I picked up in Rome earlier this year. It isn't practical to use when out and about with young children and it felt different to only have to slip my mobile phone and keys into it and off we went. I kept thinking I had forgotten something but no I really didn't need to carry anything else.

---

+ Dress: Sheike | Clutch: From Rome | Sunglasses: Dolce & Gabbana |  Shoes: KK

STRATUM Exhibition Opening Night: You are invited!

This event has been a year in the making and you are invited to attend. It also marks the end of four (very hard and long) years of study and the start of new beginnings. I would love to see you there!

Please note: There has been an update to the dates of the exhibition. The event will open on 27 November at 6PM and continue on the 28-29 November as per the revised information above.

CAMILLA for Designer Rugs Launch

Last month I attended the Camilla for Designer Rugs launch. A few weeks have rolled on since the event but I'm still blown away by the colour and pattern of the collection. I could not have imagined anything else though! Everything was styled to perfection.

In case you missed it I interviewed Camilla Franks and asked her a few questions about her collaboration with Designer Rugs. You can read it here.

You are invited

A little while ago I made a mention that I am part of the design team planning and preparing for our graduate exhibition. The planning is well under way with only a few weeks left to go before the big event! The exhibition is called 'STRATUM' which is a metaphor for the years spent forming as designers and the many layers to our work and lives.

Layers, one upon another

I feel as though many of you have been with me through this journey and I wanted to extend the invitation to you to a fundraiser auction event we are holding in the lead up to the exhibition. There will be many items available for purchase as well as canapes and refreshments provided. If you are in town it would be great to meet you in person. All the details are in the attached invitation.

Rose Seidler Fifties Fair

We headed to the beautiful Rose Seidler house over the weekend for the annual fifties fair and there were so many people this year! It was fun to see everyone dressed up and enjoying the sun. It was almost hard to believe it is still winter. I was really looking forward to the event this year partly because everyone looks so stylishly beautiful and it is a fun day out but the main reason I was looking forward to it is because I have felt that my family and I haven't had a whole day out together in a while. Work has been very busy and I really cherish the times we have together when we don't need to dash about and do this, do that. More living and less work is the message I'm taking away from last weekend.

The Fifities Fair at Rose Seidler House is on again this year

And I have two double passes to give away!

I missed last years fair but I was there in 2011 and it was so much fun. It feels like stepping back in time and it is a great way to experience one of Sydney's historic homes - the Rose Seidler House.

There were jive dancers and market stalls, hula hoop lessons, vintage cars and fashion contests and this year there will be rockabilly music and you can get your hair styled by the in-house barber shop, Sterling Hair or the Boogie Bop Dames' hair salon and beauty parlours. It is all for the love of the fifties era and it attracts thousands of people each year. It is quite amazing to see the effort people put into their attire for the day!

New workshops at The School + Interview with Megan Morton

It has been fun seeing The School, run by interior stylist Megan Morton, take off over the last year. I attended the very first workshop and since then The School's program has expanded greatly. Do you follow Megan on instagram? No doubt you have seen all the fun things she is up to.

The School's program includes workshops for kids between the ages of 6-15 years of age. There will be 4-day and 2-day workshops held in Sydney over the July holidays with spaces limited to 12 kids per class. Each day, kids will work with different teachers with various classes exploring printmaking, sewing, paper crafts, photography and also a 'fiesta day' (if only Robbie was just a little older I think he would really enjoy it!).

I asked Megan a few questions about The School and if you live in New York, there is some good news for you! Continue reading to find out more...

Visiting Alt Summit Salt Lake City (Day 3)

One of the first panels of Day 3 at Alt Summit was the presentation of the Up and Coming Blogs for 2013 and I was joined by fellow panelists and all round lovely people, Cyd of The Sweetest Occasion, Nathan of Kinfolk and Promise of Promise Tangeman.

Read on to see the list of Up and Coming Blogs...

Visiting Alt Summit Salt Lake City (Day 1 + Day 2)

I left the Sydney sun last week to travel to snowy Salt Lake City for Alt Summit, to meet people whose work I have loved for years and to make new friends.

After 19+ hours of traveling I arrived puffy-eyed and somewhat nervous. I was in a new country, fumbling around with heavy luggage and equipment, making my way alone to the conference. It pushed me out of comfort zone and into a place full of people with similar interests and I soon discovered that I wasn't the only Aussie to attend - go us!

Continue to see what Day 1 and Day 2 looked like...

IKEA launch their outdoor range

It was fun to attend the IKEA launch of their outdoor furniture last week. Truthfully, I haven't had a night out in a long while so it was nice to put on a pair of heels and head into town and across to Cockatoo Island for the media launch, despite the wind and large rain clouds.

Anna Spiro wallpaper launch

I have been meaning to write this post for a while now and wanted to tell you how wonderful it was to meet designer Anna Spiro again while she was in Sydney recently. I have mentioned before how lovely she is. She is also stylish. I love the floral jacket she wore.

Life Instyle & Kids Instyle

Life Instyle is one of my favourite trade events and one that I visit every year. This year it was held last weekend along with Kids Instyle and I have been meaning to write about it since but have been swamped with work

Forgive me for my absence but let me make it up to you by showing you some beautiful displays and products.

Event: Gorman + Castle Collaboration Launch + Interview with Lisa and Rachel

I am late in sharing this event with you but it is too good not to. At the end of last year I visited the launch of the Castle + Gorman collaboration range and to see the work of two fabulous designers coming together to create a range of fun summer clothing and accessories. I love collaborations, especially with designers whose individual design aesthetics seem to gel so well together.

Events: Finders Keepers Summer 2011

I visited Finders Keepers over the weekend held at Carriageworks in Sydney's Inner West. There were over 80 emerging designers and artists exhibiting and a plethora of products that could have easily sent me bankrupt. Sadly I couldn't stay long but I was able to briefly meet the lovely Renee-Anne Baker of Leeloo who were also exhibiting.

Outpost - Art from the streets

I am a little behind with my posts these days but did want to share with you my recent visit to Outpost - a project featuring urban art in the industrial space of Cockatoo Island in Sydney. Quite the experience!

Sweets

Do you know what I love? Parties. Parties with lots of food. Especially sweet food.

My cousin's beautiful daughter celebrated her 16th birthday recently and my hair matched the colour theme - black and pink. It was no accident of course.

Hope your week is going well!

Adore Home 1st Birthday Party

The new issue of Adore Home is out now and it is a New York themed. I have said this previously but I don't mind saying it again - it is so wonderful that Australia has such a beautiful online magazine and editorial director Loni Parker and her team have done a wonderful job.

Rose Seidler Fifties Fair

What a great day! The crowds gathered on Sunday at the Rose Seidler House for the fair and it felt as though we had stepped back in time. The men and women were dressed beautifully, there were people groovin' and jivin' and it was so much fun.

Sydney Design: ReForm - turning old objects into something new

This year's Sydney Design festival theme is "is old new again?". I visited an exhibition over the weekend called ReForm which explored this theme. It was held in a quiet laneway by thethefortynine team who scoured roadsides for old finds that they could turn into something new.