I covet 3.1 Phillip Lim

I'll let the photos from his Spring 2010 collection speak for themselves. In. Serious. Love.

Gotta love outlet shopping...

So, I'm back after a bit of a sojourn and will most likely disappear for awhile again after this. The busy season is upon me, which doesn't make for good blogging, I know. I'll have to work on that. Mr B and I tried to knock some Christmas presents off the list yesterday by doing some outlet shopping. While we had some success, I managed to spend more money on myself than other people. Ah yes, the true spirit of giving. Something I bought that I know I am going to have until they fall apart are two of these t-shirts from Calvin Klein (one gray, one white). Yes, I know it's not summer, but I don't care. There's a lot to be said for a good t-shirt... and these speak to me. Mr B had to talk me out of buying three.

Photo: calvinklein.com

Never mind the horses...

Yesterday was the Melbourne Cup, better known to Aussies as "the race that stops a nation" (or should we say a workplace). And trust me, it does. While I missed the annual chicken and champagne lunch and unofficial half day off work, I did make a point of checking out the fashion. And fashion there was - the good, the bad and the downright ugly. But that's half the fun, right? If you want to be treated to some serious designer dresses and millinery creations, the place to see it is at the Fashions on the Field competition. Big prize money seems to attract big hats, and here are a few of my favourite photos from yesterday (I love the Audrey Hepburn lookalike in the green feathered number). Oh, and in case you care, the winner of the race was a horse called Shocking ridden by Corey Brown. Giddy up...

Photos: Herald Sun

Artfully done...

Paris has some pretty cool restaurants, but the new Germain takes the cake for me. This sculpture of a woman in an overcoat and high heels by artist Xavier Veilhan has its lower half in the café on the first floor while her upper body and head break through the ceiling to the VIP lounge area above. According to coolhunter.net, "Veilhan studied the multi-storey location and envisioned the drama that would be created if one of his sculptures “grew” in it, almost as if it were a feature that pre-existed the restaurant." The result is simply spectacular...

Photos: coolhunter.net

One for Mr B...

I don't know about you, but my husband is still in love with Lego. OK, so truth be told, I'm am known to be quite fond of it too (childhood memories and all that jazz). So, when I saw these images of a Lego kitchen on the coolhunter web site I had to share them. According to the site, "Munchausen, a duo formed by Parisian designers Simon Pillard and Philippe Rosetti, took a bold approach with their own kitchen by venturing to IKEA for the basic kitchen island and then spending the next week covering it with more than 20,000 pieces by another Scandinavian brand". Brilliant!

Photos: coolhunter.net

Can I pretend it's spring in San Francisco...

... so I can wear these clothes (or wish I could afford to buy these clothes) from Willow's 2009 'Fragmentation' Resort Collection? I temporarily forgot how amazing some Australian designers are. Shame on me, seriously...

Photos: Willow

Creepy... but cute

So it's almost Halloween and time for me to again be fascinated by the American love of all things creepy. Who else has would have the best black and orange ideas than the original domestic goddess, Martha Stewart. Here a a few things from her web site that I thought captured the mood without too much cheese... or should I say pumpkin?

Coveting...

I am eyeing off these shoes from Bandolino at the moment. They are cute and my favourite colour. That is all...

Heaven is Anthropologie...

Facebook is a wonderful thing. A couple of days ago I was reconnected with my school friend Andrew (who I had not seen since I was 11 years old) when he came to San Francisco on holiday with his lovely wife, Joydee. Needless to say, I was nervous about how we would all get along, but it turned out that we (especially Joydee and I) had lots in common, including our love of Anthropologie! In honour of Joydee, here are a few of my favourite pieces from the web site. And here's to new friendships... and a mutual appreciation for quirky, beautiful things!

Images: Anthropologie

Pure whimsy...

All I can say is that I'm having a love affair with Etsy and I can't believe the wealth of talent you can find there. One artist I have admired for the last six months or so is Yellena James from Portland, Oregon. Her work is quite simply magical. Yellena says that, "Within each piece I try to create an intimate world that possesses its own ethos and its own emotional range." I say mission accomplished Yellena. I will revisit her work here again sometime soon. Stay tuned.

Photos and images: Yellena James

Ear candy...

It's been a couple of months since I went to the Renegade Craft Fair at Fort Mason in San Francisco, but I am still enamoured with the porcelain jewelery of Sofia Masri. According to her web site, Sofia's inspiration comes from, "... favorite vacation spots, cities once called home, places she hopes to explore, seasons and nature, and endless hours spent sifting through treasures at antique shops." Personally, the beautiful colours and chalky texture of the porcelain remind me of conversation candies (without the conversations!). While I haven't purchased anything from her Etsy shop yet, Christmas is coming and perhaps my husband might be reading this! Below are a selection of Sofia's earrings, but she also creates brooches and necklaces.

Photos: Sofia Masri's Etsy shop

A couple of good page turners...

I recently went to the bookstore to kill some time and swung by the interior design section looking for the book everyone is blogging about - Downtown Chic . I didn't find it, but I did discover two others that jumped out at me - and surprisingly seemed worth the money and not just a casual flick through. Every page had something I liked and now I'm considering buying at least one of them. While Jonathan Adler's is more about his design philosophy, the Domino publication is a really useful room by room 'how-to' guide that will offer inspiration for years to come. Of the two, I think this one is slightly better value. Get reading people... I will be.

It's easy being green...

I was browsing houzz.com yesterday and kept finding images that I loved that included a colour I have never really thought to embrace... lime green. I have officially fallen in love. Perhaps my obsession with red is a thing of the past now?

Waiting, waiting...

So all things owl-related are pretty popular at the moment, and I am not immune to the fascination. I am currently waiting for a delivery of this cushion (above) from Fong's Studio on Etsy. Pretty cute, huh? Some new styles have just been added (below). I haven't decided where mine will reside, but either of our two bedrooms is likely. When I told Mr B I'd purchased it he rolled his eyes in good humour. The poor man just wants something he's actually allowed to put his head on. Well, sorry honey, maybe next time...

Happily ever after homewares...

It's our second wedding anniversary this week, which made me start thinking about all the lovely gifts we got at the time. Some of them made the long journey with us to San Francisco when we moved in June 2008, including our Husque 'Frag' bowl (third from the top) designed by our friend Marc Harrison. Ours is red (a colour I seem to be obsessed with) and is just a beautiful, sleek piece of design that I enjoy every day sitting on our coffee table. We also have a pink bowl in the original Husque design (bottom) that has pride of place on my bedside table.

His award-winning products are made from the shells of macadamia nuts that have been milled into fine particles and mixed with a polymer. It's an ingenous concept that has proven very successful for Marc, with his Husque products stocked internationally at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York and the Tokyo MoMA Design Store. I suggest you check out his site for more information and Australian stockists. By the way, Marc's a proud Kiwi, but we won't hold that against him!

First wish...

A clean page always instils fear in me, but I've got to start somewhere, right? I'm not quite sure what inspired me to start a blog, today of all days, but Mr B said, "Go for it", so I am. So what's my first wish? Perhaps one person to read this mish mash of upcoming posts about things that make my inner creative self wish I was an artist, an architect, an interior designer or a stylist. Perhaps if I blog about it enough, all this creativity will rub off on me. A girl can dream. So here it is - let the wish list begin...