Givenchy Gold Glitter Goodness!

I admit I've never really been a total shoe addict (although i went through a bag phase) perhaps because as sad as it is i admit that within an hour my feet are always killing me & I'm walking in a very crippled, unladylike fashion! Nor have i ever really liked chunky heels (despite knowing the comfort they might bring!) However - these babies may lead me to change my mind.....

The Givenchy Vittorias heel....

My weekend....

I have to admit, I've been cheating on my blog with instagram.... i became addicted while i was n hospital recently! If your following me you would have already seen these shots but here are some snippets of my weekend. (I'm salrj if you'd like to follow!)

Went to ikea & got some frames for the prints i bought in Paris!

And also came home with the beautiful orchid!

Went & had a pedicure & was reading an article in Grazia mag about rich kids photos on instagram...was a little surprised to see the image top right....yeah, i designed that pool! 

(Wonder if my clients know their daughters bikini clad bottoms are on display in a national mag...)

Said pool! We chose the tiles to match the colour of the water on a sunny day :)

 You can see the whole house in this post if you want a sticky beak!

On saturday night we headed into the city for my sisters engagement party!

i wore my new sass & bide dress :)

After we left we headed to Golden Century for a sneaky late night dinner date!

Love this place, its open till 4am too!

On sunday i spent some quality time with my dog Duke.

(he's a handsome boy isn't he! Husky x Golden retreiver)

And invested in a new skincare regime.

Ive been looking for products that a) work for my dry skin & b) don't break the bank!

After trying some samples of these i think i might be onto a winner?

Classic Bathrooms

Ok, so last week it was contemporary bathrooms & this week I'm working on some bathrooms for a renovation 100yr old house in the country! This are always a tricky one, as you don't want to make a new space look old & daggy, but i also think you also can't just put in a super modern space into an old home , you need to respect the heritage of the house to make it 'work' or at least acknowledge it in some way! Here are a few snaps from the 'inspiration files' of this job!

G & T (with a sunday twist!)

Blackberry and Meyer Lemon Gin and Tonics (makes 4)

(via spoon fork bacon)

Ingredients:

12 blackberries

20 fresh mint leaves

2 Meyer lemons (can sub. regular lemons)

1/4 cup simple syrup

12 ounces good quality gin

tonic water & ice

1. Place 3 blackberries, 5 mint leaves, juice of ½ lemon, and 1 tablespoon simple syrup in each glass and muddle together.

2. Fill each glass with ice, followed by 3 ounces of gin. Top off each drink with tonic water, stir and serve.

Honeymoon Snaps - Loire Valley

Happy Friday all! Thought id share a few more honeymoon snaps from our next stop! 

After our week in Paris we headed to the Loire Valley - the land of divine chateaus, sunflowers (and amazing food as it turned out!) 

We stayed in Amboise for 3 nights (At La brech- basic but great perfectly good for the price!) 

It was 39 degrees - ouch (and discovered our hotel didn't have aircon - extra ouch!)

As we were walking across the bridge into town we noticed all the locals swimming in the river so we promptly joined them!

The streets of Amboise

Dinner on our first night at Bruno (we ended up eating here 2 out of 3 nights it was so good!)

I had to try the escargot (although i suspect it was the butter garlic & parley that made them so good)! 

Ben was eating an terrine with cornichons & onion marmalade.

I ordered the 'Gourmet Espresso' - this is what i got! Hell yeah!

 The next day we went to see the biggest chateau in the region - Chambord 

(where I discovered the timer on the camera)

It was once a hunting lodge (modest!)

How amazing is this hallway!

Then that afternoon we hired bikes & cycled 20km to Chateau Chenonceaux.

This was by far my favourite place & I'm convinced this is what Disney modelled its castles on. 

Sigh...it was so gorgeous! Hence the look of total excitement on my face on this picture! 

Can you say fairytale??

 The little chapel that had been filled with firewood during the first world war to disguise & protect it!

I was obsessed with the sunflowers! As you can see they really are giant! Bigger than my head!

I made Ben take a picture after i climbed into the field!

Ok - now this meal could have been a post all of its own!  I found this restaurant, Les Closeaux, on Trip Advisor.
It was about a 20 minute drive into the country side (i.e. the middle of no where!) & i was determined we went! Boy are we glad we did! 

Amuse bouche - salmon foam, cherry tomato in star anise caramel & toast with cucumber

Me! Feeling pretty happy with my self!

(note the background - we were highly amused watching a donkey running around in the paddock while we were eating!

Bens Entree - Crab & avocado

Bens main - Duck on organge risotto

Cheese Course

Strawberry soup

And what would you guess this 4 course meal for 2 (including a bottle of Rose!) cost?!?!

50 Euro. I kid you not. Yes, that is $60 Australian Dollars - for both of us!

If any of you are ever going to the Loire Valley region i recommend you check this place out.

its a simple farmhouse with special food. 

Its time to shape up!

After a year of pre & post wedding celebrations, a 6 week European jaunt (you've seen some of the food pics i posted!) & recently a month of not being allowed to do any exercise at all after having my appendix out, it's time to whip myself into shape! Im putting this out there so i can stay accountable (as i tend to stray from these things!). I've signed up to give the Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation a go. We are generally pretty healthy in our household (hello have you seen how fit & lean my husband is!) but i do tend to put work, chores...and, well a lot of things, before getting out & excercising as much as i should. Annnd might be partial to a wine and randomly picking at things while I'm working at home. So here goes nothing - wish me luck (and please remind me to stick to the plan!)

Takeaways

We have a Nespresso machine at home (which makes great coffee incase you were curious!) and I've been looking for decent looking takeaway cups for the car etc for ages. Came across these babies ($7 each!) in Woolworths last week!
They are ceramic so hopefully they never get dropped! Does anyone know where you can get nice looking plastic ones?

Saw these beauties on Pinterest - would love to know where they are from!