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Scent
I am often reminded of the power of scent. A particular scent can instantly transport me somewhere else, to a time long ago, or remind me of someone.
I remember when I was living in London 13 years ago, at the tail end of a most miserable and grey Winter, and I decided to purchase a new perfume from Jo Malone. At that stage, Jo Malone perfume was only available in London, in her little shop on Sloane Street. After sniffing away at all the different scents, I selected French Lime Blossom. For some reason, it reminded me of childhood Summers spent at our beach shack, and feeling rather homesick, this was the one I decided upon.
It only became apparent why I chose this scent upon my return to Australia. Fast forward 1 year later, and I walked into work in Melbourne wearing my French Lime Blossom cologne only to have one of my work colleagues sniff the air and say "who's wearing sunscreen?". The penny dropped. No wonder it reminded me of beach holidays.
More recently I have been helping my Father clear out my mother's things. I have to admit, this has been rather depressing. I burst into tears on entering her Dressing Room, as not only did it have all her familiar things in it, but her smell too. Mum always wore Hermes Caleche, for as long as I can remember. The smell still reminds me of being little and in bed, Mum dressed up ready for a night out somewhere leaning over to kiss me goodnight with a heady whiff of her perfume enveloping me.
My Father has, for as long as I can remember, also stuck to a signature scent. Dad is quite particular about scent (although I think his sense of smell is used more for sniffing wine than perfume), and has worn Dior's Eau Sauvage. This does not seem to be a common aftershave, so I do tend to associate it with him, in the same way Caleche is my Mum.
When I was 15 years old, I determined that it was time I should have my own "Signature Scent". I used to subscribe to Vogue, and my reading had lead me to believe that this was of vital importance. The scent I chose should be my scent alone for the Rest Of My Life. With this weight on my shoulders, after a lot of deliberation, I chose YSL's Paris. Frankly, it epitomises the 80's. Very overblown and full of Roses, it has the ability to leave a tailstream of scent behind you hours after applying. Of course I "layered" it, as the perfume marketing execs told us to, using the body cream and powder as well.
A few years later, I was seduced by Ralph Lauren's Safari, partially because I loved the cut glass Victorian style bottle. It's a scent that Mr AV associates with me, as I used to wear it when we first met, back in 1994. I stopped wearing it around 4 years later, but even now, if I squirt a bit on, he will always comment on it.
I can't say I have a signature fragrance now. I stopped wearing fragrance while I was pregnant and immediately after having children, as the hormones did strange things to my sense of smell and I found perfume overbearing. I have a few on rotation at any one time, my favourite probably being Jo Malone's Lime Basil and Mandarin in Summer, or her Nutmeg and Ginger in Winter.
Do you have a Signature scent, or choose as your mood depends?
I remember when I was living in London 13 years ago, at the tail end of a most miserable and grey Winter, and I decided to purchase a new perfume from Jo Malone. At that stage, Jo Malone perfume was only available in London, in her little shop on Sloane Street. After sniffing away at all the different scents, I selected French Lime Blossom. For some reason, it reminded me of childhood Summers spent at our beach shack, and feeling rather homesick, this was the one I decided upon.
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It only became apparent why I chose this scent upon my return to Australia. Fast forward 1 year later, and I walked into work in Melbourne wearing my French Lime Blossom cologne only to have one of my work colleagues sniff the air and say "who's wearing sunscreen?". The penny dropped. No wonder it reminded me of beach holidays.
More recently I have been helping my Father clear out my mother's things. I have to admit, this has been rather depressing. I burst into tears on entering her Dressing Room, as not only did it have all her familiar things in it, but her smell too. Mum always wore Hermes Caleche, for as long as I can remember. The smell still reminds me of being little and in bed, Mum dressed up ready for a night out somewhere leaning over to kiss me goodnight with a heady whiff of her perfume enveloping me.
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My Father has, for as long as I can remember, also stuck to a signature scent. Dad is quite particular about scent (although I think his sense of smell is used more for sniffing wine than perfume), and has worn Dior's Eau Sauvage. This does not seem to be a common aftershave, so I do tend to associate it with him, in the same way Caleche is my Mum.
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When I was 15 years old, I determined that it was time I should have my own "Signature Scent". I used to subscribe to Vogue, and my reading had lead me to believe that this was of vital importance. The scent I chose should be my scent alone for the Rest Of My Life. With this weight on my shoulders, after a lot of deliberation, I chose YSL's Paris. Frankly, it epitomises the 80's. Very overblown and full of Roses, it has the ability to leave a tailstream of scent behind you hours after applying. Of course I "layered" it, as the perfume marketing execs told us to, using the body cream and powder as well.
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A few years later, I was seduced by Ralph Lauren's Safari, partially because I loved the cut glass Victorian style bottle. It's a scent that Mr AV associates with me, as I used to wear it when we first met, back in 1994. I stopped wearing it around 4 years later, but even now, if I squirt a bit on, he will always comment on it.
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I can't say I have a signature fragrance now. I stopped wearing fragrance while I was pregnant and immediately after having children, as the hormones did strange things to my sense of smell and I found perfume overbearing. I have a few on rotation at any one time, my favourite probably being Jo Malone's Lime Basil and Mandarin in Summer, or her Nutmeg and Ginger in Winter.
Do you have a Signature scent, or choose as your mood depends?
Halloween....
Oscar has been pretty unsupportive of the idea of me dressing him up for Halloween this year. There was a glimmer of interest last weekend when he tried on this dinosaur costume at his friend Lilah's house. The same afternoon he let me put him in a Bumblebee outfit to go to a neighbourhood party. All that being said, it's up in the air as to whether or not he'll agree to wear a costume on Halloween. And I'm not going to force it - I guess some little ones just aren't that into dressing up.
Around the house we've decorated minimally, getting some fun bats from the dollar store, and we were given some super cute decor courtesy of The Home Depot (See that Haunted House sign? Super cute) Hopefully the weather holds out and he can at least visit a few houses and have some fun. I think once he realizes he gets candy, he'll be totally into it. ;)
I hope you all have a lovely Halloween, and be sure to do the Change for Kids if you're in Canada!
*Tip - My girlfriends have lent me costumes that their older kids aren't wearing - It has been SO helpful. Oscar wore a borrowed outfit last year, which you must see.
Tearing down the walls!
Walls can leave an abrupt and permanent impact upon a living space, the type of restrictive influence that can be expensive to reverse and can deliver an un-compromising legacy for future design!
By creating separation between architecture and kitchen new possibilities begin to emerge! The kitchen can be used as an approachable, multi functional buffer, providing spatial definition in an open plan setting that maximises storage and leaves sightlines free from obvious obstruction.
To embrace change is to consider new possibilities – so imagine the missed opportunity here if this kitchen had been placed against a wall!
The modern kitchen can now be defined as an island and this design showcases its potential!
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Best Wooden Blocks
If you're looking for THE perfect set of wooden blocks, check out Melissa & Doug Wooden Architectural Block Set. They are amazing. My Mom gave this to Oscar for his birthday and they get played with every single day. We make tunnels, parking lots, more tunnels. They are thick pieces, making it easy for little ones to stack. The price may seem a little steep, but truthfully they are 100% worth it. It's kind of the perfect gift from Grandparents. :) xo Linds
Ps., Although I like to shop locally and support stores I love, I just did some price comparison and this set is available on Amazon for $50, and it looks like they ship to Canada. Grab them.
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This week - Birthdays, Summer dresses and books
We've had a funny week with the weather - started hot, went freezing cold, then pleasantly warm today. I've broken out a few of my summer dresses. I love a dress in summer - you put no thought into your outfit and look effortlessly pulled together. Plus, a flattering cut hides a multitude of sins. Saturday evening we were invited to a drinks party in a house down at the beach (Henley Beach). It was a pretty blustery afternoon, so I wore a cardigan and this navy and white chevron print Milly dress with my seaglass green Kate Spade necklace. I thought it looked slightly nautical...
Earlier in the week I wore for the first time a new by Marlene Birger dress. It was very cheap on The Outnet, however when I tried to wear it the first time I discovered that it was fairly see through, necessitating the purchase of a slip to wear under it. That cost more than the actual dress.....oh well. I guess sometimes a bargain isn't really one...
This week, my oldest child, H, turned 7. This meant that I made 3 cakes. Three because the first one I made was an epic failure (do not attempt to make Self Raising flour out of wholemeal flour, it ends up with a rather chewy textured cake). So I remade the cake for the actual birthday day afternoon tea with the family. And today was the party with a small group of H's friends at the Adelaide Zoo. I made these cupcakes for the lunch portion of the party (this was all I had to provide. It was complete bliss after doing every aspect of every child's birthday for the past 7 years). The little flag toppers and cupcake wrappers were by Meri Meri, purchased via Peters of Kensington. They fancied up the cupcakes quite nicely.
The zoo ran the boys ragged. And the guide was excellent. I highly recommend it to any Adelaide readers.
I finished the book "That Woman" about the life of Wallis Simpson. I had previously read a biography about her back in the late 80's, and so had heard the allegations of her being an hermaphrodite, however the Duke of Windsor being on the Autism spectrum was new to me. It did remind me however, that I owned some Jewels belonging to Wallis..... a bit of digging in the dim recesses of my costume jewellery produced this necklace and matching clip on earrings. I bought them to wear to a school formal back in 1991 from a costume jewellery chain store called "Ooh La La". It is probable I was wearing a velvet bustier and tartan taffeta skirt with them. Nice.
I picked some of my Fig branches for an arrangement on the Drinks Table in the Study. There are some figs on the tree this year, and providing the Possums don't get to them first, I'm anticipating a good crop around Christmas time maybe?
And lastly, here is a beautiful Delbard "Camille Pissaro" rose growing in the wilds of the back garden. This is also slated for removal in the upcoming renovations and is thriving on my neglect. As I've said before, Roses grow like weeds in Adelaide. Apparently David Austin himself has said that his roses grow twice as large as they do in England - they are Trifford like. We have them in nature strips and lining the middle of roads and on roundabouts, and they chainsaw them in Winter for pruning.
And I've spent a large amount of time continuing to draft up our house plans for the builders to price, fingers crossed I don't get a horrific shock as to the budget blowout......
Earlier in the week I wore for the first time a new by Marlene Birger dress. It was very cheap on The Outnet, however when I tried to wear it the first time I discovered that it was fairly see through, necessitating the purchase of a slip to wear under it. That cost more than the actual dress.....oh well. I guess sometimes a bargain isn't really one...
This week, my oldest child, H, turned 7. This meant that I made 3 cakes. Three because the first one I made was an epic failure (do not attempt to make Self Raising flour out of wholemeal flour, it ends up with a rather chewy textured cake). So I remade the cake for the actual birthday day afternoon tea with the family. And today was the party with a small group of H's friends at the Adelaide Zoo. I made these cupcakes for the lunch portion of the party (this was all I had to provide. It was complete bliss after doing every aspect of every child's birthday for the past 7 years). The little flag toppers and cupcake wrappers were by Meri Meri, purchased via Peters of Kensington. They fancied up the cupcakes quite nicely.
The zoo ran the boys ragged. And the guide was excellent. I highly recommend it to any Adelaide readers.
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| My daughter E. feeding the Kangaroos. Wearing a Liberty print dress that wasn't looking so fresh by the time she arrived home...... |
I finished the book "That Woman" about the life of Wallis Simpson. I had previously read a biography about her back in the late 80's, and so had heard the allegations of her being an hermaphrodite, however the Duke of Windsor being on the Autism spectrum was new to me. It did remind me however, that I owned some Jewels belonging to Wallis..... a bit of digging in the dim recesses of my costume jewellery produced this necklace and matching clip on earrings. I bought them to wear to a school formal back in 1991 from a costume jewellery chain store called "Ooh La La". It is probable I was wearing a velvet bustier and tartan taffeta skirt with them. Nice.
I picked some of my Fig branches for an arrangement on the Drinks Table in the Study. There are some figs on the tree this year, and providing the Possums don't get to them first, I'm anticipating a good crop around Christmas time maybe?
And lastly, here is a beautiful Delbard "Camille Pissaro" rose growing in the wilds of the back garden. This is also slated for removal in the upcoming renovations and is thriving on my neglect. As I've said before, Roses grow like weeds in Adelaide. Apparently David Austin himself has said that his roses grow twice as large as they do in England - they are Trifford like. We have them in nature strips and lining the middle of roads and on roundabouts, and they chainsaw them in Winter for pruning.
And I've spent a large amount of time continuing to draft up our house plans for the builders to price, fingers crossed I don't get a horrific shock as to the budget blowout......
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online "deal" websites...
I wasn't going to post again until next week but I was itching to post these. I get a a lot of daily "sale" e-mails from shopping sites. With the exception of some scarves recently at Zulily I've never jumped at buying something. What I love most is that I'm introduced to new product lines I may not have known about. Here is a roundup of the e-mails I get daily and what I'm kind of loving enough to come out of hiding to post this for the weekend (because these sales are limited runs)
Read more »
La Dolce Vita - Florence
I've been thinking a little about our trip to Italy earlier this year, in March. This was no doubt partly procrastination on my part (I have been drafting my little fingers to the bone trying to get the extension plans finished for the builders to price), and partly inspiration.
I started by looking at our photos of the hotel we stayed at in Florence, JK Place Hotel Firenze. It is located on Piazza Santa Maria Novella, and is absolutely beautiful. I booked into it on the basis of the photos (I did all our bookings through Mr & Mrs Smith) - as it's pretty much exactly how I would like my house to look. When we walked in, I immediately started to gush about how beautiful everything was in a fairly overexcited manner, and Mr AV then said "I can see why we're staying here - you pretty much want to move in". Truly, I didn't want to leave.
The rooms are not big, but they are exquisite - all cashmere and silk and Frette bed linen. Marble bathrooms with beautiful chrome fittings. We spent a lot of time hanging out in the downstairs Lounge. Being a boutique hotel, it doesn't have a Lobby type feel (in fact, the reception desk is in the Library). There was black and white, chrome, zebra upholstery, candles and orchids galore and lovely waiters who plied me with glasses of Prosecco and Mr AV with glasses of Aperol Spritz after the many hours we spent walking the city.
The breakfasts were served in the atrium style Dining Room. It was all buffet style (with the most delicious museli that had chocolate bits in it) and then you'd sit at the communal dining table. There were always a lot of candles burning, which was very atmospheric, but unfortunately Mr AV managed to set his newspaper on fire one morning. This made one guest up the other end of the table go into absolute fits of laugher. At any rate, it was all very civilised aside from the near disastrous fire (as it always is when you travel sans kids).
And Florence itself is one of my favourite cities in the world. I studied Renaissance Art at University, but hadn't been back to Italy since I was 10. I was in 7th Heaven in the Uffizi, loved wandering in the Boboli Gardens, and viewing the Renaissance Architecture, and Mr AV visited his spiritual home, the Zegna flagship store (where strangely, we ran into one of his junior staff members who was on holiday. What are the odds?).
Anyway, I'm going to be borrowing heavily from the design of the hotel, and from our far too brief holiday there.
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| Via JK Place Hotel website |
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| Library reception, via Lonny |
I started by looking at our photos of the hotel we stayed at in Florence, JK Place Hotel Firenze. It is located on Piazza Santa Maria Novella, and is absolutely beautiful. I booked into it on the basis of the photos (I did all our bookings through Mr & Mrs Smith) - as it's pretty much exactly how I would like my house to look. When we walked in, I immediately started to gush about how beautiful everything was in a fairly overexcited manner, and Mr AV then said "I can see why we're staying here - you pretty much want to move in". Truly, I didn't want to leave.
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| Via JK Place Hotel Website |
The rooms are not big, but they are exquisite - all cashmere and silk and Frette bed linen. Marble bathrooms with beautiful chrome fittings. We spent a lot of time hanging out in the downstairs Lounge. Being a boutique hotel, it doesn't have a Lobby type feel (in fact, the reception desk is in the Library). There was black and white, chrome, zebra upholstery, candles and orchids galore and lovely waiters who plied me with glasses of Prosecco and Mr AV with glasses of Aperol Spritz after the many hours we spent walking the city.
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| Brunch on a Sunday |
The breakfasts were served in the atrium style Dining Room. It was all buffet style (with the most delicious museli that had chocolate bits in it) and then you'd sit at the communal dining table. There were always a lot of candles burning, which was very atmospheric, but unfortunately Mr AV managed to set his newspaper on fire one morning. This made one guest up the other end of the table go into absolute fits of laugher. At any rate, it was all very civilised aside from the near disastrous fire (as it always is when you travel sans kids).
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| Via JK Place Hotel Website |
And Florence itself is one of my favourite cities in the world. I studied Renaissance Art at University, but hadn't been back to Italy since I was 10. I was in 7th Heaven in the Uffizi, loved wandering in the Boboli Gardens, and viewing the Renaissance Architecture, and Mr AV visited his spiritual home, the Zegna flagship store (where strangely, we ran into one of his junior staff members who was on holiday. What are the odds?).
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| Boboli Gardens Parterre |
Anyway, I'm going to be borrowing heavily from the design of the hotel, and from our far too brief holiday there.
Quickly popping in to share this .... Ikea gave our Kitchen renovation the seal of approval by dedicating an entire album to our renovation on their facebook page. Yay! If you're a new reader - check out my archives for helpful posts on the Ikea kitchen process. Hopefully some of the posts will prove to be helpful. Anyhow, signing off for the rest of the week. Have a great weekend. xo
Ps., Love this photo above, and it seemed fitting to share it as it's one of our more popular Ikea projects. At The Bay preview yesterday I met Samantha Pynn, who as you many of you know, inspired our Ikea bench.
Dark Walls Adds Depth
I felt that my living room needed a face lift. It seemed washed out and lacked oomph. Once I saw this cover spread of Brooke Shields' house in Architectural Digest, I was in love with wall colour (Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray HC-168). It had to be mine! I also adored the choices of furniture and pops of quirkiness in this room.
Many people had concerns and asked, "Won't the dark colour make your room seem smaller?". This is design myth can be put to rest right here! I am not arguing that white walls create an illusion of expansive space, but dark walls have their own pluses too! Dark hues create a more classic look in an otherwise plain, box room. Think warm tones in grays, browns, navys, and blacks. Not only are they very forgiving colours (but challenging to paint with!), they can actually add depth to a space and make it feel more cozy and comfortable. It adds an ambience you cannot get with lighter tones.
If you have a room with the architectural details, such as windows, interesting (white) mouldings, a fancy fireplace, why not make those pop? The contrast will be remarkable. Even in small rooms, such as a boring powder room, you can get away with dark colours because most people don't spend much time in there....or, er...I hope they don't.
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So I go to to work...my beloved favourite colour, Revere Pewter, which is claimed to be the most searched colour for Benjamin Moore, was being replaced with Chelsea Gray.
Many people had concerns and asked, "Won't the dark colour make your room seem smaller?". This is design myth can be put to rest right here! I am not arguing that white walls create an illusion of expansive space, but dark walls have their own pluses too! Dark hues create a more classic look in an otherwise plain, box room. Think warm tones in grays, browns, navys, and blacks. Not only are they very forgiving colours (but challenging to paint with!), they can actually add depth to a space and make it feel more cozy and comfortable. It adds an ambience you cannot get with lighter tones.
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Before and after photos of my living room transformation to come....
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