Spring Shoe Review

OK it's that time of year to take a look at fabulous shoes which expose the toes and release the feet from their wintery boots and woolly socks. Pedicures must be had and footsies require love and attention. Why? Well, so that we can start stepping into all those FABULOUS shoes that await in the Spring/Summer collections.

Here are my pics from the Net A Porter selection:

Sexy, navy heaven. Alexander McQueen. Imagine them with a hot red Herve Leger bandage dress?

Tory Burch River T Bar leather wedges. I mean what COULDN'T you wear them with?

High Tops are back. Isabel Marrant uses my FAVORITE colour combo. Bekkit suede high tops.

Ralph Lauren collection. Bailee leather sandals.

Alexander McQueen buckled suede boots.

Day time bliss. Understated, stylish and so chic. Wool, felt and leather by Givenchy.

Rock that party in these babies. Yves Saint Laurent etched leather Tribtoo pumps.

Yves Saint Laurent. Tribtoo stitched detail leather pumps.

Dolce and Gabbana suede platform sandals. 

Diane Von Furstenburg Indigo cracked metallic leather sandals.

Salon X

I'm fairly certain that I've written before about my quest for the ultimate head massage. Well, on Friday I took a few steps closer to it. Seriously, the man is a god. His name is Stavros and he works at my beauty salon of choice, Salon X in Paddington, Sydney.

So how does one describe heaven? I felt all tingly from my head to my toes. He used just the right amount of pressure, (they're usually too hard I find) and he seemed to know all the spots to go to to relieve tension and generally make me feel incredibly good, even for just a few minutes. And therein lay the only downside, It wasn't that long. Maybe 3 minutes. They're usually longer there at Salon X but maybe he was busy. 

Me in the chair whilst Starvos works his magic.

Stav was such a nice guy. Really friendly, lovely to chat to and an amazing hairdresser as well. The brief was to create a loose but full wave which would hold well into the the night. He used a skinny GHD wand, held each twist for 45 secs (precisesly, he timed each one) and then he would release the GHD and rub each segment of hair between his palms to loosen the tightness of the curl and create a soft wave. The whole thing took about an hour and a half including wash/blow dry/style. No product.

Self-shot in the car to demonstrate the curls.

While I was at it, a really lovely girl called Rochelle gave me an express mani. She had the most beautiful, youthful, porcelain like skin I'd seen in a long time. I'm talking real peaches and cream complexion. Like something out of a Bronte novel. And what a sweetie. 26 years old and a passionate beautician. I tell you what, I am always incredibly impressed with the staff at Salon X. 10 out of 10. My amazing facialist, Gabriella is INCREDIBLE.  I see her once a month without fail and even when money's tight, I kep that appointment because she manages to make my skin glow. Like really.

My colour guy Joel is super talented and then there's the lovely George who cuts and blowdries to perfection. Even the Maitre D of the salon Che is incredibly warm and friendly. I love them all really.

Right so back to my nails. My colour of choice? Sunset. It's a bright orangey-red kind of red. I was very happy with the results of both hair and nails and stepped out that night feeling rather a bit fabulous I have to say!

Rochelle applying Sunset.

The finished product. 

A Trip to the Dentist

Ok I'm going to come clean here on something. I haven't been to the dentist in about 3 years. Well it could be somewhere between 3 and 4 years. Ok before you squeal in horror, yes I do look after my teeth. I brush twice daily, rarely eat lollies, don't drink fizzy drink and generally eat very little sugar.

However, whenever you visit the dentist that never seems to be enough. Before you know it they're dismissing your valiant "Oh yes I brush thoroughly twice daily" statements with, "right, and what about flossing. Are you doing any flossing?". Seriously. FLOSSING? Who the hell has time? Or interest? It has to be one of the most boring, difficult and plain annoying things to do. Do any of you floss? Is everyone flossing and I'm the odd one out?

Anyway, I have been meaning to book this appointment for years and now that I am not working, I no longer have an excuse. So, with my barely-never flossed teeth, I bit the bullet and booked. But rather than take the available appointment for this week, I opted instead to take an appointment 2.5 weeks from now. My strategy? To buy some floss and floss once a day every day until the appointment. I am hoping that the dentist will see my good work reflected in the state of my teeth and commend me for my sterling oral health management. And just give me a nice old scale and clean and send me on my way. As opposed to tell me that I need four fillings, that I have tooth decay, lots of plaque and that we really should re-visit that wisdom teeth extraction process that I started about 4.5 years ago. Don't ask, it's NOT a nice story. Needless to say, it's one of the reasons I never want to set foot in a dentist's office again.

OK wish me luck. I will floss hard and give you the verdict in about 2.5 weeks from now.

Kim K's Getting Married

Ok so I think I've admitted before that I follow the Kardashians. There's no point denying it. I hope Mimi doesn't read this. She was very disappointed when I admitted to watching Better Homes and Gardens, how will she ever cope with this????

Anyway, so back in my maternity leave days I started watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians and then I watched Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami, I looked very briefly at Khloe and Lamar but hated it, again got involved with Kim and Kourtney Take New York. And now there appears to be another season of KUWTKs so I'm watching that.

So, tomorrow Kim gets married to her basketball (or is it baseball?) playing husband Kris Humphries somewhere in Santa Barbara. My suspician is that she decided on him when she realised he had a name starting with a K. This seems to be somthing that the girls are mildly obsessed with. I watched an episode once where they talked about "baggsing" all the names starting with K before they had kids.

Kim is my least favouriate Kardashian. There's nothing wrong with her per se but she's a little vacuous and boring compared to the others. The fact that she is happily selling her entire wedding out for a TV show alone makes her someone I probably wouldn't have a great time with down at the pub. Kourtney is a different story. She's dry, funny, sarcastic and seems to keep a few things back from the camera which is cool I think. I also like that she doesn't succumb to the pressure (mainly from her mother) to get married.

So yes the big wedding is tomorrow. Apparently she's going to wear 3 Vera Wang gowns. One for the ceremony, one for the reception and one "going away" outfit at the end of proceedings. Much as there is a lot about Hollywood over-the-top-ness that I hate, I kind of don't mind that idea much. I think 3 dresses is OTT but looking back to my wedding day (5 years ago this year people, YAY US!) I think it would have been kind of cool to slip into something less full on and formal at the after party. Yes I had an after party. Six hours of wedding and reception was just not enough. Something modern and cool but still fabulously bridal and that still stands out from the crowd. After all you've already got killer heels on, amazing hair and make-up, might as well make it work for two looks rather than just one right?

So I'll do some post wedding analysis and commentary here. I'll run you through it from my POV. The ups the downs, the cool and the not so cool.

Back to Bondi

So as you know I kicked off the week with a little bit of huffin' and puffin' down at Bondi beach. So inspired was I, that I made the return journey again on Tuesday. I have told you about my mission to exercise every weekday whilst I'm unemployed haven't I? Yes well anyway, on Tuesday I hit the sand again, this time to do some interval training. I'm always reading about how its all about interval training when you want to shed some kgs. (Can you believe that I bought 2 yes that's TWO health and fitness magazines this week? Er yeah, I know. CRAZY! This is not a magazine genre I typically purchase from).

Anyway, I digress, so inspired was I, that I managed to bust out 4 laps of intervals. Sprint, brisk walk, jog, sprint, brisk walk etc. Felt great I have to say. And on top of how good it made me feel, it was again a really amazing place to be. Bright, sunny and gorgeous it was. Here are some pics.

Dolphins at Bondi

On Monday I chose to start the week with a soft sand walk, a swim and sauna at the very delightful Bondi Icebergs. The ever-delightful Pippa was there with me (she was having an annual leave day you see).

Allow me to get a little cheesy here, but occasionally we really have to take stock and take a good look at our beautiful surroundings and realise just how lucky we are. To have that beautiful beach so untouched and clean right at one's doorstep is pretty amazing. It's free too! You can run on the sand, swim in the sea and today, there were dolphins gliding through the water too. Just amazing. My photography skills leave a lot to be desired however, in the bottom pic, if you enlarge it about 10x you will see the small fin of a dolphin. VERY cool.

After consuming a few drinks the night before at gorgeous Tana's leaving do, I was in need of some heart-pumping exercise and a good sweat. This little regime delivered that in spades. SUCH a good hangover cure. And a rather fabulous place to start the day.

Oh the pain...

So in my new state of unemployment, I have set myself a challenge. The challenge is to exercise every week day until I'm back in a job again. I was semi inspired by Heidi Klum who recently ran every day for 33 days to raise money for charity. Admittedly, I'm exercising purely for my own benefit but regardless, its a tough and worthy hike and I'm already feeling slightly proud of my early success.

This week I've done two spin classes, a Tracy Anderson mat workout and a weights session. Go me! Let's see how long I can keep it up for. Part of the reason I am blogging about this is that I will have to stick to it if I've made it public. HOLD ME TO IT PEOPLE!

I've got a session booked in tomorrow with my good friend Rennelly so that should keep me on track. Big fan of exercising with a friend, strong on the motivational front. No pulling out when someone's waiting for you.

And finally, does anyone else feel really good when they have sore muscles? They're not aching but they're a bit tender and I feel sickly happy with that pain. May the pain bring a flatter tummy and smaller thighs.

Hot Shades from Tom Ford

I've been eyeing off the Tom Ford lipsticks for a while now and today I got my first taste of what really are the hottest shades around. They're not cheap retailing at David Jones for $69 each but check out this colour.

Meet True Coral. The perfect combination of pink and orange, the perfect flash of colour to get you out of winter and into Spring. It's hard to get cross the brightness of this colour so I have selflessly modelled it for you in the pic below. See how fabulous it looks when paired with a hot pink sports bra??? Not to mention PFGs blue Bassike t-shirt she left here recently. You'll get it back darl just as soon as you move home. Think of it as a ransom.

The lighting in my dining room this afternoon isn't great so I will capture it on me in situ when out to dinner later this week and post an updated shot then. I need you to see it in all it's fabulousness.

Now I know I shouldn't admit to this, but we're all friends here, so I will. I am a packaging buyer. Yep, from laundry soap, to paint tins to lipsticks. I often buy based on how aesthetically pleasing I find the packaging. Well, in this case, looks are not deceiving. The deliciously fabulous white and gold cubist casing looks fantastic and the product well and truly delivers. It's a moist, fairly long lasting lippy. LOVE it.

The World's Best Bread Roll

So Day 1 of unemployment has started wonderfully. A spin class followed by a weights workout in the gym and home via one of my favourite grocers, Maloney's on Crown St, Surry Hills. It was here that I discovered what I believe to be the World's Best Bread Roll.

It was SO tasty. Pumpkin seed, sunflower seed and wholemeal. DELICIOUS.

So here's what I did with it.

I added some magnificent Meredith chevre (goats cheese), Tassie smoked salmon, slices from a truly divinely ripe avocado, rocket and a squeeze of lime and twist of cracked pepper. Sooooo good.

A little Family Time...

Yours Truly enjoying a shandy at Merritts.

So after 4 nights of girly time with the Birds, it was time for me to be reunited with my boys (husband, son and step-son) for some nice family snow time. And it was lovely. A lot quieter, a lot less schnapps and some more tame skiing.

Orsie on skis for the first time.

A real joy for Trent and I was to put our baby possum on skis (Komperdell Under 3's) for the very first time. I think he found the sliding sensation a little weird at first but he certainly took to using the poles.

Biba Turnbull and Tana Hardwick

We also watched our friend Tana's daughter Biba compete in a BoarderCross comp which she ended up winning. Go Beebs! 

But the highlight of the week was definitely my birthday which we celebrated in style. Lloydy and I had lunch at Kareela Hutte then we collected the boys from ski school/kindy and ventured on over to the Cliquot in the Snow apres bar at the Alpine Hotel. We sipped on champers with Tana and our super cool snowboarding champ Biba and the boys toasted marchmallows. Bliss!

Trent at the Veuve bar.

36 and happy at the Veuve Bar

Toasted marshmallows... mmmm.

Aunty Tana and Orsie

TL and I at my birthday lunch.

Birds Ski Weekend

The Birds! (Top: Frannie, Soph, Ali, Tana. Bottom: Trudie, Rennel).

The Birds At the base of the Kosciusko Express L-R (Frannie, Lizzie, Soph, Rennel, Trudie, Tana and Ali)

You may recall that I go away with some equally amazing chicks on an annual ski weekend. Having recently returned, I feel kind of sad to no longer be with the birds in the mountains, having a whale of a time. Ah, so much fun.

Rennelly AKA The Puffin our only boarder.

We skied pretty hard this year, in years gone by pre-kids, we partied a bit harder, but this time it was all about pulling some great turns, finding new lines and of course lots of laughs.

Tana (team captain) in the carpark downing a coffee.

Day 2 was an absolute cracker. Like every day, we were up for first lifts or thereabouts, we skied under bright blue skies and we nailed that illusive jewell here in Australia when we found ourselves skiing dry, fresh, non-icy, non-slushy snow. There was no powder (just a little windblown stuff here and there) but that didn't dampen spirits. You see Aussie skiers are used to less than fabulous ski conditions. We learn to turn on ice, to stop in mixtures of slush and barely covered grass. So when we arrived in Thredbo 2 weeks ago and saw the runs covered in a thick blanket of white we celebrated. That's the jackpot.

Sev and Nic AKA the Tassie Devil and The Mexican Walking Fish

So back to Day 2, we skied hard til 2pm exploring all of Karels top backcountry, Trudes and I finding better and better lines through the windblown, the basin, Gold Course bowl, Cannonball, the Bluff, the Central Spur and a few cheeky tree runs near the super trail. FUN!

On the hill. Soph, Trudie and Tana.

Then it was off to lunch at Merritts where the chicken laksa surprised us (with how good it was) and the schnapps were plentiful. We stayed til last lifts at 4pm, skied home with full bellies and giggles non-stop.

Birds at Lunch. Kareela Hutte. Frannie on Right.

Dinners were also impressive. Sante on the Friday night for tapas and great service (thanks James!) and take-away pizza enjoyed in our glamorous pad, Elevation where we had earlier enjoyed the view and the always impressive Thredbo flare run and fireworks. That is a tradition that never grows old with me. Even at 36 (yes, thank you, it's a new thing), I still get butterflies when watching it. Long may that wonderful Thredbo tradition continue.

Trudes and Soph.

And speaking of wonderful traditions, long may our BSW continue. A very big thank you for our tour organiser Tana for such a wondeful weekend. I LOVED it.  xxx