Messina + Zumbo at the 'Star'

It has been ages since I've had a Messina or Zumbo fix, and so of course with the relatively new 'The Star' complex housing both, it is a dream come true! So I know The Star has been open for some time now but I always like to let the crowds settle down and the general teething problems get ironed out before going. I was in the city the other day though and it was a beautiful day to walk across the Pyrmont bridge to get my hands on some goodies.

First stop was Messina where I got my all time favourite flavour - passionfruit. When I first started going to the original Messina in Darlo (way back in...2009, I think!) I always used to get Tiramisu and Pavlova. In the last year or so though, I stick to what I love and always get Passionfruit.

On the odd occasion when I go with friends we will get the share plate and try other flavours though, and of course they're always exciting and tasty.

Next stop was the kitschy Zumbo concept store, which is really different to the Balmain store I usually go to.

Macarons on display

It really draws attention to itself with all the decorations and Willy Wonka inspired displays, which I think really helps add to the appeal of Zumbo's quirky delicacies.

Anyway, onto the important stuff - the sweet treats:

My must-have standard order of passionfruit tart - I could eat this everyday it is so good! Are you seeing a trend in the flavours I like?

Boxes of Macarons yum! 

Macaron flavours - from top, left to right - Cola, Salted Caramel, Mojito and Passionfruit Tonka.

A terrible close up of the Cola flavoured macaron which was nice and zingy!

On that note, I cannot wait until my Paris trip next year to get my hands on my all time favourite macarons - Pierre Herme. I've been having cravings for months then my friend in NYC showed me pics of some Pierre Herme goodies she got given from London and now I'm craving it even more!

The Kardashians

I can't remember if I've posted about this before but I've been getting into the Kardashians lately. So I'm a little behind on the times but I've been able to watch whole seasons quickly without having to wait, and it's just a bit of trash to watch when I don't want to think too hard!

Anyway, I like reading Kourtney's blog now and then and I saw this...their annual Christmas Card shoot:

Click on it for a larger version to see the close up detail - it's really quite spectacular (in my opinion). Kendall looks amazing for a 16 year old and I think all the fashion watchers out there who have listed her as 'One to watch' are right on the money. They're all wearing fabulous Louboutins too - I think Khloe is in Pigalles and Kendall in Duvette 120s.

And how adorable is little Mason? Meanwhile, my sister (who is obsessed with little Suri Cruise) tells me that Mason Dash Dissick has been voted #5 in Hollywood's Most Influential Kids listing. No disagreement here!

Does anyone else have a TV show guilty pleasure?

#12: Lots of goodies at 30% off!

I know it's been literally weeks since the net-a-porter.com 30% off sale I posted about - sorry I've been a little slow with posting about my goodies! As I posted about last week, I purchased the Burberry Trench coat and McQueen skull scarf with the discount but decided I couldn't help myself and purchased....

Burberry cropped wool coat
I know I've ordered so much Burberry but their coats are so lush and practical. It's so easy for me to keep on buying black coats because it's just so...easy, but this was a good compromise as its a beautiful charcoal which adds a bit of contrast to a wintery outfit.

If you happen to love this coat, it's actually now further discounted at 40% off as part of the International Sale! Get in quick peeps :)

Marc by Marc Jacobs Laptop case
This is so cute in the quilted purple - you can just tell it would hold a laptop really firmly. I didn't really need it but its cute, right?

I think it would be a good book bag too! And I love the attention to detail with all the cute MJ hardware in purple.

Sass & Bide Silk Dress
So I couldn't take a good photo of this dress so for now I will just have to show you the online picture. It's quite a simple dress but very dramatic, with a long asymmetric sleeve and the bold purple silk.

I ended up wearing to a Christmas Party earlier this month so I'll post separately about that outfit and you can see a proper picture of it worn :) It can be a little tricky to wear but once you get the hang of it I think it looks pretty awesome!

Again, if you like this one, it is on sale at the moment here for 50% off!

Merry Christmas!

A very huge...

Christmas is by far my favourite time of year - there's just something about the Christmas carols and the feeling that everything bad in the world can be forgotten for just one day to celebrate with friends, family and good food. Not to mention the general festive feeling! Even working in retail during Christmas trade including the busy sales after (I worked six Christmas seasons!), there was never a dull moment and I really loved that time of year no matter the stress and long hours.

Anyway, this year I haven't been able to sit back and enjoy the silly season as much as I would have liked, just because I've been so busy planning my big trip (eek!) but I hope every one of you has managed to enjoy the day in some way!

The above image is actually a Charity Christmas card image - a few weeks back I volunteered for a Charity Christmas Card shop and it was such a lovely experience. They have cards for several charities and all proceeds of course go directly back to them and some of them (like the one above) are absolutely beautiful!

And to finish off...a picture of the beautiful Martin Place tree which I walked past the other day.

Big News

My life has always been really hectic - I've never been that person who sits around bored at home. Don't get me wrong, I can spend hours at home by myself blogging, catching up on websites/social media, reading magazines, doing arty types of things and participating in many of life's other activities, however recently you may recall I've been posting about how I've been busier than normal and so unfortunately this blog has been neglected slightly (sorry blog!). Anyway, there has been reason to all of this - I've been sorting out my life to organise a temporary move overseas.

For a few months next year I'll be in the great country that is the US of A! Of course I'm hugely excited (but also nervous) about this but I'm looking forward to world-class shopping, experiencing first-hand the American way of life and just soaking up everything I can.

Of course I'll keep on blogging during that, and I'll hopefully have heaps of photos and fun stories so stay tuned. But in the meanwhile, I just wanted to explain my recent neglect!

And joining in the celebration, I wanted to add Happy 100th post for this blog. What a great post as the 100th, right?

NAP International Sale

Unless you've been living under a shopping-free rock, you would know the www.net-a-porter.com International site sale has begun! I was pretty shocked to come home after a long shopping day at Costco (more on that later) that the sale was already live, since in previous years the sale has started quite a few weeks into January.

I was fine with the earlier sale date since it means I can snap up goodies with my Shoe Subscription credit, which I sure did do! Though I have to say, I was a little disappointed this year =( There weren't many, if any, pieces which were just screaming "Buy me! Buy me" unlike this time last year when I wanted to buy everything that was on sale, practically.

Anyway, happy shopping everyone! I'm eagerly waiting my order which I'll post about soon :)

Has anyone snapped up something awesome?

#11: Burberry Trench + McQueen Skull Scarf

I have been extremely slack in not posting about my NAP purchases as soon as I bought them, but there was a few weeks when I was receiving 3 orders in one week and just couldn't keep up with photographing and blogging about it!

But never fear, a by-product of being on holidays is that I am now free to blog more! :)

Anyway, onto the goods - when the 30% off sale was on I jumped at the chance to order a Burberry trench. The only one they had available was the longer one (which isn't quite what I wanted, I wanted the cropped length), but this is such a classic and I got it at such a bargain of 300-ish pounds!

It falls just below the knee, which isn't really that long at least. And I quite like it with the sleeves pushed up. You can't really go wrong with a classic trench, can you? The pic below gives a better idea of the length.

When I was purchasing, it just so happened there wasn't much that tickled my fancy at the time so I tried to choose items which were classics and thus great value at 30% off. I feel like this second item (like the trench!) is another 'classic' which was an absolute steal at...160 pounds I think?

This is the cashmere square black on white colourway Alexander McQueen Skull Scarf

Plus every wardrobe needs more McQueen! This is a terrible pic below, but this shows how big it is - my sister is holding it straight up above her head and it falls just below her knees.

And a picture of it worn:

Blog Refresh

Friday was my last day of work for 2011 (woo!) so I thought I owed it to my blog to do a little refresh. It's only subtle, so see if you can spot it ;)

I quite like the way the blog looks currently but feel free to make suggestions! 

In the meantime, I'm still really busy trying to get things organised before 2011 ends (how quickly has this year gone?!). I've got some big things happening in life at the moment which I will blog about as soon as I have everything finalised, but in the meantime, apologies for being so slack with posting.

P.S This is random but I'm excited about this:

Movida, Melbourne

Months ago now I was in Melbourne and had a few great meals - one of them being at MoVida which is one of the most highly 'rated' and popular joints in the city. I always love tapas and being a single diner it's the easiest way to eat.

Melbourne is really known for the laneways and awesome shops/restaurants which you can weave your way through. MoVida isn't as hidden away, but I love the way it's just on the corner and if you don't quite know where you're going the doors can be easily missed!

The menu offerings allow for different sharing styles with small and large plates, plus a dessert blackboard.

Because I'm a little lazy, I'll just post a whole lot of pics of the food I ate. Even looking at it now makes me salivate!

Breads - yes, that's just for one!

This was by far my favourite dish - garlic soup scallop. I could have had 5 of these at least! The consistency was fabulous and went well with the texture of the perfectly cooked scallop. A fantastic hearty starter given the cold weather when I was there!

So I'm a little forgetful and can't quite remember what this dish was (lamb of some sort?) but I still remember the succulently tender meat just melting in my mouth. Again, another hearty morsel.

This was one of the larger plates - truffled cured wagyu with a just-cooked egg. I love truffles but I think for a meal-for-one this was a little too much (yes, can't believe I just said that!). Tasty nonetheless!

But as everyone knows, I love dessert so I left some space for this awesome deconstructed cinnamon cake with apple sorbet. This was a perfect finish to the meal because I didn't feel like a really heavy dessert, but was dying for something sweet. This wasn't a spectacularly unique dish, but the sorbet and the cinnamon cake combination was amazingly homely and just-right.

Leading up to Christmas now, with all the social gatherings, I'm really looking forward to joining friends at more tapas joints. For those from Sydney, what is your favourite tapas restaurant?

Make Up Haul

I was a bit naughty and bought a whole lot of new make up recently...most would say there's nothing wrong with this except I barely wear make up as it is and have enough to last me the rest of my life!

But I just couldn't help myself with the MAC items, most of which are now hard to find and I got them at an amazing price so I don't feel so bad.

I'm most excited about the two pigments - in shades Later and The Family Chest. I am quite tanned naturally so a lot of pale 'wash' type colours barely show up against my skin so I love MAC's punchy colours, especially the pigments.

I swatched both and they come out beautifully as a smoky eye with a bit of difference. So The Family Chest has gold flecks in it, and Later has a bold electric purple undertone which just 'pops' when used wet. Love!

I only managed to get a good swatch of The Family Chest:

I'm thinking it will be great for a smoky eye look with a bit of a difference. Excuse the terrible application, I was just trialling it against my eyeline first.

I haven't had a chance to try the Lipglasses yet, but they're both very popular shades - Painted On and Indigo Pink.

Chanel 'Paris-Bombay'

I know I'm a little late to post about this but the recently shown Chanel Paris-Bombay collection is extravagant, beautiful and just absolutely divine.

Only the master Mr Lagerfeld himself could concoct a collection so clearly inspired by India yet being wearable and unique at the same time. Perfection!

So much of producing a fashion show isn't the clothes itself, but the aura, backdrop and all the small details which come together. I love that Chanel does this season after season and this was no exception. The dinner table idea is awesome, and I love the detail that went into all the table settings and food. I do hope someone at least got to eat all of the food otherwise what a waste!

Some cool looks from the show...

Even flats can be stylish if they're Chanel!

Any Aussies recognise the last face? It's Shanina Shaik from Make Me A Supermodel all those years ago! She was always my favourite and it's good to see that she's made it to the big smoke, some 5 years on. I suppose it helps that she's dating Tyson Beckford? She just walked for Victoria's Secret too!

Images thanks to news.com.au and Harpers Bazaar.

I'm dreaming of...

A holiday to the Greek Islands!

I know people rave about the Islands all the time because they're so beautiful and so I'm really dying to go. I've been looking at photos of Mykonos and Santorini and they seem to have quite a lot of fun things to do, plus a good mix of culture, partying and relaxation.

Mykonos

I've heard Santorini has a great variety of beaches and the hot springs there, but really, how can you beat a view like this?

Santorini

Who has been to the Greek Islands and can suggest some great ones to visit?

Christmas Wishlist

I'm still on the lookout for a perfect everyday black handbag and so that is top of my Christmas Wishlist at the moment.

I know what I really want is a Chanel Diamond Stitch Tote, but they're hard to find nowadays. It's the perfect tote size that still fits all the everyday essentials I have (water, notebook).

A few months back I posted about the Miu Miu bag that I liked but I since decided to keep on finding something even more perfect (i.e. with a zip top). For the price of the Miu Miu, I knew I could spend just a little more to get a similar Chanel but alas they have nothing at the moment. So disappointing, right?

There is this Miu Miu Nappa Cloquet Bauletto which is part of the new Cruise collection - it's a new Cloquet collection leather which is really lightweight. I just like the shape and size, but it doesn't look as good in the picture as it does in real life. It's still not perfect, but getting there.

Any other ideas peeps?

#10: Miu Miu Metalasse (Blush) + YSL Arty

The tenth item I bought with my Shoe Subscription money was another of the Miu Miu Metalasse clutches, but this time in the uber versatile blush colour.

On the website it looked a much more...'pink' colour, but I actually love this more. It's a subtle muted kind of blush which will match perfectly with my nude Louboutin Simples.

Here's Princess Marie of Denmark elegantly wearing hers. I think hers might be more of a grey, but I thought it was interesting that she wore hers with an otherwise completely dark outfit (including black shoes).

I actually also ordered two YSL Arty Ovale rings but ended up only keeping one. When they arrived, I was really disappointed in the green colourway - I thought it wouldn't be as flat and one dimensional. Beautiful colour, but not as brilliant as I had hoped.

 Did I make the right decision to return the green colourway? Well if you remember in my last post, I've already worn the brown anyway and I <3 it!