The race that stops the nation

(source: urbanrestuarant.com)

The first Tuesday in November brings out the race of all races - the Melbourne Cup. Each year the ladies dress in their finest while the men gamble away all their money, but you see this is an Australian institution.

It feels almost unpatriotic not being able to join in the festivities but when the race is on at 4am London time, I know I would rather be sleeping, then watching a 15 minute race that I never win on.

Step inside...

Four months ago we moved into our place in West Hampstead. I wrote about our Mighty Move here and introduced you our area and showed you our flat. Now I want to take you inside and welcome you to our room.

I have spent a lot of time searching car boot sales, charity shops and collecting pieces from the many places I have travelled.

Step inside and enjoy!

I wanted to keep our room crisp and bright as London can be quite dark and dreary. I used white linen that was very simple and kept the bed decoration very minimal.

The furniture we brought from ikea and is dark brown with clean lines. We brought two side tables and a large tall boy, which just fits all of our clothes and belongings.

The cushion I brought in Sardegna. The type of tapestry is traditional to the area and is in a gorgeous bright aqua with cream. It adds a pop of colour and detail to the room.

My reading book always sits by my bed, so I can read it just before I go to sleep. Currently I am ready Gok Wan's biography. Prior to reading this I was reading The Help.

The lamps were left to us by the lovely Anne Maree and fit perfectly in our room!

Little comforts, like my new slippers sit by my bed and candles are used to create a beautiful aroma in our room.

There is a white desk against the window to have a separate place to work. It is lovely to be able to look out the window to the trees and soak up the sun (when it's there).

My stack of magazines! I have always had a stack somewhere of magazines (remember my flat back home??). I have always and will always be a magazine reader, I love them. I love the way the pages feel, the glossy images and I love being able to tag the pages when I love something on there.

The bowl is my latest travel find. This one is from Barbados. It is a fish scale bowl that I picked up at the Friday fish market. The fish market gathers all the Bajan people together to enjoy all different foods and music.

My desk contains my laptop, my notebooks and some pictures I have collected. The large one is from Rome from the Mario Testino exhibition and the small one of Marilyn Monroe is from the National Portrait gallery Goddesses exhibition .

The candle in front was a 'gift' from my friend Darren.

Next to my desk is my vintage suitcase from my friend Emily. I absolutely adore this bag. It helps to remind me to always travel.

The mat is also from Sardegna and uses the some traditional techniques as the cushion.

My tall boy (large drawers) is filled with all my trinkets and jewellery. I display most of my jewellery so that I always have it handy to style up my outfits.

The vintage mirror was one of the first home items we brought.

We found it at a charity shop in West Hampstead and it really helped set the mood for our room. The hand and owls I also found at a charity shop and I find them to be really unique and quirky. I love coming home and being able to put my engagement ring on one of the fingers.

The cross we carried with us all the way from Australia. It helps to remind us of our roots back home.

This is a view out of one of our windows. I think its really sweet. It is nice not having a huge building or wall in front of us. At the moment there is one mirrored frame with a picture of my nephews. Love them!

I hope you enjoyed the tour of our room. It is nice to be able to show it to you, so you know where I have been hiding out for the past few months.

So, what do you think?

Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
Today I did a little bit of Halloween decorating around the house and had a lot of fun doing it!
There actually was a lot more to put up but I didn't want to go OTT...

So what was everyone dressing up as for Halloween? My choice was a pumpkin!

Yep - there are even Halloween flowers!

Scary?....

Boo!

The before shot....

The after....

What happens when a pumpkin drinks too much...ha!

Pret-a-diner

Last night marked one of the most amazing food experiences I have had in London. Over a month ago I read an article about a 15 day pop up restaurant being held in the Old Vic Tunnels. This pop up restaurant not only intrigued me for its location but also the fact that a mixture of Michelin star chefs would be participating.

The moment I walked in I was in awe! The eerie smoke filled tunnels crawling with voodoo inspired artworks led through to an chic bar filled with mixed writing on walls and covered in antique floor rugs. We were then greeted by the restaurant host who welcome us and started gearing us up for the experience we were about to discover.

The entire restaurant transported me to another era. I felt almost medieval to the point where I felt I should have cherubs feeding me grapes and pouring me red wine (a little bit like Disney's Fantasia)

Now the food - oh the food. Tasty pieces of sushi, succulent steak and a dessert of chocolate biscuit pieces mixed with mango that melted in my mouth - all created by chef Ollysan. The most amazing Japanese dishes I have tasted!


It is really hard to truly explain how the restaurant looked and also made me feel (however I hope you can sense my passion).
I only hope that you too can see the true beauty and creativity displayed in my photos below.

Old Vic Tunnels - this area is actually a graffiti aloud zone. Love that!

Yep - I took one of these home - sshh

Can you see what I mean?

One of the three courses

Barbados re-cap

So I am back...back from Barbados. We had an amzaing time.
The holiday couldn't have come quicker. After bad news from back home I really needed this break - which in ways made me quite reflective and gave me a chance to relax and rejuvenate.

Flying into Barbados after the 8 hour trip greeted by 30 degree weather, I instantly adjusted to the Bajan way of life. The jeep's roof was off, the swimming costume was on and the food search started. You see holidays are all about eating, well all the holidays I go on. You must be prepared for a few extra kilos on the body when returning - if you don't it either means, a) you didn't enjoy your holiday and eat, b) you did sneaky exercise on your trip or c) it was so hot all the fat melted away after you ate.

Most days in Barbados were spent laying by the pool (not getting sun burnt), reading my book (The Help - a must read!), driving around the island, sailing on a catamaran and having full body massages. Ahh bliss!

I have to say the Bajan people are very welcoming and super friendly, always making very funny conversation and proving their love for their island.

I do recommend visiting Barbados and experiencing the Caribbean way of life. Just be prepared to save lots of money as it can disappear very quickly.

Barbados sunset - very amazing!


Just a dot in that big ocean

Even on a rainy day it is beautiful

The sailing adventure with Charlie and Blondie

Always a rum punch in ones hand

And to make it an even more memorable adventure - we were upgraded to Business class on the way home! Flat beds and real cutlery all round!

Thanks Mark

In the sun - I will come - to see Barbados

Things will be quiet on word of the trip for a week - you see, we are heading off on Saturday for a week in Barbados and internet connection is unlikely.
But don't worry I will be thinking of you all while I lay on the beach, sip rum and eat coconuts!
Looking forward to sharing it all with you...

The tube

My ol' buddy AM sent me through a very amusing link in relation to Travelling in London. At first I was slightly confused thinking it was a story about discovering London. Looking deeper into it it was all about 'Tube types' and what's your place on the tube. Its funny because the story is completely true, I see people who display all these 'tube types' every morning on the peak hour train. And to make matters worse I think I notice it even more now!
I have to say without even realising I am a bandit for a few of these types, especially the aisle stander...however lately I have become the staunch stander.

Check out the story here - www.now-here-this..timeout.com

I have to say the tube always intrigues me - I absolutely love watching people on the tube falling asleep, I think its hilarious watching them drift away and start to fall on other people while the other person sits there pretending it is not happening. My fascination with the tube lead me to search around on line and I found a blog called Going Underground. Its all about daily life on the tube from a commuter - the funny things that happen, misspelt (that always make me laugh), celebrity sightings and just plain old interesting facts and quizzes.

Check it out for yourself at www.london-underground.blogspot.com

Happy tubing Londoners!

Halloween

My thoughts have turned to Halloween, a very new and exciting holiday for me to celebrate.

Halloween is very rarely celebrated in Australia and the fact that most Brits get into the party spirit has made me become spooking-ly curious to how it all started.

Halloween is said to have originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward of roaming ghosts. Then in the 8th Century Pope Gregory III designated November 1st as a day to honor Saints and Martyrs, thus the evening before be All Hollows Eve - now known as Halloween.

Shopping tonight in Waitrose I was inspired by all the decorations and sweets on offer for any trick or treating or Halloween parties...and yes I brought some bunting and have now been furiously searching for any decorations I can find to fill my house ready for my Halloween gathering!

Next all I have to think about is my costume. Thoughts??

(source: dollyrockergirl.blogspot.com)

polka dots and fur

After a week of amazing sunny and hot weather, London turned cold and when I say cold, I mean cold! Days were a top of 13 degrees. Now, I know that is not cold to someone who has lived in London their whole life, but for an amateur like me that is freezing.

So on Saturday my attention turned to keeping warm and thinking of coats. After having a fabulous morning of breakfast with my man we wondered towards Notting Hill and stumbled across a vintage store. Upon entering I fell in love with a vintage fake fur! After taking quite a bit of time trying it on (yes, my man was getting very annoyed) I finally purchased my coat and felt instantly satisfied.

So, on that Saturday night to keep warm I layered up my fur, teamed it with my polka dots and felt very A/W 2011....
The best 25 quid spent in a while!

I am sure this coat will be making a lot of appearances

complete

A few busy days and lots of help from amazing people - I am complete!

Love to you all!

Points 3), 5), 6)

My Sunday was filled with me working through my list...and I have to say I managed to get through points 3, 5 and 6.

We cruised in the heat through the Columbia Road flower markets, wandered around Brick Lane and listened to an ol' crooner band in the streets.
We also checked out the new Westfield in Stratford - you see it's an institution for an Aussie to visit any Westfields... we have to, it reminds us of home!

"The best most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart"
Helen Keller

4) Picnic in a fabulous park in a summer dress while reading a book

Point 4 complete.
I enjoyed a day filled with fitness, sunshine, bargains, food and great company!

Picnicking in Regents Park

Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows everywhere.... ok maybe just beautiful trees

The best feeling, having your shoes off

Everyone had the same idea today

Out for drink along the Thames after.

I have to say St Paul's is one of the most amazing buildings in London