Knitting circle

Today I joined my very first knitting circle. It was fun and inspiring knitting with talented and creative expert knitters. And my new friends were eager to help me out with my knitting disaster, insisting that my work was a design feature and not the over-ambitious project that it was.

Design feature. I love it. I can see myself using these two words constantly to justify my projects.

You see, the beginner scarf patterns are a bit boring for my liking. I want to make lace knitted scarfs and shawls and elaborate tea cosies with embellishments... if only I could understand the pattern charts and knew the stitch moves and had more needles and yarn and know how...

But today in knitting circle, I was filled with new hope and new tricks; thinking that surely I’m not far away from knitting all I desire.

Knitting: a new winter sport

Feeling very pleased with myself as I came home with knitting needles, wool and a knitting for beginners handbook.

Think I'll bask in the imagination of my own glory a little more before actually trying to make my first scarf...

Michelle

Michelle... your sense of adventure and compassionate heart shone through your cheeky grin. I miss you and hope you knew that you were loved by many...

Michelle Elise Gilet 12 February 1981 - 13 June 2010

A country break

I love escaping to the country. Walking through national parks and feeling like I'm a million miles from anywhere.. drinking fresh delicious rain water, breathing the crisp unspoiled air, smelling the trees, scrubs and grasses... just being along side the universe and marveling at the simple beauty of it all.

The recent couture holiday had the Mr and I touring around a little bit of Australia that neither of us had ever been to - beautiful central New South Wales.

It was fascinating to come from the north New South Wales coast into the beautiful green hills, forests and waterfalls, before seeing the stark and equally beautiful contrast of the flat plains of Narrabri that stretched all the way to the horizon - only the memory of cotton left after the season's harvesting.

It was easy to appreciate how vast and varied Australia is. And I couldn't help thinking of Dorothea Mackellar's poem My Country with the iconic line I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, which she wrote in neighboring Gunnedah in 1908 while on her brother's farm. There was certainly plenty of inspiration all around.

Taking a break to enjoy the views at the Mt Kaputar National Park, Narrabri, New South Wales

Love in the sea air

4 June 2011

The bride was stunning; beaming with happiness and looking like a movie star. The groom didn't take his eyes off her as she walked down towards him. He was shinning with pride.

It was a beautiful day. A perfect occasion. A magical start to their married life.

Photography by Mike & Amy 

Preparing for zen

There’s a panic that comes over me when I’m about to head away on holidays. Whether it be for a weekend or a couple of weeks I suddenly find myself scheduling to catch up with everyone I know, planning to clean out the kitchen pantry and do other questionably important chores and writing endless lists of products that need to be purchased, items that need to be packed, things that need to be remembered and actioned… 

But then there’s hitting the road, knowing that for the next couple of weeks I am free.

Little niece

So delightful my heart melts...

Little Niece, 4 years old

A new nephew

My family welcomed our newest and littlest addition last night.  A tiny little miracle, who makes me believe that love really can change the world.

Eurotrash: feel your heatbeat

I love Eurovision. Every year I wait in anticipation for crazy eyeshadow, outrageous outfits, unnecessary people lurking on stage without instruments or any pretense of adding to the musical performance going on around them, extravagant Scandinavian metal, and of course power ballads.

Congratulations to Azerbaijan for winning this year.



Ell and Nikki - Azerbaijan



These were my favorites...

Mika Newton - Ukraine
Love this dress

Jedwood - Ireland
Crazy flamboyant energetic twins

Blue - United Kingdom
Boy band finery

Lunch in the country

Yass, New South Wales

Style crush: Rachel Gilbert

I love the texture, femininity, movement and colour of her designs. I spend hours coming up with excuses to need almost everything she creates.

Her Cruise Collection at Rosemout Australian Fashion Week was divine and I’m daydreaming about how I can add these to my wardrobe…

Autumn 2011

More and more chilly days warn that winter is on its way; while the beautiful display of colour remind that all is not lost.

Our maple tree

A very royal wedding

"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day it is today.

I think this message, taken from the Bishop of London's sermon to the bride and groom is so powerful in summing up their commitment.

The royal wedding of Prince William & Catherine Middleton on Friday 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey, London was spectacular. It had it all - nobility, glamour, style and most of all love. Despite the ceremony and grandeur, there were glimpses of nerves, beaming happiness and humble pride.

Congratulations Duke and Duchess of Cambridge! 

Lest we forget

ANZAC day commemorates the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, and has become a day on which we remember the lives of all Australians lost in war time.

This year I attended dawn service at Tuross Heads, on the New South Wales coast.

We stood in the early morning darkness at a memorial site standing over the ocean - the sound of waves crashing against the beach below set the scene. The faint sound of a lone drummer grew louder as he marched closer to the memorial and signaled the start of the service.

I proudly sang We are Australian with the locals and holiday makers who had turned up this morning to pay their respects. I imaged the soldiers who fought at Gallipoli all those years ago, and wondered what the values of community, mateship and courage must have meant to them.

I noticed a burly man who stood on his own in front of me, shifting from foot to foot, constantly fidgeting as the service went on. Then as the bugler started to tune the Last Post and we all stood in a minute of silence, the burly man stood as tall as an arrow, arms straight down by his side, thumbs at his seams, still as night. Proud. As we all were.

Lest we forget.

ANZAC Day dawn service, Tuross Heads

Easter eggs & holidays

Traditionally, Easter celebrates the promise of life in the face of death. It's a time to reflect on peace and forgiveness - even in the face of suffering, injustice and hardship. The chocolate eggs and bunnies we share and eat symbolise new life and new beginnings - the potential of so much more to come.

This Easter I’m thankful for time off work to spend with my family and friends. I'll be celebrating Easter with my family, sharing a friend's birthday, visiting a new baby and taking time out with Mr Couture - sounds very promising indeed!

Happy Easter!

Wheels of Change: how women rode the bicycle to freedom (with a few flat tires along the way)

This delightful National Geographic book by Sue Macy tells the story of how women got moving and active – thanks to the bicycle. I hadn’t before thought that the simple bicycle held such profound significance as a cultural agent of change, yet it radically redefined the ideals of femininity in the late-nineteenth-century.

“To men, the bicycle in the beginning was merely a new toy, another machine added to the long list of devices they knew in their work and play. To women, it was a steed upon which they rode into a new world.” Munsey’s Magazine, 1896

Not only did the bicycle do away with the need for a chaperone, but it also liberated women from the constraints of corsets and giant skirts. The bike-riding women pioneered a more radical dress, including a dual garment which consisted of a divided skirt worn under a long coat, breeches beneath skirts, and bloomers and jackets. The idea appealed to many as sensible and practical. A more public airing to the idea of women wearing appropriate clothes for safe movement in activities begun, and more liberal, free fashions started emerging. The new fashions also cut the weight of the women’s undergarments to around 3.5 kilograms!

Susan B. Anthony, said in 1896 “Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel.” 

Me too. Only now I know why!



   

  

Wistfully wishing

Why must I be at work, and not peddling around on my lady bike, buying flowers and looking at the new shipment of jackets arriving in the shops...

Bicycle Lady II
Jo Parry

Lunch riding

The autumn weather was so beautiful today I indulged in a lunch time bike ride. It was heaven, I was so free...

Dessert for four

It's true that at times I have proclaimed myself to be "the best cook in the world". I love cooking a restaurant-worthy dinner on the weekend - glass of wine in hand... music blaring... chatting away to Mr Couture and/or dinner guests... flamboyantly chopping, stirring, tasting and seasoning.... being the star of my very own couture cooking show...

But. This self-promoted title is limited to savory courses. When it's time to serve the dessert, my good friends know to expect store-bought luxury chocolate items. And these usually go down a treat.

I must have been feeling very adventurous when I offered to bring dessert to a friend's dinner party. And I didn't even start to panic until the morning of said dinner party when I was up at dawn googling a number of spectacular but impossible dessert options.

When it came time to unveil my much anticipated last course, there was a large degree of fanfare and gushing on my part as I assembled my bits and pieces in the kitchen and busily made room on the dinner table. I was proud of my efforts - a small step from chocolates on a plate; a large step towards making an actual dessert...

Chocolate fondue

A jacket wonderland

Autumn brings a cool relief from the casualness of summer with a gentle introduction of chill before the bitterness of winter. With the changing of the leaves and cool breeze now in the air, the jacket becomes my most coveted wardrobe item.

Oh to be strutting around in these...

Cooper Street acid jacket

Willow existence jacket

Trench dress

I don't get the trench dress. Which, admittedly, probably means that I'll be wearing it next season. Here's how Burberry does it...

 

Actually, I'm liking it a little more already... and wondering if it comes in charcoal....

A very hubby birthday

I love the gift of time - the idea of sharing an experience with someone in lieu of giving some tolken gift for the sake of it.

In an era where we are all so time poor, spending time seems like the ultimate indulgence. So when Mr Couture's birthday rolled around, I spent much time considering what might be a great birthday present. It was agony. I didn't know how I was going to live up to last year's ultimate present (a week at the Gold Coast and a QLD State of Origin 40 years anniversary jersey) and was cursing myself for present peaking too early.

Then it came to me. Time. We spent the birthday indulging in a long, leisurely and delicious lunch, and enjoying a very, very good bottle of scotch whiskey.

Both were divine. Happy birthday darling ...

Dreams & postboxes

I love driving through the country and imagining how wonderful it would be to live in one of the many beautiful properties that I see as I pass by. But what sort of letterbox would I have?

Many of the letterboxes I passed by over my weekend trip were like little works of art; stoically standing by their post, waiting for news...

Friday night’s a great night for football

I was surprised to learn, as a newlywed, that football would take over so much of my weekend. I didn’t know that Mr Couture even liked football! Sure, in the past he had shown a knowledge about the big ticket games, but I had no idea of the depth to which his interest lied - nor the impact football season would have on our winter.

You see, while dating our life revolved around going out: fine dining... long lunches... weekends away... whiling an afternoon away in a park with a picnic and the newspaper... And during all this, I can't remember the conversation ever turning to football. Now that I think about it, was it possible that I wasn't always listening properly?

Looking back now, I can see that our early times together were probably scheduled around match fixtures. And it is probable that he had exhausted any footy-related conversation with other enthusiasts before morphing into a suitable date and coming out with me.

It wasn’t until coming home as a new bride that I realised the extent of his interest. I was sent interstate by work to attend the first Indigenous v NRL allstars match and ditched the tickets to spend time with my best girl. Shocked that I wouldn't want to attend the match on our behalf, the look of hurt and betrayal in his face made me understand - this man was a serious fan.

So while all the single people are out enjoying their Friday nights in trendy bars and fine dining restaurants, I’ll be learning to love some time at home with the footy. But just some time. (Go Cowboys!)

Aldi – a sporting chance

After much encouraging from various people at work, I decided to give this Aldi thing a go. At first it seemed like a magical land where crazy cheap cereals sat next to mountain bikes and discount cheese next to tea towels. Sure it's set up weird, but I was on an adventure and I was prepared to expect the unexpected.

I felt like I was participating in an adventure sport and I set about trying to defend my neatly packed trolley. It all came undone at the check out, but I managed to salvage things on the pack-your-own-bags bench and left feeling like I’d saved hundreds. For days afterwards I was retelling the story to my friends, claiming that everything was “two dollars something”. It certainly seemed to be. I was happy and considered myself victorious in the Aldi battle; widely claiming to all who would listen that they “had to try it” and defending my cheap-skate position.

Then came the taste test. Throughout the week, each new strangely branded package got a review worthy of Gourmet Traveller. At first I thought everything was a hit (perhaps still rejoicing from the $2 something high), but as the week rolled on my muesli seemed more like chaff than oats. Even still, I’m excited about what the next shop will uncover and look forward to filling my trolley with all sorts of crazy items. In tracks of course J.

To rock or not to rock

It was pointed out to me, by the ever fashionably helpful Mr Couture, that my new ladylike rock image might be a far stretch - it seems that ‘rock’ means very different things to us both. For me, I thought I nailed it as I was leaving for work this morning in a silk shirt with a neck tie, slim black pants and a pair of gladiator heals. Mr Couture thought a gold glitter cat suit would be closer to the mark.  Hmmm...

Oscar glamour

I don’t really care about award nights. I’m sure it’s nice for all those involved in making movies to be recognised for their efforts, but for me it’s all about the red carpet.

Sandra Bullock showed them how it was done in a beautiful strapless red Vera Wang dress, and my favourite look was worn by Scarlett Johansson. I hear she got a panning in some reviews, but I thought she looked original and elegant in her raspberry Dolce & Gabbana lace gown – and I love the messy bob. 

  

I might try and work a bit lace into my A/W11 wardrobe. A quick google led me to this D&G sheer black lace top. I like it worked in with a suit (shown here with one from Antonio Beradi). So very ladylike rock.

 

Ladylike rock

Autumn is almost here and I am yet to secure the items needed to get me through A/W11. Apparently this season I need military themes, red and caramel colours and animal prints. Hmmm....

Now seems to be the perfect time to update my look. For the last few years I've been working with "Slutty Demure" (edgy meets prudish), but after jumping to the next decade of life (a few years ago if truth be told) I think it's time to reassess a few design choices.

So this season, I'm ready to unveil "Ladylike Rock". I think I can fit in a few military-inspired pieces and pull something together featuring caramel. The animal print might pass by without me... unless I can swindle some black & white snakeskin pumps...