Stripes

Whenever I'm feeling particularly uninspired whilst staring into my wardrobe of a morning, wondering what to wear and inevitably running late for something, my go to top will usually be a stripey one. A bit more interesting than a solid colour top but still easy to style. Here are some great stripes I wouldn't mind adding to my already adequate collection:

via The Sartorialist

via Gary Pepper Vintage

from Anthropologie

from J. Crew

And see more stripey inspiration over on my Pintrest board.

Happy New Year

Yes, granted, I'm a bit late. But I've been enjoying various holidays at various locations including farm, beach, and city. I'm a lucky girl. Here's a few snaps from the last few weeks of laid-back fun (courtesy of the iPhone, hence quality).

1. On holidays near Buladelah, NSW. 2. The best ramen in Sydney at Gumshara. 3. Possibly the best yum cha in Sydney at East Ocean (open for debate). 4. One tired kitteh.

Looking forward to a productive and beautiful year.

Christmas Trees

The other day I visited my parents' house (where my siblings still live too) and we put the Christmas tree up together. It was a lovely day and reminded me of my childhood when we'd all try and cram as many of the ornaments onto the tree as we could. This year however my sister decided that we should have a single coloured Christmas tree, so it's all gold ornaments this year. It got me thinking that the Fella and I should probably get our own tree for our new apartment. Here's some cool ones from around the blogosphere:

A tree-less Christmas tree (and tutorial) from Not Martha:

A reappropriated branch at eHow:

And a paper pine tree from Anthropologie:

What kind of Christmas tree do you have? Real pine trees are a bit less common in Australia due to it not really being the right season. Would you consider having an artificial tree?

Midnight in Paris

The other night I went and saw Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. It was a beautiful movie. It's whimsical, nostalgic and unapologetically shows off Paris. It was a close to a holiday as I'm going to get this year, and it was nearly as good :p

Image source

Owen Wilson was surprisingly good. I guess I always pigeon-holed him as the goofy type, but he was charmingly neurotic in Midnight in Paris.

There's been some criticism that Midnight in Paris is too corny, but I found that the nostalgia the film emits prevented it from slipping into cheesiness. If you like realistic movies, this probably isn't the one for you.

Image source

If you can't make it to Paris this year, go see Midnight in Paris instead. Oh, and brush up on your Lost Generation literature before you go.

Loafers

I love a good heel as much as the next girl but some days you need a good sturdy, comfortable flat. I love ballet flats, I think they look cute and feminine, but sometimes they aren't really as comfy as they appear. Enter the loafer. Whilst they may have formerly been the domain of older women, nowadays they're stylish AND comfortable. Here's my favourite pair I bought from Zara (on my very similarly coloured floorboards):

Wittner has some leopard print loafers right now:

Or, if you've got a bit of spare cash lying around, how about these Christian Louboutin loafers via Net-a-Porter?

I'll definitely be expanding my loafer collection this spring. Maybe some of these might do the job?

Edit: Also, the gorgeous Aimee from Song of Style has also got a thing for loafers.

Sculpture by the Sea

Every year the Fella and I go to Sculpture by the Sea at the Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk. This year we picked a really good day to go. It was a rare occasion that we both had a weekday off work and it meant that it wasn't too crowded when we visited.

 

 1. (photo taken by me) 2. Simply Black and White 2010 by Alan and Julie Aston (photo taken by the Fella) 3. Domestic Bliss by Peter Tilley (photo taken by the Fella) 4. I Have Been Dreaming To Be A Tree...II by Byeong Doo Moon (photo taken by me).

It was a lovely day, the weather was perfect (I got a little sunburnt despite suncream reapplication). If you don't have plans for this weekend I would definitely recommend a visit. Sculpture by the Sea ends this Sunday 20th November.

Doorknobs

When we first moved into our current apartment (about three months ago now), the sight of the kitchen made my heart sink. It was filthy. However two days of scrubbing and a new coat of paint made it feel clean and useable. It still has its flaws that can't really be fixed (e.g. no bench space), but a few little changes here and there have made me feel more comfortable in my tiny kitchen.

There used to be grimy 'white' plastic doorknobs on the kitchen cupboards. I changed them up for these cute ceramic knobs I picked up at an antiques store in the Blue Mountains. It's the little things that make all the difference.

Here are a few other doorknobs that I would have been equally as happy to have in my kitchen.

Anthropologie Mother-of-Pearl knob - $14

Vintage inspired numbered knobs from Vintage Skye on Etsy - $7

See more gorgeous doorknobs on my Pintrest board.