Not only does Collette Dinnigan make great clothes, she also makes great homes. Seriously great homes. This particular house in Paddington, Sydney, which Collette has now sold (why would you? Why?), is a stunningly restored sandstone residence built in the 1880s, but brought beautifully into the 21st century with its clean lines and elegant living spaces. The front porch and the fact that the whole house is simply flooded with light would have been enough to sell it to me, however it’s the kitchen that steals the show. I wouldn’t change a single thing. If I were lucky to live somewhere as out-of-this-world as this, I think I would just spend the whole time declaring, à la Carrie Bradshaw in Heaven on Fifth, “Hello, I live here!”

{images via Updated Home}

Offices by their very nature are not known for their style credentials. They are, generally speaking, a place where you get shiz done, whether you buy, sell, promote, market, organise, whatever. Unless you are lucky enough to work for Google, where you’re as likely to come across a ping-pong table as a desk. My working environments to date have been DULL. Blank walls, carpets with questionable stains, pot plants struggling for their lives and desktops that are 10 years out of date. One of these offices had no windows. Prisoners have better views. For a person like me who has a creative fire inside of them (seriously, it burns), they have left me feeling less than inspired. This is why I feel an insane jealousy when I see office spaces like the one that Aerin Lauder (she of famous grandmother, Estée) has created in Manhattan… I would kill to work somewhere with an interior like this. It has a chandelier, for Pete’s sake. The white walls, gold accents and seagrass carpet are absolute heaven, and I’ll bet the productivity in this office is sky-high. Tell me, lovely readers, does your office resemble Aerin’s in any way?

{images via Architectural Digest}

It’s the last series of Gossip Girl. I understand that to many this information will elicit no more than an indifferent “meh”, but to me this is a big, deal. It’s one of those shows where you have had to be there from the beginning, and six seasons later I’ve been through a whole lot with these Upper East Siders. So I may not have much in common with them – for starters I don’t go to fancy benefits wearing ballgowns every day of the week – but I care about the same things. Family, friendship, love, NYC, Chanel. Every episode is like an adult version of Scooby Doo (such is the often ridiculous nature of the storylines), and that’s why I love it. And at the centre of everything is Blair Waldorf. She gets the best lines, the best clothes, and, let’s face it, the best boys. And to celebrate her all-round Blair-ness, I’ve put together some of my favourite quotes… so if you’re a GG fanatic like me, then enjoy. If not, maybe come back tomorrow. xoxo.







{images via pinterest}

As featured in Marie Claire UK, November 2012

{words & images via Marie Claire}
on whether she warns boyfriends that they might end up in song: “Ha! Well… it’s not like it’s in fine print, but music is absolutely everything that I am and everything that I stand for. It’s not my fault if someone gets into a relationship with me and then cheats and I write a song about it.”
on why she has dated notorious womanizers: “I agree with everything you’re saying. I think I have to trust that you end up with the person you’re supposed to end up with, and that everything in between is there to teach you stuff. Plus it makes for great stories when you’re older.”
on having kids one day: “(My) money will be really good for sending my kids to college some day – or maybe I’ll have a few more kids than I thought. I want a bunch of them running around, minimum four. I want to wait a while, but.. the idea of pouring everything you are into another person when you become a parent has always been amazing to me.”
on obsessing about what others think of her: “At some point you have to snap yourself out of it and go, ‘You know what? Right now your level of insecurity is bordering on vain. Stop it.’ That’s when I stop myself and go, ‘Everything’s fine, your family’s healthy, life is good.’”

Well, trust the lovely Reese Witherspoon to have an equally lovely home. It just suits her, doesn’t it? The now mother-of-three (with new baby “Tennessee”… too cute in Reese’s southern drawl) has turned this gorgeous Spanish-style ranch into a haven of peace, despite the fact that horses, donkeys, goats, pigs, chickens and dogs also call it home. Witherspoon had help from her friend Kristen Buckingham to maintain its original architectural elements, but also add a pretty modern touch. That ikat chair and reading nook were what first hooked me, but the hits kept on coming… the exposed beams, stucco walls, the elegant yet homely soft furnishings. Reese has done an amazing job turning this place into the pefect home for her perfect little family of mini-me’s. As Elle Woods would have said, “What? Like it’s hard?”

{images via Elle Decor}