Vanity Fair: September Issue

Angelina Jolie is her breathtakingly beautiful self on the cover of this month's Vanity Fair.

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The issue went on sale yesterday so I hope my copy arrives before we fly out in a few weeks time,  I need to add it my 13hr flight survival pack!

Nicolex

Fashion Friday

And out of the blue I'm back.  I didn't realise how hard it was going to be to write about anything other than New York as we count down to our holiday (I don't want to bore you with it before I've even left).  So I'm thankful for Fashion Friday, an easy post to help me on my way as I try to get my vibe back :)  

Love her or hate her, I do love the Vionnet dress Madonna wore to the Venice Film Festival last night. 

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Just something about the colour combo I really like.

Nicolex

Orange Obsession

Do you ever surprise yourself by liking something you didn't think was in your taste palette?  I REALLY love this Laura Ashley fabric and on no level did I think I was an orange person (clearly I'm embracing my inner coral Bec).  If the passion doesn't subside, I am definitely covering a "statement" chair in it next year when we do our extension.

Hortense Orange

Their Colinton armchair and  footstool.

I feel like I hardly know myself.
Nicolex

Carnell Estate

Welcome to the grand Scottish estate Brangelina and their brood (such a tired way to describe them I know but is their a better expression?) are calling home for the next little while.  The 16th Century 'house' is set within extensive gardens and park lands which I imagine give them the privacy they desire from the locals.

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The grounds are just so beautiful, and wouldn't it be lovely to spend a winter like this.  You can read more about the history of the estate here if you're interested.

Nicolex

Tuesday Torture

Well you don't have to be Sherlock to work out there haven't been any weight loss posts for a couple of weeks so I'm here to tell you I haven't given up.  I'm still exercising and eating as sensibly as I can but have given myself a fortnight off from the meetings, they were driving me nuts.  Just needed a break.

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I'm going back next week so you can hold me to that!
Nicolex

Decorating Mistakes

I thought I'd share a list of decorating mistakes from House Beautiful today.  I'm always up for some good ideas and I liked what the designers interviewed had to say.

Overzealous Decorative Painting.
Decorative painting can be a beautiful addition but you have to know when to stop!  Four feature walls in a small space is not OK.  Mary Douglas Drysdale says "brilliant painting is elegant and polished, but go too far and you end up with vulgarity".

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Bright Overhead Lighting
There's nothing worse than feeling like you're on stage shrouded in spotlight!  Barclay Butera recommends using dimmers and soft white bulbs, "lighting shouldn't wash down on you, it's harsh and unflattering".

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Single Source Lighting
And while we're on the topic of lighting, a single light source is a no-go-zone as well.  The key to good lighting is layering it at different heights.  Alex Tanksley says, "don't rely on only one kind of light source.  Mix a variety of overhead and floor or table lamps".

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Furniture Pushed Up Against Walls
Don't set furniture up as though you're waiting for a main act in the centre.  Furniture placed around the wall creates a seating arrangement that makes conversation difficult.  Whitney Stewart believes that the guiding principle should be to "create intimacy, how can you have a conversation when you have to shout across the room?"  When setting up a room she imagines the sofa talking to the chairs and the chairs talking to each other.  I like that.

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Out-of-Proportion Lamps

Lamps that are wildly out of proportion on either ends of a sofa drive David Kleinberg crazy. "Don't get too creative with lamps, keep it simple".

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Karate-chopped Pillows

Don't over fuss with your living room pillow arrangement.  Steven Sclaroff can't live with karate-chopped pillows, "that look would never occur in pillow nature".  Pillows have a nature now?  No, but I agree, don't like the karate-chop look either (though would never have thought to describe it so perfectly).

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Hope you're all having a nice day :)

Nicolex

Fashion Friday

They got married a little while ago now but at last some more of Kate Moss' wedding photos are out in the latest issue of American Vogue.  If you're lucky to have Mario Testino as the official photographer you'd be hoping to get back some pretty amazing shots of the day.  

Their take on Mick and Bianca Jagger's famous photo.

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Jamie & Kate, their take on the garden of Eden?

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The wedding party.

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Their outfits.

Kate and her dad with Lila.

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LOVE her shoes!

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Famous friends.

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There are more pictures here and of course in the September issue of Vogue.

Nicolex

Summer Espadrilles

Just as I'm planning my NY shopping list, this arrived in my inbox

If you insist Jimmy.

Nicolex

Willis

I get it Tilly.

Nicx

I Heart Planning

I am the original list maker (have I ever mentioned that I once found a list I had written of, wait for it, LISTS THAT NEEDED TO BE WRITTEN!  True story.) SO it was only natural that a trip this momentous was going to send me into overdrive.  My tour de force has to be the planner that has blossomed on our lounge room wall.  The colour-coded post-its have been arranged and rearranged many times over since this photo was taken and I can tell you, while I am exhausting myself (and probably Mr. B as well) I am having the most fun! 

I still can't quite believe that the planets have aligned and we're finally going!  Today I caught up with a friend I'd worked with 10 years ago and she asked me if I'd been to New York yet (I sometimes forget how long I've been prattling on about it for).  It was so exciting to be able to say, "You know what, I'm going in 6 weeks time!".  Boo-yah!  (Not quite sure who I'm saying that for but it felt like a Boo-yah moment when I typed it).

Nicolex

A Few of GP's Favourite Things

In case GOOP wasn't enough (and I am actually a fan lest my snide tone convey otherwise) GP has Oprahfied herself and graced us with a list of things she can't live without.  Here are some of them:

Seasonal Flowers - she likes single-variety posies, I have to agree.  Am not one for arrangements and don't get me started on the ubiquitous filler Baby's Breath!

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Charles Edward Star Lanterns - these I do like, I even like her description of where they are in her home, despite it being a little corny - "I hung three of these at different levels in the stair hall so that we could pass them on our way up to bed at night".

Image from Elle Decor

Juxtaposed Religion Shelf - the shelf itself is pretty funky and of course Gwyneth being Gwyneth had to add, "built-in slots hold holy books...all at the same level, which is how I like to think about religion".  Yawn.

Image from Elle Decor

Cloth-bound Penguin Classics - now these I love!  Have bought them before as gifts and they're beautiful.

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YUBZ Retro Handset - perhaps not the most portable handset but certainly very cool.

Image from Elle Decor

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There you have it.  For the complete list visit Elle Decor here and decide which of GP's favourites is your favourite?

Nicolex

Architectural Digest: September Issue

Well the September issue of AD has been out for a few days now so most of you will know that the personal retreat of Mr & Mrs Cool themselves is on the cover.

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Their adobe-style  home was designed by Stephen Samuelson.

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The living room and the view it rolls out into really does take your breath away.

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The bedroom terrace.

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The family gathers at the front of their home.

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Obviously there are more pictures to pore over in the issue itself so grab yours and settle in.

Nicolex

Vanity Fair: September Issue

Jennifer Lopez is smoking up the cover of September's Vanity Fair.

Oh, and they've also go the scoop on her split.  If you're interested.  I'm not.
Nicolex

Tuesday Torture

No news is not necessarily good news, according to the WW scales I have put on 200g this week :(



That is all.

Nicolex

I Heart NY

Sorry for the rather lacklustre posting this week but I think I've got a good excuse...

...after years and years and YEARS of dreaming (and I do mean that literally, I have walked the streets of Manhattan in my sleep) we have decided to go to New York for a holiday.

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I am utterly consumed by our plans and have been able to concentrate on little else.  I guess you could say "I'm lost between the moon and New York City" ;)

Nicolex

Tuesday Torture

Thanks to an uncooperative computer last night it's a Wednesday afternoon post...

...well, from the depths of despair last week to the heights of euphoria this week, I lost a whopping 1.9kg (!).  This brings my total  loss to 10.6kg meaning I am over a third of the way there.  Ecstatic!

Naturally I'm more than happy to post that graph this week

I also got to my 10% (as in I'd lost 10% of the weight I first weighed in at) which is one of the goals WW likes to celebrate.  Of course it was excruciatingly mortifying answering questions about my loss, what I am doing and how all this is making me feel in front of the group (which of course was exceptionally large yesterday evening) BUT still a small price to pay for the loss itself!

So the moral of the story, does there have to be one?  Well for me it's DON'T GIVE UP ON YOURSELF!  No matter, how many bad days or sometimes even weeks you have, don't throw the towel in altogether, keep plodding away.  I fight with myself every single day as I try not to give in to food whims & fancies and every single day it's a battle to put on my sneakers and go for a walk.  Yes, I've had a good week this time but last week was bloody terrible and who knows if this week will turn out how I hope it will?!  So for me it boils down to this, if I make an effort more of the time than I don't, even if that only tips the balance slightly in my favour, in the end I will lose weight.

Wow, I really did get a bit evangelical this time didn't I!  Terribly sorry, don't mean to be, just v chuffed and feeling the love today :)

Nicolex