Pa Rum Pum Pum Pum!

Image from Style Me Pretty

And so this is Christmas....
I'm stuck at work today but my mind is on all the presents I still have to wrap before tonight and my bags I have to pack to go away tomorrow.

What are your Christmas plans? I will be partying Chilean-style with my husband's family tonight. This means plenty of food including some of my favourites like empanadas and chorizo on the BBQ. There'll be plenty of Pisco being drunk and dancing the night away to South American music. Then the best part - at midnight the kids going crazy and ripping open all their presents and screaming with excitement hahaha!

Tomorrow, Christmas morning, hubby and I will drive 2 & a half hours up the coast from Sydney to Port Stephens where my Aunty lives and eat a huge Christmas lunch with my entire family. We'll actually spend a few days up there enjoying the beach and relaxing with the family. I can't wait!!

So a very merry Christmas to you all and a huge thankyou to all our lovely followers, readers who may just pop by every once in a while, and anyone who has ever left a sweet comment because I love reading them, they make my day!

Eat, drink & be merry!

~ Clare x

'Tis the Season to be Jolly

Images by me

Balmoral Beach was actually quite deserted on the weekend, which is unusual for this time of year. The slightly overcast, breezy weather kept beach-goers at bay and made for a perfect afternoon for us as we took in the view and relaxed over lunch & drinks for my friend's 30th Birthday.

My weekend also consisted of a Christmas Party at El Bulli Spanish Tapas restaurant in Surry Hills, performing a little skit at a theatre Christmas Party, excitedly finding that my ad was in the Sunday papers again (if you haven't seen it you can find it here) & the big news..... 

Dann (who also sometimes posts on this blog) gave birth to baby Jack! He's her first born. She had him on Friday. Congratulations Dann!

~ Clare x

Uncle Vanya

Image from here

Wednesday night I had the pleasure of seeing Sydney Theatre Company's production of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" starring Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Richard Roxburgh & John Bell.

This production, directed by Tamas Ascher & adapted by Andrew Upton, was just superb in every way. Each character seems to have such a tragic tale to tell, yet I found myself constantly laughing as their tales unfolded. A mixture of brilliant writing, adapting, directing and of course acting.

The cast really were outstanding. I was so amazed at this chance to see so many brilliant actors in one production! Cate is one of those actors who never seems to put a foot wrong and you find it so hard to take your eyes off her. Hugo Weaving & Richard Roxburgh were amazing, they had me laughing constantly. They both had me mesmerised by their little idiosynchrasies layered into their performances. Jacki Weaver was just gorgeous as Old Nanny, I just loved her.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend. Mine is full of Christmas and Birthday parties!

~ Clare x

A Sydney Harbour Sunset

Image by me

This was the view from my apartment on Friday afternoon as the sun was setting over the harbour. 

We had the company of 3 very fun American girls, who stayed over and cooked us the most wonderful enchiladas I have ever tasted. They then introduced us to "biscuits & gravy" for breakfast the next morning! For any Americans out there, you would know exactly what I'm talking about, but I had never heard of it in my life. Especially since biscuits in Australia are what you would call cookies. Hence the reason I couldn't get my head around the idea until I actually saw it haha!

~ Clare x

Bash, Please

I couldn't resist posting this retro Christmas shoot that I found over at bash, please. It's also featured in RUE mag, so I'm sure most of you have already seen it. I simply adore these pics shot at the Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway. Enjoy a trip back to 1959...

Love this idea of the guitar under the Christmas Tree. Might just have to do that myself since my home is filled with the hubby's guitars!!

Could their outfits be any more awesome? I think not!



Looks like my kind of party.

All images found at bash, please

See full shoot at RUE mag

Styled by bash, please

Featuring The Girls with Glasses

~ Clare x

A Trip to the Other Side

Hi All,

Last week my husband and I flew across Australia with our 19 month old daughter to Perth, Western Australia. We'd never been to the west coast of Australia before and it was Violet's first holiday and first time flying.

Here are some of my favourite pics of our holiday...

Swan Bell Tower, by the Swan River just a few minutes walk from the CBD.

The Swan River is lovely. It looks like the sea because of its width and nautical feel. These pictures were taken 10 minutes drive from the CBD.

Shopping in Perth was fun. There are plenty of shops and interesting buildings all within walking distance from just about anywhere in the CBD. This Tudor-style building called London Court (built in the 1930s) is the entrance to an arcade of high-end shops.

After staying overnight Perth CBD we drove almost 3 hours south to stay a few days in a beach-side town called Busselton. Its claim to fame is the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere. It stretches 2 km out to the Indian Ocean.

 The weather was beautiful and warm and the water was perfect for swimming.

Below, my hungry husband and daughter are walking to a cute restaurant by the beach called 'The Goose'. We really loved eating lunch there. The view of the beach from our table was spectacular!

In the shade under the boardwalk, Violet took up her new hobby of collecting shells.

And lastly...Violet and I enjoying a walk on the beach, collecting shells of course!

Exploring Perth and southwest WA was fantastic. It's a long way from Sydney, but if I ever go back I know there'll be plenty of sunshine, fresh air and wide open space.

Hope you have a great week!

~Linda

All photos by me.

Ricevere con Stile

Sorry to have been a little absent of late. I've been crazily busy with my current show, rehearsing for another show, taking French lessons, attending art exhibition launches and lots more - phew!

I recently guest blogged for Laura at Ricevere con Stile which I was excited about because Laura & I have so much in common. We often post about very similar things, if not the same things. Funny how someone who lives across the other side of the world (Rome) can have so much in common with you.

Here are a few pics of my favourite things in my home that I showed on Laura's delightful blog...

 

My bookcase, where I display my most favourite objects, collectibles, books, scripts & little treasures.

 

I love old books. Above you can see a 1920's copy of "Through the Looking Glass" and a 1928 copy of "Lorna Doone." Just to left you can see a vintage copy of Fielding's "Tom Jones." 

 

 I love vintage jars & bottles too. 

The white frame above contains an Oscar Wilde quote which I adore:

"A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world." 

~ Oscar Wilde

 

 This is where I blog from (not normally this tidy haha!)

 This is my Ruby. She has a slight obsession with sniffing flowers.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

~ Clare x

All images by me

The Big Reveal....

About a month ago I mentioned that I had taken part in a very exciting photo shoot involving a favourite photographer & fine artist of mine & a very large company. Well it has finally been published, so I can now reveal the details & of course the final image.

The shoot was for Qantas & the amazing, amazing photographer / artist that created this artwork was Alexia Sinclair.

Image by Alexia Sinclair for Qantas Frequent Flyer

Hair & Makeup by Sarah Laidlaw

Yep, that's me. I still cannot believe I had the chance to work with Alexia. She is such an amazing artist!

~ Clare x

A High Tea Fit For a Queen

My fabulous, stylish sister-in-law Aneta recently had a beautiful baby girl, Elisha. For her baby shower she decided to have a small gathering at her house for high tea.

Aneta elegantly decorated the table with a single palm frond down the centre of a white table cloth, set outside in her tropical oasis courtyard. (That's me with the firey red hair!)

Heavily pregnant, Aneta worked in her kitchen for two days to create this magnificent display of delicious treats for us ladies.

These adorable sweets almost looked too good to eat...almost.



Aneta has inspired me to host my own high tea baby shower, so I've decided to have a baby just for the occasion.

Yes I am kidding! But not about the baby. 

I am expecting and it's a great excuse to have a high tea with my closest girlfriends. I'll have to start planning soon! Baby is due late March.

~Linda

Thanks to Aneta for the photos.

My Engagement Shoot

 

Sorting out my computer desk area the other day, I came across my engagement shoot photos & decided to share a couple.

 

They are from a couple of years ago. We used them for our Wedding invites & for the labels on the wine we gave away as thank you gifts.

 

We wanted the photos to be really natural. No hair & makeup or over the top styling, just us.

 

 

The photos were taken by my dear friend & talented photographer, Reef.

 

Photography by Reef Gaha

~ Clare x

Babies, Brûlée, Mummies & Macarons

This weekend saw us ladies enjoying a champagne high tea for Dann's baby shower. We donned ourselves in our best girly frocks & we headed to the Bayside Lounge in Darling Harbour for what I must say was one of the best high teas I have ever had. It was a gorgeously sunny day and we enjoyed the view of our popular Darling Harbour through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Such a lovely day.

 

 

All images by me

I actually ate so much that I felt sick afterwards hahaha!

My show also opened on the weekend. Needless to say I'm exhausted after a weekend of shows, baby showers, brunching with a long lost friend and dinner with our very close friends.

I hope you all had as decadent a weekend as I did...?

~ Clare x