Dominic's 18th Birthday Party ~ Cocktails Chuck Bass Style!

Georgiana on the dance floor playing "Doodle Jump".... waiting for everyone to dance .....

Tonya and I in for a lovely photo ....

This is my gorgeous Mum and Dad and my brother, Patrick and sister-in-law, Cathy ... looking beautiful everyone...

Enjoying the audio of Dom's baby photos ....

                                Dominic and his beautiful cousin, Brigid ....
                                     

Brothers in arms ..... Alexander and Dominic ... my boys ..

                                            Thomas O'Driscoll, Dom and Alex's cousin and his friend, Kate ...... looking good guys!
                                         

                         Dom I love you .... and everyone agrees!  On the far left is Dom's  beautiful cousin, Rachael.  Great friends of ours Bronwyn and Kirsty help celebrate ...

                                       Listening to Brad ... handing over to Dad for the speeches!    

Happy 18th Birthday Dominic!

We love you ...

I can' t believe how beautiful these images are from the new Designers Guild range "Trevelyan"....

Whilst in my interiors I don't use as much colour as featured here .... the decadent splashes of colour are breathtaking ... and I do love to use a bright splash of colour in with the whites,  soft French greys, petal pinks and duck egg blues ... 

and I think very "Marie Antoinette" so perfect for my blog .... the blue lampshade .... stunning ...

as you can see the wall and floor palettes are quite neutral with the walls looking like they have an old French grey patina to them .... and the fresh white above teams perfectly with the vibrant yellow wallpaper but have tempered it by only doing the wallpaper above dado height ....

The attention to detail is extraordinary ..... these images are from the Designers Guild campaign launch and I am very excited as I will advertising with them!  My sample books hopefully won't be too far away!  I hope everyone is having a gorgeous day ... it is raining here in Queensland (a lot) and so I thought some bright colour was the perfect solution to a dull rainy day! 

Spring Colours and Blooms!

How gorgeous are these fabrics from Designers Guild .......

They are outdoor fabrics and the stripe is striking .....

Great place to have a little siesta .....

and look at the blooms in the garden (although it is raining at the moment!).....

Well spring is definitely sprung....... with my Pierre de Ronsard roses finally blooming ......
have a great day and will be back with the latest Designers Guild collection which is stunning and of course some photos from Dom's party ......

18th Birthday Boy!

Our son Dominic turned 18 on the 13th September and we are so proud of him.  We are having a party for him this week-end with a cocktail party "Gossip Girl" style!  We had cake and champagne for him on Monday to congratulate him on the wonderful young man he has become!  Happy Birthday Dominic!!!!!  Love Mum, Dad, Alexander and Georgiana xxxx
ps Alex is back for the big party bro!!!!

French Bliss by Karina Gentinetta!

This is a very special post .... These images of the most beautiful French antique furniture I have seen in a long time .... come from Karina Gentinetta in New Orleans!

These exquisite pieces I am privileged to say are sailing their way to me in Australia.  I have been searching for a very long time for a French antique tufted sofa.  A couple of weeks ago I popped onto Karina's blog and she was just displaying her new furniture in her antique shop and I was immediately smitten with this sofa.  I emailed her tentatively thinking there was no way Karina would be able to ship to Australia.  So many times I am met with "no you can't do that ... you are too far away etc."  Karina said "YES" I do ship to Australia and so our friendship began...

I believe she has an incredible eye for antiques and I love the way she uses natural fibres like Belgian linens that let the antiques speak for themselves.  Karina has been so professional, so helpful and never negative.  You know what I mean .... you want to organize something but you have reservations due to distance, time etc ..... Karina was brilliant!  Every query I had was answered fully and honestly and fully researched .... her depth of knowledge, her talent and her care for her pieces is incredible. 

As you all know I am an 18th century style tragic .... so when I saw these 18th century Louis the 16th style parlor chairs I was so excited.  You do not come across these exquisite pieces with their patina and history by chance..... they are found and nurtured by artisans such as Karina.  These gorgeous Louis Beregere chairs are still in their original blue satin upholstery.  Stunning and these candlesticks and mirror are all available from her beautiful store and it doesn't matter where you are Karina will get them to you!  Please visit her gorgeous blog http://www.karinagentinetta.blogspot.com/  and her 1st dibs store.  I promise you ... you will not be disappointed and you will find an incredibly strong woman who has been through so much and still comes out smiling and positive.  Hurricane Katrina could not dampen Karina Gentinetta's spirit and nothing ever will!Thank-you so much Karina and much love back from Down Under!

Pink Presents!

This was the finished wrapped product for Becky's Birthday!  It is a Donna Hay cake stand and glass dome top like mine.  They are beautiful....and made of milk glass and very big so perfect for lots of cupcakes!

Colours of Spring!

A perfect tablesetting complete with parrots.........


French Iron-work and spring green.........


Can I come for lunch......

And we can sit in these gorgeous bamboo chairs afterwards and chat and think about tomorrow.....

All these beautiful things in my gorgeous friend's shop ......

Please enjoy!!! Call Becky .... 07 49 277559!

"French Chic for Father's Day"

Strawberries and Cream and Cupakes for dessert .......


Peaches and Cream..... "Miss Georgiana" sitting on French Script Louis 16th.....


Arugula Salad with Chive Flowers and Vinaigrette Classique.......


Lavender, Candlelight and silver cutlery........

Nasturtium Flowers .......

For a beautiful Father's Day dinner .... Georgiana helped me set the table and we had roast eye fillet with dijon mustard and creme fraiche sauce, rosemary potato gratin and this amazing salad I found in this book called "French Chic" by Florence de Dampierre. It is beautiful and I so enjoyed preparing it with Georgiana's help. Perfect for the beginning of spring .......

The Vinaigrette Classique was so yum but light ......

~Have a Beautiful Evening~

I will post the Vinaigrette Classique dressing if anyone would like .........

Spring has Sprung in the Land Down Under!

Just a quick post for the 1st of September! Spring in Australia and New Zealand! I was going through some of my photos and came across these gorgeous ones from my favourite "Laduree". These are some perfect confections from Laduree for the northern hemisphere spring and summer and well I think just perfect for us as well down here in the southern hemisphere! Have a great night everyone! I have to serve dinner and watch Gossip Girl! x0x0

images: www.laduree.fr