Hurricane Isaac

 

Our thoughts and

 prayers are with the residents of New Orleans at this terrible time ....

 

Most epecially for our dear friend Karina and her family ..... please stay safe and we are with you in spirit .... you are so strong and will soon be back to your beautiful antiques and creating art after the havoc of nature ...

 

then the clouds will part, the wind will abate and the sea will calm and the sun will rise on a new day .... Karina we are thinking of you...

 

 

Take a Seat!

I am very excited as I just delivered this gorgeous French stool which I had upholstered for clients who own a dress shop and wanted them covered for their change rooms.  I had previously done drapes in belgian white linen with a panel of black linen with pink, black and white trim from Designer's Guild.  So I suggested we go with this fabulous black and white stripe silk also from Designer's Guild and then have contrasting pink piping!  Another client of mine is also using this black and white stripe and I will be putting her beautiful Parisian style apartment on the blog as soon as we are finished.

We are going to do French mirrors above each stool in both the change rooms.

Then I envisaged how stunning this beautiful Craig Waddell painting would look above the stools or anywhere for that matter!  Exquisite!

www.craigwaddell.com.au

Then another client and friend of mine had this delicate three piece antique Louis 16th style suite with fluted legs and ribbon detailing which we are incorporating in our designs for her formal drawing room.

We took it all down to the upholsterers on Friday so it is very exciting .... I love being in upholsterers workshops as it is so exhilarating to see old pieces transformed into works of art ....

The three pieces are going in with Dee's stunning Italian tufted settee which we are importing all the way from New Orleans from my friend Karina of www.karinagentinetta.1stdibs.com  This is just one of many of her exquisite pieces ....

So the three piece Louis suite will be done in Carolyn Quartermaine's French script fabric

www.carolynquartermaine.com

and Karina's sofa is done in a fabulous white muslin which we will put bolsters and other cushions on to bring it all together!  Dee is so excited as am I!!!!

So this week-end "take a seat", relax, read a book, sip a cup of tea and enjoy yourself!  Particularly if you are sitting on one of these beauties!

best wishes always

M.A. the 2nd

Spring!

Spring is just around the corner for us here in Australia and I for one can't wait ....... This post though is on "Spring" the restaurant which opened recently in Brisbane ....

I had the pleasure of dining there on our recent trip to Brisbane just before Design and Decoration in Melbourne and it did not disappoint!

I also just had to take some pictures of the bathroom as one must as I loved the use of the blue and white tiles and also the shape of the white tiles was fabulous .... raised edges on each side ...

The use of carrara marble on the table tops with white gloss painted and turned legs was so colonial as was the floor to ceiling white plantation shutters .....

Gorgeous calacutta marble on the main patisserie ..... delicate morsels ...... and my favourite in the restaurant was the banquette seating in blue and white stripe and the white linen chairs with blue piping!!!! Parfait!! I hope you have a great week ............ Bring on Spring!!!!

Chanel ~ Paris to Bombay!

Somehow I managed to secure an invitation to the Chanel Paris~Bombay fashion show in Brisbane two weeks ago ......

It was without doubt one of the most exciting events I have ever attended (not counting the fact that I have never been to any designer fashion shows)

It was held in "The Old Museum" in Brisbane and the attention to detail, the fashion, the cuisine was breathtaking..... it was a magical night and I had to pinch myself many times to think I was there..... everything was based on the Paris show to the extent that we all thought that the models were exactly the same .....

the scattered confetti was fresh rose petals and silver shimmer ... look at this table laden with flowers and delicacies ....

this is the lovely CJ from Chanel with Vicki and myself ....

the fashion was spectacular ... so classic Coco with the iconic Karl Lagerfeld's contemporary twist ....

we feasted on fabulous Indian inspired cuisine as we felt like we were in an Indian palace .....

so beautiful and so lucky to see it here in Queensland!

I am finally getting the chance to post about our special 25th silver wedding anniversary ......we had the most beautiful day and the party was perfection .....

Andrew and I were married on the 20th June, 1987 ....

and we have had the most wonderful life full of ups and downs but always together ..... sharing everything .... and the most important thing we have is our love and our three incredible, beautiful and talented children, Alexander, Dominic and Georgiana .....

I have some photos of our wedding day but I haven't had a chance to download them but these are the ones from our special night .....

we had our party at Delizie's restaurant and John and Gianni completely outdid themselves .... their work was superb and everything was perfect .... Marie and Louis themselves would have loved it!

the attention to detail was exquisite ...

The cake was done by Amanda and we asked for a replica of the cake from the film and she presented this magnificent creation.......

we feasted on an array of elegant cuisine including salmon mousse in pastry cornets, tiny petite venison burgers with caramelized onion relish, risotto in martini glasses, chicken liver pate, cheeses flown in from France, creme brulee, raspberry chocolate cups and my eternal favourite ......  Macarons in a mouth watering selection including one made especially for me  ...... lavender!

John's beautiful creation for me "The Lavender Macaron"

Gianni, me, John and my lovely friend Tonya ....

Crystallized pears ..... divine ....

so beautiful and so perfect ....

Tonya and Gianni ....

My beautiful, gorgeous Mum(look at those cheekbones!) with Dominic who gave such an incredible speech .... we are so proud of him!  Unfortunately, Alexander couldn't be with us as he is filming in Toronto but he sent us recorded messages which were so special.

My beautiful sister, Catherine, my stunning neice, Rachael who was so involved with the event managing .... and Mum and me ....

25 years Silver Wedding  "The Happy Couple" Happy Anniversary my darling Andrew ...

I so wish you were all there .....  we did have fun!

best wishes always ......

love M.A. the 2nd ....

Fairy Wands, Ginger Jars and French antiques New Orleans Style!

This beautiful fairy wand was made by the gorgeous Anita from www.castlescrownsandcottages.blogspot.com

It is amazing what we can access from all parts of the world and it seems so far away and yet so close ......

This delicate little bird wand with the flowing ribbons is so sweet and so elegant ... just like Anita .... she has started her etsy store and is finding her passion.... already a very experienced and talented French teacher this lovely lady decided to follow her creative heart and start designing and making these incredible treasures!  My little bird is nestled in a silver mercury vase on our mantle and her name is "Rose". Thank-you and congratulations Anita....

which brings me to the next fabulous creation from Florida based Anne Harwell ..... Anne's ginger jar/ming vase on the hot pink canvas took my breath away and I thought it belongs on my Designer's Guild stripe wallpaper.  Anne's work is incredible and is so versatile ..... www.annechovie.blogspot.com

I also bought these so cute match boxes with the same art on the side .... I have bought Anne's work before and everytime I love it and it works with everything ..... she is a very talented lady ..... what is it with the American ladies .....

I want to share something very special with you all ..... today I received a phone call from my wonderful friend, Karina, in New Orleans and it was just what I needed .....

Like everyone I have been so busy, stressed and out of time .... time is so precious and so are people .... our family, our friends and also ourselves ..... I have realized that people are what make me feel inspired, energized, excited and happy ... with what we can share and laugh about.  I sometimes feel quite isolated as we live in a regional area so I often think ....  I have no idea what I am doing and then I get a call from a beautiful friend and I feel instantly positive and excited ... (by the way this beautiful mirror above at Karina's 1st dibs store has my name all over it!)

Then I remember all the things that are special like this sofa below .... I love this sofa .... the tufting, the patina of the frame and the story it tells ....

This chair above is one of Karina's and is also one of my favourites ..... the elegance of these French antiques is stunning and something which Karina is so brilliant at ... her ability to create something so beautiful out of tired, worn out pieces is incredible.

 

more of Karina's work and yes she does ship to Australia ....

for more beautiful pieces go to

www.karinagentinetta.1stdibs.com

with my love and best wishes

M.A. the 2nd!