Gospel Choir

*

Dress: Anthea Crawford embroidered mesh, tulle

Heels: Novo leather, laces

Bag: Nine West indigo denim, vinyl with silver hardware

Bangle: Dinosaur Designs resin

Ring: Dinosaur Designs resin

*

For me, there's nothing more beautiful than voices raised in unison, singing their hearts out, particularly when it's gospel music that they're singing, which has the power to simultaneously break your heart & mend your spirit, raising you up in one single instant as the notes wash over you. Just before Christmas last year, I was fortunate enough to be invited to listen to a British gospel group perform in the River City & it was truly a religious experience. For the occasion, I wore a gorgeous blue floral embroidered black mesh A-line midi dress from Anthea Crawford, a pair of black leather lace-up heels from Novo to add height & carried a black vinyl & indigo denim handbag with silver hardware from Nine West to carry all the essentials. When it came to jewellery, I kept it simple yet statement-making: a matching black resin wave bangle & chunky rosette cocktail ring from celebrated Aussie design duo Dinosaur Designs.

Scroll down to see more...

Reindeer Games

*

Dress: Anthea Crawford embroidered mesh, satin, lace

Heels: Wittner leather, laces

Bag: Review vinyl, tweed with gold hardware

Bangle: Gift, Megan Hess print, resin, gold

Bangles: Gift, mixed metal, beads, sparkles

*

Bidding farewell to the Christmas season with a spot of Boxing-Day-Sales shopping in Brisbane City's Queen Street Mall & Sunday brunch at one of my favourite new food destinations, Stanton Cafe & Bar in Queens Plaza! I'm posing up a storm underneath the giant Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer head in a gorgeous floral embroidered mesh dress with lace detailing on the sleeves & hemline from Aussie label Anthea Crawford, blush pink leather pointy-toed, lace up heels from Wittner (the ideal fusion of style & comfort for traipsing around all manner of stores), a retro-inspired pink & blue tweed handbag trimmed in navy vinyl with gold hardware from Review for a touch of pattern-mixing, a trio of sparkly, mixed metal bangles that a dear friend gifted me after a trip to India & finally, a gold & resin bangle from Megan Hess, covered in one of her trademark fashion illustrations, given to me for Christmas by my darling parents.

Scroll down to see more...

Scrambled Eggs, Toast, Mushrooms & Tomato

Eggs Benedict

Eggs Your Way: Scrambled on Toast with Mushroom on the Side

(Clearly, I got it from my Mama!)

Washing it down with an icy cold vanilla milkshake in the traditional anodised mug, much to my father's utter delight!

Revisiting one of my favourite festive hotspots - the inimitable, art deco haven that is the Brisbane Arcade, which celebrated 95 years of trade in 2019!

Franny Gets Festive (part 3)

*

Dress: Anthea Crawford embroidered mesh, satin, lace

Sandals: Forever New embellished vinyl

Bangles: Gift, mixed metal, beads, sparkles

Bracelet: Lovisa faux gemstones

*

For the final installment of Franny Gets Festive, I'm sharing snippets from our wonderful Christmas Day celebrations with family & friends, where we exchanged gifts around the Christmas Tree, gobbled up homemade nibbles made from traditional family recipes, played games, pulled bonbons covered with pictures of Nutcrackers or Reindeer, indulged in roast turkey & vegetables for lunch... followed by Gingerbread Pudding or Trifle for dessert... & just generally relished the chance to revel in each other's company after a busy year.

For the occasion, I wore an absolutely gorgeous floral embroidered mesh midi dress with lace trim, ruffled hemline & satin slip from Aussie label Anthea Crawford (pretty much my go-to for any special event) that I had been saving for weeks for the right time, a pair of heavily embellished, rose gold metallic leather flat sandals from Forever New, a chunky Lovisa bracelet made from faux gemstones & a trio of sparkly, mixed metal bangles that a dear friend brought back for me from India a few years ago.

Scroll down to see how it all unfolded...

Ready & Waiting...

Rum Balls, Apricot Balls, Milo Balls, White Christmas, Rocky Road

Car Track Extravaganza

Lunch Table Set & Ready

Loving these gorgeous fabric crowns that I found at a little store on Etsy called EllyBellCreationsAU (oddly enough from Brisbane) that were the perfect little trinket for guests to take home & remember the celebration year after year...

Nothing better than sharing a meal with family & friends...

Always room for dessert...

You can never have enough cars...

Merry T-Rex-Mas!

In their PJs but still getting crazy with Uncle Louis... 

*

Keep scrolling to see a few casual captures from a quiet, restful Boxing Day lounging around in my new-to-me antique embroidered cotton & lace nightgown, gifted to me for Christmas 2019 by my lovely parents...