Birthday Bronnie

Happy 50th Birthday, darling Bronnie!

Finally posting a few snaps from the birthday celebrations of a very dear family friend the Saturday night before last. I've known Bronnie since I was very little (over 30 years!) & she has always been a constant source of support, friendship & inspiration; truly the type of kind & selfless person I aspire to be. 

For such a special occasion, I wore one of my all-time favourite Anthea Crawford dresses - a gorgeous teal blue floral jacquard "wiggle" shift with below-the-knee hemline, thin straps & off-the-shoulder bow details; black leather strappy heels with zippers from Wittner; black vinyl handbag with gold hardware from Leona Edmiston at Myer & finally, my gorgeous stack of antique gold Alex & Ani bangles, given to me for Christmas last year. 

Scroll down for a few crazy party selfies...

(Thanks so much, Helen!)

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Brunching

It seems like I have been doing an awful lot of brunching lately (well, before this terrible virus thing that has been plaguing me for almost a week now, which is... unpleasant to say the least) particularly at the newly refurbished Indooroopilly Shoppingtown. Those who know me would already be aware that I'm not particularly fond of the changes made to the centre (I liked the old configuration of stores much, much better as I felt there was substantially more variety in price & offering) or the fact that shoppers have essentially had to "pay for" the cost of the renovations through paid parking but I must admit that there are some wonderful places to dine out with friends & family. Below are three of my favourite brunch looks in recent times...

Posing up a storm in my younger brother's front garden wearing a gorgeous blue-tone, floral printed twill dress with bateau neckline & princess seams from Anthea Crawford, comfortable white leather mules with chunky silver heels from Wittner, navy & white striped vinyl handbag from Forever New for a bit of pattern-mixing (it helps to add interest to any look) & two jewellery pieces I love - a chunky silver hinged bangle from Wallace Bishop & a blue & white "Girl" cameo on a thick silver bracelet from Karen Walker, gifted to me by a dear friend who is no longer with us. Nothing better than mixing style & serenity for a brunch with family at the Panorama Cafe, where I was more than happy to dig into this delicious avocado on toast with mushrooms & hash browns on the side!

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Photographed by my dear friend Jenny just as I'm about to start eating this absolutely delicious tuna, cheese & mayonnaise baguette with side salad (washed down with an old-fashioned raspberry soda) from high-tea-hotspot Passion Tree Velvet. I'm wearing this tapestry-printed, heavy satin fit-to-flare dress with portrait neckline from Anthea Crawford, flesh-tone heels from Wittner with matching bag from Forever New (not pictured) & a trio of funky silver agate jewellery pieces from Witchery to make a real statement.

Scroll down for a few cute pictures of our littlest brunching companion... & a peek at the decadent lemon meringue dessert I managed to find some room for...

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Shades of black, white & grey for a mother/daughter brunch at the Pig & Whistle. It's no secret that I'm a huge anglophile, so it's always a treat to eat something quintessentially "English Pub Meal," especially in such wonderful company. Here I am perched on a stool wearing a gorgeous black jersey & oversized floral twill dress with mullet hemline from City Chic, white leather "mesh cage" heels from Wittner (height plus comfort is always a winner!), grey vinyl shoulder bag with white floral strap from Catherine Malandrino (all the way from America) & silver jewellery accents in the form of a brushed cuff from Wallace Bishop & cicada bangle from Adorne. Scroll down to see how the late morning unfolded...

Cornish Pastie with Fennel Salad

Cold Pork Pie with Fennel Salad

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Sunday in the Park

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Dress: Vintage, Gwen Gwillam rayon

Sandals: Wittner leather & pom-pom

Bag: Sportgirl vinyl with gold hardware

Cuff: Cafe D'Bar gold with hand painted ceramic

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Finally posting the pictures from an extremely hot & humid Sunday afternoon at my favourite local park, replete with historic limestone gates, croquet club lawn, animal sanctuary, peace garden, kiosk serving delicious cakes as well as piping hot chips & all manner of playground equipment including swings, slides, climbing frames & flying fox. Accompanied by my best friend & her two rambunctious boys, we made the most of the virtually deserted destination (an approaching thunderstorm will do that... spoiler alert: it didn't arrive in the end...) sheltering in the kiosk while the rain fell before hitting the equipment with gusto to "make up for lost time" the way only an eight year old (& his almost two year old shadow) can!

I'm wearing a vintage tribal-printed rayon smock in vibrant shades of pink, purple, orange & green (to name but a few) by famed designer Gwen Gwillam, gifted to me a few years ago & still one of the most prized additions to my wardrobe; a pair of beige leather lace-up sandals with coloured pom-poms from Wittner; matching vinyl cross-body bag from Sportsgirl & finally, a handmade blue & white ceramic & gold cuff from Cafe D'Bar's Art Gallery. 

Scroll down to see how it all unfolded...

Devouring his Gingerbread Man

Waiting for a bit of his Big Brother's Gingerbread Man...

Lemon Meringue Pie with Ice Cream & Whipped Cream on the side

Scooting

Yup. All that playground equipment & he goes for a couple of sticks... the same ones you can find in backyards everywhere!

Loving the "Little Kid" area

Ingenious Parent/Child Swings

Taking on the BIG SLIDE... with Big Brother waiting for him at the end...

Holding a tiny hand...

Old Fashioned Fun: Seeing whose bottle top makes it to the bottom of the winding "river" first with a group of new friends. #childhoodunplugged

Watching the Big Kids play...

Little Brother has a go...

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