Life thus far...

I am so overwhelmed by the wonderful response I received from my last post. Thank you so much for all your kind words, they mean more than you can imagine. After all that party planning craziness, this week I took a much needed break away from blogging (and pretty much everything else) to just unwind and relax. Sometimes all you need is a little break from your usual routine to appreciate how wonderful life is.

Having been in Melbourne, Australia for a month now, it's about time I got around to posting photos of my trip. The truth is, having grown up here I sometimes forget that I am on vacation. Before I left I had all sorts of plans for places to visit and things to eat. But in reality, once I had settled the girls into their new home away from home, a routine began to emerge and pretty soon life became mundane and I forgot I was on vacation. It's been almost five weeks since I first got here and I have yet to skim the surface of my vacation to-do list. Luckily for me there's still plenty of time. For now, here's some snippets from life here thus far.

Friday's Fancies: Party Planning

Party planning is in full force this week. My baby girl officially turned One last week but we decided to postpone her party till this weekend. I've been busy making all the decorations while my sister is baking up a storm and my mother, preparing dishes upon dishes of delicious food. Meanwhile my dad is busy organizing his wine cellar and cleaning up after us. It's all hands on deck in this household. Suffice to say the guests will all be going home bloated and hopefully slightly disgusted of themselves (sign of a good party, right?). I only wish my husband was around for his little girl's first birthday. I guess it's only fair since he had to miss out on her sister's first birthday last year too. Poor hubby, it must be so hard to always miss out on key events. These are the times when Skype just doesn't cut it. But enough about that, here's a sneak peeks of what's in store for her party. More photos to come.

A sneak peek at the dessert table. Note the countless hours spent catching up on my favourite shows while completing that gold fish scale wall. Although tedious, I love the overall effect.

 

A sweet little birthday wreath for my sweet little girl. There was really no design process behind this wreath, it was merely me using up whatever materials I had on hand. Surprisingly it all came together really nicely. Don't you love it when that happens? 

 

Happy first birthday to this little one. 

Stringing up garland with her name and making gold glittered accent letters.

  

150 macaron shells, 10 minutes in the oven, two eager ladies (being my sister + me)... and now only 50 left for the party. Big fat Oops with a capital O. 

Wardrobe Diaries: Silver Accents

As much as I love gold jewelry, sometimes it's nice to take a break and wear head to toe neutrals. I'm really loving silver accents for fall this year. The sweethearts at Karen London sent over this gorgeous hammered silver collar and I may or may not have been wearing it religiously ever since I got it.

Actually neutrals and I go way back. There was a time when all I'd wear were shades of grey and black and white. Architects are known for dressing head to toe in black. Being the young eager Architecture student that I was, I didn't want to upset the stereotype. These days I'm much more open to different styles and shades. Though neutrals will always have a special place in my heart, there's also a little room for brights.

{ paul & joe sister dress worn as top also loving this and this . zara leather skirt . zara sandals old . collar necklace thanks to karen london . r+j clutch . chain bracelet thanks to karen london . ariel gordon thin bangle . jgood cable bangle . michael kors cuff . longines watch . diamond necklace and bracelet gift }