Wednesday night at Chin Chin

Last week was unusually social for me with a midweek dinner at Chin Chin, closely followed by dinner on Friday night at The Newmarket Hotel and then Saturday night at Hu Tong. 

Chin Chin is the new talk of the town, you can't book which seems to be a winning formula for any new kid on the block. The interior is lush, I loved the graphics on the wall and menus, not to mention the pink neon bunny mirror positioned at the end of the luxurious marble bar. With the prospect of a hour and a half wait for a table a couple of friends and I ended up sitting at the bar and having some entrees before proceeding to a table to have our mains. The food was deliciously flavorsome and kinda reminded me of Cookie. We had salt and pepper squid, Massaman beef curry, thai salad and some spicy ball thing that was HOT! The service was not that great on the floor, maybe it was just too busy, but the folks behind the bar were very attentive.
The night previous I celebrated the beginnings of Spring and treated myself to a manicure and pedicure. As I sat like lady muck perched on my massage chair, I ear-wigged a conversation among two 20 somethings on what shade of pink they should adorn on their nails, I looked over and they had three shades which looked exactly the same to me, "OMG it's such a tough decision, I can't decide...what do you think?". Bless. This inspired me to have my toes painted bright orange and my nails pea green, because sometimes you just need to try something different and I have to say I like. The two girls on the other hand looked over in disgust and went back to procrastinating about the pink.

This is what I wore:

blazer: Urban Outfitters

bow: Urban Outfitters

trousers: Urban Outfitter

shoes: Nine West

bag: French Connection 
bangles: Diva/RG Madden

Aztec scarf

With the beginnings of Spring in Melbourne, I am embracing my love for colour. You can smell the changing of the season in the air, blossoms have sprouted and the Magnolia trees line the streets of my neighbourhood. It's a beautiful time in this fair city. 

The scarf above (bought by my beloved and later claimed by moi) is becoming part of my nearly Spring wardrobe, keeping me warm enough without the need for a jacket or cardie and making a statement with its Aztec geometric pattern. It's my new, nearly Spring companion.

scarf: ASOS

shorts: Mooks

top: Global Rags

bangles: RG Madden and Sportsgirl

tights: Leona Edminston

necklace: Gifted

shoes: Thrifted

Jeffrey Campbell Rockin Cutout Lace-Up Wedge

Up until now, I have totally avoided the boot wedge trend, 2 reasons: 1. I have small pins and couldn't possibly pull them off without looking reminiscent of a Mrs Buzz Lightyear  2. The silhouette can sometimes look like some folks have left the house with a brick stuck to their foot! BUT then I saw these amazing shapely, architectural amazingballs (my word of the week, have no idea how it got into my psyche but for the purpose of describing these shoes it is fitting) By Jeffrey Campbell for ASOS.

How comfortable would they would be to wear? Would I have to walk around at Geisha pace? Concerns aside, I would quite happily position them on my side board and admire them for the true genius that they are. Covet.

Saturday night - date night at Dandelion

It's very rare these days that I get the chance to fully glam up for a night on the town. On Saturday night, my beloved and I took the short stroll up the wood to sample a new and exciting restaurant Dandelion. The contemporary Vietnamese establishment is the new venture for founder and chef of Pearl, Geoff Lindsay. Now, I'm not going to review this fabulous joint as I'm finding my blog is steadily becoming a place for me to vent food, what can I say I likes to eat! Just go, that's all I'm saying...(maybe try the soft shell crab rolls)

I released my Tibi dress from under the cellophane and found it a little tighter than the previous wear but managed to squeeze myself into it all the same, just! (2 unwanted kilos have landed on my ass, very rude indeed) The coat is an old favourite, I've had for years but still a classic. The silver ball purse was a pressie from my pals, a couple of birthdays past and my Nine West pink patent heels with matching tights complete the outfit. 

Did you do anything glam on the weekend, do tell?... 

 coat: Coast

dress: Tibi New York

Clutch: Kinki Gerlinki

ring: Studio Leanne

tight: Myer

Shoes: Nine West

Little black jacket

Everyone has a LBD (little black dress) in their closet, a faithful and trusty friend but I also think that every wardrobe should have a LBJ (little black jacket). My LBJ was a gift from my beloved when we first met, a Christmas pressie over 15 years ago from Karen Millen. A tuxedo style jacket will never date and is worth investing in, you can dress it up or down and just like the LBD can become a wardrobe staple. I've teamed mine here with another trusty friend, the stripey T and a scarf from Mimco ($2 in a warehouse sale), bright pink heels from Best and Less.

Sleekit does lunch - De Clieu

You may have noticed my severe lack of blog posts, this is due to working heaps and most recent, planning for my now 3 year old's birthday party. Rushing around like a headless chicken from party shop to supermarket with not much time to catch a breath in-between. This is mostly due to my need to go all out and create the perfect day for my son (yes, I am one of those annoying mum's who designs the invites and colour co-ordinates every detail, what can I say, it's my creative gene) and work wise, well, I have probably taken on much more than I can chew, but it was all worth it to see the smile on my boys face and the extra earned pennies taking me closer to New York.

A time of the day when I do get to sit down for an hour, on my own, all by myself is lunchtime. I work around the skirt of the CBD in Melbourne and love to enjoy the fabulous plethora of eateries at my disposal. Recently, I visited De Clieu on Gertrude St, a place to people watch, enjoy a tasty snack and sip on some of the best coffee in Melbourne. The male staff are very polished with their slicked back hair and beard combos, the females equally preened, there is a lot of style going on here, in the fit out and also with their clientele. But most of all, the food is delicious. I devoured a grilled sausage pide, with bags of flavour and for take away, one of their Hazelnut and Cranberry meringues for tea at 3 before heading back to the office. This was my third visit in three weeks, go check it out for yourself, you won't be disappointed. And if your planning a kids party, just remember...

 

...all they care about is the cake!

Ps I did not impale any toddlers on the cocktail sticks, they were removed before serving.

New York shoe wish list

by Rupert Sanderson at The Outnet, very SATC me thinks

Wittner - a cheaper version of the Prada platform, scream kickers on crack! They are pulling me in...one way to increase height and be flat at the same time

by Sonia Rykiel at The Outnet, gorgeous!

You may have seen my wardrobe wish list for my New York trip, following on, here's my shoe wish list. A couple of the styles are from The Outnet, an online designer brand store with massive savings, if I wasn't saving for my trip I would be spending up BIG!