Waiheke Island is a little slice of heaven

Waiheke Island, New Zealand - I could live here.  Seriously.

at Rangihoua

Imagine living on a gorgeous island just off a major city.  A quick ferry ride to work or to indulge in a bit of city life, only to know where you will be returning to at the end of the day!!!!

We only did a day trip and visited two spots on Waiheke but I am hooked.

Rangihoua has the best olive oil I have ever tasted.  Apparently Martina Navratilova orders hers from here - so if it is good enough for Martina, it is good enough for me.  They also make a delectable herb spread.  Yum, yum, yum!

Then it was on to lunch at the Mudbrick Vineyard & Restaurant.

whitewashed beams with fairy lights

Here I died and went to heaven.

love what they have done to the hydrangeas here

 Mudbrick is perched up high with breathtaking views out to the water.........

Mudbrick Vineyard & Restaurant

Seriously the best meal I have EVER had in my life.  The flavours were amazing.  Their veges come straight out of their garden.  If you ever visit Waiheke you MUST go here!

I also want their garden.

look at this exquisite garden - filled with edible goodies

As soon as I got home I double balled my potted lilly pillys.  They were in triangles before.

Love this and the wine barrel it is in

As you know I love gardening, and this style of garden is my ideal.

I want my vege garden to look like this

I couldn't go home without some souvenirs.

tea towels

What a clever thing to sell at the cellar door!!  Can you make out what it says?

eye chart

A quick visit to Auckland

I love New Zealand.  We had a mini break there recently sans kids.  If you have ever considered going there maybe I can tempt you.  Here is a snapshot of Auckland from the harbour.

look at the colour of the water!!

I highly recommend staying at the Hilton located at Princes Wharf - we loved it.  Great location as you can just walk into the city.

The Hilton

It kind of looks like a cruise ship which makes a lot of sense considering where it is!  Very clever idea.

our view

There are wonderful restaurants dotted along the waterline, which are worth discovering. 

liquid lunch sweetie

enjoying Euro

Easter Bonnet Parade

Mitten 1's Easter Bonnet

 Here comes Peter Cottontail

Mitten 1

Mitten 2's Easter Bonnet

 Hopping along the Bunny trail

Mitten 2

Charlie's Easter Bonnet

The Easter Bunny

Hippity, hoppity, good time Easter Day.........

Happy Easter Everyone x

Just a spoonful of sugar.........

Mary Poppins at the Lyric Theatre Brisbane

My 6 year old daughter and I took in a matinee of Mary Poppins yesterday.  Very naughty of me to take her out of school I know..........  It was beyond fabulous, if you get the chance go and see it.

Oscars Fashion 2012

This year the Academy Awards was exciting.  Maybe this was because we now have the E! channel at home so I got to see it live from the red carpet, plus all the other good snippets that they provide.  I even managed to watch most of the ceremony too.  I thought Cameron Diaz & JLo were brilliant fun when they were presenting.



JLo and Cameron Diaz

Talk about a glamorous pair!  Such happy smiles.



Cameron Diaz in Gucci Premiere

Cameron looked fresh and vivacious and was my favourite female star of the night.



JLo in Zuhair Murad

JLo shone like the star she is in this Zuhair Murad gown.  She looked stunning.



Milla Jovovich in Elie Saab

Milla Jovovich was a statuesque beauty in this Elie Saab creation.  She oozed glamour.




Octavia Spencer in Tadashi Shoji

Octavia Spencer's gown was perfection.  She knows how to dress her curves beautifully and I loved her hair!



Rooney Mara in Givenchy Haute Couture

I loved Rooney Mara's  look.  The contrasts of her sharp jet black hair, ruby red lips and white gown presented an edgy modern beauty.



Michelle Williams in Louis Vuitton

How gorgeous did Michelle Williams look?  A true "movie star glamour look" in the most amazing shade of coral.  I also loved her Bottega Veneta clutch.  Gorgeous



Stacey Keibler in Marchesa

To be honest I had no idea who Stacey Keibler was until she started dating Mr C.  I think she looked beautiful in this Marchesa gown.  I find her to be so elegant on the red carpet.  Did this look remind you a bit of an Oscar statuette?  Just a tad?



Gwyneth Paltrow in Tom Ford

Exquisite cool blonde.  I loved her look more without the cape that she sported on the red carpet.  She looked so clean and fresh.  Modern beauty at it's best.



Emma Stone in Chanel Couture

Again I preferred Emma Stone's gown that she wore to the Vanity Fair after party.  The red frock reminded me too much of what Nicole Kidman wore a while back - couple with the fact that they are both red heads!! She was a terrific presenter, I enjoyed watching her.



Bradley Cooper in Tom Ford

All men look so handsome in black tie don't you think?  I read somewhere that Bradley Cooper's moustache caused such a stir that it now has it's own Twitter following - crazy stuff!



Cameron Diaz in Victoria Beckham

And back to my favourite star of the evening - Cameron Diaz.  This look is perfection if you asked me.  Love, love, love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For more  great pics like these above go to Style.com or Etonline.com.

It's all in the details

In my home I love to have things which mean something to me. 

Most of our furniture is old - either second hand or antique. The detailing is quite often so beautiful.  Sometimes it is nice to take a closer look....

This old chest sat underneath the house I grew up in.  My eldest sister did it up for me.

Aren't these handles gorgeous?

I love this cut out in our kitchen hutch.

A swirl on the armrest of a chair.

Metal flowers on hooks in the laundry.

 The top of our dresser.

A shoe bug to guard the door.

Take a look around your home, what details can you find?

Zooey Deschanel - That Girl

Zooey Deschanel GG's 2012

My favourite look hands down at the Golden Globes this year was sported by the gorgeous Zooey Deschanel.

Zooey Deschanel in Prada & Van Cleef and Arpels jewels

Her look was fresh and modern glamour.


Zooey's manicure was perfectly quirky

With a bit of fun thrown in.

"That Girl"

However I couldn't help thinking that she reminded me of that lovable girl from that TV series back in the late 60's/early '70's.  Do you remember "That Girl"???????????