‘My job is to make the fabulous people feel fabulous. I mean really, anybody can serve a spring roll” Dave on his fashionista restaurant in Paris , Dave.
‘There are some bitchy people in the fashion world but nobody is stupid enough to offend Dave” marc Jacobs.
“He was wild last night. I can say no more. Wild. Do you understand me? Non,non,non, I can say no more, but when Tom loses it, it is lost” Dave on Tom Ford. (lost)
“The fashion people eat mostly vegetables these days. When they eat. Besides bok choy, it’s broccoli. Steamed vegtables.They’re so afraid of carbohydrates. Deathly afraid.” Dave (deathly afraid)
“They act like it’s poison” Dave on what fashionista think of rice (act like it)
“To go out there in front of 2,000 people, eight times a week, was a scary thing. One time, I actually got diarrhoea as I was on stage.” P.Diddy about his debut Broadway show, ‘A Raisin in the Sun’. (thanks for sharing that with us…a raisin too many?)( Needs rice)
“She is sexier than Marilyn Monroe”.Charles Saatchi on his wife Nigella Lawson
“I’m cringing at how embarrassingly ludicrous this is, I’m rather more Marilyn Manson than Marilyn Monroe.” Nigella ( not afraid of rice)
“We prefer winter dressing: stockings, dark colors, Summertime for us is planning our outfits for the winter.” Marilyn Manson’s fiancée ( Nigella, make them eat something)
“I’m proud, I’m passionate. I’m a fighter, and a survivor,” Donatella Versace (and an eater?)
.”She’s brilliant.She sent me a T-shirt the other day saying, ‘The only Bush I trust is my own.’ She’s so wonderful.” Sienna Miller on Susan Sarandon
“I got a lot of lunches out of Playboy.” Susan Sarandon on eating, not posing nude and trusting her ….self
“Every day I get asked for advice about how to lose weight. I hate discussing food. I hate discussing gaining weight to play Bridget as if it was martyrdom. It really disappoints me. I’m either too skinny or my bum’s too big. I was just the same girl. It felt different, not better, not worse.” Renee Zewellger (the same? That why she lost it all) ( deathly afraid)
“I’ve never, in my entire life, read any information about me in the tabloids that was even five per cent true,” Giselle Bundchen ( True!)

If you are off to the races and having a conniption about what to wear, and where to find a fabulous hat, then keep calm; I have the scoop for you. Ssshhh, Don’t tell anyone but there are some fabulous hats in Target that may not look exactly like the Phillip Treacy hat you saw in UK Vogue, but they are the same price (as a UK airfreight Vogue). Outrageous but true! For around $24 to $39, you’ll find alot of black but also red or (gasp!) pink, and all sorts of chic, simple styles. Perfect if you only go the races once or twice a year. Then you can spend more on those shoes you saw in Gucci.

$24 Race Hats from Target.

With summer coming (or already here) all I want is to feel as light as air. But that means no eating, no drinking and doing lots of exercise. Too hard Jan. So I have found a better way to hang out. And you can do it sitting down too, if you buy the fabulous cheap but chic hanging chairs from Ikea. In white woven cane, they’re not hollow chairs like the ones in ‘The Icebergs’ but triangular and just as groovy. They’re actually for kids but can hold up to 100 kilos, so don’t invite Mikey Robbins over.
Ikea p s Svinga hanging chairs $95 from Ikea (not on the website but on page 213 of the catalogue)

Are there days when you wonder if all this hard work looking fabulous is really worth it? When you wonder how on earth you are going to combat those signs of aging and the stresses of modern life, that maybe it’s time to relent and just go under the knife. But wait! Before you go under the knife go to the ABC shops for the best beauty product I’ve seen in years: Kath and Kim’s ‘How to be a Horn bag kit’. You’ll find the horn bag eye mask, the ooh la la hand cream, the pash rash lip balm, Kim’s nail art stickers and a scrubber exfoliater. Noice. Then you’ll feel so foxy you’ll be yelling out ‘Look at moie, look at moie’!

$24 ‘How to be a Hornbag kit’ from ABC Shops.

Nike is on to a far more innovative space shoe. The activewear giant joined forces with industrial designer Marc Newson to create “Zvezdochka,” a sneaker named after the first Russian dog to be sent into orbit in 1961. Newson said he spent several years researching the project with the Russian Space Agency to create the high tech shoe. “ wwd
Get the scoop on Paris Fashion week from WWD:
If ladies could lunch every day after “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” Martin Grant would live in a perfect world. The Australian designer’s collection for spring, with its retro couture-style jackets and graceful cocktail dresses, was perfect fare for an Audrey Hepburn type. Perhaps that’s why the president of Givenchy attended Grant’s show. Could Grant be the next designer at Givenchy?
Chanel: “Nicole, this way! Nicole, over here! Over here! Over here!” Call it the Day of the Locusts and Camellias. Fashion’s celebrity obsession reached new heights at the Chanel show, as Karl Lagerfeld not only put No.5’s number one pitchwoman, Nicole Kidman, on proud display, but also turned his runway into an imitation of red-carpet Hollywood life complete with plasticine smiles, glamour couples and a swarm of manic paparazzi willing literally to fall over backwards for the perfect shot. Praise or mockery? It was both.If Kidman arrived at the Carrousel du Louvre to mere frenzy, she left to unbridled pandemonium: After the show, when Lagerfeld beckoned her to join him for the bow, the mostly black-and-white clad photographers (as per the dress-code decree) rushed the bi-level runway in a fearsome pack, several tripping up the center steps as they walked backwards. In the belly of the camera-wielding beast, security guards locked arms around Lagerfeld and Kidman, she appearing serene even though many in the stunned audience feared for her safety. Was this wild runway rush planned? Rumor had it that some of the more dapper photographers had been hired by the house. And backstage before the show, Kidman and Baz Luhrmann visited with Lagerfeld in the relative privacy of a curtained-off area. “Karl, it’s your show,” Luhrmann said. “We want you to direct us.”, Karl is no one-trick ponytail. By populating his red-carpet fest with so diverse a lineup of stars and starlets, he reminded us of what we already know: These days, all chic types covet Chanel. ooh La La
Also Nicole Kidman may be cast with Russell Crowe in the film of ‘Eucalyptus’
Marc Jacobs is now doing gorgeous limited edition candlesticks for his home wares collection http://www.marcjacobs.com .
When in New York Check out the new Bottega Veneta store in 5th Avenue.
Ralph Lauren has opened a 4 story emporium in Milan in Via Montenapoleone.
Did I mention the new Baglioni hotelin London has a personal butler on each floor? So chic you have to stay there. http://www.baglionihotellondon.com
In Rome head to the very groovy, futuristic ‘Supper Club’ http://www.supperclub.com
Or check out The Tazio Restaurant in the Hotel Exedra http://www.boscolohotels.com.
If you want to buy a very groovy modern house in The Hamptons go to http://www.housesatsagaponac.com, It is a residential development designed by 34 prominent architects in America from Phillip Johnson to Zaha Hadid and Richard Meier. WOW.
Want to laugh yourself silly? I insist you see ‘Team America: world Police” (putting the F back in Freedom) , the R rated puppet movie that is a send up of the war on terror from the creators of south Park http://www.teamamerica.com HILARIOUS!
Also check out Bill Murray in Wes Anderson’s latest film ‘The life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’ with Cate Blanchett, Owen Wilson, and Jeff Goldblum http://www.apple.com/trailers/touchstone/the_life_aquatic ….funny!!

http://www.tripadvisor.com
Here is a great travel website that gives “ unbiased reviews of hotels, resorts and vacations” and it is bursting with information. For example I typed in “Capri Italy” and Voila! Everything you ever need to know about it. Click on ‘over view’, ‘attractions’, ‘deals’ or ‘maps’ and you’ll find endless information. If you click on ‘hotels’ you will find the hotels sorted by popularity by reader reviews, guide books and articles. The design is confusing, (why can’t anyone design something like this stylishly and clearly?) but it is a must read before a trip anywhere.

http://www.abc.net.au/kathandkim/
The funniest thing you’ll read in years. What to click on first? The hornbag page? The Horror scopes? No, just go to Fashion Victims and learn how to knit a gum nut hat like Epponneee Rae. Then go to ‘Kath, Kim & Sharon’s Amazing surgical makeovers’. Kim says “ I am loving my self sick” and “Guys like long hair on a lady especially on her head” Kath says” I do like a frizzy perm and give myself a home rooting every 6 weeks” But when it comes to style “Sharon does not take the cake but I notice she takes it every other time” ..

Geri Halliwell’s big movie break looks to be anything but, with the stars of “Fat Slags” distancing themselves from the project before it’s even been released. from Glamour (Fat Slags?)( Deathly afraid!)
Peter Lindbergh has shot the latest Wonder bra campaign. One of the headlines which shows the model wearing a black push-up number says, “Yes They Are, Thank You.”
Michael Jackson is furious after learning MTV plan to continue airing Eminem’s controversial video for his single “Just Lose It.” it features Eminem dressed as Jackson, jumping around on a bed with young children. His also nose then falls off and his hair bursts into flames - which spoofs the Micheal Jackson accident on a Pepsi Ad. imdb ( on fire)
George Clooney and Lisa Snowdon have broken up ( Great)
Stella McCartney is three months pregnant.
Andie MacDowell and her husband have divorced after nearly three years .
Gwyneth Paltrow’s house is haunted ( spooky).
Mick Jagger, has taken a big step in his relationship — if you want to call it that — with L’Wren Scott, 35. The Rolling Stone is having the floors in his London flat lowered 10 inches to give his 6-foot 2-inch — or is it 6-foot 4-inch? —model-turned-stylist girlfriend, who has been hitting her head on the apartment ceilings, a little more headroom. WWD ( head hitting)
Nicky Hilton’s 2-month-old marriage is heading for the divorce courts.
Madonna has signed up to become a judge on a music talent show and will join Missy Elliot on a new American Pop Idol-esque programme next year. glamour
Usher has received an ultimatum from his ex: it’s me or Naomi Campbell.(bad luck then)
Martha Stewart spent her 3rd day in prison playing scrabble and charming her fellow inmates. (Charming)
Matt LeBlanc is fighting allegations he once hired a chauffeur to set him up with backseat gay sex trysts, by insisting he has never had sex with a man. LeBlanc is furious the chauffeur took his story to the National Enquirer and even passed a lie detector test as he revealed all about the actor’s alleged seedy past ( seedy) Imdb
Marilyn Manson is to play the Queen of Hearts in a new ‘Alice In Wonderland’ movie. “I’m not just playing a drag queen, I’m playing a woman. There’s a big difference” ( Really?)
Cindy Crawford has demanded that Jenna Jameson retract passages from her bestseller, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star, alluding to flirtatious encounter between the two women. ( seedy)
Newly-single Kirsten Dunst has been spotted slumming with Paris Hilton’s ex and amateur porn director Rick Salomon. So not good, but expect a videotape in 8-12 months. (gawker)( trysts)
In Tatum O’Neal’s new tell-all autobiography. Paper Life, she claims Melanie Griffith dragged her the then 12 year-old actress to an orgy ( dragged)

The God of Driving: How I Overcame Fear and Put Myself in the Driver’s Seat
by Amy Fine Collins
Here is another book ALL the magazines are talking about, probably because it is by the fashion and style writer, Amy Fine Collins who now writes for Vanity Fair. (see her amazing apartment in US Elle Deco, Oct). She leads a ”glamorous life, a charmed whirlwind of gala parties, couture clothing, and five-star travel. In Manhattan, where she is whisked around in taxis and limousines, she has been able to disregard her long-standing fear of driving, a legacy handed down from her accident-plagued family. But when the brilliant and determined Amy finally decides to confront her driving phobia, she hires the mysterious, good-looking Turk, Attila. They zoom in and out of urban interstates and country byways, as close to home as Park Avenue and as far away as Hamburg. Vibrant and funny, The God of Driving is an offbeat, romantic odyssey — a true-life tale of unlikely soul mates who bump into each other at the crossroads of high gears and high style” Perfect!
$16 http://www.amazon.com

The Christmas List:
Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros
What a beautiful book! This is the second cook book from Tessa Kiros and it looks gorgeous, with divine photos and exquisite design. It is like a ‘food traveller’s diary with rich layers of text and imagery and food that has been photographed so it doesn’t look too styled and studio-perfect. The style is very nostalgic, drawn from fabrics, wallpapers and illustrations so that it resembles pages in a journal ” A must buy even if you don’t cook anything from it!
$65 http://www.dymocks.com.au

Economy:
Target: There are some cool red thongs here $9.99, some good print chiffon head scarves $9.99, and don’t forget the copy of the Coach bags in aqua and pink canvas $19 and the bikinis here are good too with the tortoisehell rings $24 for top or bottom. Esprit: have a pink V neck ruffle dress $179,a black chiffon drop waist 20’s dress, very nice $159, a good dark denim blazer $129, and a cute dark denim pleat skirt $79,a cool red and white stripe top ¾ sleeves $39 (also in black). Nine West: Always have great cheap but chic rip offs even if their bags are pleather! Check out the square bag with buckles and white stitching in blue or black $69, each bag comes with a make up bag and a phone holder and a key ring. Also great mules with serious diamantes $129, and the Pucci print mules with a diamante buckle in blue are cool $129,and check out the really fab flat T bar sandles with 2 silver rings up the front in lots of colours $99 and new sunglasses in tortoiseshell and black $59. Cue: have a cool grey and white shrunken blazer with lovely floral pink lining $279, also in a dark green, and I like the scoop neck tanks with double trim lining and a wide waistband $65 in mint, pink black. Ojay: have the best Chanel style frayed edge jacket for the price $289 but only buy it in black (now that I see KathnKim wearing a pink one in New Idea, scary! and there are some chic black Jaquard ¾ coats, good for the races, plus some hats too. Mollini: still have some fab leopard print heels for $129, and they have the Prada esque plaited flat sandals now in gold and tan leather $99. Witchery: have a cool casual short skirts in cotton canvas in good colours $69, don’t forget their fab snake skin thin belts $39 and the black chiffon top with ¾ sleeves and sequins $139 (also in pink and white) and I love the glowmesh bronze or black small evening bags $79 and the white or choc shrunken blazer $299. FCUK; I do like the cute 50’s cotton skirts in reds and orange $140,and there is a very chic 50’s style black sheer tuille/chiffon dress with rosettes on it ( and a petticoat so it’s not see through) $180, the same thing in a skirt (a bit Helmut Lang esque) $140 and a pink v neck cardigan $89. The cap sleeves T are great $39 and don’t forget the wrap Mathew Williamsom style ( read : bright pink and purples!) print tops, cool $89.There is a groovy wrap jersey dress with wide geometric stripe pattern, I think you should have it for $160.

Business:
Country Road: have a groovy silk wrap dress in pinks, taupes and grey, a bit snake print $249 and in a skirt $199 plus a top too. Check out the cream singlet with little embroidered subtle sequins or are they buttons? $79.There are some cool cargo canvas style shorts in pink, grey, mint and red $85, a black chiffon skirt with strips of fabrics floating off it $229.Check out the cool drape, jersey dress with gathering in the front and an under shell top $259, and I like the soft brown pretty dress with soft pink through it $249.Also check out the classic but good belts and bags: The thin belts are great with white stitching $59 with silver buckle. David Lawrence: have a chic black satin trench, very handy, summer, autumn, winter spring and day into evening! Yours for $369 and also in a pale putty colour. Don’t forget the leather bags in here are good value $169 and they have a new Gucci esque suede slouch bag $169. The A line dark denim skirt is handy, flattering and ditto : wear it every where to replace your jeans for summer $130, and check out the long cuff white shirts $99. Weekend Max Mara: have a really simple, very nice white zip front knit hoodie top $400, an aqua and white cap sleeves T-shirt $135,a pink and orange long sleeveless mu mu style dress $840 and there is a white scoop neck T with black stripes $330. David Jones: have 30% off some fabulous Vue beach towels now $69. Sass & Bide: Check out their grey V neck batwing top with silver sequins $350, and all the gladiator tops with sequins and stitching $$.There is 40% off their cord skirts now $94 in David Jones. Karen Millen: there is a butterfly print dress and top here if you like that sort of thing…check out the peacock print dress ( very next season Prada) in chiffon $370 and there are tops to match. Leona Edmiston:The best dress in here is the long Talitha Getty style print dress with little squares in blue or pink and shoe string straps to wear around the pool $895. Marcs: have a cute chiffon pink, orange and red floaty top $299 and a skirt too, and check out the grey, black or camel racer back tanks with a splatter of sequins $145.RG Madden: have some Phillippe Starck for Puma trainers; very cool $250. A/X Armani exchange: Not alot new in here but check out the white cap sleeves top with a tie halter in jersey knit $139, the white cotton cargo style sweater $159 and the black and white stripe sweater $149.

First:
Collette Dinnigan: Has lots of beautiful floral dresses and tops. (Of course). There is a light blue floral silk 40’s dress $540, embroidered pearl trim cardigans in black, pastels and white $520, a very pretty soft pastel floral chiffon tops $550, and a wrap satin floral dress with a diamante brooch and cap sleeves $720, a pink satin dress with a 50’s skirt and diamante brooch $700.Check out the black dress with lace trim and cap sleeve $580, and the light blue chiffon skirt with a pink cherry blossom print $390, lovely. Furla: They have some great bags in and some good jeweled brooches too. Check out the fab oversized black bag called Vivian with gunmetal hardware $890 (also in pink, and dark choc), the snazzy round toe heels in choc $420, the moc croc red polished calf leather (big) bag $760, and the gorgeous star diamante brooch $172 ( also in pink, bronze and denim blue).There is a small lizard print square bag called Raccetta $720, a smaller structured bag in a fab choc brown $674, and a fab bag called Greta in lilac, mint or black $920.
Bally: Lots of new things in. You will love the new square shape bags, very structured with fab silver hardware and studs in pink, white or camel ( very nice) $1195, the classic sling back heels in black ( good heel) $595, the fab woven belts in the signature red and cream and also in black and white $200. Check out the slides in leather with a big leather ring $450, the flat mules in red $450 and the suede kitten heel pumps in soft pink and black $595, the choc brown T bar heels with silver buckle details $595, plus don’t forget the fab slouch/messenger bags $1100.

Risotto with peas, lemon and ricotta

This is a divine spring recipe from ‘The River Café Cookbook Green’ and since green is the colour du jour for summer, start cooking…

For 6
3 kg of peas (or less if you want)
250g fresh ricotta, beaten up a bit
Rind of 2 lemons
1.5 litres of chicken stock
2 tabs fresh mint leaves
3 garlics
200g unsalted butter
500 g spring onions
400g Arborio rice
2 tabs torn basil leaves
150ml of dry vermouth
Some parmesan for a sprinkle

·Heat chicken stock please
·Slice up garlics, and all the mint and basil leaves
·Now here’s a clever idea and it’s not too tricky: Boil a saucepan of water and boil up the peas, half the mint and a whole garlic clove. Not too difficult so don’t screw up your nose like that, it’s easy.
·Boil for about 4 minutes and then keep about 150 mls of the water, drain the rest and throw the peas and mint back in (to have a little time alone.)
·Now make the risotto: Melt the butter, add the spring onion, garlic, then rice and give it a good going over….
·Add the chicken stock and keep stirring the rice,adding chicken stock and repeating till the rice is nearly al dente. It’s all in the wrist action.
·Now throw half the peas into the risotto and keep stirring.
·Time for a drink or you’ll never get through all that stirring.
·Add more chicken stock and cook more to get the rice al dente
·Then whip out the whizzer and whiz up the rest of the peas, garlic and mint and water mix so it’s all mushy
·Add to the risotto, plus the basil leaves
·Look at all the divine greens together! Gorgeous.
·Have another drink and while you’re at it, pour the risotto a drink too: pour in the vermouth, 2 tabs of ricotta and some butter as well
·Wow doesn’t that smell great ?!
·Stir in the remaining ricotta and mmm, better do a taste test,
·If it’s not cooked, you’d better pour in some more vermouth or a dash of wine
(one for the road) and keep stirring till it is looking like risotto
·Serve with lots of lemon zest, a few mint or basil leaves tossed non chalantly on top, a bit of parmesan and lots of crunchy bread
Creamy and so delicious…

Before Sunset with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy
This is the sequel to ‘Before Sunrise’ and I just had to see this movie before it goes to video. After all, it is a romance of the highest order and rottentomatoes.com gives it a 94% approval rating. It is set 9 years after Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) have a romantic 14 hour fling in Vienna (and vow to meet again in six months time). Now they are in Paris and meet up when Jesse is “on the last stop of his book tour, and finds Celine watching from the back of the room. She lives in Paris now, he in New York. He’s flying out that evening but they decide to hang out together and catch up” First point: if you are a guy, you can skip this. There is no violence, no sex and lots of talking. In fact this movie is a talkfest talkathon. The script by Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke is extraordinarily well written, but all they do is talk and talk and talk. In the end you just want to tell Julie Delpy to shut up. ( and that’s coming from someone who loves a chatnchew). She speaks English with a French accent but her accent, mannerisms and slang are all seriously American, so she comes across as completely neurotic and really pretentious. The New York Times says “ though it is sometimes maddening, the movie’s prodigious verbiage is also enthralling, precisely because of its casual disregard for the usual imperatives of screenwriting. In any case, they have now flirted and argued their way through two movies completely oblivious to what anyone else might think of them, and it is their indifference to the audience that makes them so fascinating” Oh yes, it is fascinating, prodigious verbiage or not! Shot in real time, and it’s just fabulous to watch them wander (and chat for hours) around Paris on a summer’s afternoon. They end up in her apartment (which is incredibly daggy with a purple bedspread: urrghh!) but do they end up together? You’ll have to get the video to find out out…..