“Blondes have more fun because brunettes are busy spending all their time plucking, shaving, and waxing “ Kath Lette
“They’re intellectuals they’re not supposed to have taste”. Rita Koenig from UK Vogue on the state of the Blair’s household
“Fame is like a suntan it fades and can give you cancer”. Movie Director Joel Schumacher or this “a lot of people come to the fame factory just for the sunglasses and blowjobs” (and we all love sunglasses) And
“Hollywood is the kind of place where they don’t care if you fuck dogs in the street. They’ll give you dogs. Your own dogs.” That explains inspector Rex!
“There are 3 ages of woman: youth, middle age and you look good” W magazine
“I will only wear clothes that are cruelty free”. Alicia Silverstone
“Jewel has succumbed to the blinged out demands of todays market “W magazine
“it’s vicious, it’s not the front row it’s the front line” Stella Tennant covering the fashion shows for Vogue

It’s a sign it’s a sign! That’s what I thought when I saw the gorgeous chicest black board ‘herb’ signs in Ici et La. A simple little rectangular wooden blackboard on a stick they are too too perfect and too too French. Tres chic mais cheap! Perfect for sticking in your herb pots or vegetable garden at the beach house! And if they die then you’ve got somewhere to write RIP! $6 for small or $7.50 large. And the Zinc ones are coming in soon. Also Check out the old French school posters great for a kids room $65.

Someone had to do it. And I’ve found it: The most fabulous picnic bag that is pretending to be a Longchamps bag! Made from the same thick nylon it’s in the most fabulous colours like red and pink and green and blue hell there’s even black! About the size of a large tote and with the same brown leather handles and trims as Longchamps but it has lots of dinky spots and pouches to put all your bits and pieces for a picnic (like the champers and gin) There’s even a little detattachable foldaway plastic sheet. Even better it’s got hardware to rival a Dior bag with zips (that actually work on either side) so it unfolds for your little pique nique!! But stuff the picnic it’s the perfect bag for shopping (Life is a picnic!)$ The BayTree $200

If anyone has terrible dry skin feet or hands and wants to get ready to reveal the sexy pedicure and feet for summer here’s the scoop de la. The body shop hemp cream is fantastic. Ok so it smells a bit like hemp (I didn’t inhale no really I didn’t!) but it does the trick. Just make sure you pop it on when you’re having a night at home maybe when watching Queer eye for Straight guy (Yes it’s official they’re funny!) Hemp hand protector cream $19.95.

Daryl Hannah wears Balenciaga and McQueen in Kill Bill and Uma Thurman wears a tracksuit in homage to Bruce Lee and says the movie should have been called Kill Uma !
Micheal Gross who wrote the book Model (the ugly business of beauty) is now writing a book on 740 Park Avenue the NYC apartment block where Jaqui O used to live
A film is being made based on the book called The heart is a deceitful above all things by JT Leroy the homeless/ groover/kooky/out there/poet/writer friend of Winona and Madonna
Tracey Emin is designing a bag for Longchamps
Tamara Mellon’s (husband of Tamara of Jimmy Choo) is now doing a men’s shoe label
Stephen Sprouse now designing a Florence Knoll tweed fabric updated in day glo colours
Lauren Hutton is designing a makeup line for the over 40’s called Goodstuff
J.Lo is launching another perfume called Still (still rich? still with Ben? Still famous??)
Mario testing has launched his new book “Kids” stars his 11 god children and is in aid of charity
Mary Alice Stephenson has left US Harpers as fashion Director and is contributing editor
Asprey the jewelry House has ex Harpers Fabian Baron art directing their campaign with Bruce Weber and is shooting Kiera Knightley. Hussein Chalayan is now creative director
Victor and Rolf the fashion design duo are having a retrospective: The first Decade at the Musee de la Mode Paris
Helmut Lang has joined the sculptor Louise Bourgeois to do a T-shirt
The Dorchester Hotel has an e-butler service, a state of the art office and entertainment system!
Eve the rock star has her TV show playing a fashion designer
Marc Newsome has opened a new restaurant in New York called The lever House
The Concorde is on its last flight!

http://www.coldplay.com (thanks YG**) This is cool! Go into ‘sights and sounds’ and double click on ‘coldplayer’ and up comes their little radio. Click the on/off (always good to turn it on) and then tune it in to any song…cool!
http://www.Celebmatch.com uses the scientific method of biorhythms to calculate compatibilities of your most compatible celebrity love or select a celebrity yourself and CelebMatch.com will show the compatibility. So am I compatible with George? Well it was a 68% physical match. Outrageous! Please Explain!

Meg Ryan wore Azzedine Alaia at the premiere of her film Jane Campions “In the cut” which has full on screen nudity and sex scenes
Britneys new video shows her pursuing Madonna around a nightclub for a pash!
Jane Fonda turned down the role of Monster in law for Cameron Crowe’s new movie with Ashton Kutner
Liza Minellis husband sues her for $11 million
Boy George has signed up as a face of Mac cosmetics
Stephanie Seymour was mugged and refused to give up her Hermes bag!!
Halle Berry is in the movie Catwoman and left her huzza
Enrique Inglesias is going out Anna Kornakova
Daryl Hannah goes nude in Playboy
Kate Moss is named model of the year
Jen and Ben are going to elope privately (that’s why they told everyone)
Sandra Bullock is back with Mathew McConaghey
Naomi Campbell is engaged to her Italian Boyfriend
Naomi Watts and Kate Hudson got o keep their Hermes bags after Le divorce
Carla Bruni now a singer
Demi is now marrying Ashton and met his parents in Ohio
Nicole and Lenny Kravitz are seriously in love
2 Chicago dolls of Catherine Zeta Jones and Renee Zerwellger are now on sale

Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
What an inspiring story this is, a must read! It’s the biography of the Chinese peasant boy who defects to the west and becomes a world famous ballet dancer. Written in a simple way, it’s amazing reading about communist China and his poverty struck childhood in a commune. They were always starving (it’s repulsive how we are all obsessed about food and dieting). When he arrives in America his impressions of seeing a plane, an escalator and going in a car for the first time is fascinating. And yes OK there is a love story!

NB NB NB Keep an eye out for:
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. Don’t forget to read Seabiscuit before the movex is released as well as The Girl with a Pearl Earring
Madness Visible by Janine DiGiovanni. The glamorous war correspondent who also writes for UK Vogue writes her story of the war in the Balkans.
“In his review of “Yellow Dog” (Miramax Books), British novelist Tibor Fischer hated the book so much that he described reading it as like “finding your favorite uncle being caught in a school playground, masturbating.” Peter Kemp of the Sunday Times described Amis as “a talent on its last legs.” from WWD

CHRISTMAS LIST:
People in Vogue: A century of Portraits.
UK Vogue are releasing this book in November. A book of the celebrated shots of most famous people in the 20th century photographed by their great photographers
David Bailey: Locations On David Bailey great work from the 70’s
Berlin by Hedi Slimane his view of the groovy city
Factory Made: Warhol and the sixties (Soon to be released) “Steven Watson has written the best imaginable book on the Sixties of Andy Warhol’s Silver Factory, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, and the appropriation by mainstream culture of the underground avant garde”. Auther Danto

ECONOMY
Esprit has done the best white rib singlet (always more flattering when ribbed not so clingy) and also in lots of other colours $29
Metallicus best stretch singlets in white and black $50 from department stores
Jag has done a great singlet too with a high neckline $24 (it’s the item du jour)
Zomp has some cute glomesh Olga Berg bags $70, ballet shoes $90 some fab beaded toe thongs $120 and some gorgeous thongs in brown leather $160
Sussan has done white straight denim skirts $ 59 and cropped Capri jeans $59
So I had to go back in to Supre and get the Weapons of Mass Distraction T shirt and low and behold they have now done some kiddies T shirts ones too with Weapons of mass destruction
Funkis do have some great kids clothes cute little T-shirts $45
Tree of Life (Oxford st) has some cool cheap things that are perfect for the beach ..Caftan Indian tops in every colour $19 and a chicer version with a crossover drawstring front $17 that is great. Some gold Indian toe thongs $45 and some simple shoestring strap cotton dresses in every colour $35
Witchery have got some cute slouch leather bags in all the hot colours red orange blue green $79 and clutch bags a must have $49!!
Cue has done a sheer black zip through bomber $145 and a cool knit zip up tops and a great multi colour white stripe racer back singlet $35

BUSINESS
Scanlan & Theodore have got a faaabulous black thick knit pencil skirt with lacing down the side $220 and some fabulous silver mesh knit tank $180 plus the most amazing beaded black leather skirt $590.You want the gorgeous print chiffon tops in divine colours or black and white $200 and the buttery leather mini $650
The Nuala range from Chisty Turlington is in at DJ’s and if you want quality casual track pants $145 or hoodie tops and the like …very nice $179
Checkout the Sass& Bide delicious caramel leather sunvisor $70 at David Jones
A/X have a cute black cropped jacket a la Balenciaga
Von Troska has some gorgeous black jet jewellery by Alex di Blasi $400 for a necklace
Christensen Copenhagen great ribbed Fillipa K knits long sleeve T’s $225 and shell tops

FIRST CLASS
The Manolo Blahniks have just arrived this week into Evelyn Miles ooh lala ! Diamante and silver and bronze divine…one in every colour $1998!!
Also Evelyn Miles is having a bit of as sale with some good classic Michel Perry slingbacks at $375
The Burberry collection is in at David Jones and it’s all fabulous: a zip jacket $1495, the classic black trench $2200
Max Mara has the most divine trenchcoat simple classic belted camel $1200
Fall in love with the Paul and Joe gold a white embroidered coat in Christensen Copenhagen $1995
Gucci has now got all the winter collection in and the leather and corset jackets are gorgeous (Don’t ask the price) and so are the studded shoes $800
Prada now has the fabulous animal print 50’s style coat
Papoucci has fabulous beaded toe thongs $380

CLASSICS CORNER
Chee Soon & Fitzgerald has got fab Marimekko stripe long sleeved T shirts in red and black and white $120
Longchamps have got a great slouch bag in their signature nylon with a great wide strap very good functional work bag $269
Leona has done the prettiest moos moos (is that how they are spelt? Anyway those princess preggers style sundress that you can throw over bikinis) In cotton and bright wide stripes of pink and red or blue and green $225
Zimmerman has great white drawstring pants $ 150 and a groovex white terry toweling bomber jacket $220
Max Mara weekend has a classic thin stripe cap sleeve T $130 and a fabulous black long sleeve t $170
Mollini is on the ball this season with some gorgeous sandals in white and black: a bit sixties they have 3 big circles going across the foot and one across the big toe…I love them! $120
Simona have really done a fabulous peacoat in nylon in red and black and it’s a cool cut for summer very chic and French $140
David Jones has some great CK white jeans $145 and some gorgeous Theory white cuff shirts on sale.

The Easiest Thai Chicken Wontons

I think this originally came from Good taste magazine and it’s a beauty!
As with every recipe from The Best of the Batcave cookbook this one fulfils all FiFi philosophies on entertaining: its so easy it’s embarrassing, it’s cheap but chic, it’s a crowd pleaser (and I know a thing or two about crowds)
It’s delicious served with chilli jam which you can make yourself (no really you can) so I’m adding that recipe so you can make it the day or week before.

Don’t be put off by sticking the wontons together but it does take time but hello! Think of it as occupational therapy (It IS therapy and let’s face this time you’re not paying for it!) but NB NB NB it might take about an hour (shorter if it’s 2 of you) so make sure you make it ahead of time so you can set aside hours to do your hair and makeup.

For 8

2 packets of 30 or 40 wontons or Gow Gee wrappers (in Asian food stores or any gourmet stores)
1 large chicken breast
4 to 6 garlic cloves
2 lemon grass stalks (cut the outer stalks and the root away and cut up the stalks roughly so they fit in to the whizzer)
1 big knob of ginger (you know to peel it don’t you? Don’t ask how big is a knob is..)
Bunch of coriander
1 egg
2 tabs of corn flour
2 glugs of sesame oil

*Whiz the raw chicken breast, garlic, lemon grass and ginger till it’s all mooshed.
*Add and whiz the raw egg, coriander, corn flour and sesame oil till it’s a gooey thick paste

And that’s it for the initial preparation!

* Now comes the occupational therapy, which is time consuming so pour yourself a drink, pop on the Justin Timberlake (sorry Beyonce) for a singlalong and get down to business of sticking the paste in the wontons!
* Time for a craft class and to make glue! Grab a little bowl of water add some corn flour and mix till it’s dissolved.
* Get the lemon grass paste mix, the wontons, a chopping board, some baking paper or foil (to lie the wontons on) and a hand towel to wipe your hands
* Sit down and separate the wontons so you have tops and bottoms.
* Place a teaspoon of lemon grass mixture in the middle of a wonton and with your fingers moisten the edge of the wonton with the glue and then put another wonton on top.
* Press the sides together so it’s sealed.
* Repeat Repeat maybe 40 times
* Put Beyonce back on Repeat
* Put Coldplay back on

NB** Don’t put the wontons on top of each other because they’ll stick together so when you’ve lined up a chopping board full cover them with the foil and pile the next ones on top.

* Once you’ve got a system going you’ll get quicker (like driving!)
* When you are ready to cook put on a big pot of water to boil and gently load the wontons in.
* They float to the top when they are cooked which may be about 5 minutes.
* Get a scoop de la scoop to get them out or very gently drain them.
* Pop on a big serving platter
* Mix some of the chilli jam with some water and wine to make it a bit runny
* Drizzle the chilli jam over it and toss on some coriander, salt and pepper and voila!

The crowd will go wild when they taste this one!

Cheats apple Chilli Jam

This chilli jam is very versatile; I call it the little black dress of cooking. Dress it up or dress it down! Delicious with thick crunchy bread and cheese, great as a stir fry paste or just slathered over back strap of lamb. Mmm
So what if it’s full of sugar, it’s jam and it’s delicious!

Makes about 1 cup and it keeps in the fridge for about 3 weeks in a jar.

A 375 jar of apple sauce (choose one without any added sugar)
1 cup of brown sugar
2 tabs of fresh limejuice
4 small red chillies…chopped into the size of George Dubya’s brain (I’m talking finely chopped)
4 garlic cloves crushed and chopped into the size of Pauline Hansen’s fan club! (I’m thinking very small!)
1 tab of fish sauce
5 lime leaves…cut very thinly with scissors

Put the applesauce, brown sugar, limejuice, lime leaves, fish sauce, garlic and chillies in a saucepan yes all of the above (you can whiz it all first if you want to)
Bring to the boil and keep stirring it until sugar dissolves maybe for about 5 or 6 mins.
Turn it down a bit and keep stirring and cooking till it thickens up (like making jam….)
Watch it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the saucepan….the housekeeper will hate cleaning it up!
When it’s thick and glistening and shiny (like Puff Daddy ‘s head!) turn it off and let it cool down
Pour into a glass jar it should be cool before you seal it and pop in the fridge.
Yum!

Intolerable Cruelty
Surprise surprise I was dragged kicking and screaming to see this one! Of course I had my own personal preview when I was surfing Style.com and a trailer for the movie flashes up and there is George talking and walking right there on my lap top! It’s about “ the things we do for love and the things love does to us”
Laugh did we laugh! Let’s face it any Coen Brothers movex is always good and as usual George didn’t disappoint me! Very funny, slightly kooky it’s about a spunk rat divorce lawyer who has Catherine Zeta Jones as his client. (They can’t keep their hands off each others assets) Its very 50’s with witty repartee between my George and CZJ. Geoffrey Rush is great in the opening scene and CZJ is incredibly beautiful and George well let’s just say it ‘s worth getting married just to get divorced by George! Yes a romantic comedy with a twist for boys and girls! Best line? “ I eat men like you for breakfast’ …what a way to start the day!!

UK Vogue Nov is the Fashion rocks issue with Liz Hurley on the cover again.
Vanity Fair Nov is the American Music issue with 410 pages Its biggest ever issue! with surprise surprise excerpts from Annie Liebovitz’s new Book American music There’s Queen Latifah Norah Jones and Willie Nelson on the cover
The New Yorker has a movie special with everything from Tarantino to Bertolucci: can’t wait to get into that
Elle Deco US Oct has a fashion style issue we love it!
Vogue Entertaining is fantastic this month (last months cover was a worry) all on Mediterranean food

* I love it! It just makes me go out shopping and I not even a big shopper!!
* That coriander recipe is so funny and I don’t even like coriander
* Dear ED, thank you for the latest installment of the FI FI Report….just to inform you…”I didn’t skim it, I totally creamed it”….
* Your fifi speak language is instantly recognisable to those in the know… it’s a finer sensibility, an instant girlie messagiing system regarding the subtleties of hem length, the importance of knowing the colour the inside
of a pair of Sigerson’s…
* I have today received report #11 for what is probably the sixth time !Do you keep sending them to me or is there a bug in the system ???
* Am looking forward to reading this but looking forward to your Corrections more …from your SMH editor
* It’s Hysterical! I love it I want to go out and buy everything NOW!