“Can we please go back to normal? Because therapy is really expensive.” Sandra Bullock, accepting an award at the MTV awards.

“can CHANEL please help me out by getting me some stickers to put on my scram bracelet so that i can at least wear a chic dress?!”  Lindsay Lohan, Tweeting about the court-ordered alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet that’s cramping her bad style. Not normal. More therapy.

“My family are amazing. I had, like, the perfect upbringing. It sucks for people like Lindsay [Lohan], but it’s not her fault that she’s so off the rails - and she’s smart, very smart.” Kristen Stewart. Scram bracelets suck.

“Shortly after graduation, I got very, very, very, very lucky. I landed a role on a show called ER. I soon had money, accolades, status, and George Clooney.”  Julianna Margulies. Lucky. lucky. lucky.

“It takes a lot of smoke and mirrors to make us look good kissing each other.” Kristen Stewart, on winning ‘Best kiss’ at MTV awards with Robert Pattinson

“How does Robert Pattinson not win every award ever invented?…I almost got up onstage this year at the Grammys when he didn’t win and almost kicked Taylor Swift off. Because I’m like, ‘What’s up? Robert Pattinson should have won this.’” Ashton Kutcher

“The fountain of youth, let’s see. I guess it’s exercise, healthy diet, lots of water, lots of laughter, lots of sex.” Cameron Diaz. Normal. No therapy.

There are sales everywhere including all the major overseas stores. The exchange rate is not amazing but it’s still pretty good so you can get some fabulous designer buys.

Here are my favourite online stores shipping to Australia; Shoes! Bags! Trenches! Get shopping !

Net-a-porter.com/sale
Browns
Theoutnet.com
Saksfifthavenue.com
Bloomingdales.com
Matchesfashion.com
Bluefly.com
Asos.com

What: A big scarf
Which: You want a big scarf this winter. But I can’t say it will keep you warm. It should be a light weight cotton, wool or bamboo rather than a scarf that’s woolly and big. It shold be in a fabric that twists and wraps easily around your neck. Go for a gorgeous ombre or dye dipped so it changes colour. Of course bright colours are fabulous but a scarf is so chic in grey and cream, black and navy. You could even go for scarf with a touch of subtle sequins or shimmer.
Why: Because a scarf can add personality and a little bit of je ne sais quoi to your look. Because we love an accessory that can instantly change your wardrobe from drab to fab. Because a scarf can add texture, colour and shine to last season’s oh so boring pieces. Because a scarf is a great disguise of muffin tops.
Wear: Toss a scarf nonchalantly twice around your neck. It’s should be shorter rather than so longer. Wear back with a blazer and chinos, with a simple crew neck sweater, with a sweater dress or slouch leather jacket.
Where:  Countryroad $59, Trenerry (above) $59, Bassike.com $80,  Veronikamaine $69, Sportsgirl $24,  Jeans West $24 ( Stella wear Stella, SJP wears Vuitton and Natalia is from Jakandjil.com)

It’s always hard to find a lip stick or gloss that actually stays on. Maybe some people don’t eat. Or smooch their new Chloe shoes. Or even air kiss anybody. I am always trying to find some lip colour that will not move. Even just for the 20 minute drive to Prada.
So imagine my surprise when I tried the Revlon ColorStay Ultimate^TM Liquid Lipstick  They say it will last up to 12 hours. (Maybe if you are asleep) but I say it lasts for about 4 hours. If you don’t go crazy eating too much. But that in itself is a world record don’t you think? It is a little dry so you can add gloss on top.  I think it almost stains the lips. I tried on the bright red and had to scrub it to get it off. Now you’re talking.
$26.95 ColorStay Ultimate^TM Liquid Lipstick. Revlon.com.au from Department stores, pharmacies and variety stores nationally. 1800 025 488

Rihanna is on the cover of US ELLE and chats about her new look and her new man “he Keeps Me Sane”. OH dear… usmagazine.com

Michael Kors on Date Gwyneth Paltrow: “More and More Beautiful”Stylenews.peoplestylewatch.

OMG: I feel so bad for Hermes:  Fembot2 Heidi Montag is carrying a Birkin bag. People.com

Watch Salma Hayek FREAK OUT When She Spots a Snake. Hilarious.  Usmagazine.com

Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth are still together, everybody! Thesuperficial.com

Model Lara stone is unveiled as the exclusive face of Calvin Klein..is she the new Kate Moss? Dailymail.co.uk

Jennifer Aniston Ate the Same Salad Every Day for 10 Years; …ah, now I know what to do. Usmagazine.com

Evil BP Chief to Star in Hollywood Blockbuster… Studio executives for Warner Bros have flown down to the oil disaster area to recruit the English CEO of BP after seeing him on television news stories. hilarious.  Dailysquib

‘I’m NOT anorexic,’ insists Tori Spelling as she reveals her skeletal frame on the beach. Ewww.  Dailymail.co.uk

Two years after getting her heart broken by her husband’s relationship with her best friend, Shania Twain is divorced but in love with Frédéric Thiébaud (the other woman’s ex-husband). Handy. People.com

Renee Zellweger wears a daring sheer top… for lunch with the ‘in-laws’ Dailymail

Kate Bosworth had a touchy-feely night out with beau Alexander Skarsgard. They posed for pictures and she rubbed his back, while he kept his hand on her leg. So there. People.com

Gwyneth, Kate, and Naomi Step Out to Support Stella; So chic! popsugar.com

How to Paint a Dead Man: A Novel by Sarah Hall

‘In this gorgeous still life of a book, Sarah Hall gives us four lives — two in 1960s Italy and two in contemporary Britain — each narrated in a different voice. All are artists confronting mortal peril: Susan is a young British photographer mourning her twin brother, Giorgio is an Italian still-life painter facing terminal illness, Peter is a British landscape artist who becomes physically trapped under a boulder he is painting, and Annette is a blind Italian flower girl who once loved to draw and whose beauty makes her a target for assault. Their stories appear unrelated until the connections between them slowly unfold.
The book’s great triumph is that we finish it feeling the same way. Hall has a poet’s gift, and this novel is best enjoyed as a prose poem whose blindingly beautiful insights gradually accrue. Her portraits of these artists are captured moments, with each life slowed to a stop by loss and pain. She has made visible to us what we would otherwise be too blind to see in our mortal lives: the ever-present shadow of eternity.’

$10 Publisher: Harper Perennial (September 8, 2009) Amazon.com

American fashion Designers at Home …by Rima Suqi
‘After perpetual traveling and the crushes of Fashion Week, designers, too, need a retreat from couture’s glittering society. And what do the homes of fashion arbiters look like? American Fashion Designers at Home offers an intimate look into the private quarters of more than 100 members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America-including Diane von Furstenburg, Cynthia Rowley, Kate Spade,  and Derek Lam-and offers a stunning photographic tour of the domestic side of fashion.
Find Carolina Herrera’s classic elegance also woven into her Louis XV-influenced New York apart¬ment and Betsey Johnson’s trademark pink and girly glamour mirrored in her sumptuous, flower-filled flat. Be a guest in the home of Tommy Hilfiger, whose preppy aesthetic softens in his cozy “Adirondack room,” featuring a fireplace and repurposed beams from a Vermont barn, or take off to Donna Karan’s tranquil villa in the Turks and Caicos Islands, complete with eco-friendly architecture and yoga pavilion.
This collectible book-a one-of-a-kind sneak peek into the lives of CFDA stars-reveals that fashion’s most creative minds also take their work home them.’ yes, please!

$ 65.00 Publisher: Assouline Publishing (September 7, 2010) Assouline.com

The crazy sale are still happening: Let me save you time; here are the hot buys in each store this week…

Economy class
Just Jeans:

• Ohh la la : You want the black leather jeans style skirt (with a fly and pockets) for you for an outrageous $29!
• You want the black military style double breasted leather jacket. It has brass buttons It’s hot , it’s cool, it’s right on trend. Was $199 NOW $149
• Love the grey mocha tweed peacoat : chic de la chic! was $149 Now $69
• Buy the draped jersey, long sleeve wrap top: wear with jeans to dag around the house. It’s perfect for weekends. Was $39.95, NOW $19.95
• You want the crushed leather blazer in camel and black. Leather is a hot trend going into next season and the blazer version is not tough as a biker jacket. Much more tailored and so much more flattering. Was $199.00. NOW $99.95
• I see a chic oversized sweater dress with a cowl neck line: this will look fabulous with ankle boots and a fur chubby. Or under a trench. Was $49.95 NOW $29.95.

Jeans West

• You should check out the ‘Kawasaki’ leather belted jacket; very flattering with a pencil skirt or cool with harem pants and stilts. $229
• Love the ‘Martina’ slim straight jeans: great fit: not too low, not too high, not too distressed and not too skinny. Perfect. $89
• Buy the “Track” single breasted brown zip front bomber: love choc brown with black , love choc brown with camel, love choc brown with navy. Love to eat choc. Wear with a flirty skirt or skinny jeans. Or just with classic jeans and ankle boots. $99.

Cotton on

• It’s worth nicking in here for outrageously inexpensive pieces…You want the grey ,over sized chunky, hood cardigan , great over leggings and flat boots. Love this over a pretty chiffon or lace skirt peeking out the bottom. Great to relax on the coach with George Clooney and a glass of wine. Now $49.
• For another cover up that’s not so chunky try the charcoal and black stripe knit cardigan. Love it over a grey marle Tee and back with chinos under a trench. Oh and with converse and a scarf tossed oh so nonchalantly around your neck. $19.
• Buy the blue and white stripe cardigan with patch pockets and a V neck. Great for your summer holiday in St Tropez just tossed over a red bikini with one button done up $29.
• Don’t forget the Cheap but chic of the week : the Hillary Boyfriend blazer $39. Fabulous.

Nine West:

• Check out the fab black shoe boots (which I know I mentioned a few times before) but they are right on and you should buy now. Wear with black opaques if your tootsies get cold. Also these stomp-a-licious heels are still big ( so to speak) for next season. In fact you can see in Burberry Prorsum resort show here at Style.com that it’s still a strong trend. You know you can wear with dresses, the prettier the better and with peg leg pants that stop at the ankle.. Were $189 now $159.
• Buy the short wedge boots with the mad buckles. Wedges are comfortable and these will look fab with a dress or skirt. Please don’t tuck your jeans into them. Were $289, now $179.
• There are some fab grey and black animal print peep toe heels: great to add life to the foot and lift all blacks and grey. Have fun with shoes if you can’t with the rest of your wardrobe. These are fabulous with black opaques and a great way to get the animal print trend without going tacky. Were $159 now $89.

Peeptoes Shoes:
Bargains here..

• Buy the fabulous Blue and black Agate stone ring was $29 now $14.50. Big rings are a big trend.
• Love the black fish scale heels. Of course I do : they are called Miss FiFi belle! Almost a classic now. These are fabulous and all you need. Was $299 now $149.
• Need a cute little bag for evening? Then you must have the feather clutch in gorgeous greens and black feathers. So chic! Feathers are a huge trend for next winter as you can see here on vogue.com Was $125 now $63.

Business Class:
Zimmerman:

• You want the fabulous grey wool blend, double breasted bomber jacket with brass buckles : easy to wear and grey is still a huge trend for next season. Love this back with a pretty flirty skirt or with a pencil skirt. It will look great undone. Was $650, now $455
• Buy the fabulous black and grey and white sleeveless print ” Shatter” dress; a big trend for next summer so invest now and get seasons of wear. Wear layered over a black metallicus sheer long sleeve tee and back with ankle boots and black hosiery. Of course. Mix up the silk dress with a tweed coat. That’s the look. Was $450 now $315.
• You want the other digital print dress : The “fragment” tank dress. So it’s a little sheer ( but it does have a slip) and summery but it’s perfect and right on trend for next summer . Was $450 now $315.

Country Road:

• The sale was huge last week and there are still pieces on sale now. You should buy the print cami’s, the chinos, the blazers, and the peacoats..oh and the long gloves.
• Not on sale but new in is the Light Grey Marle Stripe Knit: A great way to get into the stripe look and keep warm! This is just as great with a trouser suit or with your fav jeans. $99.
• Check out the pretty watermelon/orange Yoke detail knit dress. it’s a pretty colour ( normally I am not keen on watermelon but this is a bit darker) and you can see that it works with my favourite accessory: Black opaques. Wear under a trench or a tweed coat. Add scarf. Voila. Instant chic. $149
• There is a chic purple silk ruffle dress that, again, works with the black hosiery. Love the idea of wearing silk with tweed and layering this over a black metallicus sheer long sleeve top. Love the idea of a tough belt with the ruffle dress. Wear this dress now and then into summer. $229.

Scanlan and Theodore
Not on sale but I see some gorgeous pieces:
My picks are:

• The divine silk digital print “Yellow Stone park “dress. It has drawstring wide neckline and it’s ( I think) sleeveless, with a square neckline and in beautiful blues and greys $500. You can wear right now under a coat but then later straight into summer.
• Buy the cap sleeve, pleat front tunic dress with a square neckline and loose pleating draping from under the boobs: it’s a fabulous print $450
• Check out the grey wool melton ¾ coat to wear over the silk dresses: it’s double breasted and quite mannish. Wear over leggings and with lace up brogues and it’s 80’s redux. Cool dude $500
• You want the black and white stripe long sleeve Tee $180: chic crew neckline. Great under a blazer. A must buy
• You will die, I will die, over the gold/bronze lurex -ish textured cap sleeve loose Tee with a chiffon trim: love this back with grey classic pants or with jeans. Mix up the fabrics and get an eclectic look. Dress down the glitz of the gold and wear it in the day. Divine. $450

First Class;

New Store Alert
A new BECKER MINTY store is now open in the beautiful Queens Court building at
118-122 Queen Street, Woollahra….antiques, modern jewellery, art, fashion accessories, gifts, lighting, furniture and more. A Must visit!

POP UP Store Alert ..Dion Lee
The star of this year’s RAFW,  Dion Lee also won the Designer Award at L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival. Now he is opening a POP Up Store . Fabulous.
From Thursday, 10 June to Sunday, 27 June.
2A, 2 - 16 Glenmore Road
Paddington (02) 8021 0544

Chinese Spicy Eggplant…adulterated from Cuisine.com.au

It’s all “silky and spicy” and this is delicious with steamed jasmine rice or fresh Chinese egg noodles.  You can ditch the pork for chicken ( or ditch the meat and serve it just steamed fish ). You can use the common old eggplant or the long thin Japanese eggplant.

You need for 4 starving fashionista, 2 hungry blokes and 30 models

3 eggplants
salt
2 garlic cloves
1 knob ginger, peeled
8 spring onions
peanut oil (or vegetable oil) for shallow frying
300g pork mince or chicken
2 tbsp chilli bean paste
4 tbsp soy sauce
5 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine (or substitute dry sherry)
1 tsp sesame oil
4 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup water

• Slip into Hermes cashmere trackpants
• Climb into Burberry Ugg Boots
• Pour a wine. Gulp. Wine. gulp wine. Gulp. Repeat.
• Slice eggplants into short, thin strips as small as the fringe on a Gucci bag.
• Scatter the strips of eggplants with salt, then leave in a colander for 30-40 minutes.
• Rinse and pat dry the eggplant with kitchen paper. So boring but you need to so they don’t soak up all that oil.
• In a mortar and pestle (or food processor), crush garlic, ginger and four spring onions to a paste. Bash those little darlings as you think of all of your ex husbands.
• Slice the other spring onions into 5cm; think the height of Jimmy Choo heels lengths. Set aside. The spring onions and the Jimmy Choos
• Heat a wok with a cup of oil and when hot, fry the eggplants until golden brown as a Chloe bag
• They say it’s best to do this in two batches.
• Wine. Gulp. Repeat.
• Remove eggplant with a slotted spoon so the oil slips off and you can get in your skinny jeans.
• Then drain on kitchen paper ( chuck out the oil) and let it have a little rest by itself.
• Reheat the wok with a few tablespoons of fresh oil
• Now toss in the garlic paste and pork/chicken mince.
• Stir-fry for 5 minutes on high until the meat is cooked.
• Then throw in all the remaining ingredients, including the sliced spring onions.
• Cook for just a few minutes until it’s all softened and the flavours have melded together like the Annick Goutal store in Paris
• Now stir in the eggplant gently, check the seasoning (if a little salty add more water) and serve.
• Accessorise with coriander and rice.
• Fabulous!