“Getting dressed, I want to pick the most bizarre pair of shorts so I can figure out how to make it look right, or work an outfit that will make people go, ‘What the hell is she wearing?’ Rihanna to Glamour

“Bad boys do get the girls.” Harry Potter’s Tom Felton (on who Emma Watson admitted to having a huge crush )

“I didn’t meet them. I was shoved out of the way by Jennifer Lopez. Uh oh, I shouldn’t have said that.” Mary Louise Parker, on missing her chance to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

“Do you ever worry about your moment having passed?” ABC interviewer Dan Harris, asks Paris Hilton (which made her walk out)

“I never liked Sean Connery or Pierce Brosnan much.” Current James Bond Daniel Craig.

“When I was 19, a doctor put in bigger implants than what I’d asked for. I was in such a hurry to get them that I didn’t research my doctor.” Denise Richards…A brain transplant?

SALE ! SALE ! SALE ! SALE ! SALE ! SALE !

For three days only, the chicest Australian fashion and homeware brands are coming together for a serious POP UP designer sale! Oh la la!
There are end-of-season pieces, samples and vintage pieces at incredibly low prices. YAY!  ( Yes, like bargains from $20…)

• Eclettica: Italian leather handbags, wallets and sandals plus our easy, elegant fashion
• Shona Joy: Designer clothing- silk/cotton dresses plus beautiful winter knits
• Mr. Rose: Beautiful women’s shirting, blouses, jackets, waistcoats and tunics.
• Dirty Pretty Things: Lingerie to tempt and tantalize - Chantal Thomass, Mimi Holiday and Lascuvious
• Signature Prints: Ottomans, cushions, throws, lighting and doorstops by the iconic Florence Broadhurst.

When: Fri 29th July - Sun 31st July, 2011
Where : Shona Joy Warehouse
80 Victoria Street, Beaconsfield, NSW, 2015

Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness [Hardcover]
Alexandra Fuller
One of my most favourite books, Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, now has a sequel. Alexandra Fuller returns to Africa and the story of her unforgettable family…

“Gracefully recounted using family recollections and photos, the author plumbs the narrative with a humane and clear-eyed gaze-a lush story, largely lived within a remarkable place and time.”Kirkus Reviews

“Fuller achieves another beautifully wrought memoir.” Publishers Weekly

“Fuller’s prose is so beautiful and so evocative that readers will feel that they, too, are sitting under [the Tree of Forgetfulness]. A gorgeous tribute to both her parents and the land they love.” Booklist

“Fuller is a brave writer who pushes the boundaries of her genre.” The Telegraph

“A classic is born in this tender, intensely moving and even delightful journey [Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight]. . . Fuller’s book has the promise of being widely read and remaining of interest for years to come.”
-Publishers Weekly

In Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness Alexandra Fuller braids a multilayered narrative around the perfectly lit, Happy Valley-era Africa of her mother’s childhood; the boiled cabbage grimness of her father’s English childhood; and the darker, civil war- torn Africa of her own childhood. At its heart, this is the story of Fuller’s mother, Nicola. Born on the Scottish Isle of Skye and raised in Kenya, Nicola holds dear the kinds of values most likely to get you hurt or killed in Africa: loyalty to blood, passion for land, and a holy belief in the restorative power of all animals. Fuller interviewed her mother at length and has captured her inimitable voice with remarkable precision. Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness is as funny, terrifying, exotic, and unselfconscious as Nicola herself.

A story of survival and madness, love and war, loyalty and forgiveness, Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness is an intimate exploration of the author’s family. In the end we find Nicola and Tim at a coffee table under their Tree of Forgetfulness on the banana and fish farm where they plan to spend their final days. In local custom, the Tree of Forgetfulness is where villagers meet to resolve disputes and it is here that the Fullers at last find an African kind of peace. Following the ghosts and dreams of memory, Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness is Alexandra Fuller at her very best.

$15.76 Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The (August 23, 2011) Amazon.com

This week I jetted down to Melbourne to go shopping (and take FiFi Readers shopping!). I headed over to Chadstone shopping centre and loved it. It’s all virtually on one level and so bright and sunny. Yes, Melbourne has been sunny. It was so easy to stagger around in my stomp-a-licous heels  to all the fabulous stores from Prada to Miu Miu, Burberry , Gucci to Sportsgirl, Witchery and Country Road.

It’s been pretty busy so here’s my top cheap but chic picks of the week…

Just Jeans:
It seems Just Jeans are onto the leather trend that was started seasons ago with Celine but still going strong. We all need a leather skirt , yes, we do.  I thought this cute full black leather skirt here was a bit of barganza. Take $50 off and it’s $79. Shut up. It’s pretty full and 50’s style and does sit high on the waist so it’s for the skinny chicks. The rest of us can wear a straight leather pencil skirt …or buy a big size and let it sit lower on the hips.

Witchery:
You have got  to love their red skinny jeans: Yes, we have been talking about red jeans virtually all year. These are a great cut. Red jeans are moving up the fashion Richter scale and will peak in about a season or two . My advice? Just get into the look and thrash it while it’s hot. That’s what wearing a hot trend is all about isn’t it? Love it, wear it and say goodbye. $129. Wear with bright orange in summer but right now throw red jeans back with a navy blazer and your fav stripe or grey marle Tee. I think you need to wear them with heels to fashion them up.

Trenery:
My pick here this week? The cute denim shift dress: It’s sleeveless and cut as sheath so straight and narrow. The neckline is perfect. Not a horrid wide neckline/ scoops that will add years to your pretty little face.. Love this for summer: so very Celine and Stella McCartney inspired. You need some sexy wedges or stomp-a-licous heels to add a sexy fashion edge to this dress. Maybe add some gold cuffs too. I can’t see this dress with boots for some reason. I think if you wear it , it would be with opaques and YSL heels. Buy to wear later when it’s warm. $139

Katies:
There are some great jeans here at great prices but what I really like is the button through faded denim skirt. It’s $59 for god’s sake! This is one of the key pieces for the season going into summer so buy now and get your wear out of it. I say wear with wedges and a cute Tee in summer. Wear now while freezing with 70’s style ankle strap platforms and black opaques with a short crop poloneck knit sweater. Please tuck the top into the skirt. For dags you need to know this is cool. It’s about showing off the waist and when you do that it suddenly looks right. You know it’s a 70’s does 40’s does 2011.

Nine West:
If you are still after short ankle boots then head to Nine West for these chic little numbers below. They are black: you need black because they work with everything. And isn’t it muddy and wet outside? I like these boots because they are so simple, simple, simple. There is a chic double edging that slopes down slightly at the top so you don’t (look like ) you have cankles.  Love the classic round toe and a hidden platform like Harry Potter. This means they are not as high as you would think. You can wear with skirts and black opaques or wear with your fav jeans rolled up to just hit the top of the boots. Yes and wear with your A-line leather skirt. Called Palomar $189.

Esprit Collection:
This store is a little more sophisticated than the usual Esprit stores. You will be pleased to know I snooped in here and what did I find? The updated version of the black velvet blazer. It’s a fabulous cut with slight shoulder pads and a cinched in waist. The velvet is not so wintery so you can wear this into spring. $149. You know how to wear this: Dress it down stupid! Evening wear fabrics in the day is the way. ( I am a poet and didn’t know it) . I love a velvet blazer because that means you can wear a black blazer with black pants but it won’t look a boring trousers suit. YAWN. The velvet breaks it up and adds another texture. Wear with jeans and ankle boots and a chic chiffon blouse under it. Try it with J brand cargoes and heels or just with grey skinny jeans.No photo on their site. How annoying is that?

Country Road:
Listen up girls who are over size 12 and want to wear a sexy pencil skirt. You need the black thick nylon knit ( how else to describe?) longer pencil skirt here at C Road. I know you will all look at it and say ” as if I will get into that ? It will show up everything I have eaten on my hips for the last 10 years.” Wrong! It’s a suck-it-all-in style of fabric that is heavy and skims over the muffins thighs. It’s a great length as it’s a little on/over the knee depending how you wear it. Did I say it has an elastic waist? Plus it’s clever because it goes in at the knees which is so Mad Men and so fabulously flattering. Who would have thought? It’s stretchy so you can run fast (and catch George.) Love for summer or winter. $149. Called Milano just so know.

Seedfemme:
Have I mentioned this skirt before? It’s s cool full skirt . I like that it’s a little longer so it’s a very fashion; You know; that retro 50’s look which everyone like Vuitton and Prada showed for last winter. I like it in the brown because you can then throw it back with all your black leather jackets. Later in warmer weather you can wear it with a simple grey/black/navy tight tee. With all that fullness you want a short, narrow top. This skirt NEEDS, loves and wants to be seen with serious wedges and serious high platform heels. It’s to balance the silhouette you see. All that fabric needs a heavier shoe. By the way I think this is not for those who are too hippy. As in a size 14 not as in a 60’s BoHo who chants Peace Man. Love . $129.

Date & walnut loaf ….adulterated from taste.com.au

You need for one lovely healthy delicious loaf:

240g (1 1/2 cups) pitted dried dates, halved
310mls (1 1/4 cups) water
100g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) dark brown sugar
80g butter, cubed
Melted butter, for greasing
300g (2 cups) self-raising flour
1 1/2 tsp mixed spice optional if you have it
2 eggs, lightly whisked
100g walnut chopped pieces

• Wrap yourself into your Prada faux fur jumpsuit,
• Climb into your Burberry ugg boots.
• Pre heat oven and yourself to 170.
• Pour a warming red wine. Drink.
• Chop up the dates and nuts: you want them the size of a Miu Miu buckle.
• Dice up the butter so that it melts easily. Like your thighs. You wish.
• Moisterise a loaf tin with lashings of unsalted butter.
• Throw dates, water, brown sugar and butter in a medium saucepan and pop on a lid. That’s on the saucepan not you.
• Bring it to a medium heat until the sugar dissolves and give it a stir.
• Then let it come to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer, uncovered, for about 2 minutes til it’s a little mushy. Like a face mask.
• Then pour it into a bowl and then let it cool down for about 20 minutes. HINT: You are going to mix the eggs in it and if it’s too hot the eggs will scramble. This is not a good look.
• Now sift the flour and mixed spice into a chic mixing bowl.
• Whisk the eggs a little and when the wet date mix is cool enough you can pour in the eggs and give it a good stir to combine.
• Then pour that wet date mixture into the dry flour mixture and give it a good stir.
• Toss in the walnuts and stir again so it’s all mixed in and completely combined like a Prada outfit.
• Pour the mixture into the moisturized loaf pan.
• Throw in the oven and bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes.
• It will be cooked when it’s a lovely crunchy Chanel brown on the top (and skewer comes out clean.)
• Turn onto a wire rack to cool a little.
• Serve hot with lashings of cream cheese or icecream.
• Yum!