“When all those photos came out, of course I go out to dinner and think, Goddamn it, these people have all seen my. . . .” Johansson’s voice trails off. “That’s terrible. You know what I mean? You can’t not think that. Even if they haven’t, you’re paranoid.”  Scarlett Johansson to Vogue about her phone being hacked.

“I’m interested in the lives of women in general, which is why I love aprons. The apron is a recurring theme in my work because it is symbolic of women’s sufferance … It’s an emblem of women’s despair, their poverty, their passions. I love drama and romance. It’s one of the reasons why I love antique jewelry - I like to live the lives of other women.” Muiccia Prada.

“I literally, LITERALLY just got saved from a car by Ryan Gosling. Literally. That actually just happened.” British journalist Laurie Penny, after being rescued from oncoming traffic by the movie star, on Twitter

“We do look very different…He’s fatter now - I’m thinner. It’s true, though!”  Kate Winslet sinking Titanic costar Leonardo DiCaprio.

“I’m a sales slut.” Claire Danes.

“I’m a bit of a clothes hoarder; My girlfriends go shopping in my wardrobe. They love it when they get stuff with a tag still on.” Jennifer Aniston

“As soon as she got to the set, I had to sit topless on top of her. It was the most interesting love scene I’ve ever done.” Penelope Cruz chatting about Meryl Streep to Harpers Bazaar

Pure …by Andrew Miller

This novel has had rave reviews…
” Miller writes like a poet, with a deceptive simplicity - his sentences and images are intense distillations, conjuring the fleeting details of existence with clarity. He is also a very humane writer, whose philosophy is tempered always with an understanding of the flaws and failings of ordinary people…Pure defies the ordinary conventions of storytelling, slipping dream-like between lucidity and a kind of abstracted elusiveness… As Miller proves with this dazzling novel, it is not certainty we need but courage”( Guardian )

”His recreation of pre-Revolutionary Paris is extraordinarily vivid and imaginative, and his story is so gripping that you”ll put your life on hold to finish it. Expect this on the Booker longlist, at the very least” ( The Times )

”This is a tale about “the beauty and mystery of what is most ordinary”… Miller lingers up close on details: sour breath, decaying objects, pretty clothes, flames, smells, eyelashes… (Daily Telegraph )

”enthralling…superbly researched, brilliantly narrated and movingly resolved.”
(-Robert McCrum, The Observer )

‘Jean-Baptiste Baratte, an engineer of modest origin, arrives in the city in 1785, charged by the King’s minister with emptying the overflowing cemetery of Les Innocents, a ancient site whose stench is poisoning the neighborhood’s air and water and leaving a vile taste in its inhabitants’ food. At first the ambitious Baratte sees his work as a chance to clear the burden of history, a fitting task for a modern man of reason. But before long he begins to suspect that the destruction of the cemetery might be a prelude to both his own demise and that of the monarchy. Baratte expects the task to be unpleasant but cannot foresee the dramas and calamities it will trigger, or the incident that will transform his life. As unrest against the court of Louis XVI mounts, the engineer realizes that the future he had planned may no longer be the one he wants. His assignment becomes a year of relentless work, exhuming of mummified corpses and listening to the chants of priests, a year of assault and sudden death. A year of friendship, too, and of desire and love. A year unlike any other he has lived.’

$8 Publisher: Europa Editions (May 29, 2012) Amazon.com

Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations (Metropolitan Museum of Art) …by Andrew Bolton , Harold Koda, Judith Thurman.

We all need this book of the fabulous exhibtion about to open in May at The Metropolitan Museum in New York…it should be amazing ! Read more about the exhibition here.

‘Although separated by time, Miuccia Prada and Elsa Schiaparelli-both Italian, both feminists-share striking affinities in terms of their design strategies and fashion manifestoes. Presented as an intimate “conversation,” Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations aims to tease out formal and conceptual similarities between the two designers. Striking photographs and insightful texts illustrate the parallels between the two, including their preferences for interesting textiles and prints, eccentric color palettes, and a bold and playful approach to styling and accessories.

Schiaparelli, in the 1920s through 50s, and Prada, from the late 1980s to today, exploited the narrative possibilities of prints, sought out unconventional textiles, played with ideas of good and bad taste, and manipulated scale for surrealistic outcomes. Contemporary art plays a major role in the work of these inventive women-Schiaparelli in her famous collaborations with Dali and Cocteau, and Prada via her Fondazione Prada. Blending the historic with the contemporary, the catalogue brings the masterworks of both designers together into a grand conversation between the most important women fashion designers to ever emerge from Italy.’

$31 Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art (May 29, 2012) Amazon.com

This week the shopping is all about winter weekend dressing. Bring on the sunny cold winter days…

Trenery.
The first thing you need to joosh up the weekend wardrobe is a cool hat. Perfect for the weekend to cover up bad hair days. Perfect to keep you warm and looking chic. Grey is softer than black. Throw it on and sneak out the door. The stalking paparazzi will never recognise you. Neither will your mother. Bless.  $49.95

Jigsaw
I love a peacoat.  The great thing about this jacket is that you can throw it over jeans or chinos. It’s fabulous because the double breasted look means you can wear it undone and it will still cover the muffin top. A miracle!  The colour is great too. Love it over a classic round neck knit ( get thee to David Jones own knit department ASAP for simple round neck Tee style wool knits in great colours). Anyway I love this “Wellington jacket” . I love how Jigsaw tell us that it’s “inspired by Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of Wellington and one of England’s greatest military leaders.” So there. You can be a military leader too. You probably are if you have children. Arsenal, bombing and cannons optional.$379.

Country Road
The knit is the new jacket. Repetez. Bon. Now also know that the cable knit is hot. I love this grey knit. It has a double layer which is actually quite flattering. It’s like a crop top that then keeps going. Clever non? You can toss this with jeans (mais oui! ) or just with chinos or grey flannel harem esque pants. It’s chic enough for weekends in the city with a cool leather skirt or for weekends sailing with George on freezing lake Como. Yes, it’s that good. $179.

David  Lawrence.
I like an A -line skirt for weekends. A little more casual than a pencil skirt. Plus it skims and swings. This is a good thing. You can rock this skirt with flat boots, with ankle boots or with stomp-a-licious heels during the week. A camel skirt is a must buy. It loves balck and brown as much as it loves navy. It loves a leather jacket. It loves a denim jacket. It loves a chunky cable knit sweater. It’s very affectionate this little skirt. But don’t worry it will never cheat on you. $169.

Witchery.com.au
Warning! warning! warning!. The big oversized look is on the horizon. Say good bye to tight little dresses and everything short. ( thank god). It’s all about a very 80’s silhouette. Check out the Celine show and you will see what I mean. It’s a totally new style  that will take a couple of years to trickle down to being accepted every day look. So if you want to get into the look right now then grab this divine Witchery camel jacket. Or it might be a coat. who cares it’s fabulous. The idea is to wear it over a narrow skirt or pants. It’s tres chic non? $399.

Sportsgirl
I have been raving on about red or orange jeans/pants for a year or so and I’m sure you were wary when I first mentioned them but now they are not so scary right? So I suggest you invest in a chic red ” mod girl’s pants ” for $89  or the chic burgundy “Bobbi” pants here at Sportsgirl for $79. Both are a great fit and work well for weekends. A nice change from jeans don’t you think? Love red pants back with everything on this page. Yes, I’m talking camel and grey and black. Plus you can rock these pants with converse or with short boots. Please ditch the idea of jeans tucked into long boots. Yawn. So over. Wrong. It’s about short boots , rolled up jeans or crop pants or stick to long boots with a skirt. Bless.

Marc By Marc Jacobs bag from Shopbop
The stand out tote is THE bag shape and I spied this cool little number at Shopbop. You can sling it over your shoulder or carry it in the crook of the arm. Toss all your crap into it and you will find it instantly because the lining is a mad graffiti logo print. Love! Perfect for a day of weekend lazing round lunching and coffeeing. $578.

Wittner Shoes
So as I was saying it’s about the crop ankle boot with pants/skirts/ jeans. I like black. Surprise! But really when you are dagging around on the weekend in the country you know that black just works. I am scared, in fact petrified, of wearing flat boots. Oh god I look so short and fat it’s not worth going there. Ok Converse are good. I need an ankle boot with a slight heel like these dudes from Wittner. They are in tan as well I think. You can roll up your jeans or your skinny jeans can slide right inside. Love with a skirt or dress. They will hide the cankles! PS. These boots are called “rough”. Nice.  $179.95

JacandJack.
Love a scarf. Love a cable knit scarf. Love anything cream against the face it will take years off.  Brilliant.  $240

Cotton on
You have probably invested in a faux fur vest years ago. I have thashed mine from seasons of wear. That poor dead fake fur animal. If it wasn’t dead before it sure is now. The fur vest is perfect for Sydney ( and Perth) winter because you don’t really need a coat. Oh please don’t cry those living in Melbourne, Adelaide and Wellington. It’s perfcct to slide under a jacket too. Anyway for a bit of fun you can’t go past this shaggy Mongolain vest from Cotton on. It’s $49. Shut up. Ignore the photo and the styling. Why would anyone wear that taupe top under a grey vest like that is beyond me. Bless. Just toss it over a simple black, cream or grey knit. It’s a winner. Also check out the cool khaki anorak here as well for $69. It’s just the thing for weekends over a dress or jeans. Love! $69.

cheat’s ricotta, spinach and mint gnocchi …adulterated from Donna Hay

You can make gnocchi. You can. It’s very satisfying on a cold autumn nights. This is delicious. Cream, parmesan and pasta. Yum.

2 ½ cups (500g) fresh ricotta
½ cup (40g) finely grated parmesan
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (150g) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon chopped spearmint leaves
250g frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup (160g) semolina+
1 cup (250ml) pouring (single) cream
½ cup (40g) finely grated parmesan, extra
½ cup round mint leaves
sea salt and cracked black pepper

• Slip put of Burberry trench.
• Pull on Qantas first class pyjamas and fake fur vest.
• Pull on Prada socks
• Pour a huge glass of wine. Inhale.
• Throw the ricotta, parmesan, eggs, flour, lemon rind, spearmint and spinach in a bowl and mix well to combine.
• So easy : That’s why it’s called cheat’s Gnocchi.
• Turn out onto a surface sprinkled with the semolina and roll into 4 x 30cm-long ropes. Like a Chanel pearl necklace.
• Honestly it’s not difficult. If you are having problems you know George Clooney is always happy to get his hands dirty.
• Cut into 2cm lengths. That’s the pasta not George.
• Now heat the big saucepan of water.
• Pour another wine.
• Then lower the gnocchi, gently in batches, in the salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until they float to the surface.
• Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm. That’s the Gnocchi not George.
• If you are feeling indulgent pour the cream in a large frying pan over high heat and cook for 1-2 minutes to warm it through.
• Now gently add the gnocchi, extra parmesan, mint, salt and pepper and toss to coat.
• Superb!