About Me

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Loving all stylish and wonderful things in life, fashion and interiors. I am English but living my life in the fabulous city of Melbourne in Australia. Welcome and please read on.... (contact me at sjstubbs19@gmail.com)

Friday, July 29, 2011

Something to tell you

I am going home.
For a WHOLE 2 months. My lovely work, THE ARK have said that I may go and I will still have my job when I return and I am so excited that I am trying not to think about it in case it all turns out to be a dream. So in September I will be seeing THIS view below when I wake up and look out of the bedroom window from our cottage in Wiltshire. Home to me is UK. Yes, home is also here in Melbourne but HOME No. 1 is the country where you have spent most of your life, have your memories, and most of your family.

So, if you would like you can all come with me via the blog and perhaps it will be a little more interesting and I will be posting with a bit more regularity than I have of late, for which I can only apologise!

Happy weekend to one and all.






Friday, July 22, 2011

One of my favourites. Jo Malone's Lime, Basil and Mandarin

I love this fragrance - in my opinion her best and her signature first..... It is really a modern classic and the body lotion carries the scent with you all day. Fresh limes and zesty mandarins undercut by the 'pepperiness' of basil with a hint of white thyme.





I think it works well all year round - refreshing and green it is great for the Summer months but then it seems equally to be warming and cosy (perhaps it's the basil element?) for the cooler seasons.








I am using the body lotion now now - Mr SE bought me a large bottle last time he was over in Europe. Wishing you all a great weekend - enjoy!





Friday, July 8, 2011

White Cottage, Suffolk, England

I am totally in LOVE with this very pretty late Georgian cottage in the coastal town of Woodbridge in Suffolk in England. It belongs to my talented friend Jo who has such a flair for designing and decorating - she kindly sent me all these photographs which I am so pleased to share with you all....








Sitting room.

















And another view above.












Dining area. Love the fact that she has paired the old table with the modern white chairs.
















Above and below - the kitchen.































The twin bedded room above.


















And the gorgeous main bedroom.




















Another photo of the main bedroom - tea for two?
























And the bathroom.

























And lastly the GORGEOUS little courtyard garden.










Now the even more exciting part is that this little gem of a cottage is available for holiday lets....


Here is the link http://www.suffolkcottageholidays.com/cottage/suffolk/000300/ajax/white-cottage-woodbridge.html



Have a wonderful weekend whatever you are doing!


















Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Hermes, please explain this pricing policy......

Mr SE has just returned from another trip to Europe (Switzerland, Germany, Dublin and a quick stayover in London) and asked me if I would like anything particular..... Well, I was getting a little low (nearly out of) my favourite fragrance - Hermes Rose Ikebana which I have talked about before on the blog - see HERE.

However, I am very much for VFM in this life .... Value For Money is the name of the game and I just wanted to check where the best place would be for Mr SE to pick up said perfume. So, off I went to the website and decided that I would rather like to try two other 'flavours' in the Hermessence range - the new(ish) Iris Ukiyoe and also the Poivre Samarcande (which is beautiful 'layered' with my favourite Rose Ikebana....) Hermes do a 'Gift Set' where you can choose 4 of the Hermessence fragrances so I picked 2 of the Rose Ikebana and one each of the other two so I could try them as well....



Now, this story is going somewhere (good, I hear you sigh).... Meanwhile above and below show the photographs of the beautifully packaged gifts set...







Each little bottle has its own drawstring bag...





And above here they are out of their packages.




OK so guess where they were bought in the end ? IN AUSTRALIA!


In England they would have been a little more expensive than here - yes, I know I was really surprised. However, if you live in USA you are the winners - this same set above a whole LOT (AUD$65) LESS than it does here.


Why Hermes, can you please explain this???




However, if you want to buy a large bottle of any of the above it would cost far MORE in Australia - in UK and USA it's about the same price. I just don't understand it.




p.s. My nail polish - see post before last is still perfect - no chips at all. I am impressed.