A Charmed Life & A New Book

Australian born Author and fellow blogger Vicki Archer seems to live a charmed life in the South of France, the place she has found and now calls home. Like many, I adored her first book "My French Life" and her new book "French Essence", continues to drag me into her dreamy world. The photography by Carla Coulson is divine and Vicki's styling is second-to-none. I have posted my absolute favourite page in her new book above. I decided on this one page as I don't want to spoil it for you. This book is definitely one to add to the Christmas wish list! Congratulations Vicki on another huge success!!

Nb. French Essence is available now in Australia & New Zealand and will be sold on Amazon later this year.

i don't...

ffffound

Black & Spiro Today

Here is our current window display at Black & Spiro {above}. It's very bright, I must say, even for me! It's been a crazy week here at B&S. Usually the September school holidays are a quiet time for us. It is usually a time we call the lull before the storm with the onslaught of Christmas coming! However, for some strange reason these September holidays have been crazy. Lots of deliveries arriving as you can see below. A few clients will be very happy at the end of this week once they receive their beautiful armchairs!!

A Summer Table

This lovely table setting screams Summer to me. I love the fresh green and white colour palette. I also love the little succulent arrangements. They actually reminded me of the lovely succulent arrangements Chelsea over at Frolic created recently as below.

image 1 - victoria pearson via brown turtleneck sweater,

image 2 - frolic

half is not whole

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the danger of a broken heart is not the pain.
not the tears, or anger.
not the ache, not the loneliness,
not the quiet, the empty seat, the bed now much too big.

the danger of a broken heart is what we have to repair it with.
mistrust, hopelessness, faux comfort.
independence.
the oaths we take. what we swear to ourselves.
the danger is self-reliance.

the danger is that these stitches in our heart don't fall out.
that they are there to stay.
because they must.

the danger is that we know it isn't about love anymore.
and,
it isn't about how perfect we are in our world.
it's about how perfect we are in theirs.

the danger is that two became one.
and a half of one...
well.

half is not whole.

but now we must make it so.

-lauren

More Britney Concert Pics

Here are a couple more pics of actress Dakota Fanning at the Britney Spears concert in LA.

Bathroom Shelving & Stools

The concept of open shelving in a kitchen or lounge room is often talked/blogged about but I do also like the idea of open shelving in a bathroom. These images above, which I have saved in my files, certainly show this concept very well. I like the idea of soaking in the bath tub looking at my beautiful things in the shelving surrounding me.

Another great idea for a bathroom, if you have a bath tub, is to use a drum stool next to the tub to put a book or a glass on. We have some lovely blue and white stools {and other colours too} in the shop at the moment which would do the job. I use one at home next to our bath and it is fabulous. I often have a pile of magazines on mine...nothing like reading some magazines in the bath at the end of a long day!!


image 1 & 2 via the lettered cottage, image 3 - anna spiro

i love you more than...

thanks tifa!

More of Liliana

Here are more cute pics of actress Liliana Mumy with friends. Enjoy.

Ormiston House Sneak Peek

I thought I would share a few photos of a job I have been working on lately for some very lovely clients at Ormiston. It's quite a funny story actually. When Brad, Harry and I lived at Ormiston a few years ago this house was one we used to drive past and comment on. The gardens were always so beautifully kept and the house was picture-perfect. I was thrilled when I arrived at the front door earlier this year at my first appointment with the clients to walk inside and see the house we had long admired and to be asked to be involved with the renovation and update of the home.

I helped the clients with the concept for the kitchen. One of my favourite things in the kitchen is the 3 vintage light fittings we found for above the island bench. I took them to one of my little vintage lighting haunts and we spent a good half hour there looking for the perfect lights. Two of the lights match and the third is slightly different. The clients were a little unsure of this at first but after my re-assurance they were happy to go with them. When I visited them at the house last week they couldn't have been happier with the lights. I actually love the size of them. Being smaller they don't dominate the kitchen which I really like.

We installed some of the furniture last week including their old sofas which we recovered in a plain pale blue linen with contrast white piping. The two Antique French gilt chairs I found for them and had covered in a beautiful pale blue and white stripe fabric to work with the blue/white/taupe floral fabric we selected for the scatter cushions. We are still working on a few more pieces of furniture including barstools, dining chairs, lamps etc.

Once we have completed the house in a few months we will be photographing it for our Black & Spiro website. I'll be sure to let you know once it is up on the portfolio page.

Oh, and look at the beautiful afternoon tea my client had prepared for me when I arrived to install the furniture. So lovely!!

love map

thelovelybones

Hello

Hello again. I thought I would let you know that I will be back to blogging on Monday. We had a lovely break away and I am looking forward to sharing some wonderful things with you next week including a few photos of a beautiful job I have been working on lately.

xo
Anna

love is ________________

anna + licensetobe

Dakota rocks out to Britney

Dakota Fanning was spotted yesterday at 'The Circus Starring: Britney Spears' in Los Angeles Staples Center with her friends. Dakota made a photo with Willie Gomez, who is Britney's backdancer and another photo is posted as well.

he has no idea

weheartit

I met a boy and fell for him fast. We moved fast. Everything was such a rush, everything was perfect, we were so obsessed with each other. He would tell me I was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He would say “you're amazing” every hour. Except when he said it, it wasn’t just a line, it was the truth. The truth in his eyes. But I had to leave, and I knew I couldn’t do long distance. I have too ,any whims, I’m not good at being alone, I would have strayed. So I just cut off all contact, said cruel and hurtful things, pushed him away on purpose, alienated him so that he would leave me alone. Because it hurt too much to be friends, I thought it would be better to have no contact.

I was wrong. It was the stupidest decision of my life, because I find that not knowing someone well, can make you never get over them. The truth is, I don’t know him that well. What we had was short, it was over before I had a chance to see whether we were really good together, whether he was right for me. So all this time, even while I’ve had relationships with so many other guys, I always compare the new boys to one boy who I barely even knew, and they all fall short. Because his memory is so perfect, it’s so indestructible because it’s unfinished. I didn’t have time to discover his flaws, the little quirks that annoy, the arguments that break a couple a part. I didn’t give him a chance to show me that side of himself. All I have are the memories of that new, excited feeling. Of butterflies every time his fingers brushed my arm, of electric sparks every time we kissed, because it was so new, and unexpected and amazing. I have idealized this boy to the point where he is perfect in my eyes, and because of that, I can’t be satisfied with anyone else. But I can’t go back to him either, I cut off all ties, made it clear I never wanted to talk to him. He doesn’t know I think about him every day. He probably thinks he was completely insignificant, because I lied, and told him that he was. I swore I couldn’t care less. He has no idea. And I have no idea what it would be like to really be with him, have a real relationship with him, and I have to live with the fact that it is completely my fault. For being so proud, and so presumptuous to think I would get over him in two minutes. I never thought I’d hold on this long, to a ghost of a person. To an illusion of a person, that isn’t very likely a true reflection of him anyway.

And my advice to anyone reading this is, don’t let opportunities pass you by. Don’t dismiss people without thinking about how you may feel later. Don’t end something great, just because you think it would be too inconvenient to your life to let it continue. The truth is, everyone needs closure. Even if you do try something, and it’s difficult, and it ends, at least you know you tried. At least you know it was really the right decision to end it. You tried, and you failed. That’s okay, that’s something you’ll get over. But wondering, always wondering how it would have went if you had just let it happen, that’s torture. It’s the “what ifs” that keep me up at night. And the fact that he was strong enough to want me, to want to put up a fight for me, and I wasn’t strong enough to fight for him. And for the way I feel now, I have only myself to blame.

- Anonymous

Elle Fanning

Actress Elle Fanning enjoys dancing at her school. In a performance of The Nutcracker, she also got to practice her versatility playing a boy in blue. (notice her signature glasses!)

New Older Pictures

Of actress Liliana Mumy. Enjoy.

Britney Concert

Neil Patrick Harris among other celebrities attended the Britney Spears concert recently in LA.

the way i give up my heart

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you have loved me long enough to notice

tfs

You have loved me since I was 15.

Braces and all, you thought I was the most beautiful girl at school.

At first, I wasn't sure what I thought of you.

You were so open with me about your emotions from day one.

I was used to guys playing games with my mind,

but you told me right away that you thought we would be good together.

You would call me on the phone, (every other night so that you would not seem too anxious)

and you would write down things for us to talk about in your notebook. (I found this out later)!

You could always make me laugh,

and even though I pushed you away at times

I secretly knew I loved your attention.

Finally, I admitted this to myself,

and I told you I liked you.

You wanted to be romantic,

so on our first date you took me to the aquarium,

and asked me to be your girlfriend.

Almost four years later I am looking back on everything we have been through.

I have never been so comfortable with anybody in my life.

You know all of me,

and I know all of you.

The other night you said to me, "You look so grown up"

and I almost cried simply because of the fact that you have loved me long enough to notice something like that.

We have had our share of hard times,

but that is to be expected when you are young and in love.

It is amazing that we are still together,

considering how young we are,

and this proves to me that something just clicks between us.

I feel secure,

I feel happy,

I trust you,

and I love you with all of my heart.

-Emma

i'm sorry

weheartit

The Primetime Emmy Awards

We love TV. From cop dramas to reality shows to half-hour comedies, we can’t get enough of the boob tube. And that’s why Emmys night gets us so excited. The high-profile red-carpet event honors the most talented television actors and celebrates the best of the small screen. Here we highlight a few of our favorite moments from the 2009 Primetime Emmy Awards. We laughed, we cried, and we watched in absolute awe. See who won and what happened HERE.

Also see the Best-Dressed Women at the Emmy Awards

Check Out the Women Who Looked Flawlessly Gorgeous