Please note the Melbourne Event for Imagination is cancelled due to storm damage.

Watch this space for news of rescheduling.

And so it feels like the blink of an eye and already we are in March. Its Autumn, yet feels like just yesterday we were singing the praises of the Spring Racing Carnival. It’s been nearly a month since my birthday, close to three since Christmas. How time flies when you are having fun.

I suppose it is around this time of year that we start to feel a touch of the blah, the weather is beginning to turn, it’s still dark at 6am and soon we will be cleaning the cobwebs out of our heaters. A perfect opportunity one might say to clean out the wardrobe – out with old and in with the new – just in time for the Loreal Melbourne Fashion Festival.

Some of you may recall some rather significant cleaning out on my part around August of last year, right before my big (or little if you think about how much I actually took and what I left behind) move to the city. Mum and Dads rumpus room was to be a temporary storage space while I sorted out my life and then it was all going to appear on eBay or at a garage sale, making me my fortune and paying for the next 6 months worth of new stuff.

Now 6 months on, the pile at Mum and Dads is no smaller, my feeble attempts to sell on eBay have been limited to only 3 or 4 batches of items and while I did have the best of intentions, another clean out this weekend has put me right back at square one. The pile continues to grow.

It really is a space issue at my apartment – its very limited and as much as this fashionista loathes to throw anything away (or sell it) I am scared that at some point, it will all come back in fashion and I will be rendered with the regret of hindsight – ‘It will always come back in fashion’ is my mantra. As my wardrobe expands with each seasons new styles and I begin to pile shoes in other parts on the house, it seems my apartment is starting to become one giant walk in wardrobe (complete with kitchenette and bathroom).

Katherine Heigl contends with her overstuffed closet in 27 Dresses

I have earrings adorning a giant piece of tulle hanging from the wall (I call it art). There are pearl necklaces hanging on the mirror in the living room; scarves in a vase on the coffee table. Corsages line the top of the heater and sparkly brooches are attached for a bit of colour. Diamante shoes sit atop a Vogue storage box, handbags hang off the dining room table chairs and each of my two doorways are covered in dresses while fascinators perch gingerly on the cheval mirror. The laundry hamper is full of flat, everyday style shoes at the front door, a weeks worth of cardigans and jackets cover the couch.

This week’s clean out was by no means extensive (I only did the hanging space and the tall boy) but at least it’s a start. I even listed a few pieces on eBay (you can find them here: http://shop.ebay.com.au/sarahsstyleemporium/m.html?_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1) though my laziness surely shows given that I listed them in bulk lots (grab two or three skirts for the price of one!).

As fast as I manage to put these items up for sale, I find something new that takes my fancy – last weeks Cue dress and Ansdorf jacket, this week’s Robert Robert shoes from Miss Money Penny (www.missmoneypenny.net.au). It’s a never ending cycle of fashion and fabulousness.

Only 11 days left til the Loreal Melbourne Fashion Festival and who know what I’ll be inspired by there? Perhaps it will be time to start storing sweaters in my oven a la Carrie Bradshaw or using my pantry for additional shelving. Come to think of it, the fridge is probably great extra space as well – lord knows there is never any food in there!

I realise it’s been some months since I moved to South Melbourne – 6 months in fact (how time flies when you’re having fun!), but I am still yet to explore so many areas that are within a stone’s throw of my apartment. Last night I was introduced to one of these areas; Bridport Street, Albert Park.
Barely 5 minutes from my door lies this treasure trove of undiscovered stores full of fashion, homewares and glorious place to eat! How could I have not known about this!!

We started with dinner at Mediterraneo, a steak and seafood restaurant located towards the Albert Road end of Bridport Street. Seated by the window on a gorgeous evening, my companions and I started with sparkling mineral water and a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (Seresin) in honour of a recent visit there by the birthday girl (not me, February is a popular month!)

Assorted breads arrived (not to be consumed by this celiac but they looked great, appeared they served white and rye – it’s always nice to have a choice) and we ordered from the quite extensive menu. Both my friends ordered the chargrilled seafood kebab served on paella rice with seasonal vegetables while I went with the fish of the day (Atlantic Salmon) served on an olive oil mash with seasonal vegetables.

The meals arrived relatively quickly and were presented perfectly. Everything was wonderful (as evidenced by me eating everything on my plate – Miss T did comment ‘Was I hungry?’) but I am a firm believer in finishing if its good!! The salmon was indeed spectacular and given that my recent salmon experiences are from the freezer or a can (give me a break, I live alone and I’m a busy girl) I did enjoy every single amazing morsel.

Both girls also thoroughly enjoyed their kebabs and two glasses of wine later we were all feeling rather content. But then, the dessert menu arrived and suddenly you find room you didn’t know you had before! Being fashionable (one must think of ones figure barely 2 weeks before fashion week!), we elected to share the chocolate flourless cake with chocolate anglaise and King Island cream and the serving was indeed more than enough for three. The cake was smooth and rich, very decadent and just the thing to end an amazing meal.

The staff were perfectly attentive, the vibe intimate and the music levels attuned to the fact that people like to converse over dinner. We finished with a walk along Bridport Street, educating me to the stores there and what treasures I could find within when I return during opening hours!

Mediterreaneo is located at 116 Bridport Street, Albert Park 3206 9690 5155 or visit www.mediterraneo.com.au
Image thanks to Mediterraneo

Just 16 days remain until the Loreal Melbourne Fashion Festival kicks off for 2010. A week (and a bit more) of fabulous events, parades, frocks and skyhigh heels to whet your appetite for the coming seasons.

Last night I ate all the chocolate (and then some) that remained in my house – now the three week diet and detox before the merriment begins, begins!

For those of you blessed with a fast metabolism or watching the festival from the comfort of your computer, here is a receipe for a great chocolate slice I picked up from a collegue in a previous job.
Gluten Free and super yummy. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Date Slice
 
250g dates (chopped into 1cm pieces)
125g butter
125g castor sugar
3 1/2 cups Lowans Cocoa Bombs (health food section of supermarket, yellow box)
250g dark cooking chocolate
 
Melt butter, sugar and dates in a saucepan over low heat, stirring all the time. When the dates are melted and the mixture is caramelised, add Cocoa Bombs and mix well.
Press mixture into a greased lamington tray. Melt chocolate and spread on top of slice. When chocolate is set, cut into squares. Keep stored in refrigerator.
 
Suggestion: It is best to leave slice to set out of the fridge for approx 1 to 2 hours and then cut into squares (or use a hot knife). If cutting straight out of the fridge it is really hard!
 
I have also used about a block and a half of chocolate for the topping in the past for the topping – I like it thick!!

And just like that, it’s nearly the end of February (my birthday month in case you have forgotten!)

Thursday night saw us off to the Spencer and Rutherford Autumn Winter 2010 launch in Armadale. Entitled All that Glitters and inspired by the Art Deco era of the 1920’s, creative director Kim Michaelides has reintroduced a lot of black to this seasons range, much to the thrill of the women at the launch. Champagne and canapés flowed while ladies perused the new season wares and had the opportunity to ask Kim herself about the new designs. My personal favourites include Marlene and the Business carry on (if ONLY I got to travel for work!), but I ended up going home not with a bag but with this cuter than cute diamante bow headband. Visit www.spencerandrutherford.com.

I also spotted a darling frock on one of the sales girls and upon questioning her as to where she shopped, discovered she wore Cue, one of my favourites! A quick trip into Cue on Friday evening almost left me disappointed. I saw pants, a skirt, a jacket in the same fabric but no dress. The salesgirl asked if she could help and then informed me that the dress was sold out. I was gutted – I wanted to at least try it on! I questioned if perhaps another store might have it, she referred my query to another employee and just like that the planets aligned and magic happened. ‘What size are you after?’ ‘A 12’ I replied and she disappeared to the back of the store, re-emerging a moment later with the fabled frock. I couldn’t hide my excitement and quickly took myself off to the change rooms. After looking at my reflection from all angles for several minutes I did something I never do – emerged from the change rooms for a look in the ‘big’ mirrors, where salesgirls stalk your door and offer compliments like lollies. I was in love (and so were the salesgirls). ‘I’ll take it’ and my Friday was close to perfect.

From here I crossed town to the Red Hummingbird (246 Russell Street) for a celebratory beverage with Miss M who has recently been offered a new job. The weather was perfect for some rooftop champers and lovely to meet some new people and toast to Miss M’s success. But it was Friday night and I am a busy girl so jumping in a cab with Miss K we crossed town again headed for the Botanic Gardens Moonlight Cinema (www.moonlight.com.au). It’s Complicated was the pick of the night and we set up our rug and picnic among the crowds who had also clearly decided the balmy evening was perfect for a movie on the grass. The film was quirky and quite enjoyable, the mozzies were minimal and besides a cab call centre girl with an attitude, the night was pretty fabulous.

So what does one top this with? How about Miranda Kerr and fondue? (Not together!) Noon on Saturday I met up with Miss F and Miss H to peruse Miss Kerr’s new skincare range, Kora, at its launch at David Jones in the Bourke Street Mall. You can read my review of the products and the launch at www.onyamagazine.com and see some amazing pictures of the gorgeous Miranda too. We wandered DJ’s, I tried on the divine YSL shoes Miranda was wearing and a cute beret that I will go back and get but couldn’t justify when it was 34 degrees. Then – chocolate. Max Brennan at Melbourne Central. To die for. We had fondue (milk and dark chocolate) with marshmallows, strawberries, banana bread and banana. There was a strawberry and white chocolate ‘choctail’, a peanut butter version and a chocolate brownie with ice cream. The whole table was covered in chocolate and we enjoyed every last drop. What else is a girl meant to do after seeing Miranda!?

One week of February remains and this week will see quieter times, catch ups with friends, school and the return of footy (Etihad Stadium, Friday night. Go hawks!). Look forward to posts this week about my op shop run around on Saturday morning and a little project I undertook at home involving tulle and earrings. Hope your February is thus far as fabulous as mine!!

Spencer and Rutherford Images with thanks to Spencer and Rutherford

This week I was lucky enough to attend a pre release screening of A Single Man, starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. Directed by Tom Ford in his debut (he also wrote the screenplay and produced), you may have heard the buzz surrounding the movie including an Oscar nomination for Best Actor (Colin Firth).

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the film. If I am honest the likely reason I was keen to see it was for Tom Ford’s involvement (and let’s face it, Colin Firth isn’t bad to look at either). I had read little bits here and there about the movie, but I waited with the anticipation of the unknown as the lights went down.

The opening scenes are confronting to say the least. Be assured that this does not set the tone for the rest of the film (well, it does in a sense but with less blood). Colin Firth looks tired and old, a far cry from his usual dashing Mr Darcy-esque characters. Firth plays English professor George, the single man, eight months after the unexpected passing of his partner. As anyone whose heart has been broken can attest to, the grieving period can be long and painful – George appears to us still in the grips of this depression. The film takes place over a single day in Los Angeles 1962 and shows us the range of emotion George experiences, its effect on the few people around him and his ability to deal (or not) with it.

Julianne Moore appears so briefly in the film you wonder how she scored a gig on the movie poster. Supporting roles by Ginnifer Goodwin and Matthew Goode are adequate, though Nicholas Hoult who portrays one of George’s students is rather good. The film deals with a range of issues including homosexuality, suicide, prostitution, mortality and age ethics and you wonder exactly how many and to what extreme Ford is using personal experience to base the film on.

Set in the 60s, the entire production comes across on film as grainy and dated. The score is brilliant and though I may not know huge amounts about the technical elements of film I did think this one was a thing of beauty in the way it was shot. Though the story portrayed is actually quite tragic, the sentiment is beautiful and the portrayal of The Single Man by Colin Firth is Oscar worthy (though I am biased, it’s the only Oscar nominated film I have seen thus far and Firth is gorgeous). See the film if only to understand how love can cross all the boundaries. 

A Single Man is released nationally Thursday 25 February 2010

Today, I went home in my lunchbreak and got changed. I hear you laughing, wondering what on earth I managed to spill on myself to warrant going home to change but I am not a klutz, nor did I tear anything, have a wardrobe malfunction or realise I was wearing mismatched shoes. I simply became uncomfortable and bored with what I was wearing.

When I got dressed this morning, I was happy with my outfit. A brown and turquoise maxi dress accessorised with a gold belt, gold flats and gold earrings. Many people commented when I got to work about how nice I looked, where could they find a dress of similar colour or length or style – one even said I was channelling my inner 70s goddess and since that was kind of what I was going with, it made me happy.

But my office has a lot of stairs and they are not conducive to wearing a maxi dress (or heels but that’s another story). The wind walking to work this morning made the dress flap about my legs and while I wasn’t flashing my knickers on Collins Street like I usually do (Collins Street is REALLY windy up the west end, but rereading that makes me sound a touch slutty and it’s not how it sounds at all, I promise you!), it made walking quite difficult. The camisole singlet I wore under the dress to preserve my modesty at work wasn’t sitting right, causing me to spend an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom adjusting and I just couldn’t feel 100% comfortable while worrying about how I looked every time I returned to my desk.

So come noon (after watching the Marc Jacobs Fall/Winter 2010 Show live streamed from New York Fashion Week – note: BRILLIANT), I jumped on a tram and headed home. Can’t tell you how much I love that I am only 15 minutes away from a change of clothes should I ever spill or tear anything!

A quick costume change (now in Portmans black top and Cue red and white striped skirt), a bit of Oprah (Mike Tyson was on today) and cereal (I haven’t been shopping this week, that’s all I have in the house) and I was back on the tram returning to the office for the afternoon shift.

Two hours later and only three people have noticed I am wearing something different than what I was this morning. Even the people sitting next to me haven’t said anything, which amuses me more than anything else really. The poor receptionist thought I must have been wearing the dress yesterday but couldn’t quite work it out and one of the girls I ran into in the bathroom gave me a questioning look but didn’t say anything. It’s really quiet funny.

So while I am comfortably in my afternoon wear now (with thongs, haven’t managed the heels yet today!!) I think I will keep my maxi’s for weekend wear. Wouldn’t want to have an accident on stairs and have to go home with a tear for real.

I’ve never been one to go with what is ‘safe’ or ‘boring’ when it comes to my hair. High school saw me using the clothes iron to straighten my curls before I received my precious Muster for my 16th birthday while I haven’t seen my natural colour since I was 13 but have been everything from platinum blonde to blue black and in between.

I can still remember Mum letting me put that first LIVE colour rinse through my hair, I thought I was so cool and grown up. That feeling after you wash out the colour and use the conditioning treatment, the shine when you dry it – it’s almost like the high you get from buying shoes.

Perhaps this is why I love getting my hair done so much. I am lucky enough to have a very close friend who is a hairdresser, and a good one at that, who bends to my random hair desires – one month I might want blonde then just as she gets the shade and tones right, I decide I am ready to be dark again. There used to be a pattern with my hair, typically blonde for the warmer months and then bold dark colours for the winter but recent years have seen this cycle skew and now it seems every time I visit the salon I emerge a new person.

This week was my 26th birthday, and as most of you I am sure can attest to, minor life crises often encourage dramatic changes in hair colours and cuts. Be it a relationship breakup, a new job or the realisation that you are past the quarter century mark in your life (with no boyfriend or new job to speak of), a new haircut can give you the confidence boost you need to continue your journey.

Twelve months ago, after a minor ‘life crises’ for me, I gave my hairdresser permission to ‘do whatever you want’. I wasn’t feeling particularly brave but I trust my hairdresser and they say a change is as good as a holiday. 2 hours later I emerged with a Victoria Beckham pob, much shorter than anything I have had in about a decade (last time it was this short I was 12 years old, just started high school and cried for a week cause I looked like a boy) and I loved it. It was grown up, sophisticated and, compared to shaping curls every day, much easier to manage with a straightener (now upgraded to a Cortec).

As the pob started to grow out, I complained endlessly about how long it was taking to grow and how the short bits at the front never managed to make the ponytail. Every cut and colour for the following months started with ‘just a trim’ and as the warmer months came around again, we began the process of re-blonding.

Then just as I think I have found something I am happy with length and colour wise, my quarter life plus one year crises hits and I need a fix of something dramatically different. I looked to Victoria Beckham for inspiration again – her 2010 shattered pob cut is currently being toted as the IT haircut of the new decade. There was some banter about my complaining re the length of the hair and my history with slow hair growth – ‘It’ll grow back’ I said and away we went.

My hairdresser coloured, foiled, chopped, trimmed, razored and preened. Damp curls fell to the floor, my heart quickened and adrenalin pumped. I reached to scratch the back of my neck and felt the dark, short inch long hair than now sat in the place of what was previously below shoulder length blonde hued tresses. Had I made the right decision?

When the mirror was first placed in front of me (my hairdresser works without the client in front of the mirror – apparently I am too quick to judge!!) I panicked. What had I done? All my experiences with short hair screamed at me to not go ahead and I had done it anyway. Where was my good sense? My intuition? Eek!

I had a 50 minute drive home and the whole time I tried to angle my reflection in the rear view mirror, primp with the heater and air con blasting, play with pins I found in the ashtray. Mobile phones are no danger to drivers – people who cut all their hair off are the really scary ones. Once safely home I took to the bathroom with hair straightener, sprays, pins and combs at the ready. I played, pulled, poked and pouffed. I looked at my reflection and suddenly it wasn’t all so bad. It was a bit 1920s glam meets 2010s posh pob. A bit Ginnifer Goodwin, a bit Molly Ringwald, a bit Victoria Beckham. And I didn’t mind it so much.

A few days later and I am rapt with the cut. Once again, my hairdresser has done a brilliant job and as I should well know, you always give a new haircut a few days (or at least a few hours!) to settle. Now it’s just a matter of trying different styles and outfits to see what works best for the cut. Today a guy at work told me I looked like I had stepped out of a Vogue shoot. Perhaps here is a good place to start.