Guest post at Dream Sequins - Fannie Schiavoni

The lovely Deanne at Dream Sequins is away on holidays (lucky girl!), and generously offered me (and other bloggers) the opportunity to write a guest blog post, you can read mine here on the amazing Fannie Schiavoni...I want every single piece of hers, such gorgeous works of wearable art...

Thanks to Dianne of The Swelle Life for generously bestowing the 'Divine' award to me!

In adherence with this award, I must list my five guilty pleasures...drumroll please...

5. Taking pictures of food at restaurants. I get funny looks, and today at dinner the waitress asked me what my pictures were for (I also took a picture of the 'specials' on the board, and she thought I was an industrial restaurant spy, even though I'm on the VIP list and get emailed the specials anyway). I do not care (although I will blush furiously when asked, because I love taking the pictures and reliving my meal afterwards)

4. Singing along to music in my car (especially Carpenters, and 'Diva' music)

3. I also listen to an 'old people's' radio station most of the time (I do like the oldies), my friend is horrified and calls it a 'grandma' station...

2. Re-watching snippets of Twilight on my computer

1. And like Dianne's, my number guilty pleasure is shopping! And I get as excited in a good menswear/homewear/furniture/fine food store as I do at fashion stores for myself..

And now, I would like to pass on the award to these Divine bloggers:

1. Nathalie at Dress Your Day with Dreams (who's birthday is coming up soon!)

2. The Photodiarist

3. Romeika at A Room of One's Own

4. The Glamourai

5. Kira at Kirafashion

Lula Magazine Issue 9 - At long last!

I subscribed to magazine Lula over 6 months ago (in March), not realizing they only release an issue biannually. I had almost given up on receiving it when lo and behold, I found Issue 9 in my postbox yesterday. I am in love with their romantic and beautiful photographs and detailed interviews...makes for a gorgeous coffee table 'book'. Am seriously wishing I had the previous 9 issues. There are at least two more pages I would like to post, but scanning them didn't quite work, so will try to take pictures for next time...

Award & Tag

Speaking of beautiful photographs, I recently discovered The Photodiarist's amazing blog via H of PretaporterP , and I absolutely love it! Absolutely stunning photographs that paint more than 1000 words, often followed by a little anecdote with the inspiration behind the picture. The Photodiarist kindly awarded me the Kreativ Blogger Award, do check out her blog if you haven't already! Recipients of this award have to disclose seven things about themselves and then pass the award along seven others.

Here goes:

1. I have a bad habit of cracking my knuckles (started when I was 7)
   


2. Speaking of bad habits, I also bite my nails (bad!)


3. I love midcentury Danish furniture (just bought a dark chocolate brown sofa fitting this criteria)


4. I can be very undecisive, so in order to speed things up I often resort to 'Eeny Meeny Miney Mo' (or sometimes: "Minha mãe mandou eu escolher esse daqui!")


5. My favourite gelati flavour is pistachio - I use it as my 'benchmark' when rating a gelateria, it must not be 'fake pistachio green', or I will not touch it.


6. I have never had a facial or massage (received a voucher for my birthday though, so that may change soon).


7. I am loving the new TV series Glee! 'On my own' was my 'theme song' for so many years!!!

I pass this award/tag to:

1. Deanne of Dream Sequins


2. H of PretaPorterP


3. Hrose of Capture the Castle


4. Martina at The Little Fashion Treasury


5. Sofie at Modediktat


6. Coco's Tea Party


7. Tanya at Captivate Me

Also, I have been meaning to answer these questions asked by an 'Anonymous' reader (thanks for your questions, sorry I took so long to address them):

What are your 5 all time favourite pairs of shoes?

At the moment:

1. Dries Van Noten beaded/sequinned sandals


2. Dries Van Noten black buckle sandals


3. Christian Louboutin pumps (both the electric blue & the patent baby blue)
   Stella McCartney mesh & lucite heel sandals


4. Dior Extreme Pythons

What Australian high street shops are your faves?

I must admit I do not shop at Australian high street shops much (especially in the last few years). The main reason being that I find high street pieces overpriced for what they are. Most of my previous high street shop purchases were on sale, and nowadays, I prefer to save my pennies for something else...10 years ago things were definitely different though!

My last high street shop purchases were earlier this year at SABA, for staples (merino wool turtlenecks), but I would not call them my 'favourite' high street shop. I like Veronika Maine's pieces (but have never purchased anything there), sometimes I see nice pieces at Country Road (again, have never purchased clothing from there). For 2-3 years I purchased a few items from Cue, but have not done so in 3 years or so...Occasionally I stroll into Sportsgirl and Witchery, but my last purchases from these stores were 5 and 3 yrs (respectively). So if I were to pick any high street stores, these would be it...

10 interesting (or not) things about myself

I am so so sorry that I have been so slow to acknowledge these generous awards from :

The ever so sweet Martina of Little Fashion Treasury (who also happens to have the most enviable wardrobe)

From the lovely Stefanie at Yes Please Mademoiselle

From the lovely Janet at Janetteria:

Which comes 'attached' with a tag:

Reveal 10 interesting (embarrassing, more like it in my case) things about yourself.

1. Growing up, I always wanted shiny black hair like other Asian kids I knew (mostly Japanese Brazilian)...I asked my mom why my hair was a reddish dark brown instead of black (despite being of 100% Chinese heritage), and she told me if I ate a lot of seaweed it would go black. I did, and it didn't (go black, that is), it all boils down to genetics (from my dad's side).

2. I love singing, but not in front of an 'audience/camera/people', as I suffer from stage fright. In 2 'auditions' I got so nervous I forgot my words mid-song and stopped...bad!

3. Hubby & I went out for 10 years plus, so when 'Charlotte' squealed in the 'Sex and the City' movie, excited about Carrie's engagement announcing to unsuspecting diners that her 'best friend was getting married to the guy she had been seeing for TEN years', I had a tear in my eye...s'pose hubby is my Mr. Big *blush*.

4. I was once a practising lawyer.

5. I am incredibly insectophobic, it can be quite embarassing.

6. I love reading (although I don't get to do so as much recently), and one year, counted how many books I read, the total was 74. Speaking of books...

7. Shameful confession: I only discovered the 'Twilight' phenomena in the last fortnight or so. I had heard about it (mainly through magazines & forums), but thought it was a TV series, and did not know what it was all about (other than it was about vampires, and was geared towards teenagers). One night I was bored and all movies I wanted to rent were out, so I borrowed/watched 'Twilight', and loved it (oh, the shame!), despite some terrible acting, weird 'video-clip'ish cinematography in some moments, etc...Now I understand Juan's of 'A Color' obsession with Twilight, who describes his life as 'Before Twilight and After Twilight'. I am very embarrassed to admit that since watching the movie, I have read all four and a half books (ie. including the online draft for 'Midnight Sun'), even though I have not been a teenager for well over a decade, and do not usually read this genre of books.



8. Not really about me, but my paternal grandfather has acted alongside Carrie Fisher (yes, Princess Lea herself) in a (terrible, shhhh don't tell him I said that) movie, and was also in a TV series that starred Nicole Kidman.

9. My first 'teddy bear' was a hand-me-down from my cousin, who was getting married (the bear was from her ex), and I was SIXTEEN.

10. I absolutely LOVE sakura (cherry) blossoms, they literally take my breath away.

via flickr.com

I would like to pass the awards & tag above to the following gorgeous bloggers:

1. Nini of 'Nini's Style'
2. Hanh of 'Life in Travel'
3. Juan at 'A Color'
4. Shin at 'Fashion Cappuccino'
5. Tanya at 'Captivate Me'

Elle's Fashionista Questionnaire & Interview at Dream Sequins

Interview at Dream Sequins

The lovely Deanne at Dream Sequins, recently interviewed me for her amazing blog, which boasts insightful posts on emerging fashion designers and independent boutiques... She frequently introduces me (and her readers) to beautiful labels I hadn't seen before, and often posts on some of my favourite online stores (although she sometime gets to visit the actual 'brick & mortar' store, of which I'm very jealous) and labels. Thank you so much for the interview and sweet words Deanne! You can read the interview HERE.

Elle's Fashionista Questionnaire

The amazing & glamorous Carrie of Couture Carrie tagged all her readers to answer a Fashionista Questionnaire adapted from Elle, and as per usual, I took forever to answer mine:

Who is your favorite designer?

I have to pick two: Dries Van Noten & Akira Isogawa (surprise, surprise, say those who visit my blog frequently).

www.firstview.com

www.akira.com.au

If you could come back as a dress, what would it be?

Akira Isogawa's Layered Bird Wedding dress (my wedding dress).

If you could come back as a model, who would it be? 

www.welovemodels.com

Junk food?

All Brazilian ‘salgadinhos & docinhos’: pastel de palmito, pao de queijo, coxinha, brigadeiro, beijinho de coco, ah this list is endless…

What are you most vain about?

My wardrobe...but can't think of anything I'm vain about, about myself.

What are you most shy about?

Receiving compliments, I probably come across as rude, as I blush furiously, mumble something unintelligible and change the subject...but I get incredibly shy & awkward.

If you could come back with someone else’s body, whose would it be?

Someone like Gisele Bundchen, as she gets to look the way she does yet still eat like a horse...

Who are your fantasy dinner-party guests?

Friends & family that are spread out all around the world (yep, it's still fantasy because it'd be so hard to get them all to the same dinner).

Fantasy celebrity one-night stand?

Ooh, I found it hard to pick someone, and not only because hubby might stumble over this…Ok, not a one-night stand, but a dinner-date, maybe with Hugh Jackman...he sings, he's charming, loves his family & is devoted to his wife...It'd make for one fun & entertaining date, I'm sure...would have to wear my Stella McCartney wedges though, I've seen him in real life, and he's incredibly tall!

Favorite place to have a drink?

On a beach in Bahia sipping on a caipirinha listening to Bossa Nova.

www.zonambulos.com

Underwear?

Stella McCartney’s 'Knickers of the week', so cute!

www.net-a-porter.com

What can't you travel without?
Camera, inhaler, glasses/contacts.

Last book you read?

Barbican - The House of Viktor & Rolf (haven't read a book in ages!)

At age seven, you wanted to be . . .

An astronomer.

What’s the thing you find easiest to forgive?

Most things.

What’s the thing you find impossible to forgive?

Betrayal of trust (in major things).

Biggest self-indulgence?

Shopping.

Favorite place to shop [brick and mortar]?

Dries Van Noten in Marais, Paris.

www.nytimes.com

Favorite place to shop online?

Net-a-porter.

Whose diary would you most like to read?

Hm...not sure...maybe Oprah Winfrey? I would like to know what she really thinks sometimes...

Least favorite food?

Chicken liver.

If you were an inventor, what would you invent?

A decalorifier (just for me, in case it ends up in the wrong hands, haha).

Who are your favorite furniture designers?

My uncle, Hans Wegner, Arne Vodder, Hvidt & Mølgaard, Finn Juhl.

Left: Jian cabinet (uncle's design) & right: Hans Wegner Y-chair (also called the Wishbone chair)

Car?

Audi (mine’s a Quattro)

What was your childhood nickname?

My best friend used to call me 'cookie'.

When and where are you happiest?

Whenever I’m with my family, anywhere…

What piece of art would you most like to own?

My parents' painting of our favourite street in Parati (which I'm babysitting at the moment), as it always reminds me of happy times we had there...

Compare the painting with the real thing, we took this picture 20 or so years after the painting was painted (different season, and the greenery needs a bit of a trim, but stunning nonetheless...)

click to enlarge

What are your favorite vacation spots?

Parati (or anywhere in Brazil), and anywhere in Europe…

Most treasured possession?

Fashion-wise, my Dries Van Noten beaded & sequinned sandals.

www.style.com

Favorite fictional character?

Amelie Poulain.

Favorite musicians?

Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stevie Wonder, The Carpenters, Bebel Gilberto, Gotan Project, Rosalia de Souza, Nicola Conte, JT etc...also some Diva music (ok, this may be embarassing): Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey (in her olden golden days), Whitney Houston (ditto), Beyonce (her first album)...

If you had another profession beside your own, what would it be?

Food (critic, photographer) or fashion (stylist, designer, buyer) related, or a singer (love singing, but would have to get over stage fright...and have a more interesting voice, rather than what my cousin calls 'a Disney voice')

What current trends would you like to see disappear?

Acid wash jeans…sorry to all the Balmain fans out there (I also love Balmain, just not the acid wash jeans)

Favorite trend of all time?

I have to pick 3: nautical, oriental & draped…

Always...Do right.

Never... Say never.

Awards

Thanks so much to the gorgeous Tina at Luphia and Stephanie from Yes Please Mademoiselle for your generous awards!

Adorable Blog Award

Unique & Chic Award

PROXIMITY Award

'Lovely Blog' Award

I would like to pass these awards to:

Dream Sequins

La Couturier

The Little Fashion Treasury

Picture perfect wedding...

The lovely & talented Icon tagged me with these questions (and some extra, which I took the liberty to remove, as I recently answered them in a previous tag), I'd like to tag two glamorous & gorgeous Aussie bloggers: DiamondsinChampagne & PorcelaineBlonde (there are extra questions here)

The rules are:
1. Respond and rework: answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.
2. Tag other un-tagged people.

What are you wearing today? (I started answering this tag on Saturday)
Dries Van Noten Doreen sequinned dress, Marni Patent heels & Witchery red leather clutch I bought 10 or so years ago for $60 (at half price, it was my most expensive bag then...), actually it's not quite a clutch, there's a short strap I tucked into the bag, I felt the outfit needed a pop of contrasting colour.

Last night I wore this out to meet friends for drinks:

Stella McCartney silk blouse (with a touch of cotton), with detachable collar & monkey button & split sleeves (this was in my 'to sell' pile, as I've had it for years & have never worn it, due to the split sleeves, as I'm not usually a fan, but on a whim, I decided to use it)

Willow pinafore dress (yay for pockets!)

Christian Louboutin patent baby blue pumps

Why is today so special?
As my dad says, everyday is special. But today's especially so because my friends of over 10 years are getting married! The day, wedding & bride were absolutely beautiful, and just look at the most gorgeous parasol ever! (see below).

What would you like to learn to do?
Design/sew/create fashion.

What did you have for dinner?

What's the last thing you bought?
I finally tracked down & bought these Dries Van Noten grey patent wedges, which arrived yesterday from Belgium (woo hoo!):

What are you listening to right now?
Prince - Live in Concert.

What is on your bedside table?
Earplugs & Dries Van Noten collection lookbooks, and an incredibly cool Danish mid-century lampshade.

Say something about the person who tagged you:
Icon is so talented, and made a dress that was displayed at the national art gallery! Her photography & photographs in her blog are always so beautiful & inspiring!

Name the things you can not live without:
Mobile (cell) phone, my laptop/computer, internet (for skype, e-mail, blogs & internet shopping), Havaianas.

What would you like to get rid of?
Prejudice & hatred.

Which language do you want to learn?
French & Mandarin Chinese.

What countries have you visited?

United Kingdom, Brazil, Argentina, USA, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Lichstenstein, Monaco, Austria, Switzerland, Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Canada, Denmark.

What are some of the things you like about where you live?
I am close to beautiful rolling hills & vineyards, as well as the beach.

What's your greatest accomplishment?
My First Class Honours (research) degree, it was one of the toughest years ever...

What is your favorite quality about yourself?

Ooh, what a hard question! I'd like to think it's what my in-laws call 'my good heart'.

What is your favorite quote/saying?

Not highly intellectual or anything, and I can't remember where I got this from (nor the actual words), but I read this in the late 80's, and it saw me through teenage dramas, through to today..."Today that seems so sad & bitter, will be tomorrow's yesterday' (or words to that effect).

Conveniently forgot to add a question to the tag as per the rules:

Which song & movie are your 'go-to' for when you're feeling 'down'?

Song: Shackles (Mary Mary)

Movie: Legally Blonde

Getting to you know you, getting to know more about YOU

(picture I took of my dad, sisters, bro-in-law, hubby, mom is probably in some store...in Parati)

click to enlarge

The ever-so-eloquent & amazing hrose tagged me to answer a few Q's (I'm terrible with these):

What are you wearing now?

(I'm at work, or was, when I started answering this):
Gap navy roundneck tee with white fine stripes (bought in Paris for around 2 euros)
Cue black pinafore with bubble hem & empire waist
Birkenstocks beige sandals (Hehe, I know! Hurt my back recently, so have had to use these to work)
Bic pens holding my hair up in a bun

Bvlgari wine/maroon glasses (I sometimes wear them to work, but am in contacts most of the time)

What’s the last thing you read/are currently reading?

The House of Viktor & Rolf (last year’s birthday present from my sisters), not quite a ‘book’ per se.

Do you nap a lot?
Sadly no.

Who was the last person you hugged?
My hubby.

What’s your current obsession/addiction?
Dries Van Noten (more so than usual)

Which item from your closet are you wearing most lately?
Sass & Bide Harem pants (they’re my equivalent to ‘jeans’ at the moment)

What's for dinner?
Lentil soup with vegetables (I could live on soup, love it!)

What was the last thing you bought?
Dries Van Noten beaded/sequinned dress and the same dress in plain fuschia silk.

What are you listening to right now?
Deniece Williams 'Free' (I love ‘old school’ music).

If you could have any super power, what would it be?
Teletransportation (beam me up Scotty! First to London, then Brazil!)

What is your favorite weather, and why?
Summer in Brazil so I can relax by their beautiful beaches, having said that I like mild winters so I get to wear coats and/or layer up...

What time do you usually get up?
6:50am (yep, hate it)

What is your most challenging goal right now?
Keeping sane, haha!

Say something to the person who tagged you:
You write with such eloquence, abandon & warmth, it is impossible not to want to befriend you, you will have a blast at Uni ;).

If you could have a house–totally paid for, fully furnished–anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be?
Ooh, tricky, either an apartment in Marais (Paris), or an island/house off of Parati (my favourite town in the whole wide world).

Favorite vacation spot?
Can I pick two? Brazil or Europe, hard to pick.

What is your favorite item of clothing?
ITEM (singular)? Ooh, so hard! Will pick my wedding dress, as I wish I could hang it on a wall (and have only worn once)...

Favorite pair of shoes you keep going back to over and over, even though your closet is overflowing with a zillion others:
Havaianas (if they count as 'shoes')?

Name one thing you cannot live without:
The internet - lets me Skype my sisters in London & parents in Brazil, and they & my hubby mean the world to me, and shop too!

What time is bed time?
Usually around 11pm.

If you could wake up anywhere tomorrow morning, where would it be?
In London with my sisters, miss 'em like crazy!

Cute-as-a-button MissJ very generously gave me this award:

I would like to tag with the questions above AND pass this award to:

Tanya at Captivate Me

Brook & Lyn

Mariona at Marhugobcn

La Couturier

Ida at Rougemarie

And I would love to tag EVERYONE WHO'S READING TO ANSWER these Q's here, as I'd love to find out more about YOU:

Para todos que estao lendo agora, adoraria se pudestes responder estas perguntas, pois gostaria muito de saber mais sobre VOCE:

1. How did you first arrive on my blog? Como achou meu blog?

2. Who are your favourite designers? Quem sao seus estilistas favoritos?

3. How old are you (if you don't mind my asking)? Quantos anos tem?

4. Are you studying/working? If so, in what? Trabalhas ou estudas (em que area?)

5. What country are you from? De que pais es?

6. What would you like to see more of on this blog? De que gostaria de ver mais aqui?

7. How would you describe your style? Como retrataria seu estilo?

8. For those with outfit shots/blogs, how do you take your pictures (inc. what camera)? Para todos que tiram fotos para seu blog do que esta usando, como tira as suas fotos (e com que camera)?

Have fun! I look forward to getting to know more about you!