Summer

It's hot today, so very hot! I had forgotten how hot it can get in Adelaide. Where is that holiday house? Where is that pool? I know I left them somewhere.

Australia

 image en route to Port Douglas, Queensland

Aren't we the lucky country?  We have such amazing scenery, gorgeous beaches, stunning tropics, outback desert beauty and beautiful cities.  Also what's not to love about Australian's?  Our spirit, humour and ability to make the most of everything is what makes me proud to be an Australian. 

Oprah's recent visit certainly reaffirmed this sentiment.  The stunning footage beamed to the world impressed upon me how varied, large and stunning this country is.  In the first episode alone I realised that within the next couple of months I too will be heading to the Whitsundays to Hamilton Island and Uluru.  I'll be on my own version of the Oprah show without an audience or sadly, Hugh Jackman.   

Happy Australia Day!

Giraffes

image Thomas Herbrich via here

Lovely!

Isn't this the ultimate little boys adventure?  It reminds me of that lovely kids book Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae.  A gorgeous story about Gerald the Giraffe who is tall and awkward, but most of all sad because he can't dance. But Gerald discovers that everyone can dance, "when we find the music that we love" and he is an instant hit with his jungle friends.

Dapper

image via The Sartorialist

Dapper is a word I love to use.  How very dapper!

Wiktionary definition: dapper Adjective (comparative more dapper, superlative most dapper)

1. neat, trim
2. stylishly dressed, neatly dressed, spiffy (spiffy is also a very good word)

When I think of dapper or spiffy I think of lots of different people but the foremost in my mind is my lovely Grandpa.  A man of many ties, hats, suits and cardigans.  He always emulated a man that was neat, trim, stylishly dressed and most definitely dapper or spiffy or both!  Not only that but he was funny and loving and could belt out a great rendition of "What a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts".

Today in memory of him, I bring you spiffy and dapper.  May your day have a little of each.

Floods

It's hard to imagine the flood situation in Queensland at the moment.  I noted on someone's facebook status today telling their American friends that it was likened to imagining that Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee all completely under water.  With so much loss of life and damage to homes and infrastructure your heart really goes out to those affected - so many, many people.

This is what a client sent to me from Brisbane today "Thousands of homes are going under - it is heartbreaking to see - not just wet backyards but complete immersion. They have found a few more bodies in outer towns with over 60 people still missing. Southbank is under water, the floating restaurant we have in Milton has sunk, boats have crashed into bridges as they break their moorings, they have shut off power to the CBD, it is surreal."

Eerie and terrifying! 

image via The Advertiser of a tug in the flooding Brisbane River with buildings going under along the riverbank

Meh-hico

Fancy a night at the Riviera Maya Mexico Luxury Rosewood Condominiums Hotel? Located in Mexico’s breathtaking Yucatán peninsula, south of Cancún and just north of Playa del Carmen.  Viva Mexico!

Back to Mad Men

images via below

Back to the brilliant Mad Men because I can't get enough!  This show is oozing with charisma.  I'm completely addicted and these holidays have been filled episode after episode.  The costuming is beautiful and here's a bit of an insight by the show's Costume Designer.  Check out also these cute paper dolls - thanks Rachy.

I'm loving this photo shoot done by Vanity Fair of the irresistable Mr and Mrs Draper.  Don and Betty to those in the know.  Could they be any more unattractive? 

images Vanity Fair via here

Green - the good ones

images via House and Garden

I hope you are all settling into early 2011 with a relaxing mini-break.  We have been laying pretty low and it's been very nice to be at home all together.  Lots of quiet catch ups with friends and family.  The indulgent eating has to stop at some point surely?

Do you have any resolutions?  Apart from the obvious health related ones that pepper my list every year, I intend to keep on blogging, go to the cinema more often and revert back to the one I made in 2009, which was to see more live music.  It was about the only one I didn't break! And not only that but I saw some great live acts. 

Now onto to the green above.  It's quite refreshing to see a 'pop' of green (instead of that yellow that I'm always banging on about).  Green just makes me feel good and I think it is because it is so intrinsically linked with nature that it blends beautifully from outside to inside.  Especially the bright green in the last shot. And not just any green, all greens - olive, emerald, jade, mint, lime, moss, chartreuse, army green, British racing green.  Whoops, hang on... perhaps not bottle green as it reminds me too much of my school uniform which was especially ugly when teamed with red and grey.  What were they thinking when that one was devised?  Yuck, dispose of those hideous thoughts or memories from your mind with the following picture because it certainly didn't look like this!

image via here via The Sartorialist