Pale Delights

 Jonathan Saunders / Louis Vuitton / Diane Von Furstenberg

 Hussein Chalayan / J.Crew / J.Crew

3.1 Phillip Lim / Valentino / Calvin Klein Collection

Fendi / Giambattista Valli / Tommy Hilfiger

I am loving the pale colour trend for this coming spring. Most designers went for ultraviolet colours, but the pastel contingent from the likes of Calvin Klein, Valentino and Giambattista Valli were a welcome palette cleanser. Colour-blocked sherbet shades look refreshing and new.

I plan on introducing this trend even before the temperatures begin to rise - which is fitting as they really haven't even dropped that much yet. A pretty pastel top pared with a pair of jeans is a nice departure from my usual grey-heavy winter wardrobe.

Images: Elle.com and Style.com

My Favourite Trips in 2011

I thought I would round out the first week of 2012 by looking back at my four favourites holidays from the past year. Even with the wedding back home in Australia, we still managed to get to some beautiful locations including Boston, Martha's Vineyard, Mexico, London and Sao Paulo. But, my favourite trips were to extra special locations that will stay with me for a very long time. Here they are in the order that we visited them in...

Los Angeles, March 2011

I tagged along on one of Michael's work trips to LA and I seriously feel in love with the place. I know that living in New York I am not supposed to say that about the other coast, but I seriously could move there tomorrow. It helps that we got to stay at the amazing Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica, and while Michael was working I got to enjoy the amazing views from our room as well as take walks along the Santa Monica beach front. We hired a car for the weekend (you need one in LA) and spent a day cruising around Malibu and another around Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and the Hollywood Hills. I am just waiting for another excuse to get back over there.

Cost Rica, July 2011

We are famous for last minute holiday bookings and this trip was no exception. We decided that instead of staying in New York for the Fourth of July long weekend, we would jet off to Costa Rica (and unlike some of our other last minute disasters) we didn't regret our decision. We stayed at the gorgeous Hotel Punta Islita (which came highly recommended by a couple of friends). It certainly wasn't cheap, especially given the last minute nature of our booking, but we think it was worth every penny. We had five heavenly days of relaxation, sun and swimming - my favourite things.

Montana, September 2011

We were lucky enough to be invited by a couple of friends to visit them in Montana, which I wrote about here. What an amazing place, we saw so many animals and wildlife, stunning scenery and had a great weekend with a great group of people. There isn't much else I can say except that if you ever get the chance - go there, you won't regret it.

Kauai, October 2011

This beautiful Hawaiian island makes the list not only because it was the location for our honeymoon, but also because it is such a stunning part of the world. Kauai is a far less touristy island than the likes of Oahu and Maui, but is is certainly not without it's creature comforts. We spent an amazing ten nights at the Koa Kea resort, which we felt was the perfect, laid back yet beautiful resort to spend our time. Kauai is a great place to soak up the sun, drink delicious cocktails, get active and spot plenty of marine life. It truly is a heavenly place that I hope to get back to one day.

I hope we get to some equally beautiful locations this year!

Missoni Home

Images: Missoni Home

I am, and have always been, in love with Missoni Home. One day (if I have a lot more money), I would love to have a house full of Missoni linen and towels. Until then though, I will just dream about how great all of these beautiful colours and prints would look in my apartment.

Photobook

Images: Pinhole Press

One of the best things I have done since our wedding was to organise a photobook using Pinhole Press. I first heard about this company reading A Cup of Jo and it couldn't have been easier to use. I spent a couple of days uploading images from my computer and then arranged them all into the set layout of the book I chose. Less than two weeks after I placed my order I had a beautiful photobook.

The quality of the book is beautiful and I am so happy with the result. We loved our copy so much that we even gave each of our parents a copy for Christmas. They both loved it as much as we do. Here are some pictures of how ours turned out...

PS. I am not being endorsed by Pinhole Press in anyway, I just really love their products!

Layering Against the Cold

Images: The Sartorialist, Stockholm Streetstyle, B.Jones Style and some unknown.

Today is expected to be cold, I mean really cold. So cold that for the next two days the temperature is not supposed to reach above freezing. That is actually normal for this time of year, but when we have been so spoilt with such a mild winter so far, it is hard to remember how to dress for these temperatures.

I am determined not to pull out my down-filled coat  until it snows, which I believe it will soon. So in the meantime I am planning to wear lots of layers to beat the chill.

Brooklyn Brownstone

I am loving the light-filled Brooklyn home of Keri Russell on Elle Decor. Not normally one for wooden kitchens, I even find myself drawn to the beautiful dark wood of the large kitchen, and I am totally envious of the space. I especially love the neutral colour palette and the wooden floorboards. These will be two things that are top priorities for me when I own my own home one day, just gorgeous.

2012, A New Year

Wishing everyone a very happy New Year! 2011 saw me married, become an Auntie for the first time, further settled into life in New York, blissfully happy and in very good health. It was such an eventful and wonderful year that will be hard to beat, although 2012 shows a lot of promise.

I look forward to many more posts and thank you for supporting me in my first year in the blogosphere.