Farmhouse Chic

*Image from Plush Palate

Why do I love this kitchen so much? Because of the open shelving, the mix of white and stainless steel, the freshly cut flowers but mostly because of the old farmhouse table with granite top and the mix match seating! I love when mix n' match comes together so well. I can not get enough of that bench seat! Genius!

Louboutin v. Atwood

I've always loved shoes but up until recently I've always loved handbags more than shoes...that was until the word Louboutin became part of my vocabulary! Recently however, I've noticed a lot of celebs feet are adorned by the shoes of Brian Atwood.

So who would you rather wear? Louboutin or Atwood? Me.....I'm such a fence sitter that I'd have to have a shoe closet full of both!

I'm starting to get giddy with excitement right now. My best friend is coming over to visit me in Doha for 2 weeks in May and we've booked a mini girlie trip to Dubai. There is a beautiful Louboutin store in Dubai Mall and I know I won't be able to walk away without making a purchase but shhhh don't tell Mr D! Although I have trained the man well when I pop quiz him about fashion he always knows that Louboutins have that famous red sole so not quite sure how I'll hide them from him!

Brian Atwood Collection

Alison

Claudette

Maniac

Maniac

Wagner

Christian Louboutin Collection

Balota

Dafodil

Pigalili

Pigalle

Rolando

Sexy Strass

To Make You Feel My Love

Hi Guys

It's been a crazy weekend and a crazy start to the week - I haven't had five minutes to myself! I'm sitting here wanting to put toothpicks in my eyes to hold them open!

We had a fantastic night Thursday celebrating Mr D's birthday. I had far too many drinks and was incredibly inappropriate but my party girl persona was back big time after quite a while tucked under the covers!!

I haven't shared with my readers yet but Mr D and I are trying desperately to have another baby and we are currently going through the trials and tribulations of IVF. It's been a hard road and we've had a few set backs but we just can't wait to give Lady Sadie a little brother or sister in the near future - fingers crossed!

I'm feeling quite sentimental today - must be all those hormone injections! Anyway I wanted to share with you one of my favorite songs. I originally fell in love with this song when Garth Brooks sung it but Adele a couple of years ago did her own version which is hauntingly beautiful. As Mr D and I go through this journey together we have grown stronger in our partnership and I feel like this song kind of represents where we are at the moment.

Sorry for getting all sooky - I'll come back tomorrow with some fabulous fashion inspiration but today I just wanted to share how I was feeling.

Enjoy
x

Birthday Celebrations

*Image from here

It's Mr D's 35th birthday today. I love celebrating birthdays and I make sure that for my little family of three that we celebrate each others birthday not just on the day but for the whole week!

Tonight we are dining with friends at the Belgian Beer Cafe, followed tomorrow by a birthday lunch by the pool at the Ritz and then a quiet family dinner, just the three of us somewhere lovely here in Doha.

Last year I made Matt's birthday cake from scratch which you can see here but this year unfortunately time has gotten away from me so a store bought cake will have to suffice! Maybe just maybe there will be some home made cupcakes for Mr D to take to work early next week!

Happy Birthday Matt, you deserve all the celebration and Lady Sadie and I plan to spoil you rotten this weekend!

x

Farewell to a Legend

It's a sad day today indeed. Screen legend and iconic beauty Elizabeth Taylor passed away today at the age of 79. I first came to love her when as a young child I watched National Velvet. At the time I loved anything to do with horses and National Velvet was my hero. Over the years as I grew up I watched all of Liz's movies and was always astounded by her extraordinary beauty and her amazing figure. She was a Hollywood Goddess, an avid collector or jewelry and husbands but most importantly she was a true pioneer in her charity work for the AIDS foundation.

Elizabeth, rest in peace, you will be missed.

x

Real Estate Stalking - Armadale, VIC

One of my favorite pastimes is stalking real estate listings both back home in Australia and the US. I love peaking inside people's homes, seeing how they decorate, imaging what kind of family live there and basically day dreaming about what my dream home will eventually look like!

I found this beauty here today and if I had an opportunity to buy it I'd ask to buy all the furniture with it! Not only does the house have 5 bedrooms and beautiful manicured gardens it also comes with a library, music room, wine tasting room and dedicated yoga studio! I could definitely see myself doing the downward dog pose in this house!

*Images from www.realestate.com.au

All That Glitters...

It's been ten years since Elie Saab was catapulted into the spotlight after dressing Halle Berry for the Oscars the year that she won. Since then, not an awards red carpet goes by without seeing one of Saab's incredibly girlie, ethereal and sexy dresses on Hollywood's A List.

Paris Fashion Week has just ended and I have to say I loved every piece in Saab's Spring/Summer 2011 collection and also his Couture Collection. Here are my picks for those sexy glittery numbers he's most famous for!

Images from Style

Melting Moments

I was in the mood for baking today. I also wanted to bake something quintessentially Australian...Melting Moments! These babies literally melt in your mouth in all their buttery goodness! And the rich creamy icing in between is to die for. They are very rich so I can only eat one at a time...probably a good thing! I adapted the recipe from my one of my fave cookbooks Kitchen by Marie Claire magazine. I substituted lemon juice for the passionfruit juice but that's only because I've never seen a passionfruit in Doha!

Melting Moments
from Marie Claire, Kitchen by Michelle Cranston

Ingredients:

Biscuit dough
250g Unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp Vanilla extract
60g Icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
175g Plain flour
60g Corn flour

Filling
100g Icing sugar
100g Unsalted butter
1 tsp Passionfruit juice

Biscuit:
1. Preheat oven to 170 deg C.
2. Beat butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract until soft and fluffy.
3. Sift together corn flour and plain flour and fold into butter mixture in two lots.
4. Line baking trays with non-stick baking paper
5. Roll 1 tsp of the cookie dough into balls and place on the baking tray. Ensure that the cookie dough are placed approximately 3cm apart from each other.
6. Bake in the oven for 12 - 15mins or until biscuits are a light golden.
4. Remove from oven and cool.

Icing:
1. Beat icing sugar, unsalted butter and passionfruit juice until light and fluffy.
2. Place mixture into an icing bag.
3. Pipe icing (as much as you like) into one of the cookie halves and sandwich with the other half.*
4. Store in an air tight container.

Optional: Sprinkle some icing sugar on to the biscuits

Thinking of Japan

Image from Cupcakes & Cashmere

This week I've been on an up and down roller coaster, it's actually been a pretty terrible week for us here at Chez Derrig however I need to get some perspective. I can't help but think of all those poor people in Japan who have lost their lives, lost their loved ones and going through such an unimaginable ordeal.

This weekend I am putting together care packs for the orphans of the earthquake and tsunami. Each back pack will contain a blanket, some books, pencils and a toy. My heart breaks at all the children that have been left without families.

It is going to take Japan a long long time to recover from this dreadful disaster but as the world has shown they have support from millions of people from across the globe.

If you would like to donate you can do so by visiting the Red Cross website.

Bonjour Mademoiselle!

My heart is a flutter with excitement. The new Chanel Mademoiselle collection has arrived!



You can see the full collection here

Do It Delicious

Today I was going to share with you my recipe for chicken casserole however while the chicken was defrosting on the kitchen bench it mysteriously disappeared and I had two cats licking their lips with big full tummies! You do the math!

So I thought I would share with you today one of my new favorite cooking websites...Do It Delicious

Do It Delicious is the brain child of Jessica Seinfeld, Jerry's wife. She has written two of the most amazing cookbooks which have helped me enormously in getting Lady Sadie to eat vegetables! If you're a mum who is struggling to cook good healthy food for your children then Jessica's two cook books will be your saving grace!

The website is fantastic. Full of recipes, how to videos, tips and a great blog. If you're a home cook like me and you enjoy tasty, healthy meals that the whole family can enjoy then you will love both the books and the website.

I wish I was here...

Hello Lovelies

How was your weekend?

We spent Friday by the pool at the Ritz and yesterday was a quiet affair at home.

My creative juices aren't really free flowing today and I had the most mundane of mundane days so I'll leave you with this beautiful photo. Imagine waking up to this view every morning!

Will come back bigger and better tomorrow.

x

Happy Weekend

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Ours started last night with beer, champagne and curry! Today we're going to the beach club for a swim and maybe a cheeky burger and tonight I'm having a girls night at the Vietnamese food festival, can't wait!

Enjoy
x

Dreaming of a Denmark Summer

It's starting to really warm up in Doha, I think it will even be hot enough for me to go swimming this weekend! When the weather starts to warm up I start thinking of where to go for a summer holiday. This year we've decided to rent a beach house in Denmark.

I traveled through Denmark as a back packer over ten years ago and fell in love with the country and its people so thought it would be the perfect place to chill with the family.

Here is the house we're thinking of renting, how divine! I don't think I'll want to leave! Just waiting to hear back from the owner on whether it is ours for a few weeks in August!

Living/Dining

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Back garden which backs on to a forest and within walking distance to the beach

Hornbaek Beach

The Little Mermaid