The Icon

It's no secret I love a good nautical stripe - if I were to show you every single piece of nautical stripe in my wardrobe I would be embarrassed as there is just too much of it!

While reading Matchbook Magazine today I came across this article that just sums up this piece of iconic fashion to a 't'!

*Image and Article via Matchbook Magazine

My Hair & Beauty Essentials

I have an addiction, a very strong addiction, one that was passed on to me by my very own Mother! Now before you have me packed off to rehab let me share with you what this addiction is...makeup, skincare and hair products!

I'm obsessed! I love makeup, I love how I can change the way my face looks to suit what I'm wearing or what kind of mood I'm in. I love playing around with different colours and techniques and you will NEVER see me leave the house without at least a bit of mascara, foundation and my eyebrows done. My daytime look at the moment is dewy skin, nude eyes, pink cheeks and bright pop of colour on the lips. At night I still like to play up my eyes and keep my lips neutral.

Before entering the world of advertising, I actually worked as a Beauty Therapist. There were parts of the job I hated, like giving a woman a bikini wax who'd been wearing stockings all day! However, one of my favourite treatments were facials and helping women (and some men) overcome any skin issues they had. I still go back and forth about wanting to open up my own Salon one day...

I have been using Ella Bache since I was about 13 however I can't get it here in Doha and it's too much of a pain to have it shipped over to me so for the last 3 years I've been trying out different skin care lines to see if I can find anything as good as Elle Bache. Nothing compares to my love of Ella however surprisingly the Sephora range has come close! 

Here are my beauty essentials that I'm into right now...

Daisy for Day and Coco for Night

Maybelline's The Falsies Mascara - excellent volume!

My go to foundation is always MAC Studio Fix and I've been playing around with the dewy look this summer.

I have frizzy hair so using Frederik Fekkai's protein spray is a must everyday and to play up my curls I use KMS Sea Salt Spray and when going out I use heat protectant & serum to help straighten my hair. I also have a huge love of Elnett Satin Hairspray!

I'm right into bold bright lips this summer!

The Sephora Skin Care Range and Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream - every person in the world should own a tube of Eight Hour Cream!

I can't stand that fake tan orange oompa loompa look BUT to give my skin a slight glow I use Lancaster light bronzing toner on my face and Sephora tinted body moisturizer for my legs and arms.

What are your hair and beauty essentials? 

Room With A View...Sorry.. A Pool

It's not everyday you come across a piece of property like this! A pool in the living room! And it can be all yours for just under $11,000,000. I absolutely love it! The decor is incredibly eclectic and just screams to have a chic party there at least once a week with Manhattan's bohemian social set! 

*Images via Wall Street Journal Online

They Say It's Your Birthday....

My 33rd birthday last Thursday would have to go down as one of the greatest that I've celebrated. Not because of the material things like pressies...although I did score in that department, no it was a birthday full of old traditions and the start of new ones.

I need to take you back to when I was a little girl growing up on the outskirts of Sydney. Every year for my birthday my Dad would play this song for me on our old record player and we'd all dance around the kitchen before breakfast and before the opening of presents. My Dad is a man of few words but the memory I have of listening to that song and seeing my Dad dancing around is one of my fondest memories. Unfortunately when we moved house and with the invention of the CD player that tradition kind of fell by the wayside but each year I'd always think about that song and for the life of me I couldn't remember the name of the song or who sang it.

For some reason this year I was determined to find that song. I started off by calling my parents - they of course remembered the tradition but could not remember the song. I then moved on to Google and You Tube...no luck. As a last resort I put a  plea out on Facebook...still nothing. And then....my Mum called me on Skype she was in hysterics (the good kind) Dad had managed to find the original record!!!!! After all these years Dad had kept that record...I burst into tears! There we were, my parents sitting in Sydney, Lady Sadie and I in Doha and we were all singing and bopping around to that silly old song, a silly old song that I will now play for Lady Sadie every year on her birthday.

What song is it I hear you ask...well check it out for yourself! Tony Christie's "Happy Birthday Baby". What a film clip! He was the snazziest of dressers back then ole Tony!




The 2nd reason this is the best birthday ever...Mr D's cousin Jesse gave birth to a beautiful boy! Little Rocco Jack was welcomed into the world on his due date...my birthday. I couldn't think of a better person to share my birthday with. I can't wait till I'm home in July for a million cuddles with this little boy. I've already gone on a shopping spree for him and he'll always be the most spoilt by me because I'll never forget his birthday!

A few weeks ago I got an email from my good friend Ciara who lives in Abu Dhabi she had decided that she wanted to come to Doha for a visit and what better time than my birthday. I counted down the days until Ciara arrived in Doha with her funny and charming husband Rory and her two gorgeous boys Rian & Orin. We celebrated big time over the weekend. First off on Thursday night with a dinner at Japanese restaurant Sakura followed by many drinks at Orion bar. Also there to celebrate was Alexandria of Qatar who indulged me in my love of a cheeky barcardi breezer at the end of the night. Not to mention she came armed with gifts, an official William and Catherine tea towel and a Gretchen Christine lip gloss (we share a mutual love of The Real Housewives franchise).

It was a brilliant weekend, we laughed and partied hard and even though we've only known Rory & Ciara for a couple of years it felt like we have known each other a life time, the four of us just mesh well together and I can't wait to see them again soon! There is talk of a trip to Ireland next Summer...

All Class

Finally something truly amazing happend on my birthday....Mr D sent me flowers. Mr D and I have been together for 6 years and in that time he has NEVER EVER bought me flowers! Now don't judge the man. He is pretty much the perfect husband, unbelievable kind, generous and loving but just lacking in the flower department. Well all that changed on Thursday morning when there was a knock at the door. I was floored! Never expected it and promptly burst into tears! Thank you Mr D for spoiling me and surprising me!

So all in all, it was a brilliant way to turn 33. It was spent with great friends and my amazing husband and of course Lady Sadie! She bought me the new Lady Gaga CD which I'm told I need to share with her!

I'm looking forward to the next 12 months and celebrating again in style next year!

x

Made My Day

I'm a busy little bee this morning. Packed 2 lunches, got my big kid and my little kid off to work and school. Had 15 minutes to myself to eat breakfast and catch up on E! News and now I'm off to run some errands and get ready for my birthday this weekend. 

I'm so excited this year for my birthday, not because I'm turning 33 (ahhhh where did the years go!) but because our great friends "The Irish Contingent" are arriving for a fun-filled weekend in Doha. It's going to be an action packed weekend full of food, drinking, swimming and I'm sure yelling and chasing after 3 kids 3 years and under! 

What has made my day today and it's only 9.26am is the fact that one of my brilliant and amazing friends who just happens to be a blogger has written a beautiful post today marking her 3 month stint in blogging. I've written about Grenglish before which you can see here. It warmed my heart to read Sarah's post today because I never realised what a big part I played in getting Grenglish off the ground. It just goes to show when you love and support your friends, they feel encouraged to try things that they never thought they'd do!

Sarah & I back in the day thinking that we were absolutely hilarious!

I haven't seen Sarah in 10 years - it's been a long time between drinks and thankfully we were able to reconnect through Facebook and now through blogging. I hope to one day soon be able to visit Sarah in London, meet her gorgeous little boy and husband and have some outrageous fun!

So anyway, that's just my little post today, it's put me in a fantastic mood and now I'm ready to face the dreaded desert heat! 

x

Farmstead Chic

Somedays I dream about going country....moving from a big city to a small town where I have lots and lots of space around me, enough room for a heap of dogs, cats, cows and horses.

I dream about baking pies everyday and letting them rest on my windowsill, about watching the sunset each evening on my massive wrap around verandah and heading to the local pub on a Saturday night to hang with the locals.

If I were to ever move to the country, I think this is what my house would look like...

*Images from Rue Magazine

I'm bored...

*Image via here

I'm bored today...My Mum always told me that the word 'bored' is not part of her vocabulary, that there was always something you could find to do.

But none the less, I'm bored!

Living in Doha is like living in a small country town but with sky scrapers. There's not a great deal to do here other than shop, eat and swim. Normally we spend our weekends laying by the pool which I love! This week however the weather in the desert has been hideous, incredibly hot, really windy which means lots of sand and dust flying around, not ideal for relaxing by the pool!

I love to read, so this afternoon I'm going to curl up on the day bed and read my Kobo which will be nice and relaxing but I would so much rather be in a hammock, by the sea reading...

Happy Weekend

Image via Pinterest

Every Day Waves

Next week I'll be turning 33. One of my golden rules is that older women (late 40's and on) shouldn't have long hair so whilst I'm still in my 30's and heading towards my 40's I've decided to grow my hair. 

Living in the desert where most days the humidity is hovering around 80%, it's hard to have long flowing locks because I have frizz ball hair and even though each day I wake up with the best intentions to 'do' my hair, I always either pull it back into a messy bun or try and style it but not very well and end up with a massive mop of waves. 

My dream hair is this...

Now I'm getting there...I've got the dark brown locks but I'm still growing out my fringe (why oh why do I keep on getting a fringe?!) and I need to add another few centimeters to the length.

Today I came across this great tutorial on how to do the every day wave. 

Now Lauren Conrad has made this look pretty damn easy but I'm not so sure but it's something I'm willing to give a try! I'd also like to learn how to curl my hair with my GHD straightener. I will look out for a video to post another day.

What is your dream hair style?

x

Sweet Potato & Chicken Casserole

The weather in Doha is really heating up, most days it's in the mid 40's however there have been a couple of days where it's hit 50! So I have no idea why when it's so hot that I feel like wintery comfort food!

Perhaps it's getting myself prepared for 6 weeks in Australia during winter. Lady Sadie and I are heading back home to escape the heat and spend some quality time with family and friends. My parents have just moved from Sydney to a gorgeous little town about 1 1/2 hours from the city where I've been told it's going to be a bitterly cold winter...perhaps even snow! My little desert baby won't know whats hit her!

Last week while I was looking for recipes online I came across this meal from Taste. I made it last night and it was superb! The chicken was as tender as can be and the sweetness from the potatoes and caramelized onions worked perfectly with the strong taste of the fennel and mustard.

You can download the recipe here.

Enjoy!
x

Polo Anyone?

Now this is the kind of polo event I'd like to be at! Unlimited bottles of champagne were served last Saturday at the Veuve Cliquot Polo Classic on Governors Island, New York.

I'm sure more people were paying attention to the fashion than what was happening on the field. A dazzling array of headwear, amazing dresses and even more amazing shoes were on display with New York Society fashion elite!

Have A Great Weekend

Hello my lovelies!

We have done our usual Friday thing which is hanging out by the pool all day! Even though temperatures have reached 50 this week I'm still in the mood for a hearty winter dish so tonight we're having...

Image from Jules Stonesoup

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

x

Magazine Round Up

I'm ADDICTED to magazines, can't get enough. Here's what I'm reading at the moment...

Lonny Magazine

Matchbook Magazine

Harper's Bazaar Arabia

Vanity Fair

Elle Decor

Grazia Middle East