Autumnal Delights

The last few days in Melbourne has seen a dramatic change in the weather to the likes of a snap winter. With it has come freak storms, heavy rain, grey skies, and the amazing by-product of all that atmospheric activity- a cloud show spectacular! It's a clickers delight, as in, your finger never wants to leave the click button on your camera as nature marvels all her adornments on you from above. Autumn is the best time of year for showing off such diversity in not only weather, nature, fashion, food and thoughts of nesting and snuggling in begin to awaken.

Quite the delight to come across an average pole in the city street of Melbourne and see that it too felt the need for nesting and comfort and a nice woollen accessory to brace from the bitter chill.

And with that comes thoughts of warm breakfasts in bed. A bit of a favourite is my Quinoa porridge with rhubarb, cranberry maple syrup, chia seeds, walnuts, raisins and a sprinkling of cinnamon and cardamon to jump start the tired motor in the morning.

Followed by a late brunch of gluten free bread with mashed avocado, sauteed mushrooms and cherry tomatoes with a garnish of fresh basil leaves from the garden.

One of the foods I thought I would have to miss out on now that I am a gluten free eater is pizza- but, I'm happy to say that is not the case. With everything in life, it is learning to make do with what you CAN have. So, with a pre-bought Gluten Free pizza base (From Freedom Foods) I believe I might have made the best pizza of my life! And I have made a few! There was so much flavour in it, that the thought of missing out on a wheat base never crossed my mind. Here's a little tip for you- get yourself a tiny jar of baby food pumpkin puree (if you can't be bothered whipping some up yourself) it is pure as baby's like it, and spread it down on your base then sprinkle some cracked pepper, cayenne pepper and any other spices you may like. This makes the crust so tasty and moist, plus, you have added another vegetable to the mix without trying! I've included lightly pan fried eggplant, mushrooms, leek, baby spinach, then topped with mozzarella and fresh basil leaves and parsley. Delightful!

All that's left to do is make yourself an espresso. When the weather is uninspiring to leave the comfort of home, I like to treat myself as if I was out at a cafe and pull out a lovely tea set and indulge. This is a favourite 1950's set I scored at an op shop years ago for $5, which included dinner plates, side plates and the cup and saucers. My good taste and thriftiness was delighted when I found the exact same set in a 1950's collectors book. Makes me feel extra special when drinking out of them knowing how unique they are. Accompanied by a gluten free piece of chocolate hazelnut fudge, cold days in can be a great way to nurture yourself, surprise yourself with your cooking skills and dream of crafty projects. How do you like to spend a chilly day indoors? All this food talk has made me hungry again. I think I'm going to make some sticky date pudding and then go and yell at my misbehaving wardrobe. She needs to learn a lesson or two. More on that later. Happy snuggling :)

Street Spotting

I love that in Melbourne, you can wear short sleeves and a fur headband in the one outfit, as the weather does turn into many seasons. This outfit appeals to me because it has a mix of styles with feminine and grunge and a mix of the 80's and 90's. Using a soft delicate fabric with a heavy cord jacket and boots works rather well in my book and I think she looks stunning in it. What styles do you like mixing up and playing with?

A little side plait peeping out under a furry headband makes a nice addition.

These shoes caught my attention, and hard not to with the glistening gold. I love how she has teamed them with little striped anklet socks and  custom ripped sheer tights. 

Street Spotting

What I love about this great city Melbourne, is that on any given day, you can walk down the street and be visually excited by so many different looks and outfits. I was in such a rush when I turned around and noticed this girl who to me looked like she could have stepped off a film set. Must be my filmmaking background, but I love character dressing and my mind was already imagining a scene with her in it. I wasn't the only one as when I finished snapping her, I turned around to see a line of people with their camera phones out also photographing her.

Love that she co-ordinated her lipstick to her outfit.

The detail of the embroidery and woven ribbon with the netting skirt underneath is exquisite. Who says you can't mix blue with black?

Can't say no to a shoe with buckles- this has the works!

On Tour At The Wearer's Right

During L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, I attended The Wearer's Right, a showroom collective of designers showcasing their new collections at the Thousand Pound Bend. I was so impressed to meet three talented young designers hailing from Perth, Western Australia. The third one being Alicia Sorgiovanni from the label On Tour. The collection on show was hy.brid SS12/13, which had the most amazing metallic jumpsuit that Alicia is holding up for me, which is not done any justice in photos as the shimmer it gives is pretty amazing, let alone how good you would feel wearing it. Very rock chick! In addition to digital prints in bright colours and mixed prints and cutouts in shirts and laser cut out leather jackets, once again, this talented young designer uses high quality materials and all made in Australia. You've got to love that!I wish her continued success with this new collection.

For further information and stockists, check out her website at www.ontourdesign.com