Happy New Year! Our New Year’s Eve was quite uneventful but suited us just fine since we are a little tired from all of the traveling. At 11:35pm I decided to actually write down all of my resolutions and goals, scribbling the last few just before midnight. This is the first time that I have them on paper so hopefully they will keep me on track. It’s Day 2 and we’re looking good

Since you probably do not want to hear that we watched Iron Man in our pj’s on New Year’s Eve, I’ll turn to something a tad more exciting: the Sydney Harbour Bridge fireworks.

Every year they light up the city with at least thirty minutes of fireworks. It’s absolutely spectacular! I wish Houston had something similar but I do enjoy the mini shows in our neighborhood. It is legal to light your own fireworks in this area. The Bridge Effect is the most anticipated portion of the display for me as the new symbol and theme are revealed for the year. For 2009, the theme is Creation with a picture of the sun lit in the center of the bridge. Here is a list of previous themes:

• 1999–2000: The New Millennium (”Eternity” in Copperplate writing, in honor of Arthur Stace)
• 2000–01: Centenary of Federation (Rainbow Serpent and Federation Star)
• 2001–02: Year of the Outback (Uluru)
• 2002–03: Celebration in Unity (Dove of Peace)
• 2003–04: City of Light (Light show)
• 2004–05: Reflections (Disco ball)
• 2005–06: Heart of the Harbour (Love Heart)
• 2006–07: A Diamond Night in Emerald City (Coathanger and a Diamond)
• 2007–08: The Time of Our Lives (A sand timer)
• 2008–09: Creation (The Sun)

I wish you all a wonderful 2009 and I hope you achieve your goals whether it be in your personal life or career. This past year has been full of challenges but I will continue to strive to be a better wife, daughter, sister, and friend while constantly improving my mind and taking my career to a new level. I am welcoming each of the 32 new challenges and goals set for myself with open arms…

Image credits: ABC, Christoph Schmidt, Sydney Morning Herald, & Flickr

As I was searching for cranberry recipes yesterday, I stumbled upon a tour of Ina Garten’s New York residence (interview by Christine Pittel). Many of you may know Ina as Barefoot Contessa. There is a certain sense of comfort to her food, presence, house in the Hamptons, and now in the furniture and decor selections of her New York apartment. You can almost imagine kicking your feet up on the coffee table during afternoon tea. Ina would make you feel right at home.

The 1920s one-bedroom duplex features a magnificent leaded glass window that welcomes a soft, warm light into the living room. Many of her furniture pieces were collected during her travels, particularly in Belgium. These include a 16th-century English bookcase with flexible shelves, a highbacked sofa that seats like a chair, and even an informal Petit Granit Belgian stone for her kitchen countertops. Her taste is simple — clean colors and modern lines with a small collection of antiques.

For a well-known chef, her small galley-style kitchen designed by architect Richard Lewis is quite unexpected, but it is in New York after all. I am envious of her muted blue stained cabinets and open shelving — concepts that my favorite interior designer, Sarah Richardson, employs in many of her kitchens. A farmhouse sink would inch it closer to being my dream kitchen.

Happy New Year! Be safe tonight.

x Kylie

Image credits: House Beautiful via AOL

I hope you are all enjoying your holidays. Only five days after we returned from Australia we were off to Philadelphia then to a small town in Ohio to visit Jon’s family. I realized during the brief interval in Houston that my time management skills need quite a brush up. So I apologize for leaving you a little stranded but I am back for good now. I promise. We enjoyed our chilly Christmas with family, especially all of the giggles from our ten month old little niece, but we are glad to be back in the comfort of our home.

Our dear Uncle Calvin brought us some fresh cranberries from Cape Cod and since our New Years Day will be quiet I thought it will be fun to try out some recipes. Martha Stewart has over 300 cranberry recipes to choose from. Perhaps a simple cranberry sauce (although I will not be cooking a feast alongside it), a mulled cranberry cocktail to celebrate the new year, or maybe I can have one last bite of the New England cranberry duff before I start my post-holiday workout schedule.

And in the midst of all of the holiday madness, I forgot to thank Caitlin Losey and her team at The Nest for including our Bandelle jewelry in their Holiday Gift Guide. It’s a tremendous honor for us, especially to be included amongst a list of envy-worthy brooches, Audrey Hepburn books, and cashmere wraps, so a big thanks to The Nest! And to our readers, we’re truly thankful for all of your support.

Happy Holidays, everyone.

Image credits: The Nest & Martha Stewart

We’re back from our trip to Australia. It was absolutely wonderful to spend time with family and catch-up with some of my oldest and dearest friends. Per Jon’s request, we did not do much sight seeing in Sydney. Instead we hit up a few beaches, ate lots of seafood at Doyle’s, celebrated my grandmother’s 80th birthday, and enjoyed the slower pace of life in Sydney.

Unfortunately the weather was a little unpredictable. It went from rainy and choppy days (above) to glorious summer weather (below). The water sparkled on our day at Coogee beach. We splashed around in the waves with my sister, Melissa, and marveled at how many people there were there on a weekday. Next time we hope to visit Bronte beach on a more pleasant day. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite spots in Sydney due to its friendly neighborhood atmosphere. There is even a coastal walk from Coogee to Bronte, which is supposedly beautiful and can even include the infamous Bondi beach if you are keen to go further.

I will show you one of my new Sydney discoveries tomorrow. Hope you have all had an enjoyable two weeks and thanks for your e-mails and comments.

x Kylie

By the time you read this we will probably be in the middle of our 17.5 hour journey to Australia (3.5 hours to LA from Houston then a 14 hour non-stop flight to Sydney). Since we cross the dateline, we unfortunately skip Thanksgiving altogether so that means no turkey or football for my husband. But I did not want to leave without expressing my gratitude for all of you who have made this year so enjoyable by coming to this little corner of the world each day. Every time I hear from you it makes my day a little brighter — honestly. I’m also very thankful for my wonderful and supportive husband, the most loving and kind-hearted family in both Australia and America, my beautiful pup who keeps me company almost everywhere I go, and good health for all.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I’ll be back soon with stories from Sydney. And for those of you who live there, can you please beckon the sun to come out? The forecast looks a little dull but we will be happy to be with family and friends anyway. Until then, enjoy browsing Phil Poynter’s stunning photography portfolio (via the ever so stylish Cassandra from Coco + Kelley).

Image credits: Phil Poynter

My friend, Annie, has recently been converted to somewhat of a stylista after reading The Little Black Book of Style by Nina Garcia — yes, the Nina Garcia from Project Runway. So I ordered my copy on Amazon and started flipping through it last night.

Besides the adorable fashion illustrations and sound advice on building your wardrobe around the basics, I have quite enjoyed the section covering style in films. As you may know from my Double Take series, set design often inspires me but that does not mean that the fashion goes unnoticed. Here are a few of Nina Garcia’s What to Watch and What to Watch For recommendations…

My seen list includes Sabrina and Doctor Zhivago but I would not mind taking another look for the style. First on my new movie list will most likely be Belle de Jour because Nina says, “Everything Catherine Deneuve wears could work today: the coats, the shift dresses etc.” Apparently Roger Vivier designed the Pilgrim-style buckled pump for this film and immediately sold 120,000 pairs after the movie debuted on the silver screen. Below are some of Nina Garcia’s more recent picks:

Michelle Pfeiffer looks spectacular in her slinky, silky dresses and Nina admires the way Uma Thurman pulls off the crisp white shirt in Pulp Fiction. Apparently everything in the film In The Mood For Love is styled to perfection — from the “color of the dresses, the 1950s heels, {and} the quiet sexiness of the fit.” Added to the list.

Do you have any other recommendations for styles or fashion that you like in films (old and new)? Instead of sitting here completely overwhelmed by all of the football watching we will be doing over the holidays (thanks, Jon), it would be fun to pop in a movie every now and then. Blockbuster may see a lot of me

Image credits: iMDb, The New York Times, Amazon

When architects, Jose Tavel and Cara Cummins, celebrated their wedding in their recently built home in Atlanta, the couple inscribed the temporary stair treads with lines from a valentine’s letter that Cummins’s grandfather penned to her grandmother during the World War II era. And now that the house is almost complete, Tavel and Cummins just cannot replace those temporary stairs. Does that melt your heart too?

I still have e-mails that my husband sent to me when we first starting dating in my freshmen year of college nine years ago. On our first date, Jon took me out to lovely dinner then we stopped at a little pottery place around the corner. I was on cloud nine with Frank Sinatra, a glass of wine, paintbrush in my hand, and a young man who I had a major crush on sitting right next to me and painting away. To this day I still have the newsletter that Mad Potter sent to us shortly after our date because it was addressed to both of us — our names on one line. I kept it hoping that one day our names will always be together.

Have you held onto love letters, napkins, chip bags, or other memories that you have shared with your significant other? I’m in a warm and fuzzy mood today

Image credits: Metropolitan Home

I just watched this tour of the 2008 Designer Visions House Beautiful apartment in Manhattan that was designed by Susan Ferrier. Ferrier transformed this glass tower box into a tranquil living space, which is somewhat of a signature of her designs. She achieved this calming look by restricting the color palette, repeating yet limiting bold gestures such as large scaled furniture and mirrors, and adding a few unexpected touches like large animal statues to give the space some life. Here are a few important tips from Susan:

SUSAN FERRIER’S TIPS FOR TRANQUIL LIVING:

- Unify the space by having a common rhythm or coloration throughout your home e.g. repetition of fabric, textures, mirrors, and the gray-blue-green color scheme seen in this home.

- To create a calm space you have to be disciplined and limit the choices you make.

- Use big pieces in small rooms because it helps to calm the space. Ferrier believes that lots of small items in a small space creates a nervous atmosphere.

- Accessories should relate to each other so it looks less cluttered.

- Live with fewer, better things.

- Do not have all of your furniture up on legs otherwise it looks like there are a lot of people running around. Ground certain pieces, like a skirted wingback chair or solid piece of wood that is used as a stool.

- Use floor to ceiling drapery to add to the architecture and help delineate the space.

Susan Ferrier demonstrates her tranquil living approach in this townhouse that she designed for her clients, Ted and Donna Giles, in Alabama. You will notice the soft color palette of cream, bronze, brown, and grey, selected large-scale furniture, grounded pieces (particularly the wooden blocks used as coffee tables), and the accessories that relate to each other in proportion and theme.

Image credits: House Beautiful

Every wardrobe needs a little black dress — preferably one that you can dress down during the day with a cardigan and low heels then transform it at night with your favorite clutch and bolder accessories. And that is exactly what Gwenyth Paltrow recommends in this week’s edition of GOOP. I recently subscribed to her weekly newsletter featuring Gwenyth’s favorite recipes, museum exhibit recommendations, fashion, and general suggestions for healthy living. Any advice that I can get from this classically elegant woman is good enough for me…

SHIFT DRESS: This is how Gwenyth transforms a simple black shift dress. Start with the garment first by tailoring it to suit your body. Being somewhat of a giant (6′ tall), garments often do not fit my body straight off the rack. I take them to my sweet tailor down the road who tucks, pulls, and lengthens my pants and dresses. Here Gwenyth snips 3 inches off the length of her Shell Kare shift dress to personalize it and make it her own. Simply by changing the belt from a satin sash to a more casual chunky leather belt she has achieved two different looks.

And now to the knee-length dress (my favorite)…

KNEE-LENGTH DRESS: This classic knee-length dress is more my style. Gwenyth transforms the Topshop Unique dress from a night look with gladiator style shoes to a more casual affair with a simple grey cardigan and leather belt. To amp up Look 1, I personally would add dangling earrings and a cocktail ring.

And here are some of my picks for little black dresses, scarves, shoes, and accessories…

The Tadashi black ruched dress is probably the most formal but you could dress it up or down with a skinny metallic belt or a wide red belt. The Design History black merino wool cowl neck would be great for winter — bring on the boots and leggings! And I just had to show you Nicole Miller’s boat neck because every dress of hers just fits so perfectly. Plus I find the neckline to be the most flattering.

Look no further than J Crew for cardigans. I love the preppy look of the aqua colored cardigan and belt but the ruffles are to die for.

Nico Reilly wore the two middle cocktail rings on an episode of Lipstick Jungle. J Crew’s sparkle ring would also work well with any of the little black dresses and I wear my Scarlett tassle-like earrings often for an evening look.

And shoes, well, I will have to leave that for another post because I could be here for hours trying to decide. The reason being is that you can just about where any shoes in any color, pattern, or heel height that you wish. That’s the beauty of the little black dress! You cannot go wrong with your shoe selection.

Image credits: GOOP, J Crew, Bluefly, Bandelle, and NBC

Last weekend I perused Martha Stewart’s website for bridal shower decorating ideas and came across a slideshow of Thanksgiving table settings. I particularly loved glimmer and shine as well as feather headdress because she incorporated the theme using atypical fall colors such as plum and a muted blue. Martha, you sure know how to entertain. Your local grocery store might sell these mini-pumpkins (I just purchased a slightly larger one for my mum’s pumpkin soup recipe at Kroger) and Michaels or Home Depot surely carry gold spray paint. I have also seen similar blue feathers at Texas Art Supply but again your local art shop or even Michaels may sell them too.

Image credits: Martha Stewart