Red carpet faves: The Oscars (aka Cate Blanchet wins the style stakes again)

Natalie Portman has obviously been saving the best of the maternity dresses for the last of the awards season - finally a winner.  Jennifer Hudson's dramatic weight-loss is shown off in her burnt organge Versace number.  Other than that neutrals were out in full force, with the celebs playing safe.  (Although those who tried not too didn't fare so well, Anne Hathaway anyone?)  Michelle Williams's pixie haircut shows she knew how to rock it well before Carey Mulligan and Emma Thompson.  Cate Blanchett was the runaway winner - no surprises there.

(Photo credits: smh.com.au; justjared.com and huffingtonpost.com)

I want a man, just so I can dress him

As many of male friends can attest, and certainly any number of boys/men in my office, I love a good comment on men's fashion - the details (thanks Andy), the elbow patches, the cardigans, the beautifully cut shirts, immaculate suits, and a brilliant shirt and tie combination.  It may have something to do with my brothers and their impeccable dress sense, it may have to do that italian exchange student and his prada raincoat in 2005, or it may just be because I love men. 

"And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while..." (or in the words of Bruno Mars)

 

A dentist friend recently remarked to me on a someone's bad teeth - teeth, he said, make the smile.  But what he said next was more to the point - a gorgeous smile is what makes someone truly beautiful.  As he pointed out a bunch of beautiful friends smiling in photos around my house, versus the pouting, unhappy models in the fashion magazines on my coffee table, I realised he's right.  As I think back to the few times a boy had told me that my "smile lit up a room" I can remember that sort of statement can be a true evocation of just how beautiful you think someone is - at least it's certainly true when I've thought it of others.  In practical terms, I've put it into practice over the last 5 years as I have transitioned from the "Nisha Blue Steel" (which elicited a lot of fun-making by my friends, but a professional photographer told me was a-ok!) in photos to the "Nish Big Smile".

                

On the flipside, it also made me think about some of the incredible friends I have who make me smile and laugh, laugh, laugh  in a stomach aching kind of way no matter what, no matter where.  That is definitely what makes life beautiful.  So embrace the jaw-breaking smile over the pout, and try your best to make someone else smile.

(Photo credits: my random photogrpahy, and my gorgeous, gorgeous friends.)



Breathing in the morning flowers

Morning roses at Summers Floral next door to my home in Woollahra (which the lovely Zoe and I have affectionately termed, "The Sad Spinsters of Queen Street".)

Layers and mixing prints = so much fun and oh so chic

I'm the kind of person who wears navy blue and black, fuschia on red and generally abhors those straightlaced fashion rules.  But mostly I adore a mixed print (as attested by my Lisa Ho milky way linen jacket.)  Lately I have been rocking a striped gun metal and white Joie silk tank (silk tank? surprise, surprise) under a Richard Chai Love silk half-sleeved abstract rainforest print blouse.  Kelly Frammel over at theglamourai is my new mixology/layering goddess. Enjoy.  My favourite is the top pic with striped jacket and sequinned shirt.

(Photo credits: the glamourai)

Red carpet faves: SAG Awards

Not too many favourites from the SAG Awards red carpet, but Lea Michelle wowed and redeemed her Golden Globes dress.  Tina Fey (my absolutel girl crush) also got it right.  About time. 

(Photo credits: smh.com.au and Huffington Post)

Love yourself

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

~ Eleanor Roosevelt



"Renew thyself completely each day" - Thoreau

Over the weekend the New York Times revealed what many of us have suspected for years, that meditation may change the brain.  My New Year's resolution was to meditate every day, so I found this article particularly fascinating.  An excerpt below, sums up the findings:

"M.R.I. brain scans taken before and after the participants’ meditation regimen found increased gray matter in the hippocampus, an area important for learning and memory. The images also showed a reduction of gray matter in the amygdala, a region connected to anxiety and stress. A control group that did not practice meditation showed no such changes."

You can read more about the study here.

Around 2004 Prof. Richard Davidson researched the brains of Tibetan monks meditating - his research also revealed a change in brain structure; specifically he found enhanced brain waves in the area of the brain tied to empathy and compassion.  Prof Davidson started his study with French monk Mathieu Ricard who has been called the "happiest man alive" (!): listen to him here. 
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Neuroscience aside, I'm learning, as I practice my mindfulness meditation, that a still mind is a beautiful thing.  Henry David Thoreau wrote:  "Renew thyself completely each day".  Meditation is the ultimate way to do that.  Ricard says that, "practicing meditation can give your day an entirely new "fragrance.""  My day definitely changes with meditation in the morning.

Sequinista

My rockstar sister-in-law Steph donned this fancy but casual J. Crew sequined sweatshirt with her winter parka, jeans and knee-high boots.  Ever my fashion tutor, Stepha-lilly, mother of three and non-profit wonderwoman looked oh so chic in the NYC snow.

Silk summer tanks

A quick flick through my wardrobe confirms that silk summer tanks are my fashion staple.  So with that, I propose to continue posting some of the favourites I find online.

Rhapsody in blue

My favourite, favourite colour - sea blue.  I love the sparkle of the waters of the Croatian coast, and I love the way it has been used in interior design recently.