Martini Monday

On the weekend , I had the most amazing Espresso Martini that I simply had to share it. After referring to my cocktail books and checking on google, it seems that there is a pretty standard recipe for this drink..but the one that I experienced had a special finishing touch added that made it superb.

Like many of us I usually start my day with a coffee, and living with a European it is the strong, muddy variety, I would love to start my day off with one of this Martinis !

Espresso Martini with a Twist
martini glass

1 shot of cold Espresso (about 1 oz)
1 1/2 oz vodka
1 1/2 oz Kahlua
1 oz white Creme de Cacoa
1 or 2 coffee beans
Fresh orange rind.

Pour ingredients into cocktail shaker with ice and give a good shake. Strain liquid into a Martini glass.
(this should now be quite frothy) top with one or two coffee beans.
Now for the twist. Cut the end piece of rind from an orange and light until it flames once quickly, then squeeze the rind slightly using the juice produced to rim the glass. The flavor and aroma that this creates is simply divine!

Happy Chamapagne Friday to all! 'New Old Shoes'

Wishing a Happy Champagne Friday to all!
This week I am going to give you a sneak peek at some of the gorgeous new things we have in store for Spring.

Here are a few snaps of some stunning vintage shoes that we have just received.

It's Friday afternoon, so why not indulge in a cocktail. This week enjoy a Japanese Slipper.

Japanese Slipper
(cocktail glass)

One part Midori
One part Contreau
One part lime juice

Simply mix in cocktail glass and drink...mmmmm.

The Green Fairy

Wow, it has been so busy lately that I totally missed Champagne Friday...not like me at all!
With Spring almost upon us , that means Fashion Week in Melbourne the social calender has been activated.. (after months of hibernating at home).
One of the events I have coming up is a party with a 'Paris Bohemia' theme and I am still wondering "what to wear!?!"  Of course there are many different ways that this theme could be explored. The first and most obvious thing that springs to mind are images from Baz Lurhman's Moulin Rouge and artists that were around at the time such as Toules Letrec and later Tamra De Limpicka, and even later one of my favourites, Frida Kahlo mixed with the Bohemian set in Paris.  Of course the Beatnik poetic is another type of bohemian character too and I could always get away with throwing on a beret and stripey top. I have plenty of outfits and props I could use after going to a few 1920's events too, if I add a feather boa and a long cigarette holder.....but me being me I though of cocktails and drinking..of course. I had the idea as going as 'The green fairy" AKA absinthe.
Absinthe is of course the drink of choice for the Bohemian set and notorious for it's hallucinogenic effects....even rumored to have caused an "epidemic of psychosis" in France around the late 1800's.
I loved Kylie as the green fairy in Moulin Rouge

So, I begin my hunt for a green fairy costume. A simple search on google and you fast learn that nearly every woman's costume you find has the word 'sexy' in front of it...'Sexy Green Fairy'....'Sexy Woodland Elf"...'Sexy Tinkerbell' or 'Sexy woodland Nymph'.....these outfits should really be called the "'Slutty Stripper  with Green Wings " costume....not really what I had in mind!

A little more persistance and my searching pays off. I found a lovely image to use for a point of inspiration...this is the kind of green fairy I had in mind. (of course putting this outfit together will take some time sewing and hot glue gunning so don't be surprized to see me post photos of myself in that stripey top)

This beautiful image is from deviantart.com by matusciac

Champagne Friday- Black and White Stripes

My love of Black and White Stripes

If you live in Melbourne, like me, you will know what September means. It means that most of the population goes mad for Football. Usually our evening news and daily newspaper has a football content of 50% anyway, but as we near September this percentage seems to creep up and up, until on that 'One Day is September' it is all we hear about. So far, this year the football talk has been a little clouded by all of the election hype but shortly this will be over and '' Finals Fever" will take hold of our fair city once again.
I am afraid to say it, and at the risk of alienating some of you, I can't help but be drawn into the excitement, especially because this could be my year!!! Now that we are mid-August that special time of year is approaching. (I am off to the game tonight). Love it or hate it football, is good for Melbourne, bringing people from all over the country here.  Gabor recently attended his first AFL game and as a soccer fan, he couldn't believe how polite it was. He was amazed that supporters from opposing teams could actually sit together. (Soccer fans need a barricade to separate them).
So really when you think about it like that, our football is really quite civilized.
Besides, if you can't beat footy fever, why not join it?
Fanantique is now offering a 15% discount on any football related framing until the end of October.

In a completely unrelated matter, this week I am looking at the beauty of black and white stripes, both in fashion and in decorating. It is such a classic style that seems to stay strong season after season. When used in interior decorating, it certainly adds a Parisian flavour. In the room below, the black and white stripe sofa works beautifully with the hot pink chairs and bright blue wall.

 

Below: Three Major Style icons go black and white striped: Carrie Bradshaw, Chanel and Vintage Barbie!!

 

  

of course it wouldn't be Champagne Friday without a cocktail, so today it's the black and white martini. Its super easy.

Black and White Martini

3 oz Stolichnaya vodka Vanilla 

1 oz Dark creme de cacao

pour into a cocktail glass and serve.

Champagne with Miss Havisham

Rough Luxe Interiors, Champagne and Ghosts....
It's a very late Champagne Friday post indeed this week! My apologies, but things are getting super busy at Fanantique right now in the lead up to our very first Spring Racing event, and then Christmas not long after that. Of course, I have been working away on our vintage fashion extravaganza coming up in about six weeks time, and it is shaping up to be a fabulous event with an amazing team of creative talent already involved..but more about that later. Right now, I am going to tell you about an event that Gabor and I attended last night.

Last night, we were invited by one of our suppliers to attend the opening of their new showroom. (It said 'Champagne served" on the invitation, how could I resist?)
With a name like "Vixen and Velvet" you can already begin to imagine the type of range they have. They bring gorgeous vintage furniture and decorator pieces from Europe. Most found in old manors and castles, that have long been neglected.

Anyone that knows me well, knows that I have a fascination for fairy tales, ghost stories and Gothic literature, especially anything involving vampires...no, I am not talking  the pasty faced, angst ridden 'Twilight' vampires running around North of Seattle, but the real old school Eastern European variety. (Maybe that's why I ended up with Gabor, a real life Transylvanian, the poor guy I often ask him to repeat lines from Bella Lugosi movies just to hear the accent) It makes sense that pieces with such an interesting and mysterious past appeal to me. I love the romantic idea of looking at the piece and wondering about and all that has taken place around it, if it were not just an inanimate object I'm sure it would have a great story to tell.

(We ordered a gorgeous chandelier for the shop and are hoping to have it hanging in store next week. I also have some incredible Christmas decorations coming from them later in the year)
The showroom was beautifully set up and certainly inspired a magical feel. The style could be described as 'rough luxe' , old world luxury that has since deteriorated or been neglected, the grandeur remains but the pretentiousness is gone.

Along with ghost tales, this look conjured up thoughts of Charle's Dicken's character from Great Expectations, Miss Havisham. Of course it is a classic story that has been reinterpreted many times.  I particularly like the movie produced in 1998 starring Ann Bancroft as Miss Havisham (also featuring De Niro, Gywneth Paltrow , and the wonderful Ethan Hawke). I adored the depiction of Miss Havisham's delapidated mansion and it is exactly what the 'rough luxe' interior style is all about.

The costumes are also incredible, Bancroft's vintage attire is divine and Paltrow's character, Estelle, wears nothing but Donna Karan during the whole movie (look out for a stunning backless, velvet evening dress)

Another perfect example of this is the 'Rough Luxe" hotel opened in London not long ago. The interior designer combined luxery with vintage and industrial effects to create the look.

Of course if you want the real deal, I can recommend a fabulous website, where you can look at hundreds of heart-breakingly beautiful photographs of abandoned buildings that were once great.
Never mind the title, but click here  just watch out for ghosts!

For a touch of 'luxe' this week, add a splash of Chamboard to your Champagne.
easy and delicious!