In the last instalment of Vintage Style Find of the Month, we found a great lady like framed handbag. And being a sucker for a good piece of arm candy, this month’s style find is also of the bag variety.  I spotted this through the doorway to the store when out shopping with a friend and quite nearly tripped over myself to get inside and add it to my collection. You see why.

Bag – Peter Alexander

Price – $99.90

Available – Instore and online

Features – Large woven tote bag size with hot pink cotton lining, cotton crochet bobble trim and pink flamingo for handle.

 

(I’ve just realised that the last Style find of the month was in July!  So I have some catch up shopping to do.   )

 

If there is something you’ve been dying to find to fix your vintage wardrobe, but just haven’t found; add your request and let’s see if we can find you your own Vintage Style Find o’ the Month.

To celebrate the launch of my new side project Some Fancy Ladies™ and our 2012 Calendar, we’re giving YOU the opportunity to win the prize pack of the year!

You could win your very own exclusive photo shoot with the Some Fancy Ladies Team!

Valued at $3000 this brilliant prize pack includes;

Flights (within Australia) to Melbourne

Vintage wardrobe for the day provided by Bonnie Rose Vintage Clothing

Hair, Makeup & Styling by Candice DeVille

Photography and prints by Helen McLean Photography

Step into the glamourous world of Some Fancy Ladies™ and live the dream for a day!

How can you win this amazing prize?

Simply by spreading the word about Some Fancy Ladies and the new 2012 calendar!  You can share wherever and however you like, be it newsletters, forums, your blog, Facebook, Twitter, you name it. Anywhere you can link your unique URL counts. All you need to do is leave me a comment with your email address to register, and you will be sent your own unique URL.  The URL with the most shares will win this great prize!

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Terms & Conditions - 

URL sharing must be genuine click throughs. Auto generated clicks and excessive click throughs from the same IP address will not be eligible for the final tally.

You must be over 18 years of age and able to fly within Australia or get to Australia to accept this prize.

Entry is open to men and women alike.

Should you not be able to accept this prize, it is fully transferrable to an individual of your choosing provided they meet the other terms and conditions.

The prize pack must be redeemed within the 2012 calendar year.

Prize is not redeemable for cash.

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So What Are You Waiting For? Get creative, get talking and get fancy! Register in the comments now and you could be flying to Melbourne to shoot with Some Fancy Ladies™! 

Entries close on DECEMBER 30th 2011 and the winner will be announced the following week.

*this post is sponsored by Nuffnang*

Guess where I am right this second? Yes, I’m blogging from my phone down at Southern Cross Station in Melbourne with the Schweppes team.

While the sun shines down for another spectacular day, the lads here are keeping me amused with both their cocktail suggestions and their juggling skills.
They tell me that Cocktails are back but I doubt they ever left us. Certainly not me; these guys and I go way back.
Today we’re using lemons, limes and oranges, the staple of most fruit bowls; to make our cocktail splash.
I’m partial to a bit of Schweppes Agrum, so just what is the virtual bar tender suggesting I imbibe this evening?

A night on the town? Oh well, if you insist!
I’m already practicing my party poses on their big screen.

If you’re looking for some inspiration for this weekends festivities, pop on over NOW to Southern Cross station to see me, and we can pose with our best cocktail Blue Steel faces. Or come and see these lads in their yellow suspenders anytime before 7pm in the next few days.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

On Saturday I had the privilege of spending some time with Celebrity Stylist Gok Wan on his Australian Westfield Tour. Here to launch the new Westfield body shape calculator, and encourage women to explore their personalities through style; Gok took a moment out to chat with me about some of my pressing style questions.

My obvious love of lingerie comes through in this interview, and I was particularly interested to chat with Gok about that topic as he has his own line of shape wear that does larger sizes beautifully. Check it out at Simply Gok Wan.

There were a few other things we chatted about off camera, like our favourite vintage reproduction labels, (he loves Diva and Vivien of Holloway) and even what pomade he uses in his hair, (I recommended Atomic Life). There was so much we could have stayed and talked about, but it was a refreshing moment to chat to a fashion industry insider who is just as passionate as I am about the beauty on the inside being given every opportunity to shine without. Amazing work Gok, keep giving women what we need!

*This post is a Nuffnang Sponsored post*

It just wouldn’t be the proper introduction to a weekend without a Friday night cocktail hour here. Even if you’re someone (like me) who works on the weekend, there is something very important about mixing it up and giving your days some punctuation.

The whole idea of coming home and mindlessly cracking open whatever happens to be lurking in the fridge is totally unacceptable to my mind; I mean, where is the glamour in that! No, instead I like to take a moment to weigh up my mood with what delights happen to be in my bar that evening and set about creating a cocktail menu for the evening.

Now you could get quite organized about the whole process, plan out your menu and go on a spending spree to stock up the cabinet; but most of us have a standard selection of our favorite liquors and those that have been hiding out for a while.  Once I have all of these lining the bench top I like to do a bit of a Cocktail Creation moment.

Like being the kind of chef that stands in the kitchen and begins with one key ingredient, adding each new one as you imagine the flavor combinations; that’s how I create my cocktails. And while I’m not much chop when it comes to creating the next big thing for the plate, I may possibly be a cocktail savant.

 With the warmer days here, my afternoons are always tinged with that wish to be somewhere tropical, and with that thought in mind this is the cocktail I created especially to cater for your holiday state of mind. (Yes, this is a Candice DeVille original cocktail, created at 3am as most great inventions are)

I’ve named this drink for my favorite designer of classic 1950’s Hawaiian poolside chic.

 

“The Shaheen Dream”

Blender 1/3 filed with ice (approx. 3 cups of ice cubes)

250 ml of Pearl Royal Coconut water (without a doubt the best and most pure tasting coconut water in my opinion).

Half a fresh mango

4 jiggers of Peach Schnapps

4 jiggers Cointreau

½ cup Caster sugar

Half a lemon slice

Lychees and maraschino cherries for garnish

1.         Using your lemon slice, rub around the rim of the glass until it is coated in juice, the place rim down into the caster sugar to give it a nice even coating.

2.         Place ice, coconut water, mango, peach schnapps and Cointreau in the blender. Blend on high until all ingredients are just combined and the ice has become slushy. Don’t over blend.

3.         Pour into each sugar rimmed glass, garnish the rim with a split lychee and maraschino cherry on toothpick.

4.         Drink with friends while wearing your best Hawaiian print sarong dress.

* A jigger measure is 1 ½ ounces*

 

While you’re in this laid back and tropical mood, it always pays to have another delight on offer to surprise you senses and keep your guests smiling at your exceptional hostess skills.

The perfect compliment to my “Shaheen Dream” is this sizzling, sun-drenched taste.

“Hot as Haiti”

Two seeded 1-inch lime wedges

Two seeded 1-tangerine or orange wedges

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 cups of crushed ice

1 ounce of killer dark rum – I personally prefer Sailor Jerry Rum

3-4 ounces of Schweppes ginger ale

1. Place the lime, tangerine and sugar in the bottom of a heavy bottomed 8 ounce glass.
2. Muddle the mixture until the juice is extracted and the sugar dissolved.
3. Add enough ice to fill the glass, add the rum and top up with the Schweppes ginger ale.

Fancy that drink now? I’ll bet you do!  To help you find your muse, Schweppes has created the ‘Cocktail Revolution’. Because enjoying a drink is a sensory experience. It is a moment that should entice your eyes, set your taste buds alive and put a smile on your face.

I know not everyone has my gift for finding a fabulous flavor (you’re probably that amazing  chef I envy so much), Schweppes has created a virtual cocktail mixing experience where you can come and mix it up. Located at Southern Cross Station from now until November 4^th, from 7am-7pm each day, you can come and create your own cocktail sensation.

In a virtual reality experience, you get to pick a Schweppes product and a selection of fruit, that the very clever virtual bartender will then mix up your own personalized recipe for you to take away and impress your friends with. But that’s not all..

While you’re getting your mix on, the Schweppes virtual cocktail bar will take your photo that can be uploaded to Facebook and tagged, giving you the chance to win all kinds of great Schweppes cocktail prizes – including the major prize of hosting your own Schweppes mixing party!!

So come on down to Southern Cross Station and join the Cocktail Revolution, where you can take home a goodie bag of your own Schweppes mixers and recipes.  I’ll be there on Thursday 20^th October in my vintage cocktail finery to mix it up with you. Who knows – you might even inspire my next cocktail creation!