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Miles Davis

Monday, August 31, 2009






"It's cool baby and I'm not even there"
I recently found a list of things everyone should do every day to achieve a happier and healthier life.  I have put a few below and added some of my own as well.  They all sound pretty smart (but common sense at the same time), except for number 6.  I'm not sure my boss would appreciate that one so much...

1. Be sure to get eight hours sleep every night.
2. Eat five serves of vegetables and two serves of fruit.
3. Drink 2-3 litres of water every day.
4. Dress for success! Make yourself presentable before starting work.
5. Make your own lunch every day rather than buying it (except for Friday when you are justified to have lunch out as a lead up to the weekend).
6. Take a nap in the afternoon to re-energise.
7. Do at least half an hour of exercise every day.
8. Don’t skip lunch – and try to get out of the office to eat your sandwich.
9. Have dinner as a family – it’s important bonding time.
10. Spend 20 minutes planning tomorrow with a detailed to-do list..
11. Do one thing every day that scares you.
12. Make some quality time for your partner.
13. Make sure you get some ‘me’ time.
14. Read industry magazines to stay on top of trends.
15. Slow down – take time out to smell the roses.

(Thanks to flyingsolo.com.au for the list)

A note to you all...

Sunday, August 30, 2009


Hello Everyone,
Our blog is currently undergoing a face lift! It's very exciting and we will still of course be blogging throughout the process. We hope you like it!


Lots of love,
Laura and Caity xx

D&M heart Tom Binns

Saturday, August 29, 2009


Tom Binns has been designing, manufacturing and distributing jewelery for over twenty-five years. Beginning his revolutionary career in 1981, Tom Binns was and remains inspired by the early twentieth century Dada movement, the main theme of which includes deliberate irrationality, anarchy, and the rejection of standard beauty and social organization. Over the years, Binns has created a number of couture collections all uniting elegance with anarchy. These vintage collections consist of handcrafted, one-of-a-kind pieces that are distributed to high-end boutiques globally with retail prices ranging from $1,000 to $50,000. The materials used range from anything to everything, precious and non-precious, at times featuring materials such as sea glass and reconstituted costume jewelery. In 2004, the Company was formed to design and market several different jewelery collections at more accessible price points. All of the Company's designs are timeless versions of some of Tom Binns's most successful archive couture pieces and all carry the Tom Binns attitude.

Rachel Zoe says that pearls in particular this season are back with a vengeance and Tom Binns does it best.  That is, in the most modern and hard-edged way ala Keira Knightly in Pirates of the Carribean. It will add instant drama to your neckline and make people fall in love at hello. I plan on interpreting this look for myself, with a bit of DIY at home. Take inspiration from Tom and layer pearls with other treasures in your jewelry box—the more tangled, the better! This trend is not intended to be delicate or fancy...the idea is to be eye-catching by day with a white shirt and tuxedo jacket, and jaw-dropping by night with your little black dress. Imperfect perfection!
Big chunky cuff/bracelets seem to be everywhere as well at the moment in all the magazine fashion pages and if you cant afford the beautiful trinkets by Binns then try looking in Mimco, Diva or Peep Toe Shoes for some other great options

 
peep toe bangle $59AUD
  
Mimco bangle $199
Laura xxx

Miranda Love

Friday, August 28, 2009


Miranda Kerr stepped out in LA yesterday with new blonde locks to launch the new Victoria's Secret fragrance and I love them!  I am also a hair colour chameleon - blonde to brown and back again, and so I'm saying power to the girl! Love it, love it, love it!

Laura xxx

Les tresors chinois de Cartier

Chinese treasures from Cartier


Cartier is to host an exhibition at the Palace Museum in Pekin (Beijing) entitled "Cartier Jewellry: King of Jewellers, Jeweller to Kings" from the 5th of September to the 22nd of November 2009. Some of the outstandingly beautiful antique treasures were featured in French vogue and when I saw them I literally gasped in awe and delight.

Bracelet rigide Chimères
Cartier Paris, 1928
Nécessaire vase chinois
Cartier Paris, 1927.


Poudrier Phoenix avec tube à rouge
Cartier Paris, 1925.

Trip down memory lane

Thursday, August 27, 2009




After feeling extremely unwell this afternoon, I decided to take a trip down memory lane and open up my eraser collection from when I was about 9 years old. It's so funny how sometimes silly little things can bring back long lost memories. Here are some of my favourites!

Favourite girl of the month

Wednesday, August 26, 2009



Emily Blunt stole everyone's heart in "The Devil wears Prada" and now she has another film coming out, "Young Victoria". I can't wait to see it so I thought i'd add a few beautiful pics of the leading lady thanks to Vanity Fair.


I want for summer

Tuesday, August 25, 2009


I want this studded clutch handbag from Peep Toe Shoes!!! Affordable at $175 and a super cute style injection that is perfect for summer parties

Happy shopping!
LD xxx
I am experiencing massive apartment envy. On Sunday, I went over to one of my very close friend's (Alex, the girl who owns the perfect Miu Miu bag) new apartment she shares with her boyfriend and it is GORGEOUS!!! I should have taken some photos but i didn't so I'll attempt to describe it to you: White walls, very high high ceilings, huge master bedroom, charcoal grey carpet, lovely grey lounge, spa bath with mosaic tiles in the bathroom, smeg appliances. In the immortal words of Rachel Zoe, "it's bananas"! Now all she needs is some huge art to put on her huge walls.

I have my final meeting tomorrow with my builder about the massive renovations we are starting at the beginning of October, and I can only hope it turns out as beautiful as Alex's. At the moment, I am officially declaring it a nightmare. I have put a few pics below to show you its current state, but you will be happy to know, it's all going and we are starting from scratch. Let the nightmare begin!

Above and below: The hideous kitchen - you will be happy to know that underneath that fake wood, lino floor, there are 3 other layers of old lino!!! hehe. Gotta love the 70's

Below: The sad looking bathroom


Wish me luck
LD xxx

'Dora Maar Front View' by Picasso
Dora Maar Portrait by Man Ray

Dora Maar - Portrait by Man Ray

She was Picasso's muse, lover and the subject of his 'Weeping Woman' paintings amongst others. Dora was a well renowned fashion photographer and political activist, who rubbed shoulders with the likes of Man Ray (who took several portraits of her) and Andre Breton (father of the surrealist art movement). Strikingly beautiful, it isn't hard to see why Picasso was so obsessed with her.
Caity xx

Super Strawberries

Sunday, August 23, 2009



One of my favourite multi-tasking super foods is the humble strawberry.

1. They taste delicious on their own or with pancakes, muesli and yoghurt, other fruit in a salad, on cakes, dipped in chocolate, in a smoothie... the list goes on!
2. They're relatively low cal so great as a snack if you're on a diet (1 cup = roughly 45 cal/188kJ)
3. They satisfy even the worst afternoon sugar cravings
4. Eating strawberries whitens your teeth! (when combined with about 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda it creates malic acid which, when rubbed on teeth or used in place of toothpaste will remove very tough stains from teeth. Warning - you should only do this every now and again as too much may damage tooth enamel)
5. They are ridiculously easy to grow whether on a farm or a windowsil (strawberries make excellent pot plants).
6. They're packed full of antioxidants and phytonutrients to keep you healthy, including vitamin c, b-vitamins, flavanoids and calcium.
7. Research has shown that among other things, strawberries help to prevent cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.
8. THEY HELP TO PREVENT WRINKLES. Seriously - strawberries contain ellagic acid which has been shown to prevent ultra violet skin damage.
9. Studies have shown that eating strawberries may help to keep your brain from aging!!


I'd like to see broccoli do all that...

Caity xx

Cupcakes!!!

Saturday, August 22, 2009



Yesterday Laura and I went to get cupcakes for a friend's birthday. We chose different variations of chocolate: Choc peppermint, Choc-Choc with chocolate flakes, molten choc, red velvet, vanilla butterscotch with choc icing, chilli chocolate and gluten free chocolate (for Laura)! Thanks to The Cupcake Bakery at the QVB - the ONLY cupcake shop open until 8.00pm on a Friday night. They were soooooo delicious! Can't wait to go back and try the sticky date cupcake... mmmmm

Caity xx

Alexandra Agoston

Friday, August 21, 2009


John Galliano Ready to wear, Fall 2008

I had to pop on down to Glenmore road in Paddington earlier today for work and as I was wondering back to the car I spotted Alexandra Agoston. The stunning 22 year old model who is much loved by most of the couture designers was walking out of Acne while shopping with her mum. I was absolutely knocked out at how stunning she is in real life so I thought I would post a few pics of her in action.

John Galliano Ready to wear, Fall 2008

Jean Paul Gaultier Couture, Fall 2009

Jean Paul Gaultier Couture, Fall 2009

Christian Dior Couture, Spring 2009

Christian Dior Couture, Fall 2008

We heart Prada

Thursday, August 20, 2009



It is no secret that when art and fashion collide, that to me is absolute bliss. So when I came across several articles on my PR trawl at work about Miuccia Prada's vision for the art world, I was uber excited.

The first two paragraphs I read were in The Art Newspaper (a must for art geeks such as myself) and having never been lucky enough to meet the legendary Miuccia myself, I thought the first two paragraphs described her beautifully:

"A plain, long-nosed face, almost without make-up; a dark blue dress, also plain, but perfectly finished; beautiful legs and very high-heeled, artfully ugly shoes; two PR minders listening in at the other end of the plain, white room. You are made to feel that interviewing Miuccia Prada, 60, head of one of the most famous fashion brands in the world, is a privilege, although she unbends enough for the journalist to feel taken into her confidence." "Prada is more than a fashion house; it is a whole design and cultural outlook. Suzy Menkes, the International Herald Tribune’s fashion editor, says: “Miuccia captures the Zeitgeist. She is a conceptual fashion person who realises which way the wind is blowing. She took the family bag company and made those nylon bags in the minimalist 80s. Then she became the leader of the ugly aesthetic of the 90s.” The main stores are not called shops, but epicentres and are by world famous architects Herzog & de Meuron and Rem Koolhaas, who also does Prada’s fashion shows."

All the fuss and media attention is over The Prada Transformer, the three-storey-high tetrahedron gallery space, which has just opened in Seoul with a new exhibtion featuring work by up-and-coming sweedish artist Nathalie Djurberg.

If you want to learn more about it you can read the article from The Art Newspaper or another article that I just found in the Australian

Bangles, Bracelets, Brooch and Bag

Wednesday, August 19, 2009


It was such a beautiful morning that I decided to do my accessories post outside in the sun. This may become a recurring practice...

My little wooden donkey brooch. He's my favourite - I almost dedicated an entire post to him alone. In fact, I may. The brand is 'Love' and I hope to expand my collection of their beautiful and delicate brooches very soon!

Found at a flea market for $3. I wouldn't part with it for less than $1000.
I bought this loose, chunky bracelet because it reminded me of acorns.

A selection of my bangles. from Mimco, India and flea markets.

Caity xX

It is no secret in the blog-o-sphere that Anna Spiro at Absolutely beautiful things is somewhat of a legend. This status has been further cemented in this months issue of Vogue Living with a full feature on her fabulous self. Huge congrats Anna. I'm meeting with my builders next week to begin the nightmare that is renovation and I'm definitely going to be pulling in a few of your ideas - a particular favourite of mine is the miss-matched chairs.


Love the hair, love the top, love the skirt, love the bag, love the shoes, love it love it love it!
Why back in the good old days (I think we would have been in year 12 at school), Caity and I went to one of Kylie Minogue's concerts. We had an absolutely fabulous time - all the dancing and pink and glitter was every young girls dream (still is really. hehe). I remember sitting up the back in our English class and painting black t-shirts with big pink iridecent writing on them saying KYLIE! We wore them with tiny denim miniskirts (which we also made) and black boots - we looked completely tragic, but we loved every minute.

So when my friend Alex came home from overseas last week and gave me a promotional booklet for a jewellery line called "Tous" - which Kylie is the face of - I was completely obsessed. Not a huge fan of the jewellery, most of it is too girly for me, but Kylie looks amazing in these pics so I thought I'd share them with you all and reminisce on the good times

LD xxx





Yesterday one of the ladies from work, Mary, brought in a handful of mandarins she picked from her tree on the way out to work. I've never had a home grown mandarin before, the sweetness and the smell was overwhelming! (in a great way). It wasn't anything like the pithy, sometimes bitter, giant ones you sometimes get from the grocer. This weekend I'm going to go find my own mandarin tree to plant.

Thanks Mary!

Caity xx

We have joined the world of twitter!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009


Much to Caity's dismay, Deane & McLoughlin have now joined twitter!!! If you want to follow us you can find us at www.twitter.com/DeaneMcLoughlin. Hope to see you twits soon!!!
Tweet tweet
LD xxx



When I stepped out of my office building today in search of lunch, I had no idea that I would stumble upon what has seriously got to be the greatest little Japanese place in Sydney. When I say little, I mean the entire restaurant, including the kitchen is no bigger than my bedroom. Somehow it manages to accomodate approx 5 staff and around 12 seated customers should they wish to eat in. I feel a bit like I walked into a polly pocket, and not just because I'm 6'2 in heels. Despite the small area, they deliver big on flavour and value. I paid $8.90 for the Chicken Karaage with rice (comes with salad AND miso soup) and for someone who is usually left hungry after eating lunch, I was completely satisfied! The Karaage itself was crispy and flavoursome and the rice - perfectly sticky and hot. Don't let the 'hole in the wall' exterior put you off, you really have to try this place, it won't leave you disappointed! I'll be going back for lunch tomorrow.

Details:
Kura Japanese Restaurant
3/76 Ultimo Rd Haymarket NSW 2000 -
(02) 9212 5661
Open Mon-Sat 11am-10:30pm;
Sun 11am-9:30pm

Caity xx
(Thanks to grabyourfork.blogspot.com for the images!)