#23 Mid-week Quickie
I want to be a Donni girl, incredible vintage Van Cleef jewellery and the search for a beautiful pendant light
How good, and I can’t stress this enough, how good is a long weekend!? Especially one that’s four days long and especially one that’s backed up by a three day week that leads into another three day long weekend!? Just bliss.
Over the Easter break, I did lots of cooking, went to the Paddington Markets, I got halfway through painting our third bedroom/office blue (pics and an updated home substack when it’s done - here’s the first home edition), cleaned, tried to get into Fourth Wing (I like it) and got good rest.
We also watched the new Bridget Jones movie, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy. Before we did this, we watched the previous three to get reacquainted with our sweet friend Bridget, which was just so much fun.
I’d seen only positive reviews for the new film and I can confirm, they are all correct; the movie was fantastic. Given the second and third films were a little on the silly side (I still love them!!), I wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming emotion I had throughout basically start to finish of Mad About The Boy. So many tears. I said at least three times out loud, ‘I love this movie so much,’ while we watched. So yeah, I highly recommend giving it a watch.
Home
Pendant lights
When painting over the weekend, we needed to remove a ceiling fan that stopped working. The fan also had a light built into it. We won’t be replacing the fan (as we’re getting air conditioning installed) so this leaves us without a ceiling light. We previously had a pendant light and wall sconces custom made for another for different spaces in our home. I’m totally open to doing this again however that was quite a time consuming endeavour and I’d love to have something installed sooner rather than later. I’ve subsequently gone down an Etsy rabbithole. I haven’t purchased anything yet but here are some I’ve found and favourited:
Cillie
I’ve also had my eye on local Australian brand Cillie and their beautiful 100% Australian Merino Wool knit blankets. The designs are a little funky and the colour choices are always epic. As the temperature drops here at home in Australia, the idea of getting cosy under a chic and thoughtfully made blanket is heaven to me.
Fashion bits
Donni
I’d love to be a Donni Girl in the Donni Universe.
I discovered this brand on a trip to New York a few years ago, bought a few things and promptly fell under their spell. They make things that I just want to wear and everything is always made in the most perfect colours, with the best fabric and the coolest cuts. Take their latest drop for example. Like I said, the colours are so good!
Still Here NYC
Another brand that always gets it right and one I look to for style inspiration is Still Here NYC. Still Here make classic, cool things with a twist. I own some of their tshirts (they’re great) but have had their Cool Jeans on my wishlist for the longest time. The Cool Shorts are also calling my name.
Every Other Thursday
I just discovered this brand, Every Other Thursday this week and really enjoy their vibe and styling. They focus on making heritage pieces in a modern way. Previously they were only doing menswear (which I’d happily buy from) but are just about to launch womenswear. It really looks like my kind of stuff. I hope you like it too!
Mulberry
Late last week I received a new bag in the mail from Mulberry. It’s their new Soft Bayswater bag in Black Cherry. I got the small size but it’s so spacious (can fit headphones, mini bag for essentials, a camera, big chunky book!) and a great option for an elevated everyday bag. The colour is also just delicious. The fact that the shoulder straps are long make it a really comfortable bag to throw over your shoulder and move about your day.
Van Cleef & Arpels
If you’re in Sydney and have an interest in jewellery, design and history, definitely check out the new Van Cleef & Arpels ‘The Art of Movement’ which is on until May 8 at Watersedge, Campbell’s Stores in The Rocks. I visited the exhibit earlier this week and it was an incredible morning.
There’s over 100 creations from the Maison (some of which they bought back from collectors) with beautiful documents accompanying them showing the design process. The history aspect was so fascinating, as well as the inspiration. I love seeing unique vintage jewellery, especially high jewellery from a Maison like Van Cleef! Their pieces are quite fun and quirky and the level of detail involved is truly mind blowing.
I also discovered Van Cleef fund a school of jewellery called L’Ecole with locations in Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai. If only they had a Sydney location!
More Smooth Brain Thoughts soon,
Ali xx
Love the black cherry colourway on the Bayswater drool!