{a new week + happy monday}

good {late} morning! monday, monday . . . and hope you've had a perfectly stunning weekend -- here it's been afternoon drives and magical turning leaves, dazzling nightskies and romantically cozy cashmere nights . . . but now, it's back to work, and since we're still away for one extra day, it's strong coffees and out of the office, laptops and iphones and that wonderful feeling of being on holiday while working, although must confess that being immersed in such beautiful things hardly feels like work at all . . .

happy, happy monday! hope your week is off to a perfect start,
xo


{p.s.} for those that may have missed:
* this week's give-away: a simply exquisite crystal & 24 karat gold tray

{images: originally published on march 28, 2010 at a glamorous little side project}

{runway inspiration: monique lhuillier, new york}

. . . a longstanding love affair with monique lhuillier for as long as can remember, and couldn't possibly choose between such a stunning array of beautiful things from the spring 2011 collection, and so, not one, but two glimpses, the first, strewn in magnolias on silk and chiffon and belted in gold . . .

{style.com}

{hello & a few things . . .}

. . . hello! a quiet evening after a busy late-summer day, a little exhausted and beautifully so, after an amazingly productive start to the week and already it feels as if time is slipping away . . . and drowning, drowning in e-mails and a little overwhelmed -- if you have written and have not received a response, please take no offense, and click here . . .

hope you're having a perfectly wonderful week so far,
xo

{photography by tommy ton for jak&jil via apartment 34}

{back from nyc + hello!}

hello! home again and so lovely to see you -- sincerest apologies for being suddenly m.i.a. the past few days -- an unscheduled and dramatically last-minute trip to new york city late last week, and it's been a whirlwind of romance and strawberry cocktails, long dinners and late nights, beautiful shops and sunrises over the water, early morning swims and menus filled with the most delicious things, like wild blossom salad with champagne vinaigrette . . . much to tell and many, lovely photographs -- but first, a few moments to catch my breath . . .

{images: natalia chabanenko by serge leblon, styling by styled by mattias karlsson for harper's bazaar uk, september 2010 via picsandmodels, also seen at a dustjacket attic}

{runway inspiration: burberry prorsum, london}

. . . have begun the momentous task of spring cleaning the closet {a little late, it's true, but where has the time gone?}, in hopes of finding a mysteriously missing pair of favourite summer wedges, but hopelessly sidetracked by christopher bailey's resort 2011 collection, with its trademark ruching and always elegant details, beautifully paired with clean lines and cinched waists and a perfect mix of rock and refined . . .

{images: style.com; via [design] relevant, more of this collection at the side project}