currently coveting.

{MNO.logie clutch}

Images by Love Yaz.

Have been lusting over this translucent confection since stumbling upon it on the lovely Nicole Warne of Gary Pepper Vintage and was utterly delighted after its arrival in brown paper packaging to discover that it is even more transcendent in person. I have worn it out a handful of times now and have been inundated with compliments every time! 

Hope you all have a gorgeous Easter weekend - I will be working night shifts in Emergency so have an extra chocolate egg for me! 

Much love, Mandy. xx

Urban Jungle {a House of Avalon collaboration} : part 1.

{Top - C&M by Camilla and Marc; jacket - She Inside; skirt - Backstage from Adrenalin boutique; shoes - YSL; necklace - Pree Brulee} 

Images by Maleika Halpin of House of Avalon {please do drop by and send her a kiss for me} <3 

Apologies for the unexplained absence of late ... this week has been a flurry of meetings, endless to-do lists, soirees with lovely company ... and of course, shift work. The beautiful chaos of it all, and now, a slower pace with an extended weekend, which will be filled with planning for a Parisian sojourn, a few career decisions to be made, and more pretty collaborations in progress ...

This series was shot by my beautifully talented friend Maleika of the gorgeous blog House of Avalon. This is quite a different aesthetic to my other blog posts but I adore the urban landscape against a few of my favourite sartorial pieces of the moment - I love that Maleika is able to encapsulate not only an outfit behind the lens, but also a story ... to be continued.

Much love, Mandy. xx

goodbye, summer.

{Kaftan - Sabo Skirt; skirt - All Saints}

Dear summer, 

Thank you for the warm daydreams and golden dewy skin ... for the softly sunkissed evenings that linger until bed time ... for all those balmy nights saved by the diaphanous flutter of the ocean breeze ... for languidly carefree mornings tousled in white linen and dappled golden light ... and for leaving all our troubles far, far away... 

I hope you travel safely as you light up the rest of the world. 

Much love, Mandy. xx

{P.S. this outfit is essentially the summer equivalent of this} 

Photos by my favourite Tanya Constantino. <3

London : {retrospective photo diary}.

{Photos captured and edited by yours truly & John Li}

Finally, amid the wonderful humdrum that is life, I found a few moments to sift through forgotten images from last year's overseas sojourn to London - little realising at the time that this would be the start of a long, irrevocable love affair with this beautiful city with its abundance of life's most irresistable entities (melliferous afternoon teas, boutiques brimming with laconic London labels, Chelsea flower stalls that stand as purveyors of the most perfect peonies I've ever seen, that gorgeous lilt of the English accent, and of course, the friends that were made along the way)...

Much love, Mandy. xx

midnight snack : organic caramelised figs.

My snack of choice all throughout the last summer : ripened organic figs from the local farmer's markets drizzled with a liberal coat of agave nectar, caramelised in the oven at 160 degrees Celsius until they gloss into a high sheen. Would equally be as lovely to indulge on cold winter nights, perhaps with an ample pot of warm chocolate fondue in the darkest hue nearby...

Much love, Mandy. xx

net-a-porter on a budget.

Natalia Vodianova by Centro for the Naked Heart Foundation

Black // Red

Stumbled upon these beauties designed by Natalia Vodianova on my weekly Net-a-Porter trawl and instantly became smitten with the scalloped edges, vertiginous metal heel, and buttery suedes ... 

The clincher? These darlings are only 29 pounds and proceeds are donated to the Naked Heart Foundation. Hurry along because, after all, there is no lovelier style than altruism. :)

Much love, Mandy. xx

A few lovely things.

               (YSL Tribute pumps // inspiration journal c/o Pree Brulee // Tony Bianco stilettos)

A few things to swoon over : a vertiginous pair of leather capped YSLs in a nude suede to elongate the legs; a journal to pen all of one's pretty thoughts for the day; and the slinkiest pair of minimalistic black patent sandals to be worn with absolutely everything...

Much love, Mandy. xx