Friday Hut Estate - Heaven on Earth

We arrived in Byron yesterday. I love this place.

Weather is a bit overcast today but this fine by as it forces us to relax and just be.
We are staying at Friday Hut Estate. You can find out more here.
Today I thought the Bangalow markets were on but today is the 5th sunday of the month and they happen only on the 4th Sunday of each month so we headed into Byron which is about a 10min drive away and had some lunch at The Top Shop. Had an unreal burger.
We are here with some friends and they are somewhat locals in that they visit Byron so often. So I feel that we are in good hands.
I have a lamb shoulder in the oven cooking as we speak, football grand final starting in about 1 hr, wine chilling in the fridge and the kids exploring the 5 acres that this wonderful property has to offer. What better way to spend a Sunday.

Front view of Friday Hut Estate

View from deck across the valley

Heading North - Byron Bay

We are heading north for the last week of the school holidays.
Bags are packed
House cleaned
Dog transported to my parents
Blog post written

Byron Bay hear we come!

Anyone want to buy a house.

I am wondering why I am leaving this place. It is such a wonderful home.

Moving closer to the water will be exciting. I can't wait to start the building and designing process again. But there will be a few tears saying goodbye to this wonderful home that has helped me raise my beautiful kids. We have had so much fun swimming in the pool, playing on the grass, BBQ's and making and cooking pizzas in our fab pizza oven.

Quick update

Remember the other day I mentioned that there was a lot to do before the launch... well it just got a whole lot crazier. We just bought a new house!!! and are going to sell our home! in the next 5 weeks!!!
Exciting and stressful times ahead. Photos of our house were done today, I cant wait to see them. We spent all weekend cleaning and fixing our house so it would look amazing in the photographs. Fingers crossed it pays off.

Our new house is in an amazing location, great block with partial sea views. The house itself is nothing special but we have the plan (down the track) to knock down and re-build. So until then we just need to make do... did I mention that the kitchen is Orange!!!!

On the loopylu front the samples came back to me on Friday and there were a few alterations to the designs so they have gone back to the pattern maker for adjusting before getting them back to Kay the sample maker. The clock is ticking but everything is moving forward so no complaints from me. I am enjoying the challenge, we all need a project to b working on, I just didn't plan on three at the same time.

Also my kids are on holidays so fitting in play dates, movies, swims in between alterations, dusting, rearranging, and web creating. I LOVE IT and wouldn't be doing it any other way. Told you I like to be busy.

Children's Clothes - in Positano

The last 4 days of our holiday were spent on the Amalfi coast. We stayed 4 nights in Sorento. In hind sight I wish I had booked a hotel in Positano. Sorento is lovely but I preferred Positano is all.

Highlight was the shopping in Positano. The cotton and linens were beautiful.

Once store in particular. Nadir. You can find them at http://www.nadirpositano.com/nadir/index.php?lang=en. I really loved their style and the way they combined cottons and lace. I bought a couple of pieces for myself and a couple of dresses for Liv. I am hoping to stock some of their items when I get my store up and running, the owners were very keen. So stay tuned because soon you will be able to get their amazing children's clothes here in Australia without having to go all the way to Positano (mind you any excuse to go there is a good one in my book)

Other highlights, driving along the winding cliff top roads into Amalfi, the Blue Grotto in Capri, the Caprese salads and the amazing fresh fish served (mainly Sea bass) to name a few.

Under the Tuscan Sun

I know what all the fuss is about Tuscany. I have visited this wonderful part of the world before but as a backpacker. This time I saw it from a different angle with a bit more $$$ (didn't take much from my very poor backpacker days). I got to enjoy the food, the nature, the people, the wine, the history from a different set of eyes and also with my husband and not with a girlfriend.

We stayed here and here. AMAZING!!!

Agriturismo's are the best way to stay and experience all that Tuscany has to offer in my humble opinion. You can find out more about them here. We were treated to some real secret gems that each of the owners advised us of. Magical moments and memories.

Wine bars in Siena, streets in Montepulciano,
Duomos in Florence and windows in Lucca.

samples on their way

Remember my to do list the other day? Well things are going well.
Update:
Samples are due back to me on Thursday. Kay the sample maker is a super star.
Website is on its way. I ended up going through Shopify to build my website. I am doing it myself which is fine as I am a Graphic Designer so I hope I know a thing or two about good design.
What else....

Still need to get size pips made which I will send artwork tomorrow and should take about a week.
Bali accommodation. Any suggestions. Nothing too exe as it is a business trip and I am going to be running around a lot so won't be sitting by the pool endlessly reading a book. But centrally located important and clean and nice.

So things are moving a long. Boxes are being ticked and I am feeling calmer about it all.

Happy face for me

Roman Holiday

The various faces of Roma

How wonderful is Rome. I have been in Italy for the last two weeks. Oh how much I love this country. Our first stop was Rome. Stu and I spent 4 wonderful nights in Rome. We walked, ate, shopped and saw the sites. I have been to Rome before so I have seen all the ruins, colloseums, vaticans, fountains and steps BUT it was Stu's first time as an adult and well I saw them all again. I didn't mind as I still managed to do what I wanted to do in Rome. All I wanted to do was eat and experience the the cool vibe that this city oozes.

We stayed at a fabulous small boutique hotel on Via del Babuino. It is in the best location in between Piazza Del Poppolo and Via Condotti (which is where all the fab shops are). It is part of the luxury hotels group and called Babuino 181. I would definitiely recommend this hotel but don't just take my word, it has raving reviews on trip advisor.

We ate at some amazing restaurants a well. La Pergola is Romes best restaurants and they claim possibly Italy's Not sure about that claim. But it was amazing and very special. Service and food was impeccable as was the astonishing view of Rome. A must when you next visit Rome.

I didn't shop too much as most shops were stocking all Autumn and Winter clothes which I just couldn't do considering we had just finished winter and I want to save my cash for new summer clothes. I did nab a few summer pieces on sale and some pants which I can wear from now until summer really heats up.

Next up are out 6 nights in Tuscany.
Stay tuned.

a little overwhelmed

Ok so I have just over 4 weeks to get a lot organised before I head to Indonesia in mid October to meet manufacturers and get my first line of clothing made.
my list so far:
• get samples made, fitted and alterations communicated to my pattern maker
• have rest of the sizes graded on computer
• size pips made
• order packaging bags for mail orders
• design and print stickers
• book accommodation in Bali
• wash all fabrics
• sort out mailing of goods from Bali
• and the biggie get website built (last developer took three months to do nothing and then pulled the pin just as I was leaving to go to Italy....)

this is why I am feeling a little overwhelmed. On top of this I have three kids and also a decent sized graphic design agency to run.

but I know it will all get done, done well and done in time. I like being busy.

I am not looking for sympathy as I have just spent the most amazing 2 weeks in the beautiful Italy which I will share at a later date.  I just need to download some pics and get through all the washing first.