michelle obama looks awesome, all the time

Mrs O attended a reading in Washington DC to commemorate 107 years of Dr Suess on Read Across America Day. She looks utterly fabulous!

the vanity fair oscar party

I don't think I'm the only one that feels this way, but I get more excited about the behind-the-scenes and red-carpet photos of the annual Vanity Fair Oscar party, than the actual Academy Awards. Each year, the who's who of Hollywood flock to the after party looking their best and seemingly having the best time. Everyone just seems a little bit more relaxed. Here are some of our fave snaps...

Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber. Can we just say how incredibly grown-up and elegant she looked? Emily and I had this discussion the other day. How old is Selena, 16 or something? She carried herself so beautifully and put 30-something Cameron Diaz to shame who was trotting about in the tightest, shortest dress that did nothing for her – she even had to use her clutch to cover her bits when she sat down?! This time, the teenagers win.

Emma Stone, Taylor Swift and Gwyneth Paltrow. I like Taylor's dress the most. That's all.

More of Taylor's outfit.

Steven and Liv Tyler. She is magnificent and we don't see enough of her out and about.

The gorgeous Zooey Deschanel. Love the chic red nails.

Rita Wilson, L'Wren Scott, Mick Jagger, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez.

Benjamin Millepied and Best Actress winner Natalie Portman. We love you Nats but we didn't love your dress so much. Boo.

Hailee Steinfeld, who did the coolest switch of the night by swopping her heels for Converse. Nice.

Sigh. Mr Darcy. Oh, sorry... Colin Firth who won Best Actor and gave the most wonderful speech.

Shannon Woodward and Andrew Garfield aka Spiderman.

Pics via vanityfair.com

good feet, naughty feet

When I was small, like all little girls, I went to ballet classes. I remember the excitement of wrapping the hand-knitted pink cardigan around my as yet unformed waist and trying to stand still while my mum scraped my curly, misbehaving hair into a bun. The memories were distant, but pleasant... until I asked my mum why I had stopped and she told me that she removed me from the class when she discovered the teacher would slap me around the calves for having 'naughty feet'.

Shattered my ballet memories into pieces, but that doesn't mean I'm not taken with the new ballet inspiration that Black Swan has bought to fashion. Blake Lively took the trend up a notch last night when she attended a dinner in New York, which Chanel threw in her honour. Her Christian Louboutin, prima ballerina pointe shoes, complete with square block toe, deserved a pirouette I thought.

queen of the curve

If I were Christina Hendricks I'd be annoyed that I'm always referred to as curvy, womanly, full-bodied etc, it's worn a little thin now (excuse the pun). That said, we couldn't resist the headline... however we will never again refer to her as curvy, she is merely gorgeous. That opinion of her will only be increased when you see these pics of her as the face of Vivienne Westwood's 'Get A Life' Palladium jewellery collection. She looks mighty fine.

The collection is crafted from Palladium, which is a natural, white metal. Vivienne says that she was inspired by nature and symbols of paganism, which explains the leaves and the heart worn in these shots. We love their bold, feminine statement.

happy birthday to the letterbox

Today was a special day for Emily and I. One year ago, we ventured out and started our freelance business, The Letterbox. It was while we were sitting at Empire Cafe this afternoon, working together, that we realised it.

There have been so many moments that we've shared in our 20 years of friendship, and the fact that we're now running a business together, is super special. We have big plans this year, for our blog, for our business and for our lives... So watch this space!

what we'll be wearing in 2012

On Saturday, courtesy of Woolworths, I went to the Design Indaba to hear world-renowned trend forecaster Li Edelkoort give us insight into what we'll be wearing in 2012/2013.


I've never heard her speak before and I was eager to lap up anything that she had to say so I made copious notes. The problem now is how to translate those notes into something that actually makes sense and might be useful...

She spoke about the inspiration from the earth. Her focus was on eco (which her Dutch accent pronounced 'echo', causing me at least 10 minutes confusion). I loved what she said about retail spaces reverting back to selling single items. No longer having stores where you can buy your food, underwear and maybe a lamp for your lounge all at the same time, but stores where you go to buy one, exquisitely-made shirt for example.

David West shirts

Major items for 2012? The shirt is going to be in the forefront and Li says take budget from the T-shirt and invest in shirts, both men and women. Scarves as well. 'It's amazing how this little piece of cloth has now become an icon of luxury and high society,' she said. Am so with her on that. We're also going to be turning our attention more to DIY clothing, with fabric being sold alongside clothing in the same stores...

Basically, it's a return from the over-indulgent era of excess, back to simplicity and quality. 'Less variation and more focus,' says Li. 'Too much choice will no longer be contemporary. It's time to rekindle our relationship with the earth.'

a touch of france

During our supper at the Bluebird Garage Market on Friday we spotted a few well put together outfits. We got the feeling they were European, no offense to our fantastic local fashionistas, but there's something about a European dress sense that you can spot a mile away.

Anyway, we got a picture of them. We love the high-waisted pants worn with the tweed jacket and beret, and the preggie Breton-stripe top with the straw fedora. Well put together and considered. We like.

red carpet oscar winners

Who was your favourite on the red carpet at the Oscars last night? We have to admit that Cate Blanchett in Givenchy is heaven, and we love Mila Kunis in her lace Elie Saab gown.

Other favourites include Michelle Williams in Chanel, Natalie Portman (Best Actress winner!) in Rodarte and gorgeous new mama Penelope Cruz in L'Wren Scott. 

a night with kwv at bluebird garage market

On Friday night, we went to Bluebird Garage Market to enjoy an evening of wine tasting, sampling yummy food and meeting lovely new people. The Bluebird Garage Market is in an old warehouse in Muizenberg housing all sorts of delightful stores such as vintage clothing, second-hand books, furniture, jewellery, fresh fruit, flowers and lots and lots of food.

When we arrived just after 4pm, we were greeted by our friendly hosts and promptly served some much-needed wine – the Chenin Blanc was the perfect refreshment on such a hot afternoon. 

The weekend had officially begun! We spent the rest of the evening browsing around the market, eating prawn skewers, stir-fry veggie burgers (so messy but so good!), Turkish delight, nougat and of course, lots of KWV wine. 

woolies boots flash mob

To celebrate the launch of their new winter boots range, Woolworths have released a cool new TV ad and they wanted to show us a sneaky glimpse behind-the-scenes.

With their riding, lace up, ankle, slouchy, casual and formal boots they've covered every taste this winter. We actually took a look this morning and there are so many. Kind of makes us feel like a looming winter isn't quite so dreadful after all...

... Anyway, just to add to the fun, this Saturday, anyone in Woolworths at Canal Walk will be in for a surprise, when the boots come alive in the first ever Woolies boots flash mob! If you want to check it out, make sure you're there this Saturday at 10am, 10:40am, 11:30am, 12:10pm, 12:50pm and 1:30pm. Oh, and please take pics!

Check out the behind-the-scenes video of the new ad.