Mulberry Alexa bag

Well, I DID want it...now I have it.

What does one do when one of their greatest desires comes to fruition? Find another bag to lust over? IS there any other bag more worthy of my love and affection than my very own oversized black Alexa? I think not.

If you follow me on twitter/are friends with me on facebook, I wouldn't really bother with this post. I'm just rehashing the excitement I felt last night when opening my beautifully wrapped package from net-a-porter only to finally lay my hands on my coveted bag. It is so beautiful. Lalala I am so happy. This marks a new beginning for me, I feel. It's an all new super STYLIN' Aph! Yippee! (Feel free to interject and be like "DUH Aph what are you talking about, you were ALWAYS super stylin'! Hah! You are so silly!")

Anyway, wanna see?!

 

 I don't know how to make this sideways on the blog (it looks normal to me) but looook how pretty!

 

 Dun dun dunnnn

 

At this point my mother was getting very impatient with me and yelling about too much wrapping. But I like it.

 

AAARGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Would you just look at my baby? How pretty is she?!

 

I tried to get a clearer shot, but um, I was a tad excited welcoming the newest member of my family.

 

I've been making this face pretty much since yesterday. Gleeful, yes, and a little bit smug.

 

Don't we look good together?

 

My arm finally feels like it's found its soulmate. It's love.

An estate wedding

I've always wanted a picturesque estate wedding. There would be a massive old manor house that we would hire out for the weekend, everybody would stay and the party would carry on well into Sunday until everyone collapses in their own rooms, to be roused at noon for brunch on the patio. With lots of champagne. Fun, right?

The (non-denominational committment-) ceremony would take place under a huge tree, in the dappled sunlight of a perfect Spring day. Around the other side of the manor house would be a huge marquee (just in case), a spread of delicious food, a profusion of fresh flowers...ah, but enough about the decor. That's for another blog.

Ideally, the wedding would take place at one of the following places:

Who wouldn't want to go to a fabulous wedding at a chateau in France or a castle in the rolling English countryside?! N.B. Yes, that second last one is indeed the Pemberley of the Colin Firth BBC mini-series Pride and Prejudice.

Old Westbury House
Another fantasy location I've long had my eye on is Old Westbury House on Long Island. Do you recognise it?

If he hadn't passed long before his time, perhaps a young Sebastien Valmont could have attended my wedding?

Yaralla Estate
A little closer to home though (like, 1 minute away) I have also recently begun considering Yaralla Estate. I went on a school excursion here once, when I was really little, and the hidden grottoes and massive old pool utterly enchanted me. Might have to rethink the season (and therefore decor) though because Yaralla is at it's most beautiful in the Autumn when all the maples have turned a firey red. Imagine the photo ops.

Terrara Estate
Also in Australia, though a little further away, is the beautiful Terrara Estate. I especially love Terrara because it has a separate little honeymooner's cottage. It is adorable.

Peppers Convent
Peppers Convent in the Hunter Valley is also gorgeous and so are the rooms available. It is one of the surprisingly few I quite like in the Hunter Valley. HV has nice vineyards but I can't find a lot of impressive estates. Holla if you know of any.

And finally, some random images that I think nicely sum of the 'feel' of the wedding I would quite like to have on a manor estate.

So who wants an invite?

P.S. HAS ANYBODY READ 'ONE DAY' BY DAVID NICHOLLS? If you have, can you please let me know so I can squeal/rant/howl about it with you? I am dying here, with no-one to share my thoughts with.

engagement ring

To those who know me, it's no secret that I am obsessed with weddings and have been planning mine pretty much foreverz. I don't even really want to get married (it'll be a non-denominational commitment ceremony for me thanks) but I really want the wedding party.

So what is to ensue for the rest of March is a series of wedding blogs. What ring I want, what type of dress, the location and style, etc etc. My girl Alissa assures me this is not creepy at all and so I am going through with it. Judge me, love me, I care not. All I care about at the moment is WEDDINGS! Happy claps!

Hopefully, the wedding process begins with a proposal. Which centers around a ring. A big, diamond, conflict-free, ring. While in the past I have flirted with the idea of a beautiful antique vintage ring, I've decided I would never 100% love it forever. It's just not me.

These babies on the other hand...

RINGS I WANT THAT I WOULD DEFINITELY, WITHOUT A DOUBT, SAY 'YES' TO
 

I always thought the only ring I could ever truly love for always and eternity would be the classic solitaire, 4/6-claw, plain band Tiffany & Co ring (second from the top). However as I have matured and evolved I think I've finally settled on a cushion cut diamond with a diamond encrusted band. Specifically, as can be seen here in my dream ring (which would be accompanied by a matching band, obviously):

Swoon. Although I would say yes to any of the above variations. I would also say yes to the next few rings, even though they are not really my style. However, my style is not so resolute and exclusive that 'stupid big' does not fit into it. Voila:

DO NOT WANT: RINGS I WOULD NEVER SAY 'YES' TO, EVEN IF JAKE GYLLENHAAL WAS THE ONE PROPOSING TO ME
(Of course, it would simply be a temporary refusal, until he got me a better one. Not that he would have such awful taste)

I mean...what? On what planet are any of these rings desirable? Some of those crap rings have been designed by Neil Lane and Harry Winston. How can you get it so right and then so wrong? 

Well, hopefully my future love will read this blog and will NOT get it wrong. Just remember Jakey/Eamon Sullivan: 3 carat (minimum), cushion cut, diamond encrusted band. Easy. Please, please do not deviate with fancy details. Yucky.