Springtime Happiness - Ode to Melbourne

thanks for the image nine.msn

Honestly Melbourne, you have turned on some goodness today.

Everything seems so much do-able when the sun is out...

...today you really do feel like the World's Most Liveable City!

The Lucky Country

image; clever marisa over at creative thursday

I've been thinking about this alot, so I'm going to say it aloud.

If you were going to get sick, struck down by something horrendous like say.....oh, I don't know, a grade 5 brain haemmorage (spelling??!!) also known as arteriovenous malformation....then Australia is the place to do it!

It's been 11 months now, since l'Homme collapsed and lost the use of his left-handside, he also has a speech condition called aphasia and works harder than anyone I know to get back to the life he once lived. He was in hospital for almost five months, has daily speech, physio, occupational and hydro therapies.

And what has all this cost? Try a mere $240.00 for a foot brace and $10.00 a week since February of this year....seriously.

As I walked with Petit-Petit around our museum yesterday and watched him marvel at the Australian animals, I noticed what a funny looking lot they are; it made me think about the unique and beautiful place Australia is to live. Of course, I then related it back to my own little part of Oz and what's going on and how although everything has changed, it's not great and really quite cruel, there is always small mercies to be gleaned.

The fact that L'Homme can take his time getting better, with all the experts at his finger tips, at next to no cost is one such mercy and one I think bears mentioning.

Loving the Land Downunder today!

Hat's Beautiful!

'lemon drop'

'fawning around'


'ripping raspberry'

'tall & turquoise'

'lilac twist'

'redalicious; sometimes referred to as roxanne'

'chartreusey chantoosey'

So yes, there was a wedding last week of a very rich well-to-do boy who married a reasonably wealthy girl and maybe they'll live happily ever after; as Princes and Princesses (or in this case Dukes and Duchesses) are supposed to. It was beautiful, Kate looked amazing and Will looked like the cat that got the cream.

But the thing I always ask on any royal occasion is 'What has the Queen got on her head today?' In my opinion, her hats are the bee's knees, they are incredible works of art perched on her little cranium for, mostly, one occasion only.

At the nuptials of her Grandson on Friday, QE2 did not let me down. And she's 85 years old, for crying out loud???! Amazing.

If I had a hat collection as vast as her's I'd have a name for every single one of them.

Let's hear it for the Queen's Hats!

images; 1. violetpeacock.com 2.strangepersons.com 3.photographytips.com.au 4.huffingtonpost.com 5. theroyalforums.com 6. moneyville.com 7. phasesof the noon.wordpress.com

It was a very good day!

petit's first day of school 7th of Feb 2011

And when he turned to me and said, "Mum, can you go now?" I could've kissed his confident, eager, innocent, beautiful little face - it was music to my ears knowing that the little bloke was going to be OK and ready to take on this newest adventure.

Relief doesn't even describe it.

A new chapter has begun.

A Pinch and A Punch - Hello February!

image via www.spreadshirt.com

The first of the month - gotta love it! I've only just made it in Oz time, but my American beauties and European lovelies are about to get stuck into their February.
I finally have my laptop difficulties sorted which already has improved my life ten-fold (despite just getting back from holiday yesterday!) and have begun to envisage the year with enthusiasm. A spontaneous girl by nature, I've reluctantly given in to the fact that routine is what will make my life a little easier for 2011. Petit starts school and Petit-Petit starts pre-school, L'Homme is back at rehab on a regular basis and hopefully I will be able to go about whipping Galerie Montmartre into a beautiful, unique and creative shape along with a little side development that I will let you in on a bit further down the track.
Thank you for joining me, so looking forward to sharing what's going on in the Femme D M world and catching up on your bloggy news - have missed you. x

Group Hug

I am currently cleaning up my laptop, freeing it from the virtual pictures I gather. I don't know what your criteria is for saving an image, mine is simple, if I look twice and swoon a little then 'bang', into the files it goes. So, as a result, I have stacks of pictures completely unrelated.

However, I have noticed that I love images of similar things grouped together. Everytime I'd come across a picture of like-items in a group - during my 'clean up' session - I'd let out a deep sigh! I'm a bit nuts like that...here is a tiny sample.

images; 1. galmont; 2. here; 3. here; 4. here; 5. here; 6. here; 7. here; 8. here; 9. here; 10. here

Let's hear it for...

image; dd hosiery by gadoud, c. 1950 - michelle belle for galerie montmartre

....well, when I said I would see you on Tuesday, I didn't exactly say which Tuesday it would be!

I did something pretty indulgent last week.

I ran away from home, on my own and stayed away for two whole nights. I didn't speak to another person for a total of 24hours before dabbling in a tiny bit of retail therapy in beautiful Melbourne (oh sweet city of mine, how I adore you!). I also took myself to a gorgeous and renowned French bistro for lunch - Steak au Poivre and Chocolate Souffle washed down with a glass of Shiraz. Seriously indulgent. And it worked! As every hour went by I could feel myself thinking clearly again, the creative juices began flowing, my enthusiasm for everything returned full throttle. And now, here I am, on the second shortest day of the year (yes, I got to hear a little of what was happening in the Southern Hemisphere too!!) ready for a fabulous second half of the year.

So, let's hear it for running away from home and recharging those batteries!

So Welcome Winter!

-image; via sfgirlbybay

Melbourne Winters never get this cold, but I love this image. When I think of Winter I think of reading, chocolate, red wine, soup, hats, boots, dinner parties and conversation. So bring on the colder weather, this Femme is ready!

Farewell Autumn 2010

image; via design sponge

We said goodbye to Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere yesterday; I love this season so much, I thought I'd show one more Fall image to prolong it's beauty just one day longer!

Living Without LivingEtc....just...

I subscribe to more magazines than I have fingers - all in the name of research, of course! But my most beloved, most anticipated, most can't-believe-how-many-creative-people-there-are-out-there-check-out-how-they-live magazine is Living Etc. I don't care that it arrives to me a good month after my beloved Brits have read it. I run with anticipation to the local newsagent each month, (thanks Maxie!) pop it in the pram, race home again and then savour every single page with a piping hot cuppa at my side. I've had this same routine for three years now.

So, to get home last month only to discover that it was nowhere to be found was deeply disturbing. Cannot for the life of me work out when it slipped out from amongst the baby paraphenalia. I am still only getting over it! It's a wonder I haven't lost sleep...

Simply cannot wait to visit Maxie and be handed the latest issue tomorrow.

Let's hear it for...

...teachers!

I was a primary school teacher once, spent my days with 7 and 8 year olds, before my life became completely consumed with Galmont and other creative pursuits. Teaching was the hardest work I have ever done in my life even though I was pretty good at it - I said the last bit of that sentence quietly, as it feels a little like bragging! I'm not showing off, just stating that although I had the teaching thing down, it was hard, hard, hard work. Seriously!
Those kids were gorgeous, the parents were beautiful; I felt so responsible for the little people under my care that I carried the lives of 24 kids in my head (and my heart) for an entire school year, doing everything I could to help them be great little citizens and an asset to the world.

So, if you are an Aussie parent with a child starting school today, get to know your teacher and let them know they are appreciated, there's a good chance they care almost as much for your child as you do!

image found here

Let's hear it for...

all images; issues 7, 5 & 17 covers courtesy of dumbofeather

After a delightful day with Ms. G and then attempting to draft an important document back at Galmont, I returned to Chez Trbuhovich a little low on energy. However, that quickly changed when I noticed the latest issue of Dumbofeather waiting on the doorstep in all it's recycled glory!

I love a story, particularly in relation to lovely creatives; I'm interested in what makes people tick, where they come from, where they're going, what's important to them, the development of their area of interest - with Dumbofeather, I meet five people who give me a good yarn. It may be an artist, a midwife, a charity worker, an entrepreneur, a teacher; I don't care, I just love their stories!

I am grateful to Kate James for switching me onto this publication, after reading my first copy cover to cover, I immediately back-ordered the 15 odd 'mooks' (is it a magazine? is it a book?) I had missed. I try to read a story every couple of days, as I find it's like a little battery charger for the soul. So, dear ones, it is time for me to immerse myself in Issue Twenty-one - Ahhhh!

PS. Of course, The Design Files has interviewed Kate Bezar, Dumbofeather's founder, check it out here.

PPS. Have just noticed that Deb's blog (for Real Living) has also posted about Kate Bezar here.

Let's hear it for...

image; maaret from visual notes

...Mondays!

We love Mondays! L'Homme, the Petits and myself always go to a local cafe for lunch and watch the world go by. I was so drawn to this image of a Swedish eatery in the middle of parkland - how relaxed does everyone seem? It just 'shouts' community to me.
No doubt this is the kind of place the Trbuhovich clan would frequent every Monday if it was nearby.

Galmont and The Age Good Food Guide 2010

Church St Enoteca
527 Church St.
Richmond, 3121
9428 7898
Fine Italian Cuisine
15/20
One chef hat
Surrounded by vintage posters in an art-deco setting.....need I say more?!

all images; church st enoteca

Let's hear it for...

images of antoni gaudi's segrada familia; britannica.com (1) and greatbuildings.com (2,3 & 4)

.....Antoni Gaudi. (1852 - 1926)

A story; In 1990, back when L'Homme and I were kids, we took off around Europe for four months. Being a Uni student with a couple of jobs (me) and a part-time youth worker (him), we had barely enough money to get air tickets, let alone accommodation, but we were determined, ignorant and a little too romantic! We bought ourselves a 28 day Europass, allowing us to travel the European train system, we'd sleep in a carriage overnight and would get off wherever we arrived at the first shaft of light. One of our first stops was Barcelona...what a gift!

As we got off the train, someone who we'd bunked with the previous night said, "Be sure to see anything that Gaudi created, his architecture is dotted throughout the city" - and better still, it was free!

So, that's what we did. We sought out every Gaudi creation there was and it was far and away one of the happiest, most memorable travelling experiences of my life. So much so that we have vowed to return every ten years for the rest of our lives (told you we were a little too romantic!) to watch the progress of this little gem, the Sagrada Familia....the Church Gaudi was creating before his untimely, accidental death. However the genius has left so many plans and notes that the building will be able to be completed.....eventually. Gaudi was so far ahead of his time, it was ridiculous! And he was a crafter, people (!), with mosaics being his calling card - along with curves, gargoyles, wonky-Seuss like walls and archways of every description.

I found a great pictorial blog post here....or just google his name and become another awe-inspired fan.

Let's hear it for...

image; http://www.thisnext.com/

Savon de Marseille Extra Pur. This is such beautiful soap, it feels great, smells divine and the packaging is brilliant in its simplicity. It is at least 75% vegetable oils and also biodegradable; I can tell you from experience that a little goes a long way.
I mean, is there anything this soap can't do?!

Let's hear it for...

image; Ligne Roset campaign 2008/2009

I've been completely captivated by the latest print advertising coming out of Ligne Roset this season. The mix of industrial chic and sleek design is so classy to me, I just had to share it.