Summer sunshine

Happy Monday!!

Coming back down to the working week with a resounding *thump* after a busy social weekend that included:
- Pilates
- meeting with milliner (re. wedding headpiece - more on that later in the month)
- lunch at Tinderbox with my godparents and their daughters for a lovely, pre-wedding catch up
- late afternoon drinks with a friend who recently moved here from Sydney
- brunch on Sunday with my gorgeous mother and M

Phew! That was an absolute whirlwind - M and I spent the remainder of Sunday doing all the neglected chores from Saturday and both agreed: next weekend is going to be just us and the fat dog relaxing at home!

This week at work I'm continuing with rolling out the rebrand and finalising our corporate presentations for the end of the month and the next month. I don't have any formal meetings scheduled for this week so I'm actually happy to be a little informal for the office:

Top: Country Road
Jeans: Country Road
Jacket: Weekend Maxmara (at Matches)
Heels: Bally
Bag: Louis Vuitton

This jacket is a bit of a departure for me - it's so bright! Like a lot of redheads, I absorbed a lot of misinformation about what would, and (mostly) would not, look good with my hair. In particular, I was assured by various persons (teachers, mothers of school friends) that I could not, ever, under any circumstances, wear bright colours.  This affected all manner of style choices for me as an adolescent and early twenties female.  I embraced all black outfits and nude lip gloss. Consequently, I blended right into the background, thanks to ridiculous style 'rules' espoused by ignorant women to an impressionable teen.

Fortunately, I eventually discovered just how wrong these 'rules' against redheads are, against redheads wearing colour, being vibrant and embracing prints and other delights of the fashion cycle. I've started wearing red lipstick. I've been slowly introducing colour into my wardrobe over a couple of seasons. Now, when I look through my wardrobe, it's not an ocean of black. There's lightness and brightness, in pockets. I typically pair an ivory/white top over dark slim trousers.

This jacket is quite a leap, by my standards. The boxy cropped cut is unusual for me, I favour jackets that nip me in under the bust and define my waist. The colour is just so cheerful, I wanted it to brighten up my work days. It's made of a refined raffia weave and is light enough for me to wear right now in high summer, even on classic humid Brisbane days.

After a long day, I came home to the usual Monday night routine: exercise, walking the fat dog, unloading dishwashers and dinner. Except my dinner turned out a little bit fancy:

Smoked salmon slices drizzled with lemon and served on a bed of sautéed baby asparagus. I'm trying to mix up our protein a little and thought smoked salmon would be a good option. It's delicious and easy, all you have to do is prepare whatever veg you're having with it. This meal took a grand total of 10 minutes to prepare - very tempting to most of us who come home on a Monday night thoroughly exhausted!

I hope you all have great Mondays :) xo