Tis the Season to be BUSY!

Crazy is the best way to describe the last few weeks for me! Between work, getting my website up and running, attending events and organising one of my own I haven't had a moment to myself. Work finishes up in a just over a week and let me tell you I cannot wait to take some time off to chill..... but before this I've got a few things to fill you in on, so let's begin.

About  a month ago I visited the new Betty Tran store to meet the lady herself and check out her new location at Raine Square. I've emailed and chatted to Betty over social media so to actually sit down and have a coffee with this lady who comes from the most humble of beginnings was wonderful. I'll be posting my interview with Betty in full over the coming days but I'll leave you with this, Betty's work ethic, designs and motivation are truly inspiring and hearing her story made me want to do and be better . We are lucky to have an outstanding talent such as Betty at our finger-tips and if you haven't done so already make sure you visit her soon to see just what everyone else is talking about.

Checking out the Betty Tran's newest store at Raine Square

Following on from Betty, I was lucky enough to get an invite from the Hawaiian Group to a  special VIP Evening with Donna Hay. I've followed Donna Hay's journey from the very early days and loved her work as food editor of Marie Claire Magazine so when the opportunity to meet her came up I jumped (well begged) at the chance. 

Here for the launch of her new book Fresh & Light she joked it featured healthier-style recipes which she stuck to cooking from Monday to Friday or Thursday if she started the weekend early. Donna Hay's cooking style is simple and anyone afraid of getting in the kitchen  should definitely try out some of her cookbooks - I have no doubt they will be greeted by success. Super easy, yet delicious she breaks things down, using everyday ingredients to create easy lunches, quick dinners and this book is no different. 

So what do you eat when you're at a Donna Hay event - a Donna Hay inspired feast, that's what. Husby and  I tried the goat's curd, broad bean and mint bruchettas - so yummy and the beef and radish summer rolls - delightful. 

Donna describes her latest cookbook as a combination of fresh ingredients, pantry staple and a few personal tricks for a lighter approach. "It's all about flavour and eating well," she said.

I have a signed copy of Light and Fresh to giveaway and will be announcing the competition on Facebook tomorrow so keep an eye on the page for all the details. In the meantime here are a few pictures from the night: 

Donna being introduced

Love her cheeky style

Got introduced to her as Cooking in Choos and she wanted to know all about my shoe collection - love it!

My autographed copy!

Two weekends it was with great delight that I along with husby got to attend the 1st Birthday of Perth fashion designer and my dear friend Steph Audino. Regular readers of my blog know that I met Steph through a family friend and although we've only known each other just on a year it feels like we have been friends forever. 

I can't even put into words how proud I am of this talented young lady. In just a short time she has achieved so much and in what has been an unbelievable first year for this emerging WA designer she's determined to keep riding this amazing wave she's on.

Steph was one of the highlights at this year's Perth Fashion Festival, she has dressed the Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi, television presenters/journalist Ebbeny Faranda and Angela Tsun and Nic Natanui's partner Elle Demasi recently wore a couture gown to the West Coast Eagles Fairest & Best. Her biggest coup however was when former Spice Girl and X Factor judge Mel B hand-picked five of her pieces to wear when she visited Perth earlier this year for PFF. 

To add another feather to her cap, Steph Audino has also just been picked up to sell her latest collection as part of Claremont's Ten at Times Pop Up Boutique for the next two weeks, this just after taking part in a Designer Charity event (held by me and my sister-in-law) over the weekend. 

The year isn't over for Steph Audino and I know that this first year is the beginning of what's to come , trust me when I say this young lady is destined for big things - watch this space.  

Congratulations again Steph, I wish you all the best and look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with you xxx

The VIP  invite

Live mannequins

Steph with weather presenter Angela Tsun

Making her speech with PFF direct Mariella Harvey-Hanrahan

All smiles in front of her decadent dessert buffet by Dee's Sweet Boutique

Steph & her girls

Fellow designer Dianna Monastra of Three Anjewels, me and Texan stylist/journalist Haili Zwiercan Pue of All Ze Details

Blogger Donna Dee, me, Steph and Haili celebrating!

Service with a Side of Arrogance

I'm not one to write nasty posts - it's just not me but when a night that was cause for celebration turned sour I decided I needed to speak out.

Those who follow my blog know my mother-in-law has recently battled breast cancer. Well last Friday she was given the all-clear by docs saying she was now Cancer free - cue celebration - weeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!
Wanting to do something nice for her I tried booking into the Crown Perth's Modo Mio, (a restaurant she has been wanting to dine at for ages but has not had the chance to get to) but unfortunately they were booked out.

My husband then suggested we look at Perugino in West Perth, so we did and a booking for five people was made. I've been to Perugino a few times and the food is always good, hey you don't get mentioned as one of WA's top restaurants for nothing - their nosh is top quality. I'm not denying that. Their service however leaves a lot to be desired and this is what lets them down - badly!

We arrived at Perugino and were greeted by a lovely young guy at the front counter who led us to our table.
We were then introduced to Rosalba (the owner) who took control of our table and it's here that it all went sour.

While we were looking at the menu I could hear the table next to us stating they weren't going to argue with her and what she said was fine and we wondered what the commotion was. We figured it out once she took our orders.

Taking our orders in a drill-sargeant like manner, she was to the point, no mucking around and that's fine. Then as she turned to leave my husband asked it we could have the air-conditioning turned on and she looked at him in disgust and said - we are trying to save money. We couldn't tell if this lady was serious and took it as a joke, turns out we were right, she was joking then turned it on and returned to us saying she was "just a joke". I reiterate I can take a joke - I get it!!

What happen next is what really annoyed us. Our mains arrived, I ordered the rib-eye cooked medium rare, more to the medium side, my mother-in-law and husband ordered the lamb special. The waiter placed my meal in front of me and then placed the same meal in front of my MIL and the lamb in front of my husband. My MIL looked at me confused. I turned to the waiter and said she ordered the lamb. Then from out of no-where bolted Rosalba who started to tell the waiter to be quiet, let her speak and she would handle it. Nice as pie she turned to my MIL and said we have no lamb left so thought you'd like the rib-eye too. Again we were confused. Why would you give somebody a dish that you hadn't ordered and not tell the paying customer that the dish they had ordered was no longer available - strange.

My husband offered his mum the lamb and then they asked him if he would like to choose something else off the menu. He chose the baby goat. A minute later as I tucked into my very rare steak Rosalba returned with MIL's rib-eye cut into pieces offering it out to the rest of the table. I turned to my husband and with blood dripping all over my plate said I can't eat this. Again like a bolt of lightening she said - I heard that put your sunglasses on and don't look at what you are eating, look out the window , it tastes better than it looks. Again I said I can't eat it and the other waiter took my plate.

From here I received another steak which was not much better but she was quick to let me know, that had it been cooked anymore it would have tasted like leather, like the sole of my shoe, to be precise. I said nothing.

After our mains we were chatting about her rudeness towards her staff and towards us (she had also made a remark about why we brought the Australian along, my brother-in-law who asked to leave the window ajar- another joke apparently) when I noticed the table who had arrived after us and ordered after us receive the lamb special. I told the others to turn around and lo and behold there was the lamb that had supposedly run out sitting on the table next to us - funny that, now onto dessert.

At Perugino they are famous for their dessert and cheese trolley. You pay $16 and get to order what you like. The table next to us piled up, my husband asked for a slice of a pie and a little piece of the Tiramisu what he got was a slice of the pie and crumbs of cake that looked like they had been eaten and (apologies but this is gross) spat back out onto the plate and that was it for me or apparently not.

We asked for the bill and why would we expect anything else after a debacle of a night but to be over-charged! Nice work guys.

Perugino has been around a long time with Giuseppe Pagliaricci and his wife Rosalba at the helm and while the food may be good - sometimes that just aint enough. It wasn't on this occassion and I won't be going back again.

Since the experience I have spoken to several people and all have a story to tell about the service from Rosalba - none of it good. Seriously pull your socks up, Perth is too small for  bad word-of-mouth to not get around. RANT OVER! xox

Pictures below are of the lamb pancake starter and sage and butter ravioli - both were lovely.

High Tea Hyatt Style

This post is a little over-due but with spring in full-swing what better time is there to blog about High Tea. I love a good high tea. There is something vintage, ceremonial and lady-like about it and I cant get enough. 

Whether you do it as a girlie catch-up, birthday celebration, bridal shower it's just so gorgeous. I love the little sandwiches, petit fours, the scones, the cakes - I'm sure you the picture. It's just so pretty, damn it!

Moving right along, a couple of months ago I caught up with a friend of mine who wanted to try out the Hyatt's High Tea and I so kindly obliged to join her. Truth is we hadn't seen each other for ages and she wanted to treat me for my birthday, which was so lovely of her.

So what did we eat? I'm a savoury girl myself so had the sausage rolls, mini quiches and savoury tarts but you can't do high tea without getting into the sweet stuff so I tried that too, my verdict - pretty good value and a nice afternoon out. Next high tea venue The Duchess Bar and this time it's my treat! 

All the info: 

Patrons enjoy a relaxing afternoon of high tea with finger food between 3 and 5pm daily in the Conservatory Lounge. Sweet and savoury items including in sandwiches, cakes, pastries and puddings. There's also a lovely pianist who plays while you indulge - so lovely.Guests also get bottomless sparkling wine, tea and coffee all for $48

For more information visit the website

Getting stuck into sweets

What's high tea without bubbles? 

Endless trays of puddings, tarts and torte

Sloane indulging in a sweet-treat or two!

So many choices where to begin?

Pots of chocolate goodness - yum!

KIKU Boutique - A Fashionable Find

Hey guys I know it's been a while but I'm not going to start this post by apologising for my lack of blogging, I actually have a valid excuse (not that the other ones weren't). I am in the process of revamping the blog to a whole new-look website and with that comes the transferring of all my posts and with hundreds of them I don't want to add more work  to my already over-flowing workload. Anyhoo continuing on and I do hope you are all patient - it will definitely be worth it once it's finish! 

Soooooooooooo while I was taking a short hiatus I stumbled across this super-cute new online Perth boutique - KIKU Boutique. KIKU meaning chrysanthemum in Japanese and the country's national flower is a gorgeous little on-line boutique with fabulous clothes at a bargain price.

Owner Cindy said she named the boutique KIKU following a stint in Japan saying it held a special place in her heart . The flower is also known for its elegance, timeless beauty and its symbolic meaning for joy and again I am side-tracked - so back to the boutique!

Having opened less than a month ago what got my attention about this new kid on the online block was the very beautiful dresses at affordable prices. This boutique offers nothing over the price of $50AUD - pretty reasonable if you ask me. 

On Monday they launched their new collection called Block Colours and I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek before it went online (images below). I love a good bright colour and many of my readers will know I don't often do black. A lovely pink dress, red pants, cobalt jeans or whatever it may be just lightens things up and always makes you feel better. Seriously ladies, it's impossible being sad in yellow - trust me. 

Below you'll find three of the dresses from the collection and these are just a taste of what is on offer on the site.......and just because it's been a while since my last post KIKU Boutique has been generous enough (they're good like that) to offer CIC readers a 10 per cent discount for everyone who visits the site and buys online during the month of October.

All you have to do is enter the code is “cichoos1012” into the “voucher” section on the checkout page and voila your already bargain-priced piece is even more affordable - how can you resist? 

For more information, updates on new collections, special offers and fashion news don't forget to show your appreciation by LIKING the page on FACEBOOK.

To take advantage of the 10 per cent offer and check out the Block Colours Collection head straight to KIKU Boutique

Please note discount is applicable only to products and shipping charges are  – AUD$6 within Australia for one/two pieces and FREE for 3 pieces and above. For all my overseas reader KIKU Boutique also ships worldwide at affordable flat rates. 

ABOUT Cindy: Cindy is passionate about beautiful clothes and believes that all women, with the right styling, can look fabulous. She has lived in fashion-forward cities like Japan and Singapore, and now calls Australia home. As an avid online shopper for many years, she often dreamt about creating a boutique that offers the kind of online shopping experience that she would personally enjoy. According to Cindy the KIKU woman is chic with a touch of flamboyance; classy but not afraid to be adventurous with fashion. She loves her brights as much as the monotone colours. And she doesn't believe that looking good has to cost a fortune - hey you've got to love that! Fashion that doesn't break the budget - sign me up!  Outfit one: Kiku Boutique Dress Royal Blue (teamed with & without orange belt) Three Anjewels Neon Necklace RUBI Shoes Outfit two: Kiku Boutique Lemon Summer Dress Three Anjewels Blue Necklace RUBI Shoes Outfit three:  Kiku Boutique Chiffon Dress Cherry Pink  Ring YSL Cuff Hermes Betts Shoes

Royal Blue $48

Lemon Summer Dress $44AUD

Chiffon Dress in Cherry Pink $42

Images courtesy of Nicole Duncan Photography