Packaged & Presented To Perfection

"TOAST house & home" Spring Catalogue 2009 Jo Malone London "Sweet Lime & Cedar" Cotswold Furniture's 'Norfolk Bench' -"A Taste of Cotswold" April 2009

I always find great delight in receiving the latest catalogues & brochures from my favourite places. They enthuse me with visual delights & styling temptations, what's new, what's coming, how to put it all together, share in the excitment of new season's treasures. These days of course, we all do our best to be environmentally conscious & respectful of paper waste, so often our favourite items arrive on our screens, looking gorgeous & tempting, but not quite as tangible. I received my monthly e-news last night from Cotswold Furniture, which I always love & look forward to, & often forward onto friends & colleauges to share in the latest news on stunning outdoor furniture collections. The latest fun piece was the "Louvre Chair" in a rainbow of colours, to create 'a little piece of Paris' displayed against a very chic canvas, of course to complete the visual enticement...Visit http://www.cotswoldfurniture.com.au/ & subscribe to the monthly "A Taste of Cotswold". When your screen opens, the images just take you away to heavenly places...Next, Jo Malone. How divine is her packaging, her product & her presentation??? Pamper, pamper, pamper. In the mail I received an invitation to "experience a complimentary hand & arm massage using the new fragrance Sweet Lime & Cedar" followed by a complimentary gift, divine. For those of you who have been to one of the Jo Malone boutiques in Australia (3 only so far, Victoria, South Australia & NSW) you will understand where I'm coming from, beautiful, understated yet sophisticated, & all initiated by a gorgeous catalogue invitation.http://www.jomalone.com.au/The other item I received in the mail (yesterday's mail was indeed very exciting!), was the latest "TOAST house&home" homewares catalogue from the UK. I love it! I haven't received one before, and what a delight it is. 111 pages of 'simple things' for house and home, for you, your family, entertaining, gifts, to wear, to enjoy. Enticing visuals, fabulous detailing, and full of every product detail you need or want to know. It actually reminds me a little of those fantastic Country Road homewares brochures way back in the late 80s and early 90s, extravagant, indulgent, and something you loved receiving when you opened your mail. Well, "TOAST" has a very similar flavour I think, & I will definitely be keeping my name on their database for a long time! http://www.toast.co.uk/For those of us who enjoy making our homes, or our favourite spaces feel special, such catalogues that feature gorgeous products so beautifully, yet often so simply displayed, continue to provide us with inspiration & excitement to enjoy often the simplest of things that we live with. How we rack our wardrobes, the coathangers we use (wooden ones of course are the best!), how we fold our favourite jumpers, where we place magazines & books on the coffee table, or stack them on a tray for an ottoman, candles, cushions or throw rugs, sit our favourite pieces on the kitchen bench or entrance table...When we see things we love featured in print, in ways that we can relate back to our own living spaces, it can create an extra special way of how we feel in our home that we can embrace & enjoy

just a little bit more.

I'm sorry if this post is a little difficult to read, but I just had to fuel my current passion for orange. Blame the latest range from the hand & body brand "Pamilli", all wrapped in gorgeous white boxes & wrapping with divine organe grosgrain ribbon. Pop into Rose Street Trading Company to see for yourself!