Beautiful buttons by LouLou

I woke up this morning and one of the first things I did was caress my lovely blood transport box.

I'm going to line it with pretty paper and use it to store my silks in. Who else do you know will use a human blood carrying case to keep their pretty things in?!

I bet the previous post surprised some of you. It's a lesser-known facet of my personality ... but for some of you who know me well, it won't have come as a surprise at all to see the arch side of my soul emerging for just a moment.

But time now to leave my fascination with medical objects to one side. I will return to it, I'm sure, but right now I need to show you the beautiful things I bought at the Made N Thornbury market from Saturday. You can check out the wrap-up from the day over at Curlypops, she has done a wonderful job of capturing the event!

I have a rule when it comes to markets, and it's this: NO BUYING ANYTHING BEFORE LUNCHTIME. It seems to work ... that way I get to do the rounds of all my lovely neighbour stallholders, and I can spend some time ruminating about all the gorgeous items I'd love to purchase.

I was *very* restrained this time around. I desperately wanted one of the mini totes from Pepperberry & Co, but My One True Love and I are trying to enforce the New Frugality (it's an epoch, believe me), and I knew what he'd say if I came home with yet another gorgeous bag.

So I limited myself to a selection of mini beauties from ButtonsbyLouLou ... (because they're tiny and I knew I could bring them home without them being noticed). Also, my new short crop demands pretty hair ornaments. World of small clips and bobbypins, here I come.

I think my favourite is the badge at the very top. It's so fresh and bright and feminine - the perfect thing to wear to the office on a miserable Melbourne day when everyone else is coccooned in their safety layers of black. Not me, though! Colour ahoy!

Today for example, I am wearing a skirt and top made from a silk cotton I bought in Beijing on holiday a few years ago. It has a yellow base, with blue and red houndstooth print. The skirt is A-line and has a centre pleat with yellow button highlights.

I've teamed it with a cream top underneath, a blue bauble necklace, and low blue heels in exactly the same shade.

Overall, the effect is quite stunning, and usually has *exactly* that effect - it stuns people I work with in the corporate office - and not always in a good way. Some people are frightened of anything other than black, navy and grey.

But not me! I don't do neutrals that well. Colour ahoy, I say, colour ahoy!

From Brooks Brothers to Burberry

Dear god, this waistline – when will it ever end?

Today I am wearing my pleated Brooks Brothers skirt, and it’s sitting more tightly than it used to. Damn the Christmas trifle!

The skirt is made from a light wool material, with a button-through front detail and four wide pleats either side of the middle seam. It’s knee-length and lined. I’m not sure what colour you’d call it … tobacco, perhaps?

I got it in Chicago last year, at the Brooks Brothers store on the Magic Mile, right around the corner from the Peninsula where I stayed. I love Brooks Brothers – they are having a great January sale right now with up to 60% off, you should have a look at the gorgeous little twinsets and jumpers.

I bought this skirt along with a raspberry-sorbet coloured cashmere twinset, and a powder blue cable cashmere twinset. They were a good buy at the time, and every time I put one on I get a compliment from someone.

It’s the colours as well as the quality – the raspberry is that perfect shade of fresh summer blush, and the powder blue is gentle. And they're both so soft and lovely to wear against your skin.

Both sets accord with my view that I should buy less clothes, but better value ones. (Okay, now is the time to admit that yesterday I ordered a navy blue twinset and a lovely rose-coloured cashmere turtleneck from the current sale. But I saved over 50%!)

I’m coordinating my outfit today with a Burberry shirt; the classic beige background with black and white tartan and a burgundy-coloured stripe running through it.

I love this shirt, it’s a knock-off I got in Beijing the year before last. Not one of those knock-offs that falls apart the minute you wash it however, this is a decent one - you should seee the stitching, it's incredibly precise - the collar sits perfectly and all the seams are overlocked properly.

And it cost me all of a whole ten dollars. Now that’s what I call good value!