Domesblissity's Favourite Things 2011

I love Oprah and I used to look forward to seeing Oprah's Favourite Things every Christmas and more so, the looks on the happy recipient's faces in the audience. I saw the email come through for Oprah's Favourite Things for 2011 but it's just not the same. It's still lovely to know what Oprah considers her favourite things. So to compensate (yeah I know, no real compensation) I thought I'd start a little tradition and share my favourite things for 2011.  Unfortunately this doesn't mean my lovely followers will all get these. Sorry.

1.  "Lola" by Mark Jacobs  - approx $80 for 100ml @ strawberrynet.com


A truly feminine fragrance for sexy, chic women

• Playful, cool, flirtatious & sophisticated
• Top notes of pink peppercorn, pear, ruby red grapefruit
• Heart notes of rose, peony, geranium
• Base notes of vanilla, tonka bean, creamy musk
• Lingering for day-and-night wear

2.  Simone Camille Tote Bag - approx $2,000


One thing you can't have enough of is tote bags once you have kids. You'll always find youself running out the door with swimming things, jumpers, water bottles, library books, hats, magazines etc and most often I'll grab one of those horrendous shopping bags. I have all intentions of sewing up some little beauties for myself next year but in the mean time I'll dream about one of these original designed tote bags from international designer, Simone Camille.

3.  Merrell Glade Sandal - $139.95

Good for running the kids backwards and forwards to school drop offs.

• full-grain leather/nubuck upper
• slip-lasted contruction
• pigskin/Lycra® spandex lining
• Anatomical Antimicrobial Cita-XYTM Aegis™ footbed
• nylon 6.6 injection-molded arch shank
• Q-Form™ triple-density compression-molded EVA footframe
• Air Cushion® midsole
• Merrell Oasis™ sole/sticky rubber

4.  Shabby Chic Jolie Set of 3 Mixing Bowls - approx $30

I've been looking and looking for vintage mixing bowls similar to what my grandmother had and I found these online. How cute are they? This range is designed by Miss Shabby Chic herself, Rachel Ashwell.

5.  Ray Ban Wayfarers - approx $180

I had a pair of these from my late teens right up until my late 20's. I'm not sure what happened to them but they've been my favourite pair of sunglasses ever. I now need a pair with a prescription lenses for seeing long distance but I'd so love to get a pair of these again. Oh the memories! They epitomise the 80's.

6.  "The Songs of Sapa" by Luke Nguyen - approx $40

We are lucky in Queensland to enjoy similar weather to our South East Asian neighbours so what could be better than eating more of their cuisine. I love all of the flavours of Asia, eg Thai, Malaysian, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian etc but I absolutely adore Vietnamese food. I thoroughly enjoyed Luken Nguyen's recent TV series, "Luke Nguyen's Vietnam" and hope to get this cookbook one day.



7.  Habitat Rose Queen Size Quilt Set - RRP $159

Yes, I live in a dream world. I would absolutely love fresh new, summer linen for the bedroom but with 2 dogs and 2 kids the above is going to be totally unrealistic but I do love the crispness of white with a touch of colour.

8.  Pasotti Ombrelli Umbrella - approx $150

I have a secret penchant for umbrellas but I usually finish up with one from the $2 shop when I've been caught out in the rain. They last all of about 2 minutes and we get our fair share of storms and rain here in the 'sunshine State' so I'd love a good quality umbrella that will last a lifetime. Probably not as fancy as this one. Once the kids got their little hands on it, that'd be the end of that.

9.  Vintage Tea Set

Just like boys never grow up, I think some of us girls don't either. Who doesn't love a tea set and I couldn't think of anything nicer than sitting down to a hot cup of tea from one of these cups. I do have a couple sets of tea cup, saucer and plate of my Nanna's but you can never have too many, right? This set is available online from Vintage Style Gifts in the UK.

10.  Coach Hamptons Signature Gallery Tote - approx $500

I'm a little partial to handbags but never bother changing the contents over because I just don't have the time but I wouldn't say no to this beautiful Coach tote. One that would be big enough for my laptop, purchase, mobile phone, McDonald's happy meal toys, rocks, sticks, lolly wrappers, any kind of paper rubbish which is thrown at me, etc etc.



So, Santa, if you're reading this, I have been a very good girl this year. Any of these will do. If not, I'll be content with the looks on my kid's faces on Christmas morning. That's more valuable than any of these things.  You can check out Oprah's Favourite Things for 2011 here.