MY BLOG HAS MOVED TO BIGGER AND BETTER THINGS!

Social media, websites and blogs mean we are moving from site to site constantly trying to be informed and inform.  Finally I have been able to put my two websites and blog all into one! So as of today my blog will be at http://www.shaynnablaze.com/category/blog/
I do hope you will stop by, RSS the blog/website or even sign up to the newsletter to find out about new events, changes and generally exciting things!!!
I look forward to seeing you there!!!
Big Cheers as always

Shaynna xxx

MY NIGHT AT THE ASTRAS 2011

What a night!!!!!!! Being able to do a job I love, walk the red carpet and win awards is mind blowing.  But like any good renovation on a house, getting ready for the Astras is not effortless.  I literally had a 'team' helping me get ready.
Getting there for a start was an effort. Charlie and I were working for 3 days on our first make-over for the new series 5 of Selling Houses Australia and the weather 'gods' were against us.  Freezing temperatures, howling winds, constant rain and we were under the pump to get this makeover done.

I flew out of the house barking orders of all the last minute things so I could try and get to the red carpet on time!  By the time I got to the hotel room the 'miracle' worker Peita Gregory, disguised as a make-up lady, was knocking on my door and I hadnt even got in there yet.  A quick and very hot shower to try and warm up my bones and it was time for the 'renovation' of Shaynna.

To take a few steps back, the week before I was at Sophie Harts studio to try on a dress for the night.  The second dress on and we knew that was the one. BUT it was a tiny fit and it took 3 girls to do up the zip! Yes, I could not breath or even bend over to put my shoes on but in the words of Sophie, from now it is 'Nil by Mouth'. And so for the next 7 days I thought of that dress and deleted carbs from my life.  (Except for an amazing dinner with family where we had 4 courses, but dont tell anyone!).   Sophie sent pictures of what type of hair style I should have, what accessories and I was excited and terrified at the same time.  It better fit by red carpet time!

My outfit and accessories were all on loan and I want to thank these companies for letting me wear their items and hope I did them justice.  I know I would wear every piece again as I literally felt amazing!

The Dress
The stunning Midnight Blue dress was by George Gross.  The cut on this dress really hugged my curves.  Yes I have boobs and yes I have hips but most of all it sucked in my waist and I totally felt sexy. Every woman should have a dress that makes them feel like this.


The Accessories:

Clutch Bag -  by Oroton (can I say this is my favourite bag ever, it had a beautiful weight to it and didnt catch on anything. You know when you have a bag with stones and details and it always catches on something, well this one didnt.  I highly recommend this bag and it is from their new collection).
Shoes - Peep toe - look at the detail on the heels - Grrrrrrr
Earrings - Mimco - I felt like I was channeling Penelope Cruz with these beauties.  Elegant and sophisticated.  Sophie Harts eye for detail is incredible and she knew these would stand on their own with out needing a necklace.
Ring - Diva - just a simple bit of shimmer to finish it all off.

Peita did an incredible job to make my eyes smokey, my skin shimmer and the relaxed 'bed hair' hairstyle was by her associate Luke Davis

But the best thing on my arm was my husband.  His support through all my travel, time away from the family and lack of cooking and cleaning anymore (I do love that one!) has let me not only do this amazing job but enjoy it.  Thank you Steve for never making me feel guilty chasing my dreams.

Now for the fun bit.  The after party is the time for us to celebrity spot and gush at each others clothes and say a bit congrats!!
EVERY girl looked stunning and the guys looked incredible. There really is something incredible about dressing up to make you feel fantastic.
Here are some of my shots of the night

 

Jane Gazzo & Sarah Wilson  (Jane you were my 'favourite' for the award - next year!!)

 The sexiest weather girl around - Magdalena Rose

Charlie and his stunning wife Juliet

 

The incredibly popular!!! Andrew Winter, LifeStyle Channels amazing Head of Publicity Sharyn & Andrew's 'wind beneath his wings', his gorgeous wife, Caroline. 

One of my big squeals of the night was meeting Geoff Morrell who played Lester Lamb in the fantastic mini series Cloudstreet.   I loved watching that series so much and his character and acting was brilliant.  But what blew me away was after I gushed about his show, he started talking about episodes of Selling Houses Australia and how he loved our show. WOW!!!

Thank you again to everyone for your votes, support and most of all watching our show.  We love making it so it is brilliant to know you love watching it to!!!!!

And our hot General Manager at XYZ accepting the award for 

Channel of the year for The LifeStyle Channel.

(no wonder we are a little weary.......)

EATING AT THE OFFICE

I am back on the crazy whirlwind of traveling around the country with my clients and for the filming of Series 5 (can you believe it!) of Selling Houses Australia.
What comes with that is not only long hours of sitting on your behind in taxis, cars, and planes but trying to eat well the whole day.  Trouble is I am gluten free and no red meat and they are challenges of their own.  So today I had the wonderful pleasure of cooking myself a gourmet breakfast at home.  I did have to get up at 5.30am and do 3hrs of work first but this way a very nice reward.

Do you start your day properly or do you struggle to keep a healthy diet with your work hours.  Would love to hear how you 'eat at the office' whether it is at home, at a work office or on the run.  Any tips for us to share would be great.
One of my tips is I take a small glad bag of protein powder to put in a glass of water for between meals while I am on the run.  It doesnt fill me (as I love to eat rather than drink my food) but it takes the edge off the hunger till I can get a proper meal.  And of course have a couple of pieces of fruit and a water bottle handy.  Your tips??

ROOM WITH A VIEW - KITCHEN WINDOW

Today's room with a room comes via my kitchen window!  Two weeks till winter and Autumn is doing her final coat of colours dance like a very proud peacock.  Last week it snowed only 30kms from my house but this morning the air has a warm tinge like an early breath of Spring.  Mother Nature confused? Well is was meant to be 'Rapture' yesterday, so a little weather hangover is understandable.  If this is Mother Nature's hangover I don't even need to take an asprin with this to cope with something so beautiful.
What is your favourite view from your home?  I would love to hear about yours.
Shaynna

PS The colours were not enhanced for this photo - it really is that stunning!

THE ROASTING WAREHOUSE - SYDNEY

Those who know me, know I don't drink coffee (I gave it up 6 years ago for those who are interested) and I love my tea but when you are stuck for one hour with no tea house in sight, a great coffee house is a good place to plant yourself while you are waiting for a meeting.

Di Bella Roasting Warehouse in Surrey Hills,  Sydney is the perfect combination of atmosphere, product and service.  The staff were happy and looked like they loved working there and to satisfy my needs, yes I was able to get a nice pot of White tea, and they even refilled with extra water with a smile!

 What I think works the best is the atmosphere they create with their interior.  Polished agragate concrete floor, simple industrial chairs and benches with knotted wood timber.

The warmth and feature comes from their roasted beans in hessian bags, fresh loaves on hessian blocks and the center piece being a huge working bean roaster.

Every thing on display you can buy, from the beans to the machines to the cups.  So the decor is working hard for them!

The acoustics aren't great but you are not there for fine dining, you are there for a robust coffee catch- up and so it works.
I don't miss coffee as the aroma of roasted beans is enough for me and this warehouse is filled with the warm, rich fragrances of coffee.  A place to please all the senses.

My only criticism?  Get some pots that pour the tea into the cup and not all over the bench :(  But that is an easy fix.
A definite recommendation for Sydney coffee lovers.

AUSTRALIA'S BARGAIN PROPERTY?

At $50 million you can hardly call it a bargain but when a property is reduced by almost  25% of its asking price ($18 million) it has to be a bargain - right?
Look at some the features -

2478 hectares of sprawling land

Two Swimming Pools ( where is the slide!!!!)

Two helipads, two pools, tennis court, river, dam and three cottages.  Only three? 

Artificial insemination room for 300 horses (handy for some) and a private polo ground.

It all sounds incredibly indulgent of things you 'just cant live without' but it really let me down with the sauna.  I can honestly say from all the homes I have visited and/or redesigned the sauna is the most under used and over rated room of any house.

Impressed? Unimpressed? What room or feature do you think is the most useless addition to a house?

COAT HANGER CHAIR - MILAN DESIGN WEEK

I don't know about you but I find my plastic coat hangers snap pretty easily that I am slowly converting them all to timber.  So I dont know how this Coat Check Chair by Joey Zeledon is going to stand (or sit) up to the wear and tear of daily use.   Plus I dont really trust myself not becoming a tangled mess in the hangers on the back.  Funky and colourful idea but I don't see this new design taking off.  Do you?

pic source 1 Design per day

Mothers Day Room with a view - AFrica

Happy Mothers Day to all you wonderful ladies.  Imagine a full body massage ending with a pedicure and a glass a champagne looking at this view from Signitia luxury game reserve.

Cheers!

TETRIS INSPIRATION

 I found these great Tetris furniture sculptures by Michael Johanssons and it made look at other things that were inspired by the Tetris game.  There are some pretty creative people out there.  Which one is your favourite?

Couch

Tetris Style Fabric

Truck and car transformations by 'notsonoisy'

Human Tetris by notsonoisy

Berlin Block

SUNDAY'S VIEW BROUGHT TO YOU FROM NYC

There is no pic of the house this comes from but I can only imagine it wouldnt really matter. I could sleep on a mattress and camp on the floor with a view like this.

The London NYC Penthouse

HOT CROSS BUN INSPIRED COUCH

 Inspiration comes in many forms and nothing like a traditional Hot Cross bun to inspire your furniture.  I doubt designer Elvis Pennetuzzo had Good Friday and warm toasty buns in mind when he came up with this funky arrangement of furniture but I like to think we can get inspiration from anything, anywhere and anytime. 

Have you seen any furniture inspired by the good 'ol hot cross bun?

4 WAYS TO RECYCLE YOUR DEAD BIKE

We love the environment, we love being healthy and we love riding our bike so here are 5 ways to recycle your bike and bike parts when you upgrade to that shiny new model.

LIGHTING

Bike chains are usually dirty horrible things that leave grease marks on your legs and a place to get your pant leg caught up in.  Usually you curse at them when they fall off when you cant get the damn thing back on but these chandeliers by Carolina Fontoura Alzaga are stunning.  Not only has she given these much sworn at items a new lease of life but she has created a traditional look by creating  sculptural talking pieces.  They maybe too heavy for delicate interiors but I think they have a place in many modern homes, even warehouses of today.

FURNITURE

Who would have thought bike rims and bike tubes could look so comfortable!  I think I'd like that chair to sit on the side of road races so when some-one breaks down I can ask them to 'throw a rim my way'. On second thoughts, I could end up wearing it after that remark.  Bike Furniture founder Andy Gregg has spent many years on the bike and in bike shops so it looks like he worked out where to unleash his frustration to make beautiful furniture that otherwise would have ended up on the scrap heap.

OUTDOOR FENCING

On a trip to Bright we came along this fence made from recycled parts.  There is a great bike track that cover Wangarratta, Beechworth and Bright so all I can imagine is there were a few of those who abandoned  the trip and decided the wineries or bakeries were a better option.

JEWELERY

I have seen some very ordinary necklaces 

made from a solid bike chain but these pieces 

actually have some style and class to them. 

Re-cycled Accessories are having a special at 

this moment and donating $6 to the Japan relief for 

every pair of earrings sold.