Hello again all, welcome to Home and Hosting with Louis Burke.
This is where we talk about all the little things that make a
house feel like home and the bigger picture on how we live,
host, and style our lives. Today I'm diving into the idea
of chasing holidays for happiness versus actually
building a lifestyle you don't need to escape from.
It all stemmed from a question I got this week on my Instagram
Q&A which then in true Virgo style had me overthinking and
connecting the dots. From my recent ventures around
my neighbourhood to the sudden return of services and in person
experiences like the new Mecca HQ and the Henny styling Until
the air. I also picked up some fresh new
pieces for my birthday, which of course then got me thinking
about Father's Day as it's always a Sunday right after my
birthday and how to glow up dads every day with thoughtful,
intentional pieces. Sound exciting?
Well, without further ado, let's get into today's episode.
So this week I did an Instagram Q&A.
If you're not following me over on Instagram, be sure to follow
along because the Q&A is a great spot for you to ask advice about
what furniture to pick up, what paint colours we're using, or
more personal information about my life and my day to day.
And I was given a question that really stopped me in my tracks.
I didn't answer it over on Instagram because I feel like
the answer is quite lengthy. So I thought putting another
podcast was a great spot to do it.
So to the fellow person who asked this question, I hope
you're a listener of the podcast because here it is.
Your question really stumped me. It was, do you own anything that
isn't stylish? But you'd never give up because
of the joy or the usefulness it brings.
Now, I feel like for most, you could easily look around your
house and find pieces that you can see in drawers or tucked
away in cupboards or, you know, even laying out and about.
And you would be like, yeah, that's the piece.
That's the thing that's ugly, that, like, you know, just
doesn't look good. But it's so good that I just
can't get rid of it right? I thought of, I thought that was
going to be the case for me. I thought I was going to find
something and I really stopped. I had to stop.
And I was literally sitting there for a good like 10 minutes
thinking what is that thing? Is it the bin?
Is it a cleaning product? Is it my washing powder?
Is it the towels I have? Is it the tools that I've got in
the garage? And to be honest with you, I
couldn't find something. Now I actually kind of felt
embarrassed at first because I felt awkward for being like, oh
wow, you've really gone to town with everything in your space to
make it be, you know, aesthetic, quote unquote aesthetic.
But then it really got me thinking and I was like, well,
no, it just means that I've just made a more considered choice
when it comes to finding things that not only look good but also
work practically, which really is an ethos centred around
design, like form and function. And it made me think back to my
early 20s where I kind of made that decision really early on,
that if I was going to buy something, be it cutlery, pots
and pans, glassware, mugs, so far, whatever it was, it had to
serve the purpose but also look good doing it.
So then life just feels more coordinated, like, you know,
it's not necessarily an essential, it's not something
that I would, you know, tell everyone that they should do or
have to do. But it has certainly made my
life easier, especially as a content creator, because I do
often see other creators who feel inspired by my content and
they're like, oh, I really want to film some home content, but
as soon as I like, like whip out my phone, there's just mess
everywhere. Well, I think the thing about it
is, is maybe it's the fact that that mess isn't necessarily the
most aesthetic looking practical stuff that makes sense.
Like if you had had like a really nice laundry basket, like
the hay laundry basket that I've got, I've got one in lemon and
sky blue. I absolutely love them.
Highly recommend you pick one up.
They're not that expensive, like they're expensive for a laundry
basket, but as far as things that hay go, they're pretty
affordable. So if you want a little piece of
hay, a little piece of Copenhagen in your home,
definitely go ahead and pick up that laundry basket.
But to bring it back, because I have things that not only do the
job but look good doing it, it is a lot easier for me to film.
So therefore my job is made easier.
But also my life is so much nicer because everything in
there is considered. And that's the thing, some
people might initially think it's super superficial to have
all nice looking things. And I understand that.
I think that's the reason why I was embarrassed at first.
I felt guilty for not having those things.
I felt like super judgmental or like superficial is the word.
But in reality it wasn't. It was.
I'm going to go out of my way to take some extra time to search
the Internet or search the stores or find someone that
produces goods and products that not only do a job, but also look
good doing it, that are beautiful, that stick to that
design ethos of form and function.
Not solely one form where it's like, oh, it looks really good,
but it doesn't do the job well. And not solely, oh, it's so
practical. I can't get rid of it.
You know, actually, come to think of it, you know what,
there's probably one thing that I have here that's just come to
mind. It would be a dustpan and brush,
but that's hidden in the cupboard.
But like, really, is it something that I love and I
could just never get rid of? And I couldn't find a more
aesthetic dustpan? No, I could definitely find 1
and I probably should now that I think about it.
But ultimately it got me thinking about that, you know,
idea of setting aside the time to slowly and progressively
change and transform your space to better reflect the way you
want to live. You would be so surprised about
how much of your environment is the thing that channels the
energy. And like, the way I try and
explain it is that like your home is the place that you come
to where like your boss or your friends or family or whoever,
they can't really tell you what to do.
You know, it's the one spot where you can make the space
feel like you. So select items that make you
not only feel good, but also comfortable because the space
that you live in is ultimately a reflection of how you care for
yourself. And that only goes in like, is
it clean and you're tending to the space?
But it's also the way that it makes you feel just off the bat.
Because if there's a mess, if it's like an aesthetic mess full
of stuff, like the laundry basket, like I said, like for
example, yes, there's a pile of laundry, but it's in a beautiful
basket and all those clothes in that basket is something that
you really love. So like, it's, yes, a job, but
it's a job that you enjoy because it's full of things that
you love, that reiterates the feeling and the life that you
want to live. I know I'm a Virgo.
I overanalyze everything. OK, guys, So I know some of you
will be like, OK, Louis, you're taking it one step too far.
But do you know what I mean? Like if we break it down into
individual pieces, what are they standing for?
They're standing for this idea that you want to look a certain
way, to feel a certain way for. It's a bit like for those things
to represent what you like and what you believe in.
People can say, you know, it's super superficial.
But I would turn around and say that I don't think it is
superficial at all. I think it's actually more
considered than what it would be just to find there the first
option, you know, like when it comes to like, I don't know,
like a lunch container, Yeah, sure, you could go to Kmart and
you could pick up the plastic lunch container that's
ultimately going to get stained as soon as you have spaghetti
Bolognese in it because the red sauce in there, you know, it
doesn't come out even when you Chuck it in the dishwasher.
Or you could go to IKEA and you could pick up a glass container.
Sure, it might weigh a little bit more.
It might be a a little bit heavier for that carry to work,
but it doesn't get stained and it's timeless and you'll have it
for years like I have. I've had those containers for
like 10 years. Highly recommend you go pick
them up. But yeah, it's just like little
decisions that really improve your life and really stand for
what you believe in, what you really like.
It could be not only just like, you know, the aesthetic choice,
it could also be the environmental choice and the
fact that glass is better than plastic.
You know, people are concerned about micro plastics, people
concerned about the environment. You know, the glass is
recyclable. There's so many things that go
into each individual piece that you may or may not have thought
about. So yeah, I just thought that
question was super interesting, which then led me on to like,
you know, going through TikTok and there were a lot of young
people saying, you know, how do all these gay guys afford to go
on all these holidays? How come they get to go on all
these experiences? And the person was saying that,
you know, gay guys look younger than what they are, so they're
not the same age as you. Stop trying to, like, compare
yourself to someone that's 10 years older than you with more
experience and disposable income, etcetera.
And I thought it was really interesting because I came
across a content creators profile who is younger than me,
who's in his early 20s. He was talking about the
experiences with travel. And yes, I understand when
you're young, you really want to go out of your way to have those
experiences with travel. But also sometimes I do think a
lot of us are booking and planning these holidays because
we want to escape from our reality.
It's not only about taking a break, but it's also like you're
running away. And the question I put to you
is, what are you running away from?
The life that you are currently living, the situation and
circumstance that you find yourself in off the back of your
own decisions? I don't mean this in a way, like
obviously we can misconstrue this and say that it's you
people are in circumstances that are out of their control.
But then there are also circumstances that we are in
control of that we haven't yet addressed.
And I do think one of those things is the space that we live
in, the way we care for a space, the way that we maintain a
space, the way that we curate a space.
And I can see that obviously my followers are super interested
in it and they don't know where to start.
And that's why you follow me. You follow me because you like
nice things. You see that I shop high and
low. You see that I give advice on
how to do things and like each step you progressively get
towards living that life that you want to live.
But you know, you and I both know people in our real life,
whether it be our work colleagues, family members,
friends we went to school with who do not understand that in
the slightest. They can say that it's
superficial. They can say why would you care
about it? And the reason why you care
about it is because it's your everyday.
You literally live once. You want to set a goal and you
achieve it. I know that I have heaps of type
A's in the group, You know what I mean?
I am a type A triple Earth, Virgo Sun, Capricorn Moon, and
Taurus rising. So you can see that I love
details. The Capricorn in me is very like
when it comes to the moon in Capricorn.
It's a whole thing. I don't even know where to even
begin with that. But let's just skip onto the
rising, which is the Taurus, which is I love comfort.
I moved out of home from a young age because I wanted to move to
a capital city because I felt that it was necessary for me to
do that in order to study, design and get the job and the
lifestyle that I wanted to achieve.
I couldn't get it in the Hunter Valley, so I moved and then I
ended up here and I absolutely love it.
And I know for a fact when I was a young adult navigating my
early 20s, I needed to set up my rental to feel like a home.
I was away from my family and friends.
It was important for me to feel comfortable in the space that I
was in. And you know what it's like when
you're in your early 20s, you're applying for jobs, you're
meeting new people, you're going on dates, you know, you're going
out clubbing. There's all these different
environments that are just getting thrown at you where you
have to sort of perform and try and figure it out.
And like, you know, home is the only place where you can get
home from all of that noise, shut the door and just sit on
the bed and be like, what was that?
You know, sometimes it's amazing, sometimes it's
absolutely awful. And you know what's always there
if you put the effort in a really comfortable bed, you
know, a really comfortable bed, some lamps or some dim lighting,
a beautiful like cutlery set and like ceramics and bowls to make
a dinner in because you can't go out because you've got no money.
But you know what you did? You went out and bought some
beautiful like coloured ceramics that make food look extra good.
You know, like you've got some napkins and a tablecloth.
It sounds, I don't want it to sound like it doesn't make a
difference. Like, oh, that's just like
stuff, who cares? Like it really did make a
difference for me. And I think it can make a
difference for anyone at any age, age at any point in their
life where they want to feel more safe.
They want to feel more secure. And you don't have to move into
state or a different country in order to feel that.
The thing that you have to battle is the fact that some
people around you are not going to want you to change.
They don't want you to change because they see themselves in
you and they don't want to see you, you know, trying to achieve
a different thing. Like, what does it say about
them if you're paying attention to these things, you know, like
it's just about getting rid of that.
It's like that would be my advice as the same as when you
start social media, lots of people ask me, like, how do you
get through that, that initial brunt of like people you know,
are watching your content and like, how do you not feel
embarrassed? Well, when I moved, because I
was away from all my people that I went to school with and like
family weren't near me, it was quite easy because I just didn't
see them because I didn't have them around to to have it sort
of be acknowledged. But then after a while people
get used to it. I think that's the thing.
You just have to start something like in order to sustain like a
routine, you have to do it for about 21 days.
And I think that goes to family and friends as well.
If you start something that's new, have those awkward
conversations, make them super quick, like a minute, like, oh,
I saw you posting on Instagram. It's like, yeah, what do you
think? And like, oh, OK.
And then that conversations done.
If they bring it up again in two weeks, just be like, just blow
it off, brush it off and then keep going.
And then eventually they'll stop talking about it because they
just feel insecure because they're seeing something
different. They're scared of the change and
they'll eventually get used to it and it's normal and so on.
So you can apply this method to not only your home, but also the
way that you navigate social media or another career or
dating or whatever. So yeah, it was just very
interesting receiving that question and then how it LED my
thought process to go through to, you know, why I didn't have
anything that was super practical, that wasn't aesthetic
but I can't live without. And then obviously through
scrolling through TikTok and seeing younger people who was
speaking about travelling and me seeing their bedroom spaces and
just thinking, babe, if you just had a beautiful bedroom to come
home to, maybe you wouldn't want to plan to go on those holidays
so often. Because really, let's be real, I
just think like, why are you spending so much money to spend
4 days in someone else's beautiful Airbnb or a hotel with
a really comfy bed whilst you sleep on a really uncomfortable
one for 360 other days of the year?
You know, like it's about focusing on the things that you
can change. Like people will always meet me
with, oh, but I don't own my home.
That doesn't matter. Furniture moves with you, bed
linen moves with you. You have to sleep.
You want to sit on a sofa. You don't want to sit on your
bed all the time, right? So we need another piece of
furniture and that's a sofa. And you also need a coffee table
because you need something to put your drinks on.
Like this is the thing. Home can be deemed super, you
know, unimportant, superficial, just get whatever.
But in reality it's serving a purpose.
It's having more of a purpose, if I'm honest, than clothes or a
holiday, you know, like a holiday is amazing.
I went to Bali for a week and I've never really gone on
holiday in my adult life really. Like I've done little
staycations, I've done bits and pieces with work, but like never
a really long winded holiday. And maybe I should and maybe
that's the reason why I have the opinion that I have.
But what I do enjoy is my everyday life.
I really love the home that I've built because that's what I set
out to do. I feel like the space that I
may, it's like these subconscious actions that you're
taking to make your life come to fruition.
The things that you want to happen in your life, be it the
job, the relationship, all those things are connected to the
space that you're in every day because they're actually like,
think of it like it's a decision that the previous you made for
future you, you know, like go with the thing that's more
important. And that's not to say waste all
your money on furniture because I think some people might think
that's what I mean. I have done this very slow over
1015 years, making this space come to life and reflect the
space that I want it to be. And also it has a few more sheet
sets and a few more dinner sets. Because of my job.
I do not expect people to have like, you know, 10 sheet sets
and five different dinner sets. Get like two or three sheet sets
that you really love and two dinner sets that you really
love. It's not about that being a
consumer final boss, it's just about having the pieces that you
really enjoy and you can do that and also have savings.
It seems like it seems unreachable, but it is
reachable. It is attainable if you just set
aside the time to dedicate a little bit more time, energy,
money and effort into those individual pieces over time, and
you'll end up with lots of beautiful things that reflect
you and will be a reiteration of where you want to be.
This is why I love the podcast because I feel like I can really
talk about why I'm passionate about what I do and making
spaces feel like home because like I've said in the previous
episode, you can spend a lot of time somewhere, but it that
doesn't make it a home. You know, if you go, you go to
the supermarket all the time, but does that feel like home?
No, like what, what is it about a space that makes it a home?
It's a way that you that you nurture and maintain that space
and the things that you've put in there that reflect like how
you feel and where you want to go.
Speaking of different spaces that feel like home, I've often
said to go out into your neighbourhood to get inspired by
local businesses like boutiques, cafes, wine bars, to really
inspire you and set the scene on what the things you do like and
don't like within interiors. 9 times out of 10, cafes,
boutiques and stores get to be more creative because they're
stuck with a concrete box. They're like how do we transform
this? How do we make it be an
experience? And that's what I want to talk
about because I feel like brick and mortar stores in general are
really returning to this service based experience and I
absolutely love it. Just last week I was invited to
the Mecca Berg St OK and it is enormous.
It's beautiful, it's stunning, there's so many levels, there's
so much stuff in there. Everyone is so friendly.
It's overwhelming. I highly recommend you go in and
enjoy it. The reason why it was
overwhelming for me was because we were brought in like with
media and influencers. There were 300 creators and
media types there on the day. So not only was the space A lot
to take in, but there was also a lot of people to say hi to.
I was there for probably 3 hours.
Can you believe it? I was so surprised that I was
there for that long. I thought, oh I'm going to be
there for one hour Max. No, it's because I, I had to say
hi to everyone and check out the amazing store and all the
services, but also make sure that I said hello because I
didn't want to be rude and check out, you know, see the Mecca
team. I hadn't seen them in a while.
Like it was so much fun to get to see everyone.
It was honestly like a mini Christmas before Christmas and I
loved it. What I loved most about it.
Why is this Mecca different to any other Mecca?
It's because it has so many services in there.
Makeup services, hair services, nail services, you can go and
get a facial. You can go and get Botox, You
can go and have a scent exploration which I was lucky
enough to do the following day. I went in there and had a one on
one with Tom and he was excellent.
We sat down in the top floor over near the windows in the
fragrance section which is beautiful.
Lots of natural light, little banquettes, the candles, the
sand everywhere. It's absolutely beautiful.
You have to go there. I have a video on my TikTok
about the whole experience if you want the full rundown, but
I'll give you a little rap here. We sat down and then Tom gave me
5 notes, major notes found within most fragrances and we
went through them all. And then I selected 2.
I believe I selected leather and I also selected, I believe that
it was Cyprus. And then Tom got to work and
came and presented me 8 perfumes.
We went through them all, four, we're from the Cyprus and four
we're speaking to the leather. And then he asked, you know, is
there a particular, you know, perfume range that you want to
explore? And I love Mason Gravelli, I got
to meet him a few years ago at the Mecca in Armadale.
Love his perfume, love his story and his ethos.
His all about creating perfume that stems from classic sense,
but combining them with like really unusual like formulas to
make them really interesting. Like for instance, he'll do like
an Ood passion fruit where he mixes ood and passion fruit
together, which sounds crazy but smells incredible.
I love everything in his range and everyone is slowly becoming
aware of it and it's becoming like an in house hit in
Australia. So like if you're a Mecca OG,
you love fragrance, you have to go and explore Mason Gravelli's
perfume because it is so stunning.
But what I really want to emphasise is the fact that this
service was amazing and it's free.
It goes for half an hour. Anyone can do it.
You don't have to be a content creator.
You can literally go into that store, book in a session, sit
down with Tom and he will give you a full rundown.
There's also Rose as well, she is amazing too.
You can find that perfect scent. Yes, you can go into a Mecca and
they all have fragrance specialists and you can stand
and walk around and they'll lead you through to find perfumes.
But this just feels different. You can sit down, have a water,
speak about the main fragrances that you love and what you don't
love, and then they can just get to work, bring the things to you
and call it a day. I walked out with Mason
Cravelli's OOD stallion. It is beautiful.
And I didn't even realise this, but when I got home, I shared it
with my partner and my partner was like, this smells like the
perfume that you got me five years ago, which is the emerald
Zegna in the Indonesian OOD. And it does smell very similar.
But how hilarious was that? Like, you know, we came full
circle where I found a perfume that's actually discontinued and
I found like the old alternative to it.
So now my partner's been wearing it and I'm like, I'm sorry, but
that is my perfume. That is the one that I picked.
And Kerry's like, well, no, it's actually the perfume that you
picked for me five years ago. So I get to wear it.
Anyway, that's a whole tale for another day.
But what I will say is that experience was incredible.
And I highly recommend that you get over to Mecca and go
experience things. Go get your nails done, go get
your hair done, go and get a coffee, go get some Botox, go
get a facial and go and get a fragrance session.
That session inspired me to then go about finding ways which I
could experience it more. So I actually booked in a
session over at Henny. Henny is a women's wear brand.
It was started by Nadia Bartel and her sister and a friend, I
believe. And they create beautiful
classic pieces that really have just like the brand has just
shot up. Like it's just one of the ones
to note. If you haven't heard of it,
definitely go and check it out, but I'm sure most of you have
heard of it. It's a very big brand in
Melbourne, Sydney, everywhere. Now it is obviously a women's
wear brand, but I was checking out the fits and every time I
see my girlfriends, I'm like, where'd you get those jeans
from? They're like, oh, they're henny.
And I'm like, look, they're jeans.
And then you look at the website and they have beautiful like
polo collar knits and jumpers and like coats.
And I'm like, this stuff is like a guy.
I can totally rock. So I was like, I'm going to poke
in a session over at their Rotillier and have the stylist
help me pick out pieces because I thought it was the best way to
go in and just explore the entire range without just like
shopping on my own. I could find things, I could get
the sizes. So you fill out a form, it's
entirely free and you can put in all the styles that you're
speaking to. You can put in your sizes and
you head in there and one of the stylists can help you.
I got Sandra and Sandra was incredible.
It was Sandra and Steph. They did such a beautiful job at
helping me find pieces that I'd picked out and also pieces that
they recommended. We went through all the jeans,
found the right size. We tried on all the knits, the
shirts, the Tees, the tanks. I even surprised Sandra a little
bit there because I said what about the tank?
And she was like, I don't know if it's going to be too low cut.
And I was like, yeah, I don't know either, but let's give it a
go. It was perfect.
I ended up getting it. I walked out of there with six
pieces. Like, so it's a little bit
dangerous for anyone that's like I'm on a bit of like a, you
know, on a bit of a budget. I don't really want to go, you
know, spending lots of money on all the clothes.
But I'm telling you now, it was well worth it.
Like I literally have like my late winter, early spring
wardrobe sorted or from those pieces had I had not booked that
in. Like it is rare that I will go
into a clothing store and pick up six pieces.
Like, you know, I think the last time I did that was maybe
assembly label. The wardrobe is slowly just
becoming all assembly label and handing at this point.
But what really made the difference was the styling
session. If you feel nervous about it,
like I felt awkward at first. I was like, oh God, am I going
to be the only guy in this store?
Like should I just book a one on one session with the stylist
because it saves the effort of me having to walk amongst all
the girlies and being awkward and trying to find the right
size. There was an inkling of
insecurity in me being like, should I be in here?
Is this something for me? And when I got there, it was
great. The guy the like there was a guy
at the desk and when I went to the styling session with Sandra
and Steph, another guy was in there having a styling session
as well. So Henny might be for the
girlies, but it is also for the guys my friend.
Like if you need to get a good pair of jeans, I highly
recommend you try out the Gisella jeans.
I got them in the white, but also the classic blue colour is
really nice as well And picked up a few beautiful knits and
I've shared it on TikTok and like check out the stuff that
I've got, the stuff that I've been wearing recently.
It's Henny and it's great. It's cashmere, it's stunning,
beautiful. I love it.
What I love even more is the experience.
The girls made it so like just nice.
It was so nice talking to them and talking to the guy at the
counter as well. He was saying about the things
that he really loved in the spring summer collections coming
out this week. Sandra gave me a call today to
see how everything was to see if I liked all the products, if I
needed any assistance. Like these are all things that
brands don't have to do and haven't done, but you used to
do. And it makes such a difference.
It really does. And it makes it feel like the
energy, the time and the money that went into it was well worth
it. Like, I get it.
The cost of living makes us all want to cut corners.
But then when you cut all the corners, what are you left with?
You know, I think that's the thing.
Like, it's the same as when we talk about restaurants, a lot of
people have been talking about how the service isn't as good
anymore. And like, I used to work in
restaurants and I knew like, I can tell from when I go out in
Melbourne versus when I was working in restaurants that the
service has gone down. And The thing is, is that what's
happened is that ultimately, like restaurants have tried to
cut corners as much as they can, and then the guests are trying
to cut corners as well and ultimately end up with a result
that no one is enjoying, no one's enjoying working there, no
one's enjoying to go there and experience it.
So like we have to sort of find like a balance of what we really
enjoy. And yes, some things might cost
more, but you know what? Totally worth it because the
experience makes it worthwhile. The same thing goes on my
curtains. I just recently got some
curtains in my living room and a Roman shade in the kitchen from
Zen Design. Amazing.
The quality, absolutely beautiful.
But you know what made it even better?
The service level. Enza came over and she was like,
these are the curtains. Amazing.
I think we should go with this kind of drop, with this kind of
plate. I think the hem should be as
white as our skirting here. I think that with the Roman, we
should inbuilt it into this cut out in the window.
She knew everything and she gave me all the details.
She had all the photos. I didn't have to figure it out.
Which you know what, as a designer like that was so
refreshing. Not like having to have like
someone else is coming in and taking the reins and knowing
what to do in an area. Like I know about curtains and I
know about window treatments, but she is an expert in it and
she knows what she's doing. And it was just so nice to have
someone just be like, Yep, and you can bounce ideas.
As you can tell, hyper specific Virgo here.
So like when I had details about stuff, she was so ready to get
involved and talk about all those details.
And the curtains are incredible. You could go to spotlight and
someone could come over and measure it out, but they don't
know what you want. And quite frankly, they don't
care what you want. And the lead times will be
longer. And it's not support, like it's
not supporting local business. And they called me afterwards to
make sure everything was all good.
They've even cut down the roller blind that sits behind the Roman
shade. And it's going to be out over to
me. They engage with me on social
media. It's about this community that's
there that otherwise wouldn't be there.
Like I feel like as millennials we have just gotten used to this
idea that everything's transactional.
You go into the shopping centre, nobody knows anyone, no one
talks to anyone and you walk away and that was it.
And like what it does is it just makes it all not worthwhile.
Like I think it's great that you be able to walk into a store,
meet someone and like speak with them about whatever it is and
they get interested in your life because you will ultimately get
a better service. So I am obsessed you guys.
Wherever there is an opportunity for you to get more of an
experience than the standard, absolutely go for it because I
think at the moment it's totally worthwhile.
And these are experienced that I've paid for.
Yes, I've been invited to this fragrance session, but that was
free that you can go in there and you can have that done.
The styling service at Henny, it's free.
You can go in and have that done.
And the same thing with Zen, they'll come out and they'll do
a concert on your curtains and they'll send you through a quote
and you can decide on what you want to do.
Obviously we don't want to waste people's time, but what I will
say is that there is something in the magic of getting an
experience in those brick and mortars.
Like, let's be real, you meet people that share a similar
vision and a similar interest to you, which feels nice.
It feels reaffirming. You don't feel so much like an
outsider being surrounded by people that couldn't care less
about the things that you're interested in.
It's so nice being able to sit down and chat with people who
are passionate about the same things that you're passionate
about. So I picked up a couple of
pieces and my birthday is coming up soon, so I know what I'm
going to be wearing, which is perfect.
Which then made me think my birthday is on August 27th and
the following Sunday is always Father's Day.
So I was trying to think about things that we could get our
dads to elevate their every day because nine times out of 10,
the dads in the world, be that our partners or fathers or
grandfathers, they really don't really need anything or they say
they don't need anything. But what they actually need are
all these things that they're not thinking about that none of
us are really thinking about until the day off, be it a
dinner that we have to go to, something's going on at school
and like, what are they wearing? Have they got any jeans or do
they have a jumper or you're going to the beach?
They have sunglasses. What are those sunglasses like?
When was the last time they bought sunglasses?
Let's be real. And the board shorts, like, you
know, there's just so many bits and pieces.
So I put together a TikTok with all the pieces that I would
recommend that will elevate dad's life or you know what,
your partner, it's definitely just going to elevate any man's
life that needs it. A couple of the pieces that I
recommend on that TikTok is from assembly label.
I highly recommend that you go online or head install when you
can and check it all out. They just have amazing quality
pieces that are like wardrobe staples at great prices.
Like you will easily walk out of there with six pieces because
it's just like, oh, I love this. Oh, is this 100% cashmere?
That's the price. Oh, I'm going to get that.
Then you're like, oh, this T shirt, I need need a T-shirt.
How much is that? Oh, OK, yeah, I'll grab the
T-shirt as well. Like it's just one of those
spots. It's just really, really good
for guys and girls and kids. I love the merino knits and also
the cashmere. The jeans are really good.
The sunglasses are really good. You could also pop down to Mecca
and grab him a signature fragrance because I think
there's a lot of memory in fragrance.
And I think everybody should have a signature fragrance that
you can have to experience particular events, not only for
you to remember, but also for people to remember because I
feel like we all associate A scent with someone.
I also highly recommend picking up one of those mecha Cosmetica
to save face, SPF 50 serums and also comes in like a pumper
bottle now. So it's so much easier to use.
It dries down matte, so it's not shiny.
It's not like makeup, but it's something that's really going to
make an improvement on his face because I swear after using SPF
50 like every day for a good month, I see a significant like
improvement in like redness reduction, pigmentation
reduction, general glow hydration.
Like it makes such a difference also while you're in there, so
you can maybe pick up something for his hair, be it if he
experiences like frizz, you could get some serum to help
like add more texture. Or if it's a bit flat, you can
get like a sea salt spray or a texturizing spray to really add
a little bit more volume. He just like sprays it in while
his hair is wet. It can air dry or blow dry,
whatever. And it's just going to add a
little bit more oomph because let's be real, like that mop
just needs something a little bit more.
But if there's too much volume and too much freeze, go with the
serum to like, you know, add more texture and bring more
definition to the curls. But if it's like a flat mop, add
the sea salt spray and also a little bit of powder if we want
to go a little bit step further. And that's really going to give
it the Vava Voom. It's not going to be like crazy,
but it is. It's going to add a little bit
more style and dimension to his hair.
Some other bits and pieces that I recommend was picking up one
of the DS and Durga Auto fragrance cards that you can
stick in his wardrobe or in the car because it will really
improve that situation. The coats will smell amazing or
the car will smell amazing. And then just some other bits
like a card holder or like one of those Oroton air tag key
chains if he's losing things. And even some boots because I
think a boot is like not as scary as a loafer or a boat shoe
because sometimes guys don't suit loafers and boat shoes.
I totally get it. Like I'm kind of lucky in that
instance where I feel like my style suits that, but I feel
like a boot is a great all rounder and that it's a good
dress shoe. That's not like a Sunny car and
it's also not a brogue. Like if he's not like a
businessman wearing like lace up brogues where it wants to feel
like school energy. I feel like a really nice
polished boot is really, really good.
It's great for like the school recital or a nice dinner,
grabbing the boot. And then the last few things in
here is stuff that I've already mentioned, which is if you're
heading to the beach because it's warming up, grabbing a
really good pair of board shorts and a towel.
Check out assembly label that have really good beach towels,
by the way, and also sunglasses. He needs a good pair of
sunglasses, guys. One to wear in the car, one to
wear at the pool, one to wear at the beach.
These are all instances that you don't think about because they
don't happen often enough to think about.
And then when they do happen, it's too late where you can't
find the options. And then he just buys another
dicky pair of sunglasses or a dicky pair of swimmers and it's
just like oh don't even talk to me about it.
Generally we don't want to have one of those don't even talk to
me about it situations. We wanted to all be considered
nice because he deserves to have nice stuff too.
And even if he pretends that he doesn't like it, he does like
it. Even if he's a bit scared and
nervous at first. Give it 2 days and you should
see the confidence out of that man when he gets a nice jumper
or a nice pair of jeans or a nice pair of sunglasses.
Like they are unstoppable once they get accustomed to those
things. It's not about changing your man
or giving him a transformation. It's just about, you know,
tending to his style because sometimes it's just forgotten a
little bit and they need a bit of help.
I think I'm going to pick up my dad one of those cashmere
jumpers or the merino wool jumpers from assembly level
because my dad runs cold and I think he'll really like it
because it's super soft and to wash them is super easy.
I actually, when it comes to caring for cashmere because I
had a question about that one. I have actually been putting my
casualty in the washing machine. I have like a wool wash, which
is essentially like a gentle cold wash.
The thing you want to think about is the friction.
So you just want to make sure that the spin speed is not high
at all and you want to make sure that it's not hot because the
hot causes it to shrink. OK.
So make sure that it's on a gentle wash.
You can also get garment bags or even those duffel bags that bed
linen come in. If you've got some of those,
stick the jumper in there and that will like clean it.
I like to use the Bondi wash, cashmere and sport wash.
It smells really good, kind of gets rid of that wet wool smell
because it's not the best. Using that wash makes it smell a
lot better and you just let it air dry and you are good to go.
Less friction the better. No peeling, no hot water because
it will shrink. And yeah, you can hand wash if
you want to, but I just have so many cashmere things now I just
can't be bothered to hand wash it.
Like Chuck it in the washing machine on a gentle cold wash.
We are good to go. Anyway, that's about a wrap for
today's episode. I hope you've enjoyed this
little chatty session. It's been a fun one to create
with you. Lots of things to come.
We have another episode of fellow friends and home and
hosting to get through. We also have Christmas content
coming out very soon. Can you believe it will pretty
much start to roll out in October?
I would say brands are just getting earlier and earlier with
those things, but stay tuned because I think there'll be
plenty of tablescapes, lots of spring cleaning hacks, lots of
things to see with bed linen. There's so much to see over on
my Instagram and my TikTok and also on the journal at
lilyburgdesign.com. Until next time, be sure to be
subscribed to this podcast. Please give me a rating and a
review. It really helps with getting
this podcast out there online on the Internet to find more fellow
friends and home and hosting. And until next time, enjoy the
rest of your day.