Little Things, Australia Day Edition

Hello! I am a little bit in shock that January is almost over. Time has been flying and I have been keeping myself immersed in very awesome creative things, including lots of writing. It's been pretty crazy so far but I'm so looking forward to what the rest of the year is going to bring!

I'm long overdue for a big catch-up post, but for now I thought I'd show you some of the Instagram photos I snapped on Australia Day. I was really happy because this day included two of my New Year's resolutions: to spend more time with people who make me happy, and to take more photos! I spent the day sitting in a blow-up pool, drinking cider, heading down to the park to play cricket, getting caught in a freak rainstorm, eating pizza, and spending almost all day breathless from laughing so much. It was pretty fantastic.

You might also notice my new hair! One of my friends dyed and cut it for me the night before. It's taking me some getting used to having it so short, what do you think?

I'm usually not really one for Australia Day. Don't get me wrong, I love living here, but I despise the whole "We're full, fuck off" and "It's sooo un-Australian if you don't get blind drunk and go and start fights while watching the fireworks" mentality. But spending it with a bunch of cool peeps, shooting water pistols, listening to the Triple J Hottest 100 (which was a particularly fabulous mix this year, don't you think?) and having fun... yeah, I could definitely get behind that.

x

It's Time To Play The Music

Hello! Here I am with my first outfit post of the year! This is what I wore to eat brunch and watch The Muppet Movie with my mum and sister. I absolutely love the Muppets. I was OBSESSED with The Muppet Show when I was younger, and hired it out from the video store about once a fortnight. So clearly I loved the movie, and yes, it made me cry about twelve different times. I also kind of adore Jason Segel now. Seriously... the man loves puppets and is quite lovely to look at. What else can you ask for?

I wanted to dress up in something very cheerful and sweet to see it. I picked up this retro-inspired dress in the sales, and I made it even more girly with my new scalloped satchel. Did I mention it was also a 31 degree day? Trying to look nice and put-together in this weather is almost impossible.

Revival dress // Sportsgirl loafers // Valleygirl heart earrings // ASOS bag // Diva 'Love' ring // Love Couture sunglasses

So, I got these earrings at Love Couture. It's a horribly tacky-sounding name, but the shop isn't too bad. Last time I went there (which was the first time I've ever been there), I got these awesome Miu Miu (or maybe Prada?) inspired sunglasses, some little skull bracelets, and a pair of earrings. Not too shabby. But I was especially pleased to find such crazy glasses being sold for $12.99. 

And this is my adorable ASOS bag! I've never really been into bags in a huge way, but I'm starting to build up quite a collection. I saw this one on Cupcake's Clothes and immediately started poring over the ASOS site, trying to find it. They have a turquoise version as well, which I was very tempted to buy, but I'm glad I went with the pink. 

And this last photo is me, in full (well, sort of) 'song-and-dance number' mode. Nothing like a casual side kick here and there. 

I thought I'd leave you with this little clip of Bret McKenzie (of Flight Of The Conchords fame), and Kermit the Frog, singing one of the songs from the movie... which Bret McKenzie actually wrote! I like this movie even more now that this delicious slice of Kiwi is involved. 

Happy Sunday!

x

2012 Style Direction: '50s Housewives in a Tim Burton Film

I've always enjoyed reading Gala Darling's style directions (you can peep 2010 and 2011) so I thought that this year, I'd do one for myself. A couple of weeks ago I was in a big flummox about the state of my wardrobe; all of a sudden I was worried everything was too cutesy and, well, not quite grown up enough for where I am at the moment. Of course, I still love the vintage look and I don't think I'll ever grow out of that, but I wanted to streamline it a bit more and add more of an 'edge' to my look.

Hence... '50s Housewives In A Tim Burton Film!
I don't mean this too literally. What I mean is great outfits with quirky details, that are psychedelic and don't conform, but with some more serious and dark touches. Think intricate detailing, big black shoes, crazy candy-coloured tresses and bright, clashing patterns.

Here are some of the pictures that have been inspiring me lately...

Left: Skuse Family tattoo models, found here; Right: An ASOS necklace I bought just before Christmas

Left: Inside Khloe Kardashian's Shoe Closet, from Stylist.com; Middle: Paz de la Huerta shot by Eric Guillemain, found here; Right: Paper Dolls from Ladies Home Journal, June 1967, found here

The girl who wears this look is quirky, feminine, and mischievous. She is dripping with costume jewellery and other frippery, and is always overdressed. She has the right outfit for every occasion. She wears high heels all the time. She wears a vintage leopard print house robe when she's swanning around her home. She makes big messy batches of cupcakes and ices initials of sweethearts onto the top. She loves Miu Miu and Alexander McQueen. 

Left: "Sequins" by Lucy Lauct, May 13 2011; Middle: Dita Von Teese shot by Peter W. Czernich for Marquis Magazine, December 2010 found here; Right: Kirsten Dunst shot by Terry Richardson for New York Times style, found here

Left: Balenciaga jacket shot by Tommy Ton on JAK & JIL, found here; Right: Miu Miu Resort 2012 campaign shot, found here

Left: Miu Miu Resort 2012 campaign, found here; Middle: Stolen From Grandma vintage shot campaign, shot by Tessa Kit Zawadzki, found here; Right: "Holiday Hair" by Sea Of Ghosts, found here. 

Now I should probably go and clean my room so I can actually SEE what clothes I have, instead of just groping around the floor or my bedroom. But I'm really excited to share my style direction with you & I hope that if you make a post, you link it in the comments so I can see it!

x

2011 in Outfits

These are some of my favourite outfits from 2011. I think that last year I developed my personal style a lot more, became comfortable with taking risks (like dying my hair pink, blue, and red; getting a tattoo; getting my nose pierced) and bought some incredible pieces that I'm sure I'll wear for years and years to come.

I didn't really make any style resolutions for this year; I wanted to build up my collection of flats (since I don't wear heels much) and as you can see from these photos, I definitely thrashed my Sportsgirl brown loafers, which appear in half these photos, and my Wittner patent ones. I also wanted to build up my vintage collection, which I think I did pretty well. 

I'll be writing a post on my 2012 style resolutions in the next couple of days, but it was fun to revisit my favourite outfits from last year and see how much has changed from 2010! 

x

New Year's Eve

I found this via Pip's blog Meet Me At Mikes & I thought it was way too cute not to share! Have a happy New Year's Eve, everybody, and I'll see you in 2012! I have a feeling it's going to be a pretty swell year.

x

2011

So, 2011 was quite a big year for me with some crazy, rollercoaster ups and downs. I had some not so great moments and definitely a shitty start to the year, but since then things have gotten much better and I've finished 2011 in a very wonderful way! Now this recap is quite long (and not very fashion-y) so I don't blame you for skipping out now!

In January, I had quite a bad start to the year. My granddad died, not too long after my nan had passed away, and my boyfriend at the time broke up with me about a week later. I'm not going to lie, it kind of sucked, especially for someone going through depression, like I was at the time. It also didn't help that my ex-boyfriend handled things in a really douchey way. So if blogging was a bit sparse this year, then that is probably why! I'm not telling you that to get sympathy or anything, but if anyone reading is going through it then I want them to know how important it is to get professional help, because it really helped me. Also surround yourself with wonderful friends - my best friends Renae, Richenda, the Chloes, Emma and Trish were fantastic around this time (and still are, obviously).

Luckily, it was not long after that I started my work experience at Xpress. I got to work with one of my favourite bloggers, Emma, and I had such a good time. It was really special to hear the editor say that I was the best work experience student they'd ever had! I even stayed on for a while after my internship "officially" ended, and now I'm a contributor for them and couldn't be happier that I'm doing a job that I love and getting paid for it!

It was on one of these reviews for Xpress that I met my boyfriend Aidan! Well, it's kind of an embarrassing story (for me). We had gone to uni together for four years but never really spoken. And then out of the blue I invited him to be my plus one to an Audrey Tatou movie and we've been together ever since. Woo!

I also...
♥ dyed my hair red... then bayalage... then blue tipped... then with a Bettie Page fringe... and now pink tipped ♥ went to a lot of amazing shows like Papa Vs Pretty, The Painkillers, Hungry Kids of Hungary, Andy Bull, and more ♥ moved out of my apartment in South Perth and moved into my grandparent's old house ♥ met many amazing Perth bloggers ♥ made many lovely new friends ♥ turned 22 ♥ hosted Boxing Day at my house for my family ♥ learned to cook ♥ went out to Mexican food for my birthday ♥ went to Rottnest ♥ tried to use my DSLR camera more ♥ became incredibly happy again!

So thank you all so much for reading this year and hopefully next year will be bigger & better for all of us! This is my last "big" post for 2011 (I have one lined up for tomorrow) so I'll see you all in 2012!

x

Oh and I do have to say happy birthday to my gorgeous mama! Happy birthday mum!

Wonderful Christmastime

Hello hello! I had a wonderful Christmas day with my mum's side of the family. We went to my uncle's beautiful house and had a MASSIVE feast of turkey (with two kinds of stuffings), ham, these delicious salads, and Christmas pudding. It was amazing! Even more fun was getting to see my cousins, uncles and aunties, especially my aunt, uncle and cousin who had flown in from Melbourne. It was gorgeous weather (not too hot!), and I got to spend the afternoon playing with my adorable godson, his brother and their new lightsabers, which were mainly used for "killing girls and girl germs".

1. A family photo interrupted by Molly, my uncle's schnoodle puppy.
2. I made this trifle! I was so proud, and it was delicious (if I do say so myself).
3. Present excitement! I got some wonderful things that I will show you very soon.
4. My shoes! I got them half price at the Forever New sale. I love them and they are lovely and sparkly but VERY uncomfortable.
5. Christmas cake! I don't really eat it, for some reason, but it sure looked pretty.
6. Me and my gorgeous godson Adam. He doesn't really let me pick him up very much anymore so this is a very rare photo indeed!
7. I really love puppies so I was ecstatic that Molly was such an easygoing pup!
8. My Christmas day outfit, consisting of a Temt dress, Forever New embellished flats, rings from Sportsgirl, ASOS and Diva, and bracelets from Love Couture, David Jones, a shop in Bunbury and Diva. And earrings from Love Couture.
9. My dad & I.
10. Another family photo, this time with my grandparents and my cousin (down the front with me) insisting on making gruesome faces.

I hope you and your loved ones all had lovely Christmases as well! It's back to normal for me tomorrow, I'm back at work and working pretty much up until New Year's Eve. But, hopefully I'll be able to make time to show you some of my rather excellent presents & Christmas instagrams!

x

Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmas Time

{One of the highest rated comments on this song was "I used to hate this song, but now it ain't Christmas until I hear it on a compilation CD." I totally agree! This song used to really grate my nerves, but now I love it.}