Wednesday 28 December 2011

bird on a wire

Today we visited my grandmother in hospital. She's ok, recovering from hip surgery, but a bit sad about not being around for Christmas family celebrations.
 Dress - Valleygirl
Cardigan - Cotton On
Shoes - Barkin






The hair was an experiment in wrapping braids. I need some more clear snag-free hair elastics so I can hide the tails of the plaits better, but as a prototype I quite like it.

Tuesday 27 December 2011

sale away

So, friends and I hit the Boxing Day sales today, and had a lovely time. I keep reassuring myself that one can never have too many dresses... especially since I change my mind about what suits me every 3-5 minutes!
Apologies for drab inside pics, I'm hiding from neighbourhood children who come and bug us if they see us stir outside.
 Shorts - Just Jeans
Top - Lioness
Flats - Factorie
Earrings - Diva



And I've clearly forgotten to smile again! Oops! Let me reassure one and all that I am high on a wave of joyful retail therapy! :)

Sunday 25 December 2011

cut it out!

We hosted Christmas lunch at the new house! It was very hot and humid, especially with a glazed ham in the oven, so I was glad for a dress with ventilation. It's not my usual colours (too brown for me unless I've got a tan), and the cut outs are a little trashy! However, despite the odds, I kind of love this dress.
Excuse the somewhat manic and animated pics - there's a storm about to break and it's like crack to me!

 Dress - Ally



I hope everyone had a wonderful and joyful Christmas, and that there are enough leftovers that nobody needs to cook until at least Tuesday!

Christmas Eve

So, I decided that a different hairstyle a new outfit makes!
Clothes as previous post.



Wednesday 21 December 2011

...and it's holidays!

Finally, the work year has ended for me. Today we had a staff Christmas lunch - a nice, mild, alcohol-free affair. My dietary requirements were unfortunately not catered for particularly well (enter rant about why gluten-eating people seem to think I will be satisfied by a lunch that would not satisfy them), but the company was lovely so I can deal.
Dress - Just Jeans
Sandals - Target 






Now I have to think of something new to wear to my family Christmas Eve party! Does a different hairdo count as a different outfit...?

Tuesday 20 December 2011

take a bow



Bow-front Dress - Pure Hype
Lace-back cardigan - Portmans
Belt - Just Jeans
Bow flats - rubi
Hair bows - Factorie





Too tired to think of anything useful to write! Christmas is a-coming!

Tuesday 13 December 2011

in the navy

One is fighting off a cold. I am determined to take no leave, as I will have a little holiday soon, and work is winding down. Cold n Flu tablets are wonderful, but I feel a little like a spaced out ghost at the moment!

This little dress has been lurking in my wardrobe for months. I picked it up at Fashion Treasure markets during winter, and it really doesn't work with stockings... and it's that funny vintage synthetic fabric, so is too sticky to wear if it's really hot. Today was rainy and 22, so perfect.


 Dress - Vintage
Cardigan - Cotton On
Shoes - EOS
Belt - eBay



The hair is very similar to my formal up-do (here), but I did an inside out braid first to really make a feature of the "plait". The last one I did was a normal braid where the "plait" part is hidden. It makes me think of the braided Easter bread our Greek neighbour used to make use when I was a kid.
Anyway, it's a very effective up-do for getting it all out of the way, and if you're a competent braider, it takes very little time and looks way more complicated that it is. It's just a full braid that you keep to one side of the head, and start to curve towards the nape of the neck toward the bottom, then finish plaiting the tails, curve back up the other side of the head and scroll inwards (like a spiral) and pin. And hairspray A LOT. Maybe I'll do a tutorial when I'm on leave in a few weeks and have more time!
In these pics you can see our new "formal" living room, which we've just semi-furnished. Fortune smiled and a friend is moving and needed to dispose of two leather lounges in a very similar colour to our new one. Of course, I haven't hung my mirror yet, but it's at a good height for shoe pics!

Thursday 8 December 2011

blue

I'm not feeling as sad as I appear in these pictures - clearly my mind is elsewhere! Also, I may have smudged my eye make-up when I got home, so that may account for it. Also... I often forget to smile.

Anyway. I'm a bit excited because I worked out the inside-out braid all by myself. We were supposed to go out Sunday evening and it was a bit windy and I thought "A braid would be good, but the normal ones make me look like a school-marm... I wonder how you do in the inside out style" and then I raised my hands and did it. I guess years of braiding and knitting means my hands understand how it works better than I think! Today was the third one I've done since Sunday and I'm loving them! It's very messy in these pics because the day has taken its toll, but I'm very charmed by it!

Navy lace tee - Pure Hype
Black tee (under lace) - Cotton On
Black Jeans - Just Jeans
Floral flats - Rubi 



Peace!

pulling teeth

The wind down to the end of the year is just painful. I work in education, so get lovely chunks of time where I don't have to get out of bed at a certain time and all that, but what we go through to get there has to be experienced to be understood. Which is my way of saying, sorry about lack of updates.
The weather hasn't helped. I don't fee like wearing stockings any more, and most of my favourite outfits involve skirts/dresses, so my inevitable black jeans and top uniform is not worth blogging about!
This was yesterday.


Dress - Lovely Day via Modcloth (lots of colours available, I own two, they're great! They don't seem to make them with pockets any more though)
Leggings - Cotton On
Wedges - Shelley of London via Modcloth
Awkward shoe pose - all me, baby!






Fingers crossed for weather that allows more interesting dressing!

Friday 2 December 2011

a rose by any other name

Evening look from a work function last night. I bought this dress much earlier in the year, and this was my first opportunity to wear it. I plan to wear this outfit to a wedding in April of next year, and I'm really happy with how it came together. It feels very Mad Men!

Dress - Timeless by Vanessa Tong
Shoes - Mimco
Hair Roses - Bexterity.com
Moonstone and silver earrings - custom made by Bijoux for my wedding in '09
Nail polish - NATIO colour "Twilight" 







A fun evening and a fun look!

catch up

This was Tuesday. The weather has been somewhat apocalyptic, and it's crunch time at work, so I'm a bit behind on my blogging!
You can see aspects of my new garden in the following pics too - strawberry patch, grape vine and cherry tree, and assorted veges and herbs.


Dress - Princess Highway
Flats - Rubi
Hair clip - Industrie





Quick to follow - evening look from Thursday night's work function.