I’m not here right now… I know, you can express your disappointment in the comment section below.
Mini-break mini-post
I enjoyed a beautiful little holiday at the very southern tip of the Gold Coast with my husband last week to celebrate our second anniversary, and it was perfect. Very relaxing, very chilled, very little mobile phone or social media use. Perfect.
Wardrobe Wednesday – work wardrobe
I absolutely love seeing what people wear on a regular ol’ day. I mean, I love a fancy red-carpet frock like it’s nobody’s business, but seeing how normal girls like me (I use normal quite subjectively here…!) put together cute outfits to do the same sort of stuff I do is my fave. Go to work, hang out with friends, head to the market and relax on the weekend, maybe have a dinner out with husband, the normal stuff.
The only problem is, since I started working in my current job, I’ve not really posted many wardrobe pics and I’ve been getting unreasonably jealous of those who do. I work in retail, you see. Women’s activewear retail, to be precise. Ok, I work at Lorna Jane (pop in and say hi!) and I don’t really know how I feel about sharing pics of me in my work gear. I see ladies who work in corporate environments and I get SO envious of their cute suits, but then I think… I don’t ever have to wear stockings or heels, so life’s pretty good.
I’m not a typical gym-bunny LJ girl; although knowing pretty much all the girls who work at Lorna Jane stores on the Sunshine Coast, there really isn’t a typical LJ girl amongst us – we come in all shapes, sizes, ages and fitness levels. The only thing we generally have in common is that we are super-bubbly, and love talking to women.
I’m a size 14-16 in most Australian brands, so sometimes feel a little uneasy wearing workout tights and slim-fitting tanks in public. But, the job has its benefits – after seeing a million and one women wearing Lorna Jane in just as many ways, I feel like I’ve finally (a year in) found my own style and am comfortable wearing most of my work clothes – and photographing them too!
We don’t have to wear Lorna Jane to work, but I like to because I feel like customers can trust my opinions more if they can see that I love and wear a product myself. Most days I have a sort-of LJ uniform, and I’m trying to mix it up this season, but without much success.
I wear black (occasionally navy) tights, track pants or harem pants on the bottom; a slim-fitting tank or cotton printed tank on top, then layer with a vest or sleeveless jacket. On my feet, I used to wear sandals a lot (we work across the road from one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, so a barefoot lunch stroll is a MUST), but a recent change in dress standards means that moving forward, it’s enclosed shoes only. Boo. It was great while it lasted. Now I wear sneakers, Converse or ballet flats every day, but standing all day means I can’t wear the same shoes too often, I have to mix it up a bit.
The ‘when’ of blogging
I adore reading regular blog posts. There are a handful of people who I eagerly check to see what’s new in their world, and then there are a bunch of other lovely writers whose posts I save and read when I get the chance.
Most of the blogs I love are published regularly. Some three times a week, some four… and a few even write daily! I can’t commit to that. Well, I actually could but I choose not to. This time around in the blogosphere, with this nice new shiny blog space of mine, I’m doing it more for me, than for you, more than for the brands I’m working with, and more than for any sense of duty or desire to gain a gigantic readership base. (Although, if you’re here, stick around and read a little. I think you’ll like it.)
I have a few draft posts in the works at any given time, but they come a distant second to rest and recuperation time, and time with my (often-absent) husband. We’re about to celebrate our second wedding anniversary (hurrah hurrah!) this weekend, and because I’m lucky enough to have married my best friend and favourite person in the world, hanging with him is always what I want to do more than sitting in front of my computer or on my iPad.
Fox in Flats Hair Dare: round 2
I do love a good dare. Not the kind involving risque behaviour at a Hen’s Night, but a good Style Dare. I need style dares occasionally to get out out of a rut, to try something new, and to see what everyone else is
up to!
Blazing into a new season
I’ve always liked blazers, I have. It’s tricky for me to find a blazer that really works for me BECAUSE CURVES but when I do, I definitely get plenty of wear out of it.
We’re heading into true Autumn wear here in Queensland now, and it’s actually delightful! Blazers and light jackets are the perfect in-between-seasons layer for me, but unfortunately, I’m currently working at a women’s activewear store in Noosa, so there is absolutely no reason for me to rock a blazer. Boo. It’s hoodies and sweatshirts all the way.
There are a bunch of beautiful lightweight jackets cruising around this season that I really love though, and wish I had the opportunity to wear!
Because I no longer really get the chance to throw on smart casual clothes, I’ve gone through my vault of outfit photos (which is Instagram obviously), and found a few styles that I still really love.
See, I used to wear blazers all the time!
(Someone wanna hire me in an education-admin role and take me out of retail? I miss my old wardrobe so much!)
I’m joining in today with Kimba Likes Wardrobe Wednesday, of course!
Creating my style – Nautical Chic
It’s quite the transient timekiller for me… some weeks I can spend an hour an evening just cruising the enormous wardrobe that Polyvore presents to me, other times I can go for months without even thinking about jumping on to see what’s happening.
Polyvore is the old Pinterest. Or does that mean Pinterest is the new Polyvore? They both have their place online, I don’t think I have a favourite. Although for me, Polyvore is less aspirational (read: jealous-making), and more about how I can actually put my own items together, than cruising Pinterest and wanting to cry because I’ll never be as beautiful/thin/rich/up-myself as some of the street-style bloggers I follow. Nor will I own the complete collection of Michael Kors watches that some of those girls seem to have. I own one Michael Kors watch which doesn’t work anymore.
(Note to self: take old watch to get new battery. Life will be better then.)
Oooh, I have news! BB and I will be heading off on a Pacific cruise in May (don’t get excited, house burglars… we have a housesitter coming to stay, so you needn’t try to break in and steal my singular Michael Kors watch), and I’m really excited about it!
Excited because HOLIDAY, and also because BB and I have never been on an international holiday together, which sounds crazy now that I say it! (Do Tasmania or Fraser Island count as overseas?)
As a child, I was fortunate to live in the Solomon Islands for a while with my parents, and I have so many amazing memories of the people and the environment. This cruise isn’t heading to northern Melanesia, but we will be travelling and stopping at various islands in Vanuatu and New Caledonia, which are both famous for having incredibly welcoming locals, and divine beaches. That’s pretty much all I’m after in a holiday, so count me in.
I’ll tell you more about the cruise as it gets closer, and I’m definitely open to any and all suggestions about what to pack, what to do on board, and what to look for in a shore trip… so please, if you’ve cruised in the Pacific or anywhere, leave a comment, I’d love to hear your experiences!
As there are plenty of excuses to dress up on a cruise (um, has anyone heard of breakfast? or lunch? or quoits? I shall dress up for all of these and more!), I’m starting to put together a few inspiration outfits and have a play with what’s currently in my wardrobe. I’m determined not to buy items pre-cruise just for the cruise (unless it’s a new pair of bathers), but we’ll see how I go!




And don’t forget to share your cruise tips, pretty please!
Home Secret haul, and the lucky winners!
After another looooong work week (yes, I know five days is not actually longer than five days, but BOY it can sometimes feel like it), I finally got to have a couple of days off on Sunday and Monday.
As I said in a text to a friend at 6pm Saturday, ‘I’m leaving work now, and heading home to PARTAY! And by party, I mean snuggle a bottle of wine on the sofa in my flannelette pyjamas.‘ I didn’t end up snuggling a bottle of wine, my delightful husband was home, so I snuggled him instead. But yes, there was flannelette.
I have a bit of a Monday routine now, and it almost always involves my bestie and his mum Peta (that should probably be my bestie Peta and her baby… but I love them equally). We usually enjoy a coffee together, then hit a shop or two to cruise around and check out what’s new, snap a few selfies, then are home early afternoon to do some laundry and run some errands, and yesterday was no different.
Peta had visited Home Secret last Thursday for their Grand Opening (and blogged it here – she’s still got Home Secret gift vouchers up for grabs, go check it out!), but kindly joined me for another trawl through their beautiful big store, and even picked up a few things she’d missed on Thursday!
- bamboo tray, so that BB and I can recreate our favourite Eddie Izzard/Lego scene, of course
- Le Creuset roasting dish
- Pyrex quiche pan
- Wiltshire enamel baking dish
- 2 x Pyrex mise-en-place bowls
- 2 x espresso cups
- 2 x takeaway mugs for my parents
- stand for our Nespresso pods
- 2 boxes of Nespresso-compatible pods (tea and coffee)
- Indian cookbook for my dad (who has become the most popular person on my Instagram feed)
- packs of JellyBelly jellybeans for my mum
- a ceramic budgie who I’ve named George
- a beautiful jumpsuit (also my first jumpsuit – I’m scared) to wear on our Pacific cruise in May
- and a gorgeous necklace and bracelet
Everyday Style – the printed pants
I spent some of Monday hanging out with Peta of Trainee Mama, and I managed to get her to take a couple of quick outfit snaps for Styling You’s Everyday Style while we were cruising the Plaza looking for Winter fashion inspiration and icy-cold air conditioning.
These printed pants were probably the fourth or fifth pair of cotton printed pants that I bought from Katies over Summer (and I ended up with about seven pairs – I got addicted). I snapped them up from a sale rack for under $20, and have worn them so much that I think they work out to have cost less than $1 per wear so far. That’s how I like to think. Cost per wear is so much more important than saving money on something you’ll actually never wear.
The print on these was a little too patchworky for me when I first saw them, but the next time I popped instore, I was wearing a coral tank (of course) and tried them on together. Wearing a strong colour on top certainly takes some of the boho style away from these, but wearing them with cream and white has grown on me.
And these wedges. Wow, what a bargain. These little tan and red babies were a mid-year sale purchase last Winter, and I snapped up a brown and black pair at the same time, two pairs for a little less than $45, and again, I’ve had a stack of wear out of them! Normally I prefer an all-leather shoe, but these are really well-made, and have a sturdy heel and don’t give me blisters anywhere.
Well, it’s Wednesday, which means hump-day-wine, and also (and slightly more exciting and less anti-social) it means it’s Wardrobe Wednesday over at Kimba Likes. Head over to see what everyone else is up to, and check out what the cool kids are wearing! Also, head to Not Dead Yet Style to check out more amazingly stylish women!
Also, don’t forget my awesome Home Secret gift voucher giveaway has only a few days left! Click HERE now to enter!