10th June - costume party!

Sunday was a create-your-own-superhero birthday party. After much umming and ahhing, I decided to be The Hipster! My superpower was doing things ironically.

Glasses - Dendy 3D with lenses popped out
Hair - Penguin Classic pencils shoved into messy bun
Scarf - knit by me
"Power" Tie - borrowed from husband
Shirt - Vintage
Jumper - knit by me
Skinny Jeans - Sportsgirl
Stripey socks - knit by me
Brogues - Rubi
Satchel - Kikki.k

Excuse "hipster" poses. :p

8th June

 Hard to see in the pics, but the tights, cardi and nails are the same hot pink/purple colour and the belt and brooch are the same orange.

Cardigan - SES
Black top - Just Jeans
Brooch - gift from a friend
Skirt - knit by me
Belt - Jay jays
Tights - Barkins
Boots - FSW

6th May

Another day for knitwear!

Cardigan - by me, this pattern

Dress - Target

Tights - Equip

Boots - FSW

"What the heck are you looking at? Want to fill my container with food?"

4th May

Getting cooler! Excuse any dopey "looking-at-a-puppy" facial expressions, they are a chronic problem around here.

 Cardigan - Everten (Big W)

Dress and Tshirt - Cotton On

Tights - Barkins

Boots - FSW

Slip - Vintage

3rd May

I love this skirt! So vintage!

Coat - Events
Cardigan - SES
Cowl-neck top - Portmans
Polka-dot skirt - Forever New
Stockings - Sportsgirl
Boots - Jo Mercer (Malina)

 Look how Obie has grown!

31st March - Hen's Night!

A dear friend's hen's night - polka dot theme!

Cardigan, Flats and Leggings - Cotton On
Dress - Black Friday

The nails were great fun!

9th March

A bit silly!

Dress - Friends of Couture
Tights - Modcloth
Boots - Flygirl NY
Cardigan - Cotton On
Necklace - Mikaela

Nowhere to Heidi

Again, awkward photos.
I tend to be talking to the dog and trying to discourage his desire to molest the tripod, which may explain why I never seem to have a normal smile - I keep finding pics of kissy faces or consternation!

Anyway, an old favourite today. There was also a pink cardigan but it got too warm and I abandoned it somewhere. The braided crown made another appearance - funny how much harder it is to do when I have to get it neat enough for work! I wore my hair like this heaps in the holidays and got it right the first time, every time. Suddenly, it's challenging!

 Dress - Dangerfield/Princess Highway (I've forgotten)

Sandals - FSW

Look at that sky! Plenty of random thunderstorms at the moment, but my garden is loving it.

another year older

The weather last week was pretty wet and miserable and I had no desire to be photographed while dishevelled and frizzy. Friday was also my birthday (I won't tell you which one), and I had lots of lovely friends over on Saturday to help me celebrate.
I wore this dress on Saturday, after finishing the hem in the morning, and on Sunday night I added the ruffle to the bodice. I loved it without the ruffle, and briefly thought it was too much, but I like it now. I may tack it down a bit to stop it being too fierce, but after a few washes it may settle down too. My husband teased me that I look like something out of Mad Men, but I think it's more Emma Pillsbury from Glee. Pity I can't wear mustard, which is how she'd style it, I'm sure!
I can see I will need to make more of these - it's a great dress, a good fit without being suffocating, and a nice simple pattern. You may recognise the skirt shape - it's the same as this one.

Dress - Coffee Date Dress made by me

Cardigan - Cotton On

Shoes - Proudly Posh Heel via ModCloth

Apologies for strange lighting, I was determined to get some shots in the bedroom because it feels like sanctuary at the moment. Apparently my little camera is not able to cope with silhouetting!
 

back to the grindstone

So, I'm back at work this week. I'm hoping this translates to more blogging, as I will have good reason to wear more interesting clothes than puppy-wrangling and house-cleaning clothes.

The weather has been really up and down, and today was only in the low twenties. And today was really overcast too! It's like there's no evidence of summer weather on this blog!

 Cardigan: Jacquie E
Jeans: Just Jeans
Camisole: Cotton On
Shoes: via Modcloth
Necklace: BeadinBabe on etsy

This is Obie. He is our new Beaglier pup (Beagle X King Charles Cavalier). He is about 10 weeks old right now, finds buttons and shoelaces delicious, and is never happier than when sleeping on a person. 

New hairstyle I've been trialling -  a braided crown. A friend sent me a link to a tutorial , but I sort of worked it out from the photograph. Tutorial here: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN-jYo3l2OY&feature=player_embedded

Hope to be here much more - January was dismal!

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.

Christmas Eve

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

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!