6TH AUGUST, 2011 ♥

Please, Mr Postman!

I am not-so-patiently awaiting a number of online orders, so thought I would post about them to calm my anxiousness. Okay, slightly ridiculous, but everyone knows getting a package in the mail, all ready to open and gush over is better than Christmas. Or maybe equal to Christmas. With less food and alcohol. Hmm, maybe a little bit less as good as Christmas. Wow, I bet you're all glad you're still reading this post!

#1 ASOS flat lace-ups.

I very, very rarely only order one item when ordering from ASOS - think more along the lines of eleven or twelve items - however my sister received a package from them containing only two pairs of tights, and I discovered the amazing concept of only ordering one or two things. Far more ethical, as I feel bad enough about buying too much "fast fashion" anyway. Slightly hard to resist with international free shipping though. The item I am waiting for is this pair of "Marigold floral lace up flat shoes", £15:




Super cute and hopefully comfy! I always look for flats like these, but end up opting for sparkly heels or other questionable choices instead, so I hope these are a good decision! They're still available at this link if anyone is interested.

#2 MAC eyeliner.

A friend recommended this kohl eyeliner to me, saying it was amazing and worth the price (I think it's normally around $33). It is supposed to glide onto your waterline effortlessly, and actually stay on, unlike the cheap cosmetics my bank account usually resigns me to. Anyway, I found it for $11 or something on eBay, which I am quite happy about. There are so many colours, so if I like the black I will most definitely be sampling some more!


MAC eye kohl in 'smoulder'.

#3 Clarks Original desert boots.

Now, these I am excited about! I have been trying to source a nice desert boot all winter - I sell children's shoes at my work and have wanted a pair ever since I saw them in miniature sizing! A couple of mainstream shops have been selling them this winter, but nothing in my price range, and everything affordable tends to always be made of crappy synthetic blah blah yuck. Now we're in the last month of winter, so as a last resort, I did an ebay search - and BAM, Clarks original sand suede (real leather) desert boots in size 8.5, in my country of residence! Second hand but excellent condition. I watched them like a hawk for the next three days, and am happy to announce they are heading my way for a mere $30 (incl. postage)! Excited about pairing them with tights, dresses, coats and such.




My next Clarks desert boot mission involves these:


OH GOD. I WANT TO EAT THAT SUEDE. THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL.

#4 Samantha Wills "Bohemian Bardot" ring, in jade.

I don't think I have mentioned this yet.... but I'm a Samantha Wills addict. I can't get enough of her amazing bohemian goddess, luxe, glam, burnished, antique, gemstone containing collections. If are yet to be introduced, please do yourself a favour and view her website here. I think I have about eight of her pieces now, taking pride of place on my counter in their carved wooden Samantha Wills boxes. I already have the Bohemian Bardot ring in peach, but it's such a timeless style that I thought I would add another colour to my collection. These rings are about 5cm in length and 3.5 in width, so they make nice statement pieces. I maaaaaay have obtained this one from a source other than Samantha's website or an authorised retail store... but it's not in stock there anymore and I really needed it! Yes, needed! (Plus I saved about $50...)




The unfortunate thing about living all the way down under is that online purchases sometimes take a long time to arrive. So, Mr Postie, if you could please hurry up just a little... I'll bake you cupcakes!


- C x

1ST AUGUST, 2011 ♥

Vintagesque.

I used to make a habit of frequenting vintage markets and sales more often, but haven't had time as of late - however I was Facebook-invited to a 'Vintagesque' sale at Radio Adelaide the other day; I had the morning free and cash in my wallet so wasn't going to say no!

The area was quite small but I arrived early so there were still goodies abound; here are the items I decided to take home:



Rosey pink jumper - $7



Sleeveless baby pink jumper - $10
(n.b. I've never bought so much pink in the same transaction in my life...)



Gold rope necklace - $8
I'd been looking for one of these for ages - big love for gold vintage jewelery! This one is quite heavy and not plasticky at all.



Earrings - $3


Later that day, I made these (because there wasn't enough pink in my day already! I must have had a brain-splosion.)




Coconut & lime cupcakes - you might first perceive this as an interesting flavour combination, but they were surprisingly delicious - tangy with a coconut crunch! Omnomnomom.

- C x

24TH JULY, 2011 ♥

Soul Never Dies.

I was devastated to learn this morning that Amy Winehouse had completed both parts of the expression "live fast, die young." I know it can seem cliché to just post pictures of someone who recently died as a tribute, but the death of Amy Winehouse has me feeling rather empty right now, so I feel like doing this for a little bit of appreciation. Obviously everyone knows Amy from ugly news headlines about her struggle with addictions etc, but I am sure those of us who have looked past her tumultuous lifestyle and delved into her music will be a lot more affected by her death. Everyone who is saying "omgz she was a crackhead, who gives a shit" can kindly go and fuck themselves now.

I have trawled the internet for the most beautiful and insightful pictures of Amy I could find, which I have included below this text - a few of these are lesser-seen ones, so hopefully these will show her in a new light for some. There was a sea out there of unflattering, edited-to-look-worse, paparazzi photographs which show the extent of the media obsession with her decline, and how haunted she must have felt at those times. Some would say the combination of unwanted media attention, her turbulent and intense relationship with bad influence boyfriend/husband/ex-husband/thing/whatever Blake, and finding herself unable to handle her own serious addictions, eating disorders and self destructive personality was never going to turn out well. No matter how apparent her inability pull herself together, I always felt (and dearly hoped) she would recover someday to bring us more of her amazing talent; it still hasn't hit home for me that two albums is all her legacy will contain.

However, through these two albums, Frank and Back In Black, Amy Winehouse has delivered the world incredible music that is all these adjectives at once (in my humble opinion): soulful, ballsy, vengeful, true, lustful, heart-broken, tragic, triumphant, spiteful, confident, longing, loving, pleading, uplifting, as well as providing hilarious and witty social commentary ('Fuck Me Pumps' anyone?!). Every lyric and note meant something to her - they had to, to satisfy her immense musical knowledge and taste.

The cause of Amy's death is yet to be determined, but I feel as though if anything, she would probably be happy in a sense about joining the 'Forever 27' club - a collective of influential musicians who coincidentally all died tragic deaths at the age of 27, including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones, Robert Johnson and Otis Redding (who was actually age 26, but I refuse not to include him in this because Amy respected him so much, so who's counting?). Not really the worst club members to be associated with; here's hoping they are all rocking out together in the great gig in the sky.

To anyone who hasn't heard Amy's music: I urge you to listen to her incredible cover of "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" by The Shirelles (linked HERE). She sings so poignantly and with such stunning vocal control, making this easily my favourite version of this song.

And to Amy... I will always still love you tomorrow. Rest In Peace. xx

♥


- C x

14th JUNE 2011 ♥

B&W Grunge Bitches.

So apparently May was not the month for me blog posting-wise. Hello, June! Let us hope June is more friendly to my ridiculous attitude towards all things life related, apart from sleep, the consumption of gourmet food and cocktails, and spending my money irresponsibly. At the moment I'm well and truly intrigued by GRUNGE GIRLS. I love the original 90s grunge style as much as many of us do, but have been noticing a modern resurgence as of late. Or maybe I've just been spending too much time looking up hot girls on google images, not sure.

You'll probably never come back here again after this, but I have a massive inappropriate underage girl crush on Taylor Momsen. When your laughter and mocking has subsided, I will tell you why......

Okay, so I don't have any real reasons why, apart from she is a hot little skanky teenager with trashy blonde hair extensions, a rock band, love of lipstick and a whole lot of attitude. Most of these facets I would usually despise when put together, but for some reason little Taylor completely does it for me. She has a sort of grunge-glam thing going down. I don't usually enjoy 'modern grunge', when people wear band T-shirts and eyeliner and end up looking emo instead - I think grunge is more about being yourself, and only those people who have that detached, "I don't give a shit what you think" attitude can really pull it off. 'Cause they just wear what they wear, they're not actually trying to be anything.

Taylor has brought eyeliner to her grungey style and pulls it off, but I also love the look of the older grunge style which was a lot more minimalist. This look was not about spending hours in front of the mirror, or even brushing your hair, whereas the 2010s grunge is more stylised. Grunge with BLONDE hair is where this is at! Thank you, Courtney Love!

ANYWAY, here are some black and white pictures of Taylor rocking her blonde glam-grunge awesomeness, as well as Mary-Kate and Ashley; followed by some past grunge influences which epitomise what I am discussing here. So much love for Emma Balfour in the 90s. (I pretend to read into all of this, but once you've looked at the following pictures, it will become apparent that I actually just have a thing for skinny girls in see through bikinis.) Let me know if you love these styles as much as I do, and whether you prefer the modern look or if you're stuck in the 90s and loving it. Get your lipstick and Bleach (either the Nirvana album, or for your hair, you choose) out and rock on.



Taylor Momsen




Taylor Momsen




Taylor Momsen




Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen




Emma Balfour




Courtney Love




Kate Moss




Random Tumblr find




Emma Balfour




Emma Balfour






- C x

APRIL 30TH, 2011 ♥

If you like it then you shoulda...

Ring love! Actually, I more adore the concept of big, beautiful, art inspired rings, as I'm unfortunate enough not to own any rings of such great stature myself. (Yes, I just used the word 'stature' to describe rings. Stature = 'high level of respect gained by impressive achievement.' I think this is fitting!) I'm always looking at various designs, but rings somehow seem special; I can't really justify spending on this type of jewellery for myself.

I feel as though high end rings should only be gifts waiting to be given, not simply for the gesture, but so they will always retain that sentimental value. I have no idea how I figure this, as I have no problem at all with over-spending on clothing! But anyway, I've done a bit of ring stalking, and without further ado, here are my picks of the moment: (Forgive me if there's too much YSL in this list, but they are so damn amazing at this finger circling art!)


1. YSL Arty Aventurine ring. $270 US.


2. Gara Danielle Hammered Stackable Rings . $360 US.




3. Isharya Florentine gold-plated cocktail ring. $153 US.





4. Samantha Wills Harmony ring in white (also available in turquoise). $108 US.




5. YSL Arty gold-plated glass ring. $170 US.




6. Billy Bride Lima turquoise stone ring. $285 US.




7. Vintage brass Unicorn ring. From $17 US (On Ebay!)






8. Kenneth Jay Lane Coral and Jade crystal ring. $205 US.




9. YSL Lingot gold-plated heart ring. $262 US.




10. Mezi Mezi White Malachite ring. $218 US.





Let me know which of these is your favourite! (or if you know of any other rings you believe I would drool over.) My personal favourites for now have to be #3 and #8, for their stunning contrasts in colour - my eyes popped when I saw them!

Sparkle sparkle. Put a ring on it.

- C x

21ST APRIL, 2011 ♥

Oot and Aboot.

I am suddenly Scottish. Apart from that, I went shopping the other day with my dear boyfriend. Just a casual stroll around Rundle St, cappucinos in hand, and some minimal (yet special) purchases. I never thought I'd say this, but sometimes the best kind of shopping is when you don't come away with many items at all - you haven't broken the bank, you've had a great day with a nice person, been INSPIRED, and love the two small things you did take home. However everyone knows the worst kind of shopping is when you come away with nothing; so obviously some kind of balance must be achieved here! Ah, the tribulations of the sartorial slave.

Caffeinating at Cibo.




Wandering the sunny streets.




The khaki ASOS skirt I'm wearing is particularly favourable and cannot be seen here, so this is what the whole thing looks like! I call it my 'mermaid skirt', and have been known to only slightly struggle with the action of walking while wearing it. Who needs walking anyway.



Purchases!

Treasure #1: Vintage short-sleeved jumper from Clubhouse Lane Boutique on Frome Rd. I love this little jumper, it has to be my favourite purchase of Autumn so far!




Very cute floral embroidery. Loving the red against the navy.




Treasure #2: Vintage tan waist belt from Clothes Line Saga, a cute little basement shop on Rundle St. I'd been looking for a waist belt like this forever - definitely going to love it to pieces this winter.




Both Clubhouse Lane Boutique and Clothes Line Saga are choc full of hand-picked vintage and new clothes, shoes and accessories for men and women, and the staff are nothing short of lovely! Do visit if you're in Adelaide, and make sure you 'like' their Facebook pages for updates on stock.

Have a great Easter weekend. I'm doing something just a little bit exciting, involving elaborate costumes, tea, cupcakes, feather pillows and a film crew :P

Love!

- C x