beach-side haunt

In Perth summer extends about 7-8 months and days at the beach are carefree, happy and a little hippy. And therefore I love the fact that I live so close to the beach, as nothing makes me more happy than beachside frequents (so most of Perth lives relatively close to the beach, but I am about a minutes drive away which makes me, a certified beach afficionado, very very happy).


And now that summer is fast approaching, Stuart and me have already been heading to the beach and soaking up the sun (loveeee), the water (although we froze swimming in the ocean two weekends ago!), and the general happiness there.

These are a few beach-y photos I've taken of beautiful W.A.:

the harbour just minutes away from home; photo taken from where Stuart
and I drink coffees, indulge in banana bread, and play chess

sun setting over the harbour

after the swim; two weeks ago

Ahhh, I love this place I call home....

What are you guys proud of where you live?

Ebay picks....

In the store this week are these fabulous finds:

navy star print maxi dress

black beaded top with scalloped cuffs & hem

painterly-print designer silk skirt

sheer silk geometric print blouse

patchwork black leather bag

and more......

Blog

I don't know who I was kidding with the whole, 'I should start a blog, document outfits, join the blogosphere, it'll be great!'. The blogosphere IS great, I just happened to forget the fact that I have a full-time job (and one that usually sees me doing more than just your standard day), a boyfriend, ebay stuff, and you know....all the rest of it.

Okay, moaning aside, these are a couple outfits that Stuart took photos of me in but that I never got around to putting up. I also need to do a wishlist-type blog, or one on inspirational pics. Hmmm...

Worn to a pub/restaurant/micro brewery by the ocean; Little Creatures
(ignore the face, it was late in the evening!)

Shame I only remembered to take the photos after we'd come back home!

An afternoon op-shopping in Guildford, followed by
old-fashioned English-style tea and scones :)

sheer men's tee, cotton on. bandage skirt, cotton on. blazer, cue. suede studded boots, vintage.
sleeveless hoodie, random. skinny jeans, supre. suede backpack, vintage. boots, vintage via ebay. cuff, equip.

Edit: Awkwardly enough, I love buying my jeans at Supre (a F21-type shop here in Australia) not because they are cheap, but because they do their leg widths skinny enough to fit my hockey stick legs! I've tried more famous and 'good' brands, with no success....skinny jeans just don't fit me. On the other hand, Supre jeans are the perfect length, and have a fabulous fit. And they often cost

Yo ho ho and a bottle, or four, of rum....

A while back, one of our friends had a second house-warming/welcome party for his two new housemates and brother's friend. And decided it should be a rum party. Have you tried to do a rum shot? Ick is what I'll leave it at.

Anyway, I was quite psyched to wear this feather headband I had just made (yup, I've become a DIY fiend) and pair it with a pair of lame leggings I had also just bought on ebay. Haha, I laugh in the face of American Apparel retail and shipping costs to Australia, and choose to buy mine off ebay. All for $14 including international postage.

It was a relatively quiet event. For a rum party anyway. But great fun, with all the close friends one could want....

at the boy's place (ignore my crap on the floor)

friends; at the rum party


a re-run of the headband

The headband was also worn to coffee, love it to bits!

white asymm. tee, supre. lame leggings, ebay. booties, colin stuart. suede backpack, vintage. feather headband, DIY. jewellery, assorted.
white long sleeve tee, cotton on men. skinnies, supre. boots, zu. bag, vintage.

Who are you?

The title is in lieu of my 'abandoning' of the blog. To be fair though, I have been so busy with:
a) my full-time job (ahh yes, unfortunately, I have one of 'those');

b) running the ebay store; and
c) life in general,

that I haven't managed to do any blogging. But I have been avidly reading other blogs, don't you worry about that!

In other news, a little while back I got fed up trying to look for rings that span multiple fingers. It got to a point where I decided I'd just DIY one. So I did. The result is as follows:

Yeees, it's a little ghetto but short of owning a welding device this will have to do until Diva/Equip/Sportsgirl/Artsy/Eclectic/Ebay store results in a more 'manufactured' one.

I also visited an annual Perth attraction a little while back; the Perth Annual Royal Show. Or atleast that's what I think its called. It's a full on fair with stalls selling crap, animal/cake/other competitions, showbags, shows, rides, etcetera, etcetera. The show usually attracts a ridiculous number of teenagers and young families but the boy and I thought we would check it out and see what all the teenage-hype was about.

This is us, doing show-y things and trying not to spend our hard-earned money on anything and/or everything:

look of horror (prior to the roller coaster)

the view from the ferris wheel (only minutes before the fireworks, which we also viewed from the ferris wheel)

tee, cotton on men. jeans, cotton on. boots, vintage. chain, diva. suede backpack, vintage. jacket, vintage boys.

The food and drink (and everything inbetween) issue...

This weekend was crazy, but in a good way. Warning: mega-post!

Friday night, the boy and me headed over to a friend's place for a house warming/birthday thingy. There was delicious food to be had (sausage pasta, spicy prawn pasta, garlic bread, chilli mussels and mudcake and a vanilla-cream-berry cake. Yum), which resulted in Stuart and me both gorging on all of the above.

(Sandy and myself)

(the two birthday girls and myself)

Sandy (above) and me in her new place, which she's already decked out in the nicest furniture! It scares me that someone so similar in age to me owns a house and has started kitting it out, i.e. entered a new level of maturity. What with house prices in Perth however, its hard hard hard to get into the real estate property business. That aside, the night was chilled out and fun, with a girl at the party asking me if the studded Colin Stuart booties were Louboutins. Awesome, if they pass for them (from afar anyway), I'm pleased.

On Saturday we headed out to do some vintage shopping and grab a coffee at our fave coffee shop, unfortunately located a little too far to become our 'regular'. Damn. We also stopped by at a good friend's bbq (a sure sign of approaching summer, yes!) and bought a grinder for our new coffee machine. Heaven.

(coffee at X-Wray, love the decor :)

(nature is key at X-Wray)

We then went out dancing at night, accompanied by three french men. Hilarity ensued. As it often does when French men are involved :). I danced myself stupid, nearly gave up at the end and took off my shoes (but persevered, thats a no-no to germs, thank you) and took some random photos. Why am I such a camera whore?

Sunday was set up so we could play around with the new coffee machine. I made my first expresso, which was deemed really good (sufficient mottling of crema, check) and tested out my lace crop top that I bought at an op-shop recently. The lace is very Prada and the crop-top is just in fashion right now (see examples of how to: Rumi and Gala), but I have to say that everyone kinda did a double take when I would walk past them. Stuart is used to my 'alternative' approach to fashion (compared to other girls in Perth) and didn't bat an eyelash.

(coffee machine a go-go)

(the first flat white)

Speaking of Perth fashion, I find it really interesting that the platform shoe trend has not really taken off here. Stilletos are still big news. On the train into the city on Saturday night, I looked at everyone's shoes and didn't come across a single girl wearing platform shoes. Sure, stilletos are back in fashion but I'd love to see the updated versions of the stilleto heel. Additionally, platform = more comfort (relative to just plain stilletos). Yay for chunky heels. And coffee machines.


How were your weekends?


white oversize tee, sportsgirl. jeans, supre. suede backpack, vintage. leather jacket, vintage. booties, colin stuart for vs. black & white 'love' bangles, diva. 'necklace', vintage belt.
chanel-esque sunnies, city beach.
leather chain-strap bag, vintage (via ebay). studded leather shoes, zu.
lace top, vintage. jeans, vintage. belt, vintage. jacket, myer. shoes, shoobiz.

New patent purchases

I debated whether or not to get these shoes for quite a while (for me anyway) because they cost $180 and, as I've mentioned previously, I own wayy too many pairs of shoes. But I kept coming back to them because ever since the Burberry studded sandals came out I've wanted a pair. A cheap one at that. Or even a knock-off version. But in Australia? Nadas!

(the real deal, *drool*)

Until now. Yes, a couple of seasons late but I'm not fussed. Summer is approaching and these shoes will be perfect! I also have to ensure I wear the hell out of them so that I've not just spent $180 on wear once-in-a-blue moon shoes. Ooooh, side note, they even have the funky structural-cone heel and back zipper. Excellent :)

(the fake burbs, apologies for fuzziness)

The second pair was not planned at all, but for less than $20 how can one say no? They're quite 'me' in the sense that they are slightly out of the ordinary. Me likey. I normally don't like t-bar heels, but these ones are soo shiny. And black AND white. And pretty. And platforms too! And they actually don't make my legs look funny. So yep, I bought them.

(black&white patents)

I think its quite funny that in the close up of them, it looks like I'm wearing stockings.

checked hooded boys shirt, vintage. black top, myer. pouf-y skirt, vintage. patent shoes, zu. grey loose tank and tube top (as skirt), supre. blazer, vintage st. ives. patent shoes, shoobiz. sailboat chain, diva.

source: neiman marcus

ebay

We got our store up and running, although not in the calm and peaceful manner we were hoping for. But I've put that past me, and given ebay a go. Nothing like learning "on the job", huh? Hah.

Do take a look at all the pretty things up for sale (to be honest, I wanted to keep most i.e. all the ones that fit!). Here's a taste:

We've decided to start with shipping only within Australia, but if there is interest we would definitely consider/move to ship overseas. By we, I mean my boyfriend and myself (he's kindly agreed to model any male items of clothing, bless :)

Additionally, seeing as we are so new to ebay (I know, what have we been doing for the last few years? Well, I have obviously been collecting WAYYY too much vintage clothing ahem...hence the need for ebay...) we would really appreciate any hints/tips/suggestions.

Meanwhile, head on over to The Stooka Stall:Walk-in Vintage to check it all out.

Thank you!

wishlist...

Wishing. Wanting. Wearing?

Just a few of my (current) wants and favourite things....

(clickety click for bigger photo)

I've wanted these Ginger & Smart fringed sandals ever since I saw them on the models in the SS 08/09 'the beauty and the darkness 2008' runway show. And I'm not usually a Fendi fan, but came across this bag whilst browsing the grazia website and liked. Finally, I have wanted a pair of eye-popping blue leather shoes since I was about 15! And never found a pair (living in Kenya and all). But these babies aren't too expensive and they're on trend too. Might just have to snap them up when I head to Melbourne :)

p.s. you may laugh at my questionable photoshop skills, but.....okay never mind, go ahead and laugh :)

Paint-splattered and all that jazz

I've neglected my blog for the last week and a bit, but that has been due to circumstances out of my control. Work, doctors appointments plus other sagas have meant that the last thing on my mind was the blog. So Thursday, I came home from potentially the shittiest day ever at work to find a massive parcel on the dining table. The Stuart Colins! They came, they're beyond awesome. And I loveeee them!! On the negative side, I wish they told you on the Victoria's Secret website that they run on the small side as I nearly panicked when I first tried them on, thinking I'd have to return them to the States and have a half size bigger sent to me. Considering I was worrying about them not fitting me whilst I waited for them impatiently. Arrrgh! But they stretched a fair bit after using leather stretch spray and parading around the house in them before heading out on Saturday night, so already much better and hoping there's more stretch to be had too.

Oh, and I have to thank the gorgeous Rumi (she of fashiontoast fame, and more recently of erin wasson befriending fame!) for showing off the Colin Stuarts on her blog, which prompted me to order a pair quick smart!

In other news, I went thrifting on Saturday and found some awesome stuff!

First up, a pair of perfect slightly-too-big paint-splattered bleached jeans. Wicked. Means I don't actually have to put in the effort myself. Ahhh, I love finding all this random, awesome stuff at vintage stores :) The photos below is just me excited to try them on after returning from the thrifting expedition. I figured the outfit needed some bra exposure given how baggy everything else was. I would also (try) wear heels and no cardie with this, it was just freezing at home!

I also found a ridiculously OTT full length sleeveless leotard. Much like the Americal Apparel lame leggings and bodysuits, this piece is all of the above rolled into one. I haven't worn it yet, but once I do, pictures will be up on the blog. Finally, there were some cool books, a lace bustier corset (to be worn over sorta-sheer tees) and a pair of man-style jeans.

Meanwhile, the boy and I have been frantically trying to get everything ready for the ebay store. We spent most of today playing around on photoshop. Weeee! Who knew it was this much fun?!?! Can't believe I've never even looked at it before. No really! So just doing the bare minimum, this is one of the ones we 'created' (ahem, I could probably spend days or even months photoshopping!). I think it's pretty cool as a header....

1st outfit: grey dress, cotton on. red coat, just jeans. booties, colin stuart for victorias secret. jewellery, vintage and equip.
2nd outfit: white tee, sportsgirl. skirt and cape, supre. belt, vintage oroton. black and white 'love' bangles, diva.
3rd outfit: grey tank, supre. jeans, vintage. cardigan, portmans. shoes, vintage.