Aussie Curves: Swim wear!

Swim wear week! So I have these pics from my Summer spent at home but before I continue with that I'm gonna go ahead and share with you a little bit more about me and how I don't ever wear swim wear. I grew up on the South Coast of NSW in two places: a town called Nowra (where I lived with my family) and a tiny Aboriginal mission 30 mins from Nowra called Wreck Bay (where my Aunty & Uncle, my second set of parents lived). My afternoons after school, weekends and holidays were all spent at the beach at Wreck Bay.

Hours and hours and hours of my childhood were spent at the beach and I was NEVER in a swim suit. Oh wait I got a pair of swimmers when I was in like year 6. They were red with a white hibiscus on the front and I never wore them because I was horrified at that age of how my chubby body looked in them (poor 11 year old me, haha). Also one Christmas, I would have been about 8, my sister and cousins got the COOLEST "worry dolls" for presents off my big sister. I eagerly unwrapped my present and my dream coming true of worry dolls crumbled before my eyes as I stared at what I thought was the fugliest pair of black and white polka-dot swimmers I had EVER laid eyes on.

 Now, not that these were like "pivotal moments" that I remember that led to me never wearing swim wear but its just a bit of an indicator of me and my lack of need/want for bathers. Now that I actually AM thinking of it I'm pretty certain the fact that our home beach is so un-populated by tourists and usually just sees the local community is the reason why the need to get "dressed up" for the beach has never been great. Hmmm anyway...my usual staple clothes for swimming are short tights, a paleu or sarong, bra and singlet oh and of course a t-shirt to cover up because Lord knows I burn. LOL. This day however was an exception.

 It was New Years Day 2013 and the sisters and I decided the night before that we would have fun and party with the family but what we wouldn't do was get trashed and then sleep/be hungover and feeling gross for the dawn of another new year. So with 3 hours sleep we woke at 6am for the hike to just one of the beautiful secluded beaches in our back yard. I hadn't planned on swimming because it was cold and I was subconsciously being a Boring Betty haha, but the closer we got the higher the sun got and it was waaaaaay to perfect to pass up. Hence me swimming in my sports bras and a sarong my sis packed as a "just in case...".

Maybe one day I'll buy a pair...I've always wanted a pair of vintage/50's or 60's styled swimmers. They are the most beautiful in my opinion! What styles do you prefer?

Keen with the sisaaaays.

Whitings Beach, Wreck Bay, ACT.

What I swam in...this time. haha.

The hike back.

The poor quality iphone shot. Of course this is my favorite pic of the lot.

Big Love x

Aussie Curves: Second hand...

HI LOVELY ONES!! *Waves with utmost enthusiasm* I feel like its been forever since I've done an Aussie Curves post and I've been missing it dearly! This week's challenge is second hand...HOLLA! lol. 90% of my wardrobe is now made up of thrifted, DIY and borrowed clothes that I LOVE! I guess my wardrobe transitioned this way over the last 4 years from: being a poor uni student, losing some weight, getting more creative with outfit choices and showing off my love for creativity in clothing. I find true individuality in pieces I thrift or as us Aussies call it...opshopping. No one else will be wearing what you have on, it's the best and cheapest insurance policy because we all know how much you would die inside a little if you showed up to an event wearing the same thing as someone else there! So there you have it, my little spiel on why I love second hand goodness!

These pics are totally throwback material from my graduation banquet in 2011! I have absolutely no way of pulling off a shoot this week because I somehow managed to sprain my knee and hinder my walking/standing ability as of late lol. so this event came to mind because the dress I wore this night has been one of my most fave finds to date! Anyway I'll let the pics roll and explain a little later...

What I wore: Floral sheer dress, Savlo's $1/ tan skinny belt, sister's closet/ Tan heels, $30, Target like 6 seasons ago/ Flower ring, Diva $5, 4 seasons back.

Raneece, Emma & Sister Mele x

With Nigel x

My beauties Charmaine & Lossy x

We sourced the jars from local thrift stores, found pebbles at a local beach and collected sticks and scrap material to make the table settings. The only thing we did buy was the goldfish lol.

We spent many hours in our dorm lounge room that we dubbed LoF (Lounge of Fun) cutting, sewing and painting these banners for the night!

With Tys, Jennifer & Rhi <3 

Bust that move! lol.

Clown time with the sister.

With Tegan, Jenny & Rhi...forever love these ladies x

My main x

I am friends with some of the most talented women I know. Friends Rhi & Emma designed and illustrated these personalised award for the night with water colour pencils!

The best closeup OOTN shot I could find. LOVE this dress! My sister found this at our local Salvo's on the "Fancy Dress" rack for ONE DOLLAR! I think it was someone's paint smock or something because there are random paint marks on it that are totally unnoticeable! On the rack it seriously looked like a "dodgy-old-woman-who-wears-no-bra-sack" if you know what I mean lol. but on was so lovely! 

So basically my friends Rhi & Tegan put their hands up for the Grad committee on the condition that myself and my main Jenny helped out...HELLS YES we thought...we love having creative control! Now the only problem was we had zero budget to work with from our Uni. Cool yeah, no. So after meetings with the Student Services Coordinator we agreed that any money we raised he would match it so on we went with numerous fundraising events to get a bit of dosh. It was a vision of ours to share the brilliance of thrifting and our love for second hand things through decorating the event with op-shopped and hand made things and this was the result! It was the best fun and we got loads of compliments and it was so nice to know we did it all at a fraction of the cost!

Its funny...I used to LOATHE second hand clothes because my parents managed a St Vincent DePaul's  so my whole childhood I was dressed in thrifted clothes. The horror of being in year 7 when every surf brand is the jam and all you want is a bloody "Billabong" jumper but all you have are the "cool" Supre jumpers with  Australian animals on them. KML...fast forward 10 years and here I am, an avid op-shopper with basically a whole wardrobe made up of second hand pieces. Life :)

Long story short...YAY for second hand anything! What do you think?

Big Love xx

A Giant Rubber Duckie!

Hello beautiful readers! Posting today to share with you a super special day spent with my sisters in Sydney City! This day was super special because my sisters and I get very few opportunities to spend time with just us. Our busy lives + distance living apart + shift work + 3 beautiful angels that are my sister Genevieve's kids = not a lot of strictly "Girl time", ya feel me?

Anyway, somehow the stars aligned and it just so happened that we had a WHOLE afternoon/evening of time to burn and soak up each others time that we all miss so much when life gets in the way. We decided to get out of West Sydney and head to Darling Harbour to see the Giant Rubber Duck Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman created. It featured on the harbour to celebrate the opening of the 2013 Sydney Festival ! Also, we were super hungry and wanted delicious city food to satisfy our tastebuds so yes off we went!

It was SERRRRRRRRRRRRR hot! Can you tell? To try and keep cool and covered (so I wouldn't get scorched) I wore my I heart NY white tee teamed with this floral, thrifted, full circle skirt. I needed something bright to pair with my basic tee. Converse on the feet for comfort as always, a plain gold chain, some big shades and there you have it...my OOTD.

After wandering around the harbour soaking in the coolness of this big as duck and the 5000 bubble blower's bubbles that were floating around we jumped on the monorail and headed towards China Town, first stop Paddy's Markets. It was the second time to visit Paddy's and I must say from the tiny amount of time we were there there wasn't a whole lot that caught my eye in the way of fashion and accessories however the international food court...YUM! haha. After this we headed to Bangkok Thai Restaurant  right next to Capitol Theatre for food time! We ordered too many dishes and almost finished them all...the soft shell crab with garlic, chilli and shallots was divineeeee!!!
With time getting away from us it was time to jump back on the monorail, find our car park and head back to reality to pick up our kids lol. but not before a quick detour to Strathfield for some deliciousness in a cup at Yogurberry! Frozen yoghurt at its best...if you're in Sydney, GO THERE!

Here are some snaps we managed to get from the day!

We totally ran into Hayley from Fashion Hayley & Carla from Messy Carla in Paddy's Markets! It was a cool meeting for us...we totally made them miss their elevator ride but they were so nice and had a chat and a few pics with us!

Days like these are forever encased in my heart! I love my sisters with a fierce and fun love and cherish the stolen moments, hours and days just like this. I love that now I can share them with you...

Big Love xx

December 17, 2012...

What a day. The day close family & friends watched  two halves become whole in one of the most beauuuuutiful wedding ceremonies I have had the honor to attend. Rhianon is one of my dearest friends I went to College/Uni with and also holidayed in the States with (Chicago and New York 2011). She's a stunning South African beauty and it shows in the few measly pics I managed to snap on my little point & shoot camera throughout the  ceremony and reception. I apologise for the picture quality but hey sometimes the memories are all you need right? lol. hmmm, yeah I'll keep trying to convince myself of that!

Anywho, sister & I along with my main Jenny met up with Miss Magenta for wedding times in a small Central Coast town called Cessnok. It was a mini reunion for us buzzed by wedding excitement! So many things to catch up on in just a few short hours so we were "blah, blah, blahing" non-stop! The wedding was held at a beautiful winery overlooking vineyards and a sea of lush green property and was small and incredibly intimate. Looking around at the few selected guests there, I felt super special to be included in such a magical afternoon/night.

Beautiful flower girls dressed in crochet tops and bursting tutus :) The crochet headband in her hair was also wrapped around the invitations but in a different colour.  

A special mention to my Miss Magenta up the back there & in her DIY flower headband. Its so frikkin cool!

The first dance to an acoustic version of At Last made famous by none other than the one Etta James. A perfect choice if you ask me!

Lashes- BYS $10, Gloss
Lips- BYS (Risky Business) $3, Gloss

I only managed to get a decent outfit shot on the sister's iphone so when I get my hands on that I'll be sharing that too. I based my look on this boldness of this uhh-mazing dress I found in a Salvo's in Auburn, Syd. I've had it for over a year and had planned to wear it to the Celine Dion concert in Vegas but yeah...WAY to hot for that. Finally I was able to show it off to the world! But yeah more on that later. I just kept my face quite clean and light with just some lashes, a light dusting of bronzer, blush and finishing off the look with a lick of my new lipstick! The new nude range by BYS is lovely! If you've come across it, please tell me what you think ;)

I hope wherever you are your start to 2013 has been super fab so far!

Big love x

Aussie Curves: Christmas & Shorts!

MERRY CHRISTMAS lovely people! Here's just a quick post to share my Christmas outfit with ya'll which just so happens to coincide with this weeks Aussie Curves challenge being SHORTS! My sister and I wear these Target tights under dresses, skirts and even as shorts with outfits like this. They are definitely a staple in my wardrobe! Love them! :) I'll be back with a proper christmas post very soon!

I hope your Christmas was filled with family, food, fun & love like mine was!! Next stop...NEW YEARS EVE!

OOTD:

Sheer floral shirt, Rivers $20/ Blazer, thrifted $6/ Short tights, Target $8/ Wedge heels, Target $40

Necklace, sister's closet/ Button earrings Vinnies 20c

Hair- self braided

Nails, BYS Prima Ballerina $3

Hopefully you are all making the most of your holiday season! Can't wait to see what my Aussie Curves ladies have come up for the shorts challenge, I've missed being in the loop while being MIS due to the busy festive season!

Big Love x