Wednesday 16 April 2014

Happy pants for happy Thursday!

Thursday before a Friday public holiday - who's happy? Me, I'm happy, that's who :)

Top: Country Road
Pants: Witchery
Shoes: Bally
Bag: Anya Hindmarch
I love these pants, they're so fun  and cheerful. They really lift a look for work. I've changed my bag to the Albion tote from Anya Hindmarch for the day. It's really great for work, fits in my tablet plus working documents folder and still feels very sturdy. I worry sometimes about overloading some of my more 'fashion-y' bags and it's really nice to have a bag that combines aesthetics with functionality so well.

Happy Easter everyone, I hope you all manage to take a few days to relax :) xo

Monday 14 April 2014

Working Week: Splashes of colour

It's bright and sunny here today which makes up for the overcast weather we've had over the last week.  I had meetings so thought I would go a classic tailored look with a pencil skirt and pleated jacket in black, lifted by a dash of bright poppy red:


Top: Saba
Skirt: L'Wren Scott
Jacket: Country Road
Shoes: Bally
Bag: Hermes

I love this bright top from  Saba, it really adds interest to the basic black. The pencil skirt by L'Wren Scott is a testament to the late designer's skills and high standards. Quite honestly, I've never had a skirt that was more exquisitely made. The lining, the hanger hooks in lace, the zip with a satin zip guard: it's incredible. There are even two little metal discs (pennies, perhaps?) sewn into the bottom corners of the back split so that the weight keeps the split centred all day - no worrying about your skirt twisting around or adjusting!

It's only 3 sleeps until the Easter break - we cannot wait! xo

Sunday 13 April 2014

Working Week: Monochrome Monday

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had good weekends. Mine was a little up and down, we went for a nice drive on Saturday with my mum but then she was quite unwell on Sunday so that was a bit stressful.  Isn't is funny how we expect our parents to always be fit and healthy?

I'm back at work for Monday and feeling a little sombre but I wanted to go for a very polished look:


 
Top: Country Road
Pants: Maxmara
Jacket: Country Road
Shoes: Bally
Bag: Hermes
My jacket is from Country Road last season and there was a heavy influence on pleated detailing and peplum-effects. I find Country Road has some quite well-made items that are reasonably priced and they usually sprinkle a goodly amount of trend-influence through the stock.  This jacket is one of two I ended up buying, this one in the ivory and another slightly different style in black. 

The ivory jacket with the camel patent pumps provide a neat neutral contrast to lift the black.  The top is also from Country Road and also has a peplum/skirting detail from  the waist. It's cut in very subtly at the shoulders which again modernises the look.

Altogether, I'm very happy to continue with peplum and pleating-details in my wardrobe, I find it quite flattering for my curvy figure. It also lends fun to outfits that could otherwise be a bit boring.

I hope you all have good weeks before Easter :) xo

Friday 11 April 2014

Working Week: High-Low Mix

It's probably a little weird, but I really wanted to wear my colour block top from  Target again this week, so I paired it with jeans and my Witchery blazer and black Bally heels:


Top: Target
Jeans: JBrand
Shoes: Bally
Blazer: Witchery
Bag: Hermes
Juxtaposing the top with my Hermes bag is, in my opinion, the ultimate acknowledgement of the democracy of modern fashion.I love the opportunity to mix high and low :) xo

Tuesday 8 April 2014

Working Week: Colour-block chic

I'm finally gaining some normality back in my working day after 6 weeks of very short staffing and high demands.  Throughout this period, I've been incredibly impressed by my team and their efforts to help me stabilise the ship - it has not been easy!

So I'm back dressing with a bit more freedom and flair, not being so conscious of practicality and comfort and to celebrate, I busted out a fabulous colour-block top:

Top: Target
Pants: Maxmara
Shoes: Bally
Bag: LV

Blazer: Witchery

It's just starting to get chilly in the mornings and so I was glad to add this classic black blazer over the top. Putting this outfit together reminded me of the importance of proportion and cut. I have a black pleated/peplum-style jacket also, and sometimes I wonder if two black jackets is really necessary. However, when I tried the pleated jacket over this outfit, it didn't look good at all: it's slightly cropped in style, which left my bottom half kind of hanging out in the cold - not a good look!

On the other hand, the blazer pulled the look together perfectly, hitting my hips just right and nicely cinching my waist to emphasise my curves but without making me look disproportionate. Always best to go to work feeling confident and well-dressed, don't you think? xo

Sunday 6 April 2014

Wildlife warrior!

I love living in Brisbane and in particular, living in Kangaroo Point. It's so beautiful, you'd hardly know we're within walking distance of the CBD.

M and I both love wildlife and there's plenty of it around. There is a pair of nesting plovers that raise their young periodically throughout the year on an old dock out in the water, then bring the babies across to the park mainland to grow.

It's always a bit of a fraught activity and on Sunday, M and I were out walking the fat dog and we saw an adult plover on  the rocks below the walkway and just tucked underneath it was a plover chick. Clearly, they'd been trying to make their way across and the chick had failed to get all the way and had fallen (there's nothing connecting the dock to the mainland, so I think they must fly with the chicks on their backs??)

As nesting sites go, at least it's safe from cats?

All we could think was the tide was going to come up and the chick would drown. Not acceptable, says M, my wildlife warrior!

So he jumped over the walkway railing, walked down an almost vertical slope to the rocks and grabbed the chick (mum and dad plover were seriously annoyed by this and started swooping and clucking) Then he walked back up, climbed back over the railing and then walked with the chick (and mum and dad flying beside) up to the park and released it next to a bush, where mum and dad swiftly landed and conducted a preliminary check to make sure the nasty tall man hadn't done anything untoward to their baby :)

Wildlife superhero and plover chick now safe!
And our dog in the background not really sure what's happening.
And a plover parent way up the path ready to kill us if we hurt their baby.

And as we were watching, wouldn't you know it? A second little plover chick came toddling out of the bush where it had been safely tucked away by mum and dad before they went back to the dock for its sibling. So it's a big happy plover family now and we couldn't be more thrilled. xo

Saturday 5 April 2014

Sunday Style: Outfit of the Day

The weather is still really lovely and warm, with sunny blue skies, so I'm keeping the theme of the weekend going with navy and white:

Tee: Witchery
Pants: Country Road slim zip
Shoes: Nine West
Bag: Prada
Dog: Leo

We haven't got a great deal planned for today, a few errands but other than that just relaxing: coffees, walks, reading.  I'm cooking a really delicious massaman chicken curry tonight so I'm going to pop that in the oven to slow-cook around 4:30pm and head off for a swim while it cooks! xo

Friday 4 April 2014

Weekend Outfit of the Day

Thank goodness it's Saturday!

We like to get errands done on Saturdays so we leave our Sundays completely free. It's still quite warm at the moment and the weather is gorgeous so I popped on jeans with a nice nautical tee and mustard yellow flats:

Top: Marcs
Jeans: JBrand
Flats: Nine West
Bag: Prada
I love this big teal bag, it's so slouchy and roomy so I can throw in notebooks for errands and still feel stylish. I like the pop of colour too - the same goes for the bright mustard yellow flats! xo

Complete life and style overhaul - Part 2: Green smoothies

Let's assume part of the life and style overhaul involves shaking up my nutrition, one of the most obvious changes would be making sure I have a good breakfast every day.

Breakfasts are hard because I either have to get up at 5:00am to fit in morning workout, walk the dog, shower, dress, makeup and making and eating breakfast before frantically heading to  the office to be there by 7:30am OR I take stuff to work to eat at my desk, which never ends up happening because I'm too busy and the next thing I know, it's lunch time.

Bring on the green smoothie! I am kind of late to this trend but I am absolutely loving them. Having discussed morning options with my gorgeous girlfriends, I headed out on Sunday last weekend and purchased M's and my very first blender :)

Now recipes for green smoothies abound and they all have some form of kale, spinach, lettuce, celery in them. I'm trying various ones out and they turn out all sorts of colours:


It's not easy being green...but it is delicious
Pure Saturday morning awesome in a glass

I'm completely converted: I've gone from eating breakfast barely ever, to having something healthy and nutritious every day of the week!

Sidebar: how cute are these glass take-away cups?! From Wheel & Barrow, $16.95 for the larger size. I bought two large and one small (for tea).

Have you tried any green smoothie recipes? xo

Wednesday 2 April 2014

Working week: Outfit of the Day

Feeling very slick today, all in black which isn't typical for me in our gorgeous warm sunny weather.



Top: Country Road
Pants: Maxmara
Shoes: Bally
Bag: LV

I love pairing black clothes with nude shoes/accessories. I find it just lifts the look overall, stops it being too dark/dull. Realistically, we're still in 28C temps with blazing sunshine and blue skies. I'd love to throw a classic beige trench over this but it's way too hot!

Hope you're all having good weeks :) xo