Weekend Getaway

Work had been pretty stressful for both of us, so my husband and I decided to take a long weekend away to relax. It was just perfect; blue skies, sunshine, and a gorgeous resort. We had taken up one of the Getaway deals, which included a one bedroom apartment, buffet breakfast each morning and free movies.

On the way there we did some shopping. I had my eye on a new season Karen Walker blouse and a gorgeous Lover black lace dress, but instead I was good and bought some Sportsgirl sale goodies:

Pants $20, down from $90; Hat $10, down from $40
And I think I already got my money's worth over the weekend!
Oh, the restraint.

Here are some of the other bits and pieces I lived in over the weekend:

Lover bikinis and dress for casual wear, Karen Walker blouse out for dinner

Each day we had "Happy Hour" on our deck:

One of my favourite sights (and sounds) is waves crashing against rocks.
This place is paradise. The waves crash so big that it's like nature's fireworks:

Hothouse

I couldn't resist Antipodium's lovely bug print silk, designed by Australian-in-New-York artist Craig Redman for their Hothouse collection. Rather than the gorgeous shirtdress that I had been eying off, I went for a cami and skirt that can be mixed and matched with other pieces for further versatility.

Moths with dog snouts, human limbs and glasses = adorable

Worn with Lover blouse

Worn with Country Road cardigan

Worn with Lover cropped blazer

Worn with Tony Mativieski velvet skirt

Worn with Lover cropped pants

Worn with Lover leather shorts

Can you tell I'm resisting winter? More (somewhat unseasonal) new purchases to come soon.

Navy shoes

I have a pair of navy loafers that I wore to death last Autumn/ Winter. Now I'm the lookout for other styles of navy blue. I actually wear a lot more navy than black, so it makes sense for me, and there seem to be a few nice styles around at the moment. The question is, whether I can pull them off. Here are my top picks:

Beau Coops from Zomp

Miu Miu from Net-a-porter

Francesco Morichetti from Zomp

Tony Bianco

Peter or Paul?

Birdies on the brain... I love the bird print from Karen Walker's Perfect Day collection, but I am torn: Do I choose the dress or blouse?

Curiouser and curiouser

I had the most amazing weekend, although, two weeks into the working week and it seems like a distant dream. My husband and I flitted from one engagement to the next; discovering new eateries and markets, running into friends that we hadn't seen for ages, and just generally living on a whim. Isn't that what weekends should be about? We ended up in a park, re-discovering locations that we found on our wedding photo shoot over a year ago. Our favourite was this tree:

We got all historical and read the plaques around the park, which described as being the main social hub during the early settlement of Brisbane. How I would love to jump in a time machine and see it back then. Instead we made do with our imaginations and spoke in ridiculous faux-British accents: "Oh, what a lovely day for a game of croquet."

A just-below-the-knee box pleated skirt would do nicely for a little croquet-playing:

Skirt: vintage

Skirt: Karen Walker

Of course, I'd love to add to my croquet-playing wardrobe.
One of these pretty pink pleated skirts would do:

Skirt: Karen Walker

Skirt: ASOS

Retro drinks also seem to be making a comeback... Pimms, anyone?

You win some, you lose some... journey of an online shopper(holic)

I received a package today from Shopbop, a beautiful dress by Lover that had been reduced to 70% off. I sized up because my size was unavailable, but unfortunately it rather swamps me, so I'll have to return or resell. Such as the risk one takes when online shopping, I suppose.

Then again, other times everything goes oh-so-right. I bought this Lover blouse, from the same collection, from ebay for a bargain price. In my actual size this time, and it fits perfectly! (worn with a Karen Walker skirt, bought many years ago before I had discovered the joys... and disappointments... of online shopping)

So what's on my online shopping wishlist now?

Pants from ASOS

Karen Walker blouse, from Maximillia


Wouldn't these look great together?

Making a comeback: leather shorts

I've come across some great images lately of celebrities/ bloggers wearing leather shorts in a lovely casual-yet-elegant way... So I thought I'd pull mine out of hibernation. They work so well for Autumn.

Rachael Bilson

Alexa Chung

Cherry Blossom Girl

Blouse and necklace: Karen Walker; shorts: Lover; Wedges: Lilya

Blouse: Scanlon & Theodore; wedges: Tony Bianco

Yes, this one is really blurry, but I thought I'd try adding a long blazer (Sass & Bide)
... and I think it works ok.