Grey days

It's hard to think in colour when the skies are grey. Luckily, my first purchase from the new Karen Walker collection added some cheer. After work, I visited a favourite boutique for the final time. It closes its doors on Saturday, leaving a gaping hole in the Brisbane shopping scene. I bought the Karen Walker owl ring as a final memento. I've wanted it for ages and it was on sale. Of course, I also love birds. Don't you love the justification that goes into every purchase?

Pants: Scanlon & Theodore; t-shirt: Karen Walker;

watch: Michael Kors; necklace: Karen Walker; ring: gift

Peaches and cream... and pumpkin?

Inspired by Karen Walker's Perfect Day collection, I'd like to try a warm Autumn palette of soft peach tones, creamy nudes and bursts of bright pumpkin yellow.

There's the subtle approach with a soft peach skirt and pumpkin accessories...

Or all out with a full pumpkin skirt (pic from Violent Green)

One of these Chloe bags from my current wishlist (as in "I wish!") would finish the look nicely.




...But while I'm saving, I'll have to make do with my own wardrobe:

Blouse: Karen Walker; Cropped pants: Sportsgirl

T-shirt: Sass and Bide; Skirt: Alice McCall

Bug's world INDEED!

Antipodium's new Hothouse collection = Bonsai heaven

This print is practically made for me, but I think I like it best in the skirt... or blouse... I don't know!

love this knit - cute shape and gorgeous colour

love how the bottom part is sheer

it is caterpillars!
photos from The Loft

I have a new rule: $100 per week limit on clothes... so how many weeks will it take me to make 3 pieces from this collection mine?!

White Swan, Black Swan

I saw Black Swan a couple of weeks ago. I'm not sure I enjoyed it at the time (is it really the sort of movie that you can enjoy?) yet I couldn't stop thinking about it. I think it grew on me over time. Natalie Portman is incredibly creepy. Some people said that they found her mother creepy, but I kind of felt sorry for her and felt that she was just trying to prevent her daughters' self-destructive behaviour. Nevertheless, I somehow identified with Natalie's character's struggle to unleash the black swan within herself. Sometimes I wish I could be more of a black swan too.

Close-up of the print on my new Emma Cook dress

Emma Cook dress, Tony Bianco shoes

Lover dress

Sretsis dress, Nine West shoes, metal and bead necklace

New shoes + inside my closet

I have expressed before my criteria for new shoes: Comfortable; Go with everything; and ON SALE. After what seemed like a drought (ironically) of shoes fitting these criteria, I seem to have many a lucky-find. About time, seeing as I had a big cull a few months ago, leaving less than half as many shoes as I owned before. Hopefully these should keep me going for awhile.

left to right: Mimco flats, Lilya wedges (yes, the ones I have wanted for ages!), Tony Bianco wedges, Kathryn Wilson loafers, Mimco loafers

Oh yeah, and some thongs for Aussie Day.

Next I had a big clothing cull (this seems to be a neverending process) and reorganised my wardrobe. Here are my dresses and blouses (note the colour sorting):

Stylish Blogger Award

I have been nominated for a Stylish Blogger Award by three blogs that I love to visit:
All Cats Are Grey At Night
The Autumn Castle
Running in Cute Heels

It kind of reminds me of the chain letters I used to get as a teenager, though thankfully it comes without the threat of 30 years bad luck or promise that I will find my one true love. Calling it an award is a clever move though, as it makes me feel a bit special, even though there is certainly not anything Oscar-worthy about my blog. But at least I know three people like it :)

So I shall share the obligatory 7 interesting facts about myself:


1. I used to belong to a bonsai club. I first went along to resurrect a dying bonsai that had been a gift (it has since died for good) and somehow got roped in to going back monthly, or thereabouts. It was basically me and a lot of elderly ladies. I even got a badge.

2. I love writing and have since I was very young. When we used to go on holidays to the beach when I was about 10 or 12, I'd wake up at 5am and walk down to the beach, sit on the rocks and write poetry. They were the most peaceful, spiritual moments and it makes me sad to think that it wouldn't be considered safe for a child to do that these days.

3. My first kiss was a holiday romance. Unfortunately he missed and kissed me on the chin.

4. I have my scuba licence. I don't go very often and I find the amount of equipment exhausting, but I do love the feeling of being in a different world under the sea. It's so beautiful and fascinating.

5. I have a very sporadic memory. I often recall the most bizarre details from memories of long ago, but I'm not great with faces, names or relatively recent events. Thus I generally need to watch movies or read books more than once to remember them.

6. I'm not sure that I believe in "one true love", but I do believe in love, and I have found it, truly. I also like to think that it will last until the day I die, and beyond.

7. I like to keep my blog very anonymous and it scares me that I have shared these facts about myself.


I'm supposed to pass this on to 15 bloggers, but I'm finding this difficult as I read many of the same blogs as the people who tagged me. Plus, Running in Cute Heels' version only stipulates 2... so I'm going to even it out to 5. Cheat! I know... Lucky this chain doesn't come with 30 years of bad luck or I'd be in trouble.

So my nominations are.... (drumroll please)


Page Sixxx
Fashion Westie
Heart & Bleecker
Domestic Divinity

Popstylcle

P.S. Supplementary Fact: Fashion Westie just reminded me of this one... I used to want to be a detective when I was kid... not a real-life-FBI-agent or anything, but a Trixie-Belden-schoolgirl-shamus-kind-of-detective... and I still like to put my skills to practise sometimes.

A perfect day

Well, my dreams of summer may finally be coming to fruition. Hard to believe, in the wake of the floods, but there have now been a few days of sunshine. Today was forecast for rain, but looking outside now it's all blue skies. Even more cheering than the weather has been the little gestures made by the people of Brisbane. On the news this morning, there were people who have been baking and delivering goodies to volunteers and emergency service workers. Yesterday, while helping out at a relative's place along the river, we had several people drive by and ask if there was anything they could do to help. One couple had a trailer loaded up with ice to deliver to houses that were without power. It is so heartwarming to see people looking out for each other in this way, and it makes Brisbane seem more like a small town than a cold city.

It's funny, I often think of my childhood and wonder at how safe it was to roam the streets, and how neighbours would invite each other over or stop for a chat. Now, I hardly see my neighbours and when I do, we generally avoid eye contact and definitely don't engage in idle chit chat. I don't even know most of their names, some not even their faces. We are all so busy with work and our own lives, who even knows what really? The floods brought the city to a standstill. Most people couldn't go to work, and everything else felt too insignificant. It's amazing how this little pause in our lives can bring things into perspective.

I have posted about Karen Walker's Perfect Day collection before, when it showed at New York Fashion Week. Now it is soon to be released and the Southern Hemisphere pics have been posted on the website. The feel of the collection is similar to the feel of my city right now, a juxtaposition of vibrancy and calm, naivety and maturity. Hopefully by the time the collection drops, we will be closer to being back on our feet.

Here are some of my top picks:

I thought this print was leaves, but it's actually little birds!

Adorable winter coat, cropped sleeves are perfect for our weather.

Love the colour of this skirt.

It would go perfectly with another blouse in the above print.
I love these yellow pants too, but could I pull them off?

You can see the pants better here - what do you think?

The pants come in all of the different prints too, e.g. the blue bird print, above.

But I'm afraid I'd look like I was wearing pyjama pants? I must get the bird print tee.