Friday, February 28, 2014

Happy Friday: Lovers

Today I am beside myself with anticipation: the hubby is popping down to visit for the weekend. At last he will see my second home for himself - the kitchen I Facetime him from as I cook dinner, the bed I have clothed in adorable polka dot sheets which I don't think would make it into our shared apartment (too girly), and the city I wander through on long summer evenings, wishing fervently we were in a restaurant with friends chatting animatedly as so many seem to do in the trendy suburb of North Adelaide.


Pretty sheets and pink pillow cases tend to fall by the wayside once you start sharing a room with a man

It will also give me an opportunity to see Adelaide on the weekend - Glenelg beaches, Leigh St bars and cafes, East End shops and Unley and Croydon lifestyle. I'm looking forward to it! It's also a big month for Adelaide - Fringe Festival is in full swing, Adelaide Festival kicks off tonight, and the race cars are zooming around the city as we speak for Clipsal 500.

Festival go-ers will flock to the banks of the River Torrens for a free opening night party for the Adelaide Festival (a thrill for culture vultures such as myself) this evening
 
But mostly I'm looking forward to seeing my husband, who I haven't seen for 2 weeks and who I miss desperately. Being in love is always a huge comfort (when they love you back of course!), but it carries with it the agony of needing a specific person in your life. Love is most definitely bittersweet, but mainly sweet.



I hope you all have a beautiful weekend, whatever it is you are doing.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Garance Dore Loves Denim + Denim Too

Ergo, so should you.


Garance Dore's tips for the dark art of denim on denim:
  • If you’re feeling like you are on denim overload, add a non-denim layer, like a leather vest or jacket.
  • To kick the farmer feeling, go for a pair of heels (the ones here are Gianvito Rossi).
  • Layer it on. Here we have overalls, a denim shirt and a denim vest. The more denim, the merrier.
  • Try a total look and do all the same color denim (if you’re feeling a little less bold, mix dark and light).

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Double Denim

There was a time when the thought of wearing denim head to toe was a mortal fashion sin, prompting ridicule, comparisons to Jerry Seinfeld, and (I am positive it happened to at least a few people), social exclusion.

Having just escaped the clutches of a few summer seasons of 80s neon, it was perhaps just a matter of time before double denim appeared in hipster retail outlets, before launching its full onslaught on mainstream fashion.


It's a true fashion moment when it hits the cover of Vogue
Maybe it's nostalgia for a bygone era (and a love of 90s sitcoms), but I actually don't totally abhor the resurgence of this trend. To pull off this look, most fashionistas are leaning towards the softer blues, and the tonality is more matched than mismatched.


Opt for softer shades of blue to make double denim work
Miranda Kerr rarely puts a fashion foot wrong, and she has nailed double denim in this outfit

 
Aussie fashion staples Jac+Jack and Scanlan & Theodore have released lovely takes on the trend, and I am sorely tempted to invest in a piece. Priced between $320 and $450, it is a decision not to be taken lightly for this budget-conscious girl. But it doesn't mean I won't try them on and be tempted. 

This Jac+Jack denim shirt dress is firmly on my lust list this season


Just remember, double denim has come a long way. You should too. Take this trend into the 21st Century, and leave hilarious crimes of fashion for Britney (yes, I just said that, and I really can't believe I said it! I am sad but not surprised- after all, a girl's got to eat - that she is now a Vegas show girl).





Friday, February 14, 2014

Happy Friday


Happy Friday lovers!

Are you doing anything exciting today? It being Friday, we're probably all chained to our desks, but I do hop something lovely is delivered or happens to brighten your day. One of the cool things about being split between 2 cities, is that I regard my home city as more of a tourist destination than just home. I have long been a lover of Brisbane, but I am really feeling the love so much more each time I disembark a plane. Currently, Brisbane is hosting Eat Street Markets - a collection of shipping containers artfully placed in a park near the Brisbane River, which comes alive every Friday and Saturday evening with mini-restaurants serving street food (in the shipping containers), market stalls and live music. It's pretty cool, especially the make-shift drinking hall! Of course, it being Valentine's Day it is sure to be more packed than usual, but that's ok. You can still find intimacy in the largest of crowds.

Have a lovely weekend!




Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Here's lookin' at you, kid


Australia is continuing its very successful export trade in beautiful actresses with Girl of the Moment, Margot Robbie. If you haven't heard of her, go to the supermarket and head for the magazine aisle. You'll soon be up to date.

Formerly of long-running Aussie soap, Neighbours, and leading lady beside Leo DiCaprio in the box office smash The Wolf Of Wall Street (SOMEONE GIVE LEO AN OSCAR), the star of this well-proportioned, sassy lady is well on the ascent. Having recently graced the cover of Vanity Fair, and charming the socks off every TV talk show host she comes across with her Jennifer Lawrence-esque mix of self-deprecation and mischievousness, Margot Robbie can do no wrong.

In today's news, it was announced that she would be Jane to hunky, straight out of the caves, Tarzan in a 3D remake of the film classic. Playing Tarzan is ridiculously hot Alexandar Skarsgard.


I must admit, I am struggling to take the sexy vampire image out of my mind, as I attempt to imagine him as a banana-muching, tree-swinging Neanderthal hero. Probably the lack of him wearing a shirt will get me there.

Anyway, I don't really care. I am just pleased that women of more normal proportions are killing it in Hollywood right now.


It's ok to drink milkshakes again

Monday, February 10, 2014

Re-Spec

Cab drivers in my new part-time home have taken sadistic pleasure in telling me that the city of Adelaide is renowned for its dark winters. Sunrise is at 6:30 in summer alone, so I can barely fathom what time the sun bothers making an appearance in winter. Worse, and goaded by my squeals of horror from the back seat, the drivers malevolently inform me that the sun is gone by 4:30pm. 4:30pm! This all seems positively Northern Hemisphere and impossibly bleak to me. Not only will I lose the daily joy of basking in the pleasant tingle of sun on my skin, I will also suffer the loss of legitimately hiding behind sunglasses for huge chunks of the day, unless I want to become a wannabe Anna Wintour. Frankly, she is inimitable, so I'll have to leave that fantasy aside.

But I love sunglasses!

Looking on the bright side (badoom ching!), this darkness and lack of sunglass-wearing weather opens another avenue for me to shop - for glasses! (oh and for adorable jackets and gorgeous leather boots, but we'll save that for another day).

I have been a glasses-wearer since that fateful day in grade 3 when I had my eyes tested and discovered to my horror that I was so dreadfully blind that I needed triple-coated Coke bottle lensed glasses. Naturally, I didn't wear them, preferring to squint and read off other kids' work than to suffer the indignity of Steve Urkel glasses. It wasn't until I began playing tennis that I had to give up the pretence. If I wanted to win a game, I really needed to be able to see the ball before it was literally in my face. By then, the optical gods had smiled upon me, and contact lenses were readily available, meaning no one had to know my dirty secret.

Advances in glasses technology also meant that I could hide the truth of my crappy eyesight behind streamlined lenses shaved to tenths of their original widths. But still, I rarely wear glasses. I blame this in part on childhood trauma, a small part on vanity, and a large part on the sunny climate of Brisbane. Should I wear glasses every day, I then need prescription sunglasses. This just seems a further descent into ageing and general bodily decrepitude for me, so I simply refuse. Also, it is impossible to fit a set of glasses (for when you step indoors) in adorable clutch bags when flitting out for weekend excursions.

Figure that one out, optical gods!

Now that I am well-informed by the cab driving public of Adelaide that there is no need for sunglasses for a solid 5 months of the year, I now have a chance  to incorporate glasses into my daily wardrobe. Naturally, I need new glasses.

My current frames are of the solid black, square-shaped Roy Orbison variety of specs. My husband likes them far more than I do. I actually find them a little clunky, but he has good taste (biased wife) so I am prepared to just accept his input.




I've decided the winds of change have blown through the glasses world, however. As I hunt down the perfect frames, I feel that bone or ivory are the latest colour for specs. That, and purple or light candy-tones of pink.



 Also of interest is what I call the upside down Top Deck (losing interest now, thinking about chocolate...). Dark on top, light or bare on the bottom.




Then again, what am I thinking? Who relies on cab drivers for their information? Maybe I'll get a second opinion...

Thursday, February 6, 2014

The Long Hiatus

My God, I can't believe it's been almost a year since my last post. Where have I been? I sometimes wonder that myself.

Planning a wedding, changing cities, juggling new jobs, moving in with lovely boyfriends who become exciting fiances who become glorious husbands, trying to stay in touch with friends... But mainly planning a wedding and living in 2 cities.

I can't believe I didn't blog about planning a wedding! How did I miss that?! Actually, I know exactly how I missed it - because I became a crazy wedding blog stalker (briefly) which stressed me way the heck out. WHO ARE THESE WOMEN WHO HAVE TIME/INTEREST/SKILL TO HANDMAKE PRACTICALLY EVERY DETAIL OF THEIR WEDDING?? Who are you? Do you have full time jobs? You stress every other bride to be out with your gorgeous bunting and delectable bohemian hair pieces! So I banned myself from wedding sites, and I became a much calmer bride. I had a moment where I fell of the wagon, and veered dangerously into bridezilla territory, but I gave the horse a carrot, corrected the wagon and resumed transmission minus blogs. (Although I did really get into Pinterest for a while there).

So naturally, being thoroughly scarred by blogs, I didn't blog for the longest time.

It wasn't quite like this...
Anyway, now that it's all done and dusted, I truly hope to be back to blogging. It gives me such joy, and I actually do weirdly feel connected to something when I do it. To be honest, the jetsetting is getting to me a little. For a change, I'm sitting in the airport lounge smiling. *phew*

How Much Time


How much time did we spend wondering? I can admit to huge chunks of my mid- to late 20s, and certainly a decent whack of my 30th year pondering this question. It was a mindless curiousity, a pleasant place for my mind to wander to. Having a crush on a fantasy is so easy - you don't have fights, you don't live away from each other, and you don't have to worry about whose turn it is to pack the dishwasher.

These days, I don't have that pleasant escape. Instead I have a husband! And I think a husband in the flesh, the real thing, is actually more lovely than the fantasy (even if he hasn't packed the dishwasher or whatever other silly gripe there may be). Your husband can tell you what he's doing, and you can blissfully surrender to the joy of 100% trust and knowing that he is real, his life is real, and he wants you in it.

But time is finite, for everyone and everything. So enjoy what you have right now, ponder the joys of the future, but love that which is real and before you the most. Don't waste time.