Sunday 9 November 2014

My Favourite Christmas Looks 2014

I just LOVE Christmas. I love everything about it. I love decorating. I love Christmas trees. I love Christmas lights. I sing merrily to Christmas Carols. I REALLY love Santa. I enjoy buying presents for people and wrapping them up and placing them under the tree.

Each year I have to resist the urge to completely change the colours of my tree. Although it has evolved over the years. I AM thinking that I may need to change the colours (Gold/Bronze/Silver/Red) this year not that I have brightened up our home. So I have been looking at the trends for this year and I thought I would share some of my favourites.

Domayne


Domayne have a really interesting monotone theme this year, with Black and White decorations and little pops of colour. While it's not my personal style, I have to say I think this is really cool and quite a bold, contemporary trend.

Target 



Target always have really great Christmas decorations for reasonable prices. This year I really like their Dazzling Brights theme, as it is in keeping with my current love of colour.

Although I am also really loving the Pre-Lit Twig Christmas Tree. I think it would look great with really special, unique ornaments.

Pottery Barn



Injecting a bit of American decorating sensibility into the Australian market is Pottery Barn. They have a traditional range of coulurs, but offer some unusual twists. The 'Traveller' collection is interesting. It has ornaments that give a nod to destinations around the world. They unique, quality ornaments that would add a bit of luxe to your traditional tree.

Myer


In Australia, you really can't go past Myer for Christmas decorations. They always have fun, quality decorations to help you spread Christmas cheer. They have 4 themes this year: Nordic, Luxe, Folklore, Jingle Bells & Mode. They are all really beautiful, but my favourites are Jingle Bells and Luxe.

The Jingle Bells theme is great fun if you have kids. It is really bright and cheerful, perfect for little ones. I also love the colours in the very feminine Luxe theme, with metallics, dusty pinks and reds.



Bed Bath and Table




I really love to go in and look at Bed, Bath and Table. They always have beautiful decorations, and they are always reasonable priced. They have the usual traditional colour scheme (Red, Greed & Gold),but they also have a lovely 'Enchanted Forrest' theme. It features blues, greens and woodland animals. They also have an 'Around the World' theme, similar to Pottery Barn.


I would say my pick for originality goes to Domayne, their Black and White theme is really thinking out of the box. For my own colour scheme I am thinking I may hit up a few of these stores and look for some cool, colourful decorations to add to my usual metallic colour scheme.

Saturday 8 November 2014

Shop What You've Got- Week 1


I am 1 week into the Shop What You've Got challenge, and so far I am not feeling too restricted in my choices (obviously!). I am already starting to have a think about what is in my wardrobe, namely my tops. I am finding that I really don't wear the vast majority of my tops as it is, so I think a cull may be needed soon!

I work 2 days a week as a teacher (for the moment), however I dress smart casual, so I am finding my items will work well for work as well as normal day wear. 

I will confess that I had 2 days in the week where I stayed home all day, so I just wore my 'Lounge Clothes' aka fresh PJ's! I also doubled up on outfits and wore the same one twice, but with different accessories. Sadly, I also was unable to get a photo taken in one of my dresses that I wore to work on Melbourne cup, however it will feature again soon!

Day 1 - I attended a Mexican Fiesta hosted by Danimezza, It was a great night where I got to meet some great ladies and drink cocktails. I wore my Black and White Sleeveless Shirt Dress from City Chic. Although, I forgot to take a photo on the day! I wore it with Coral Sandals, A Turquoise belt and a coral and turquoise necklace. I rewore the dress to work a few days later as seen above.

Day 2 - Was my 'recover from the party' PJ wearing day!

Day 3 - I headed off to work in a CC Black Dress, I wore a Black & Green BambooKimono over the top which I tied together at the back to give me a bit more shape. Simple Black Flats were worn and I wore a tan belt with it to work. The same outfit was worn later in the week when I had to run an errand, but I skipped the belt and threw on a necklace.

Day 4 - We had a Melbourne Cup event at work and I wore my Pastel CC Dress with a cropped Denim Jacket and Nude Flats. I had a very hectic day so I was unable to take a photo,but will rewear the outfit next week,

Day 5- This was another 'At Home' day in PJ's until I changed into the Black CC Dress (seen above) to run a quick errand

Day 6 - It was a hot day and I was going to be out shopping. I wore my Denim Shorts, my Plain Black Top (Best & Less) and my Sheer Oversize Top. Perfect for the busy day as it was comfortable and flowy. Later on I attended a market where I had a stall. I wore my light Crop Jeans and  White Top with a chunky necklace

Day 7 - Another busy day of errand running so I popped back on my Crop Jeans and Plain White Shirt, I also added on another Kimono jacket, Nude Flats and a  Rose Gold necklace.

So, all in all it has been a successful first week. I still have a number of items that I have not worn yet, so I am not bored with my choices.

Check out how everyone else is going!

Saturday 1 November 2014

Shop What You've Got Challenge

I followed the 'Shop What You've Got' challenge, hosted by Jo from iCurvy, with interest last year. I was in the late stages of pregnancy at the time, so I was not able to participate.

Let's face it, at that stage I was down to a few dresses that resembled Mui Mui's, as I was carrying a 9.9 pound baby.

The challenge involves not buying new items of clothing through November. Instead, you 'shop' your wardrobe using what you already own. It encourages you to have another look at what you wear, and get the most out of a few items. I have been trying to downsize my clothing for the past year, and have been working on finding my own style. I feel I am getting there, so this challenge will be a great way to reflect on my wardrobe.

I was determined to take part this year. So, imagine my horror when I realised last night that the challenge had started, as November seems to have snuck up on me!



I sat down this morning and wrote out my list of items. I had a think about what I wear often, what I feel comfortable in, and what I love to wear.
I wrote it all down.

 Dresses 

Black & White CC Shirt Dress
CC Denim Dress
Black CC dress
Blue & White Maxi Dress
CC Floral Dress
Pastel CC dress

 Jeans

Crop Jeans
Skinny Jeans

Shorts/ Skirts

Best & Less shorts
Denim Skirt
Floral skirt
Striped Blue Black skirt

Tops


Plain Black
Plain White
Sheer oversize top
Sheer Sleeveless top
Navy Blue Jewel top

Kimonos

Pastel Floral Kimono
Black/Green bamboo print Kimono
Black Kimono

Jackets

Short Sleeve Denim
Long Sleeve Denim
Black Knit Cardigan

Shoes

Black & Gold Sandals
Coral Sandals
Red Flats
Nude Flats
Black Flats

Heels

Black Wedge Elastic strap
Nude Heels

1 'Special' item for Marcus' 1st Birthday


Luckily, accessories are not included in the list of 30 items, so my list came together quite quickly. It made me realise that in many way, I have already started to refine what I wear. I have allowed myself one item that I *may* purchase for my Son's 1st Birthday, because it's not every day your child turns One, and every Mum deserves a little something special to wear on the day. I may not buy anything, but I am including it in my items in case I do. You may have also noticed I have a whole section dedicated to Kimonos. I really think they will be my 'saving grace'.

So! Let's see how I go. I will post my outfits at the end of each week, and I will also update on my Instagram when I can.





iCurvy World