Mehrry Christmas and... LAST DAY OF THE YEAR!

Hope you had a great Christmas! I kept busy, haven't blogged for what seems like forever. I scooped out fairly well at Christmas - receiving a rice cooker (hello rice pudding and sushi!), a really good iron, towel sets for my new girly bathroom, Scrabble Trickster (thanks baby hehe), a new chip card for ANIMAL CROSSING DS (awesome!) and chocolates. Oh and a cocktail shaker and recipe card set that I have to share with the Boy, but that's ok, we're good at sharing.

Right now I'm sitting in the lounge, early morning, with the doors thrown open and a sunny breeze flowing through. I've also got a stick of incense in the burner, giving my little apartment a real cozy, homey smell, and I had toast for breakfast just earlier. I wish I didn't have to get up and get ready for work soon, but on the other hand I'm excited as I've just had two days off and we have fabulous food there. 

Along the way, I'm particularly proud of the post I just made at my wordpress blog, so if you're having a fashion moment go there, and leave me a comment to let me know what you think!

Back soon - keep your hats on! B

(imgs all sourced at weheartit.com)

Seriously considering Kittenzenship.

My friend is giving away this kitten, and I'm in love. I just rang my mumma to ask if she thought it would be irresponsible to bring a kitten into my life at this stage, and she said if I was prepared to cover the costs and look after it she didn't see why not. So I'm going to pop up to the vet's tomorrow after Christmas shopping to double check costs, and then I might just do it and say yes.

Look at those flipping eyes.

Dimmeys' Revelations.

Oh, I'm sorry, we just recently had the grand opening of a Dimmey's chain store/cheap shop in our darling little town, and I didn't give you a detailed, documentary style overview of my virgin venture in.

It certainly lived up to it's catch cry - it was more than I bargained for. It was awesome. My only regret is that my boyfriend took me, and I was consequently dragged from the store after only the shortest amount of time ('babbbbe, I'm sick of this shop, lets go!'). I still managed to get some bargains, while he was off buying my brother a $2 bike pump and my dad a tin of shortbread for Christmas.

One LA Lakers Christmas tree bauble, four Union Jack tea towels and a black smock apron (when I cook, it gets messy).

I LOVE my bauble. I hate christmas decorations, but this will hang proudly on the little live Christmas tree my boy swears he will get me for Christmas (he says it is depressing going to my house during the holidays due to the lack of festive decorations). I might even take a picture!

Summer Heat Christmas

It's been so hot here that the candle I keep on my outdoor settee, which is normally the shape of a shiny ball, has melted into a chubby little lump of wax on its plate. Today is the first day in one week that I haven't had all the doors and curtains closed to assist the air conditioner in its war against severe humidity. It has been horrible! Sometimes it is hard to breathe because of the hot, heavy, moist air we have here in the summer.

So we deal the only way we know how: the Boy and I dragged my bed out into the kitchen so we could sleep under the air conditioner, we spend the afternoon in the lounge room in our undies watching movies and blogging, we run in the rain (when it finally comes down) and we drink plenty of beers to keep our minds off the heat. And Christmas is coming! So we've been planning and being all secretive for that.

Christmas day with the Boy's big family is a festive affair. We go in the morning and everyone spreads out on the lounge room floor to open presents, before heading outside to begin with beers and a three-hour long water fight, followed by the biggest lunch and consequent siesta. I can't wait; Christmas day will be my first day off for the last 6 weeks, and I intend to enjoy it supremely.

Daisy Getting Lowe with Esquire

Daisy Daisy Daisy.

I want to show lovely pictures of you to demonstrate why you are one of my dominant style icons... but it is so hard to find some where you have anything on!

My Life According to Facebook

There is an app where you can turn your status updates from the past annum into a page of writing. Check it.

Haha.

There's a Mouse in the House!

The following is an exerpt taken from Beauty.Glam.com, comparing the glam to the BOHO. For me, boho wins. I've never been able to pull off the high-maintenance nature of glam... no matter how much my darling best friend primped me. She gave up after high school and left me to my left-of-center ways (whilst loving me just the same). I like my hair messy!

'Here’s how to steal Jessica Szohr’s beautiful boho look, created by celebrity hair stylist Patrick Melville, of Patrick Melville Spa and Salon:

BOHEMIAN HAIR


"Jessica was going for a rock ‘n’ roll look that was part street, part editorial. She wanted me to create a dread lock effect that was edgy, chic, sexy and very Armani Exchange," reflects Patrick Melville.

Melville took half inch sections of Jessica’s hair and twisted them. He then sprayed the sections withL’Oreal Elnett Hairspray. Finally, he hit the pieces with a flat iron, and pressed down the length of the hair to break it up and create a piecy, almost dread lock-like effect.'

So I really like that effect, and I will try it next time I get out... (no mean feat when you work 7 days). I love my hair scruffy and bed-reminiscent; usually I just spray litres of hairspray and scrunch away at the roots.

Another muse of mine at the moment - the delicious Olivia Wilde. I love her outfit for the Escarda Desire Me launch; she looks fabulous and her dress is a similar shape to what I like to wear.

I do love a good shapeless, silky sack (no sarcasm intended), and those shoes are nice too.

On an entirely different and personal note, I kicked my brother out of the house last week, not on uncertain or really bad terms, I was just a bit sick of being the housemaid. Normally my house is kept magazine worthy - I like it to be as neat and clean as a pin... however whenever my dear brother is around, that is apparently impossible. So I sent him off to live with his more understanding friends, and I hear they are living the dream. I, on the other hand, had a pretty good morning beginning a big 'reset' clean. I can't wait for my little house to be back to normal - we can have a lovely couple of last months together before I pack it all up and move to the Big City!

Something Refreshing? Jessica Szohr's Smile :)

   

It's genuine, happy and ever-present, and it makes me smile just google-ing her. I love this girl! And not only that - her style is impeccable. See my latest JS wordpress post here.

Be As Wise As You Are Beautiful.

Just got back from afternoon tea with my Dad. We had iced mochas in great big cold glasses with milky dribbles down the sides.

He is going to help me with my move. Good old Dad... I can always depend on him to get me from A to B (just not always on time). But its ok, he'll be perfect for the job! We'll use the trailer and tarp it up well so no rain can get in and spoil my things. May is only five months away!

It's rainy here today, but it won't actually rain properly. I like to sit in the lounge on humid, overcast Queensland days like this and just crank the air-con, with all the curtains closed. And snuggle in my feather blanket and blog.

And the baby next door just won't be quiet!

Poor little baby.

Getting Flowers

Today is the day my Boy and I celebrate three years of togetherness, and he was all romantic and got me flowers! These are they:

And I gave a little hop and a skip because I was so very excited and happy about the whole thing, and then we went all the way to the city and watched Harry Potter 7 before coming back home to go off to work again.

And I saved a LOT of money this week. 

xx

That Boy in My Chair

An example of my photographic prowess. No perving allowed! :)

Offers, YEN inspirations, Good Friends and the Future

THE Siobhan Fahey (as featured in ID magazine circa Summer, 2010 pg 224 - excellent article!)

I'm into my second week of no days off from a job - in other words I work seven days a week - which is supposed to be the plan if I want to save the maximum amount possible before I move interstate. It's not ideal, but I'll get used to it soon. 

I actually got an offer from my best friend last week: to live with her and her boyfriend for a year until around May 2012, when we would all move to Melbs together... but I think I have to decline. It would be an absolute hoot to accept, as most of my friends and cousins live in Brisbane and I know it like the back of my hand; I just feel like I need to move to Melbourne on my own - if just for the character building that would take place. Nothing like moving to a new city, far away, all by your lonesome, to bring out the real You! I can't deny that there is a little part of me inside that is super excited about the challenges I'm going to encounter and overcome, even though I know its not going to be easy.

So I got the festival issue of YEN the other day, before my shift in the bottle-shop. I scored 2 YENs for the price of 1! Rad. I was very happy and they lasted me my whole shift, plus more. Good issues, those ones. I read a LOT of text during my drive-through shifts.

One of the guys at work today cut a little bit of his finger off and it made me feel more sick than he did. On pay day (Monday), I had enough money left over to do a rather spectacular shop, and bought plenty of nice things like bagels, bananas, Nutella, bacon, cream cheese, shampoo and conditioner and some delicious smelling shower wash. 

Oh! I've been researching glam rocker Siobhan Fahey, of Shakespeares Sister, who was hugely influential in the 70's punk movement. Talk about inspiring... Shakespeares Sister official website - check her out, she's still kicking on today! Her sound is intriguing - really dark and misty with a crack beat. I'm downloading as I speak... you may have heard their latest single 'Stay'? Fahey now has her own record label, SF Records and is releasing their latest album, From the Red Room, shortly.

Otherwise, I've just been working my butt off, blogging my butt off (and enjoying myself immensely in that regard - have you checked out my new blog?), and sleeping and drinking as much water as I can to keep myself fuelled up and on the road! 

Check in and leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you. Must trot back to work now xx B

Blog Squared.

I have a second life sorry, blog.

It is my fashion world - none of this lifestyle 'dear diary' barf.  So, if you're thinking to yourself 'hmm, I just might like to get me a little some of that!' head on over to Indiegirl's Amazing WORDPRESS Blog.

I super wanted to trial a Wordpress blog, because I've heard a lot about them. I think the clean lines sufficiently represent what I wanted in my fashion blog - neat, profesional and nothing to distract from the important topic at hand!

So get on over and have a poke around. It might be just what you're looking for!

x B

Back in the Bottle-o

Skinny Blonde Beer... what more could a man want? Made in Australia, of course. You can see there on the side of the packaging that it is, in fact, 100% BEER. Classic!

By the way, if you'd like a go, come down to the drive-through and I'll hook you up.

x B

The Well Dressed Type

Recently spotted in magazines while perusing:

Kate Bosworth lookalike! I love this entire outfit, very arty.

Christina Hendricks, part of this outfit looks like you just rolled out of bed, however on the other hand, I really quite admire your ability to pull off a wrap in public. Just add heals I suppose. I imagine she's going to brunch, anyway.

I adore this cloak. I think it would be one of those things that you just wear for days because you love it so much and it makes you feel ridiculously fabulous.

On an entirely different note, I just learned that another couple from my grade at school are getting married today. I am 21! What are they thinking? There are engagements and marriages and babies popping up everywhere, and I don't want a bar of it. I can't wait to move to the city and be single til I'm thirty - then my sweet high-school love (current bf) can come back from his extensive trips and worldly experiences with the remaining sole purpose of sweeping me off my feet again. Did you hear that baby?

xx B

I am I; he is He - and we get on just famously!

My Boy is away this week, but a few horrid things have happened to him. Hopefully he comes back to me sooner than expected and everything is set right.

On other notes, its our happy three year anniversary in 8 days. I love him, but he never reads my blog - so he probably won't see this.

Silly boys.

xx B

Frankie 'Fatuation

Ahh Frankie... Because everybody deserves a little bit of you.

I intend to buy their newest publication - Spaces - as a housewarming present to myself when I move into my new little home, in Melbourne. I just can't wait!

Schooolies

The above is a poster advertising a guy I know from school... He does a fair bit of that stuff down in Brisbane. I just love the design, I wish I could do that kind of thing for a living.

Schoolies '10 is coming up, next week! The only reason I care is because my boy and his band are playing over at Agnes Waters as part of the festivities. You can check out their new stuff here. They've also just finished recording their fabulous EP (they've been away on 'band stuff' three weekends in a row). So, when it comes out of production I'll stick a link on here, so you can pick one up, or what have you.

You have a good afternoon. xx B

Rainy days of summer

Photos courtesy of me :)

I got another job. Its at the local drive-through, down in an alley in the center of town. It's just two days a week... thought it might be a good idea to try and earn a little extra money when I could, towards the move. I used to work here when I was 18.

I'm left to my own devices. On Monday and Tuesday afternoons there isn't a lot going on up here, so I usually bring my laptop or some magazines. I remember when I used to work here I'd rip pages out of the exercise book used for orders and just write little things all over it, in tiny writing. What I wanted to do later on, stories about people I knew, how I felt about boys... well, one boy in particular. All those sorts of things. I've still got them somewhere.

It's raining today. Its so humid, and all the windows in the fridges are fogging up. 

I'm staring out into the rain and down the alley. I think I'll pretend I'm in New York, selling flowers in the street.

Just Putting My Face On.

I know I don't tend to blog about my beauty regime very much. I think this is due to a preponderant lack of confidence when it comes to my history and knowledge, with and of, beauty products in general. My mother was of the firm belief that natural is better, and I guess I never really disagreed. I did insist upon hair removal though, at quite a young age, however it took a lot of coaxing to convince her to regress. 

Oh, I got to exercise most of the little rights of passage we all seem to partake in during our younger years. I still remember getting into mum's lipsticks and eye shadow and begging her to let me wear 'just a little rouge' on my lips, on one of our trips to town. She never let me though... said little girls that wore lipstick looked silly. They were from the 80's anyway.

So... I basically learnt everything I know from my school friends, and from trying different things and fiddling around on rainy days. And the fine-tuned result? The following is my current routine, with product listings.

Cleansing, Toning and Moisturising

I am a huge fan of Garnier's facial care products. These are the ones I like the best, and use every day during and after my shower.

The first (excuse the french, literally) is the Blackhead Clearing Scrub from the PureActive range, which is applied in the shower and rinsed off with cool water. It leaves your face feeling clean, refreshed and... minty? My shower is then followed by the application of the Pimple Reducing Toner (using a cotton pad) which helps to close pores tightly and mattify the skin, while also targetting impurities. I then apply a moisturiser, which is decided by the time of day:

Jour for morning (or 'day'), and Nuit for night. Also, as a note, I always try to apply moisturiser within 15 minutes of cleansing to prevent any excess oil production by my face! If you take the moisture away, you need to replace it - otherwise your body will. As I said, I love Garnier. Any impurities or breakouts are predominately banished when I follow this routine.

I purchase all said Garnier products from Woolworths.

Foundations and Basic Daily Make-up

Napoleon Perdis is my go-to guy for face paint. Oh yes, he and I? Going on 6 years strong. First off, foundation. NP stop it! I know you have Primer and it's really amazing and I do like to use it, but I am also a lady on a budget and I can't always afford these fine things!

I use China Doll and dust with Camera Finish - these give amazing cover. Then I use NP's Mosaic Bronzer to give definition to my cheeks and a sun-kissed glow. Finally, a swipe of mascara - only Maybelline. I am so into Colossal Volume Express Mascara. It is, hands down, the best mascara I have experienced so far in my young life. Eyelash-heavy thick is the best way to wear, and I swear, people are convinced I am wearing fake eyelashes. I've only ever worn fakies once, for a hair show, and I felt just that - fake. But they are fun to flutter!

Nights Out, Occasions and a Lipstick

Those are the basics, and I really don't elaborate on them much. I own two lipsticks - both Revlon Matte (<3) - Pink Pout and Nude Attitude. Two classics. When I go out I will a) nude my lips out and go with a slick of liquid eyeliner, coupled with a subtle smoky eye; or b) go with frosty, light pink lips and heavily liquid-lined, winged eyes. I love the idea of doing my make-up at home, then leaving it all behind and conquering the city with only coin for a cab and my trusty stick of nude lipstick. 

And Finally, My Christmas Wish List.

Only a few things left to mention. I think I've pretty much pulled my skincare regime apart with pointy eyebrow tweezers and laid it all out here for you to see! Products I'd love to try in the very near future?

I definitely need some new brushes - I'd like to have a decadent Blush Brush and a new Bronzer/Powder Brush. I'd also love to get my hands on Revlon's Really Red... I'm yet to find the perfect matte red lipstick, and until I do I refuse to wear rouged lips in public. Perhaps this will be The One (Actually, I should really hit up Poppy King, she knows about this stuff I've heard!). And finally - but absolutely not leastly - NP's newest foundation creation: Sheer Genius. Promising perfect coverage under even the harshest of lights? well, I think there are a lot of lovelies who'd care to give this a whirl. So maybe when I finally have a go, I'll write a blog about it.

Just remember - in the words of True Beauty's Tyra Banks - 'true beauty is what's on the inside'.

xx B

On that Alicia Silverstone Note:

I saw this look in a magazine about a million years ago, and I just wanted to say that I am still crushing on it. She puts the 'cute' in couture. Haha oh yeah, I just went there. And I can't believe the critics were claiming it was 'fugly'. Who uses that term, anyway?

Also, is it just me, or is it actually almost impossible to tell her age, no matter what picture you are looking at? xx

He makes my heart sink...

I hate finding things out about people that you didn't even imagine could be true... and then your perception of them is tarnished, and you begin to feel like you couldn't really trust again... not anyone. I feel so naive about everything. Am I really so clueless?

Clueless! Great movie...

Makes me wanna bust out an 80s-90s movie marathon, you know! Bravo Alicia Silverstone. You make me love again!

Summer Sacrilege, In search of the perfect roadtrip.

Like they say: "This box on wheels has the aerodynamics of a sliced loaf and the rich throaty rumble of a sewing machine. Downhill with a following wind it might touch 70 and at best you'll squeeze 25 miles to the gallon from it, and yet we surfers love it - it might drip oil, but we know it oozes cool, and air-cooled cool at that. It's a freedom trip - our board gives us freedom of the ocean and our bus gives us freedom of the road. Who cares if we don't get there just yet? Traffic jams - pah! Just park up, get the lid up, brew up, maybe even stop overnight, we'll get there eventually - that's real freedom of the road."... and we love it!

Its summertime again, Babycakes! xx