Outfit Post // Shades of Autumn

Hey guys! I'm back!! I had to take a bit of an unscheduled break. I suppose I should fill you in - last time I posted I had lost my job & was searching for a new one. Well, I found one! A part time position in a Streetwear store. It was fun! Store discount, working with cool people, cheap lunches - it was nice to be working among people again. 

Unfortunately the hours weren't quite enough to pay the bills, so I was hoping something else would come along & it did! I just started a new job as a Building Consents Processing Officer (sounds fancy) at my local Council. It's pretty full on, but I'm learning heaps & I love how I'm getting to use my drafting background in a way that isn't drawing plans all day!

Dress - Ladakh (from Uproar in Invercargill), Denim Jacket - Recycle Boutique, Orange Scarf - Cotton On, Tights - Razzamatazz (won them),  
Wedge Heel Boots - The Warehouse

So! My outfit - I actually wore this to the last market I sold cupcakes at (I've done 2 so far - more on that later!) I bought the dress as a birthday present to myself - I love the combination of orange & purple, 2 of my favourites. The denim jacket has been in my wardrobe for a couple of years but I've hardly worn it, I just re-discovered it a few months ago & I've been struggling to take it off!

My scarf collection has basically doubled in the last month or so (using that discount!) I love this orange one for another pop of colour. My boss at my retail job had these gorgeous leopard print boots in the same style as these ones - I was so jealous of them although I'm more of a plain boot kinda  girl at heart. I feel so me in this outfit - it's not my usual black & grey but it's still me. It's nice!

So how are you? What's been happening? I finally have interent again at my house (ridiculous mission trying to change from a business line to a personal one - not fun!) so here's to more blogging & catching up on everything!

Outfit Post // Rock 'n' Roll & Concert Ready

Black Cut-out Dress - Jay Jays, Hat - Kmart, Leather Mocs - Windsor Secondhand Store

I’ve been itching to get out of the house at lunch times lately; I’ve been suffering a bit of cabin fever! I’ve been visiting my favourite op shops in Invercargill and picking up some pretty sweet bargains.

Black Cut-out Dress - Jay Jays, Purple Check Scarf - Golden Centre Mall, 

 Leather Mocs - Windsor Secondhand Store

My first find was the jacket below – I managed to time it right as the shop assistant told me it had just been put on the rack that morning. I thought I got a pretty good deal with it only being $18 and in great condition.

My next find was these leather moccasins – I found them in a little shop in Windsor, sitting in the corner of a window display. $6 – and great condition, plus they’re Pulp shoes (carried by Hannahs) so they’re fairly good quality!

Jacket - Savemart, Black cut-out Dress - Jay Jays, Leopard Print Tights - Kmart, Leather Mocs - Windsor Secondhand Store

So this post involves a few slightly different outfits – these are the items I’m packing to take to Cromwell with me tomorrow (when I go to the winery concert) When I pack for a weekend away, I always have a few neutral items which I can mix & match, plus a few coloured pieces. My neutrals are always grey & black, that’s what I have lots of and that’s what I feel comfortable wearing. I usually pick one other colour – usually blue, purple or red. This time I’m going with purple with the scarf & a purple cardigan (which I forgot to photograph!) Whenever I go away I always have a “travelling” outfit, it usually always involves tights, a long t-shirt and floaty cardigan that doubles as a blanket, plus a triangle scarf if it’s cold!

Grey Cardigan - Supre, Black T-shirt - Postie +, Leopard Print Tights - Kmart, Leather Mocs - Windsor Secondhand Store

What I wear to the concert will depend on the weather (the forecast is rain at the moment!) but I’d love to wear the dress and hat and add the tights, scarf & jacket if it gets colder later on. Otherwise it will most likely be tights, cardigan and a rain jacket! (Hopefully not!)

 Here is me being pigeon-toed - I actually stand  like this sometimes, I don't even realise I'm doing it!

I’m looking forward to a little mid-week holiday, listening to some good music and possibly enjoying some sunshine!

Do you have any exciting plans this week? What concerts have you been to lately? 

Outfit Post // My Grandmas Garden

Lately I’ve been in a bit of a rut when it comes to getting dressed in the morning. As in I just haven’t been getting dressed. Yep, workin’ in my pj’s all day! It really wasn’t helping my motivation levels and I was feeling a bit down.

 Purple Dress - Recycle Boutique, Black Camisole - Stolen from Mum, 

 Girl Guides Belt - Shop on Taieri,  Black & silver Glitter Heels - Warehouse, but glitter DIY'd by me!

So when I headed to Dunedin the other weekend I made a quick visit to Recycle Boutique which has moved around the corner from its old location. I did a quick survey of the specials rack and found this dress for $4.50! Its amazing how a small purchase like that can lift your spirits.

I’ve worn it a few different ways since I got it – with tights & boots, by itself with a camisole underneath & sandals and with a lace body suit peaking out and a cardigan. I love the little coloured flowers – they remind me of my Grandmas garden in spring. Thankfully this little dress has kick-started my love affair with my wardrobe again!

Oh - I can't forget the shoes. These used to be $60 at the Warehouse a few months ago. I held out for soooo long - and the other week they were marked down to $7.50!!!! They had a wood-grain bottom part on them, which I couldn't decide if I liked it or not, so I decided to glitter DIY (see my tutorial here!) them instead. They are my new favourite shoes - They're so easy to walk in with the super chunky heel! I can't wait to wear them out, but for the moment I'll just have to keep doing my housework while wearing them...

I hope you have all had a good week. We had a long weekend here with Waitangi Day, so I went to visit some friends and their new chocolate lab puppy called Gus – Hershey and him spent all afternoon playing together while us humans ate blueberries and had a BBQ on the deck. My Mum and Sister also came down from Dunedin for a visit and brought my little nephew with them, so we had a look around the shops and had a coffee date at a local pub. It was a nice weekend!

What have you been up to lately? Has it been sunny and warm where you are or have you been playing in the snow? I kinda hope we’ll get a decent dump of snow here this winter!

Thrifty Friday // Scarves and Belts

Brown Leopard Print - Shop on Carrol, Blue - Salavtion Army Tay St,  

Olive Green - Salvation Army Tay St, Red - Salvation Army Tay St,  

Purple Italian Buildings - Shop on Taieri

 Brown leather w. Silver - Shop on Taieri, Navy Blue Skinny - Opshop St Andrew St,  

White Belt - Savemart, Dunedin, Navy and Gold Clasp Belt - Salvation Army Mosgiel,  

Dove Grey Belt - Salvation Army Tay St, Red Skinny - Opshop St Andrew St,  

Brown Leather Girl Guides - Shop on Taieri

Here's a little sneak peak at 2 of my collections that seem to be growing a lot lately - scarves and belts!!

I actually picked up 3 of the scarves the other day from the Salvation Army Store on Tay St, I seem to be finding a lot of bargains there! l Iove how they all have so many different colours in them so they'll go with lots of different outfits!

I usually wear my scarves around my neck, but I think I might try some in my hair for a change. I'll see how it goes! 

I'm so happy its Friday, the sun is shining and its nice and warm for a change. Think I'll make the most of it on my lunch break!!

What awesome things have you bought lately??

 

Cake Day Monday // Purple and Orange

This lovely montage is via this website - I love the colour scheme! It kind of reminds me of Morocco - full of rich, spicy colours. I would love to make a cake with this colour scheme in mind!

Cake Day Monday is the first of a few new bloggy features I've come up with. I think it will help me keep a better routine for my blog and ensure I'm getting a good variety of content up on here.

The Rugby World Cup is in full swing here in New Zealand, there are colourful flags, people and camper vans everywhere! I've accidentally spent the majority of the weekend watching rugby actually! Of course I couldn't miss the All Blacks first game against Tonga on Friday night! I hope we get to the final. 

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekends - what did you get up to?

Outfit Post // Floral Winds

 Long Black Cardigan - Kmart, Floral Shirt - Mosgiel Salvation Army, Black Skirt - Kmart,  

Purple Tights - Farmers, Black Boots - The Warehouse, 

 White Rose Earrings - The Warehouse

I always thought I couldn't do florals - until I found this shirt! It's sheer, light and peppered with purple, pink and green flowers. 

I have been in Dunedin all this week and I did a terrible job of packing! I managed to forget to bring any cardigans, forgot my slippers and only bought 1 skirt. Luckily I managed to pick up both the skirt and cardigan I'm wearing pretty cheap so I was able to mix up my outfits a bit.

Dunedin has been having Wellington-strength winds for the last couple of days which makes an interesting change! And challenging taking-photos-in-the-wind-wearing-a-skirt-moments!!

I hope everyone is having a fun weekend, I've been busy planning my sisters baby shower which has been exciting!

Dreamy Interiors // Dressing Room

One thing I would love in my dream house would be a dressing room especially or me! Now ideally  would love a walk in wardrobe type-thing, but of course thats a bit hard to find in our price range!

So if everything goes to plan I would love a little room where I can have my dresser, a mirror, a clothes rack for my favourite pieces to hang on, a little sewing table with my sewing machine and a few sparkley bits and bobs. I would also include a comfy chair to relax on and a couple of cushions and a throw blanket!

I figured this would go down well with the bf as it would keep the master bedroom so much tidier! Win-win?

What do you think? Do you have a walk-in wardrobe or dressing room?  

 

Dreamy Interiors // Dream Kitchen

So this is the second installment in my "Dreamy Interiors" series! Of course to a cake-mad-baking-nutter like me, the kitchen is a very important part of any house I live in! My first main concern is a well-functioning oven, I really hope the one in whichever house we buy works well! Otherwise I'll be finding an Electrician to take a look at it, can't have burnt cakes!

Again I'm going with the glass/white/silver/gold/purple theme here. I think they are colours I would like to continue throughout the house, perhaps with a touch of brown too, as I found a beautiful vintage glass coffee mug the other day which was brown and I've also seen some cosy chairs that I absolutely love!

I couldn't find a rectangle white table that I liked, so this will have to do. I would love to find an old one and sand it up and paint it, if I have the time! Otherwise a nice timber one would look just as good I think.

Some pretty vintage cake plates, preserving jars (which I already use to store my baking ingredients) nice cutlery, and a few gold vases would do the trick I think!

Do you have any suggestions for my dream kitchen? Luckily I already have all the appliances, I just need to make it pretty!! 

 

Dreamy Interiors // Dream Office

 I went to see a house in the weekend and although I've been trying to tell myself to not get attached until I know for sure there is nothing wrong with it, I think I have a crush...

First on my mind of course is my home office. I've already started collecting a few bits and pieces, including some glass jars for pens and pencils and some little vintage shelves I'm gonna paint white. 

Above are some of the things I would love to include in my office - a squishy chair to relax on morning tea breaks with a coffee or milo in a pretty patterned mug, some textured cushions in velvet and gold sequins for a little bit of sparkle, a white dresser for storage and filing, storage boxes in black, white and purple, a pretty vintage lamp on my desk, a little bit of a Moroccan influence with cushions and lanterns and a pretty pair of sparkley shoes to look at or wear when I'm having a rough day...

I hope everything is ok when the bf and I go look at the property report at the council tomorrow! I'm trying not to think about it too much (although it doesn't seem to be working!!) so I hope it's all good!!

What colour scheme would you use in an office or study? Would you keep it neutral or go all out in brights? Or soft pastels? 

Outfit Post // Lovely Lavender

 

Lavender Cardigan - Shop on Taieri, Lace T-shirt - Mosgiel Salvation Army,  
Grey Scarf - Postie Plus, Grey Cotton Pants - The Warehouse,  
Black Bow Ballet Flats - Kmart

 I actually wore this outfit on Tuesday and had planned to take outfit photos during my lunch break but I got distracted by the Salvation Army Store....

So here we are, I took these on Thursday! Unfortunately it was raining so you guys get these lovely inside shots. I prefer outside, it's so much brighter and the backgrounds are more interesting! The cute little Cocker Spaniel is my family dog Jesse, she said hello and then trotted off to the pantry door to wait for a biscuit! (I'm staying at my parents before I move to Invercargill)

I've actually worn this outfit quite a few times since I got these pants a month or so ago. It's my "I'm feeling lazy and I want to be comfortable and warm while I sit at my desk, working" outfit. I can't wait till summer when I can use this pretty lavender cardy as a throw-over on cool summer nights. I'm thinking I need a new little white dress...?

What does you favourite cosy winter work outfit involve? Mine is either this or a maxi t-shirt dress, long cardy, tights and boots! 

Outfit Post // Moving Day

Lavender Cardigan - Shop on Taieri, Icecream Shirt - Shop on Taieri, Grey Silk Skirt - Shop on Taieri, 
 Boots - The Warehouse, Orange, Pink and Black Rope Bracelets - Cotton On,  
White Watch - The Warehouse

I've been yawning my head off for the last hour or so now. Today was finally moving day and I've spent the last week packing everything I own into boxes. I'm such a nerd, I've kept all the boxes all my kitchen appliances came in, so it was a matter of finding the right box, then working out the jigsaw puzzle that is fitting the appliance back into the box without cords and lids spilling out from the sides! The last 2 were a complete fail, the fan got halfway in before I gave up and the guitar hero got left for the bf to sort out!

We've lived in this house for a year and a half, the longest we've lived somewhere for the past 5 years. Leases in Dunedin are ruled by the University calender, and typically run for a year before you move on to the next place. This house was the first place that felt like home. We only had 1 other flatmate (instead of up to 4 others in previous years!) so it was nice and quiet. I love this house, it just fits me perfectly. It's quirky, cute and compact, me in a nutshell! It's bittersweet leaving it now, there's so much that could be done to it to make it better, but onwards and upwards I guess!

I took these photos among the leftover furniture in my bedroom. Don't worry, I wasn't moving stuff in these clothes!! I got this shirt last week. As soon as I saw it I though "icecream shirt!" a perfect addition to my wardrobe for spring and summer. It was a spur of the moment decision to take some photos before I left. I almost had a little cry at the end. I really will miss this house. I know some people can travel through life with hardly any possessions, but to me all the things I own are a little extension of me, and I always struggle to give them up.

Have you moved somewhere recently? Do you hate moving too? Do you get attached to things and places like me?