From grey to blue.

 

The grey skies above dictated my outfit choice this morning.

Grey spotted skirt, grey tights and a grey woollen coat.

How drab and dreary!

 

 

I did try and spruce myself up with some bright lippy but I think it was a losing battle.

 

 

I was very happy to have on my grey 1970's coat I'd scored from my local Vinnies last year for a tenner because it was bloody cold outside in the morning.

 

 

Soooo warm and in excellent condition, it is  a Los Angeles of Melbourne.

 

 

But, you know, just a bit drab and lacking in....drama, so I added an enormous fluffy faux fur collar that I adopted from a Savers and have named Barry.

 

 

Snug huh? Barry does attract a bit of attention though. There were a few side glances at his plushness.

I went for a stroll and a saunter with Barry and my best girlfriend, Little Miss, and may have snuck in a little shopping, before it was absolutely necessary to relax with a babycino and chai latte.

 

 

How fab is her jacket! It may be made of Barry's cousin.

Barry and the jacket had to go by lunchtime because the sky had cleared and the day warmed beautifully with blue skies as far as the eyes could see.

So my drab grey outfit was quickly shelved so the kids, the dog and I could romp and rove in the stunning afternoon.

 

 

I hope everyone has a great day and may your day be filled with blue skies!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



The best laid plans....

 

 I'm a planner.

I like to make lists.

I like to be organised.

Yeah, I'm boring!

When I have an event to attend, be it a concert, dinner, drinks or a party, I have to meticulously plan in advance what I will wear. Not just the frock mind you, I have to have the whole ensemble with matching hair accessories, jewellery and underwear all pre organised. (OCD much?)

There is no throwing on any old thing at the last minute for me.

I am definitely NOT one of those lovely laid back free spirits that picks their frock dependent on their mood. Nuh huh, that just isn't me.

I had planned on wearing this amazing 70's doing 40's dress to the Tenacious D gig I went to on Friday night.

 I had found this fancy little number in a Salvo's for a measly $5.99 ages ago, but due to some modesty issues (it is very sheer!) and me not having an adequate slip I have  never worn it.

 

 

 I  bought a slip and tried the dress on with different belts, different accessories, different shoes and had finally decided on the perfect ensemble only to pop it on in the mad crazy rush that was Friday night when all my planning went awry and I suffered a wardrobe disaster.

The zipper broke! Aarrgghh!

Of course my husband had been toe tapping, grumbling under his breath and looking at his watch for a while by that time, so there was no time for repairs and I had to (gulp!) throw on another unplanned dress. Aarrgghh! Aarrgghh!

Oh well, despite clothing mishaps the night was brilliant and Tenacious D were totally entertaining and hysterical and awesome!

 

 

 

I do love this dress though with its 70's imitating 40's design, ruched shoulders, sweet little peplum and floaty skirt.

 

 

And it has such a cute little "donut" pattern in bright yellow, blue and pink which really pops against the black background.

 

  I was even going to team the dress with a great faux fur collar to make myself feel like a 40's screen siren.

Now I just need to repair the zipper and plan another night on the tiles for my little frock!

 

 

Has any one else had any disastrous wardrobe malfunctions?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



I'm back in the game!

 

Like a phoenix from the flames, I have risen!

Renewed and re energised after my lengthy bout of the flu/plague/leprosy, I finally did a full day of work on Monday, and so felt the need to celebrate my return to normality with a frenzy of op shopping on my day off on Tuesday.

 

 

I wore one of my remodelled dresses, a terribly sewn homemade vintage number that I love anyway. It has wonky seams and bits that don't quite match but it has such a vibrant pattern with bright orange, purple and green on black.

 

 

I had taken off the oddly ill fitting sleeves and added a little bow at the neck because every dress looks better with a bow in my opinion.

 

 

And doesn't my little green scottie dog brooch look adorable?

 

 

After living in my PJ's for the past two weeks it is amazing how much better a girl can feel all frocked up with a big ass victory roll in her hair and my war paint on!

 

 

 

My old friends, the lovely local charity shops, welcomed me with open arms, and I basked in their warm embrace and hunted and delved until I found......

NOTHING!

Say what?

I'm worried I may have lost my oppy mojo. I even had sore arms from pawing through the racks and lugging armloads of clothes around. What have I become?

But fret not for I have formulated an intensive thrift shop work out program to increase my shopping stamina and build strength up again and I will hit those stores HARD and become a gold winner bargain huntress once more!

 

 



Happy Mothers Day

 

Happy Mothers Day to my amazing and beautiful mother who with her strength, patience, devotion and most of all love has been my inspiration as a mum and whom I try to emulate daily.

She is my best friend and the person with whom I can be my true self (warts and all!) and who will listen and care and not think I am a loony when I rave and rant, dream and dither or whine and wail.

She is also going to kill me for posting this fab pic of us all frocked up as part of a wedding party in the 80's.

(But how awesome are those puff sleeves! And that may be the beginning of my capelet obsession).

I have had a wonderful day, full of love and homemade gifts and hope that all of the ladies out there who may be mums or grandmothers or even aunts have had a special day with all of their nearest and dearest.

 

 

 

 

Tales from the sick-bed.

 

You can forget any fancy frocks today as I'm favouring plague-victim chic at the moment and am still suffering from my virus/infection/leprosy illness.

My doctor has prescribed bed, and some heavy duty antibiotics and I am self medicating with hot tea, macaroons and the series 1,2 and 3 of the always hysterical "IT Crowd".

 

Take one every three hours!

 

As revolting as I imagine inside of me looks at present (don't get me started on what I coughed up this morning!) I'm pretty sure my outsides are more disgusting. Weird dry flaky patches of skin have decided to adorn my face and body and my skin has a delightful pale waxy pallor.

 

image found here

I'm pretty sure this is how I look at the moment.

Fetching huh?

 

To cheer myself up I am including the cutest sloth video EVER, because nothing makes a person feel better than an adorable sloth aggressively cuddling a cat. Nothing.

 



Pimp my cabinet.

 

Remember my little blue friend that I liberated from a Vinnies' charity shop.

 

 

So sad. So lonely. So blue.

Well, he has finally had a little makeover with a bit of paint to add some zing....

 

 

 

 and ta dah!

 Park your peepers on him now.

 

 

Let me tell you, I couldn't be happier. Or prouder.

I spent most a public holiday weekend pimping him out (and perhaps getting a bit high from the enamel paint fumes - damn that stuff is whack!)

Although the cabinet has flaws (yes little bug that has somehow become entombed in the surface  I'm talking to you!), but all of the imperfections give it charm and character. And I'd rather drink the paint than do more coats to fix any of the issues, so full of "character" it is.

 

 

And can I rave about the colour.

Oooohhhh, I jut adore it!

It is so energising; so fresh. It just pops like crazy against our newly painted white walls.

Now before you go thinking I'm a crack DIY'er with all my skill and expertise and many hours of prepping, cleaning and painting this bad boy, I did call a furniture spray company just to enquire about the price of spraying before I had tackled my lovely.

Are you sitting down?

They quoted almost $900 freaking dollars.

How crazy is that? (That's a whole lot of vintage frocks and hand bags let me tell you!)

So that makes me appreciate my lovingly hand painted turquoise cabinet even more - bugs, brush hairs, streaks and all!

 

 

 

I added some pretty glass handles because a girl has to have some bling and my husband put a new shelf in and drilled some holes in the back for all those messy cords.

And we finally have enough room to store our record collection!

I now have to pull my finger out and get started on the cool shelves I want to hang above my great new TV cabinet. When is the next long week end?

Has any one attempted any cool DIY projects lately?

 

 

 

 

 

 



All I want for Christmas is a pygmy marmoset, and other tales from the Mogo Zoo.

 

I'm still laid low with a sinus infection and feeling very sorry for myself.

 (I'm like a demanding, whiny child when I'm sick - good times for all around me I'm sure!)

So why not  cheer myself up and play catch up on my final holiday snaps.

Whilst on holidays it was my sons 7th birthday and luckily we were told of an amazing zoo just a little road trip away in Mogo. And you know how excited I am by zoo's!

 

Whilst Mogo Zoo is fairly small compared to its big city counterparts, it is a lovely day out and visitors can interact with many of the animals with feeding sessions and are able to get up close and personal with lots of the zoo's beautiful beasts.

 

 

I could have spent all day being entertained by this little guy. He was a real daredevil with his death defying aerial manoeuvres.

 

 

Some of the cuties had me itching to give them a cuddle, like this adorable pygmy marmoset. Look at that little face! And I could have fit five in my hand bag (not that I had any thoughts of smuggling exotic animals out in my bag. None. OK, maybe I did).

 

Some of the animals were a lot cuddlier and sweeter than others.

 

 

 

And some I was happy viewing from afar.

 

 

We did have the opportunity to listen to an amazing talk about some of the beautiful white lions and watch them have a snack of chicken necks. Learning about the breeding program and the lions lifestyle was just fascinating. And watching them interact with the keeper, who obviously adored them was magical.

 

 

You really don't realise how HUGE they are until they are up close.

My daughter was however a bit disappointed that none of them roared and kept loudly asking during the presentation for them to say "Raaahhh" to her.

There were also some tears when she realised that she couldn't have a ride on the giraffes or zebras. Those zoo's can be such party poopers!

 

 

Feeding the deer was a much more appropriate activity for the kids and they loved the chance to pat those pretty faces.

 

 

OK, so I loved it too!

 

 

Something I probably didn't need to discover was that if any of the deer have untimely accidents or die of natural causes they are....ahem....."donated" to the lions. As the lions are so special the poor old dead deer become a vital part of their diet. So that just made me feed the deer more. Eat up and enjoy fellas whilst you can!

But I think the coolest part of Mogo zoo was Monkey Island.

 

 

Yes, some of the lucky primates had their own little island paradise.

And you could visit them in a little row boat!

 

 

This was as close as we got to Monkey Island though because there was some monkey unrest and domestic disputes going on and those monkeys were LOUD!

We all had a fantastic time and I think the zoo helped make my sons birthday a very special one that he won't soon forget.

Has anyone else ever been to Mogo Zoo?