Friday 14 December 2012

Spend or Splurge

I must have some kind of magical powers or something, don't you think? I'm getting really good at disappearing into thin air! ;) 'Tis the "silly season" after all. And I'm going overseas next week, so its fast-tracked silly season on steroids for me. Anyway, whilst I've been shopping (more like window shopping because I've already blown my budget) online and instores, I've found a few perfect-for-party-season pieces. And since I'm not buying anything for myself anymore, I thought I would share it with all my readers - 'tis the season of spreading joy after all ;)...'tis also the season of legitimately getting away with wearing bright red, gold/silver, green or all 3 together - okay, may be not all 3 together but you know what I mean - of looking festive! So, whether its your end-of-year work party or a Christmas dinner with the family, it's all about being bright and bold but elegant. In my quest to find these perfect outfit, I came across styles for different kinds of fashionistas - the Spenders and the Splurgers! So, here's my very first compilation of a Spend or Splurge list...

The Dress:
Spend: Asos Lace Dress - $76.50
Splurge: Lover the Label Dress - $740



The Clutch:
Spend: Witchery Paris Sparkle Clutch - $89.99
Splurge: Jimmy Choo Candy Clutch in Champagne - $525


The Shoes:
Spend: Forever New Misty Diamante Platform - $89.99
Splurge: Peeptoe Miss Indulgence Heels with Swarovski Elements - $599
 The Jewelry:
Spend: Lovisa Crystal Chandelier - $29.99
Splurge: Kate Spade Fragment Pearl Earrings - $78
Hope you find your inspiration in these! And no matter what you do, say or wear, I hope you enjoy the Holiday Season!!

Monday 3 December 2012

Date Night

After a busy few weeks and weekends, both Mr. Pre and I decided to take some time out to enjoy a nice, quiet dinner - just the 2 of us - and brace ourselves for the silly-season. A Groupon Voucher I had for a 3 course dinner for 2 at an Italian restaurant in Port Melbourne (Pane E Tulipani) came in very handy at this time. It was the perfect summer's (date) night!
A glimpse of my outfit...

We started off with an Antipasto platter to share.

Followed by Mains
Gnocchi in Napoli Sauce (not great, unfortunately :( )
Linguine with Prawns (not bad)
 Desert to share (thankfully, as this is bigger than it looks!)
Tiramisu (yummmmm!)
There was also a Salad to share and a glass of Wine each. All this for $29 and I had bought the voucher with a $10 promo code - so all this for $19! Not bad, eh? The food at that restaurant was decent, their desert was fantastic! Although, I probably wouldn't go back there as we don't normally venture out that way, but the voucher was a good excuse to go some place different. Plus the perfect balmy weather made it all worth while. All in all: I'm not complaining.

More about what I wore...


Maxi Skirt with Slits: *$29 (Forever New)
Black Silk Tank: *$5 (Dotti DFO)
 Gold Sandals: *$10 (Rubi)
Clutch: *$20 Colette
Earrings: *$12.50 (Portmans)

Date Night Outfit Total: $76.50 
* = sale prices

Wednesday 28 November 2012

VIP nights, Sales and Special events

My calendar has been so full these last few days! All these sales and special offers! Click Frenzy (which was an epic fail), Chadstone VIP Night, Melbourne Central Shopping Event, etc. etc. I just love this time of year! Has anyone else been taking advantage of these pre-Christmas, post-Black Friday (so confusing!) events?!! Don't worry if you've missed any of these or if you're not a Melbournian....

BARGAIN ALERT: There's one more One Day only Shopping Event for everyone to take advantage of all over Australia (minus the crashing of websites) - Westfield Super Saturday on 1st December. More details available on their website.

Chadstone VIP night ended up being more a night out with the girls for me, I only bought one top (the first one below) as we spent most of our time sampling free bubbly, having dinner (at Oriental Tea House which was ah-mazing) and stopping at every store everyone wanted to visit. I got more shopping done today at Melbourne Central as I was alone and focussed on the task at hand. Here's what I bought from the Chadstone & Melbourne Central Sales...

First Stop: Forever New - 20% off all stock (even Sale items)
Scarlett Lace Top - Soft Gold

Vanilla Lock Front Bag

Stevie Neon Trim Tee - Neon Orange
 Next Stop: Portmans - 30% off Storewide (including Sale stock)

String Back Maxi Dress - Jade

Cropped Jacket - Derby Pink

Beaded Contrast Hem Maxi Dress
With these gorgeous maxi dresses, a white crossbody bag (which is something I've wanted for a long time), a top that I can take from day to night, a trendy gym top & the MOST comfortable blazer you'll ever find (it looks more coral than pink in real life, not like the photo) I think I'm all set for summer! Plus I've blown my budget so I'm going to lay low now.

Happy Shopping to all those who are planning to go to Westfield Super Saturday, I'm sure there will be similar offers there on the day.

Sunday 18 November 2012

Online Shopping

I've been a busy-busy-bee! But haven't been doing anything blog-worthy. Just work and other stuff. But in all this busy-ness I managed to grab a few moments to myself to do some online shopping. I haven't bought anything from ASOS in over six months. Mainly because I haven't had the time to browse through their gazillion pages of products to see if there's anything I like and also because when I saw what I saw, I wasn't impressed. But I had come across this Maxi Dress as I was wanting to get a few for summer so I put it my Saved Items to mull over it. Then I saw this Holster  Ad (and I wasn't looking at the Holsters) on Vogue Forums and everytime I went on there, it kept teasing me and reminding me of the ASOS Dress...
...And this was my (s)inspiration to buy this Asos Dress (AND there was a 20% off Code going around)...
Asos Maxi Dress
 ...and while I was there and I had the discount code, I even decided to sneak this into my Shopping Cart...
ASOS Wrap Dress
 Also, while browsing through Pinterest the other day, I came across this Shirt-Dress (remember a Shirt-Dress is one of the things of my Summer Wishlist) and it was selling on a website called Pinkbasis.com. I didn't buy it because a) I've never heard of this website before and didn't know if it was safe - although they do have the option to pay with Paypal and b) the shipping costs more than the dress - although the dress is pretty cheap and even with shipping doesn't come up to much. So, you see how I'm in a dilemma right now of "to buy or not to buy". 
Pinkbasis.com Shirt Dress
If anyone has ever bought from Pinkbasis and can provide some feedback, do let me know by commenting below. I've actually wanted a turquoise/teal silky shirt-dress ever since I saw someone wearing it at South Yarra train station, but I was on the train and she was on the opposite platform so it wasn't like I could ask her where she got it from (not that I go upto random strangers every opportunity I get and ask them where they bought what they're wearing from).
Anyway, hopefully this coming week I'll have more to share. My prediction for this week is that Venus looks to be moving into the house of Mars, which, loosely translated, means that I'm going to be spending money and Mr.Pre is not going to be happy about it ;). Yes, it's that time of the season again - 

BARGAIN ALERT: Chadstone VIP Night is on Wed. 21st Nov. And they're keeping stores open till Midnight this time! Hope to see you there!

PS: I don't work for/at Chadstone, I just do this purely out of the goodness of my heart. ;)

Sunday 11 November 2012

Pre - the Picky Picker

My updates are a week behind now. So here are some photos of our adventures from last weekend. Last Saturday was the perfect Spring day. 22 deg. C. and sunny. So we went to the Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm in Mornington for yummy strawberry deserts (oh they were so sinfully yummy!) and strawberry picking (much needed exercise after all that food).
Strawberry Sundae, Belgian Waffles, Pancakes with Maple Syrup and Vanilla Bean ice-cream
The farm
 It was cool at first so I had my cardigan on, but soon after walking around in the sun, it was warm enough to take off the cardigan, yet not so warm that we were uncomfortable being in the sun. And even with all the screaming children, running around, strawberry picking to my surprise was actually quite a calming and relaxing experience.
I was being a very picky picker and the area we were meant to pick from hardly had any decent strawberries left by the time we got there.

After about 20-25 minutes of picking (may be more, I'm not quite sure, I lost track of time) my punnet wasn't even half full because I was only after the most flawless berries. 
After the first 25 minutes of picking
My picky-ness paid off - just when I was considering lowering my standards, one of the staff members came and announced that they were opening up a new area to pick from so we had more choice. This was really helpful, as in the new area I found lots of my kind of berries - the kind you see in photos and drawings. Perfect!
The Perfect Strawberry!
And in after about 15 minutes in the new area, my punnet was filled with these!
Full punnet! (Sorry about the hazy photo. It was too bright, I couldn't see what I was doing)
Ah and the most important part! A picky picker's outfit must be comfortable so that all the focus can be on the task of finding the right fruit. I was worried if I wore a dress or flowy skirt the wind would distract me and all I would be worrying about is having Marilyn-Monroe-moments with my skirt flying around. Still, I wanted to wear a skirt so I could walk around without getting too hot. So, I wore a more fitted skirt. Flat, comfortable walking shoes, of course - and it is quite mucky there so they had to be ones that I didn't mind getting dirty and then could easily clean later.


Off-white Lace Top: $39 (Zara)
Pastel Pink Bow front skirt: $19.95 (Valleygirl)
Coral Ballet Flats: *$15 (Rubi Shoes)
Necklace: *$7 (Valleygirl)
Assorted bracelets: Gift (Lovisa)
Sunnies: $35 (Sportsgirl)
Navy Crochet Cardigan: $25 (Temt)

Outfit Total:  $140.95
* = sale prices

After all that toiling in the farm, we got really hungry, but all the cafes around had closed. So we went to the local grocer in Shoreham (I think it was) and had a late lunch-early dinner (or "lunner" as I like to call it). It was exactly what we needed! Carb-a-licious!


 
Meatlovers Turkish Pide & Coffee
New York Pastrami Sandwich
It was a perfect day! It was only last week but it feels like a long time ago... This last week has just been one long roller-coaster ride. Perfect at first - and then far from - and then a little better again. I just hope it all settles down soon as I'm starting to feel a bit dizzy.

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Fashion Show

Hello fashionistas & fortunistas! Sorry I've been MIA ah-gain! Exciting things have been happening but I've just been waiting to gather photos to show...Last Friday (so not the Friday that just passed but the 26th of Oct) my lovely friend and budding designer Dewi co-hosted a Charity Event which included lots of fantastic dance performaces, a live band, a fully-charged drumming session and a fashion show showcasing her gorgeous designs. And the lovely Dewi asked me to walk the ramp in one of her dresses. Naturally, I jumped at the offer! But the more I thought about it, the more I believed that beauty must truly lie in the eyes of the beholder. We had a couple of rehearsals before the show where I (secretly) swore to myself never to do something like this again as I felt really inept. Also, the show was on Friday night which meant I had to rush straight from work on a rainy day, which meant I had to get my hair done the day before the show as I only had just about enough time on the day to get to the Venue and do my makeup. But when we actually went through it on Friday night, I couldn't wait to do it again!
Now that the photos are officially out, I can share them with you. And there's also a video at the bottom of this post of Dewi's beautiful, feminine dresses. Enjoy! xx 
This is what I wore: A lovely black, satin evening gown with blue sequins on the top and back straps
Clearly not a Professional - I look like a deer caught in headlights so I've cropped my face off ;) But it's all about the dress anyway

Walking the ramp - I wore my favourite Neon Pink Shoes

Here's a video (sorry not a professional one) of the Evening Wear round. I enter at around 1:51 on the timer.

Thanks again to Dewi, Reshma and everyone at Multitude Events for a great night!!

Monday 29 October 2012

Sparkly Sparkles

Just dropping in quickly to say that - Finallllllllllly! I found the perfect embellished top on Thursday! The right colour, fits with the trend but it's still a bit different from everything that's out there, fit my budget (well, almost) and most importantly fit me! ;) No points for guessing where we met - my favourite store (these days) but ofcourse, Zara.



Isn't she pretty! (Needs a bit of an iron though)
No, for once it wasn't on sale - but since I wanted it SO badly (if you've been reading this blog you'll know how badly), I made the exception and paid full price.
The damage = $79.90.

What I can wear it with: 
Blue jeans + a Blazer/Cardigan if its cold + Ballet flats in the day.
Black Pleather mini-skirt + Ankle Boots at night.
If I had a nice off-white, pleated, knee-length/short skirt, I could even wear it to the Races (but sadly I'm not going this year!)
So versatile! I'm sure I'll think of more combinations. Hopefully I'll do an outfit post soon.


Oh! I forgot to mention in my last post about this great bargain I got for my Mani+Pedi - $29 only with hot oil treatment from Diva & Co. in Hawthorn East, purchased from Ourdeal. And for only $10 more I could have bought an OPI nail-colour except they were sold out of this shade, so I didn't want to buy one for the sake of buying :(. But all in all, a great deal! Would definitely go there again.

I leave you with the photo that's currently on my iPhone Lock-screen so that I can remind myself to...


Tuesday 23 October 2012

Lunch at Lorne

To cheer my sullen mood, on Sunday Mr. Pre decided to take me for a long drive to get some fresh air and sunshine. We bought a new car a month ago and had been waiting for a chance to break it in by taking it for a long spin (but we had to wait till it had done 1000km to take it on a long-ish journey, according to him - it hit 1000ks on Friday). It was a gorgeous sunny day, with a slight nip in the air - so jumpers on, we drove to Lorne (hey, that kinda rhymes!).


We ate at the Ovenhouse Restaurant. Even though it wasn't warm, the sun, sand and sea were making me feel all summery so we ordered the perfect summery meal for lunch...
Seafood Linhuine with Prawns, Squids and Mussels
Saganaki
Crumbed Calamari
 This followed by Cheesecake and coffee at the bakery next door to the restaurant. Then we just strolled around the strip and walked on the beach enjoying the breaks of sun through cloud. Mr. Pre's iPhone 5 captured the beauty of the day perfectly in this panoramic picture...
Partly Cloudy
 Oooh and look I got a mani+pedi (not at Lorne, previously) with a colour similar to the Chanel one on my Spring/Summer Wishlist. This is OPI's "A Good Mandarin is Hard to Find". Perfect for the beach! I really need to find this "Hard to Find" shade.





Saturday 20 October 2012

Dinner & Movie (& shopping)

Hello all! Hope your week has been better than mine. At long last the weekend is here! Went to the movies tonight. Had Indian for dinner first at one of our favourites, Sahanis in Hawthorn. Got 25% off the bill thanks to a voucher we had from the Red Energy Rewards book (which is kind of like the Entertainment Book but for Red Energy customers). Then off to Chadstone to watch Taken 2; decent movie, not as good as the first, of course, as is usually the case with sequels. Again we had vouchers from Hoyts rewards so the tix were half-price (cheap! cheap!). Didn't get to take photos so here's a Polyvore of my Dinner+Movie Outfit:
Going to the Movies

Boyfriend Blazer: *$35 (Factorie)
Navy and White Striped Cold Shoulder Tee: $14.95 (Valleygirl)
Red Trousers: *$25 (Zara)
Long Gold necklace with Jet Stone: *$19.95 (Stellar)
Royal Blue Mid-heel Suede Pumps: *$40 (Novo)
Black Hobo Bag: *$44.95 (Colette)

Outfit Total: $179.85
* = sale prices

Before the movie, since I was at Chadstone, I had to go visit my favourite store - Zara. There I found one of the first things on my Spring/Summer Wishlist - Printed Pants!

Zara Trafaluc Floral Print Pants - $59.90
And although I hadn't added this on my Wishlist, I had been wanting something Green - a summery, lace dress from their TRF range fit the bill perfectly, so that somehow found its way to the checkouts, too (I used the $29 balance on my Gift Card which is all used up now)...Unfortunately, I cant find pictures of this so, will show you in an outfit post soon.

Sorry for such a short post after so long. As you can probably tell, I'm a little preoccupied. Waiting for certain things to get sorted out - things that I have no control over. But, that's life.

Have a great weekend! xoxo