Springing around

What a gorgeous weekend it was! We spent most of Saturday assembling an Ikea couch, but to fuel our project we went out for brunch first for some yummy food and vitamin D. We found ourselves in Parkdale and decided to go to Parker's cafe - best decision of the day!

Instagram moments from Saturday

 1. My order at Parker's cafe: New York Bagel with Spinach, Cream Cheese and Avocado with a side of poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce! Divine! Their coffee was great too.
2. Starfish ring from Cotton On (from ages ago) and I clearly remember it was only $1! A great find!
3. Brunch outfit.

Mr_Pre's Brunch

He had a beautiful Spinach, Feta and Mushroom Omlette (which also comes with Pumpkin but he doesn't like Pumpkin so asked for that not to be added) with Turkish Bread and Pineapple juice. I tried a bite of his Omlette - as I always do - and it was reallllly good (but my breakfast was better ;))!

Floral Dress: *$25 (Dotti)

Navy Long Cardigan: *$20 (Supre)

Brown Boots: $40 (Iniu Shoes - South Wharf DFO)

Bag : *$44.95 (Colette)

Ring: $1 (Cotton On)

Outfit Total: $130.95
* = sale prices

Still enjoying the sunshine on Sunday (with the slight nip in the air) we headed off for some shopping and coffee and here's what I wore...

Peplum Top: $45 (Forever New)

Suede Waterfall Jacket: $139.95 (Dotti)

Pants: Gift (RRP $45 - Zara)

Sunnies: $35 (Sportsgirl)

Mid-heel Black Shoes: $19.95 (Rubi)

Chainlink Ring: $15 (Topshop)

Gold Collar necklace: Gift 

(see here for better photos of ring and necklace)

Outfit Total: $299.90

* = sale prices

Hope everyone else had a great weekend too! Back to work tomorrow. Sigh!

Laying Low

It's been a slow week & weekend. There are a few things on the horizon that I am looking forward to but right now I'm just laying low. As a result, I don't have anything super-exciting to share. Just uploading a few random photos from my iPhone taken over the last few days.

 New Haircut & Colour (from Biba Hawthorn again)

Monday - Spring Work Outfit:

Top: *$10 (Gripp Jeans Liquidation Sale)

Cardigan: $35 (Portmans)

Pants: Gift (Zara) 

Necklace: *$10 (Asos)

Shoes: *$17 (Forever New)

Outfit Total: $72

* = sale prices

Chadstone VIP Night - Spring/Summer 2012

So, as you all know, I was super-excited for the Chadstone VIP Night this season - it had been over a month since I'd shopped, I got my first Credit Card, my birthday is coming up, the weather is not as cold anymore - lots of reasons to be pumped for shopping till late on a Wednesday night (and I don't mind the whole big crowds thing, its all part of the fun)! Anyway, as it always happens when you get over-excited about things, this VIP night was a bit of a let down for me. I did really well in the first hour - bought a few things from Dotti, which I'm really happy with....

Collarless Tux Jacket in Peach - $69.95 less 30% (Perfect for spring!)

Tapework Yoke Tank in Blue - $49.95 less 30%
(Love this colour!)

Superhero Leatherette Peplum Top - $49.95 less 30%
(This was the best buy of the night! And this photo doesn't
do justice to how good it looks irl)

And I also bought a dress from Dotti, which I don't want to reveal right now as it could potentially be my Birthday dress (but it could potentially not be my Birthday dress) so I will reveal after my Birthday (yes, my Birthday is a very big deal to me - if it was up to me, I would have it declared as a public holiday but, sadly, it isn't up to me :p).

Other than that, I just bought stuff to wear to the gym - because confession: my gymwear is so daggy, its not even funny! I always put all my thought, effort and money into clothes I wear for 'work' and 'going out', but never for my 'workouts'...

Speed Running Pant in Black/Citron - $24.95 less 30%

Jodie Jogger Pants in Coral - $19.95 less 30%

Strappy Banded Hem Top in Black - $24.95 less 30%

Mesh Panel Top in Coral - $19.95 less 30%

To keep my gymwear ontrend with the pastel-boom this season and to keep me warm on cooler days I picked up this Jacket from Factorie...

Varsity Jacket - $14.95 (But not to wear with above styles, to go with other pre-owned gym gear)

...I'm not a sporty sorta gal, but I think ^this looks cute. I also bought a Purple Nike t-shirt from Sportsco for $20. But THAT WAS ALL! Didn't find anything interesting after that. I was looking for shoes for my potential-bithday-dress but no luck. Zara was a bit of a disappointment. And Myer had just released the Material Girl by Madonna "range" which had all of four, that's right, FOUR styles! Or atleast there were only 4 styles left when I went there. Sad, sad, sad. The only hot thing I bought after that was Nandos Chips with Peri-Peri salt!

Now, I have a new Credit Card but nowhere to spend it, sigh! Back to the drawing board shopping ban...

Embellishments!

Currently numero uno on my wishlist is 'something embellished'. Ever since I did the Elie Saab post (and since a little before that even) I've desired a sparkly, feminine, glamourous 'something'... 

I'm drawing inspiration from these splendiferous pieces...

Don't know where it's from but this is the
MOST GORGEOUS DRESS EVER!
(If anyone knows who it's by or where it's from please post in the comments below)

If Kate Middleton's doing it, it must be right!

Another Elie Saab Masterpiece - Evan Rachel Wood at the Emmys

Love the detailing

Stunning!

 And embellishments are found not just on dresses but also...

Jackets

Pants

Shorts (although I can't imagine these being very comfortable on a hot summer's day)

Skirt - ASOS

Even Shoes! 

Top - Topshop

These sparklers are not just for NYE! Paired with a cardigan or blazer or even a loose denim shirt, they make for a very chic daytime look.

I've been contemplating getting the Topshop top, but at $96, I just can't bring myself to do it. Hope it goes on sale soon!

BARGAIN ALERT: Speaking of Sales, Chadstone Spring/Summer VIP Party is on Wednesday, 12th September 9am-11pm as usual! This one is my favourite one of the year because its just in time for my Birthday shopping (my Birthday is at the end of this month) I will most definitely post all the details of the loot. And if anyone wants to buy me a Birthday gift, this is a good time, too - you know what I want ;)...just kidding...(or may be I'm not :P)

Will post VIP Night Offers as soon as they're out. They mostly come out the Monday before the Sales. Watch this space...

ETA: http://www.chadstoneshopping.com.au/...%20Listing.pdf

I did it! 30 days of NO SHOPPING!

Yaaay! I haven't shopped for 30 days! My last purchase was at Melbourne Airport Duty Free when I bought Marc Jacobs' Daisy (50ml) on 2nd of Aug on my way back from Thailand (so really, 1st Aug cause I was still on Thai-time). I'm so proud I managed to honour the commitment I made publicly on the blog after the massive shopping spree(s) (but then Thailand happened so I had to tweak the rules a little). Honestly, I hadn't given myself a set time-limit, I just knew I had to cut down and save money after spending on my trip etc. Plus I've been so busy with work and stuff that I haven't had the time or the energy to shop (which was a blessing but very well-disguised, I must say). I just went with the flow and before I knew it, I had lasted a whole month!

And that is why, on this gorgeous first day of Spring I decided to celebrate and visit some of my usual digs again ;)...

Chapel St around 5pm

Ok, we are moving backwards now...I actually, went to Chadstone first. My first (and pretty much only) stop at Chadstone was Zara. And to get myself ready for Spring, I got these pants...

I'm loving the candy colours that are out this season. I have a few tops and scarves to fit the trend  but I needed bottoms, and these were the perfect colour - the only colour that is part of the trending pastel rainbow that I didn't already own (except mint, I really don't like mint, even as a flavour...let the gasping begin....just a personal choice - I don't mind it on others). But, but, but I had a gift-card for Zara so these pants at $45.95 technically cost me $0, so I still haven't broken my ban! And you've gotta reward good behaviour, that's the best way to keep going.

What was even better was that I was ready to walk out with a US size 6 pair but when I tried them on they were loose! And for the first time after a reallllly long time, I fit into a US size 4 (don't be deceived by the angle of this pic which is making my hips look massive)!! Even in this slim-fit style! WIN WIN WIN! So, I decided to reward that behaviour with a Red Velvet Cupcake :)...

After that, I went to Topshop but just to browse. And I bought an iPhone cover from Dotti for $9.95 which is something I really needed but you can't count that as shopping now, can you? No you can't! So, 30 days and counting....:D