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.

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!!

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...

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.

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:

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

S/S 2012/13 Wishlist

Daylight savings begins. It's official - Winter is over. I'm so excited! I LOVE warm weather! In the winter, I complain on an average around 100 times per day about how cold it is. But you'll never hear me say - it's too hot! Bring on the sunshine! Bring on spring/summer outfits! Time to add some colour to my wardrobe! Time to make a Wish-list! It's a short list this time, so where possible I've tried to include pictures of options.

Zara Glitter Heels

Photo Courtesy: Lucy Laucht

Printed Pants/Trousers

Kit Pinata Purple Nail Polish (or similar)

(A little late on the bandwagon, I know but) An Envelope Clutch

Shirtdress

Chanel Holiday Nail Colour (or similar)

Told you it was a short-list. Stay tuned to find out which of these actually end up in my wardrobe (my bet is - All of them!)...

Until then, here's something to think about....

Another year older but none the wiser.

Welcome to my Birthday party! It was a crappy weekend weather-wise (as it always is on my Birthday) but no winds or rain or hail (or drunk footy-fans after the Grand Final) could stop me from painting the town red! My house was the staging area, where everyone met to share some Champagne, nibbles and cake.

My Birthday Cake: Chocolate Mousse Cake from The Cheesecake Shop.
If the candles say ^that's my age - then that's my age! And no, it's not mispelt,
that's how Mr. Pre spells "Sweetie" :). (The dips were for the chips not the cake, don't worry.)

Nibbles: Chips, crackers, dip and the pink, yellow and peach stuff is Sushi!
Don't those colours look great! 

I found a Groupon Voucher for limo hire (you know it, I can sniff a bargain from a mile away) and I couldn't resist ! So we drove to the city in a 10-seater Porsche Cayenne!

More Champers!

My Neon Pink Heels glowing in the LED lights on the limo-floor

It was G-L-A-M all the way! My friend HB got us into the VIP section at Fusion in Crown. Thanks for that, HB. You are the man!

This was our view from our very own private balcony!

Birthday Outfit

White Peplum Scuba Dress: *$48.95 (Dotti)

Fluoro Waist Belt: $16.99 (Forever New)

Neon Pink Heels: *$149.95 (Wittner - they're now $99.95 - damn!)

Yellow Bracelet:  $19.99 (Lovisa)

Blue Bracelet & Pink Bangle: *$7 each (Forever New)

My Favourite: Layered Rhinestone Bib Necklace: Approx. $20 (Forever 21) 

Gold Clutch: *$22 (Colette)

Outfit Total: Approx. $291.88

* = sale prices

The other fluoro bracelet on my left hand is the one we got at the club as the VIP access pass - trendy huh!

On Sunday, it was still cold but sunny, perfect day for a drive to the Dandenong Ranges. We had lunch in Olinda and Hot Chocolate at Skyhigh, Mt. Dandenong.

See Melbourne CBD in the distance?

All in all, a great Birthday Weekend! A BIG THANK YOU to all those who made it so special! 

xxxx