Street Style Inspired #1.

As you know, I spend about 50% of my free time looking at street style blogs. I have started to use them as inspiration for creating my own outfits, often pairing previously unthought of prints or colours, and making purchase decisions that I would never have gone with by just looking at the piece of clothing on the rack.

Take the below picture for example. If I had been shown a picture of that striped sweater alone, I would have crinkled my nose in disgust. But, paired with that cute camel skirt and rocking it with attitude, the previously dowdy sweater is now a source of outfit brainstorming.

Behold my own version of this lady's rocking outfit:

I'm seriously crushing on those green suede Jeffrey Campbell boots.

Not My Daughter, You Bitch!

For the past few Harry Potter movie releases, a few of my friends and I have set a whole day aside for a day of leisure. The tradition goes like this: go to a yummy brunch in the morning, then to the supermarket to grab ingredients and snacks, and then back to one of our houses to hang out and make a mouth-watering Jamie Oliver chicken caesar salad and an equally tasty dessert. To top off the day, we would catch a night session of Harry Potter (to avoid those pesky kids and loud teenagers), sneaking in our desserts, popcorn, and 7-11 slurpees. We are truly thrifty people at heart - why pay 3x more at Hoyts for the same thing you can get much cheaper somewhere else?

This past weekend was our last Harry Potter day, and a bittersweet emotion that ran through me all day. The films will never match the books, but they have gotten much better with each film and the actors grew into their characters' skins. This last film was very well-done in my opinion, and I admit I was close to shedding a tear at the end. That is, until I realised they decided to include the ridiculous "19 Years Later" epilogue.

I'm sure you are all more interested in the food we ate/cooked this year, so onto the pictures!

First it was brunch at Chaos Cafe in Neutral Bay:

Mango, Mint and Apple Frappe

Scrambled Special - with Feta, Sundried Tomatoes and Spinach with Sourdough Toast

Omelette with Spinach, Onion and Bacon

Lust-Haves: Rainbow Lips.

Continuing on from my previous post, this week's list is dedicated to the wonderful world of lipsticks. I've been drawing a lot of inspiration from the 'Coloured Lips' tumblr site - this blog has a picture of virtually every lip shade and gloss/matte option out there.

At the moment, I am hankering for some pink, peach and coral shades to add to my devastatingly small lipstick collection. 

Lust. 

Pout Like You Mean It.

I am LOVING the bold lip colour trend happening right now.

Two weeks ago, I impulse bought the Bust Out! lustre lipstick from M.A.C's limited-edition 'Surf Baby' range. This lovely mid-tone violet shade went a long way to satisfy my dramatic lip craving. The pictures really don't do justice to how great and dramatic the colour is. Note to self: invest in better lighting or better camera, whichever is more realistic.

Bust Out! - WITH flash

Bust Out! - WITHOUT flash

Without flash

With flash

Then one week ago, I impulse bought (I'm sensing a worrying shopping habit forming) Zoe Foster's beauty book Amazing Face, which is truly AH-maz-ing in every sense of the word. Filled with clever skin and make-up tips, it has already become my beauty bible. Zoe has some ingenious tips on achieving the ooh-la-la bold lip. Obviously I'm not going to give away all her advice - you'd have to buy her book, but here are some of her wise words:

• Bright lipsticks are best if they come in a creamy/matte formula
• Make sure your skin is as flawless as can be (concealers and foundations are your friends, ladies)
• Be minimal in your eye make-up to give centre stage to your lips
• For red lips, USE A LIPLINER
• Using a lip brush will give you a more precise application (and lasts longer)

So give your lips some loving and play around with your lipsticks!

Lust-Haves: Moneymaker.

On Saturday, the gorgeous new Prada and Miu Miu stores opened in Westfield Sydney. Everything was beautiful, but the wallets were an especially lust-worthy sight. What do I usually look for in a wallet? Well, because I hate folding notes, I love long wallets, and I also tend to gravitate towards more neutral colours. And since I am a member of practically every brand, I need my wallets to have lots of card slots. Plus it has to be matte - I have an irrational hate towards patent wallets (except for some Miu Miu ones). Style-wise, I like my wallets to have clean lines, classically chic, and understated.

When I got home, I discovered an Internet gem called Polyvore - it's a web platform that allows users to create editorial style sets, collections or templates, based on virtually every item that is sold online from a huge range of websites and brands. And just when it couldn't get any better, you can import over any images that they don't currently have on file. Perfect for making collages!

Lust.

Do the Dip.

I'm sure many of you have the same dream that I have: to go to New York, baby. Number one on my NYC bucket list is to eat a chili dog, but getting to New York is a bit of a pipe dream right now. Luckily, the good people at Good God have come up with a brilliant concept called The Dip, which gives Sydney-siders a taste of the Americana "canteen and tasty eats" culture.

The menu offers delights such as the Kosher Chili Hot Dog, Steak Fries, Salsa Fries, and Kangaroo Burger. Yummy cocktails are also served up by the jug, with ingenious names such as the Chevy Chase. The only qualm I had about the place was that it was too dark - I could barely see my food or my friends' faces.

 

 

My friend has an actual review of our experience, click here to read it!

Flower Power.

As per my nail art inspiration post, I have started to experiment with different nail designs. Why only paint your nails in a single colour when there are so many other touches you can add?

Ta-da! Excuse my terrible base colour painting (in my defense, this is my left hand, and I am left-handed), but I think I achieved something resembling flowers. Plus I've been getting a truckload of compliments about it from every shopkeeper I break out my wallet for, which has been quite a lot. I love sale time!

One lady even asked if I used the Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen for my nails, which I had never heard of. Naturally I went and got one straight away, so I will be experimenting with that soon. Check back for more updates!

Florals.

Every Spring, a floral explosion occurs in fashion. Every year, without fail. But, this year's designs and prints are making me very excited for September!

via Who What Wear

Like Nails on a Chalkboard.

During the past few days, I've been getting reacquainted with my tumblr, and revisiting and discovering new tumblr blogs. I've noticed that there's a lot more posts about nail polish and interesting nail art ideas circulating around, and you all know about my love of nail polish. So, I've bookmarked some nail looks that I definitely want to try my hand at (yeah, pun intended).

Enjoy!

  

It is very unrealistic that I could ever achieve this look.

Lust-haves: Life is a Runway.

I think I'm cheating a little, but because I am running embarrassing low on cash flow, this week I am not lusting after individual items as such. Instead, I'm making notes on what has inspired me in street style blogs. I am always amazed at how creative and risk-taking these beautiful people are in their sartorial choices, and how they make the clothes fit their personality, and not the other way round.

So without further ado, here are some of the looks I'm aspiring to. Prepare for a visual feast.

Besides having a child with my favourite band's frontman, I love Sofia Coppola for her style. She is the queen of simple, preppy chic. Photographed here at the recent Paris couture shows, her outfits are always clean and well-put together. 

Lovely colour combinations and killer accessories. I love the lady at the end, mixing a denim shirt with that bright skirt. It totally brings out her incredible skin.

  

This concept illustrator is a favourite of mine. She has great style, especially when it comes to mix and matching separates, and she does these gorgeous sketches with every look.

 

 

 

 

 

  

Lust.

Couch Potato.

In recent years, television has diverged in two different directions - either really thought provoking, innovative and well-produced/acted (think Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Boardwalk Empire), and the, well, opposite (anything Eddie McGuire is involved in, the Real Housewives franchise, any CBS sitcom except for the Big Bang Theory).

But really, who am I to judge what a "good" TV show is? What I like is bound to be different to your tastes. The real shame of Australian television is that there is hardly any good shows being broadcast anymore. And network stations have resorted to stamping "NEW EPISODE" and creating tension-filled adverts to entice us to tune in, when in fact 1. they are sadly 3 months+ behind US television, and 2. the scenes they use in the adverts have really nothing to do with the main plot of the episode.

I bet the programme bosses hanker for the days of the 90s, when we were not obsessed with a wonderful thing called the Internet, and to watch a TV show, we had to actually watch it on a television. Speaking of the 90s, it reminds me of some great shows that I miss:

Ally McBeal

I wish law firms in real life were all like Cage and Fish. A unisex bathroom playing host to many memorable and awkward scenes, face bras, weird dancing babies... this show had it all, and then some.

Dawson's Creek

This show was a weekly staple in my early high school years. It was so much more than your average teen drama. For one, it was very educational - what other show in this genre requires you to watch it with a dictionary by your side? And if you had told me that 10 years later Katie Holmes would be married to Tom Cruise, Michelle Williams would be a knock-out indie actress, and Joshua Jackson would be Diane Kruger's arm candy, I would have thought it was April Fool's Day.

Daria

Every one wants Morgan Freeman to narrate their lives, but I would much prefer Daria. This girl had sass and sarcasm spilling out of her pores. What makes this show so good are the astute observations of the world (and the stupid people in them) and the really well realised characters. My favourite quote: "Don't worry, I don't have low self-esteem. It's a mistake. I have low esteem for everyone else."

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

This is the original vampire show, before Twilight ruined it all. I had the biggest crush on Spike. I was in such a minority, every time I said "to hell with Angel. Who cares about him?", I swear I lost a friend.

Freaks and Geeks

I maintain that Freaks and Geeks is the best thing Judd Apatow has done so far. Bridesmaids and Superbad have nothing on this severely under-appreciated show, and I'm not sure James Franco has topped his work here since.

What were some of your favourite shows?

Can I eat now?

Thanks to Masterchef, us Aussies are becoming food connoisseurs. A pasta dish is no longer just "good" or "not so good". We're getting more and more refined with our taste buds: how are the textures interacting with each other, is there a balance of flavours, how is the dish plated, can I sound any more like Matt Preston? And before we can tuck into any dish, we must photo-document it (as a food blogger friend of mine says, "We have to say grace first").

While I am a lover of good food, it's getting a bit over the top. However, if there is one good thing that's come out of this food explosion, it's the growing popularity of desserts, bakeries and high teas. As a dessert-freak, the array of tarts, macarons, cakes, cupcakes, slices, crepes and breads available today makes me a very happy Sydney-sider.

In this city, there are two standout bakeries that I'm sure are in all the new travel guides, and always have ridiculously long lines. I am, of course, referring to Adriano Zumbo and Bourke Street Bakery. Famous for his innovative (read: pretty much impossible to achieve at home) desserts and to-die-for macarons, Adriano Zumbo has sure capitalised on his Masterchef fame, coming out with his own TV show, cooking labs and (soon to be released) book. And what can I say about Bourke Street Bakery except for YUM. The store space is modest (like really modest) but the menu offers gems such as ginger tarts, flourless chocolate cakes, lamb rolls, and quince tarts. I'm just going to let the pictures do the talking.

From left to right: Lemon meringue tarts, Ginger tart, Rhubarb tart, Chocolate tart from Bourke Street Bakery

Macarons: Strawberries & Cream, Kaffir Lime & Ginger, Chestnut & Mint, Chocolate

Lust-Haves: Grandpa, can I raid your closet?

If cardigans were an ingredient, it would definitely be a condiment like salt, or olive oil. Weird analogy I know. What I mean is that it adds a subtlety to your dish/outfit, and is a staple in your wardrobe and an ever present option for any kind of outfit. It is especially true in this current weather. Sydney's winter weather this year is basically like a woman going through menopause - nice and sunny one minute, and then cold and moody the next. It's a nightmare situation for making wardrobe decisions. 

The only solution is to layer, and what better choice than the humble cardigan. I love cardigans. I'm not kidding. I think I have one (or more) in every colour.

And this is only ~60% of my cardigan collection..

There are so many cute designs out there, which makes it virtually impossible for me to stop hoarding buying more and more. So let's go shopping!

Lust.