What I Wore Wednesday

Good afternoon/good evening and goodnight ... sending hellos to all wherever in the world you're reading from. Are there any readers from outside Australia?! I'd love to hear from you - remember anyone can leave a comment!

Today's outfit is an op shop and retail blend. My favourite item is this tangerine (Roxy, that's for you!) Jane Lamerton cardigan that I picked up from a fantastic charity shop in Toowoomba named Orphans and Widows. The stock comes from fancy-pancy suburbs in Brisbane is is VERY reasonably priced. This cardigan is currently being sold in Myer for I'd imagine at least $80. This was $10 and appears unworn. The fact that it was a size 14 didn't deter me at all. So many other good quality brands are available and most items are $10 and under. If an item isn't sold for six weeks or so it moves up the back to the $2 section!

I'll be frequenting this shop much more often ... they have vintage too!

miss shop dress | asos tights | vintage boots (lifeline) | jane lamerton cardi | ken done vintage bag

and here is a little fun Leah (my trusty photographer) and I had this morning. FAIL.

Remember, my giveaway is open till midnight Friday. Go and enter!

Blogger shout out - Lauren's Custom Illustrations

Today's post goes out to the awesome and oh-so-talented Lauren from tastes like love.

A couple of months ago I contacted Lauren to commission a picture of my twin sis and her partner for a surprise baby shower gift. Given that I only gave Lauren a couple of weeks lead time I was not surprised (nor disappointed) that it was not ready in time for the shower. I'm glad we didn't rush through the process and what has resulted is a very accurate and detailed interpretation of Ness and Brad. Lauren was so attentive and patient and was happy to make changes (however little) to satisfy me and I couldn't be more pleased. 

Mila (my gorgeous new niece) is now two weeks old. I was both excited and nervous to hear Ness and Brad's reaction to the gift after my dad delivered it to Brisbane. I didn't need to be worried - Ness instagrammed the pic not long after receiving it with the comment 'awesome gift, thx @peta_ballerina. 

I'd recommend you consider getting Lauren to create a picture of you or your loved ones. The effort that goes in to creating the picture far outweighs the cost, and what a unique and personalised (and some would say quriky) gift it is.

(she is doing one of the husband and I at the moment!)

see Lauren's pics here.

Inspired ... Red, White and Animal Print

When I laid eyes on this picture of Kate Moss I knew I had to pin it straight away. Red, white and animal print is a classic in my book and is a look that anyone can recreate usually with pieces directly from their own wardrobe. 

That jacket is AMAZING and if I could look that good in red leather pants (and could afford them for that matter) I'd search around the world for the ultimate pair. But I found an alternative in the form of these Lorna Jane jeggings (which aren't all that cheap themselves to be honest). Thinking back to no more than a year ago you would have never seen me even consider buying, let along wearing jeggings but times are a changing. I'm no Kate Moss but quite like this outfit. Can you really go wrong with this colour/pattern combo?

all iphone photos ahead edited with instagram or Photo Editor.

thrifted jacqui e cardi | target shirt | lorna jane jeggings | corelli ballet flats | guess bag

I have some other random photos to share as well. Some that have made it to instragram and some that haven't - all from my iphone : )

trying on said jeggings at Lorna Jane. Bloody left with the hoodie too.

the one and only mr rock dog

the cutest vintage little boys shirt

all dresses at target were $29 on Saturday. I picked up these two and in doing so, saved myself $70!

an amazing sunset last week.

I've also added some items to my shop my closet page including some vintage gems. Go check it out if you want. Open to offers of course : )

Oh, and have you entered my giveaway yet?! I have two photobooks up for grabs worth just under $100 eacy - great for documenting a wedding, holiday, family or perhaps your outfits?!

What I Wore Wednesday

Hello blog readers. Happy hump day - thanks for dropping by.

I'd love to hear from any of you who have visited LA or San Francisco within the last couple of years. The husband and I are off to California for a friend's wedding at the end of September. We will be in the bay area for about seven nights and LA for four nights. I haven't booked any accommodation or activities yet so would love to hear any recommendations you might have.

On to today's outfit ... the focal point is this fab 70s shirt. I'm unsure if it's a male or female shirt but I'm rockin' it as a jacket. You like?

asos dress | corelli flats | vintage top/jacket | asos clutch 

Oh, have you entered my giveaway? If not, go and enter NOW!

Giveaway Time - PhotoBooks Australia

I've teamed up with PhotoBook Australia for my very first giveaway ... read on. 

Recently I received a photobook I had ordered through Photobook Australia and was so impressed with its quality I thought I would do a quick review. Creating a photobook is a very simple process with loads of functionality built in which allows you to design a book to look exactly how you want.

The Photobook designer software must first be installed, and on a fast internet connection takes around five minutes. Once you've downloaded the program you're ready to start. There are multiple types of products available. My wedding book was the 15x11 large landscape imagewrap product which allows you to add an image on both the front and back cover.

You have the option to use a wizard to create your photobook which takes a lot of the hardwork out of the process but creating the book yourself is relatively simple and allows you to fully customise the book to your taste. If you need extra help you can enable an assistant which will guide you through the process. This assistant appears upon clicking different tabs and functions within the software application.

The best way to 'build' your book is to pre-select your images and place them in a folder. You can then load the images all at once and they are ready to be dragged and dropped onto the page. Once an image has been used, an icon is placed over the image to indicate that is has been used. The software allows you to choose from a large selection of page styles (templates), background colours, frames and scrapbooking-style images to create beautiful and unique pages. I decided to use a black background for my whole book with varying styles. Picture boxes in all of the page styles can be altered to suit your needs. I found the delivered styles left a bit too much space on the page for my liking so all I did was alter the size of the boxes. Text and other images can be added to the page if desired. 

The images used in my book were all taken by ckmetrophotos and are very high resolution. This was immediately apparent when I received the book - the picture quality is AMAZING and looks fab with the contrasting black background. 

Once you have finished your book layout, your pages are saved and then uploaded to the site. My book took less than two weeks to arrive after I had uploaded my pages and I was kept in the loop as to its whereabouts with tracked shipping. Communication with Photobook was always prompt and professional either via email or via their facebook page.

I am over the moon with my new coffee table book and have TWO medium portrait imagewrap books up for grabs worth just under $100 each. 

All you have to do to be in the running is leave a comment on this post and follow my blog with google friend connect (it's easy to setup an account). This giveaway is open worldwide : )

Winners will be drawn on the 17th August. 

(as an extra incentive, photobooks have provided a discount code of 45% that is valid until the end of October 2012. Please contact me if you would like the discount code)

Have a wonderful weekend

What I Wore Wednesday

Just popping by quickly this afternoon for a quick outfit of the day post. The last couple of days have been fantastic - a new little person has entered the world and she belongs to my twin sis Ness and her partner Brad.  Ness had a long and tiring labour which ended in cesarean and I felt so sad for her after seeing her 5 or so hours after the operation. She was beyond tired and extremely sore. She really did amazingly. Mila Grace is the cutest little human being and I know she's going to be a little fashionista before too long. Here are some quick insta's if you haven't already seen them.

On to way less exciting things ... my outfit. My hair is in dire need of a keratin treament ... hence the hat.

wrangler twiggy jeans | thrifted trent nathan blazer | thrifted siren heels | target hat

What I Wore Wednesday

Hello people - how are we all on this fine hump day? 

I've had this musical themed top in my wardrobe for a while now and haven't got around to wearing it ... unfortunately it can't be worn on its own as it tends to gape so layering it under this dress seemed like the perfect option.

french kitty dress | niche top (asos) | vintage belt & bag | thrifted lipstik pumps

My niece (and the first grandchild in our immediate family) is due tomorrow. Come out and meet us little lady. We can't wait to meet you.

I have an exciting giveaway coming soon - stay tuned!