"Nesting" - Part 1

I wish I could share with you some of my more recent finds, especially as I've been putting off 'proper updates' for so long due to my intense university schedule. Unfortunately, as soon as I handed in my assignments the rash on my lips that I've mentioned in the past flared up again - only this time it's covering the lower half of my face, from the nose right down to the chin and spreading across my cheeks more and more by the day. *edit* It's on my neck and my eyelids now too =.= I don't really feel confident enough to go out of the house like this, let alone put my face on the internet for all to see, so I'm sorry to say that I'll probably be on hiatus until it clears up - this is definitely a face for radio :(

(I don't mean to whine, and I really am trying my hardest to keep my spirits up, but I've never had great self esteem and this rash is a serious blow to my efforts to sort out the emotional problems that came with that. Apologies about constantly bringing it up; I can only hope that we will resume normal transmissions soon.)

Well, in the meantime, I guess I can show you a few of the non-clothing items that I've bought lately! I've been engaging in a process which my sister calls "nesting" (and my boyfriend calls "crazy"; but he helps me carry the boxes home nonetheless) by collecting various vintage inspired homewares for my hope-chest-of-sorts. Although I haven't actually moved out of home yet, my rationalization is that I'll eventually need all of these things, so why not collect them bit by bit to soften the financial blow? Not to mention, my taste in homewares is... unusual, and designs that I like aren't often released, so I should snap them up when I see them... right?

That's why I couldn't help but buy this toaster and kettle set (from Aldi, of all places) to put away for the future - aren't they just too cute?


My future ideal kitchen has a colour scheme something like this - soft, buttery yellow; pale avocado green; and accents of tomato red.


*sighs dreamily* I know it's probably a long way off in the future for me, but no harm in planning and hoping, right? (And no harm in spending hours flipping through vintage home and style magazines for inspiration too? I'm not addicted, I swear!)

*edit* I should have never taken those darn things out of their boxes; they are proving impossible to get back in D:

Liberty of London Haul

Those of you who are fans of Dress a Day or Gertie's Blog for Better Sewing have probably become just as enamored of Liberty of London's gorgeous designs as I have (it's hard not to fall in love when you see the fabric transformed into such amazing dresses in their extremely capable hands). I, however, am only a novice sewer and there is no way I want to risk butchering fabric that retails here for $45 a meter (not kidding). I can, however, play around with makeup with relatively little risk, so when MAC's new collection came out here I just had to pick up a few pieces :P


Not everybody likes the packaging, but I'm a fan - I especially love the bizarre looking bird on the lipstick tubes! I picked up the Bough Grey and Birds and Berries eyeshadows, and Ever Hip for a different coraly-ish/pink-ish/peach-ish/I-don't-know-how-to-describe-it lipstick. The teal eyeshadow is pretty much my favourite thing ever right now (as you can probably tell by the way I pack it on):


I was working on a class presentation last night so I didn't have time to pincurl my hair - this is the kind of style I attempt when my hair is in its natural state - it's just curly enough to get away with, but there isn't enough volume at the front for my liking. Luckily, I was having a Good Hair Day and my one, lonely victory roll actually turned out pretty well!


One of the class presentations was on the bias seen in photographs of people who are more emotionally expressive - they tend to present their left cheek to the camera, whereas people who are considered more rational and serious present their right cheek to the camera. I can't help thinking about it this evening as I upload photos and look at all your lovely blogs!

Outfit Details:

Dress - Thrifted
Velvet Blazer - Bardot
Shoes - Betts

(In case anybody is curious, my study was on what side people cradle their infants - about 70-80% of women cradle their baby with its head on their left side. True facts. Supposedly this is to better help the mother understand her child's needs, as the right hemisphere, which processes information from the left visual field, is specialized for the interpretation of emotion. I've been crazy busy trying to milk my friends and acquaintances for baby photos, so I haven't had a chance to do much thrifting or sewing lately. The moment I hand those suckers in, I'm going straight to Vinnies, followed by a long evening spent on etsy with a mug of hot chocolate.)

Freddies of Pinewood

In response to Andi B Goode's post about wanting to see some Freddies in different colours, I've taken a few pictures of my two pairs to show. I got them a few months ago, but it took some pretty intensive Wii Fit to get into them! I am just a little too big in the hips for my waist size, it seems, as whenever I put them on/take them off the process culminates in what I like to call "The Freddies of Pinewood Dance", which involves me jumping around shaking my hips frantically, sometimes rolling around on the floor crying (just kidding).

Here are my grey utilities:



I'm a bit eehhhhh about these. They're comfortable but I don't really know how to work them (and I don't think the grey was a great choice for me.) Please leave suggestions in the comments about what colour and style of tops to wear with them; I'm at an absolute loss!

I love love love the dungarees I bought in black (have to get around to fixing the button position before I can wear them out properly though - they're just pinned in place currently).



I hope that helps, Andi! Or anyone else on the fence about ordering some of the sale Freddies. My only word of caution is to be careful in ordering if you have a 'vintage figure' (which according to What Katie Did, is a 10 inch difference between the waist and the hips). As the jeans only open slightly in the pocket, it can be very difficult to squeeze them over your hips if you have a larger ratio between the two. Once on, the jeans feel fine - they're not tight on my hips at all. It's just getting the waist past that region that's the difficult part.

Pin-up Pyjamas

It happens to us all - when those chilly winter evenings roll around, we throw our glamorous vintage sensibilities out the window and snuggle up in a pair of holey old flannelette pyjamas. I know I'm definitely guilty of it- but I do wish I had something a little nicer to answer the door in when my etsy parcels arrive! That's why I'm so glad Sussan came up with this nautical and pin-up inspired pyjama collection, so I can feel retro-fabulous even when I'm bumming around at home!

I picked up this pair of pyjama pants, though the second there's a sale I'm going back for more (they are a little more expensive than I'd normally like to pay for sleepwear, but honestly, who could resist?)

They come with a bonus eye mask and carry bag!

Just look at that gorgeous print!

On the subject of pin-ups, my mother bought me a pair of boxes last week with this cute design:


I use them to store my girdles, suspender belts and merry widows:


Well, that's enough procrastination for now - back to assignments! I hope to be a more active blogger after this round of submissions is over; annoyingly I got sick with the stomach flu over easter (and then got a fever from my flu shot!) so I didn't get much time during my holidays to do my homework! Can't wait till it is all over and I can lie down in bed with season two of true blood (which thankfully comes out on DVD just after these are all due, haha).