Friday 7 September 2012

The Makeup Cull

For some time now I have stared at my overly stuffed make up container and thought, 'I should do something about that', but I have this WEIRD thing going on where I hate to throw out things unless they're all finished. Like shampoo and conditioner for example. I am currently about half way through a bottle but I'm sick of it and want to try another brand, but I can't bring myself to buy any more until these bottles are done. Crazy? Maybe.

The tipping point with my makeup collection was when I fished around to the bottom of my bag and found a shimmery loose eyeshadow dust/powder that I think I bought... hmmmmm... at least 9 years ago. But its a super pretty, bronzey, neutral, go-with-everything colour and I love it. But the day after wearing it I noticed that the skin on my eyelids was all dry and flakey and just gross. Coincidence? Maybe. But I wasn't going to take any chances. In the bin that eyeshadow went. I think 9 years was a sufficient life for it.

I also decided to cull anything else that had been languishing in the dark depths of my makeup bag for too long. This is the cull:



And this is the new and improved makeup bag. No more overflowing mess! Hooray!!!



But now I have a list of new beauty products I need. One of them being a new foundation. Duh duh dahhh! I hate foundation shopping. I'm after something new. I am currently using Clinique but want to branch out a bit. Any suggestions?

I really want the Bobbi Brown BB cream. Tried this on at Mecca Cosmetica and it was amazing. Great coverage that lasted all day!

C xo

Thursday 6 September 2012

Team Sport

 Who would have thought that this here little blog about shoes and shopping and family and food would have a heading like 'Team Sport'?

Well readers, it does. Deal with it.

On a side note, I love the whole neon runners trend at the moment.
These are not mine, but I wish they were!
Source: Pinterest
I've joined the work mixed netball team. Not having played in over 10 years didn't stop me. No siree. I was jumping on that social team sport bandwagon like there was no tomorrow!

And what do you know, I actually enjoy it... most of the time... but I'll get to that a bit later.

I typically end up playing WA or WD (as my lovely sister in law puts it - they are the shittiest positions so they put the shittiest players in them. Thanks J!). But occasionally I moonlight as GS. I know! Short little me as GS. I love it. And i'm ok at it if I do say so myself. I think everybody gets a bit put off by my height (or lack thereof) and just let me go for it.

Anyway, back to the enjoying it bizzo. Its SOCIAL netball. Its supposed to be fun, right? WRONG. Some people take it very seriously. They are super competitive and get all yelly at the ref and stuff. Luckily we haven't had too much of that. And then you get people like me who are pretty shit at netball (J said so!) who like to play for funsies, but when you get put up against somebody who is a) good and b) a bitch (like tonight) you get a very ragey Cath. My opposition was just so..... ahhhh! Frustrating! She was sticking her big bum in my face and just being all condescending because I had to ask few questions about the rules to the ref (because I didn't know!). And then she made me mad, and made me be even shittier at netball than normal which made me be offside more often, or contact more often, and accordingly, give away penalties more often. So. Frustrating.

I was thinking while I was playing, how do the pros block out all of the stuff that irritates them? Do they have a secret? I just tried to ignore my bitchy counterpart and play as best I could. All I wanted to do was play good to show her up. It didn't really work. Oh well. We did win though. So that's something!

Do you play team sport? How do you keep your cool in heated situations?

C xo

Friday 15 June 2012

My Messy House

My house is messy. All. The. Time. And I hate it. But I know its my own fault. Keeping on top of ones housework is not my forte, I'm afraid.



I have been searching for tips regarding general cleaning and house tidying and staying ORGANISED (this is they key, I think), and in my research stumbled upon a few gems:

+ FlyLady - this lady is a bit full on, but I can see her sense in the 'get dressed to shoes' mantra in the morning. Getting dressed and putting shoes on makes you feel more organised and like you mean business. You're more likely to sloth around the house in your pj's and slippers. I remember when I used to work from home once a week before Miss L was born, I'd always make sure I put a decent set of clothes on (no pj's or trackpants!) and footwear of some kind. This made me feel more in 'work mode'.

+ Martha Stewart - the Queen of domesticity!!! I love this simple '6 things to do each day' checklist she has devised.

  1. Make the bed (its true. It really does make the room feel tidier);
  2. Manage clutter. This is brilliant. Whenever you leave a room, look around and check to see if there is something there that shouldn't be, pick it up and take it to where it should be. Easy! This is good when you have a toddler who likes dragging various toys and bits and pieces all over the house.
  3. Sort the mail. Don't let that junk mail pile up! Read bills and stick them to the fridge. I have a handy magnet clip on the fridge to store bills.
  4. Clean up while you cook. I try to do this... Stack the dishwasher as you go. Fill the sink up with hot, soapy water and chuck pots and pans in there to soak.
  5. Wipe up spills while they are fresh. I don't do this. Oops! Must try harder Martha!
  6. Sweep the kitchen floor every night after finishing the dishes.


+ The Organised Housewife - she has some excellent tips on how to declutter. My biggest problem is I hold onto items for sentimental value. I had a large folder full of my uni assignments (posters, project sheets, A3 books that I made, etc), but why the hell did I need to keep them? I purged them all (after having a flick through, taking a trip down memory lane and wondering why the hell we did so much bloody collage for a Town Planning degree??!!!). It felt good to get rid of them. Now, I just wish I could be as ruthless with my shoe collection. There are some ugly, scuffed shoes that have no chance of being revitalised, but I can't throw them out! Silly! Must sort that out quick smart.



All have great ideas that I'm trying to implement. I love Martha's tip of sweeping your floors every night after doing the dishes. So simple, but the impact is great! Particularly when you have a messy cockatiel who loves flinging seed all over the place!

Another tip that I find great (and I think I remember reading it from that super cleaning/organising Australian guy that Oprah loved (name? Peter somebody maybe?) and he said to try and keep your surfaces free of clutter - tables, coffee tables, benches, etc. This is one rule that I desperately need to follow. Our kitchen table currently has 3 piles of various items on it - magazines, Miss L paintings from day care, old photos, receipts, etc etc. My problem is lack of space to store these!!! I might need a trip to IKEA this weekend for some storage inspiration.

How is your house? Do you have any awesome cleaning, tidying, decluttering tips you'd like to share?

C xo

Wednesday 30 May 2012

Life of late


Here's some glimpses of my life lately...


Loving the cooler weather in Brisbane at the moment. I have so many jackets, blazers, cardi's etc and yet I still continue to buy more! I scored this stripey number from Ezibuy for a steal ($18). Wearing it with dark denim jeans, pink top and Red Phoenix Emporium jewels. I'm loving the RPE girls and their range. They are locals and so so talented!


We dragged out the flannelette this week. Flanny pj's and sheets are the business. Even Miss L's pj's match our sheets!


I whipped up a baked cheesecake with a blueberry topping on Sunday arvo. We are still ploughing our way through it. Its super delicious, especially with the chocolate icecream we have stashed in the freezer.


Miss L has been on a rollercoaster ride of sickness of late... Ear infection, cold and mouth ulcers all in the matter of a few weeks. She has one illness, we have a week of happy, healthy Miss L, and then it starts all over again. Sigh. Day care is taking its toll on all of us! But at least we're building up that little immune system.


Miss L's favourite 'toy' at the moment is a balloon or 'bubble' as she calls it. Its so adorable. And cheap! But is hard to control when we're out and about - some shops have balloons set up as part of their display and Miss L is always very insistent on obtaining one. She knows what she wants and she will not stop until she gets it.


She's also into climbing. On everything. Dishwasher included.


This was when she had her ear infection. She just lay on her pillow watching her favourite show - Small Potatoes. Poor little love.

 And her hair is long enough to rock a little pony tail now. She is growing up so fast. I'm trying to slow down and soak up all of her during this tiny person phase... She's not walking yet, but that's ok with me. I've still got my baby for a bit longer.

C xo

Monday 28 May 2012

My Week with Leona

Now, I wish I could spend a week with the divine and talented Ms Leona Edmiston, but instead I wore her frocks for a week - setting myself a personal style challenge to wear seven different Leona dresses in seven days. It was seven days of style and glamour and I tweeted about it all week. The response from the Leona Edmiston girls on twitter was so positive and their encouragement ensured I persisted with my challenge. It sure did make getting dressed in the morning very easy!

Here's my stylish week in pictures (back to front - sorry!):

Sunday: Fox wrap dress casual'd down with layers and flats

Saturday: Floral print Pia dress with layers underneath. It was so cold! Note: ugg boots in picture hehe

Friday: The first Leona dress I ever bought! Pretty peacock print & clashing it with my leopard print flats

Thursday: Leona dress underneath a colourful knit - perfect for the office!

Wednesday: Floral print dress. I wore this dress when I was pregnant. So versatile!

Close up of the print on Wednesday's dress

Tuesday: Wrap dress for work. See Miss L watching on from the sidelines!

Monday: Dress with border print, tights and tan flats. Great 'Mum on the Run' outfit


As you can see, I love my Leona dresses. The Ruby range is very affordable - check it out HERE. And the Frocks are to die for - sigh! I think I have at least another 7 Leona dresses to do a second week!!! Obsessed much. They are just so easy to wear and so easy to wash. No ironing is ever required.

I've even inspired another fellow blogger and fashion lover to do the same. Check out Kimba likes on her blog and her twitter @Kimbalikes. She started her seven days of Leona today!

This little personal style challenge just reaffirmed my love for Leona frocks and increased my desire for more dresses to add to my collection. Sorry Mr B!

C xo

Sunday 6 May 2012

Bursting



Lately I have been having these immense feelings of love for Miss L, which isn't unusual because she is my daughter and all, but its only lately that I am becoming more and more aware of how much I do actually love her, like, really, really love her.



And its a different love that I feel for Mr B *of course* but that's what makes it so hard to describe... I feel like I am just absolutely BURSTING with love for her. I can't imagine our lives without her in it now. I guess all parents feel the same about their own children. And I am only now truly discovering what that feels like.

I am very very lucky to have her in my life. My little angel sent from above.

C xo

Friday 4 May 2012

Because I don't have a.....

.... Because I don't have a penis. There I said it. Penis! (I can't believe I just said penis on my blog. I don't even know who I am anymore) Oh, and the reason why I'm finding it so hard to make friends at work... because I don't have a penis.

Uggh.

People are friendly towards me at work and stuff, but I've noticed this week since a new guy started that the boys are all over him. Loitering around his desk. Asking him to come and have coffee with them. Etc Etc. The boys are so matey with each other. They have 'stripey shirt days' where they all wear stripey shirts. Its a bit cute actually, how much they love each other.

Why aren't the girls like that? I put the question to Mr B. He claims it's because girls are territorial of their space and their 'girls' and don't like it when a new girl comes on the scene to potentially ruin all of that. I hope he's wrong.

It makes me all sad that I still don't have any proper friends at work. I've definitely made progress since February, but its hard going, especially only working 3 days a week.

I don't remember being like that with new girls in my old office on the Gold Coast... Hmmmpph.

Never fear, I will continue to whip out my best baking skills to wow everyone once again and give me at least a hint of a friendship in the office. Look what the boys made me - a trophy with the words 'Grand Ultimate #1 Super Baker - Cath's cuisine reigns supreme' - they even (temporarily) surrendered their cricket trophy for me. Bless them!



C xo

Monday 23 April 2012

Sunday 22 April 2012

The Fashion Workshop

I went to a group styling session at my local Westfield on the weekend. It cost $5, which got you 1 hour with the head stylist, talking about and reviewing the hottest trends as modelled by a very tall model, a cupcake from Shingle Inn, a bottle of water/mineral water, and a goodie bag filled with various samples and discount vouchers.

To say that I was excited about the 'event' is an understatement. I love fashion and I thrive on getting inspiration from other stylish women, so this was definitely my cup of tea.

But before the event I was so freakin' worried about what to wear. Do you notice that often all the big fashion designers and people in fashion tend to wear black? Yeah, me too. And surely they are in the know? So I opted for a black top from Kmart that I've had for yonks, and a patterned Easton Pearson silk skirt that I picked up for a steal from David Jones, with my trusty Wittner wedges and a necklace I made myself.

See? This is my outfit.

So, the session was good, and informative, and I got some great outfit inspiration and ideas about where to purchase budget friendly items, but I left feeling a bit confused and down-trodden about my own outfit choices.

But first, lets talk about this seasons 'Hero Pieces' (as the stylist liked to call them). She ran through 3 looks for each item (one for work, casual and evening) so the model really earned her pay that day!

1) Pleat print skirt from Diana Ferrari (I can't find a pic of this, but it was black with a camel coloured flower print all over it)  - this was used to demonstrate how to do the 'print clash' trend. The way to pull off this trend is to link your two pieces via pattern and/or colour, but we all knew that, right?

Image via ASOS
 I love this look but don't think I could pull it off confidently

2) Coloured jeans - this was where my self doubt set in. The stylist said to stick to muted tones like dark mulberry, navy and these teal ones from Sussan
This was the casual look - love the silver cuffs & snake print bag!
She said the brighter colours, like red, are hard to wear and will bring a lot of attention to your legs. I cringed and sunk back into my chair... me, the owner of BRIGHT RED JEANS! Eeek. Oops. I later told her that I was an owner of red jeans and she advised that it was ok to wear red jeans so long as I was a person that liked (and usually wore) bright colours and wore them confidently. I nodded 'yes' and 'yes'. I like colour. I wear my red jeans confidently. Phew! But then she said she wouldn't team black or white with red jeans as there was too much of a high contrast against the red, and would instead team camel, brown and neutrals with them. What? Really? I always wear black or white, or black and white in the form of a striped top with my red jeans. Uh oh. I've been doing it all wrong. But hang on, what about these stylish women? They can't all be doing it wrong too?

Miranda Kerr via Pinterest

Lauren Conrad via Pinterest
So then I got really worried about what to wear with my red jeans... And then through the magic that is Pinterest, I found this:

Brillo. Wear with white, ivory, blush, nude, khaki, chambray, leopard, cheetah, python, black.

via Pinterest

3) Patterned tights - the tights were only subtly patterned, which the stylist said is much better for people with chunky legs (aka, moi).

4) Tailored pants - or 'a tapered pant' as the stylist put it. These were an interesting item to see styled up and one that I never would have considered for myself. The pants they used were from Portmans. These ones:


They have a pleat at the front, which scared me slightly as I have a tummy and have always steered clear of anything that might accentuate it. But the stylist assured me I could wear these, as the pleats have been sewn flat/shut at the tummy and therefore create a smooth finish..

Casual look

Evening look
So, all in all, it was a good session. Some other little pearlers the stylist dropped into the session include:

+ Layer with neutral tones, not just black. This is particularly relevant to wearing black tights and a dress. Like this:

+ Black doesn't suit a lot of people (despite the stylist herself wearing head to toe black AND all of her assistants wearing it too)
+ If you're going to wear all black, incorporate different textures e.g. lace, matte fabric, shiny leather look fabric, etc
+ Snake print will be big for spring/summer so buy up now
+ Bracelet sleeve lengths in tops/dresses are very flattering as our wrists are the thinnest part of our arms and it highlights this feature

She also got me thinking about where I buy my items from. The session highlighted the fact that you don't have to spend a lot of money to look good. Even one of the stylists assistants was wearing $15 leather look leggings from Cotton On and $30 Lady Gaga-esque booties from Payless Shoes. She proclaimed the shoes to be super comfy, but when I went to try them on I discovered that my chubby little foot is too wide for the shoe and hence they were not super comfy. Never fear, I will not give up on the cheap shoe shop.

So, all in all it was a good session and I'll definitely go to one next season. If you live near a Westfield, check out their website and the Fashion Services they offer. Book yourself into a fashion workshop for some new season inspiration!

C xo

Thursday 12 April 2012

Enough babble

Sheepishly, she re-enters the blogosphere hoping that no one will notice her extended absence... 

I know I'm letting the ball drop on this blogging caper. I'm finding it hard to fit social media into my life at the moment. But I'm trying to change that. So... hi!

Speaking of social media, I had a mini break from Facebook for a couple of weeks. It was quite refreshing! And renewed my interest in it again. And made me more diligent with editing what I see in my news feed so it cuts out all the crap and I only see the good things.

Anyway. Enough babble. Onto the good stuff.

Miss L is growing up so fast. She is now standing up on her feet while holding onto the couch/wall/bath/etc. She can't pull herself up yet but is trying. She must take after me in that department because she has a tendency to give up easily especially when the going gets tough. I still do this. Effort. Meh.

Remember how I told you that we invested in some heavily discounted baby Missoni attire. We got it! See?

For Easter I baked these delicious white choc mud cupcakes which wooed my fellow workmates. I needed the wooing to up the friend making factor at work. I think it worked!


Miss L had her first taste of chocolate this Easter. Just little bits though. Don't want to get the addiction started too early, although it is inevitable with my genes (she says as she wipes away smooshed up chocolate from the keyboard - oops!).

At work wearing green blazer (from cheap shop!) and stripe top from H&M 

Outfit photos are scarce but there are a few floating around...




Working the Seed tube dress with a Forever New sheer oversized top
Formatting? What is happening Blogger? Uggh... I am digging the neutrals and bright colour combo at the moment. I plan on wearing lots of brights throughout winter.


How is everyone? What's news? Tell me something. Anything!

C xo

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Things Vogue Taught Me: Part 3

Oh dear. I really am slack at this whole blogging business, aren't I?

Can we just overlook this fact and carry on as normal? Ok. Excellent.

Nevermind the fact that I'm late for this months 'Things Vogue Taught Me' installment....... *ahem*

Here are the top 5 things that Vogue Australia's April edition taught me.



1. The girl on the front cover has very attractive hair, make up, nail colour, nail shape, nail length and outfit. The first thing I thought when I saw the cover was 'Zoe Foster would largely approve of this girls hair, make up, nail colour, nail shape, and outfit' and low and behold what does Ms Z.Foster tweet? But a direct and poignant tweet stating that she does in fact adore the cover girls hair, make up, nail colour, nail shape, nail length and her hat.



2. Gingham. Its in amongst the fash pack. The off duty model wears it very well and in all forms - from a gingham shirt to a gingham print on a pair of glasses.

3. Ear cuffs. We all need to be adorning ourselves with ear cuffs. Elaborately bejewelled ear cuffs that snake their way up our ear.  I spotted a trendy mctrendster in Winn Lane in Fortitude Valley wearing an ear cuff. She must read Vogue.

4. Sparkling embellishments on your clothes/shoes/accessories are not just for night time. No Sir-ree. Whip out the sequins and sparkles for cheery day time wear. What better way to boost your dreary Monday morning than to don your most sparkly sequin jacket?

5. In the walking vs running debate, running wins hands down for weight loss. But we all knew that, didn't we? Running burns more calories/kilojoules so of course its going to promote weight loss. People always talk about the 'running high' you get when you go for a run... I'm slowly starting to feel the first glimpses of that. I went for a run on the weekend and I ran for the longest/furtherest I'd ever been. I didn't want to stop. I just wanted to keep running! Who am I?!!

C xo

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Hot Cross Buns

I love them. Like, really love them BUT I have a rule about when its 'right' to eat them.

via Pinterest


I know a lot of people are the same.

My rule is that I can't start eating them until at least the 1st of April...

But this year I cracked. And I cracked early. I bought some two weeks ago. Two. Whole. Weeks. Ago.

Oops. My bad.

But then I figure, why limit myself to eating these delicious little morsels for only a short period of time?

Miss L is also a big fan of ye olde hot cross bun. Who knew?

And I can eat a fruitless hot cross bun with 2 teaspoons of butter for less than 250 calories. I know. Listen to me. Yes, I am THAT person counting calories. All thanks to the 12 Week Body Transformation. Which is going well by the way. I have lost 5.1 kilos in 6 weeks. Pretty happy with that. My goal is to lose 8 kgs all up, so I've got a bit to go. Got to stop being so relaxed with my food choices and start moving more! Hmmmmm maybe I should stop with the hot cross buns? Nah...

C xo


Sunday 25 March 2012

Shabd

I am so intrigued by this NY based designer... Shabd. She is an artist who went to New York to study photography and has now moved to fashion design. She hand dyes all of the fabric herself in her studio. The garments are made in New York in the Garment District and she tries to source all fabric in an ethical manner. Amazing.

Just look at these... I love her take on tie dye. So ethereal.



C xo

Thursday 22 March 2012

Fashion is my Food

So, tonight I treated myself to a spot of 'late night shopping' at the local Westfield. There is a definite difference between the late night shoppers and the middle of the day shoppers. Its fun to suss out the key differences. There's lots of teenagers and DINK's (Double Income No Kids), but I was surprised to still see quite a few mothers with children under the age of 1. I guess I never noticed before when I used to shop on a Thursday night (before I was a mother, before I had a child of my own). I wonder how they do it? How do they keep their baby up after 7pm? Not in a 'Oh my gosh, I can't believe they are keeping their baby up, that's so irresponsible' kind of way, more in a 'How do they physically keep them awake for that long?' kind of way. Hmmmm ok, both sound bad and judgey wudgey, but hear me out! 

We'll stay out late every once in a while, but Miss L is almost always in bed at 7pm. Mostly because she is just zonked by that time, and partly because lately she has been cutting out her day sleeps, but also because I was hardcore into establishing her bedtime routine right from the start. Dinner at 5pm, bath at 6pm, bottle at 6:30pm, play, then bed. It works for us, but can also be limiting. Miss L doesn't sleep well at the best of times so if she's in bed at 7pm and wakes up at 5:30am, I can deal with that. I know she's had a decent enough sleep and the strict bedtime is the one part of her sleep routine that I can control now that she refuses her day sleeps and wakes up whenever the hell she wants to during the night. Even when we put her to bed later, she still wakes up at some ridiculously early hour. Uggh. The sleep issue will always be there I guess and I know I just have to ride it out. A good friend said to me once that there are two types of baby in this world - the ones that sleep, and the ones that don't. So true. Miss L's sleep (or lack thereof) consumes me and its all I can think about. Will she sleep through tonight? How many times will I have to get up to her? Should I put her down for a day sleep or will it just make her cranky? Do I ignore her cries when I'm trying to get her to have a day sleep? Or do I stay in there with her and try and pat her to sleep? Should I just go for a drive and hope that she falls asleep in the car? So many questions and thoughts running through my head I know that this too will pass, but it could be years away. I guess we just need to take each day as it comes. And I need to stop being so obsessy over it all.

Anyway, I digress, so I went shopping last night and Mr B requested I pick up some delicious Mexican takeaway dinner for him, which I did as the dutiful wife I am. I was wondering what I was going to get for myself, when I stumbled upon this scarf at Sussan
Reduced to $19.95, with a further 30% off that... that's $13.95... I could spend that $13.95 on dinner OR even better, I could spend  that $13.95 on this fancy new blue scarf and just make myself something at home? Brain, you are so clever. Fashion is my food you see, I don't need no takeaway meal, just a bright new scarf to take the hunger pangs away.

This is how my brain works. Is that scary? Maybe. Probably. Definitely.

In other news I've decided that this year is my year of getting rid of a credit card. I say 'a' credit card, because I have two. Yes, two. Two credit cards for one Cath is not good. Don't ask me how I ended up with two. It may have been a failed attempt to transfer some debt to a new card to take advantage of a 0% interest rate for 6 months and pay off my credit card, but in my naivety I just started adding purchases to said credit card. Massive FAIL. Now i'm dealing with two credit card debts which is just ridiculous. I finally fessed up to Mr B about it all. He was not impressed to say the least. So now, Operation Pay Off The Credit Card is in full swing. My goal is to have one paid off before the end of this year, and the other significantly reduced.

With that in mind... did you all know that J.Crew is now shipping to Australia?!!! It is very exciting, especially since they are celebrating this fact with Free Shipping and Free Returns until the end of April. Arggghhh!!! Go forth and shop my dear friends! I loved J.Crew when I was in the States in 2010, and a few of my fave fashion bloggers rave about J.Crews tailored cropped pants, cashmere sweaters and gingham shirts. Le sigh. Pity now I'm in the midst of Operation Pay Off The Credit Card - I have to be able to justify all purchases to Mr B as he will see them on our joint account. 'It was on sale... think of the savings!' isn't going to cut it!

Which reminds me... I may have bought Miss L this divine Missoni cardi that was heavily discounted on Ozsale. Its super cute. We sure do love the laaabels darling. Can't wait to see her in it.
C xo


Monday 12 March 2012

Pyjamas

What do you wear to bed? Are you a matchy matchy person or do you just wear an old t-shirt?

I like to think I wear pretty nighties to bed, but in reality I wear my comfy 3/4 pants and singlet.

These pj's from Peter Alexander are so cute and look comfy enough to wear on a nightly basis (oh, and I think those slippers would look excellent on me!)



C xo