Fashionably late Friday

Here are a couple of outfits I've worn lately with a couple of things I've been up to thrown in for good measure...

Grey wrap top (Abi & Jospeh); Cream sequin & embroidered skirt (Forever New); Silver flats (Mollini)

Embroidery for my friend B's new little baby girl (who actually isn't that new anymore - it just took me 6 months to do this!)

Navy skirt (Saba); White top (Witchery); Floral scarf (vintage); Navy metallic flats (Gap)

Flowy tunic/dress (Willow); Brown flats (Witchery)

Miss L on the move. Crawling for about 2 weeks now. Hooray!

C xo

Budget fashionista

Have you noticed that it suddenly seems cool to be a budget fashionista?

I think this has been spurred on (in part) by big budget chain stores dishing out fashionable pieces at (very) affordable prices. The Mix Apparel range at Coles, the Emerson range at Big W, the increasingly more fashionable KMart range and the always on-trend Target.

via Big W

I remember when I was about 20 my hairdresser at the time (whom I thought was quite fashionable) proclaimed that she would never, ever buy any clothes from Big W because they were just so ugly. I hung my head in shame - I had always bought clothes (and shoes - gasp!) from Big W, because they were cheap and looked good, but mostly because I was a check-out chick at Big W and loved taking advantage of my 10% staff discount (cheap skate much?!!). I wonder what she would say now about the cool Emerson range with its preppy stripes, covetable coloured jeans, and cute shoe range?

via Big W

I for one am embracing the budget fashion chains, and always have. Its great to be able to pick up a cheap and cheerful piece that you know you will only wear for a couple of seasons.  In saying that though, I have plenty of chain store finds that I wear over and over again and I will never grow sick of them.

via Big W

I've currently got my eye on some cobalt blue loafers from Big W and an oversized knit top from Mix. I think they'd be the perfect additions to my autumn wardrobe.

Do you embrace the budget fashion brands?

C xo

Life Update

You sure do know you're alive when you have a sick baby. On Friday night Miss L woke up around 11pm and from there it was down hill.  Saturday was a nightmare. She just couldn't be comforted. She cried literally all. day. By 5pm I'd had enough. She was getting worse. So we made the decision to take her to the emergency department at the Mater. And I'm so glad we did. She had a temperature of 38.8 and a spreading rash. The Doctors called us in straight away. They decided to do some tests. First up a urine test. Oh my. That was interesting. We had to give her sips of gastrolyte every 5 minutes and make her lie on the bed with her nappy off while we sat there waiting to catch her wee in a small plastic container. She did not like that one bit (neither did we). Screamed the majority of the time. The only saviour was watching videos of herself on my smart phone and listening to music. What did parents do before smart phones? After that stressful period was over, she crashed... she lay on her tummy while we pat her back and rubbed her hair. The nurse came in to stick these little plastic whatsies on her hands and arms that were smeared with a numbing cream (in preparation for her needles for the blood test). She lay there so still while the nurse did this. Mr B and I were so proud of her for being so calm... the nurse thought differently. 

Sad bubba at the hospital

She told the Doctor of Miss L's flatness and floppiness and they moved us to acute care straight away where they could monitor her more closely. They were worried. Here they poked and prodded her some more. She was so upset. Afterwards she lay on her tummy and fell asleep for maybe 30 mins. She woke up screaming. We gave her her bottle, which she drank all of and then promptly fell asleep again on Mr B's chest where she lay for a whole hour. She never does this. We knew then that she was really sick. She woke up and they decided to give her a dose of nurofen and xylacaine. First up, nurofen. She took about 1ml and promptly vomited up all over herself and the bed. And screamed. Once they had changed the bed and we had changed her, they gave her the xylacaine. She screamed. But took it. It seemed to coat her mouth. I don't know what it was but she became calm and more herself. She started pointing to the brightly coloured mobiles hanging around the ward and talking in her little language. They were sending us home. The Doctor was happy that she was doing normal things like taking her bottle and sleeping, so they decided not to do a blood test. The urine test came back clear. They told us it was a viral infection and she was going to get more of her rash and more fevers. And all we had to do was keep up the panadol and nurofen. No easy feat when she gets so upset at the mere sight of the syringe/dropper. So they gave us suppositories. Brillo. I have to stick my finger up her bottom. Oh the joys of motherhood. We were home by 10pm. Hot. Tired. Smelling of vomit. But glad to be home. 

Spots all over her arms and hands

And she's still not 100%. Spots cover her tiny little arms and legs and she is just so sad. She's exhausted. I'm exhausted. But I know we just have to ride this out. This too shall pass. (*Edited to add: Mr B has been Dr Googling [which is usually my domain] but he has discovered that she has hand, foot and mouth disease. Why haven't the two Doctors we've seen figured that out, yet Dr Google can tell us that in a matter of minutes? Uggh. Not looking forward to ringing the child care centre tomorrow and telling them that piece of information).

Now, after THAT novel, onto other areas of my life.

Work is still going pretty good... but i'm lonely. I guess I was just so used to being 'part of the furniture' in my old office on the Gold Coast. Being the new girl in the Brisbane office is hard. I sometimes feel like they are freezing me out. I have been trying to chat more with a few of the younger girls in the office, doing the usual things like complimenting them on their outfits etc. But its hard to become part of the 'in' crowd. I've just got to be patient I guess. Its not going to happen over night (but it will happen lol Pantene ad anyone?). 

12WBT is going great guns. I've lost 3.2 kgs and have reached my goal of fitting into my pre-baby black pants. My next goal is to fit in to my skinny jeans... I've started going a bit off track with the eating (due mostly to having a sick baby and me needing chocolate and extra lattes to get through it) but seeing the results so far has empowered me to keep at it. This morning I dug out an old aerobics video (complete with lycra outfits) and jumped around the lounge room while Miss L (mostly) slept. I'm trying to fit in exercise when I can but its proving difficult on the days I work. 

And that's about it for now. I need to go and prepare myself for *another* bad night with Miss L... Hope you are all well.

C xo

Things Vogue Taught Me: Part 2

Ok, so I know i'm a bit late with this month's 'Things Vogue Taught Me' but hey, better late than never I say!

This is what Vogue Australia (March edition) taught me:

1. Pastel nails are tres chic. I really want to try some aqua nails.

Loving these aqua nails with the leopard print clutch & stud cuff

2. Stripes are good. Real good. They are a classic in my opinion. One can never have too many stripes.

Colour clash stripes

3. You can wear a couture style skirt and a basic cotton t-shirt. You CAN!

Neutral T with a neon pop skirt

4. Marc Jacobs works for Louis Vuitton. Really? Am I the only person in the world that doesn't know that??? He's been their creative director since 1997. Oh, I am so out of the loop. This might explain why I have been showing interest in their designs over the last few years though. Never really been a fan of the logo stuff, but the ready to wear clothing line is purtty!

5. Mary Katrantzou. Her prints are a-may-zing!!! She's only 29 and has had her designs shown at London Fashion Week. She has also done a collab with Topshop and her pieces are sure to go like hot cakes.

C xo

Alex and Ant

The cuteness scale would be off the radar if Miss L was wearing these shoes!

Available at Baby's Got Style

Art Class

No, I'm not joining an art class... I am lusting over the A/W Collection from Secret Squirrel. Its called - Art Class and its stunning. And it continues the triangle trend I have already spoken about... I absolutely adore that triangle print skirt.

C xo

Fashion Friday: Chook chook!

Why, hello there! What's that you say? Haven't heard from me in a while? I know... Oops. Nights after work are busy, and I'm tired, and although I desperately want to get online, I try not to, because I know I'll just end up staying online for hours, which means going to bed late, which means a very tired Cath the next day. So its just best if I avoid the internets on work nights.

This is what I'm wearing today:

Top: Anna Sui for Anthropologie (purchased in NY in 2010). It has chickens on it!
Pants: Target black jeans
Nail polish on toes: Flame by Witchery (its neon bright!)

This is what I wore yesterday to work:

Top: M Missoni (gift from Mr B!)
Pants: 3/4 slim fit pants from Country Road
Shoes: Pointy flats from Witchery

Thursday at work is my Friday, so I figured it was ok to dress it down a little bit.

See this:

Our first official piece of art stuck to the fridge from our daughter. Look at those brush strokes! We could have a budding artist on our hands.

Its rainy and cool in Brisbane today. My plans to do loads and loads of washing have been foiled! The baskets were literally over-flowing. I had no choice. I had to wash. Two massive loads done - now we've got to take it all to the laundromat and chuck it in an industrial sized dryer. We really need a dryer at home for times like these.

Bookclub tonight. Girls are coming to my house seeing as it was my month and all. We read Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson. Interesting read. Not at all what I thought it would be. Its a bit of a thriller! Can't wait to catch up with everyone.

I'm whipping up a Thai Beef Salad for dinner tonight. Not really cool, rainy weather fare, but its easy, and tasty and 12WBT friendly.

Meanwhile, things are still going good on 12WBT. I'm finding it hard to exercise 6 days a week, but am trying to do 4 days instead.

Must go and get Miss L's lunch ready! Have a great weekend.

C xo