34/52

34/52

 

"A portrait of my child, once a week every week in 2014".

 

Kobe, I found this photo taken in between trying to get a self timed family photo. Of you chattering animatedly to your dad. This is the photo that I will look upon every time when I have a bad impatient moment & get the sh1ts on with either of you to calm me down & be grateful of having you both as my family.

 

 

Happy Friday friends!

 

Grace



 

 

 

Perth fashion festival Restyle day 25: Graphic

 

 I decided it was Kobes turn to join in on the Restyle challenge. Your never too little to get in on recycling & this boy certainly isn't a stranger to wearing preloved threads. We were quite lucky to have most of Kobes first year of clothes given to us as hand me downs (or gifts). I find boys clothes really hard to find secondhand in a decent condition as lets face it they get super grubby & trash everything.

 

 

So Im glad I rescued these awesome 80's shades complete with graphic jumper from possible landfill. Nothing screams 80's than crazy prints & abstract patterns. I should of put shoulder pads in the jumper (but that's too mean to do to poor Kobe) to complete this lol.

 

 

What Kobe wore; jumper, sunnies & cropped pants/ thrifted. shoes/ Best and less.

 

 

Oh if your WA based & looking for a place that sells mint quality preloved childrens wear you must check out Outgrown. Its fantastic!!!

 

 

Sidenote: Restyle is part of the Perth fashion festival & is a celebration of all things op shopped (FYI, I did buy some of these preloved items from secondhand markets). For every day of August, a select few bloggers are showcasing their "looks" for whatever the day's theme is. I decided to play along for a few themes.

 

 

Happy Monday friends!

Grace

What I wore: Joining in on Perth fashion festival Restyle day 19 Embellishments

 

Restyle is a celebration of all things op shopped which is right up my alley! For every day of August, a select few bloggers are showcasing their "looks" for whatever the day's theme is & I thought I would play along & join in on embellishments. I nearly fainted when I spotted this lemon coloured scallop dress with flower embellishments in the local op shop, it reminded me so much of this Miu Miu fall range. It is a tad short so I have to be mighty careful walking up any stairs or any gushes of wind that Im considering chopping it up to make a top (but keeping that lovely scallop seam) or just keep it as is & pairing it with stockings & mary janes? Decisions decisions...

 

 

 

As 85% of my wardrobe is thrifted Im working up the courage to enter next years competition. The outfit posts would be super fun but Im scared sh1tless of the blogger runway event. I would need a body double for that one if I was chosen! Im so timid in large crowds.

 

 

I wore this earlier in the year to one of my partners friends wedding. Its quite demure & I look like a real girly girl in it (until I open my mouth & accidentally drop the F word, oops!).I even tried to pump my hair up all Bridget Bardot like but it went flat again almost straightaway, bugger!

 

 

 

 

What I wore: scallop dress & vintage Sachi bag/thrifted. Tony Bianco shoes/had in closet for ages. Flower earrings/vintage. 

 

Sidenote; I know every gal loves checking out the brides dress but I tend to get equally excited about wedding cake, this quirky wedding cake layered out of different types of cheese had me at hello...

#Find out more about Restyle here.

Happy Tuesday friends!
Grace

33/52

33/52

 

"A portrait of my child, once a week every week in 2014".

 

 

Kobe, taking out the fake grass out of the frontyard & exposing the dirt underneath has been a saviour of sorts. Watching you entertain yourself (for once) building an imaginary rubbish tip (ofcourse) makes me smile. I don't even mind your dirt ridden finger nails.

 

 

Happy Monday friends!

Grace

 

What I wore: the comfiest pants ever made

 

I am so thankful that its officially Spring in another few weeks. Already there are more sunny days then rain & it has lifted my spirits tremendously. Hooray!!! That & the fact I finally kicked the annoying cough I have had for 3 darn weeks. Double hooray!!! I use to cherish winter (pre-child), where there where many days of lazing about snugly wrapped up in a blanket reading a book or magazine while gorging on junkfood. Enter Kobe & now days are filled lovingly with chaos, no lazing about, no books unless its a childrens one & sneaking the occasional cookie in the pantry into my gob without him noticing. & don't get me started on days marooned at home when sickness strikes, there may be claw marks from climbing the walls or just Kobes permanent pencil scribbles...

 

 

 

I bought these slouchy pants in a carpark sale a few years back & they are seriously the most comfiest pants I have ever worn. I really want to find similar thrifted ones to trim up into culottes.

 

 

Any guesses what one of my favourite colours are? ;)

 

I am slowly going thru my wardrobe to cull it to a few signature pieces & getting rid of the extra clothes I have sneakily stored in Kobes wardrobe because y'know one day I might wear it again... (a hoarders justification I think). I must say these shoes are definitely a keeper, an investment piece, I feel a touch classy whenever I wear them which is good for the bad hair day (hello hat) I had when I wore this outfit.

 

 

What I wore: blouse, belt & pants/thrifted. shoes/secondhand from Two by one resale boutique a couple years ago, bag/ had in closet for ages. hat/gift from my lovely twin sister.

 

 

Happy Tuesday friends!

Grace

 

Sidenote: excuse the red eyes in the photos above. The lil one has been treating me to a few early morning starts of 4am & 5ams :(

 

 

Last chance competition

 

 

Morning all. Today is the last day to enter this FACEBOOK competiton. Winner is drawn tonight at 8pm Perth time.

Enter here.

 

Happy Tuesday friends!

Grace

Small steps: a few small eco friendly things to do around the house

 

I just want to make it clear that I am no eco warrier I just do the best I can minimising the carbon footprint I leave on this planet.

 

Here are a few small changes I have made in my house.

 

1. A few years back I stopped using all purpose household cleaners & sprays. Instead I find a splash of eucalyptus oil onto a microfiber cloth cleans every surface just fine. Instead of floor cleaner, I put a couple capfuls of eucalyptus oil into a bucket of hot water for mopping. Takes the grime off tiles. I still need to find a chemically free way of cleaning grout thou...

2. For covering odours, Lavender oil works a charm when I burn it in my trusty old oil burner (I wouldn't do this in the bathroom or toilet) or if I dilute a couple drops in a water spray bottle & spritz it around the room.

3. Led lighting, when I went to a lighting shop to replace a blown bulb a staff member mentioned led lighting (all I was thinking was lead...) it seemed quite harsh that I recoiled from buying them & went home to research them. When I found out here that they used 85% less energy than halogen or incandescent lighting I went back & purchased some. Im happy to say that they are brighter than the old globes I previously purchased & money well spent.

4. My house will all its windows & tile floors gets mighty cold in Winter. In the colder months we have tried to limit using our heater to a few hours daily & I have been going to bed with a hot water bottle. Peter Alexander has the cutest mini hot water bottle covers (plus they are on sale online), infact the one pictured above I bought for Kobe before he was born & its still going strong. In the next few months, Im looking into getting more rugs & heat retaining curtains to reduce heat loss.

5. If you have little ones getting them involved in recycling is a fun way to start. Its happened naturally in this house & now I have a rubbish bin loving OCD child. Its his job to take out the recycling daily (which he loves!!!) & he makes a game out of building stuff out of it before it goes into the bin. (My lil weirdo even likes to sniff every smelly bin we come into contact with, so embarrassing...).

6. I have just discovered selected Coles stores have partnered with plastic recycling superstar company Red Group in offering a special bin instore which you can recycle soft plastics which aren't suitable in your standard recycle bin like bread bags, frozen food plastic bags, plastic bags, cookie packets & confectionery packaging. You can enter your postcode here to find a store near you. Its a scary thought to think that 429 000 plastic bags go into landfill every hour in Australia. I welcome you to join in to lower that figure!

 

Happy Thursday friends!

Grace

 

 

 

 

 

31/52

31/52

 

"A portrait of my child once a week, every week in 2014"

 

 

Kobe, I received a glimpse into your teenage years when you picked up your toy phone to make some "phonecalls". (Im loving that chilled out stance of yours).

 

 

Happy Wednesday friends!

 

Grace

 

PS. Im having a giveaway on Facebook if your interested?



 

Kalamunda village markets

 

 I caught up with my sister in law plus kiddies to visit the Kalamunda village markets on Saturday. Its held the first Saturday of every month in the quaint village that is Kalamunda. I always tell Luke that if we ever win lotto we are having a treechange & moving to this lush town where houses are enveloped by trees. We told Kobe this who said he doesn't want to live where the big rocks are (Kalamunda is up in the hills).

 

 

True artisans have stalls here & it makes me wish I had some hidden arty talent so I  too could have a stall here & sell my wares. The succulents in the face vases are on my wishlist & I love the handmade mouse & whale toys.

 

Naturally the lil one was drawn to anything coated in fairy sprinkles or sugar. I try to limit his sugary treats to 1 a day & that morning he had 3. Mama needed a bribe (or 3) just to wander thru the markets. I forget its not peaceful with 3 energetic (& super bored of looking but not touching) toddlers meandering thru the stalls. It didn't help that Kobe likes to be carried when places are crowded. He alternated between Luke & my hips.

 

(The biggest avocadoes I have ever seen, a couple of these are going into a Mexican dish later in the week once they soften a bit).

 

 

The lady who runs the Earth products stall has the best clay face masks & I always top up on my essential oils here too. You can even buy some soaps & shampoo for your pets that aren't full of pesky chemicals.  

 

 

 

 

 

If your chasing a gift whether for you or someone else that is quirky or handmade with love then I recommend this market. However if you order a kebab Im just warning you I hope you like onion as I could still taste the onion in my mouth hours later after eating it...

Happy Sunday friends!
Grace

#Sidenote; The metal flower photo was taken a few months (just incase the prices have changed).

What I wore: Under $25

 

 

I like to pride myself in being a bargain hunter so I was pretty chuffed I pulled this look (dress & faux fur coat) for under $25. I guess it pays to buy winter stuff at the markets in the heat of summer so stall holders sell it for super cheap to get rid of it. I have worn this faux fur coat every second weekend of winter its just so deliciously comfy!

 

 

 

I wore this outfit to Luke's sisters wedding. During the ceremony, there was about 6 ladies all wearing royal blue dresses (half changed for reception) so Im glad mine was a lighter blue. Plus being vintage, there was zero chance of anyone else wearing the same dress.

 

 

 (I wore it back in November too. Here is the dress in full view).

 

 

To think these shoes I wore with the dress (which I bought for upcoming bridesmaid duties) are one of only three fashion items I have bought new this year. If your new to the blog Im taking part of the ethical fashion challenge for 2014. Surprisingly Im doing well BUT only because I mainly stay out of shopping centres & avoid online shopping especially at sale time! I still lust over clothes I just resist the urge to credit card them.

 

What I wore; dress & coat/thrifted, shoes/ Country Road, earrings/ Swarovski (about 5 years old), bracelet/ birthday gift from many years ago.

 

**STAY TUNED I WILL BE DOING MY FIRST GIVEAWAY IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS!!!

 



Happy Friday friends!
Grace