Balenciaga, baby!

While S and I were in Portugal, S's vovo (grandfather) took us around so that we could get a feel for the country and S's familial heritage (his mum was born in Portugal before moving to Brasil and then Australia). We travelled up to Familicao, where S's grandmother was born and buried. There we met 'the cousins' - Fatima, Grasse and Alice - who were S's gran's cousins and second cousins. Slightly convoluted, but the cousins were LOVELY. Just absolutely beautiful people, inside and out. Apparently they also took a bit of a shine to me as well - they kept telling S how lucky he was to have such a beautiful, sweet, lovely girlfriend like me! Haha, little do they know how whiny and bitchy I can be! :) On the last night we saw them, Fatima gave me an early Christmas present - a Balenciaga coin purse. I of course tried to refuse (while try to overcome my instinctive reaction of clutching it to my chest and yipping for joy), but she made me keep it. I think that it is such an elegant and classic piece, much like Fatima herself! I know that I will always treasure it, not only because I think it is beautiful, but because of the memories I know associate with it.

C xx

Alana Santos - Makeup Artist

I thought that it was high time that I wrote about my friend's freelance business. I have been meaning to do this for absolutely ages now, but the time never felt right. As I sit in the communal lounge room of the riad we are staying in in Marrakesh, watching an array of flickering candles, the time feels right. I have just realised that my introductory paragraph sounds hopelessly over the top and dramatic, when it really wasn't meant to be. The beauty of my surroundings is so complete and overwhelming that I think it has seeped into my writing :) My friend (and sister of my boyfriend), Alana, started her business as a make up artist a few years ago, after completing her year-long Diploma at Napoleon Perdis in Sydney. Using a broad range of makeup brands, Alana specialises in looks for fashion photography but is also brilliant at event, bridal, special effects and film/tv makeup. I have to admit, I am close to Alana and I am meant to be her unofficial marketing person (at the moment this consists of being an admin of her Facebook page and sharing photos and updates on my own news feed) but I can honestly say that I really do think she is talented. Check out a few of her photos below and if you like them, please go to her Facebook page and 'like' it, especially if you are from Perth. And if you are indeed from Perth, then def think about hiring her! Seriously, she's awesome.

C xx

Dreaming of a Moroccan Sunset ...

Tomorrow S and I fly to Marrakesh ... 'excited' is a definite understatement for what I am feeling. I am been wanting to visit Morocco for years and I cannot quite believe that we will be there tomorrow evening. The souks, the desert, the magic ... Apparently throughout the day and evening the main square, Djemaa el Fnaa, boasts snake charmers, storytellers, magicians, jugglers, medicine peddlers, acrobats and more. It will be like something from 1001 Arabian nights. I can't wait to just soak it in, take as many photos as I can, buy jewellery and other knick-knacks and watch the sunset from the rooftop terrace of our riad. C xx

Ole!

Ola! S and I are currently relaxing in Madrid, trying to soak up the sun and warm(ish) weather. I have to admit, this has been my least loved leg of the trip so far. I am definitely regretting not spending more days in Paris instead, or longer in Portugal - the weather was BEAUTIFUL. On Monday we head to Morocco and I am deliriously excited. S keeps trying to bring me down to earth with bad expectations so that I don't get disappointed, but I am not sure how well it is working. A few quicks snaps from one of our wanderings in Madrid the other day.

Coat: Zara, Shirt: Marcs, Singlet: H&M, Leggings: H&M, Scarf: Rome street vendor, Socks: H&M, Boots: Zomp. C xx

Everyday I'm Tumblrn' ...

I have succumbed to the cult and joined Tumblr. I am aiming for this to be a more visual incarnation of the blog, where I mainly just post images that capture my imagination. These will more than likely just be inspiring fashion and beauty images that I find on the net, in magazines, reblog from other Tumblrs and from an amazing makeup artist friend of mine (whom I will talk about in greater detail another time). If you feel like it, check it out here and if you have a Tumblr yourself please feel free to post the link in a comment so that I can follow! C xx

Shopping!

I went SHOPPING! Now, I know that that seems like a rather normal thing to do, but I honestly feel like I haven't been clothes shopping in ages. It probably hasn't actually been that long, but oh well. During the trip, we have been saving all of our shopping for London, so that we don't have to lug extra clothes around Europe, but I couldn't resist. While in Bordeaux, I bought new socks and tights (I know, super exciting) and a new coat, which I LOVE, all from H & M. I really miss H & M, it is pretty much where I spent all my spare money while on exchange in Sweden.

Coat: H&M, Leggings: H&M, Shirt: Marcs by Marc Jacobs, Scarf: Rome street vendor, Boots: Target, Bag: H&M I just realised that I am wearing a lot of stuff from H & M ... Woops! Sneak peek into the future - there is going to be a lot more before I leave Europe! :) C xx

Slave to the Wage

I have to say, I am not normally a fan of Louis Vuitton. I don’t like the ‘in-your-face-ness’ of the logo, or the customary colour scheme, or even really the shape of the bags. However, when I was flicking through the pages of the French Vogue magazine I bought, this golden little number caught my eye.

I didn’t even realise it was Louis Vuitton, which I like. I also really like the idea of it, of cuffing your clutch to your wrist. It combines and toughness with a touch of glamour, which really appeals to me. I realise that this bag is kind of old (AW11), but I haven’t noticed any knock-offs or ‘inspired by’ pieces in any chainstores, so I am thinking that I may just have to try and DIY this when I get home to Australia! C xx

Père-Lachaise

Hello my lovelies! My European adventure continues. S and I have just spent the last 5 days in Paris and in all honesty, it was truly magical. I love Paris. The City of Lights has captured both our hearts and our imaginations and I believe that It will never let go. The only downer was that out hostel had no internet, which made it a tad heart to update the blogs, research sights and attractions and plan ahead, but we managed. We are now in Bordeaux (and thankfully have internet - yay!) and loving being to just relax a little. I have also told S about my blog, and he has become my official photographer! It was not as embarrassing as I thought it would be, thank goodness. As I thought it was going to be SUPER embarrassing. One morning we decided to head down to the cimetière du Père-Lachaise, a beautiful old cemetery filled with famous graves. Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Heloise and Abelard, Edith Piaf and Balzac are just a few of those interred here. A word of warning: if you plan on visiting the cemetery, set aside a LOT of time. The cemetery is huge and made for simply wandering :)

Jumper: belongs to S, Leggings: H&M, Scarf: random vendor at the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Shoes: Zomp After looking through my photos, I realised that I haven't yet blogged about a lot of previous places and events. Apologies in advance for the next few posts being extremely out of order! C xx

Hipsta Highlights

Hey all!

Sorry for continuing to be a bad blogger ... Still not inspired clothing wise. I think I brought too many basics and not enough 'stand-out' pieces. We are now in Italy, so at least the weather is warmer and I don't have to rug up quite as much! Previously I was wearing stockings, thick socks, jeans, singlet, shirt, hoodie, thick jacket, scarf, beanie and gloves. It feels so good to not have so many layers on!!

I have been taking a few hipstamatic pics of the sites, and thought I would share some with you :)

















C xx

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So cold!

Hello!

I know I said that I would try and post some pics and I haven't. I have encountered some difficulties: I still haven't told my boyfriend that I have a personal style blog, I am finding it hard to take photos of myself and I am so cold that I am more rugged up than the Michelin Man! I know that if I just told S about the blog than that would solve two of my problems - I am just working up the courage to do so.

Anyway, here are some pics that I quickly snapped this morning. Me in my inner layer of clothes (imagine this with a big puffy jacket on top and that's how I normally look!) and my new handbag from H&M. I love this store so much - it has a special place in my heart as it is Swedish, plus it is full of great stuff at cheapy-cheap prices! Haha. This bag is big enough to lug stuff around (including the above mentioned puffy jacket) while going on trains, yet is still pretty comfortable. I love backs with two kinds of handles - short shoulder hands and across body straps - which makes it pretty versatile.










So anyway, we are now in Dresden about to go exploring the Old Town. Loving it so far, our accommodation is lovely, but I will save that for a later post. Before I finish up, two questions: how do you tell your boyfriend that you have been keeping a secret blog and how on earth do you stay warm and still look nice when the temperature is usually below 10 degrees Celsius?!

C xx

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Reisewitzer Straße,Dresden,Germany

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Room with a view

Hello all

A thousand apologies for my prolonged absence. In order to afford our massive Europe + Morocco trip, my boyfriend and I temporarily moved back to our hometown to work. We were up the for about three months working crazy hours for crazy money (by Perth standards anyway!), living rent free with my boyfriend's parents. And now we are exploring the wonders of Europe! We arrived in Sweden almost two weeks ago and have been living with my old host family from when I was an exchange student. They live in a beautiful and typically Swedish red house, nestled between a lake and a forest. I know, right?! Hello fairytale!



the view from the bedroom window







the view from the upstairs balcony

We have now left Sweden and are in Berlin. I am going to try and take some more style-oriented pics, but as we are backpacking, my style may be slightly lacking. But we will see what happens! If you want to read about our travels in more detail, feel free to check out our travel blog.

C xx

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Goats and Keys

Some of my more recent purchases ...

Scarf: Supre; Silver cuff: Sportsgirl; Rings: Diva ($3 each!!)


My goal to blog/take photos each day for 30 days or however long it was obviously didn't pan out! Haha. Life has been a bit weird lately ... I am up in my hometown working, but not with my parents - they moved a few months ago. Instead, I am living with my boyfriend, his parents and his grandad. His family are REALLY nice, but I am just not 100% comfortable yet ... I like having my own space, and quiet time, and I am used to having an empty house to myself during the day. But I am getting used to it.

In addition, work has been a bit all over the place. We are working up here to save money for our big trip later this year. My normal work (check-in at the airport) has really good pay, but not enough hours. I am going to start working with my boyfriend soon as a cleaner ( ... ) out at a gas plant shortly, with not as good pay but much more hours. I have to admit, I'm not entirely looking forward to it - and we may have to do a month of 12 hr night shifts during a shutdown. I have been looking for admin work but no joy so far.

So all in all, life has been a bit ... off lately. Bright side is I am heading back down to Perth for a week on Tuesday, though not for the best of reasons - my dad is heading in to hospital for an operation. It should be fine, but any thoughts and prayers would be much appreciated!

C xx