Forcast of the Day: Winter is Coming

Forcast of the Day: Winter is Coming. Its Monday. You need something subtle, something that says pay ah-tention to get through the week. You remember the steal of a dress you picked up a month ago that you’ve forgotten about. It sucks everything in and has cut outs in all the work-appropriate places. Its figure-hugging but not so tight you can’t skip up the stairs if need be. You slip on the court heels that you’ve been wearing all week (no breaking in needed! haven’t had any blisters so that gets a huge tick!), shrug on a coat in this season’s it colour and you’re done.

Recreate my Look:

Sydney Double Breasted Coat / Sophia Exposed Dart Dress / Adelle Contrast Court Heels (all c/o Forcast)

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Marble Timepieces and Double Pinstripes

In the last one to two years, there has been a sudden influx of watch companies popping up over the internet. Over the weekend, I read this article in the Herald about how ironically timed these start ups were – coming in at around the same period as the launch of the Apple Watch. Apparently, the market isn’t as saturated as I originally thought because watch brands that haven’t even hit the one year mark are managing to make turnovers of almost a million.

Today I’d like to introduce to you a new player – Valor Watches, founded by T. Bermejo and launched only a handful of days ago. To give you some context around the title of the post, the Cross of Valour is awarded “only for acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril”. When I look at this watch, it reminds me of one of my personal mantras – I am made of courage, compassion and commitment. When jewellery can transcend its original purpose to become something invaluable for the wearer, you know its a special piece.

The marble face paired with the classic black leather band perfectly embodies what I like to refer to as ‘modern prep’. Carrying the theme into the rest of my outfit, I went with the ultimate preppy pattern after feeling incredibly inspired by the Australian Olympic team’s uniform unveil by Sportscraft earlier this week. To give it that modern twist, I layered two pinstripe pieces but kept the base crisp with white jeans. Front ties have been popular of late and knotting a complementary second piece will give you a similar silhouette.

The white denim, flowers and linen must make you think that I live in the northern hemisphere! Nope! Sydney has just brought a lot of warm weather this month but I’m hoping that the end of daylight saving will bring some colder weather along with it.

Recreate my look:

Shirt / Blazer / Jeans / Watch (c/o)

Dressing for Uni Post Mid-Sem Break

How great has this four day weekend been? A double weekend was exactly what I needed to slow things down a bit and gorge on chocolate and tea (2 new loves from Twinings – apple & ginger and spearmint & peppermint). I’ve been moseying around, trying to get up to speed with everything as well as pre-doing things because I know in a couple of weeks, it’s going to get full on. That means pre-readings, pre-shooting, pre-instagramming, pre-writing and pre-emailing. It’s a bit annoying, losing the real time authenticity of blogging and the excitement that goes into hitting ‘publish’ but if you fail to prepare, prepare to fail – as they say.

Today, ASOS asked me to share what I would wear to university nowadays compared to what I wore on my first day of uni as a fresher. You can see that cheesy enthusiastic throwback picture here. Which, brings me back to mid-semester break. I always find myself burnt out right around this time. The newness of the school year has worn off, the social calendar falls apart as everyone gets too busy and the days get shorter and colder.

Maybe all you need is a good outfit to roll out of bed into next Monday – ready to face group assignments, mid-sem exams and all day library hang outs. I’ve been wanting to try a pair of over the knee boots forever now and I finally get why people have them in multiple heel heights and colours. They are super flattering even if you have more muscular legs but I will point out that real/faux suede is difficult to maintain (I have grass all over mine already from this shoot) so I’m glad I didn’t drop 1K on a pair of SW’s.

Recreate my Look:

Sweater (c/o) / Jeans (c/o) / Boots (c/o) / Similar Bag / Pens / Sticky Notes

 

Seas the Day with P&O

Aslings Beach, Eden 

Ahoy! I have returned back on shore with sea legs and a full belly after seeing some of the ‘Secrets of the South‘. Last week, I spent 8 nights onboard the newly launched Pacific Eden which sailed from Sydney to Kangaroo Island and back. To give you a little idea of what a day in the life of a cruise-ling is like, I present to you a 48 hour recap that consists of one port day and one sea day.

Daily Essentials: Hat / Sunnies /Reversible Swimsuit (c/o)

Port Day

0700 – Breakfast at The Pantry: The Pantry is the closest thing to a buffet that you will get on the Pacific Eden. Gone are the days of sticky salad tongs and soda dispensers. Instead, the citrus coloured interiors are divided into cuisines and everything is served by cruise staff. If you want quick food without the hassle of waiting for a 3 course meal, The Pantry is the place to go. My favourite sections were the salad bar and the dessert bar 🙂

0800 – Shore Tour: A port day means that the liner docks for a whole day  (usually around 7am -5pm) and you’re free to roam the place as long as you get the last tender back to the boat. This particular boat docked at Eden, Mornington Peninsula, Portland and Kangaroo Island. I squeezed in a couple of shoots at these places so I can’t wait to show you more beautiful photos in the coming weeks.

Seal Bay, Kangaroo IslandCape du Couedic Lightstation, Kangaroo IslandAdmirals Arch, Kangaroo IslandClock By The Bay, PortlandMac’s Hotel, Portland

1900 – Dinner at Waterfront: As the name suggests, this is the restaurant with views of the ocean. Serving up ‘Modern Australian’, Waterfront was my favourite dining option that didn’t come with a cover charge because the menu changed every night, the staff were wonderfully enthusiastic and the decor was stunning. There’s three courses for lunch and dinner plus an extra sharing platter for the evening that is another meal in itself!

2000 – Pre Show Drinks: The drinks on the Pacific Eden were flowing every hour of the day and there are plenty of bars all around. Keep your wallet at home – all you need is your cruise card and everything purchased is put on your tab.

The Ocean BarThe DomeAngelo’s Bar

2045 – Velvet Rope at the Marquee: There was live entertainment on most nights but the Velvet Rope was my favourite because it coincided with The Great Gatsby party. Expect lots of singing, dancing and beautiful costumes – all delightfully tied up in a neat 45 minutehigh action show.

2230 – Late Night Movie: If you’re still not ready for bed you can always head over to the Torquay to catch the last movie of the day. Some of our options included Jurassic World, Kingsman, Gone Girl, Age of Adeline and Fantastic Four.

Sea Day

0800 – Morning Dip: Sea days are the perfect opportunity to test out all the amenities starting with a swim in the many pools available.

0900 – Breakfast at Waterfront: Then its time to have a long breakfast complete with all the juices, pastries and sweet and savoury breakfast options in the world.

1000 – Zumba in the Dome: With all the 3 course meals you’re consuming, this is a great morning workout to do. Can you still pull a one leg stretch with sea legs?

1130 – Hair Appointment at Elemis Spa: The Elemis Spa has a a huge variety of services available including massages, fire and ice manicures or even a chop and colour which is what I had done!

1300 – Lunch at Angelos: Aside from the Waterfront, there are two other restaurants that are included in your ticket. Angelo’s does Italian and Dragon Lady does Pan-Asian.

Angelo’s

Dragon Lady

1400 – Silver Screen: Breakfast at Tiffany’s: There’s always a classic flick on in the afternoon. I’ve been meaning to watch this Audrey Hepburn film for the longest time so this long sea day was perfect for that!

1530 – Gym: Get your body ready for dinner ha!

1730 – Spa: There’s an outdoor jacuzzi for those who don’t mind the natural elements but if you want to spoil yourself, try the Elemis spa rooms. There’s a wet and dry steam room, a jacuzzi and my personal favourite, the heated ceramic beds which dry your wet swimmers.

1900 – Dinner at Luke Magnan Salt Grill: Salt Grill comes with a $49 cover charge but its still a price that can’t be beaten if you were to experience his food in one of his physical land stores. The French and Chinese fusion inspired menu is presented in a simplistic way that still packs an incredible punch of flavour.

2145 – Comedy: A bit of cheeky fun for all the adults on board.

223o – Bianco White Party at the Dome: There are a ton of parties on board and there’s a great atmosphere created when everyone gets involved in the theme. Our cruise had a sail alway, a back to school party, a gatsby night, a bianco white party and a las vegas pool party.

2359 – Midnight Snack and Zzzzz: Your stewardess makes your bed twice a day which is service that I have never experienced. They will first make your bed in the morning and then whilst you’re having dinner, they get it ready for the evening by dimming the lights, placing a tray of midnight snacks on the bed and twisting your towels into animals. You will feel incredibly spoiled and taken care of for sure!

cheeky cheeky The Opera House as we sailed away

Post created in collaboration with P&O Cruises

The Storm Before The Calm

Have you ever been to the beach and then had to promptly leave again? I have, many times including this time when we thought to head down to the beach for a pre dinner stroll. It had started to rain, the wind was really ripping it and when there’s wind, there’s sand tornado-ing around you. If you’ve never experienced it, be thankful. Sand, after all is made up of granules of rock and minerals so when its windy its kind of like nature is throwing rocks at you and its not pretty.

Nonetheless, my poor camera lens braved possible scratching and I managed to get in several pictures of my Endless Summer Blouse from  Lil Muse Boutique. The crochet detailing is really fine and although I wore shorts, its long enough to double as a dress. It also looks quite lovely off the shoulder!

After we left and hung around the predictable nature of the swimming pool, the sky decided to clear up again and the storm was over. Everything was calm once again. Still but not eerie. I’ll take it.

// Top – c/o of Lil Muse Boutique: Endless Summer Blouse / Shorts – Vintage Replay Cutoffs //

Sun Salutations

I do not do yoga (the following yoga poses are such a joke). Nor do I have the luxury of sitting in day spas that envelop your ears with the tranquil crashing of waves. I watch Parks & Recreation in an attempt to get in touch with my inner self. In conclusion, I make no deliberate attempt to relax my mind aside from my ability to fall asleep likethisfast.

However, I am blessed to call Australia home and we have beautiful beaches that produce authentic wave crashing sounds that are the perfect soundtrack to accompany your viewing of the sunrise. I dragged myself out of our stunning hotel (more on that next post) at 5am to take these pictures and my my are the results spectacular.

This post is also the beginning of my month long collaboration with Lil Muse Clothing – a quaint Sydney based online store that I filled my suitcase with when I was packing including this Boho India Rope Mini Dress. Cavill Mall is the main street in Surfer’s Paradise and with stores like Surfection and Sunburn, this dress’ obvious home was right here. I personally like the mini version that I’m wearing because you can hop around the waves with ease, however if you don’t mind getting your hem a bit soaked, there’s a maxi version too. I feel like some beach dresses lack character. It’s usually just some elasticised bustier combined with see through fabric in a turquoise or yellow colour. What I personally like about this dress is the detailed print and colour. I never would have thought blue, red, pink, purple and green could have come together anywhere else but a preschooler’s easel. I also think the rope straps and gold detailing are the perfect built in necklace because who wears jewellery to the beach unless its a live starfish earring a la Aquamarine (I still want one!!) So kick off your thongs and join me as we watch the sunrise together. Here’s to a sunny and relaxing Sunday/Monday!

Dress c/o Lil Muse Clothing – Boho India Rope Mini Dress