It’s pretty safe to say that kimonos and pineapples are being washed away from the shores that are our warm weather wardrobes. Before you put yours away into storage, let me show you how you can extend its life a little longer by tying it back to front and chucking on some classic black pieces to keep it relevant. Let’s call this a pathetic attempt at ‘sustainable fashion‘.
Recreate my look:
Kimono / Dress / Shoes / Hat / Purse
As soon as Christmas was over, I sprung into action and got everything straightened out to welcome the new year. I threw out a lot of junk and added some new bits and bobs to my work nook and bookcase. Here are some of my January rituals that I like to always complete:
I’m so glad I started early too because would you know it, I caught a cold on NYE ( almost didn’t make it to midnight!) and spent the next few days finishing off the last season of Friends. It was frustrating not being able to catch the new year bug and be all motivated, creative and fit. I’m on my last few sniffles and have been snapping photos, writing emails, editing and writing up drafts all day in preparation for my cruise. As you read this, I will be sailing away from all my responsibilities on the Pacific Eden for just over a week! I am very lucky to be working with P&O to bring you guys some very fun content so look out for that soon. If you have any queries as to where certain decor pieces are from, just ask in the comments but the answer will probably be Kmart or Ikea 🙂 If you are looking for some throwback SS, check out my desk decorating post from last year or my last shelfie.
‘January’ calligraphy thanks to cable car couture
‘Namastay in Bed All Day‘ – is that the general consensus among students this time of the year? Yeah … you and me both buddy … but we soldier on knowing that in a fortnight’s time, ‘school’s out, we can sleep as late as we want too’.* Here’s a little lifestyle editorial for your viewing pleasure today in collaboration with Shhh Silk. They launched their online store a few weeks ago and specialise in fancy schamncy silk pillowcases to keep your hair silky soft (the puns continue, apologies). I’m a violent thrashing sleeper who often wakes up in the morning looking like Hermoine so hopefully this will minimise the damage. My favourite thing about these pillow cases aside from how they make me feel like Eloise at New York Plaza is that they come with a zip! I haven’t found a pillowcase with a zip ever – they usually have nothing or little fussy buttons that no one has time for. For some more dreamy photographs, check out Shhh Silk’s Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Also, if you are interested in learning more about my creative process, have a look at my Pinterest Board to see the inspiration behind this editorial.
Since this is a collaboration and all, I would like to address something that has been on rotation in the social media loop in the last week. As someone who uses Instagram and the like I feel like I should talk about the whole Social-Media-Is-Evil-Essena-O’Neil-Quits-Everything matter. I use my blog and other social media channels to express myself creatively and part of this process involves collaborations with companies and brands that I am proud of. I am proud to be working with Shhh Silk because I think the fact that the founder quit her 9-5 job to pursue something she was passionate about is inspiring. I have been offered paid content before but I’ve turned it down because it meant giving the reigns to someone else. I’m not saying that I will never publish a sponsored post but when I do, it will be disclosed and it will be in line with my brand. I also think very highly of my readers and I am confident that they are smart people who can tell that my content is staged. Because, no, I do not have breakfast in bed like this every morning. If you would also like to read another opinion on this click here for some lolz.
*Millennials I do hope you get that reference because if you don’t SHAME ON YOU 😉
Single Silk Pillowcase in ‘Blanc’ (c/o) Shhh Silk
Copper Wire Basket, Fairy Lights and Breakfast Tray from Kmart
Bustier from Cotton on Body (navy and pale blue are my favourites)
‘365’ Diary from Kikki-K
Bowl from Freedom; Vase from Ikea
Thought I would up my bed side table game by hopping on the marble trend in the least expensive way possible. Considering marble will be out of trend within the next few years, I wanted to do something that would cost me next to nothing. I have been contemplating ordering marble contact paper for a few months now but some rolls cost up to $50 on Etsy which is ridiculous since my side table was probably less than half that price!
ONE To create this side table, print off several copies of this marble print (download here). Take out your drawer and unscrew the knob. TWO Then, trim off the whites of your marble paper and affix it to the surface of your drawer using a gluestick. THREE Neatly, cut away all excess paper and fold it behind. FOUR Measure a piece of contact paper large enough to cover the surface of the drawer and the edges too. FIVE Slowly peel back the contact backing and smooth it over your drawer. If you fail at contacting surfaces, maybe practice contacting some old magazines to ensure your final product is always bubble free. SIX Trim off excess contact and re-pierce the hole where the knob is meant to go. SEVEN Screw knob back into place and you are finished! EIGHT (option lol) Artfully style your DIY, take many photographs and boast to family and friends 😉 Make sure they always stand 5 metres away so they can’t tell if its actually marble or not.
OPTIONAL: Before attempting this side table, I actually made a jewellery holder first. I printed off the marble sheets, glued them to card stock, contacted the whole thing and affixed it to my cork board using white push pins.
Did you know bookshelves say a lot about a person? Take the bookshelf test here and then share your shelfie with me! I am a bit OCD with my Ikea expedit shelves; I need them to be their aesthetic self but at the same time, I need them to be functional and hold as much junk as possible. Here are my tips!
ONE: Collect a bunch of boxes and magazine holders to store the unattractive bits. You can also buy very cheap binders and decorate them like I have done here a la Kate Spade.
TWO: Hold onto those champagne bottles, glass candles and jars and fill them with fresh, dead or fake flowers.
THREE: Display your favourite accessories that you never seem to get to use. For me, these are my quirky clutches and my cat flats which have died a bit.
FOUR: Let it go. Its basically impossible for your shelf to resemble a Pinterest shelf so don’t worry too much. Have fun, switch it out regularly and inject as much personality into your bookcase as possible. Magazines, gift bags, candles, travel memorabilia and picture frames are all great space fillers. Try stacking stuff sideways and if all else fails, shove it in a storage bin and try again tomorrow!
With my easter week long break coming to an end, I kinda wish I was at Coachella right now. I don’t even listen to much of that music but that red dust kicking and ferris wheel spinning has got my heart beating to Arcade fire. But you know what they say, dress for the job you deserve … or in my case the music festival I want to be at.
Parka: Shuca Global Work (similar here) / Sweater: Mum’s Closet (similar here) / Denim Cutoffs: Vintage Replay (similar here) / Combat Boots: Rubi Shoes / Socks: Rubi Shoes (similar here) / Necklace: Colette Accessories (similar here)
Camo The Colour like Cameo The Label … I try not to explain my punniness 99% of the time but sometimes I need to toot my own horn because I’m just so dang funny. I also realise now that camo is more of a colour and less of a pattern but let’s not get all nick picky people.
I think Nauen said last week that you learn a lot at university. I certainly did. Lesson Number One: Don’t wear denim cutoffs. Especially if you have to catch the train and then sit for 4 hours straight. After making that mistake about 3 times, I finally decided it was time to start wearing pants even though that would mean succumbing to that autumn weather that is inevitably looming since it looks like the entire easter long weekend will be raining.
Nonetheless I’m so ecstatic about the easter long weekend … hello cake on a stick, warmed up hot cross buns, bunny onesies and easter eggs!! More on that next week!
Pants H&M 50% off in store! // Collared Shirt Similar Here // Brogues Similar Here
I was talking to a friend yesterday about how I was excited about 2015. Then she re-enlightened me to re-consider my own thoughts because I re-alised that I wasn’t actually excited about the new year but the concept of the new year.
In theory, we could wake up one epiphanic day and decide today is the day: to quit sugar for good / start saving our moolah / keep in touch with friends / give ourselves more me time / learn a new language. But in reality we procrastinate these things until New Year’s Eve where we decide that tomorrow will mark the first step to a better life.
I wish you the best of luck in keeping your 2015 resolutions …. but let’s be real, I’ll probably break half of mine by the second of January! Nonetheless, there’s something quite magical and fragile about a new year and like the prepared person I like to think I am, I’m starting 2015 off with a short series that will hopefully inspire myself * my readers to have a kick butt twenty fifteen! Today’s post is all about inspiration, next week’s will be preparation and the one in a fortnight will be reflection so get excited kids.
* {whoops I was going to try to be more selfless this year}
I think one of the best ways to start a work day or study day is to have a clean desk. I think one of the best ways to start a new work or school year is to have a desk makeover. That’s why I’ve been really inspired by WeWork: a platform for creators that provides the space, community and services every blogger needs for their creative endeavours. They know the importance of finding a place you join as an individual, ‘me’, but where you become part of a greater ‘we’. I wanted to reciprocate their co-working values through my desk area because for me its a place where I can express myself on my blog whilst being part of the blogging community.
To really see what you’ve got to work with, remove everything from your desk so you can have a blank space baby to add your new supplies. Wipe down your desk, test out all those dried gel pens from 6th grade on some paper and then proceed to throw them away.
Personally I am a big fan of mood boards, they make any bland space grand and this is the first year I’ve done one right onto the magnetised wall on my desk. Go ahead and gather all your favourite pictures and power fuelling quotes from magazines. Or if you can’t bare the heart wrenching pain of stabbing your magazines with scissors, try free papered items that you pick up at your shopping centre (This is the time to use them! Stop hoarding them in your house!). My favourites include Lorna Jane, Kikki K and Broadsheet.
After papering your walls, you can start adding the little knick knacks and random things that make you happy. Oh and the practical stuff that you know, you need to write things with.
Here’s a neat little idea for a potential 2015 project. I started a quote journal back in 2014 – its a notebook filled to the brim with uplifting quotes that I’ve collected along the way. It might seem a bit tedious and pointless at first but trust me, whenever you’re feeling down, hopeless or like a quitter, pulling out something like this will get you back on your feet fast!
Below are some examples of how I decorated my space very inexpensively! Starting from the left: an empty Champagne bottle from Christmas with a single fake rose, an ikea vase filled with unattractive markers and a framed paper bag from Kikki K’s Live Bright collection that clearly bounces off my desk with all that lilac and pink.
I just got back from a small little getaway and now I have a tropical little post to share with you! I stayed in a lovely villa that was super close to the beach and the pool and I spent my days swimming, watching movies and eating too much. Sometimes the best holidays don’t require a passport and thousands of pictures captured on film, they’re just about disconnecting, appreciating that everywhere you walk is a palm tree, watching Nickelodeon in your bathrobe and sitting in foot spas and steam rooms all day long.
That being said, I did get a few photographs of my stay including this cute little number. I’ve been on the hunt for something in a pineapple print and I’ve been on the hunt for a kimono since last summer so when I saw this one I knew I had to have it! Kimonos are the epitome of a summer vacation because they’re perfect as a beach cover up and so easy and breezy. I like wearing mine with denim cut offs and tank tops so the bright print can be the focus of the outfit.
STYLE SMORGASBORD 