Jewellery Love

I recently stumbled across a costume jewellery site on Instagram that I was initially dubious about until one of my favourite blogs had recently purchased a piece and I instantly thought well it must be ok if she is showcasing it-and good it is!!!!!  Cheaper than Diva and Lovisa but equally on trend this is a site I will definitely be buying from again - 3 necklaces and 2 sets of earrings from under $40 - doesnt matter if they only last the summer.  Here is just a couple of the things I bought - the other 2 are now sold out-will be sure to photograph when I wear them.

 

 

http://withlovekirsten.com/shop-now

Be sure to check out http://withlovekirsten.com/shop-now they also stock alot of celebrity inspired jewellery and I am already eyeing off the Celine inspired choker.

In other news this week, I received my invitation for the Interior Design Information night at Tafe.  This is something I have been wanting to do for a few years now but they only run it every 2 years - I am excited at the prospect of it but also this is where the self doubt creeps in-a lovely lady left a message on my blog that I love and I must keep it in the front of my mind at all times "Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you will land amongst the stars!" Thanks Lou I love it!!!

Have a great rest of the week

Mel xx

You CAN dress a bed with Op Shop pieces

You CAN dress a bed with Op Shop pieces

Yes indeed you can. 

Our downstairs bedroom had become a dumping ground and I could stand it no longer so I decided to set myself a challenge to see if I could decorate using mainly recycled pieces.  I do believe that good interiors evolve over time so it is definitely a work in progress.  We originally had a double bed that guests (and husband at times lol) complained about their feet hanging over the edge, so we were lucky to acquire a queen size when we bought out Rough Diamond.  We already had the queen size doona so first purchase was a plain white doona cover - actually very hard to find in op shops so I found one that had a white backing so just decided to flip it over.

I love the idea of mismatched cushions - I particularly love the blue and white print and at $1.50 really how can you go wrong.  The colourful one is actually not an opshop one but at $8.00 from Target it is just as cheap.  The middle cushion I am not totally happy with and it will be replaced when I can find the right one (ideally I think the contrast of a white fur would look fab here-what are my chances of finding that!).

Last week I was stoked to find this Country Road Woven blanket for a whole $5.50 - admittedly it had a few pulls, nothing that a bit of time and small scissors couldnt fix.

I stumbled across this quick little dipping DIY on Instagram and decided to do it on the 3 little bottles I picked up for $2 - I quite liked the uneven edges but I think next time I will use masking tape to make straight lines - this dipping could be done with absolutely anything - I would love to do it with some timber and white paint!

 

Just need to get some single stems to put in these.

As I said this is definitely a work in progress - and I will continue to see if I can do the whole room with recycled pieces - I think it adds so much more character.  I would love to know what you think!

Have a fabulous Tuesday
Mel xx

Blog School Lesson 2 - Brainstorming Blog Ideas

Blog School Lesson 2 - Brainstorming Blog Ideas

Firstly welcome to my lovely new likers, thank you, you have absolutely made my day!!!

Thursday night saw Lesson 2 of JustB Blog School.  Our homework was to brainstorm ideas for future posts.  So pen and my beautiful blog book in hand I went about jotting down all the ideas that I have for this space (gee it felt good to get them out of my head).  I wrote down everything that came to mind and then categorised them in to the following;

All things Op Shopping
This was primarily the reason for my blog to share all my fabulous finds, posts in this category would include, my tips for opshopping, designer labels to look out for when opshopping, doing an opshop shop focus, of course sharing my opshop finds, upcycling and DIY with opshop pieces, and sharing upcycling inspiration.

Fashion and Beauty
As a lover of both of these it wouldnt be right without this category!  Posts would include what I wore, online finds, purchases, my beauty bag, product reviews.

Favourite Blogs
This is where it all started for me - Table Tonic was my very first blog I started following so I would love to share all the blogs I love checking into regularly.

In and Around My Home
This is as it sounds, and includes our newly planted veggie patch!  This would also cross over into another favourite category;

Interiors
This really does make my heart sing.  I am planning on doing an Interior Design Course next year through the local Tafe and would love to share what I learn on here!  Also I would share Interior inspiration I love, Interior books I love (may have purchased one today!!!), online Interior stores, and of course much more.

So there it is - not sure at this stage if there will be a designated day eg Fashion Friday for each category - will need to give that a bit more thought.  I would love to know what you all think and please if there are any ideas you think I could use please let me know.

Have a fabulous Sunday

Mel xx

Off to Blog School

Off to Blog School

Hello lovely people, hope you are all having a fabulous week so far!  I think Pip Lincolne of Meet me at Mikes must have known I was struggling a bit with this blogging caper as she has started a blog school called JustB Blog School.  It is a fantastic site where bloggers of all capabilities can come and ask questions, share tips and get lessons on blogging in general.  Lesson One was 5 questions which I have never really asked myself but probably should  have before I started blogging.  I thought I would share my lesson 1 answers with you all!

Why do I want to start a blog?

-to be a member of a wider community and develop new friendships
-to have a running record that I can go back and look at as time goes on (like a diary)
-share information with my friends

What do I want to give my readers?

-easy lighthearted reading
-share my love of blogs and blogging
-a glimpse at ME (this part I am struggling with - not sure how much information to share - I guess I will work it out as I go)

What do I want to achieve via blogging?

-as per question 1 - develop new friendships with likeminded people
-greater understanding of social media
-open myself up to any future opportunities if they arise

What strengths do I bring to my blog?

yep this one is hard! Still trying to answer this lol

What do I want to learn more about?

just to name a few;
- SEO (search engine optimisation)
- increasing readership
- using plugins
- taking good photos

 

I am thankful to Pip for starting this school - it is comforting to know there is a place I can go and ask stupid questions without judgement (well hopefully lol) and also get some knowledge I can use on this blogging journey. 

Look out Flickr, Linkedin, Feedburner I am all over you!!!!!!! (well maybe not yet)

Enjoy your week.

Mel xx

Sass & Bide, Yoga and other loves this week!

Sass & Bide, Yoga and other loves this week!

Hello lovely friends, hope you are all having a fabulous week!  Here are a few bits and pieces of my week so far.

I eagerly awaited the arrival of the TNT van today delivering my new Havaiana's - they are a special edition collaboration with Sass & Bide.  Admittedly it is a bit extravagant paying $50 for a pair of thongs, but hey, how can you go wrong with black, leopard and the famous gold star and I think cost per wear will be quite low seeing as my poor old bunion feet will be living in these this summer.  You can find them here!
http://www.sassandbide.com/eboutique/accoutrement/havianas.html

Tonight I finally returned to yoga and I realised just how much I have missed it and need it!  I have done a few forms of yoga over the years with the most recent form being flow with the beautiful Miss Em.  I started with Iyengar which I loved - this style gives you a great foundation and it is a very detailed form, you start with a basic class and then when the instructors feel you are ready you progress to the next level, I did particularly like the challenge of head stands, shoulder stands and hand stands.  I also tried Bikram last year which I also enjoyed but this is more a workout style of yoga and not so much relaxing - old stress head here really needs relaxing and this is why Miss Ems is the perfect style for me at the moment.  I love the feeling of calm that comes over me during and after yoga - the challenge is to try and get that to carry over into everyday life!!!!!

I discovered this gorgeous garland a while back and decided I would make one with the tissue paper I picked up at the op shop.  Would you believe the hardest part for me was step 1 (tutorial I used is here), which way to fold the paper first lol - I have only done a few as they are quite time consuming, I have done white so far and I think I will add a metalic and possibly a pink - thought this would be fun for Miss C's bedroom - funny enough the kids rooms are the only rooms I feel comfortable adding colour!

Thought I would share with you my Ikea fluff and how I styled it.  A dear friend picked it up for me in Melbourne - in time I would love to update the chair to an Eames rocker but this will be suffice for now (especially as the chair cost me nix).  I picked up the cushion at Big W last week for $9.00 - I just need to find a storage solution for all those Real Living mags sitting underneath!!!!

In case you were all wondering I haven't had much luck at the op shops recently - hence the lack of blog posts on this topic.  I visited a couple today and even willed myself before I went in to find a hidden gem (you know like what they mention in the book The Secret - if you put it out there then it comes back to you) unfortunately it didn't work on this occasion!!!

Bring on next week - Pink tickets go on sale!!!!  Tell me who is going?

Bye for now
Mel xx

The Preparations Begin!

The Preparations Begin

Firstly I will allow you time to pick yourself up off the floor - I know it has been nearly a month since my last post.  Just when I have grand plans to increase my number of posts something happens to throw me off course-I have had a bad run with sickness the last few months (nothing horrible just the flu and 2 head colds in 3 months) and unfortunately my desire to blog goes out the window.  Anyway I am not going to place any great expectations on myself or comitt to a certain number of posts but I do hope to be here more than I have!!!

As most of you know this Saturday is the Be Her Freedom High Tea Fundraiser and the preparations have officially began.  Legs waxed, fake tan booked, blow dry booked, dress borrowed, toe nails painted.  Just on the toe nails I have had a little fling with O.P.I the last 2 days and have purchased 4 of them-in case you Eastern Shore girls don't know, Hair Warehouse has started stocking O.P.I (admittedly not quite the selection Myer Melbourne has!) but none the less a good selection and at a reduced price - $17 each or 2 for $30.  Here are the 4 I purchased - initially they were all going to be for presents (October is birthday month) but after testing them all out (of course you need to do this with gifts) I have decided Gargantuan Green Grape is a keeper-a gorgeous mint green, what do you think?

Tonight I read a great article by Zoe Foster on the Mamamia site - in case you don't know Zoe is Hamish Blakes fiance and is a writer and ex beauty editor.  She bought out the most awesome book last year which is my bible - Amazing Face.  This is a great book for yourself or a gift for a girlfriend.  Anyway have a look here at this weeks post - 5 beauty rituals that look better on day 2- I felt like she was talking directly to me - I particularly can relate to the professional blow dry - I have already organised to have my hair for Saturday night blow dryed on Friday night!  Let me know if you can relate to any of these.  Unfortunately Zoe doesn't disclose how to disguise a large bruise on the shin caused by a catapulting bottle of lemonade - thats another story all together!

Hopefully will be back soon!

Mel xx