Christmas by the Sea

Dress - Hell Bunny
Shoes - I Love Billy
Glasses - Asos

We started the Christmas celebrations this year by going and staying at our favorite hotel (by the beach of course) and came home on Christmas Eve to spend Christmas with Hugh's family. Unfortunately there have been some camera troubles, so not many blog posts this month, but I assure you I had an absolutely fabulous Christmas and I hope those of you that celebrate did too!
I came back from our holiday feeling wonderful from all of the delicious hotel breakfasts and dinners, and very relaxed (a bit sunburned too) from days spent lying on the beach.
I'm finding it hard to believe that there are only a few more days left of this year, but I could not be more excited for what 2014 has in store!

Sparkle sparkle!

Shoes - Wittner
Dress - courtesy of Bernie Dexter, get it here!

Each year Christmas in Brisbane is characterized by the following - overcast days that threaten storms, and the Christmas parrots(King Parrots) who come into our yard to eat flowers and berries from the trees. Like every year the festive season has just flown by and I am not ready yet - there are still presents to buy and things to bake! I have been having fun wearing these very sparkly shoes and Christmassy outfits that I hope to blog about soon!

California Girl

Romper - Tara Starlet
Shoes - I Love Billy
Sunglasses - Asos

A few weeks ago I went to the California Design exhibit that is currently on at the Brisbane Art Gallery. While the exhibit itself was a small and somewhat disappointing selection of vintage furniture and a few clothes, I did come away with interior design inspiration. A week ago I bought my very first set of mid century furniture - beautiful red leather 1960s Don Rex arm chairs!

Christmas in the City

Dress - Bettie Page
Shoes - Betts
Sunglasses - Sportsgirl

The city is looking wonderfully festive already and I couldn't help getting into the Christmas spirit by dressing like a candy cane to go shopping for Christmas ornaments! I bought this dress three years ago when I first started dressing vintage reproduction, and it has become a bit of Christmas tradition that I wear this dress throughout the festive season. This dress is special for another reason, as it is one of the first few dresses that I bought when I was first discovering vintage reproduction. It's funny because it says a lot about the fact my style really hasn't changed in the last few years, while my wardrobe however, has expanded!

Papaya

Lately I've been really obsessed with red papaya! It's extremely good for you and tastes delicious and refreshing, kind of like eating a flower!

Rose Red

Dress - Trashy Diva
Shoes - Betts
Belt - appropriated from a Bernie Dexter dress

Lately there has been a lot of red outfits on this blog! It's a color I can't help gravitating towards, especially if it's paired with white - that is one of my all time favorite combinations. This week has been one of those weeks where outfit photos just don't work out the way I want them to - bad hair days, bad lighting - but it happens!

Midweek Cocktails!

Negroni

Espresso Martini 

Old Fashioned

As you know, I love cocktails! Normally I stick to very girly tropical drinks but lately I've been enjoying simple, more adult drinks, like the 'Old Fashioned' which everyone knows as Don Draper's drink of choice. However, you wouldn't want to go knocking back too many of these, despite how easy Mad Men makes it look!

Necropolis

In Australia Halloween isn't really celebrated the way it is in the US, but I've been getting into the Halloween spirit by watching horror movies and eating a lot of candy. I spent this morning exploring one of the huge cemeteries in our city, and while I didn't feel comfortable getting any outfit photos while there (too weird!) I thought to share a few photos of the beautiful Victorian iron work and stone masonry. This particular cemetery is a 150 years old and is quite fascinating but also creepy. On one particular occasion when I was walking through a field of graves I heard two disembodied voices having a full conversation...I still get the chills when I think about it. 

Happy Halloween!

Gingham and Pretzels!

Top - Collectif
Skirt - Collectif
Shoes - I Love Billy

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! My weekend so far has involved a bit of shopping at the farmers market, eating pretzels, drinking beer - all while wearing gingham of course!

Nautical Stripes and Heart Shaped Glasses!

Romper - Tara Starlet

A few posts ago I wrote about my new found love of rompers, and here is my second one! I love nautical outfits so much and every now and then I can't resist adding one more to my wardrobe (there may be a third sailor dress under the Christmas tree this year). This was my first romper from Tara Starlet and I have worn it everywhere - grocery shopping, the beach, and even out to dinner!

Swimming with Dolphins

Swimwear - Modcloth, get it here!
Sunglasses - Asos

These photos were taken a week ago now, on a gorgeous warm day. I woke up early and saw the most beautiful sunrise and watched the sea mist roll in from the ocean. The day before we had seen dolphins in the surf, however, I could not have been more surprised when four of them joined us in the water! They swam five meters away from us and made adorable noises as they went by.

For the holiday I packed both of my Esther Williams bikinis, including this cherry print one I blogged about earlier this year. I love both of my Esther Williams bikinis so much and they get so much wear that I must get another one soon. Something that I especially adore is that their sizing is consistent - which is very important when ordering swimwear online, for me in particular since I am all the way in Australia.

The best thing about these bikinis is that the sizing is extremely Australian friendly! I am an Australian size eight and sized up to the US size eight - it's a perfect fit. So something to keep in mind if you're in Australia and are thinking of ordering one - order your Australian size and the fit should be spot on!