Saturday, July 24, 2010

A splash of colour in Winter

It's always nice to have fresh flowers in the house, and we picked up some tulips at the supermarket a few weeks ago. I love tulips when they're just about to open, but we left them in the vase for quite a few days and I noticed how pretty they are when they've opened all the way.

The only bad thing about tulips is that they open so quickly, so you can't keep them for as long as other flowers. Still, the colour is just gorgeous. Pin It

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Adventures in Cooking: Pear Gingerbread


I made this a few weeks ago and it was delicious. AND it was super easy. It's nice to serve to company or just to have in the cupboard to nibble.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup golden syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar 
100 grams butter
3/4 cup self raising flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 large ripe pear

Total prep and cooking time: about 1 hour

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Monday, July 12, 2010

Winter treats

Jammy tarts - perfect bite sized treats!
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Sunday, July 4, 2010

Boredom Abounds loves: Fashion

I've been meaning to do this for ages, but time got away from me. Anyway, when I'm bored there's nothing I love more than playing around on the internet. So, here is Boredom Abounds' list of stuff to keep you occupied on the web when it comes to all things fashion:

Love retro stuff? Take a peek at ModCloth, a haven of retro and indie clothes for girls interested in unique items that can't be found in shops. Their sizes run a little bit small in my experience, so order a smidge larger than you would normally wear. My current desire? This super cute navy cinched waist dress.

Ok, you all know about Anthropologie right? No? I'm not surprised, they've been relatively off the radar in Australia until recently. They finally started shipping internationally, and although their shipping rates are a little steep, one look at the website and you'll be in love with their gorgeous, feminine fashion. These are clothes you definitely won't find in Australia. They tend to use unique prints and styles, some modern, some retro, and buying a few pretty pieces is definitely an asset to any girl's wardrobe. These two items are my current faves:

For cute clothes that are a bit cheaper, check out Urban Outfitters and Forever 21, which, like the above two brands, are American, but they have tons of cheap items and seem to have sales quite frequently.

There's also UK website Asos which has about a million different dresses, tops, coats, shirts, accessories, bags, shoes, and most of it is quite affordable. I love these items:

All of these companies ship internationally, and their rates vary, but it's worth checking them out periodically to pick up key wardrobe items you won't find here.

Plus, there's nothing better than having people compliment you on your outfit and ask you where they can find it!

Now, when it comes to actually dressing yourself, you may need a little bit of inspiration. These are the blogs I enjoy looking at for ideas on what to wear:

Possibly my favourite blog at the moment, What Would Emma Pilsbury Wear is a spotlight on Miss Pilsbury, the uptight OCD guidance counsellor on Glee. I adore her clothes, and this blog focuses on every outfit in every episode and lets you know where you can purchase her wardrobe items. They also feature cool reader submissions where people submit ideas for similar outfits. Again, the key selling point is that the clothes submitted actually link to the company's details and you can go out and purchase it yourself.
They use a great site called Polyvore, which is sort of like a virtual mood board. You can mix and match clothing items and see where they can be purchased. An excellent source of inspiration (and a great time waster!).

This little blog I stumbled upon is wonderful - Academichic is run by three female PhD students in the States. They have set out to challenge the idea of "the ill-fitting polyester suit of academic yore", and basically take photos of themselves in their everyday work wear and casual wear.
A lot of their outfits can be translated into pretty much any office atmosphere (provided it isn't too corporate), and they give me great ideas for mixing and matching pieces, as well as spotlighting particular styles they love.

And when I want to check out the latest high fashion and celebrity looks, I turn to Red Carpet Fashion Awards. They feature the latest celebrity looks every day, runway looks and best dressed reader polls.
It's a great source for looking at the latest designer stuff and celebrity styling.

Until next time, peeps. Enjoy! Pin It