A very merry time

Our little tree, for a little Christmas

Coffee machine, wohoo!

Getting Leah ready for Europe 

Someone was sad that they didn't get any presents

Leah and her hunny, James

New watch and Christmas headband

My outfit: shoes: platform shoes // top: h&m // shorts: gap // headband: crown and glory //watch: fossil 

Leah's outfit: shoes: styletread // dress: factorie

I have had such a lovely, laidback christmas. We ate far too much food, laughed too loud and probably had a little too much wine. I spent Christmas Eve with Brendan's family and I realised how lucky I am to get along with them so well and was very thankful to be an adopted member of the family. Brendan is the second eldest of four and I love being around a loud, busy family. We did secret santa this year and Brendan's brothers girlfriend got me and bought me a new hair dryer and the ring I am wearing in the above photos.

I spent Christmas day with my family and enjoyed getting to see my little sister before she jetted off to Europe today for five weeks. She is going to be in Paris for her 21st birthday, so very lucky. Brendan and I than had an afternoon nap and stayed up watching movies, it is becoming a bit of a Christmas tradition.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying the holiday season.

How did you spend Christmas and what did Santa bring you?

Navy days

shoes: platform shoes // dress & belt: forever new // owl ring: unknown // bag: vintage

My dad bought me this dress for my birthday, I would love to say that the man has impeccable taste but it was my mum who chose it out for me. The dress is so beautifully constructed with a stiff pleated skirt, with fluffy lining but what really wins me over is the cut out back, so cute. I think this is going to be my Christmas dress, hopefully we get some actual Summer weather to go with it, it has been so miserable and overcast lately.

I am feeling so overwhelmed by Christmas at the moment. I still have a fair few presents to buy and I offered to be in charge of desserts this year so am madly trying to organise that in between the lead up to Christmas festivities and wrapping up work for the year. It is also Brendan's birthday tomorrow so I am just going to chill out and enjoy the day and stress about Christmas on Friday.

Blog posts may be a little sporadic over the next two weeks, as much as I would love to be super blogger I think I might just get carried away with real life and the amazing times the holidays bring with them. I hope you are all organised for Christmas and taking time to enjoy friends and family :-)

24th Birthday

Dinner with friends 

Mum, Sister and I, birthday cupcakes, seafood platter and presents

 Last Friday was my birthday and I had such a fantastic day. I woke up to breakfast in bed and presents to open. Brendan spoilt me with new pyjamas and a gift voucher to Forever New. I than had to head off to work which wasn't too bad with morning coffees and a cake in the afternoon. I than went out for dinner with some of close friends, we went to a little Vietnamese restaurant that was delicious and cheap. It was the kind of place where you can be loud and have fun and they don't rush you out.

On Saturday I headed to Sydney to spend time with my mum and sister which was also lovely. It was a very quick trip but we managed to squeeze in getting our nails done (we tried the new shellac polish which is amazing), shopping an an amazing seafood dinner at Darling Harbour.

I am really excited about this year, I have a bit of a superstitious thing about even years being better than odd and lucky for me I am back to evens again. I got some really cute present that I will try and share later in the week, if Christmas activities and other things don't get in the way. I hope you had a nice weekend

Top 5 outfits of 2011

I have really enjoyed doing outfit posts on my blog this year. I never use to put much thought into getting dressed in the morning, or what purchases I made for my wardrobe. However these days I really love putting more thought into what I wear, experimenting by putting different pieces together and searching out vintage gems. It may sound shallow but getting up and putting on clothes you love and feel comfortable in is the easiest way to start the day on a good note. Here are my five favourite outfits from this year...

5

4

3

2

1

There really isn't anything exciting about my favourite outfit I just love this dress more than anything else :-)

The shoe craze begins...

top: valleygirl // jacket: dotti // belt: portmans // shoes: joanne mercer

Is everyone else really busy at the moment? I have to admit I love the craziness of the holiday season but sometimes you just need to take some time out for yourself. Brendan and I are going out for dinner tonight (burgers, yum, my weakness) and than going to look at Christmas lights. My old boss has just got the world record for the most lights on a residential property, so we are heading off to check that out. You can read the story here if you like.

I went a little shoe crazy last week and bought three new pairs, all on sale so I don’t feel too guilty. This is probably my favourite pair due to their versatility and the fact they are so comfortable. I wore these all day at work yesterday and my feet just started hurting at 6pm as I headed home for the night so I am pretty happy about that. I think in this outfit they manage to give a much more classic look a bit of an edge.

I have slowly started getting back my motivation for the gym. I had a one off personal training session on Saturday and just learning how to do a few new workouts has managed to get me out of a rut.

Christmas packaging

Before I started working full time I was always participating in swaps and writing letters. Since I have started working full time these hobbies have unfortunately fallen by the wayside a little bit. However, being Christmas time I decided to take part in two Christmas swaps and have already received my first one. I received the package above from my lovely friend Jasmine (I love being paired up with friends) and I have to say she went above and beyond what was required of her. This package made me so happy and excited to start packaging up my gifts for Christmas. I think from this year on I am going to keep a box of Christmas packaging to build upon every year because presents are definitely more fun when they are beautifully presented. Thankyou Jasmine for getting me even more excited for Christmas.


How are you wrapping up your presents this year?

2011: Top 5 books

In recognition of 2011 coming to an end  I wanted to start a little series for the rest of the December called the “2011 Top 5.... ”. This will include my top 5 books, music, outfits, blogs, buys etc. I think it will be a fun little catalogue of some of my favourite things from this year. Feel free to play along on your own blog or in the comments. Today I am starting with one of my all time favourite things, books! And just a little side note I have been a little sneaky and done books I read in 2011 and not books wrote in 2011.

5. Unsticky: Sarra Manning - I loved this book because it was so easy to read, a little bit silly and perfect for a Summer holiday.

4. The Gargoyle: Andrew Davidson - this book was so different to anything I have read and kept me intrigued though out, though some what disappointed with the ending, definitely worth the read.

3. Fallen: Lauren Kate - this year has seen me continue my obsession with 'young adult' literature. Out of all the series I started this year, this is my favourite, mainly due to my crush on Daniel! 

2. The Slap: Christos Tsiolkas - this book gave me so many different emotions and left me questioning Australian society - I like a book that makes you think.

1.  The Help: Kathryn Stockett - despite attempting to avoid the hype around this book, I caved and am so glad I did. A wonderful storyline with great characters, read quickly and completely enjoyed. 

What were your favourite books this year?

Birthday wishes

Motorola Xoom Tablet, Nespresso coffee machine, Fine and Dandy vintage shirt, Wanderlust & Co Ring, Fossil Tote Bag, Wedges Forever New, Peter Alexander PJs

It is my birthday in less than a week, this year has gone so quickly, I feel like I have barely just turned 23.

I am excited for 24 though and I feel like the coming year is going to be a lot more relaxed than previous and will hopefully be a time to take up new hobbies and go on new adventures. Plus I much prefer even numbers to odd so 24 suits me just fine. The older I get the harder I find it to think of gifts I would like to receive (not even mentioning that my bday is so close to Christmas). It took me three days to put this list together, so I think I will just be happy for a few little surprises and time with family and friends.



The "all kinds of wrong" dress

Dress: thrifted // shoes: sportsgirl

Unfortunately this dress is a little tight and if I am completely honest a bit short as well (which is my own altering bungle). It is also probably hideous to some people, my mum was definitely not impressed when she saw it. However for some reason when I put it on, I just fell in love. It kind of feels like a sexy dress though most people would say it looks like a grandpa's pyjamas. I think it might be the long sleeve, short skirt combo that makes it feel a bit more pretty than it actually is.

So even though this dress is wrong in so many ways I wont be parting with it just yet. Isn't that the point of clothes to make you feel happy? This dress makes me happy and I am going to wear it with pride maybe with stockings in public though hehe.

Do you have any clothes that you just cant part with regardless of how they look?

Blogger of the month: the demure muse

After being too disorganised in November, I am happy to introduce Katrina of 'the demure muse' as the December Blogger of the Month. I stumbled upon Katrina's blog a few weeks ago and was constantly hooked, spending the next hour or so reading through the archives. Katrina has a beautiful classic style and is such a friendly lady. I love that she jumped at the chance to take part in this project straight away, thanks so much Katrina.

Name: Katrina

Blog: the demure muse 

Location: Seattle, WA

Describe your self in five words? funny (or so I'd like to think!), crafty, nerdy, optimistic, chatterbox

How would you spend your perfect Sunday? My perfect Sundays start off with a matcha green tea latte (or gingerbread latte, if they're in season)! I'm not a huge fan of caffeine, but I like to treat myself once a week to something yummy to start off my day. Sundays are the one day that I have a lot of "Me time" and I like to spend as much of the day possible outdoors. I love to check out different parts of the city. Sundays are also usually the days that I start new craft projects, so I spend my Saturday night planning out craft shops that I want to check out on Sundays to pick up all my supplies. :)

What is something you are loving right now? (It can be a blog, a fashion trend, something happening in your life etc anything you like) Right now I am obsessing over the holiday flavoured lattes. As a former coffee addict (I used to drink 3-5 cups a day! Yikes...), I now treat myself to only one latte a week, at most. During the week I will stick to my English Breakfast teas, but come Sunday morning, I get all giddy thinking about a yummy latte! In October and November, I was all about the pumpkin spice latte. Nowadays, I always have trouble trying to pick between the gingerbread and peppermint lattes. They're both so delicious and such a treat for the brisk Seattle mornings. If you have never tried one before, I highly recommend it! 

Why did you start blogging? And any tips for bloggers just starting out? I started blogging when I moved Seattle back in 2010. I've always been a pretty big food nut and I loved taking photos at all the interesting places that I ate at. You'll notice that a lot of my earlier posts are strictly food photos and nothing much else. It wasn't until I returned to Toronto after a few months in Seattle that I started style blogging. I had been following a handful of personal style bloggers for a couple of years already and always wanted to start my own but I was nervous about putting myself out there. One day I just took the leap and posted an outfit photo and it just continued! The best piece of advice I could give to any blogger just starting out would be to blog about things that you love. Don't just blog about popular topics because you want to get noticed and have readers/comments. The views, followers, and comments go hand in hand when people see that you are passionate about what you blog about :)

What are you looking forward to this holiday season? I'm really looking forward to seeing my family and friends! A lot of my friends (myself included) moved to new cities in the last year or so. We're all planning on going home for the Holidays and meeting up.. I cannot wait! Good food and good company are my favourite things to combine for the holiday season!

And final words of wisdom.... "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Old dress, new hair

Dress: thrifted // hat: asos // shoes: sportsgirl // ring: pandora // belt: zara

This is one of the first vintage dresses I bought. I loved the pattern on the dress but it had huge flowing sleeves which I removed and now I am really loving it. Thanks mum for being my personal seamstress. I really need to learn how to sew so I don't keep sending stuff to my mum to fix.

Do you like my new hair cut? Every two years I have this moment of madness where I chop all my hair off and then spend the next two years growing it again. Sensing the urge to chop it all off again I allowed myself to just get a fringe.Hopefully this will keep me from getting scissor happy again any time soon.

I put some things up for sale from my closet this morning which you can check out here.  Nothing is over $20 and most of it has never been worn so head on over and have a look.

I am off to cook dinner for friends, making lamb hamburgers for the first time wish me luck!

Blocking

Jacket: dotti // shirt: h&m // jeans: macys // shoes: sportsgirl

At work we have casual Friday which I interpret as " you can wear jeans" Friday. I had this outfit planned all week. I was quite proud of my attempt at colour blocking, until a girl stopped me in the street to tell me she had seen me on the bus earlier that morning and couldnt understand why anyone would wear orange and blue together. However she decided that on seeing it a second time she didnt mind the look at all. I managed to laugh it off and told her next time she saw me on this bus we should have a chat.
I am so happy that it is the weekend. I am having a 'Megan' weekend as Brendan is busy with cricket and my friends have gone on lovely adventures. I am getting my haircut, doing Christmas shopping and baking a chocolate chip cookie dough pie.

Our tree

We have a tradition in our house that the tree goes up on the first of December. This year was especially important as it is most likely the last time it will happen with the three of us living together as Maddy is moving early next year. To me it really doesn't feel like Christmas, where did this year go? I am determined not to let next year slip away like this one did. Anyway now the tree is up and I have started buying presents I am slowly starting to get into the swing of things. Hopefully I realise its Christmas before it slips away on me too. Is your tree up yet?