Frocktober

tshirt: h&m // pants: target // shoes: williams // cardigan: cocolatte

Ok so it doesn’t make sense to wear pants and spruik Frocktober but I had to get every pair of pants in I can before tomorrow! I love wearing dresses but 31 days of making sure I bend at the knees may get a little tiring.

So yes I have decided to put my wardrobe towards a good cause and wear a different dress for every day in October (I am a little embarrassed that I have enough dresses to do this) and hopefully raise a little money for ovarian cancer.

For me this is a special cause as a couple of years ago I had abnormal cells growing on my cervix. Luckily for me a pap smear picked this up and a small surgical procedure fixed the whole problem and touch wood I have been okay ever since. Seriously I should be the poster girl for pap smears because a moment of discomfort can save lives.

Unfortunately, ovarian cancer cannot be picked up through a pap smear. In Australia, one woman dies every 10 hours from ovarian cancer.  At present ovarian cancer is commonly diagnosed at advanced stage with only 20-30% of women surviving beyond five years, compared to more that 90% when the disease is detected and treated early. So we need to throw some money at this great cause so more research can be done and an early detection for ovarian cancer can be discovered.

If you have any change at all that you could spare for this great cause please donate through this link: http://www.everydayhero.com.au/megan_sparke

Anyone who donates has unrestricted access to my bulging wardrobe whenever you like and of course my unfettered appreciation!

A new hair do

Did you know I didn’t dye my hair for a year? I went back to my natural colour and honestly thought that maybe I just wouldn’t dye my hair again. Than about 6 weeks ago the urge to do something spontaneous took over and I dyed my hair a burgundy colour, that was pretty fun but red colours wash out so quickly and I wanted something lighter for summer.  Hence I decided to take on the latest trend – balayage!

I kind of love it! If you told me 2 years ago that I would pay $200 to look like I have really bad regrowth I would have told you that there would be more chance of me wearing tights as pants but hey I am not one to argue with what the fashion gods say works and I actually thinks this works.

New to me vintage pieces

My appreciation of vintage clothing is constantly growing and more often than not I am gravitating towards vintage clothing rather than buying something new. I won't stop buying new clothes but I know that my vintage pieces are the ones that I will keep indefinitely or are the ones that I look forward to handing on to other people some day.

Above is some of my latest finds - a dress for the spring races, a playsuit for summer adventures, a dress for Sunday afternoon drinks and a colourful blouse to brighten up the office. While I definitely love finding pieces in op-shops I also love splashing out for things that really capture my attention and I could not walk away from that playsuit and the dress for the races.

Are there any vintage pieces you are looking forward to wearing this Spring or Autumn for my northern hemisphere friends?

Michelle Bridges 12 week challenge {4 week review}

When I mentioned  I was doing the Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation challenge a few weeks ago a few people asked me to let them know how it went. I though now that I am a third of away through, I would report back and let you guys know how its going.

What is the program? 
The program is all done through an online program - you get a weekly eating plan including the recipes, a grocery list and an exercise program for each day. Michelle also does weekly motivation videos and emails each week. Plus if you follow her on Facebook you get the additional community support. The program is $200 for 12 weeks and is available internationally.

The food.... the recipes are amazing, easy to cook and tasty! All the things a non-cooker like me looks for in a meal plan. I love not having to think about what I am going to eat its all organised for me - I just need to do what I am told. I have only had one recipe that I didn't enjoy which was minestrone soup but I potentially didn't make it right.... a lot of people told me that minestrone soup isn't great let alone when its low fat.

The downside is that I am doing the program all by myself and the recipes make enough to last me three meals. This week I made a chicken curry and have had enough to have it for dinner three nights in a row - basically the shopping list is too much for one person. Michelle does say it is based on 2 people but it is hard to cut everything in half. For example bread you might only need it for two recipes but you cant just buy four pieces. What I do is pick out a couple of the recipes each week rather than following the eating plan strictly. It means I will still have lots of yummy recipes left to try after the program ends but kind of makes the shopping list redundant.

The exercise...I generally don't look forward to working out, I do it to try and stay fit and healthy. If I go to the gym without a game plan than I end up leaving after half an hour. I love Michelle's plans they are different every week and they push me and keep me interested. The program offers plans for people who use the gym, who want to to work out at home or outdoors. It also caters to beginners, intermediate or advanced exercisers.

Four weeks in and I am getting to the point where I am actually (very slowly ) looking forward to the workouts and can definitely tell that I am getting fitter.

The results (so far)... so I have lost 3kgs so far but most importantly I am feeling a lot fitter and  have a renewed sense of motivation to stay fit and healthy. If you need a little bit of a kick start to get on the band wagon and like the idea of not having to think, just do, than this program is perfect for you. For me it is about a healthy lifestyle and not just doing this for 12 weeks, this has definitely given me the stepping stones to start the journey. I will do a final review after the 3 months is over.

Are you doing the challenge or thinking about it? I would love to hear your thoughts!

This is not a sponsored post - I have paid for the program myself, thoughts and opinions are my own.

Roman Holiday

skirt: quirky circus // tshirt: valleygirl // shoes: barkins // belt: Alannah Hill

This morning I woke up and was flicking through instagram to see that my dear friend Gracie was Disneyland and subconsciously when I got dressed I seem to have dressed like Minnie Mouse. A lady at work said it was more like the film Roman Holiday so I have decided to go with that instead - what do you guys think? All I know is that there isn't any stockings on those legs - hello springtime!

I have to say I am feeling much more motivated this week and am trying to be more positive about life and taking the twists and changes in my stride. I have signed up for a photoraphy course (to learn how to use my DSLR on more settings than just auto!) Ihave also taken on another  project that I have wanted to do for ages and have finally bitten the bullet and decided to just go for it - I cant wait to share with you guys soon when I know that it is 100% going ahead! Is there anything you want to make sure you do before the end of the year?

Little life updates :: September

♥ vintage playsuit// new Canberra vintage store 'Hipsley Lane' // spring days// Floriade // pedicures// coffee and floral pants // veggie salad// my bestie & I // selfie ♥ 

My addiction to instagram knows no boundaries, I swear one day I will probably post a photo of myself brushing my teeth or cutting my toe nails - I just really like sharing little life moments through this medium. I think if I could only keep one social media app it would be instagram. 

Anyway enough rambling, these photos are from the weekend, my best friend came to visit and we had so much fun shopping, eating and enjoying the Spring sunshine - I don't want to go to work tomorrow!

Other little notes...

Reading... 

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, absolutely loving it and realising that I need to make more time for reading.

Watching... 

'Call the Midwife' on ABC iView, such a good show - I highly recommend you check it out.

Talking... 

to our friends about what we should do for New Years, only three months to go.

Thinking... 

that it has nearly been a year since I visited the States and how I wish I was going back soon.

Buying... 
a vintage playsuit, it is so fun and I may wear nothing else all summer long and the Cupcakes and Cashmere book.

Planning... 

a new venture, which will be possibly a huge flop but I am going to go for it anyway!

Wearing...

a black jumpsuit that I bought off ASOS, I feel like I should be in the seventies.

Craving... 

a holiday, even though it has only been a month since I last went away!
Loving... 
that it is well and truelly Spring, I cannot wait for longer days, swimming on weekends and gin and tonics in the sun.

If you would like to follow me on instagram my username is timeaftertea

Girl in pink

shoes: maceys // pants: target // shirt: loveclothing // jumper: zara // blazer: dotti

I love wearing bright colours, for some reason it makes me feel like I am setting the right tone for the rest of the day.  I cannot exactly say that I tone things down in Winter but the early morning sunshine and the warmer days are definitely making me want to run around town in bright florals and pops of bright colour more than ever. I haven't even had to wear a coat the last two days - I don't want to jinx it but maybe I can pack them away for good.

Tonight B and I went on a date to a kitsh little cafe on the other side of town. B was happy to find out it was pizza night and I was just happy to chat about summer plans. This time every year I realise how much the weather affect's my mood and how much more motivated and inspired I feel at this time of year. Maybe that's why I feel so restless? When do you feel most motivated?

When I grow up

skirt: topshop // shoes: rubi // bag: tressle // jacket: kmart // necklace: diva // tshirt: staple

I feel really conflicted lately about what I want to do in life and where I want to be heading. I am not sure if I have mentioned on here yet but we are not going to the UK next year anymore. For a lot of different reasons we have had to put our trip on hold for 18 months and now I feel lost. I feel like I need to make decisions whether that is about my career, where we should live or even decisions about what I should be doing in my spare time.

I think I make a decision and within a couple of hours I am back to crippling indecision and an overwhelming sense of just leaving things as they are. That is one thing I don't want to do though, I want a challenge, I want to be pushed further creatively and intellectually. I just need to figure out what needs to change.

My tips for organising your wardrobe

My wardrobe was getting a little insane and by a little I kind of mean a lot. Things weren't organised, I couldn't find things, I was avoiding washing tricky pieces (lace, wool all those fun fabrics) and overall I just wasn't happy with the way things were. So I decided to take action and over the last two weeks have cleaned out and cleaned up all my clothes. I thought I would share some of the things that I found helpful in case anyone else was planning a clean out with the changing of the seasons. Here is what I did....

1. Wash all your dirty clothes so you know what your working with. There is no use cleaning out your wardrobe to find 3 loads of washing that haven't been included in the process.

2. Once everything is clean and dry start taking things out of your wardrobe creating four piles: donate, throw away, keep and keep but needs repairs. Personally I didn't keep anything I haven't worn in the last 12 months but you should choose a period of time that suits your lifestyle and climate. I also didn't keep anything that didn't fit or was really worn out and tatty.

3. Put the throw away and donate piles into garbage bags and move to another room - once you have made the decision to get rid of the clothes it is best to get them out of sight!

4. Now if you are like me you have more clothes than wardrobe space, so I than sorted my keeping pile into another two separate piles - winter/autumn and summer/spring. Of course some clothes can be worn all year round so I put them in my spring/summer pile to make sure they went back into the wardrobe. 

5. I than packed away the majority of my Autumn/Winter clothes realising that we wont really be getting spring weather until mid October and I would still need a few layers. At the end of October I will get my coats and so forth dry cleaned before storing away for next year.

6. Now it is time to start putting things back into the wardrobe. This part is really personal preference and depends on your available space. Due to limited hanging space I only hung up dresses, blouses, blazers and maxi skirts. I hung these together in colour groups.

7. I folded into shelves and draws t shirts, short skirts, shorts, cardigans, pants, jumpers and gym clothes. If I had more hanging space I would hang my cardigans and jumpers.

8. I highly recommend as soon as you put everything back into your wardrobe doing a trip to the opshop to drop off your donatable clothes, throw out your clothes that cannot be donated and make a trip to your tailor/ cobbler. There is no point cleaning out your wardrobe if you are going to be stuck with three piles of things that need to be dealt with later - get it all done in one go you will feel so much better!! Or have a night sewing on buttons, ironing whatever needs to be done to get everything back in your cupboard ASAP.

Next thing I am moving onto is jewellery, bags and so forth - that is a job for next weekend!

Patience is a virtue

shorts: cotton on // top: chicabootie // shoes: kmart // cardigan: sunnygirl

I have always been one of those people who buys something new and needs to wear it straight away. I bought these Aztec skorts (shorts that look like skirts) on Monday and whinged to a work colleague that it would be weeks before it was warm enough to wear them. My colleague the smart cookie suggested I just wear tights. And here I am doing just that – however I can not wait to be running around in them tightless.

What are your plans for the weekend? I plan to watch lots of movie, go to the gym, attend a friends bbq and wish my dad a very happy birthday! Hopefully we all get to enjoy a little sunshine! 

Travel diary: Broken Hill (photos galore)

My trip to Broken Hill was over a month ago and I am finally sharing some photos. Broken Hill is a remote town in outback Australia, its closest major city is Adelaide which is over 500kms away. It is one of Australia's oldest mining towns and is rich with culture.

The whole reason for going there was to visit my sister who was on a pharmacy placement there. It is the kind of place I thought that I might not go to otherwise so I jumped at the chance when mum suggested a road trip. 

As the trip got closer the 15 hour drive did not seem like not such a good idea. But I am so glad that we went, I had such a fun time. We stayed in a little cottage and went on amazing adventures - we went down a 120 year old mine, road camels, did a secret pub challenge, visited lakes that hold three time more water than Sydney harbour, watched amazing sunsets, went to the pub where part of 'Priscilla Queen of the Desert' was filmed, visited art galleries (like Pro Hart) and of course ate yummy food.

I always have fun anytime I am with three of my favorite ladies but I truelly loved Broken Hill. It is an amazing, unique part of Australia that I recommend you visit if you get a chance. If you head out there, hit me up for an itinerary.