Fridays Finds: I Heart Garage Sales

A few weeks ago, I went home to spend time with my family for the Mother's Day weekend. Well, since my car broke down while I was there, the weekend soon turned into the week, which was a little too long for my liking, but nonetheless I had a great time catching up with my family, and Jake's as well, and particularly enjoyed spending quality time with my mum. 

While I was home, mum, my Aunty Bridget, Jake and I set off to enjoy one of mine and mum's favourite past-times together - garage sale hunting! There were quite a few good garage sales around that weekend, and all had items priced to go, so mum spoiled me a little and spent up big! We got quite a lot for our money, with most items only costing a dollar. I was absolutely stoked with what we found!

This tea cup was just begging me to take it home, as it sat lifeless on top of the one dollar box! It was a little dirty when I first picked it up, but I knew it would come up a treat. I'm not familiar with the brand Lucent, but for a dollar I was more than eager to add this little gem to my much loved and used collection!

Who can resist a hanging bottle? I mean, seriously? I can't! I dunno why I wanted this little thing so bad, but I did and I brought it home with me for another dollar and am planning to hang it on my verandah, as soon as I figure out how!

This cherry blossom plate is so cute! It is unmarked, but for only three dollars, I couldn't pass it up! Cherry Blossoms are a little bit of an obsession of mine, and I think serving my guests bikkies on this plate would go down mighty well! Not to mention save my clumsy hands from potentially breaking my good ones!

I wasn't that sure about this cane spice rack, but mum insisted it would be a good buy at two dollars, and boy was she right! I have such limited cupboard space in my kitchen, and love to use a variety of spices in my meals every day, so having this next to the stove is an absolute treat! I'd love to pretty it up a little, but we will jus have to wait and see!

Last but not least is this little set of bowls which I picked up for a dollar for the three. They're not in the best condition, but since I collect this pattern (the name of which just will not come to me right now, but I'm sure the brand has something to do with King and it could possibly be called Harvest Lustre Ware if that isn't just a name I made up in my head) I just had to have them! Below you can see my collection so far in full. I got the rest of it from an op shop for $2.50 for the lot and I have to say, those are my most used tea cups, I think! They are just so pretty and shiny, I love them! Nan has more of the collection and has promised it will be mine one day, but for now I love the pieces that I have and will definitely be keeping on the look out for more reasonably priced bits to add to my collection!

Have you had any great finds lately? I always love to hear about people's garage sale and thrift shop adventures. It seems that cheap second hand goods are becoming a bit of a thing of the past lately, and these certainly are the best finds I have had since moving up the coast. I was pleasantly surprised at how cheap they were. If you have any recent finds posts, I would love for you to link them below! 

What I Wore: My Heart On My Sleeve

Ever since I bought this jumper from The Briar Rose Blog Sale, it has become a staple in my wardrobe! It is the first new piece of clothing I have bought myself in a while, and I somehow managed to convince myself to buy something practical that I needed from Megan's blog sale, instead of all the pretty things that caught my eye, which I am proud of! It was no mean feat (I mean, you've seen the clothes she wears, right?) but I am so, so glad for it because it has been bloody freezing Down Under lately, and this cute little heart jumper always brightens an otherwise bleary day.

On Friday night, Jake had a few friends come up to our place and we all headed out to Timezone, which is a games arcade, for a spot of Laser Tag and Ten Pin Bowling
. I was a little nervous about this outing, because the girls that were coming up were people that I didn't know, and so planning an outfit was a bit of a pain. I tend to have an incredibly cutesy, girly style which sometimes leads to me not being taken very serious by new people that I meet but in the end I decided bullocks to bitchiness, I was dressing how I wanted and they'd just have to like me the way I am. Damn that took courage, but I am over worrying about people's opinions!

It was absolutely freezing when we left, and blowing a gale so I actually have leggings underneath my tights to keep me extra warm I am also wearing a singlet and long sleeve shirt under the jumper. It is so rare to be this rugged up in Autumn in Australia. I'm not quite sure what the weather is playing at, because we normally only get one really cold month a year up north here. Please excuse the fact I am not wearing shoes, but we didn't have time to take photos before we left, and when we got back my boots were wet and muddy, so I left them at the door. Also excuse the bad lighting and poses, because these pictures were actually taken at midnight! I wasn't about to miss the opportunity of having someone there to take outfit pics though, was I? It's something I really want to get into more, but alas, I rarely have the opportunity!

What I Wore:

Heart Jumper - Krisp (Out of Stock) 

Skirt - ICE (Similar)

Woollen tights - I forget (bought 4 years ago)

Rose hair clip - Home made

The Power of Being Friendly

So, you may have noticed that I'm not exactly blogging every day in May anymore, but alas, life is busy and this can't be helped. However, the topic of compliments from the other day got me thinking...

via

A while ago I was having pre-drinks with friends before a night out. I mentioned that I was hungry and suggested pizza. Unfortunately, one of my friends was pulling a sicky from the local pizza place and since we were at his house, that turned out to not be the best idea. I was bummed since I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and was a little worried, too, since it's not often that I drink and I thought I was bound to be sick if I didn't eat something first. Well, this guy who I had just met about 5 minutes before, and who is my friend's house mate jumped to attention at the mention of my hunger.
"I'll make you some pasta!" he said.
"Oh, really?" I replied. "That would be great!"
So off he toddled to the kitchen to make me some pasta. A kind gesture, which I thought nothing of. Until...
"What are you doing?"
"Making Sunae some pasta"
"What! No you're not!" (said with shock, not nastiness, by my best friend) "Sunae gets absolutely bloody everything done for her! Has she seriously charmed you that much already?"

Now it was my turn to be shocked!
"Umm, Leeshy? I do not! He is just being nice, don't scare the poor boy!"
The nice guy came and brought me my yummy pasta and I thanked him profusely. But, later on the subject of the pasta came up again, when the friend who's house we were at gave me his long sleeve shirt to wear over my skimpy dress when I was cold.
"Who's shirt are you wearing, Sunae?"
"J-j-jamie's" I replied, biting my tongue through chattering teeth "Ouch! Bit my t-t-t-t-tongue"
Everyone laughed, and we got in the nice warm taxi. Being drunk as we were, we got honest with each other here. I called my friend out on liking a guy, Jamie called me out for pole-dancing in the night club. I caught Cam out for being an awkward dancer. Then Leeshy caught me out on once again getting something from someone for nothing (the shirt). Then we all started brain storming (or Leeshy and I did, anyway) on all the things I've gotten off people in the past.

I once got my iPhone screen fixed for free by a nice guy in the Apple shop. Without an appointment.
One drunken night out, my friend and I were given a whole bottle of Jaegermeister and a heap of Red Bulls after telling a girl that her hair was pretty. That same night I was given about 10 other free drinks off people as well.
Basically, once we started thinking about it, we realised there had been quite a few times I had been given things for free off people I had just met.
Then the next day, Leeshy bought me KFC for breakfast. Totally just drove the point home!

Anyways, I was a little baffled at the realisation of this. What do I do that makes people be so bloody nice to me? I broached the subject with Jake a few days later, after being allowed to cut in the line at the shopping centre by a lovely man who I smiled at.

"It's because you're nice, baby." he said rather matter-of-factly. "Why wouldn't people want to do nice things for you? You are the smiliest, friendliest person I know. You're always nice to people, and so people are nice back." Jake said this without the slightest hint of trying to suck up to me. He said it, and just carried on with whatever he was doing at the time, and there I was just sitting, smiling like a goofball.

This has got to be the nicest compliment I have ever received. And the best thing about it? It wasn't even said like a compliment. Just like a simple answer to a question which was troubling me way more than it should have. Sometimes we don't give ourselves enough credit for the type of people we are. I had never really thought of myself as a particularly nice person, I am just me. Complimenting people, giving them things, doing nice things for people is just in my nature, but it was nice to have someone compliment me on the way I live my day-to-day life.

Up in the mountains!

On Saturday, Jake and I decided to take a drive up to Mount Tamborine to hunt down Curtis Falls and just generally explore the area. Since we moved to the Gold Coast we have been a little strapped for cash, and because of this - bored! It is tough thinking up things to do on a tight budget but Saturday's drive was a total success, and a pretty good indication that Jake and I should do some more exploring!

The drive up to the mountain was a lot shorter than I expected - it was a nice drive albeit a little stressful with my tiny little car straining to make it up the mountainside! The views when we got to the top were amazing! On one side of the mountain there were views over the city and the ocean, on the other there were green pastures stretching to distant mountains. We stopped at what we thought was a little lookout when we got to the top - turns out is was actually the jumping point for a hang gliding club! We watched them soar overhead for a while, then went for a drive past some big mansions and headed into town.

I had a sneaky ulterior motive for coming to Tambourine - I desperately wanted to visit The Shop That Time Forgot and Kitty's Vintage Kitsch after meeting Celia in January at the Woolangabba Antique Centre. At the Gabba, I was trying on many of her gorgeous dresses and struck up a conversation with her about vintage clothing. I told her about my formal dress, which I suspected could be vintage, although I was unsure because I knew there were a lot of reproductions of that sort of thing around. She told me to take it to the shop sometime and she would have a look at it. Well, boy was I embarrassed when I took it to the shop and Sue, Celia's business partner, took a look at it for me! There, on the right hand side just below the bust was a tag! The tag clearly dated the dress as 80's, not 1930's as the style of the dress would suggest. I couldn't believe I'd never noticed the tag before! I mean, there was only a tiny bit of overlocking on the entire dress, so I just assumed that it was vintage! Oh well, I still felt like a princess on my formal day, and still got the dress for an amazing price, despite it not being as old as I thought it was.

Sue was kind enough, while I browsed the shop, to teach me a little about dating clothing. She also invited me back to have a little bit of a dress-up day and find the right fit of vintage dresses for my shape, minus the boyfriend, where she would teach me a little more. If you're ever in the Mount Tamborine area, I would definitely recommend that you drop in to The Shop That Time Forgot and Kitty's Vintage Kitsch. Both Celia and Sue are lovely and the shop is spectacularly presented! I wish I had remembered to take pictures!

I fit inside the tree! 

I swear there was a cute outfit under that ugly jumper!

After saying goodbye to Sue, Jake and I followed her directions to get to Curtis Falls. There we enjoyed a quick strawberry milkshake before heading down the path through the rainforest to get to the base of the waterfall. The walk through the rainforest was beautiful, albeit a little cold and Jake and I had a ball mucking around on our way down, and then back up the path.

When we got to the bottom of the path, Jake convinced me to climb over the fence which was up around the viewing platform so he could get a better photo of me near the waterfall. All I could think of as i edged around to the fallen tree was how bloody cold the water looked! I was pretty tentative walking out to the end of the log, even though it was about 3 times as wide as I am. I have come to learn the hard way that clumsiness and water don't mix!

Jake had to be a daredevil, as usual, and go right out to the tip of the log, of course! I am guessing he was a little disappointed at how small the waterfall was, because he was making some pretty sarcastic comments as he stood with his hands splayed like that!

Me, Being an idiot and pretending I am Tarzan or something.

On our way to Curtis Falls we noticed quite a few different little restaurants which we thought might be fun to go to. There was a German beer place which looked quite interesting, as well as one called Camelot, but the one which I decided I just had to go to was The Polish Place. The smells wafting into our car windows as we pulled up to The Polish Place were amazing! Unfortunately, we got there just as the kitchen was closing, so all we could get was coffee and cake. That wasn't a big matter though, because just being there was an experience, and we have already decided that we will be going back there some time for dinner!

I was a little shy to take photos, as there were quite a few people eating in the restaurant at the time, so Jake took a couple of quick pictures on the sly for me. This is basically the only one which isn't completely out of focus! It shows pretty well the amazing decor of the restaurant, as well as the traditional Polish costumes of the waitresses. Total bonus for me was that all the aitresses were wearing floral crowns! They looked so cute! Oh, and of course I wanted to rip those lights out of the ceiling and take them home! Blue and white porcelain for the win!!!

The hot mocha which they brought me was absolutely delicious, as was the Rum and Chocolate Torte, which was finished before I even thought to take a picture! The food that everyone was eating looked so delicious, and Jake and I hadn't eaten since breakfast so we were devastated that we couldn't order.

Through a little side door in the restaurant was a gallery of Polish stuff, which was really cool, and The Polish Place is also a boutique motel, with four chalets to stay in, featuring an open fireplace, mountain views and a twin spa bath in the lounge room so that you can sit in the tub and watch television! After looking at the prices on their website, Jake and I are going to have to just keep dreaming of our romantic weekend getaway to the mountains, unfortunately.

After warming up in The Polish Place for a little while, it was time for Jake and I to head home. Since we set off so late, we really did miss out on quite a lot of stuff. That's okay though, because I know we will be back! When we got back to Coolangatta it was well and truly time for dinner. Steaks at Higs Breath Cafe had bsolutely nothing on The Polish Place, but that's what we settled for and it was a great way to round of such a wonderful day.

Featured Sponsor: Chaotic Creations {Plus a giveaway!}

Hi everyone, today I would like to introduce you to my sponsor, the ever-lovely Angie of Chaotic Creations! Angie creates some abolutely beautiful accessories, as well as doing some seriously gorgeous illustrations. Here is what angie has to say about Chaotic Creations:

One of my favourite pieces from Angie's shop!

Chaotic Creations by My So-Called Chaos was started from a desperate need to create and bring those interests into reality.  I love to craft and make new things, and can't possibly keep or gift all of my creations, so I started a store for them!  I'm inspired by the people and pretty little things in life, and then I create things to go along with those little inspirations.


Today Angie is being kind enough to giveaway this original dreamcatcher illustration to a lucky Little Foal reader. I absolutely love this illustration - it's so vibrant and bohemian!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

Hi guys, are you missing me? This is just a quick post from my phone to explain my absence. It's so weird, I feel like a guilty Mumma who has neglected her child but right now my absence from the blog can't really be helped.

It wasn't a conscious decision to take a break from blogging, things just happened. I knew I had two full weekends ahead of me, with actual plans for social interaction last weekend and a trip home to see the family this weekend just gone. I also knew I had two assignments due which were going to be squeezing a lot of my time. What I didn't count on, however, was just how much time these assignments would squeeze out of me. Or that I would be hit by a terrifying bout of fatigue in the midst of these deadlines. Or that when I came home to see my family, my car would break down and I'd end up stuck here with no computer. So there you go - that's why I have been off the blogging grid for over a week now. I'm so sorry for leaving you all in the lurch and I'm actually having blogging withdrawals lately which is a sure sign that I need to get back to it.

Unfortunately, I have another two essays and two exams ahead of me before the uni semester is over, as well as a seriously messy house to contend with when I finally make it home. This is why, even though I am thinking I might be able to get home tomorrow, I don't want you all banking on it and you might have to go easy on me on the blogging front for a few more weeks. It seems I'm not one for organisation or time management, and unfortunately it's my blog and not my Uni work which must suffer from my incompetence.

Anyway, I hope you are all well - I have some serious blog reading to catch up on when I get home. I'm guessing the unread blog posts will be somewhere up around the 500 mark by now. That's a lot of reading that I have to do! I promise I'll try not to skip over too many posts ;)

I also promise that I will work on a few posts of my own to get myself back in the swing of things. Maybe a string of guest posts are in order to fill my silence through this busy time? Who knows for now. I'm just holding out hope that this fatigue will clear itself out quick smart before it turns into a full-on flare up. Being constantly aching and tired will not help me get back up on the horse, that's for sure!

Guest Post: Abbigayle From True Blue Abbi Shares A bit About Her Style

Hello Little foal. readers! Sunae was kind enough to swap buttons with me, and let me guest post in her beautiful little space! I think I'll go ahead and introduce myself now.

My name is Abbigayle Rashae and I'm fifteen years old and I live on a small farm in Iowa. I love reading, writing, fashion, photography, and a bit more. I started my lifestyle blog True Blue Abbi nearly three years ago! It's become so much more than I ever thought it'd turn into. Mainly I post my personal fashion, life snapshots, inspiration, and product reviews! I love that I've made so many friends through blogging. I plan to continue to grow my blog and meet new people through blogging in the coming years.

Make sure you stop by my blog if you'd like to get to know me a little better! I'd love a comment from you guys saying that you've visited. I always take a point to check out new readers. Thank you for letting me stop by!

Today I thought I'd go ahead and share a 'Fashion Survey' so you could get a little better idea of my style. 

Describe your style: 

 I consider my style 85% Minimalistic and 15% Maverik. That means that I love basic pieces that can function as nearly anything in my wardrobe; but, then I enjoy branching out a bit with accessories and such. My blog has actually helped me to take more risks with fashion, and develop a better fashion sense. I also layer more and take more risks overall, and I really enjoy that!

What is your favorite accessory?:

I really love rings, necklaces, and hair accessories! Bracelets are gorgeous, but they always seem to get in my way. My mom actually has two online shops, and I get a lot of my pieces from there.

Do you feel comfortable in the clothes you wear, if not what would you change?:

I do feel comfortable in the clothes I wear. Sometimes when I try something new it can be a little awkward and I feel self-conscious, but it's worth it.

Describe your body shape: 

Right now I would describe my shape as pear. I wear a small on top and size 4 for dresses and jeans. I'm 5ft 8in and weigh around 112lbs. 

Do you wear clothes to emphasize/accentuate/change your body shape in any way?: 

I love wearing skinny jeans! It helps show that I DO have a shape, aha. 

What stores do you shop at, usually?:

I shop a lot of different places, but something I've done for the past few years now is thrifting and garage saling. You can find so many lovely pieces for literally pennies! You just need to search a little bit. I promise you won't be disappointed! I've found some of my favorite items in my closet from thrift stores or picking them up at garage sales.

Who is your fashion inspiration?: 

I love taking inspiration from everywhere. So, it's not fair to just pull out one person. I do love those people that look gorgeous no matter what though! They can literally throw on anything and make it look amazing. I wish I could do that.

Do you ever dress formally?:

Every Sunday when I go to church I dress up; meaning, a dress or skirt, and usually heels. I like dressing up for church, but not for everyday. 

How has your size impacted your style, both in the past and present?:

I've actually been accused of having eating disorders before. I am naturally skinny, but I've gotten a little bigger over the past couple of years. It always hurts when people assume that I'm anorexic just because I'm 5'8 and weigh just over 110lbs. Especially when I was younger (think back to around twelve) and I weighed 100lbs and was a size 0. I do have modeling going for me, and I would like to try that out.

******

Thank you so much, Abbi, for sharing a bit about your style with us all! You are absolutely gorgeous and I always enjoy hearing about different people's style choices or seeing outfit posts! 

I was so glad when Abbi contacted me about writing this post - I love making new friends in this little blog world! If you would like to get involved in Little Foal and share a bit about yourself, just shoot me an email at little-foal@hotmail.com

Don't forget to give Abbigayle some love and check out her blog! Seriously amazing stuff which makes me wish I discovered blogging at the age of 15!

An A to Z of Me: F is for...

F is for Family

Ahh, family! What can I say? I honestly could. not. live. without my amazing, crazy, emotional, family. They are the best people ever, in my opinion and we are all so close, it's amazing. My mum comes from quite a big family - she is one of seven kids, so there are plenty of aunts and uncles and cousins and second cousins around. Whenever I think of family, it's not just mum, dad, my sister and brother who spring to mind, it's all of them! The aunties, the uncles, the whole 21 first cousins and their kids and everything! We have the best get togethers ever. I love being around the crazy Cioffi's. It's always hilarious hearing what my aunties come up with to say and the atmosphere is amazing! 

Three of my cousin's kids with my crazy little bro at our most recent family thing

I suppose I don't really identify with dad's family much, since it is so small with just his mum, his brother and his half-brother left now. I used to love my Grandad so much! He was like my best friend and I miss him every single day, but Im not really that close to dad's other family. My last name might be Reilly, but even dad agrees that I am a Cioffi at heart! Loud, boisterous, opinionated, stubborn, emotional, straight forward, but above all LOVING! These are the qualities I associate with the Cioffi family. These are the qualities which I am proud to say that I inherited from my mother, from Nanu and from Nanna. 

I never got to meet Nanu and Nanna. Cancer took them both away too early. Nanna died when my mum was 14. Out of all 21 of us grandkids, she only got to meet one. Nanu died when mum was in her mid-twenties. Mum is the only one of his children who didn't have at least one child when he died. Mum still gets emotional about that - she wishes her parents got to see us so much! I tell her it's okay though - we have heard all the stories and we have them in our hearts. 

I'm getting a little emotional writing this... I didn't think I would, but I am absolutely getting overwrought with memories, with regrets and with love. That is the Cioffi in me coming to life. That's Nanu, right there inside of me. Now I am smiling. I would have loved to meet that great, crazy man so much! In my eyes, Nanu is an idol. He is this big, burly Maltese man with a thick accent and a crazy moustache. Yes, I know I can tell all this from the photos, but you don't understand. I have heard enough of the stories that in my mind's eye that he comes to life! I can see him now, tinkering in the shed. Always fixing things, he was! I can see him cooking dinner. I can hear him swearing at my mum as he tries to get his words out in English in the right order. Fuck was a filler to Nanu. So easy to say when he couldn't think of the right words in English! I have never heard a bad word about my mum's parents. They lived a tough life, they moved to Australia and they made something for themselves! They were wonderful people by every person's account.

A fun fact about my mum and her siblings - they were born in four different countries! While my Nanu was Maltese, he first met my Nanna in England. That is where they married and had the first three of their seven children. They then moved to Malta for a while, and had their fourth child there. When they came back to the UK they had another child in England, and them my mother was born in Wales. My mum was two years old when they migrated to Australia and Nanna was pregnant with my uncle at the time. He is the only Australian-born of my mum's family, but now my mum is the only one who still isn't an Australian Citizen. Thank you so much for that mum - you have left the door wide open for me to one day move to the UK!

Wow, this post is getting so long, and I still haven't spilled anything about my immediate family! My mum and dad met when dad was 21 and mum was 23. They were together for seven years before they married, and I am their oldest child born two years after their wedding. I'm not too sure what to say about my mum and dad other than that they are great people. Everyone thinks their parents are great people though, right? My mum is my absolute number one role model. I love her so much! She has been through so much in her life, came out the other end and has gotten so far in life. She is such a loving, caring, nurturing woman. She just gives and gives and gives and never expects anything in return. She has always put her family first and I couldn't have asked for a better mother. I don't know how she does all that she does, but I love her for it and appreciate it all so much! 

My beautiful mum on her honeymoon!

Mum and dad are so different - it really is true that opposites attract! They have been together now for almost 30 years. Dad is such a legend in my eyes - he has taught me so much, is such an intelligent man, and yet he is such a genuinely cool bloke at he same time. He was the cool kid when he was younger who smoked pot and surfed all day, wagging school when the waves were on. Even now, if you met him you would know he was that guy, and yet he is so smart! I honestly believe that I inherited my brains from my father. Unfortunately, I lucked out on his sportiness which was passed on to my sister and brother. Oh well, you can't have everything, or so they say!

Dad in his man cave

Dad is such an interesting man with so many stories to tell. He has done many an amazing job, he has lived a good life and he is passionate about so much stuff! Dad is the kind of guy who makes friends for life, and he still has many of the friends he went to school with. I love my dad so much, and he loves us kids more than anything else on this earth. That's what holds my parents together, I think. They are both lovers.

Dad and my brother when he was a bubba!

My sister and I never got along when we were little, but as we have grown older we just get closer and closer. She is two and a half years younger than me, and my brother is two and a half years younger than her. Shoni is so beautiful and so sporty - I seriously envy her so much! Kobi is a total character - just like a mini version of dad, complete with smart-arse attitude and surfboard under one arm. The other day he asked mum if he could have the day off to go surfing. It was his second day back at school after holidays, the little bugger! At least he asked though, and respected mum and dad's decision. That's one thing the three of us all have in common - we respect mum and dad so much. What they say goes, end of story. That's a rare quality in teenagers, I guess so mum and dad are lucky to have us! Har-har!

          

Me, aged 6 with Shoni (4) and Kobi (1)

My relationships with my family have been built out of honesty, trust and love. I am lucky to have such a great family, I know, and to have had such a great childhood! I miss my family so much since I moved. I miss mum and dad, Shoni and Kobi, my aunty Bridget who lives in the house behind ours and all my cousins in Coraki. They are the ones I saw the most when I lived with mum and dad. Family is a massive part of my life. My family have shaped me into the person that I am today, and I am so blessed to have them all!

A rare family photo, taken at my school formal, featuring Aunty Bridget on the left, Jake in the middle and Nan on the right.

BEDM: A Day In The Life Of Sunae {vlog}

My first ever vlog!!!! I hope you like it - it's just a silly little bit of fun! I'm really going to try to use the BEDM challenge to get creative with my blogging and try new things - this video was definitely out of my comfort zone but I had an absolute blast making it! Here is to trying new things!

BEDM: Spring is here?

I had a really great idea for this post today. I was going to go for a nice, long walk and take pictures of pretty, blooming flowers and sunshine and other spring-ish things and then (because I'm from Australia) talk all about how great Autumn is. You know, just to be confusing and what-not since I had no bloody idea what to write about Spring in the middle of Autumn in a country which doesn't really actually have proper seasons other than "flood" and "drought".

Unfortunately, it started pouring with rain just as I stepped outside and so I had to rethink my options. Cue polyvore and a wish list which would work well for Spring up the top of the world, or Autumn down here at the bottom:

Uni Casual #4 by sunae-reilly featuring pamela mann tights
cardigan / top / skirt / tights / shoes
jewellery is real gold, modelled after what I wear every day.

I basically live in skater skirts these days, especially for a day at uni. Only problem is I only have two and so basically look the same every day. I need more tops like this polka dot one and fun, coloured cardigans to mix them up with to create some different looks. These je t' aime tights are basically the cutest thing I have ever seen, as well! I first saw a pair like them on Annika's blog, but I'm not sure if they were the exact same ones. Tights are a must at uni for me lately - the air con is always freezing in the lecture rooms and I always feel warmer with even that little bit of light cover on my legs. 

What do you think? 

Does my "Autumn" outfit work for Spring as well? 

If you're doing BEDM as well, leave me a comment below so I can check your posts out!

Cheery Orange Icing Recipe

I don't know about you, but I love to bake. When I'm sad, I bake. When I'm happy, I bake. When I'm broke and hungry, I bake because cake ingredients are incredibly cheap and honestly, what could you possibly want more when you're sad, happy or hungry than cake?

Although I bake often, I'm not very creative when it comes to recipes. I usually just stick to the tried and tested, or use a cake mix for a quick and guaranteed-to-be-good result. I do like to get a little creative with decorations, however and I especially love trying different flavours of icing.

This icing recipe is one of my all time favourites. It's sweet and tangy at the same time, comes out the perfect, cheery shade of yellow, reminds me of summer and makes a delicious pair with a fluffy butter cake. It's also super easy! Want to know how to make it? Of course you do!

Ingredients:
Icing sugar (1 cup usually does about 12 cupcakes)
Finely grated rind of one orange
Juice of one orange

The How To:
Combine icing sugar and orange rind in a large bowl. Add orange juice bit by bit, stirring as you go to get rid of lumps, until the mixture is smooth and spreadable. If the mixture gets too runny, you can always add in a little extra icing sugar and give it another good stir.

See? Easy, peasy! Now you're ready to bake your own delicious, fluffy cup cakes. I promise you the tangy-sweet citrus taste will transport you to summer with every bite!

Blog Every Day In May: 5 Lines

I just made the snap decision to join Rosalilium's Blog Every Day in May challenge. I have been in a bit of a slump with the blog lately, and rather busy with university which has been holding me back from pouring time into this blog, but I am confident that with the inspiration of my lovely friends Laura and Michelle who are also taking part in this challenge, as well as the prompts I can make it through this! So, without further ado:

Too many thoughts, 

and not enough words grace this page.

But oh! To have something to look back on

in old age.

My only hope is to engage.

So, just a silly little poem to kick things off about my slump in creativity and good intentions with this blog! Also, I know I tend to overuse this picture, but I swear I will have a new one to show my face with soon! It's currently in editing (or so I'm told!)