Wednesday Wish list: Retro Kitchen/Dining

Retro Kitchen/Dining by sunae-reilly featuring yellow kitchen towels

So, now Jake and I have been in our home a few months, we are starting to nut out how we would like our home to look. Jake hates isn't a very big fan of the chintzy, shabby chic, vintage look I love so much, so in the spirit of compromise, he is allowing me to still decorate in a vintage/retro theme as long as I stick to a more gender neutral colour scheme and make it what we call "mid-century industrial kitsch". He doesn't know what kitsch means and I'm not sure he would approve of those salt and pepper shakers, but since I know I'l be the one spending the money to make our place look nice, I like to think I should be allowed a few kitsch and novelty bits and bobs of my choosing! Most of this stuff is from ModCloth. I deliberately chose stuff from an international store so the postage would put me off spending all my savings on everything in one go haha. I would really like to get bits and pieces here and there though, and will mix this stuff in with vintage stuff I already own and stuff I find along the way.

What do you think of this kind of style?

Wednesday Wishlist: Ultimate Thriftlist Edition!

I really want to get back to writing more vintage-related posts on the blog, so I thought that for today's wishlist it might be a nice idea to show you all the vintage items I am always looking out for in op shops and secondhand stores. A lot of these item are really popular at the moment and, as with most good quality vintage, rarely grace my local op shop's shelves but they certainly would be a dream-come-true to own! 

Vintage Canisters

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 Vintage Suitcases

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Mid-Century Furniture

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Vintage dresses

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A Queen-Sized Chenille Bedspread

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All of these items have been on my wishlist for a very long time now and are what I look out for most when thrifting. I recently picked up a double-seized chenille bedspread at a garage sale, but it is just plain yellow and I would love something a little more ornate. I also found the cutest vintage rice canister at my local op shop along with the first reasonably priced vintage suitcase that I've seen, but it was in really bad condition and I didn't have the cash on me for the suitcase when I popped in, as I was only there to fill in time before an appointment. Oh well, I will tick these babies off the list someday! 

Summer lovin'

Summer lovin' by sunae-reilly featuring a floppy hat

It's not even halfway through spring in Australia right now, and already temperatures are above 30 degrees C. This means I am already trying to cover up my pale, freckly skin when I go outside and I'm in desperate need of fashionable, reasonably sun-safe outfits that can be thrown over swimmers this summer.

On Sunday while waiting for my fish and chips at The Bream Hole in Lennox Head, Jake and I decided to browse the surf shop next door. Neither of us seem to go in there often for some reason, so I was surprised at how much of the stuff in there I fell in love with! Originally I just wanted a simple black skirt which was on the sale rack outside for $30, but when I went in to try it on, I just fell in love with these high-waisted shorts! I've wanted some high-waisted denim for so long, and these are just perfect. The cross-stitch detail is so cute and adds the perfect vintage-style touch. I also found a gorgeous brown felt hat with feathers all around the base, but I can't find it anywhere online! Jake convinced me to lay-by them so I can spread out the investment (because it's obviously an investment buying $70 shorts) over a couple of weeks, so I should be able to get them out next weekend.

With these shorts, I've created two different summer looks which I think would be perfect for lazy summer days in Lennox Head, and which I know will translate perfectly from beach wear, to an outfit I can wear out to lunch, or browsing the local markets. The red saltwater shoes are an especially exciting addition to this wish list, as I've been coveting them for ages and they retail for about $110 in shops around Byron. The Iconic's price is a total bargain, and I'm pretty sure I could get an extra 10% off with Unidays as well.

The trend I am most excited about this summer is obviously hats, as I have always considered it important to shade my face while I'm outside (mostly in an attempt to fade my freckles) and the massive range available at the moment excited me so much! As well as the pretty, feathery hat I saw in the surf shop, I would love a plain black felt one, and a couple of straw ones as well for a little bit of choice when accessorising my summer outfits.

Are there any summer trends exciting you this year? Or even if it's Autumn where you are, what are you most excited about for the coming season? For me it's definitely 3 months off uni and lazy beach days!

The Dream Rental and a Wednesday Bedroom Wishlist

So, Jake and I have officially started house hunting after inspecting one property on Monday together, and me inspecting another alone  yesterday. It's really starting to sink in that soon all our living arrangement hassles will be over and we will be living together, like we should be!

The unit we went and looked at on Monday was in such a great spot, with views overlooking North Creek and big sliding doors which led out onto a verandah off the living room, but inside it was really disappointing! The photos on the internet made it look quite okay, where in reality, it looked like the chipboard in the kitchen and bathroom cupboards was about to turn to dust, the bedrooms were more like cupboards than anything, and everything was quite chipped and outdated. I wanted to apply for it anyway after looking, convinced that we couldn't afford anything better but Jake wasn't keen at all, and for once I listened to him and agreed we would find something better suited to our needs.

Then we saw this beauty in the real estate listings:

It was a little ($80) over our price range, but I instantly fell in love with it and just knew I had to find a way to convince Jake to let me go to the inspection the next day. I sat down and drew up a budget - one with my estimated weekly earnings doing one day of child care a week plus my benefit, and one with my benefit alone to prove to Jake that even if I had a bad week for work we could still make ends meet in this place with careful budgeting on my part (he is fine, he is about to get a pay rise so Mr. Richpants didn't need a budget drawn up). Although he was a little sceptical of my ability to actually stick to a budget, finally he agreed that I could go and look at the house and see if it suited our needs.

Well, what can I say? IT'S PERFECT! I'm not kidding. Its even nicer in real life than in the photos and I just about died walking around it and seeing how gorgeous it is! The fireplace had me actually, literally squealing with delight, as I've always wanted a fireplace to curl up with a book beside, and it has a shed and everything, which will keep Jake happy. Oh, and it's right across the road from my old school, which is where I am planning on doing my work experience for uni, and hopefully getting a job one day. Can you see why it's my dream rental?

My biggest thing for Jake and I at the moment is finding a place where we will be comfortable for the next few years. This will be my third move this year and I am so sick of the whole process - I just want somewhere we can settle down and start making some memories together. Somewhere we can actually call home! I don't really think we would be happy living in a poky, little unit because we both like our space, and we really need something with a garage for his motorbike, tools, bmx, kite board and whatnot (yeah, he has a lot of hobbies and a lot of junk). I know we would be comfortable in this house, and if we got it, I don't think we would move unless we got kicked out, or found the money to buy our own home. With two bedrooms, an office, a sun room, an entertaining area, a shed and separate dining and lounge room, it honestly has everything we could ask for. Unfortunately, with about 30 other people at the inspection yesterday, most of them older, wiser and in better financial positions than Jake and I, I'm not feeling too hopeful about getting this place. I will certainly try though!

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When we move, I really want to update our bedroom. I started doing this at my place in Southport, but decorating a room you hate spending time in isn't much fun, so I didn't get very far. I did buy a gorgeous, pink and white floral Laura Ashley quilt set though, and ordered a custom bright, floral watercolour print from Autumn's shop to hang on the wall. This wish list is inspired by the colours in that print, and by my desire to bring a bit more colour into our bedroom. 

The chest of drawers from Bedroom Furniture Solutions* is exactly what I need to store my vast amounts of clothes, and the top two drawers are the perfect size to house accessories. I thought that replacing the wooden knobs with cute, ceramic ones would help to brighten the room a little and make the chest of drawers mine. I loved some of the beds from Bedroom Furniture Solutions as well, but since we already have two perfectly good ones of those, and a limited budget that was out of the question! At the moment half of my clothes are in a small, broken pine set of drawers in the garage, and I've been meaning to paint it and fix it up for ages, but I really do need something bigger, so I'm better off buying something new and saving my DIY energy for another project.

I love everything in this set so much, even though some of it is a little out of my price range (ahem, vintage alarm clock). Turquiose, yellow and pink are the perfect colours for our bedroom, and if we get that awesome house, I will have to buy myself a few things off this wishlist to celebrate! 

Wish me luck!

*Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post for Bedroom Furniture Solutions. All opinions are 100% my own. Photos of the house are from the Ballina McGrath Real Estate website

Wednesday Wish List: Black Milk Hogwarts Collection

Undesirable Top/ Patronus Leggings/ Deathly Hallows Swimsuit 

Ravenclaw Shooter/ Deathly Hallows Leggings/ Weasley Weather Top

So, many of you will already know that Black Milk Clothing's Hogwarts collection came out last week, and if you follow Leona, Becky and I on twitter, you will most definitely know that I am crazy about it, as I think it's basically all we could talk about in the lead up to the collection going on sale last Tuesday. Ever since I first heard about the collection, I just knew I'd be crazy about it. It's no secret that I'm a die-hard Harry Potter fan, and most of my friends probably think that I'm bordering insanity with the amazing height my obsession has reached, but I just can't help it. Is it so wrong for someone to want to believe in magic in this world we are living in?

Anyway, since I lost my job a few weeks ago, I unfortunately can't afford anything from the collection just yet. Thankfully, my birthday is just around the corner, and I've managed to convince basically everyone I love to buy me a piece from the collection as a gift, so I thought I'd share my little wish list on the blog. It was so hard trying to narrow down which pieces I really want, and I still am a little bit torn between the Deathly Hallows swimsuit and this Ravenclaw one, but I know for sure that that Undesirable shirt will be mine, and I'm absolutely stoked that my family, friends and Jake (who hates Harry Potter, btw) support my obsession!

What would you like from the collection, if anything? Are you as obsessed with Harry Potter, and this collection, as Leona, Becky and myself?