Girl Crush: Miroslava Duma

I know I’m late to this party (as with most parties). But I love her. And true love lasts a lifetime. One time editor of Harpers Bazaar Russia, Miro makes me want to lop off my hair and wear neon ball gowns. I could pull it off. Maybe.

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When bad DIYs happen to good people

I’ve heard people refer to their blog as their ‘show reel’ where all the pretty and flattering things are on display, not a blooper in sight (or ‘on site’, excuse the pun). Well I’ve already posted awkward photos of myself, so I thought I would share this disaster DIY because sometimes, not everything works out as planned.

I really thought this Alexandra Blak necklace would make a fabulous and fantastically easy DIY project.

Well it was easy… But my version just looks like a neon noose. It really doesn’t transition well from fashion editorial to real life. Oh well.

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Important Life Lessons

Some people say you learn something new everyday. Well I certainly learnt something on Wednesday night: what happens when you actually run out of fuel. For years I’ve looked at that threatening little light on the dashboard and doubted its credibility. Turns out it’s actually quite credible. Thankfully I was able to stop somewhere safe, two blocks from a petrol station.

But it got me thinking about life lessons. As children we are told not to do so many things, some important, like not putting a knife in the toaster, some bizarre, like not swimming until 30 minutes after eating. When I was little I never understood why my Mum always told us never to leave the house with wet hair. When I was on exchange in Austria last year my friend Claire kindly demonstrated why. Leaving the house with wet hair shortly after fresh snowfall will ensure it freezes hard, which is certainly something my mother would have tried to avoid growing up in Canada.

Another good one is don’t burn the candle at both ends. After 3 massive weekends away and busy weeks at work I am now incapacitated on the couch. I hate it how mothers are always right about some things.

The other thing my parents always used to tell me was not to put the internal car light on when they were driving. “I’ll have a car accident!” they would yell. Since getting my own car and routinely driving around with the internal light on and not even noticing I still don’t understand this rule…

Got any life lessons to share?

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Travel Tuesdays: Cambodia

Cambodia is simultaneously beautiful and devastating. The ruins, the landscape, the people and the food are beautiful. The history, specifically when 2 million Cambodians died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge and their deranged leader Pol Pot between 1975 and 1979, and the poverty are devastating. I visited with my Dad and sister about two years ago. The temples are breathtaking, you feel as though you’ve walked onto the set of Indiana Jones. I bought heaps of jewellery, silk and quilted handicrafts. Got sick from some dodgy rice. I cried at the Killing Fields. I dispute the common belief that Phnom Penh pales in comparison to Siem Reap. Both are fantastic. Tip: visit before it turns into the next Thailand.

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Another Bloggable Weekend

I am in the midst of ‘Operation Mini-Break’ whereby I attempt to spend three weekends in a row in a location at least 4 hours outside Kalgoorlie (not really, it just happened like that). So far it’s going well. I had Melbourne the weekend before last, Perth this weekend just gone and Esperance is coming up. Phew.

The reason for going to Perth was to attend a joint 30th birthday/farewell winery tour in the Swan Valley. It was splendid. I am a huge advocate of daytime social drinking. The hosts chartered a bus for 60 of us and we went to Edgecombe Brothers, Feral Brewery and Elmar’s in the Valley. Elmar’s was the only disappointing element of the day. You can see the scathing reviews I left on the internet here and here.


How was your weekend?

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My Weekend in Melbourne

I had the best weekend.

I flew to Melbourne on the red eye from Perth on Thursday night. On Friday I hung out with my sister and Mum, we went shopping and had Yum Cha. On Friday night I had dinner at Fonda Mexican in Richmond and then saw Rod Stewart (yes, you read right) live in concert at the tennis centre. Bar being asked to sit down while dancing by the woman behind me (a request I politely ignored) it was a great night.

On Saturday I had my gorgeous friend Andie’s engagement party. There I met the lovely Cecylia from the blog by the same name. Andie and Geng did a swing dance (pictured above) and set the bar particularly high for their bridal waltz.

On Saturday night I was joined by 6 amazing people at The Aylesbury for dinner. Many drinks followed and resulted in eating Mee Goreng at China Bar at 5am the next morning before getting a cab back to my friends house to fall into bed. The next morning we had brunch at The European before hitting the shops.

I was pretty sad to be heading home, so finding out there was a Cafe Vue at Melbourne Airport (since when?!) certainly lifted my spirits.

I love my city. Can’t wait to go back xx

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The best $0.99 I ever spent

A couple of weeks ago I bought this bun sponge twist tool on ebay for $0.99 INCLUDING postage?! Well I was prepared for it to be crap or a Nigerian internet scam but I am pleased to report it is neither. It is foam covered aluminium wire.

Start with your hair in a pony-tail.

Thread your hair through the slit in the middle of the twist tool and roll downwards towards your head. Then bend the ends of the sponge together, adjust your hair to cover the foam and voila! Bun perfection.

Kn6E8i on Make A Gif, Animated Gifs

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif

What was the last thing you bought for $0.99?!

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Happy Valentines Day

Being spoilt:

Valentines nails:

Movie of choice:

In other Marilyn Monroe news I’m very excited about My Life With Marilyn starring Michelle Williams. It comes out on Thursday.

And because it’s Travel Tuesday, here’s a photo of me in the City of Love:

Hope you had a great day xx

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I’m famous on the internet

Anyone who has read this blog lately would have noticed my obsession with all things Do It Yourself fashion. Well Geneva at A Pair & A Spare is one of my favourite DIY heroes and is ‘kind of a big deal’ (well she does blog for Harper’s Bazaar). So I was pleasantly surprised to see my face on her blog in a post about reader DIYs. I’m famous!

Check out the post here.

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Hash tag: totesamaze!

I love this. Especially relevant seeing as I’ve been annoying every female in my near vicinity (and others by email) with the question “Should I get a fringe?”.

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