Cuban Club- A Stylish Start to 2012.

Pulling up to the Nedlands Yacht Club on new years day my friends and I were excited to see a long line of incredibly good looking and well dressed people. We were greeted with pink flamingos, parasols and ice cold water.

For the girls the day was all about bright colours, wedges, statement accessories, chic sunglasses, and the perfect pedicure. The boys were looking mighty fine in pastels, linen shirts, chinos and panama hats. I was in fashion heaven!

It started off as a day of leisure; chatting with friends, admiring the view, checking out the talent and the outfit competition, drinking pimms and eating satay sticks and ended with a southbound festival vibe (minus the thongs and denim shorts) with the crowd dancing up a storm to the awesome Yacht Club DJs, (apparently it was the first time they have actually played at a yacht club) Lyrics Born and Sampology. 

Cuban Club was the perfect mix of people, fashion, music, drinks, location and style. I think it is safe to say I know how I will be spending new years day 2013!

Here are a couple of my happy snaps of the day.

Happy.....Statement Necklace! The Perfect New Years Party Accessory.

As we all gear up to celebrate the start of the new year, we are consumed with planning every aspect of our night, from where to go, how to get there, who to go with, who will be there and ultimately, what to wear in order to make sure we have the perfect night and see the new year in in style.

By now I am sure you have all purchased your killer party dress. Good job! However, I hope you have time to shop tomorrow because this year no outfit is complete without a statement necklace. Whether your dress is bright, strapless, patterned, maxi, lace, white, fitted, high neck, black, backless or has a plunging neck line, you will be certain to turn heads when teamed with a statement necklace.

As statement necklaces are totes amazing at the moment, there are lots to chose from and I guarantee you will find one to suit your budget. I have my necklaces sorted for my new years eve and new years day events. I wont reveal my whole outfits just yet, but I will share the necklaces I will be wearing.

Mimco $299

Sportsgirl $29.95

Happy new year! I hope you and your stylish accessories have a fantastic weekend! 

Eat, Drink and be Merry.

Christmas is my favourite time of the year. I start getting into the spirit in mid November, planning present ideas, choosing a colour scheme for the decorations and wrap and purchasing a couple of new christmas CDs. (Michael Buble and I am embarrassed to admit, Justin Beiber, were amongst my faves this year.)

Being the day after boxing day I have had time to recover from the present high, the turkey bloat and the trifle hangover. While I am lying low before I start gearing up for new years celebrations, I thought I would share some pics of my Christmas Day decorations along with some tips for styling the perfect party.

Always have fresh flowers. They are the perfect centre piece for any table. I put these together in five minutes, with minimum arranging to create an effortless look. 

Use the whole space. Because we have quite high ceilings and our christmas tree is very tall I decided to have hanging decorations in clusters above the table centrepieces. I made the decorations out of white card, feathers and tissue paper.

Take time to create finishing touches. I put these decorations together at the last minute to carry the theme throughout the room. I used recycled jars and leaves from our garden. The feathers and letters continue the theme I created with the table decorations.

The small details add to the overall look. I found these cute retro straws at Store in Mt Lawley. Again I have used the dove shape as the wineglass name tags. 

I went a bit over the top and even made my adorable dog Daisy fit in with the decorations with a tule bow and feather collar.

Here is my cute little cousin Ed with his present. I used the same colours and materials to wrap all the presents this year. The tags are also the same as the name tags for the place settings on the table. 

My gorgeous and talented cousin and best friend Annie-Rose made all the christmas crackers this year. She did such a good job, even tracking down the same paper and tule that I used for my wrapping and place cards, I was so excited!

It was such a great day. Everyone loved the decorations and admired all the small details. I had a ball putting it all together and the overall look was definitely worth it!

Leopard Love.

Stuck at home with a cold today, I have, between napping on the couch, watching daytime t.v and eating soup, been browsing various online shops (inspired by a post written by friend, savvy online shopper and fashionista Ali Sims via her blog Creatures of Commonplace.)

This winter I have gone totes leopard crazy. The scarf (times three), the cardigan, the t-shirt, the dress (times two) and the socks. Don't fret I don't wear them all at once! In the mood for browsing I ended up visiting my favourite online store, and once again Urban Outfitters didn't disappoint! 

If I wasn't so uncoordinated at rollerskating, skateboarding and bike riding when I was younger, (yes I was very accident prone and have broken my arm/s doing each of the above, on separate occasions) I would definitely purchase these. They are too cool not to share. If any of my friends gets these skates, I will be forever jealous, and may even plead them for a go at the high risk of having the not-so-cool accessory of the plaster cast!

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/

View Ali's blog at; http://creaturesofcommonplace.wordpress.com/

My Morning at the 'Swappo'.

My first swap meet experience, was a roller coaster of emotion.

I started the morning (at 3.30am!!!) tired and grumpy. When my cousin arrived (at 4.00am) we laughed at how ridiculous it was being up so early (I would usually only ever be up at this time on a Sunday morning if I was on my way home). We arrived at the car park and I was amazed at how many people could be bothered to get up at this hour (The swap meet actually only starts at 6.00am). I got bored and impatient (no offence Annie-Rose, you and your CD made it so much better (I still want a copy!)) waiting to enter the swap meet. 

Rage took over when we had to fight for a parking spot, but were relieved when a kind lady offered us the space next to her. We set up our clothes, (working in retail we both had lots to sell and ashamedly we both still had items with the tags on) and felt excited as customers started to rummage through our racks.

After a little while we got really hungry and my auntie saved the day with hash browns and apple juice. The day continued smoothly until more and more customers come over to our stall. Suddenly it was a frenzy with clothes being tossed on the floor, women bartering with us to drop the price, a lady picking out faults in a silk dress I was asking $8.00 for, others wanting me to give them brand new hats for free, clothes from our stall ending up on the rack of the lady at the next bay and being told we were asking too much for a 'swappo' (apparently the nickname for swap-meet among the regulars).

All the joy and happiness of making some good money from my pre-loved clothes turned to sadness. I couldn't believe I let a woman talk me into selling her two of my Witchery tops for $15.00, I felt bad that I was selling items that had been brought for me by my mum and I was in disbelief that people wouldn't pay more than $3.00 for items that cost me over $150.00 and had, in most cases only been worn once.

In the end Annie-Rose and I made just over $500.00 between us. Not bad for a mornings work, however I still regret some or the pieces I sold. I relate so many outfits to so many good times I've had whilst wearing them. I think I found it hard to sell them for such a small price as my memories held so much more value.

For all its worth, I have agreed to take my left over items, with my cousin, to a car boot sale at an other location (minus some I have decided I would regret if I sold). Ill give it one more chance but after my experience I think id prefer to wonder around a swap-meet rummaging through others peoples goods and just get myself a bigger wardrobe.

The Nail Files.

Whilst reading my masses of magazines (due to my addiction) this month, I have noticed articles and pics here and there of patterned nails. Since I have an obsession with nail polish (and possess almost every colour under the sun) I couldn't wait to find out more about this cool new trend (actually, to be really honest I still cant decide if they are funky and stylish or really tacky).

I went to the local Priceline store (I have to admit my love for Priceline, slightly embarrassing I know!) and hunted down the nail section. Seeing as I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for it took me a while but I eventually found them at the Sally Hansen stand. Amongst the very tacky glitter pink, even more tacky pink camouflage and tackier still flower pattern, I managed to find a few prints I thought could be okay. At $14.95 for a set, why not have some fun. 

Application is really easy, they are actually just like stickers. I made sure my nails were all filed short and the same length (Short is definitely the key to avoid looking like fake, tacky nails). The instructions in the pack are very clear and even my nine year old cousin would be able to follow them. 

On the box it says they should last for about ten days but I have already had a couple chip after three days. They can be taken off with nail polish and the best part is that there is no drying time!

It's Not All About the Label.

While I love the rush of finding an amazing designer item (when I have the cash to buy it), and having people lust over my latest purchase, I also relish in the same feeling when finding a great piece in the most unexpected places. 

With my current working situation I am lucky enough to have Fridays off. This means I spend them shopping with mum. Getting sick of the same shopping spots and seeing the same things we often venture out of our normal circle. 

In the past two weeks we have been to Westfield Innaloo Shopping Centre, Whitfords Shopping Centre and Perth City. I have uploaded some photos below so you can see how well I did for the prices I paid! 

Necklace- On sale at Witchery $9.95

Top- Sportsgirl $14.95

Shoes- Tempt $29.95

Socks (To wear with boots above)- Calvin Klein on sale at David Jones $15.95

Throw Cushion (for my bed) - Kmart $10.00

White t-shirt- Country Road $34.95

Cargo Pants- Kmart $5.00 (yes you read that correctly!)

Scarf- Sportsgirl $7.95

See, who says you need lots of money to have style!