Over the past month, I’ve been on the ridiculously painful hunt for some sweet shades to replace my current ASOS ones that are dying (read: paint chipping off).
I’ve never had a great relationship with sunglasses and having big nose certainly doesn’t make it easier! As I was telling a friend at work, I used to throw out the big bucks to get my hands on shiny high end designer offerings like Versace and Burberry. But now I’m over this silly craze and have been looking for more affordable, yet awesome sunnies!
Luckily, I’ve managed to find my perfect pair on my third attempt - third time lucky, right? A brand that’s new to me too, RAEN is an edgy Californian creation since 2008, influenced by the surf and street. It brings me back memories of my tomboy-ish fashion roots of adolescent times, neat! Their shades are definitely a bar cooler than me back in the 90s and after a quick trawl through their collection online, I think they’ve just become my new favourite go to brand for sunnies!
The pair I picked is Flowers by Alex Knost (from The Iconic) and I was absolutely thrilled by the quality. It came in a super sturdy brown leather case too, which you can get kind of see a peek of in the background of my photos.
Sunglasses are no easy feat to shop for online, I seriously think I got lucky this time. And if RAEN sunglasses can fit me well, then they can probably fit most people (seriously). I’ve scooped up three sunnies here, from a high, mid and low price range that took my fancy during my recent hunt - hope you enjoy them!
(1) The Number One by Karen Walker $267.28
(2) Flowers by Alex Knost by RAEN $189.95
(3) Black Gold Collection by Unity Eyewear $29.95
I don’t know about you but I’ve been a bit under the weather lately. The weather being erratic due to the time of season, mixed with too many late nights and eyeballing the computer screen, I guess it’s no real surprise why my body’s yearning for rest.
This also partially explains why I’ve been a bit absent of late, particularly noticeable by my lack of activity here. But I’m determined to get back on my feet. Seriously, if I were to ever crack open a bottle of champagne by myself for myself, I would do it if I reached my goal in being able to consistently rise earlier, whilst getting enough sleep. Let’s see how this week fares, shall we?
In the act of getting back on my feet, pretty and comfy shoes must also be part of the equation. I’ve long had a problem of buying too many cute but cheap flats and then getting endlessly frustrated at how crappy the quality is, when I develop blisters or that smelly aesthetic smell as a result. It’s unnerving! All I want is a pair of decently priced stylish leather flats - that won’t break the bank. How hard is it? Very. I’m even willing to go out of my brand zone and try something new, so I picked up a pair of Walnut Melbourne flats online over the weekend. I’ve got both my fingers and toes crossed that they’re a perfect fit!
And then later today, I fell onto a very cool concept & Other Stories, a really well curated online stores that is owned by H&M. It’s divine and the shoes they have on offer made me scramble for my wallet… until I realised they don’t ship to Australia! So if you live in Europe, hustle and get those black pointy flats, because they are to die for!
1. Black leather flats £45
2. Leather ballerinas £69
3. Purple pump with notched vamp £65
4. Open heel ballerinas £55
Original image credit: & Other Stories
Isn’t it awesome when you have your day planned out for you? That’s exactly what happened last Sunday being my birthday (turning 24 oh my!) when Gareth organised a few surprises for a low-key celebration with just the two of us. The morning started off with a a cooked breakfast and a surprise bouquet of Australian natives that were absolutely stunning! Gareth’s not a much of a flowers man as he finds them useless since they don’t last, but he knows how much I love them - so thank you, thank you, thank you! ♥
Around lunch we headed into the city and spent the day…
- Feasting at Xanthi, a delicious Greek restaurant in the Pitt St Westfield
- Laying our hands on some macarons from La Durée in Westfield (because I insisted for some takeaway dessert!)
- Viewing a screening of Skyfall, the new James Bond film
The weather was just perfect and the day just as much! I’ve found that as I’ve started to grow older, my celebrations are becoming gradually tamer, intimate and more low-key. Is it just me? Who knows! In any case, the food at Xanthi was delicious, everything was cooked so well, the meat was succulent and the pork belly baklava - no words. I will aim to eat there again before I die and highly recommend it to you all out there. It. Was. Freaking. Amazing. Capping the night off with some sexy Daniel Craig action, what more could I have asked for?
Hot Smoked Eggplant Dip $12 - freshly smoked eggplant made fresh and blended with coriander, cumin, lemon juice, yoghurt and kasseri; served with toasted pita bread
Pork Belly Baklava $22 - twice cooked pork belly with a date and pistachio filling; served with a date mastic sauce and pork crackling
Homeric Beef $33 - barbecued eye fillet with a red wine and thyme jus served with a broad bean and graviera barley risotto and crumbed artichokes
Wearing: Miso dress (bought in London) / Jeffrey Campbell sandals / Mulberry bayswater satchel in mini croc
Melbourne Cup day not too long ago was a fun-filled day and a chance to pretty ourselves up! For those who are not familiar with Melbourne Cup, it’s the most celebrated annual horse race of the year that takes place in Melbourne, Australia. Every year, the ladies dress up with some feather head piece or some sort of artistic form of headgear. The men don their usual stylish suits, some even sporting a bowtie or some unusual accessory and for the large part, many put in bets hoping to get lucky with their chosen horse or horses! This is a particularly interesting day at my workplace too since it’s a fresh change from the usual daily garb that most people wear: thongs, shorts and tshirts… It’s always refreshing to see men scrub up well and look slick, right!
Named the Starship Sydney, we boarded a glass boat around lunch time and had a sit down three course meal. I know I normally take photos of food but I was having way too much conversational fun to document what we were eating - yep that’s a first! As part of on-boat entertainment, there was also a portable photo booth that printed strips of hilarious four-in-a-row posed snapshots of us instantly. You can imagine how much of a ball we had with various funny poses!
As for my outfit for the day, I decided to go a bit untraditional particularly with the headwear. To be honest, I’m not a fan of the typical race wear feathery nonsense, it’s not really my style. I really wouldn’t feel completely at ease if I had something like that on, even if it was the “thing to do”. Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to make something for myself leading up to the event so I looked around online instead. Being a regular reader of K is for Kani’s inspiring blog, it was only appropriate to purchase and wear one of her beautiful handmade floral headpieces! I still felt pretty without the feathers, yay! In terms of luck however, the big race itself was quite disappointing to say the least. None of the horses I had placed bets on won and the race itself didn’t turn out to be as thrilling an ending as last year’s!
Wearing: Nanette Lepore satin dress / K is for Kani floral headpiece / Hazel navy satin heels
