This month's shopping cart

It has been very nearly a month since my last blog entry. I have become preoccupied (and stressed) trying to sort out a house, a holiday and a job (if you are doing any of these things watch out for my next post on helpful apps).

To make myself feel better I have been doing a little shopping (when I really should be saving) ... well in pulling together this post I discovered I've done a bit more shopping than I realised. Below is a selection of some of my favourite purchases from the last 30 days.

1. kate sylvester | ginette mini dress 2. country road | seamed dress 3. comme des garcon x converse | chuck taylors

I have been trying to stay away from navy and black which seems to be consuming my winter wardrobe and introduced some red, a colour I don't often wear. I was lucky enough to snap up one of the last black ginette dresses from Kate Sylvester (which also comes in a longer length). While the Kate Sylvester dress and Comme des Garcon Chuck Taylors (from Fabric) were a bit of splurge the Country Road dress was an unexpected steal on sale with a further 25% off. I had tried to buy this dress at full price and could not find my size so was stoked to discover it under half price last week.

Country Road knits

I'm a sucker for a sale and Country Road has been having a lot of them. I got all these knits at different 25% off sales over the past month. I've been wearing the toasty (1) full cardigan knit a lot over the weekend with my spotty jeans but am surprisingly yet to wear the staple (2) rib trim cardigan and am questioning if I should return it.

1. Lippy | Eclip Shirt 2. Mi Piaci | Protest bootie

I love gold studs so this lippy shirt caught my eye but you do get what you pay for, this shirts low price point is definitely reflected in the poor construction of the garment but hopefully the classic gold toed bootie from Mi Piaci will stand the test of time.

Hot or flop?

I'm not a big hat wearer, with the exception of when I'm visiting the beach during the summer months. In the past I've bought hats that have never seen the light of day, mainly because I feel too self conscious to leave the house wearing them.

This Autumn I have taken a fancy to the floppy hat's, while they're not the most demure head wear choice for someone who feels highly self conscious in a hat I found a black floppy felt hat in Glassons for under $25 so I thought I may give the trend a try. At that price it doesn't really matter if the hat only hibernates in the closet.

I'll let you know if find the courage (and the occasion) to wear this piece.

contrast trim felt hat | glassons

ladies hat | kookai

Kourtney Kardashion, Vanessa Hudgens & Kate Moss in Floppy Hats

I'm liking patterned pants

Pants have typically been the most subdued pieces in my wardrobe but you can only have so many pairs of black work pants or dark indigo jeans so this Autumn I have been changing things up by embracing the patterned pant & jean trend.

Whether you opt for a skinny jean or a relaxed fit pant, patterned bottoms can be dressed up (with a pump and silk blouse) or down (with flats and a slouchy knit) making them a versatile addition to your autumn wardrobe.

What I have been wearing ...

1. max snow leopard jean 2. glassons spotted jean 3. karen walker giraffe print boat pant 

What I want to be wearing ...

1. Karen walker boat pants painterly 2. sass & bide late movie jean

Who else is wearing patterned pants ...

Olivia Palermo, Fearne Cotton and Sienna Miller like patterned pants
source | posh24.com

Return of the Mac

Today I finally had a chance to pay a visit to MAC, something I have been meaning to do for a while as I had a foundation to return and some vouchers (given to me at Christmas) which needed to be spent before they expired.

MAC is my make up brand of choice I think they offer the most extensive range of products and I prefer the 'back to MAC' scheme, where you can recycle used containers and pick a lipstick of your choice, to the gift with purchase promotions run by other brands (who actually uses the freebies?). However I now have two tips for things to beware of when shopping at MAC;

1. If you are buying MAC, especially duty free, check that you are given the correct colours before leaving the store. This is the second time recently I have had to return a duty free purchase because the wrong colour foundation was bagged.
   
2. Never wear a white knit when buying make up. I made this mistake today. Realising my faux pas when I walked in store I was super careful when trialing lipstick and eyeshadow colours on my hand. But despite the most cautious of movements I still managed to transfer bronzer from my fingers, onto my hand bag handle and then onto my brand new jumper boo!

What I walked away with ...

penultimate eye liner (an easy to apply liquid liner)
& studio fix powder plus foundation (a full coverage, non-greasy, matte foundation)
source: maccosmetics.com
  

chenman for mac | force of love lipglass
source: maccosmetics.com

Chen Man for MAC campaign shot taken by Man herself,  China's foremost fashion photographer
source: specktra.net

Highlights from the Weekend

Cafe Hanoi

On Friday after work I met a friend at Britomart who has been out of the country for the past 18 months  and I was surprised how many new bars and eateries have popped up in Auckland since she's been gone. So many places that now feel like an institution are really relatively new.

After a couple of drinks we had dinner at Cafe Hanoi one of my favourite restaurants in Downtown Auckland. A lot of people obviously love Cafe Hanoi and because they don't take bookings, operating a walk-in policy, you know you can always expect a good wait for a table (a phenomena also found and neighboring restaurants Ebisu and Mexico). However the wait is far better managed at Hanoi; where the staff are always courteous, you are given a fair indication of the expected wait time and now invite you are to wait in their parlour where you can order a drink or starter. While the underground parlour (similar to the downstairs room in 1885 but without the pretentiousness and high drink prices) has been open for the past 7 months Friday was the first time I had been down there and it is another reason why I rate Cafe Hanoi.

source | cafehanoi.co.nz/food

Holidays

I am planning a trip to America in September and October and booking accommodation has proven quite challenging thus far. While I am travelling with friends for the majority of my trip I have 3 days in LA alone before heading home and I have been tossing up where is the best place to stay solo; Santa Monica, Beverly Hills or Hollywood. Tripadvisor has become my favourite online tool for researching hotels and comparing prices (however I found many of the hotel chains have better offers on their own websites than third party re-sellers such as hotels.com - I ended up booking the Sofitel directly).

Even better than the main Tripadvisor site is the Tripadvisor iPhone app and Tripadvisor city guides app - I totally recommend downloading them! The city guides are particularly useful as as well as listing top restaurants, hotels and attractions they have a range free self guided tours, such as strolling Hollywood or Cruising the Santa Monica Pier, pinpointing key attractions to check out.

source | appaware

source | droidmill

Hello new jumper

I had some time to kill in between visiting open homes on Sunday so stopped in at Petal for a cup cakes for a sweet treat (ginger kiss cupcake). While I was in the area I thought is would be rude not to stop by Sass & Bide where I picked a new jumper, it was a naughty impulse purchase but a gold and glittery compromise on the glam wonderlust dress which had a much steeper price tag.

Sass & Bide -  it's just a memory top
source | memoirofastylist.tumblr.com

Sass & Bide - the wonderlust dress
source | sass & bide 

Easter Weekend Treats

It has been almost two weeks since my last blog post (what a slacker). April has proven to be a very busy month so far with Easter, birthdays and weddings. Not to mention the never ending search for accommodation (everyday and holiday).

Recently some pre-loved clothes I dropped off at Tatty's sold so I was able to treat myself to some new pieces over the Easter weekend.

1. Kate Sylvester tina cardigan 2. Max foxy bron shirt 3. Country Road fluid shirt

It was the gold stud detailing, on the otherwise conservative, Kate Sylvester cardigan which caught my eye earlier in the season and I had been coveting it ever since. While it was a bit of a splurge the garment is 100% merino wool and I know I will get heaps of wear out of it this winter (so the cost per wear will be low).

While the cardigan was a planned purchase the two shirts were impulse buys which were a result of 1) Max having 25% off store wide over Easter and me being a sucker for a sale and 2) Seeing a staff member wearing the shirt in Country Road (it looked good out over jeans with the sleeves slightly rolled up) then seeing there was only one left in my size and FOMO kicking in. I'm still feeling guilty about the impulse purchases!

Which winter court shoe?

The cooler weather appears to have settled in and its time to put away the peep toes and pull on winter boots and shoes.

I am currently trying to settle on a new pair of practical heels for work. I have two main criteria;

1. colour (they need to be black for maximum versatility) 
2. the heel needs to be thick enough that it won't slip down the gaps in the pavement on Auckland's Queen Street (there is nothing more frustrating than ripping the leather off the heel of a brand new stiletto by stepping on a crack).  

Another thing to consider when buying a winter shoe is will it withstand the wet. There is a lot of suede out this winter as well as velvet and pony hair, all materials which are not water resistant. Waterproof spray is an additional necessity if you're buying these fabrics.

 Here are four styles I have found that fit my criteria, what's your favourite?

1. Mi Piaci | Emms 2.  Kathryn Wilson | Neville Heel 3. Overland | Breezy 4.  Mi Piaci | Roads