Friday morning floral - happy Shannon.

in the neck of time.

The past four months has seen big changes in terms of accesorissing. You see, I have always been  a chunky-ring-or-bracelet-kind-of-girl. But with the colder weather approaching, focus has been taken from around the wrist and fingers to the all important decolletage. Necklaces are well and truly in - the bigger the better! A chunky collar necklace will come to be your best friend this winter- easy to wear, day or night and dresses up a plain tee and skinnys outfit in an instant.

Lovisa has some amazing (not to mention affortable) pieces at the moment- check them out here.

Diva also has some gems. Two pieces that haven't left my neckline are:



Diva Tribal Cords Collar Necklace- $24.99



I picked this bad boy up from Diva, sadly sold out. Love wearing it with a plain tee and red lip. 

                                  

happy days.

 My boyfriend sent me this in a text message last night.

There comes a time in life when you have to let go of all the pointless drama & the people who create it & surround yourself with those who make you laugh so hard that you forget the bad and focus solely on the good. After all, life is too short to be anything but happy.

Wise boyfriend.

I've been through a pretty tumultous couple of months, people I thought I knew better than myself turned out to be strangers. But this post is not heading into the 'woe is me' type post because I refuse to be anything but happy.

And with a beautiful boyfriend, family and friends- how could I not be?

wanderlust.

Nomad at heart, truth be told I experience a little bit of wanderlust in my day to day life. Unfamiliar with the term?

Said wanderlust has transported me to the shores of Aloha country. Hawaii. Well, truth be told said wanderlust will transport me to the shores of Aloha country. In just five short months I will find myself miles across the ocean in a land where the hula reigns supreme and the sun kisses all. A pretty good 21st birthday present if I don't say so myself.

garden party.

OP. Olivia Palermo- the upmost epitome of style. Oh, to have a wardrobe even close to the callibre of Oliva's. I can dream right? Lately, I've been lusting over these floral badboys (Topshop) Olivia was spotted wearing. I've been looking high and low to no avail and nearly gave up all hope. The pants are sold out on the Topshop website and noone else seems to stock anything similar. But, and there is always a but, one last attempt to track down the pants on the web proved fruitful. I had found the exact pair! All smiles until I came to a price. A little bit exxy but like they say, WWOD. She would buy them (or realistically be gifted them) and so shall I. Although I'm not as wild to team them with a pair of leopard print pumps, these bad boys will get me one tiny step closer to having a closet resembling OP's. 

And that's good enough for me.

four kicks I cannot live without this winter.

With winter well and truly advancing upon us, thongs and sandals are banished into hibernation to be replaced by more seasonal appropriate footwear fancies. I decided to pay homage to the four faithfuls getting me through the crisper weather.

 Number one is the humble hi-top Converse. Comfortable without looking sloppy, team these with leather tights and a plain tee for that I-just-don't-care vibe or pair with a high, skater skirt and peter-pan blouse for a more preppy look.

They say a leopard never changes his spots. I disagree. A year ago I would have never been caught wearing leopard print and now a year later, these bad boys are looking very well worn. Team leopard print flats with anything, you'll be surprised of their versatility and ability to spice up any outfit.

Shoes can often be unappreciated by the opposite gender and these are no exception. My boyfriend says I look like 'I'm off to the ranch' but I love these tan-heeled wonders. They add that teensy bit of height (while being comfortable) and look quite sweet with a pretty dress or capri jeans.

Last on my list is a pair studs. Jeffrey Campbell does a mean studd but for those (like myself) who are short of funds, Rubi and Sportsgirl also make similar versions. A little bit punky, a lot of attitude, these studded creations will get you through winter.

intern is as an intern does.

 I consider myself an old hand at this intern business, I've really racked up some serious mileage on the internship front - and hopefully sooner rather than later it will all pay off and I'll be sitting pretty and doing what I love. Ha. I've interned at a number of places from fashion mags to newspapers and to be given a peek behind the pages is quite a privilege. That being said the perks really do come with a few nasties. Take one of my very first internships at a mag I loved reading. My second day into the intership and I was approached by one of the fashion editors and commanded to trek all over the city and find her some chocolate covered strawberries. Fresh, mind you. If you were wondering, no I was not offered a chocolate covered strawberry and yes, they did look delicious.  

Wanna be an intern? You better be able to type. And for a long time. I was shocked one instance when a fellow intern announced to the beauty editor she did not transcribe. Blasphemy! And you better be able to address envelopes and photocopy. Accept any task asked of you with a smile and observe, observe, observe.

As I said before internships are packed full of perks. Take the free stuff, the events and the experiences. Who would get to eat lunch with Miss Universe herself before playing fly-on-the-wall at one of her photoshoots? An intern, of course! (True story, she was gorgeous!)  

Materialism aside, the biggest perk of all is being in the thick of it and working alongside people who write what you love reading. Keep your mind open, stick it out and soak it all up.

Internships are a rite of passage - wanna be in this industry? Then, you gotta do the time. Fast forward a few years down the track and you might find yourself head honcho with a dozen intern minions at your disposal. Be nice, get your own chocolate covered strawberries!

polished to perfection.

Recently I was invited to attend a make-up masterclass for Just Be and to report back to the office with some wonderful goodies and a few tips and tricks I had picked up along the way. I was tres' excited to attend and woke up eager to impress. My morning was going quite smoothly until I got lost. In very high shoes. In an area I had no clue about. With ten minutes till the event began.

Perfect.

I'll skip the boring bits  an encounter with some very helpful, although somewhat pushy churchies and some aimless wandering on my part) and get to the important stuff. I arrive at said event's address (with my new rosary beads and prayer booklet in tow- thank you churchies) breathless and perspiring in my blazer. My carefully straightened hair and applied make-up feels smudged and messy and I sit down amongst the others. The girl to my right is already sitting down, biro in hand, notebook at the ready. Calm and collected she is. Not a hair out of place, impeccable make up and nails. (Mine are chipped after a haphazard and rushed application on the train- never a good idea). All at once, I feel alarmed- where is my notebook, where is my biro?  (and it's one of those fancy tipped ones too). The event begins and she dutifuly takes down notes- complete with diagrams and asks intelligent and funny questions. It's hard not to like her. Immediately, I wish I had bought a nice notebook and fancy biro and that I had asked intelligent and funny questions. I sat in admiration at how collected this girl was and willed myself to get my act together.

I will probably never be that girl. Fact is, I will always be that girl who feels slightly shy inside and will probably stumble a few times in her high heels. I will be the girl who gets lost and speaks with a squeaky voice when she is nervous. I will be the girl who drops whatever is in her handbag as she runs for the train she will inevitably miss. And come to think of it, that's alright with me.

- The event was great by the way. I learnt how to apply make-up like the queen of the Nile. Take a peek at my make-up tab if you wanna know too.