Illustration fancy: Mimco ankle booties

Date acquired: winter 2011
Emotional worth: 3 stars

Slowly building a collection of ankle booties. I have always been drawn to shoes that has a bit of old world charm about them. These are no exception. They are not the most comfortable boots, but I'm sure I will get a few wears out of them this season.

On a side note. Not sure whether it is because of the weather, but have been feeling super uninspired at the moment. What do you do to keep the inspirations flowing? I'd love to know.

Illustration fancies: Camper booties

Date acquired: 02 February 2012
Emotional worth: 4 stars

Do you have a brand of shoes which you keep going back to because they are just so damn nice and comfortable? My favourite is Camper shoes, I'm not a big fan of their casual style, but every season they seem to bring out one or two designs that are filled to the brim with old school charms.

This is my latest addition, they are made from the darkest of suede with nautical inspired heels. It passed my comfort test with flying colours. I did a little dance in the shop to test out their comfort. Yes, you heard right, the only way I can tell whether I will take a pair of shoes home is by doing a little dance in the shop, sound silly, but how else will you know whether it will last a night of merry making?
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Sewing fancy: Colette meringue skirt

My  Colette Sewing Handbook  arrived the other day and I thought I'll try making my own meringue skirt. The scallop edge is a lot easier than I thought, the only problem I encountered was accidentally cutting off some of the stitchings while grading the hem seams. I'll try not to be so clumsy next time. The fit was perfect, I didn't have to alter it in anyway, can definitely se myself sewing a couple more in the near future.

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Illustration fancy: wicker basket bag

Date acquired: 05 Feb 2012

Emotional worth: 3.5 stars

Apart from clothes, I am pretty picky in terms of what I buy. Rather than going for "that will do" and replacing it at a later date, I would wait and wait until I find something that is just right. Sometimes this search for perfection would take years, it took over a year for Mat and I to find the perfect couch, 2 years for me to find the right watch and 10 years to find the perfect doctor-esque bag. It sounds excessive, but I firmly believe the hunt is usually a lot more fun than constant gathering.

I've mentioned we went to  Middle Head  last weekend, but what I didn't tell you is I found my perfect wicker bag in this little cafe/shop called  Burnt Orange . I have been searching for the right wicker bag for years, but they were always either too big, too floppy or just too gimicky. I wanted something not too small and not too big, something lightweight but sturdy, with distressed ashy colour, not the pine looking stuff you see in two dollar shop and chunky weave with a hint of that lovely wicker smell. I told you I'm picky!

Well, as you can see, I've finally found my perfect wicker bag, and I LOVE IT! Have been using it every day since, I am in love with the hint of wicker smell which reminds me of the beach, and on top of everything else I've mentioned earlier, its lovely raw heather handle and the candy stripe lining. I'm tempted to go back and get the other one with blue lining just in case I can't find another one just like it in 10 years time.

What do you do? Are you as obsessive as me in terms of finding the perfect item on your list? I'd love to find out what you do.

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Sewing fancy: you had me with jam dress

My second handmade dress for the year. This one is  dress 109  from issue 6/2010 of Burda Style magazine. The pattern asked for a jersey material, but being a rebel that I am, I opted for cotton instead. (As a novice sewer, I'm just too scare to use a stretch material!) I was really concerned as I was making it thinking the dress will be too tight with a non-stretchy fabric, but it turned out quite alright, it was super quick to make and everything seems to fit perfectly. YAY!

I'm not sure whether you can see the pattern on the dress, it is made of rows and rows of jams. How cute is that? I love patterns where you can't really tell what is it until you look at it close up. Now I'll just have to make some jam while wearing the dress.

Polka dots heaven

I made this 50s inspired dress on the weekend, can't believe this is is the first dress I've made in over a year! Like a proud mum, I took it out for a walk the moment it was finished, even got a number of looks and compliments along the way. I have forgotten how satisfying it is too make your own dresses, will need to make more in the near future.

I got the pattern from issue 5/2011 of the Burda Style magazine, the dress style is 128 which you can purchase from the  Burda Style website . 

Dressing for your age

Date acquired: September 2011

I always wonder what it means to dress for your age. People tend to describe my style as girly cute. I have never seen myself as the girly type, however I do admit, every second piece of clothing I own are either floral, a-lined or princess cut. I have a very defined style and I do know what I like and don't like, but I do wonder whether it is age appropriate for a 30 something year old to wear pretty dresses everyday.

I guess I won't know until someone send me to one of those style makeover shows.

Emotional worth: 2.5 stars

BMX Bandit T-shirt

Date acquired: Sometime last year

I don't think I have ever mentioned this before, but we are a pretty creative bunch in this household. Not only does Miso (my kitty cat) sings every so often, Mat is also a pretty talented T-shirt designer. This one here is called BMX bandit, and it was chosen as a one day sale item in Teefury. It's pretty darn cute don't you think? I don't think my drawing do its justice, but I guess you can use your imagination. 

Now, to be honest, I'm not much of a T-shirt person. I have tried in the past, but I just can't go pass a day without wearing an adorable dress. This T-shirt however, it is my best of friends when I go to yoga and pilates each week. How can you not be motivated when you have such an adorable T-shirt to get into?

Hope you are having a great week so far. You can see more of Mat's tees here.

Yellow leather handbag

Date acquired: late May 2011

You must be so sick of me talking about Melbourne, but I just can't stop talking about it. I think if I keep talking about it then in a way I can pretend I'm still on holidays. In the next few posts, I'm going to talk about what I bought in Melbourne. First is this little yellow handbag from the Markit market.

I don't know whether I've told you, but my favourite colour is yellow. I love it so much that I even think in yellow. For some reason, whenever I work on any layout design, I have to plan it all out in yellow blocks. I can't seem to think in any other way. You should see the comments I get when I am at work, people will come up to me and ask why I've used yellow in the design when it is not even part of the brand... 

So you can imagine how I felt when I first laid my eyes on this little sunshine. I think my heart skipped a little and I knew straight away that it has to be a part of my life. It is only a tiny little bag, can only really fit my camera, sunnies, lip balm and not even my wallet, but as long as it's yellow I don't really care for practicality. 

Emotional worth: 4 stars

What I wore today

How is your weekend so far? I've spent most of mine staying home and finishing up my submission for Gemma's "What I wore today" project. Gemma is calling for all doodle-bloggers to upload drawings of their outfits and if you get chosen, you drawing will be published in her new book. How amazing is that! If you want to enter, hurry as it closes on the 24th of this month. I think I'm already too late, as they only have 16 spots left and there are a lot of talented illustrators out there.

I've had a lot of fun doing this illustration, I think I am going to do more of it in the future. I love putting outfits together and to combine it with my love of illustrations, I wonder why I didn't do this sooner. So stay tune for more outfits in the future.

Outfit breakdown:

Bluejuice black woolen coat

Zara polka dot dress

I love Billy pink ballet flats

Vintage Princess yellow leather bag

Mimco watch

Wooden brooch from craft markets

Remember the passionfruit curd I made last week? Well, I had it with my porridge for breakfast this morning, and it was DELICIOUS! I think porridge is definitely one of my favourite food group, it warms your belly up for hours. Perfect for a chilly Sunday morning. What are you having for your Sunday breakfast?

Donkey leather jacket

Date acquired: Winter 2010

Mat and I are visiting Melbourne in two days! We are so excited, the last time I've been was close to ten years ago, I'm sure a lot of things has changed since then. Everyone I've talked to has warned me about how cold Melbourne will be and considering we will be spending 2 of those days road tripping to the country, I'm pretty sure this leather jacket will be my uniform throughout the stay.

To be honest, I have never been a big fan of leather jackets, I've always found them to be too masculine and expensive if you are after super soft leather. This is the only leather jacket I've ever owned and I'm pretty sure will ever have for a long time. My jaw dropped when I first saw it in Just Jeans, not only was it super soft, but it was also super affordable. I really like the colour too, it is not your traditional leather colour, but a soft donkey grey. Most of the items in my wardrobe are either really feminine or super cute, so I love the contrast it creates when I team it with the jacket. I like to pretend I am a lot tougher than I look sometimes. Do you have a favourite jacket for winter?

Emotional worth: 2.5 stars

PS: Not sure if there are any Melbourinans who read this blog, I would really appreciate it if you can suggest some must sees in Melbourne and surrounds.

Karen Walker sunglasses

Date acquired: Summer 2010

According to a study done by the University of Toronto, the world does look better through rose coloured glasses. With that in mind, I bought myself a pair of rose coloured sunnies by Karen Walker. Ok, the lens are not pink, but I do believe it bring me happiness every time I wear it. I've noticed people seem to find me more approachable when I'm wearing these glasses. They have gotten me quite a few friendly smiles from strangers, extra special service by shop keepers and even some yummy baked goods from the local baker. So I guess you can also say world is better viewed through rose coloured frames?

Emotional worth: 3 stars

Snake skin handbag

Snake skin handbag
Date acquired: January 2009
This handbag is older than me! Dad bought it for Mum when they first started going out many many years ago. Apparently there were matching shoes to go with it too, but the shoes couldn't last the distance. I love the texture of the bag, it's very delicate and according to mum, the only way to really look after it is to stroke it with your hand every few weeks so the leather wouldn't dry out. How interesting is that!
Emotional worth: 4 stars

Bunny hair clip

Bunny hair clip
Date acquired: January 2010
I received this bunny hair clip as a gift with purchase at this adorable little shop named Blackbird Corner in Newcastle. The clip is so adorable that it puts a smile on my face every time I put it on. Although it is only something cheap and disposable, it has a lot of emotional attachment for me because it acts as a reminder to one of the best weekends I've had this year. It was one of the hottest weekends ever and we were stuck in traffic for over 2 hours while getting there, normally this would dampen anyone's spirit, but we were having so much fun in the car that nothing else seems to matter. By the time we got to our hotel, we spent the rest of the afternoon splashing in the pool and exploring the lazy town. The day ended with an intimate gig with the oh so lovely Cat Power. Oh... how I miss Newcastle.
Emotional worth: 5 stars

Vintage bronze cuff

Vintage bronze cuff
Date acquired: June 2010
This cuff was bought at a little vintage jewellery shop in Paddington. Me and my buddy Lisa were exploring the back streets of Paddington when we accidentally stumble upon this little vintage shop. Once inside, we were like little kids playing with a dress up box, trying on one thing after the other. My eyes lit up when I spotted the cuff sitting in a corner, everything about it was just perfect, the colour, the weight, even the smell of the bronze. I even got a discount from the owner because she knew how much I like it.
Emotional worth: 4 stars

Wolf & Willow

The lovely Nancy was kind enough to ask me to be her guest blogger in her super sweet blog Wolf & Willow.  I was so over the moon that I have to do an illustration on my favorite library outfit. It is sad that people don't visit the library as much as they used to. Do you still visit your local library? Or better yet, do you have a favourite library outfit?

Yellow Melissa shoes

Yellow Melissa shoes
Date acquired: March 2010
These are one of the most comfortable high heels I own. They are made of plastic and smells like bubble gum. The yellow is so bright that I'm surprise it doesn't glow in the dark. I always know that I'm going too have a good dat whenever I put these on.
Emotional worth: 5 stars

Polka dots woolen skirt

Polka dots woolen skirt
Date acquired: approx. 2006
I found this skirt recently when I was clearing out my wardrobe. I haven't worn it for years, can't even remembered where I got it from. I'm surprised that it hasn't been my winter stable for the past few years, the polka dots put a silly grin on my face every time I wear it.
Emotional worth: 3 stars