So I’ve just tinted my eyebrows for the first time in … well.. a LONG time.  I have rather sparse, fair eyebrows, so tinting is essential.

But it got me thinking.  What about the rest of my face?  I should probably do my eyelashes this weekend (while there’s someone else here to watch Master 3), but right now, I also have no proper skincare regime.  I wash and moisturise my face morning and night, but it’s not with ‘proper’ cleanser, and I think my moisturiser might be a tad heavy for during the day.

So here’s a question.  What do you use, and why do you like it?  I am currently thinking of going back to Alpha-H, but I do like to hear of new products or something trustworthy that people love.

I have combination skin, it’s a little coarse, but sensitive-ish at the same time.  I would love to hear of stuff that really clears out the T-zone and refines the skin.  I drink plenty of water, but don’t get enough sleep (which is something I cannot control right now).  So opinions on internal skin care stuff is also welcome!

After a month of agonisingly refraining from nibbling on stubs of what used to be my nails….

I have un-stubs!  They’re almost the perfect length for me, so I’ll be starting some nail / cuticle treatments this weekend to ensure that when I start drawing attention to my nails, they’ll look as good as they can.

I envisage either a french polish or stunning red for my birthday… or maybe even a shocking pink with some nail art.

How, though, am I coping with not chewing away at my nails?  I really don’t know how I’m doing it.  I think keeping otherwise entertained or busy with my hands is helping.  I’m trying really hard to get a few projects moving, both with my Vintage venture and in my craft life.   So maybe that has helped my nails become a little more attractive.

This is my Blue Willow Morning Tea set.  I bought it from Victoria’s Basement so that I would have a nice, but sturdy set for my Knitters’ Guild meetings.  It is lovely to drink from, so I find myself using it just about every day.

I enjoy my single tea cup and saucer sets.  I have 6 now, and it really is the best way to enjoy tea.

Not a computer, but a paper notebook.  Why?  Well, I figure I’d like to have one handy that I can jot things down that I want to do (NOT a to-do list), or if I see patterns I want to gettry, or sketch if the muse is with me.  It’s only small, but it’s pretty, and I hope over the course of the next year it will be a source of inspiration and maybe even a form of taking account of what I’m doing for myself.

Mmm… Mini-Pedicure!

Nothing more than a simple soak, scrub and moisturise, but wow does it feel nice!  I even threw a little polish on the tootsies.

Less than 15 minutes and my feet feel fabulous!  Definitely going to be a weekly event!

Around a month ago, on a forum that I am a member of, someone put a $100 gift voucher from Zu shoes up for grabs.  Lucky me was the first in!  So tonight I went shopping for a new pair of shoes for me.  I wanted something a little dressy, and not one of the high heels that are currently in fashion (WAY too high for me, especially for my current weight).

So the idea was to find a pretty pair of dressy flats, as it seemed that they had flats or tower heels.

So off we trotted to the Chatswood Zu store.  And after trying on EVERY ballet flat they had, only to find they all made my feet look like planks of wood.  I almost gave up and bought a huge handbag that I didn’t really need when my darling husband found a great little pair of patent black peep toe court shoes.

Cute huh??  So the plan was then patent leather peeps and a matchey handbag, which was VERY cute.

However… I then caught a flash of red in a peep toe court shoe… The same style in red!  Not patent, but RED!  YAY

So now I have TWO new pair of shoes (I love sales!!)!  All thanks to the kindness of someone I know only through a social forum.  THANK YOU!!

After a few enquiries over the years about why I love Vintage things, old movies, Swing music and spending copious amounts of time on just the right hair style, I thought back to where it really all began.

Where I’ve narrowed it down to is Weekend Matinee’s with Bill Collins.  The days that were too hot, too cold or too wet outside, saw us watching old movies starring Shirley Temple, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Lana Turner etc etc etc ….

As I grew up, I didn’t just enjoy the musicals, but just watching classic cinema opened my eyes to a lot of things that I realised I didn’t see day to day.  Women in stylish outfits wearing hats and gloves, men in suits  rather than in T-shirts and jeans, being able to use the excuse of washing your hair to get out of going out with a boy.  That last one I didn’t get until much later, when I was setting and styling my hair.

I was not confident enough as a Teen to embrace the styles that I loved, as a lot of teens weren’t in those days, so I dressed like my friends and to what ‘fashion’ dictated.  I was never really happy with how I looked, though.  I knew something was missing, but was too insecure to grab a hold of it and do what I longed to.

Years went on and I found myself in my final years of high school.  My parents took up Rockabilly dancing, and ‘dragged’ my sister and I to some social nights.  After a few weeks of trying to figure it out, in the bathrooms, we asked to start lessons too.  That was the kick start that I needed. That was back in 1992.  I took 1993 off for my HSC exams and picked up dancing again early in 1994.

I spent the next few years in dancing comps, all the while deciding to push my costumes back to more authentic styles.  Attending social nights in big poodle skirts with crinolines and little sweaters or collared shirts.  Then I discovered swing dancing, and my choice of clothing went further back in time. Around this time I was dancing 4-6 nights a week all over Sydney in saddle shoes or cute pumps/wedges, collegiate style outfits or swing dresses, I pulled out the crinolines on occasion too.  Hair was curled and pompadoured, lips were red and I started collecting vintage clothing.

Unfortunately over the years over half of my vintage collection has gone MIA.  Which is sad, because I had some beautiful dresses, and with the vintage boom over the last 10 years, finding great pieces in Sydney in anything over a size 8 is very hard to do.  Now I satisfy myself with making clothes with either vintage patterns, or altering modern ones so they look ‘right’.  I get a lot of inspiration for clothes and hair from my collection of vintage magazines and books, as well as all those old movies that Mr Collins introduced me too when I was a kid.

Thank you, Mr Collins!

My hair has three ’states of style’.

1. A la Naturale (which means quite curly)
2. Blow dried
3. Pin curled/Vintage

So when I get my hair cut it has to look good all three ways.  Thankfully I have a hair dresser who understands both my hair, and my styling needs.  I try to stick to one of these, for the vintage styling purposes.

These are the basic shapes of hair cuts through the 1920’s to the 1950’s.  I do tend to modify little bits, as I don’t (yet) set my hair every day, and it needs to be flexible (as per my list above).  So I’ve gone for a “Baby” cut length around the base, but have left the top of my hair about 6″ long. It’s roughly the shape that Nicole Kidman had in “The Others”.   This allows me to wear it ‘natural’ or when I style my hair I can do some barrel curls on top, but still keeps it off my neck and away from my face through the hot months.

I haven’t taken any pictures yet, as it’s been a madhouse between the Boy, the Mister and Spring Cleaning.

I think little victories help when you think that you’re not suceeding in what you’re attempting to achieve.

I’ve had a rough couple of days here, nothing major, just those days where the universe (and your 3yo) think that you need a challenging day.. or three.

But I stepped on the scales this morning, and found that I have lost 2.6 kilos some time in the past month-ish.  This might not seem like much, but every time I try to exercise, I end up getting a cold or something that knocks me around.  I had certainly not expected to have lost any weight recently.  But there it is!

So I feel a little good, despite having a couple of bad days. Yay!

So I won’t be going from Frumpy to Fabulous in less than 60 seconds. In fact, I see this being a very long and slow transformation.

I have to start slowly, I can’t overwhelm myself with ‘mandatory changes’ or I’ll just get freaked out and won’t continue on. Baby steps are definitely the key.

My first baby step has been to make sure that every time I go out, that my hair is done and my face made up. I’m also making more of an effort to wear some of my nice shoes, rather than resorting to my Crocs all the time.

I’m hoping to be able to make myself a new dress for Christmas, I really don’t have much summer stuff in my wardrobe at the moment and it will be nice to have something new to wear.

I’m on the countdown to my hair cut, and have decided not to touch the colour just yet. I think the shorter hair by itself will be a whole new look. And quite frankly, I don’t want to freak my son out too much all at once.