Hearts & Bones

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Dress: Review coated cotton

Mules: Wittner suede

Handbag: Vera May patent leather with silver hardware

Belt: That Shop elastic with silver clasp

Brooches: Zing Pop Culture silver & resin

Hinged Bangle: Wallace Bishop silver

Bangle with Charms: Pandora silver & onyx

Ring: Pandora silver & onyx

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Avid readers of this blog will already know about my obsession with all kinds of kitschy patterns & prints, so it won't come as a surprise that I was absolutely ecstatic to open up an (admittedly early) birthday present to find this gorgeous navy & red heart-printed cotton fit-to-flare midi dress from Aussie label Review nestled inside. Despite the fact that it was still to warm to wear the matching red knitted cardigan, I just HAD to give it an outing ASAP, so styled it up for a morning spent at the flicks watching the new "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" movie with my mother. In addition to a retro-style, vibrant red elastic cinch belt with shiny silver clasps from That Shop in Coolangatta to give definition to my waist, I also donned a pair of comfortable (yet stylish) black suede pointy-toed mules from Wittner that were ideal for the "change of season" weather that Queensland has been experiencing & carried a shiny red patent leather handbag with silver hardware from Vera May to carry all the essentials. Jewellery was simple & matchy-matchy: a chunky silver hinged bangle from Wallace Bishop, thin bangle with silver & onyx charms from Pandora as well as a heart-shaped ring from the same & pair of Mickey & Minnie brooches with a touch of red resin from Zing Pop Culture, picked up for the princely sum of $8... a total bargain price for this Disney addict!

For those who might be wondering what I thought of the Lara Croft franchise reboot, here's my review... It was amazing! I absolutely loved it & so did my mother, so clearly there's something in it even for people who don't particularly like action films. For me, it was like watching "Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade" mixed with "Rambo"... all with a female protagonist, of course. The touch of English aristocracy appealed to the Anglophile in me while the awesome music & special effects harked back to the original video game & added that elusive element of "edge" or "cool" that is so often lacking in formulaic treasure-hunting epics. In short, I loved that in this outing, she was "more brains than boobs," as I heard someone say while exiting the cinema.

Before you go... keep scrolling to take a peek at my favourite entry into the Indooroopilly Shoppingtown Easter decorating competition... The amount of time & effort that went into creating such a detailed display just blows my mind & the nod to the Commonwealth Games certainly was inspired...