Tis the Season

It's happening! Christmastime is near...

Checking out all the amazing Christmas decorations, wrapping paper, ribbon & presents in store at my local Fair Dinkum Bargains. Every year it has an absolutely amazing display that has taken a significant amount of hard work to assemble & this year certainly didn't disappoint! In these sweet pictures, I'm wearing a particularly casual ensemble - a pair of khaki cotton shorts from Big W, a navy & white floral cotton ruffled prairie top & natural woven straw crossbody bag from Target & a pair of beige leather toe-post sandals from Frankie 4 on my feet.

 

Christmas Shopping

 

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Dress: Review jacquard

Sandals: Easy Steps via Myer leather

Bag: Soul Nook Collective vinyl, wood

Brooch: QLD Art Gallery Gift Shop ceramic

Bangle: Gift, vintage silver

Bangle Stack: Gift, vintage Mexican silver

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So elated to be sharing all of the gorgeous pictures from a morning spent traipsing around the shopping centre with my mother, relishing the opportunity to check out all the Christmas decorations & feel the festive vibes before the "busy season" truly kicks off. I'm posing in one of the celebrated Indooroopilly Shoppingtown light-up baubles - the one on the top floor nearest to Bed Bath 'n Table - wearing a beautiful, 1960s inspired blue & white floral jacquard shift dress with matching belt from Australian label Review, a pair of white & tan leather sandals from Easy Steps that I picked up at my local Myer store (after falling in love with their art deco aesthetic) & a tan vinyl crossbody bag with wooden clasp from a sweet little boutique called Soul Nook Collective in the old church at Marburg to carry all the essentials including the ever-present facemask & hand sanitizer. When it came to jewellery, I wore some favourites - a vintage silver bangle from sadly-now-defunct 20th Century Antiques & Collectibles at Coolangatta that my brother gave me & a stack of vintage Mexican silver bangles gifted by some dear friends - as well as a little nod to the silly season with a handmade ceramic brooch in the shape of a gingerbread man from the Queensland Art Gallery gift shop.

Scroll down to see how it all unfolded...

Sustenance break... a piping hot chai latte & warm jam-filled donut from Brooklyn Donut & Coffee Co...

Hanging around outside the enchanted Christmas forest...

With my favourite shopping buddy... all decked out in our Summertime florals...

Yamanto Central

 

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Dress: Pink Diamond via Gingham & Heels cotton

Sandals: I Love Billy via Williams Shoes vegan leather

Bag: City Beach woven straw, wooden beads

Brooch: Gift, handblown glass

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A bright & breezy afternoon jaunt to a local shopping centre to pick up a few Christmasssy must haves... you know, those ones of your list that you just can't get anywhere else?! I'm posing up a storm in front of this gorgeous embroidered flower mural (gerberas, perhaps?) wearing a gorgeous & vibrant pink cotton puff-sleeve midi dress with shirred bodice from Pink Diamond via online emporium Gingham & Heels, a pair of brown vegan leather strappy sandals from I Love Billy that I picked up at my local Williams Shoes, a woven straw crossbody bag with wooden beads & tassels from City Beach to carry all the essentials & finally, a blown glass Christmas tree brooch in shades of white, black, brown, yellow & pink that some dear friends gifted me last year to complete the look.

Scroll down for a few more pictures beside the centre's Christmas trees... never met a Tannenbaum I didn't like...

Gates to Wonderland

 

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Dress: Bohemian Traders cotton poplin

Sandals: Wittner leather, elastic

Bag: Sussan vinyl

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Getting into the "Christmas Spirit" wherever I go... a state of mind made much, much easier when the decorations in store are THIS GOOD! Believe it or not, this is my local Fair Dinkum Bargains store & they do an utterly amazing job year after year of creating displays for special events such as St Patricks Day, Easter, Halloween & of course, Christmas. I'm posing underneath the awesome wrought-iron Wonderland Gate (it's for sale, people!) in a gorgeous blue & white striped cotton poplin shirtdress with self-tie belt from Bohemian Traders, a pair of black leather & elastic sandals from Wittner & a black vinyl shoulder bag from Sussan to carry all the essentials. A simple, three-piece springtime ensemble that took mere moments to put together but looks great.

And It Begins...

 

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Dress: Anthea Crawford stretch twill

Heels: Kitten D'Amour vegan leather

Bag: Sussan vinyl

Hinged Bangle: Wallace Bishop silver

Cameo Bracelet: Karen Walker silver, ceramic

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It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here! Despite the cooler weather that definitely isn't the usual feature of a Queensland spring/summer, the trees & decorations are beginning to fill stores & brighten spirits already... & hey, after another difficult year with the pandemic refusing to fade away, severe weather events in many towns & the economy in a bad place, we could all use a little bit of joy & nostalgia as we look towards the beginning of a new year. I was so excited to see the start of a beautiful display in my local David Jones store while shopping & brunching recently with my mother & couldn't resist taking a few pictures before heading over for a meal together. For the occasion, I'm wearing a gorgeous monochrome floral stretch twill midi dress from Anthea Crawford, black vegan leather double buckle heels from Kitten D'Amour (quite literally the most comfortable shoes I own... perhaps even more than Converse high tops), a 1990s inspired black vinyl shoulder bag from Sussan to carry all the essentials like a mask & hand sanitizer, a chunky silver hinged bangle from Wallace Bishop & a silver Cameo bracelet with blue & white ceramic silhouette of a girl's head & ponytail from Karen Walker to complete the look & add a little pop of colour to the mix.

Scroll down to see more...

Poached Eggs on Sour Dough with Bacon & Mushrooms

Smashed Avocado on Sour Dough with Radish & Lime

Washing it all down with an Iced Coffee...