Antique Crawl

 

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Dress: Anthea Crawford jacquard, faceted buttons

Mules: Wittner leather

Bag: Elk via Mott & Mulberry leather

Bangle: Gift, 20th Century Antiques & Collectibles vintage silver

Bangle Stack: Gift, vintage Mexican silver

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Finally sharing all the pictures from a leisurely Saturday spent traipsing around a plethora of South East Queensland antique stores including Sherwood Bazaar, Turn O' The Century Antiques & Relove Oxley with my younger brother in tow, browsing & searching for any hidden gems before stopping for a delicious, long lunch at the funky Plentiful Cafe in Graceville. For the occasion, I wore one of my all-time favourite dresses - a navy floral organza shirtdress with attached slip, faceted buttons & self-tie belt from Aussie designer Anthea Crawford, styled up for the weekend with a pair of tan leather pointy-toed mules from Wittner, a tan leather crossbody bag from Elk the Label via the delightful Mott & Mulberry store at Indooroopilly to carry all the essentials including mask & hand sanitizer, a vintage silver bangle from (sadly now closed) 20th Century Antiques & Collectibles at Coolangatta & a stack of silver Mexican bangles that some dear friends gifted to me for that touch of daytime shine.

Scroll down to see how it all unfolded...

Clearly can't resist a mirror selfie...

Gotta love a skirt with a bit of "swish..."

Omelette: 

Spicy pork mince & egg with steamed jasmine rice, bean sprouts, coriander & mint & a ginger tamari dipping sauce

Shroom City:

Sauteed mixed local mushrooms, broad bean puree & wilted leafy greens on toasted sourdough with a poached egg on the side

Washing it all down with a Vanilla Milkshake with Sprinkles...

Busy Bees

 

Such a beautiful sight after all the time & effort that went into creating a "bee haven" in our back garden to protect these precious, precious little pollinators. They are absolutely loving the lemon trees at the moment & were busy filling their "pollen pouches" (the yellow/orange pouch on the side of one leg where they store pollen for later) for over an hour.

Monochrome in the Springtime

 

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Dress: Anthea Crawford stretch twill

Cardigan: Taking Shape mesh

Ankle Boots: Wittner matte leather

Tights: Razzamatazz 40 denier nylon

Bag: Sussan vinyl

Belt: That Shop elastic, patent leather

Hinged Bangle: Wallace Bishop silver

Bangle with Charms: Pandora silver, onyx

Ring: Pandora silver, onyx

Ring: Pandora silver

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Same dress, different blog post!

It's always wonderful to be able to get a lot of wear out of an sartorial purchases & it's even better if you can wear them to completely different events in different weather to get the optimum "value for money" in this crazy economy. I will admit that I don't always think about cost per wear when adding to my wardrobe - sometimes I just really, really want that fluffy, organza dream dress that can only be worn in a certain circumstance - but I do think about the "classics" question, which is whether or not something will stand the test of time. Classic silhouettes or prints or even something so incredibly out of the box that time is irrelevant are always top of my list. Case in point: this gorgeous, black & white floral stretch twill midi dress from Anthea Crawford. It's sleek silhouette & below-the-knee hemline, in addition to the monochromatic colour scheme mean it can be worn today, in ten days, in ten months or even ten years. I've styled it up here for an appointment in the River City on a cold morning, adding a black mesh cardigan from Taking Shape that I've cinched in with a wide, patent stretch belt from That Shop, donned a pair of black matte leather ankle boots from Wittner for height, 40 denier nylon tights from Razzamatazz to keep my legs feeling toasty warm & a black vinyl shoulder bag from Sussan to carry all the essentials. When it came to jewellery, I wore a chunky silver hinged bangle from Wallace Bishop, silver & onyx charm bangle & matching rings from Pandora to complete the look.

Scroll down to see more...

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.

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Poached Eggs on Sour Dough with Bacon & Mushrooms

Smashed Avocado on Sour Dough with Radish & Lime

Washing it all down with an Iced Coffee...

Lady in Leopard

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Dress: Sheike cotton

Jumper: Target acrylic wool

Ankle Boots: Wittner matte & patent leather

Tights: Razzamatazz 40 denier nylon

Bag: Country Road vinyl, satin

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Making the most of the cooler weather to get those extra "wears" out of my winter woolies! In this instance - arriving home from a recent trim & hair dye at Krop Hair with the talented Shabana, carrying a piping hot chai latte from Hello Garry in my hand - I'm wearing a gorgeous pink leopard print cotton puff sleeve mini shift dress with tie belt from Sheike, a pink/peach chunky acrylic knitted jumper from Target, a pair of black matte & patent leather ankle boots with buttons from Wittner (otherwise known as the "Anne of Green Gables" boots), 40 denier nylon tights from Razzamatazz & a black vinyl & woven satin handbag from Country Road to carry all the essentials.