Boxing Day

Ah, Boxing Day. It pretty much only means one thing these days and I don't think I need to explain what that one thing is.

As you are all probably aware, I'm not big on 'stuff'. I had no desire to go anywhere near a shopping mall of any kind on Boxing Day. The only interest I had in these sales is what is on offer from craft and fabric stores so that I can make my old clothes new again rather than adding unnecessarily to my wardrobe. 

That's where my new DIY project comes in. I've seen these style crop tops blowing up on Instagram lately and wanted to make my own. I looked at a blue and white striped t-shirt that I rarely wear - it was cute but I could do better - and decided it was perfect to recreate.

Since it's already a scoop neck I already had the neckline sorted. Then I worked out what shape I wanted the top (I had to make the top a lot slimmer than it previously was), marked it out and cut away the excess before pinning the hems and sewing it all back together. I also added a couple of darts for a better fit.

See the results below!

Don't be afraid to try to rework something from your preexisting wardrobe. Even the most basic changes can make you fall in love with it all over again and it can be totally worthwhile. 

Dotti sunglasses / DIY top / (Very old) Quirky Blu skirt / Necklace from the Palace of Versailles Gift Shop

With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept

I feel slightly odd publishing this post. Australia (and the rest world) has just endured a heart wrenching 24 hours and I feel like anything I post in the coming few days, maybe weeks (and really forever) is just going to be totally trivial. Healthy human life is the most valuable thing in this world. 

I kept an eye on what was happening as the siege in Sydney unfolded yesterday and was reluctant to go to bed last night in fear of what I would wake up to but held hope that it would be a happy ending. I woke to a dark discovery when I read of the news of the deaths of two hostages, Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson. My deepest sympathy goes to the family and friends of these victims, in particular the young children of Katrina, as well as anyone who was affected by this tragedy. 

I've never been more proud of Australia than I am in this moment. We tend to always band together when the going gets rough but this is standout.

I feel that this post is trivial but I'm going to post it anyway, because we need to live life as we normally would. And I would normally post on this blog. And I would normally advertise it on Instagram and Facebook. So that's what I'm going to do.  

ASOS Dress / Clogs (I've had these for years and have no idea where they're from)

DIY: Floral Fix Up

DIY floral Dress / ICE boots

This is quite an old DIY - more than a year old to be exact - but I've never blogged about it and thought I probably should!

After purchasing a midi skirt from my local Salvation Army a few years ago and not wearing it like I had intended (this seems to be a running scenario with me) I decided to recreate it as something more wearable in my wardrobe and came up with this dress.

It was relatively easy to create, the neckline was the most difficult. I didn't want to throw it out or anything because I loved the pattern on the fabric and now it's one of my favourite items in my wardrobe!

Below you can see what it looked like as a skirt in a previous blog post (which is no longer live) and see the comparison. As a dress it's much more wearable for me and I'm a big fan of the high neckline trend.

Which do you prefer? Before or after?

Beauty: Addicted to Buzz

Dress by Kitty Kat at Side Street 

Hi, my name's Abbey and I'm addicted to shaving my hair.

Funnily enough, no more than a few years ago I was terrified when my father asked me to trim his hair for him with his clippers. I had never used them before and was afraid of making a mistake. But I've become accustomed to them and now find myself trimming my undercut with a 6mm guard every fortnight. All on my own might I add.

I don't know what it is about it but I find it to be one of the most thrilling and liberating things ever. Maybe it's just me but I love it. I'd one day like to shave it all off, but as you all know I'm in the process of growing the top half right now.

In saying that I wanted to also talk about my weave. The whole ordeal was a major nightmare initially and then it grew out way too fast. Personally I would oppose the idea of getting one if you're considering it unless you're prepared to fork out a lot of money to keep it constantly fresh. Having gone through it all myself, I just don't feel like it's worth it. I thought I'd spare you the specific details, but if you're interested to find out what went so wrong just let me know.

But until next time...

xx

Outfit: Grey

Supre top / Neon Hart skort / Rivers sandals

The weather is definitely heating up and I'm struggling a little bit to find clothes that I can wear to work that I actually like and don't give me heatstroke. Enter this skort! I bought it probably a year or so ago but barely wore it until recently. I would wear it everyday now if it weren't so noticeable (but really, should I care?).

I know that the cross over front kinda thing has been in for awhile but when I bought it every other skort/skirt I found looked so generic and then I found this one and fell in love with the texture and colour.

Here I styled it with a singlet I purchased from Supre around 4 years ago and my trusty 'Abbey' sandals from Rivers.

I also had my weave removed a week ago and I feel totally free now, but that's another story which I'll be posting later this week.

Keep cool x