Gelicious - Strawberry Milkshake

In honour of the fact that I often get 'Milkshake' by Kelis stuck in my head* - this time I am wearing Strawberry Milkshake by Gelicious.

The colour is perfectly named but hard to capture with my phone.  I think this colour has gotten more notice then the other Gelicious colours I have tried.

In real life it isn't as pale.

Unfortunately I have found this one not as durable as I would have liked - this damage is 3 days in. 

As per usual it could be my application or it could also be that I've been extra hard on my nails.

This photo is more like the real colour

I'm on holidays now so was really hoping that this would last the fortnight because I don't have access to all my equipment and polishes so for now Im just going to put a clear coat of normal polish and hope for the best.

*What does that say about me? My husband gets either Papa Loves Mambo or Agadoo which tells me just how camp he really is under all that male testosterone.

Aussie Curves - Peplum

I look sleepy - holidays are coming.

I like peplums - I used to have them on my togs when I was little - so 80s.

You're not going to see much styling going on for today's effort being that it's the last day of school and I'm still organising for the disco tonight.

Top - Autograph

Cami - came free as an under shirt so who knows

Skirt - Millers - no need to shave my legs!

I did much better on Monday but I used my spotty skirt so two weeks in a row!

Top - Rockmans

Skirt - Me

Broach - Erstwilder

Shoes - Rubi

Aussie Curves - $50 outfit

I wasn't going to enter this week - not because all my outfits are soooo expensive but I actually have a tough time with numbers and so I often don't know how much costs.  There are a few things I remember simply because it was so cheap but other then that, nada.

Anyway I am having a sewing weekend.  I got the majority of a dress made for a member of our teacher choir - 3 more to go.

I then really wanted to finish off my spotted skirt that I had started ages ago.

I bought the fabric from eBay. It's a cotton sateen. I don't know how much I paid for it. Maybe $20 for 2 metres plus postage?  I have plenty of it left for a sleeveless top or something.

It's interlined with cotton-silk and it's so smooth and nice and cool.  Real posh.  It cost about $10 a metre, maybe more. 

I got the zipper for free with some other fabric I bought. The thread I already had, but I did have to buy bias binding.  I use bias binding for my waist facing and to hem.

The T-shirt is another thing that I made - I think the fabric was $7 for the meter. I just happened to be wearing it today, I wasn't planning on pairing spot and stripes.

 

The back seam is almost invisible. Planned that out real good. Side seams don't match up as well though - nigh on impossible.

It has a back vent so that I can walk.

 I love this skirt. 


Quick, must get into the shot before it takes a phot...

Crochet success

Yesterday a friend on Facebook shared a picture of crochet birds that she wanted to have for her daughter.  I happened to have the amigurumi book that they were from and made her one.

I also got around to photographing my yarn paper chains.

To make your own you need:

8 ply yarn - mine has pompoms already attached!

Size 4 crochet hook

Method:

Step 1. 

Chain 5 plus 3 more chains.  The last 3 chains will act as your first treble stitch.

Step 2.  

Count 4 chains back from the hook. 

Step 3. 

Treble stitch into the previous chain. 

Step 4. 

Treble into remaining chains. You should now have 6 trebles.

Step 5.  

Chain 2 and turn your work around so that you can continue. The 2 chain becomes your first treble.

Step 6. 

This bit can be tricky - count 4 chain shapes from your hook. The last two chain shapes will actually be above the previous row's trebles.

Step 7. 

Treble into remaining chain shapes. You should have 6 trebles now on this row.

Step 8. 

Repeat steps 5-7 for a total of 16 rows. Cut thread leaving it long so that you can sew with it in the next step, and then finish off using a slip stitch knot thing.

Step 9. 

Sew into a chain link - I used whip stich. Weave in ends.

Step 10. 

Pick a different colour. Repeat all over again - make sure to sew the new chain through the previous chain loop. I sometimes forgot to do that.

Aussie Curves - vulnerable side

So about ten years ago I didn't even realise that there was anything wrong with my arms, but apparently there was and I just needed the advice of a rude, socially inept woman to put me straight.

We were swimming at the local pool when the manager swam up to me and whispered conspiraciously (yes I did use that word),

'To get rid if those flabby teacher arms you need to do this,' as she waved her arms around in the water.

Shocked and speechless I swam over to my husband and told him that we were going, now.

From that point on I let that bitch's comment rule my wardrobe. 

What? A dress with no sleeves - no thank you,,, wait I could wear a cardigan over it.

So my aim the last year or so was to rebuild my confidence about this area of my body - I started by doing work with dumbbells. I'm still not all that happy about them but I usually don't have to worry about it because we have to wear sleeves at work.

At the moment I am making dresses for our choir, and I'm trying to convince myself that going up on stage with no sleeves will be okay, because we will need to move our arms for choreography and it's going to be hot as well.

Little steps though.

What I wore to a friend's surprise hen's night:

Dress - Virtue

Shoes - Toni Bianco

Necklace - Collette

Cami - Target

 

Not a single thing was said about my flabby teacher arms, shoes went down a treat though.

P.S. At the start of the week I shared a bit more about myself and my body image here.

What I came home to

Cats on the pile of clean washing.

They don't care.

How do I feel about me?

I wrote this on the 1st of Aug, but haven't really felt like sharing.

I guess with this week's Aussie Curve's theme being 'vulnerable' I thought it was about time.

We have also been quite rocked at school because a new teacher has joined us with a PhD about food.  Everyone has been really putting their best 'diet' on show, and there has been so much self body dissing.  But as I said to someone today, 'You are an intelligent women, you don't have to justify your food choices' or something like that.  I wish they would get over trying to impress someone who really shouldn't matter in the big scheme of things.

So anyhooo...

I have a fat belly and heart shaped hips that stand out like the genitals of this squirrel; plus teacher wings and I have boob-alicious huges* as well.

I know all this and I don't think the people that I know and work with think any worse of me because them.

But as soon as I have lost weight (because I've managed to remember that I exercise at 5:30 in the afternoons and not because I cut out yummy food from my diet, OR I happen to have coordinated an amazingly flattering outfit that has made me magically lose weight) I get the comments.

Have you lost weight?

What have you been doing?

You're looking good!  (The most awful backhanded compliment ever)

I'm sure people have all heard them before.  I'm not covering new ground here.

I have fad dieters and fitness afficanados and fad dieters turn fitness aficionados at my workplace. I hate the idea that I sometimes feel like I have to boast to people that are talking about their daily run that I too exercise - I don't think they'd believe it anyway.  I bite my tongue or eat my lunch instead.

I studied nutrition at Uni - I found the subject boring because of the lecturer and not because of the content. I'm interested in health and would at some stage actually like to do more at that uni level (no not more study! Ek!) I know that when people start to talk about their 'diets' that half the time they are quoting something they read in Women's Fortnightly** or on Facebook or something their mum told them twenty years ago. I know that I really want to correct them, but I also know that they would look at me and my figure and think, 'What would you know.'

So although I am at the moment the most accepting of my body I have ever been I'm still facing confidence hurdles.

And just because I started with a list of what are my perceived shortcoming here is a list of some of the things I love about my bod:

Tiny ankles, killer calves and outer thighs that could kick a man senseless. Pouty lips and soft, feathery hair. Shoulders a swimmer would be jealous of if they didn't already have them, strong fast growing nails and a butt my husband loves.

 * my new name for my boobs
** not a real magazine

Peripera and Gelicious - Bubblegum yum

I realised today that I hadn't shared my latest haul and subsequent manicure!

A while back, I bought two polishes from Peripera and had told myself that I would buy more, but never got there. It was in my eBay watch list though!

A few weeks ago chocolatencappucino put her Peripera's on sale so I bought up. 

Ohhh, so pretty!

 

They came with samples... yep... I was pretty stoked.

  

I'm such a cat lady...

I just love how cute Korean cosmetics are. I need to get me some more cute stuffs - so much of my eBay watch list is TonyMoly etc stuff.

And here is my mani.  

Base colour - Gelicious - Bubblegum Yum

Glitter - Peripera - 040 Sparkle Gold

Usual top coats for both layers. I put two layers on my index fingers.

I find that the Peripera polishes dry really quickly, and really aren't all that different from your 'normal' polishes quality wise.  This glitter polish stayed on my nails for a week.

 

This purple chipped before the fortnight was up, but that could have been the because of the extra nail polish on top,,, or because of my dodgy application. 

I think I've cracked how to remove the gel, I give my nails a quick once over with a file before I let them soak in the wraps for about 10 minutes. I then take them off one at a time and use an orange stick to push of the loose stuff. I then scuff the surface with the orange stick and then reapply the wraps with a little extra remover. This seems to get it off pretty easily.

But I am worried about damaging my nails - they are dried out after I clean everything off (obviously) and I already had some peeling before hand so I don't want it to get out of hand. Anyway, I'm giving my nails a break for a week and have just applied clear normal polish. But of course, I've already split one on the side. Doh!