Outfit

Today was the most beautiful and sunny day that I can remember in a long time and it is hard to believe that we could have such a warm day during winter. This weather makes me feel happier and much more positive about life. It is usually around this time of year that I start to feel excited about the commencemet of springtime. In contrast to what I said the other day about the difficulty of taking outfit pictures during winter, today was the perfect conditions for photos- clear blue skies, no wind and a bright colour block dress. This dress is my most recent purchase and my last for a very long time since Rydog and I are seriously saving for the future now. I bought it from the children's section of Leona Edmiston and I feel so lucky to have found it. I love the ruffles especially since it is often hard to find a dress with this detailing. I also adore the colour. It is a unique colour and it really stands out. I also like the fact that it is blue because for some reason blue (other than navy) is unintentionally the most uncommon colour in my wardrobe. The modcloth vintage inspired heels are one of the best purchases I have ever made. They were a bargain price and are very comfortable and perfect! They are definitely my most worn shoes. I wish they hadn't sold out on modcloth so I could buy another pair when they completely wear out.













Miss Leona Ruffle Dress
Forever New Ruffle Bag
Modcloth Family Album Heels

Item of the Week 012

My Pandora bracelet is very special and meaningful to me and I am surprised I haven't posted it here before. Almost four years ago, for my high school graduation and formal, Rydog bought me the Pandora bracelet with a cat, present and flower charm. We had only been going out for a short time so I was very surprised to receive such a generous and beautiful gift particularly at such an early stage of the relationship. In the years since then I have accumulated a number of different charms, primarily from Rydog and my mother in law, which hold sentimental value to fill the bracelet. For example, I received the teacup to remind me of Nana after she died, the graduation hat after completing my first year at university, the shoe to represent my obsession with shoes and the 'I' for my name. I used to wear it every day but now I save it for special occassions in order to maintain the quality.





In addition to the sentimental value of each individual charm this bracelet reminds me of one of the most significant and memorable times of my life which was when I finished school and entered into a relationship with Rydog. I have written about this a number of times before, most recently here and it is a time that I remember with extreme clarity. It was a year of mixed emotions and a myriad of changes and it was also one of the hardest years of my life as I pushed myself to achieve high results and gain entry into my law and commerce degree. It was also one of the most rewarding times of my life when I consider my achievements and I have never felt such a high degree of self satisfaction as I did after I finished school. Now I look back, I admire so many qualities I had back then which I don't believe I possess anymore. I have generally felt that I haven't lived up to my potential and expectations and I miss the respect and admiration that I commanded everywhere I went. I miss that high school girl that I was back in 2007. This bracelet reminds me of who I used to be.

I know that a number of you have told me to focus on the positive aspects of my life now and that we often remember the past more favourably than it actually was and I greatly appreciate these comments. I just think it is only natural to focus on the past and favourable times in our lives. I am gradually moving on...



It is interesting for me to look back on the night I received this bracelet because it marks the start of an era. It was the night that Rydog and I publicly announced that we were dating and the first night I ever went out with my future parents in law for post formal celebrations. I look back at the immense number of times that I have been out with them ever since and how Rydog and I have progressed to the point of being engaged. It was also the first time I had ever been to a night club, experienced a proper night out in the city and taken a long walk on the beach in the middle of the night. It was very beautiful and one of the most enjoyable nights I have ever had. However, I also remember feeling extremely conflicted. I had a number of simple but different experiences that night . It was a change from my normal academic, innocent, goody goody and sheltered life and I remember desperately wanting to break away from that lifestyle but knowing that I would have to wait another two months until my final exams were over.

Rainbow

Despite my best efforts over the last few weeks, I still have not been able to take any outfit pictures which makes me feel extremely sad because this is primarily a fashion blog and I make such an effort to dress up every single day and I am unable to show that as much as I would like to. A number of factors such as finding the time and the weather have prevented this from occuring. If anyone has any suggestions on how to minimise this problem then please let me know. The only positive aspect of the rain over the weekend was this beautiful rainbow, how lovely to see such colour among the otherwise grey sky:



This is just a quick post for now and I will make another post tonight when I finish university.

DIY Cardigan Tutorial

For the last few weeks I have spent endless amounts of time customising cardigans by adding pearls, bows, buttons, ribbons, sequins and flowers. It is my latest interest, I enjoy designing the cardigans and I love the satisfaction of completing an item. It can be time consuming but I normally work on them in front of the television at night so that makes it fun and relaxing. I started this idea with my family and they helped me get started and come up with some ideas and now it has really taken off from there. As I have said before, I am often surprised by the extent to which the price of an item increases simply because it has some sparkle or detailing. I also noticed how simple it is to completely change the look of an item just sewing on some detailing or even changing the buttons. The first one I completed was my sequin cardigan which I posted here.

For this post I thought I would show you how I made this particular cardigan. It is very simple. I took some photos as I was sewing but please tell me if there is anything I should explain further.

What you will need:- a cardigan
- ribbon or trim (or whatever you would like to sew onto the cardigan). I bought 2 metres of this trim and I had a small amount left over at the end.
-buttons
-thread
-needle
-pins
-scissors
-sewing machine (not essential since you can hand sew everything if you would like although this would take much longer).
Step 1: place the trim on the cardigan, wherever you would like it to be stitched. For mine, I placed the trim down the front on both sides. Pin the trim into place making sure you use enough pins to keep it in position. Make sure you leave a couple of centimetres extra which hang off the buttom of the cardigan which you will later sew to the underside of the garment.

Step 2: using the sewing machine, attach the trim to the cardigan. This is achieved by sewing straight lines down both edges of the trim in all areas where you have pinned the material. Take extra care to ensure that the cardigan remains flat at all times. (This has caused me major problems in the past where the material bunches and I had to spend ages unpicking my sewing).


Step 3: If the sewing lines are not particularly close to the edges of the trim, hand stitch the edges in a few places. This can be achieved at largely spaced intervals. It is not essential since you have already machine sewn the trim to the cardigan but it makes the trim sit flatter against the material.


Step 4: fold over and hand sew any excess trim to the underside of the garment.


Step 5: remove the buttons

Step 6: sew on new buttons which match the design of the cardigan...

... until all the buttons have been changed


...and your cardigan is complete!





I would love to see pictures if anyone decides to try this or something similar. If you have any questions then ask me in the comments section or email me at tia_cherie@yahoo.com

Item of the Week 011

I know that a significant number of my item of the week posts involve shoes but that is because shoes are my latest obsession. I have always loved shoes but lately, as my personal clothing style diverges from what is available in the shops, my attention is always drawn to shoes because there will always be a number of shoes that I want to buy. I have been looking for a pair of glitter shoes for a long time now. I found a pair last year but they were $130 so I certainly did not buy them. So, this year when I came across these perfect glitter shoes on the Modcloth website I was very excited and bought them without hesitation. I am very pleased with the quality of the shoes and the unique design and for just $35 they were a bargain. I can't wait to wear them more. I think they would look good with a variety of different skirts or dresses and would be the perfect way to dress up a pair of jeans.









A Sparkle Between Us Flat

Favourite Outfits 2011

Since we are relatively close to the middle of the year (seriously,where has the time gone?) I thought it would be an appropriate time to review and post my favourite outfits that I have shown on my blog so far this year. I usually only compile these posts at the end of the year but I decided that from now on it would be more fun if I undertook the task twice year. My absolute favourites are the first three outfits.











This week I returned to university for yet another semester. I can't believe I have been there for three and a half years! This semester I am studying Media Law, Intellectual Property Law, Family Law and Business Organisations.

Item of the Week 010

This is my new bag that my parents brought back for me from their recent trip to England. I love it so much with the beautiful and unique detailing. I don't think I could find anything like this in the shops around here so I like the fact that its different. I can't wait until I next go out and have the chance to use it for the first time.

I am back from my unplanned two week absence from the blog world. I thought that being on university holidays would give me the chance to dedicate myself to my blog but, for a variety of different reasons, that didn't happen. This is mainly because I became very sick for almost two weeks and I had to spend many days in bed recovering. I don't think I have ever felt so bad in my entire life. It was a very nasty flu and chest infection but I am much better now and have been going out again.

A few weeks ago I mentioned my mixed feelings over failing to take up an opportunity for travel. I have realised that there will be many other opportunities for travel in the future and I don't regret my decision at all. I enjoyed the last five weeks immensly, I wish it didn't have to end and the opportunity to spend unrestricted time with my in law family meant so much to me. I wouldn't change my decision for anything. I'm cerainly not looking forward to returning to my regular lifestyle this week.









Lately I have been feeling an immense amount of frustration over the fact that I often blend into the background at social events, I don't have the chance to express my opinon because others talk over me and those who are very outgoing seem to get everything despite the fact that we all have qualities in different areas. I would like some advice on how to put myself out there more and improve these situations. Has anyone ever been in this situation before? How were you able to make it better or improve yourself?