Daisy the FIAT

The moment I've been waiting for is here...I am now the proud owner of a beautiful new Fiat 500 Lounge. I'm so incredibly excited; sometimes when I see her in the car park I can't believe she's really mine. I've decided to name her Daisy. I've had the car for two days now and already had so much fun. I love being inside the car and I'm very impressed by the GPS and bluetooth system. This is the prettiest car on the road and the colour and shiny exterior are such a standout. The inside is absolutely amazing with the leather seats and vintage inspired dashboard. 

In two days the Fiat has already improved my lifestyle. It's so much more simple being able to go for a swim rather than needing to walk to the pool. I'm also able to attend a few more training sessions for running and swimming which I would have found it hard to go to previously. It's such an amazing concept being able to go anywhere I want at any time of the day. This is actually my first ever car. I've spent the last 10 years driving other people's cars, doing a lot of walking and getting public transport. This makes the experience extra exciting.

Of course I had to dress in red to match Daisy; even the husband was happy to do so. I thought Daisy the Fiat would make an excellent background for my usual outfit photos. This dress is the newest addition to my wardrobe and one of my favourites of all time. I love the colour, the bow detailing and the collar style. It's also a good fit as I usually find collar dresses from Kitten D'Amour too big in the sleeves and especially the bust. It's an interesting material, a very thicker cotton which obviously makes the dress heavier and suited the the upcoming cooler months. 

As everyone else is returning to work tomorrow after the Easter break I'll be enjoying an extra week of annual leave. I have an early morning run but will find it ideal coming back home afterwards rather than facing a day at work. We are also going away later in the week for a short getaway which should be fun. 

















Kitten D'Amour Love Me Tender Collar Dress
B.A.I.T Footwear Sindy Flats in Black

Life Lately 005

My First Ever Car
The most exciting news for me at the moment is buying my first car. I'm picking her up tomorrow morning and I absolutely cannot wait. Even though I was one of the first to get my licence, I'm probably the last to get my own car. I've spent the last 10 years driving other people's cars, doing a lot of walking and getting public transport. I've got by quite well. To be honest, it was the thought of having to walk to and from the pool in the middle of winter that swayed me to finally buy a car. I'll save a few hours a week now I don't have to walk there. I'm hoping my travel time to work will reduce also since I can now drive to the station instead of getting the bus (my travel time in the mornings is starting to get close to two hours and I'm so over it). It's amazing to think how much having a car will change my lifestyle. I've loved the fiat for years and didn't even want to consider another type of car. I've chosen a matching outfit for when I pick her up and plan to take lots of pictures. 

Saturday morning Parkrun
Last week I participated in the Parkrun for the first time in three months. For those of you that don't know, for awhile last year, I was a regular at the parkrun but then I got injured and had a long time break from running. I missed it so much and was very annoyed that I never got the chance to focus on running properly. It was a big deal for me to be able to race this again. I still have to be careful with my ankle because I am very susceptible to injury so I don't know if I'll be able to do it every week, at least not for now. I'm noticed a huge improvement in my running times as a result of all the swimming training I've been doing. I've improved my 5km and my 3km in the last few weeks. This Saturday I did a personal best time for the Parkrun of 27:48. It's 11 seconds faster than my previous time for that course. My best ever for a 5km is 26:48 but that was on a flat treadmill. The main benefit I noticed about Saturday's run was that I found the course more comfortable than usual. I wasn't at collapsing mode at the end of the run and could probably go faster next time. 

Selfie with the husband
There's no real story behind this one other than I thought it was a nice picture of me and the husband. This was when we were out at lunch for my mum's birthday a few weeks ago. I love how red my hair looks in this picture hahaha. 

My Birthday
It was my birthday on 16 March and these are the gifts I received from my husband- the Eminence Swarovski earrings, Cinderella card and the Princess Elsa Swarovski pen. I chose the earrings myself, as we usually do with our birthday presents. However, my husband chose the Swarovski pen from the Disney Princess range and I am very impressed. I didn't know about these pens existed so the husband has done well! I'll also have to show a close up of the earrings soon. I love them so much. 

First Ever Annual Leave
I'm on annual leave for the very first time ever as of today. I've been looking forward to it for the last two months and the time has finally come. As it's my first time, and I only became permanent in the middle of last year, I'm still getting used to the concept of being paid while doing nothing- wow! I've been at my current workplace for two and a half years now so definitely feeling the need for some time off. It couldn't come at a better time as I'm exhausted from all the sport I've been doing (I slept for almost the entire day today). 10 more days off work, this will be amazing. It will feel so good going to an early morning swim but then being able to come home and sleep instead of going to work. For now, I'm taking a break from my life near the big city.

Toucan Jacket- Favourite New Addition to Wardrobe
I received this amazing toucan jacket for my birthday from my parents. I love this beautiful and unique toucan jacket. The colour is lovely and vibrant and you certainly don't see too many toucan jackets around. As I've mentioned a few times before, I'm very much into Adidas jackets so definitely happy to add this one to my wardrobe. This one specifically is intended for use to, from and around the pool as it will be getting colder soon. 

Most Worn Outfit
This would definitely be the outfit I've worn the most this month as it's a continual go to when I have no idea what to wear. I haven't had the chance to blog it properly yet but here is a preview. It's matching separates from Kitten D'Amour and I love the flexibility of it being a top and a skirt. The shoe and floral print is super adorable too. 

What have you been up to lately?

Outfit

Hi all. It's been awhile since I've posted here. The unintentional break has been a result of my extremely busy schedule as pretty much all my spare time is been taken up with sport. A typical week lately has involved five swimming training sessions, one night of racing and two runs. Since some of this is in the mornings and I have great difficulty getting to sleep, I often feel like I'm about to fall asleep at work. I seriously wish I could quit work and alternate between sport and sleeping all day. I cannot wait until the Easter break at the end of the week so I can have a rest. I'm taking my first ever annual leave. In saying all this, the benefits I've received from swimming far outweigh the continual tiredness. It's been amazing. I'm made some wonderful friends too. The return to swimming this year has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. 

It was my birthday on Wednesday and I'm planning to write a post on the gifts I received. For now, my cardigan is one of the purchases I made for my birthday. The embroidery, the beading and the velvet buttons are very pretty. I love the classy colour scheme too. I'm definitely enjoying wearing it. This outfit reminds me very much of the one I posted here. 















Wheels and Dollbaby Dinner With Him Beaded Cardigan
Wittner Reece Heels
Forever 21 Skirt
Swarovski Eminence Long Earrings

Linking to: Fashion Should be Fun

Outfit

Today I am demonstrating my love for florals by wearing double. This outfit came together by chance- I was wearing this dress a couple of weeks ago and quickly needed to grab a cardigan on the way out as I knew it would be cold at work. The floral cardigan was the first I could find. I tried them on together, not expecting the combination to work, but it did! I have never been one to shy away from pattern mixing or a bold outfit. It has easily become one of my favourite outfits and I always receive many comments on it. The dress is an old favourite and will be recognisable to many as I've seen quite a few bloggers with this dress over the years. I first posted it on my blog here when I attended the races a couple of years ago. These days I incorporate it into everyday wear. I think it will always be a favourite. For me, the most important part of this outfit is the shoes because they are new and I'm totally in love with them at the moment. As my ankle is getting better, I'm not only running but I am slowly incorporating some high heels wearing into my life again too. I don't think I'll ever wear them as much as I used to because the unnecessary strain on my ankle is not worth it and, during my time injured, I developed a love for the flats at B.A.I.T Footwear. However, I'll still have lots of times to wear heels, it'll just be more of a balance now. Improvements, no matter how small, must be recognised and celebrated!

















Wittner Reece Heels
Bernie Dexter Cherry Print Lane Dress via Modcloth
Alannah Hill Floral Cardigan 
Swarovski Balthazar Pendant

Fitness Goals Update- February

To put this post in context, see my Fitness Goals 2016 post here and my update for January here. For the second month in a row, February was all about swimming for me. 

Here are my swimming stats for February:

...and for running:

From my list of goals for 2016, I have achieved the following but won't cross them off because I hope to improve more
- return to running after injury (still recovering but did my first run last week)
- swim or run at least 3 times a week (exceeded this by far) 
- improve personal best times for swimming

Here's what else happened for the month:
-participated in another four swim club nights (eight in a row now)
-continued with 5.30am swimming training for each Friday of the month
-participated in first 50m butterfly race since resuming swimming
-continued working towards the million metres award with Masters Australia. I've completed 10% of the total distance required so far. 
-participated in two inter club carnivals between RSL swimming clubs. 
-raced in an ocean pool for the first time
-completed my first run after being sidelined with injury for three months. My ankle is still not completely back to normal but I started slowly getting back into running last week.

Here is my most unexpected achievement for the month:
- I won the 50m freestyle open championship race at the Western Metropolitan RSL Swimming Carnival. I brought home this amazing trophy for my club. To be fair, it was a small carnival without much competition and I'm still a couple of seconds off where I want to be for this event. But I'm very happy (I didn't know this carnival even had prizes as many of them don't) and it's not bad for the first 50m freestyle I've entered in over 12 years. Unfortunately I don't get to keep the trophy but it's going to be engraved with my name and will remain in trophy cabinet at my club pool for the next year. That's such a cool concept- wherever the trophy is, it will have my name on it. 


Of course I had to take some pictures with the trophy:

I've never been the sort of person to have a high opinion of myself so I'd hate to give the impression of talking myself up here. I still have so much I want to achieve. I definitely think sports are about personal bests. Any personal best and achievement is worth celebrating. I think there's no better feeling in the world. Swimming has been so positive for me and given me a sense of purpose for the last two months. I know my life would be so different right now if it hadn't been the focus recently. The combination of my best friend leaving work last month, my general low opinion of myself and my substantial decline in motivation for my job, mean that in the absence of swimming I would be struggling and feeling very low all the time. I'm fortunate to have found swimming when I did as this would have been an otherwise harder time for me. I highly recommend getting into a sport and it's wonderful that achievement can be gained from any small improvement.  


Finally I purchased some new running shoes. Being the shopaholic I m, my recent love for sports mean I'm now rather obsessed with colourful sportswear. My swimsuit collection has grown rapidly. I decided to buy some new running shoes. My other shoes weren't bad but I'm trying to do everything I can to minimise injurt so that includes having the right equipment. I've never had Nikes before and the colours are so beautiful! I am very happy with them.

What did you achieve this month?