Outfit

I've been wearing so many pastel shades lately so today's outfit provides a little variety. The leopard print cardigan is the newest addition to my wardrobe and has quickly become one of my favourite pieces. It's from Wheels and Dollbaby and I have been very impressed with all the five cardigans I have from that store. I'd wanted this cardigan for ages but wasn't sure if it would be as good quality as my other W&D cardigans given that it cost substantially less. I'm so pleased I have it now because the quality is excellent, the velvet buttons are beautiul and the print is totally amazing in person. I've wanted a leopard print cardigan for years but couldn't find the right one until this pretty came along. Wheels and Dollbaby is an interesting brand for me. I love the cardigans, and of course the Dita Cardigans are amazing, but the rest of their pieces are not really my style. The non sale prices can be excessive I believe. In this outfit, I'm also wearing a skirt and top from the Kitten D'Amour's range of basics. Some of these are usually too basic and plain for me, but the two here are very much my style. The top comes in five different colours so it was hard to narrow it down as I liked them all. I'm very pleased with the skirt as it can be extremely difficult to find a decent black skirt. I've literally been looking for years for a version which is good quality, fined and a full skirt silhouette. I had to make it substantially shorter as is often the case- Kitten D'Amour need to make their dresses and skirts less long! 

In other news, on Tuesday, I completed my first run in 10 weeks. After having so much time off for injury (including two other periods last year in addition to the 10 weeks) it meant so much to me. I am not completely back to normal yet and I'm still doing physio and a lot of ankle exercises. I have a slow plan for coming back- only 1-2 runs per week and no more than 3km. I wish I was back to full form but overall I am extremely thankful to be able to run at all. Other than that, swimming is taking up pretty much my whole life and I wouldn't have it any other way. The motivation and positivity I get from improvement and best times is beyond words! I wish I could quit work and alternate between swimming, running and sleeping all day. 

















Wheels and Dollbaby Leopard Cardigan
Kitten D'Amour Full Skirt
Kitten D'Amour Stripe Lace Top in Red
Kitten D'Amour Lou Lou Handbag in Red
B.A.I.T Footwear Everline Flats in Red
Bow Belt (eBay)

Outfit

What could be better than an entirely pink outfit?! I didn't realise how pink it was until it all came together. I first wore this outfit to work and it really brightened up a Monday.I always feel very lucky I can wear my usual outfits to work- there isn't much I wouldn't wear to work. I'm especially lucky given that I studied law and accounting and these careers obviously do not traditionally align themselves with all pink outfits. The dress is from the relatively new Kitten D'Amour collection called Havana. It also comes in blue and in a playsuit version. For some reason I didn't really like the blue version on me and I don't know why. I can never resist a bright pink dress but as is often the case with this brand, I had to get it hemmed. It looks much better now despite loosing the white trim at the bottom- I deemed it wasn't worth it to sew it back on. I thought it would be fun to add in a couple of lighter pink pieces being the glitter heels and the orchid cardigan. I tried to be matching with the buttons on the cardigan to the buttons on the dress. I like the way this outfit turned out. This is also the first time I've shown you my new Swarovski Key Necklace. I'm planing to do a separate post on it later. I've wanted a Tiffany Key for so many years now but would never spend $500 on a necklace. At the same time I didn't want a key that's too cheap or a completely unknown brand either so the Swarovski version is absolutely perfect. I'm quickly developing an obsession with the store.

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Kitten D'Amour Havana Dress in Pink
Kitten D'Amour One, Two, Buckle My Shoe Handbag
Wheels and Dollbaby Orchid Cardigan
B.A.I.T Footwear Robbie Heels in Pink Glitter
Kitten D'Amour Orchid Clip
Swarovski Balthazar Pendant 

Latest Obsession: Rich Tones

Burgundy, maroon, wine, rouge noir...whatever one wishes to call it... is an amazing, classy and beautiful colour. I love how rich and regal it looks. I am especially loving the tones with a red, rather than purple, undertone at the moment. Ever since the middle of last year my love for this colour has increased. It was many of the pieces I purchased last winter in this shade, such as my Forever New coat and Wheels and Dollbaby Dita Cardigan, which converted me into loving this colour. Now in the middle of summer, my love for this colour certainly has not diminished. I've never really understood why certain colours are associated with particular seasons. I think burgundy can easily be worn all year round just as black can be worn in summer and pastels can be worn in winter. I recently purchased the flats displayed in this post (unfortunately not the kitty cat ones) from Forever New and it renewed my love for this shade. There are some more pieces coming into the store in burgundy shortly. As the cooler weather approaches, I expect more of the stores to do the same. I'm always looking out for this pretty jewel tone. 

Are you a fan or tones in this realm- burgundy, maroon, wine, rouge noir?

 Photos from: Nelly, ASOS, Michael Kors, Forever New, Kate Spade, Wolf and Badger, 1st Dibs, Charlotte Olympia via net-a-porter

Outfit

Hi everyone! I did some shopping a few days ago because the One, Two, Buckle My Shoe was finally released at Kitten D'Amour. I've been looking forward to this collection for awhile and heard it would be one of the best so I saved up for it and sold many clothes I don't wear anymore. I'm finding this very helpful because, despite buying many new clothes recently, the outlay isn't actually that much due to reselling and moving pieces on. I actually got four pieces from this collection when I'd usually just get one.  It's super adorable with the sweet print, the velvet ribbon and the lace. It's a large collection and each dress is different. The bag is literally the most incredible I've ever seen.  I had lots of fun trying on the new collection in store. Isn't it time Kitten D'Amour gave me some free clothes or pay me to promote their products hahaha.  I feel like it's got to the point where it's all I wear which doesn't give my blog much variety. But I want this to be an accurate representation of my life and this brand is what I like at the moment. I wore this today to go out for lunch with the husband. It was so incredibly hot and sunny today but that's always a good thing! I love the weekends at the moment which is great because I used to hate them back in my early days of having a full time job. This year I have a life outside work which is enjoyable and fun. Gerald came on the outing with us again today, he's the best giraffe ever. 















Kitten D'Amour One, Two, Buckle My Shoe Lace Dress
Kitten D'Amour One, Two, Buckle My Shoe Handbag
B.A.I.T Footwear Robbie Heels in Blue Glitter
Alannah Hill Cardigan 

Linking to: How I Fall Linkup, Thursday Fashion Linkup, Fun Fashion Friday

My B.A.I.T Footwear Collection

I've wanted to create this post for awhile and finally got around to it. Here is my collection of shoes from B.A.I.T Footwear. As you can see I have a habit of purchasing the same pair of shoes in multiple colours and now I've started I feel like I have to keep it up for my collection! One of these styles I even have in three versions as I couldn't resist them when the sparkly colours came out. I wish I could buy the gold, the red and the cream version but that would be rather excessive! My experience with B.A.I.T Footwear started when I saw the red and white pointed flats on Modcloth. I admired them for ages and eventually  bought them in one of the amazing Modcloth sales at only $35. Ever since then I have been in love with the brand. The shoes are so adorable, vintage inspired and the perfect match for my style of outfits. There are so many varieties of styles, although I don't like all of them, that they are very popular. The main benefit is the comfort and this certainly can be hard to find with a shoe. The most well known styles from B.A.I.T Footwear appear to be the Ida and the Ione. I never actually owned the Ida as there have always been others I like better. I used to have two pairs of the Ione but ended up selling both as they were half a size too small. It would be great to add them to my collection again. The only downside to the brand is the postage costs when purchasing direct from the website. In the absence of many stockists in Australia (and the ones that do exist have a very limited range and are more expensive per item), almost all of my purchases have been direct. Usually my desires for the shoes means I pay it anyway but it certainly isn't ideal. Overall I highly recommend B.A.I.T Footwear- you will not be disappointed.



Robbie Heels 

Gloria Flats (most used pairs, even had the repurchase them as I'd worn out both colours)


Sindy Flats (newest addition, got these at Christmas) 


Everline Flats


Are you a fan of B.A.I.T Footwear? What is your experience with the brand? 

Outfit

Here is yet another outfit involving my pale blue lace pieces from Kitten D'Amour, what can I say! The skirt is one of the best purchases I have ever made due to it's extreme versatility, I keep reaching for it again and again when I don't know what to wear with one of my tops. It's the perfect match for the Aye Aye Kitten top which I'm wearing in these pictures. I love pairing current Kitten D'Amour pieces with those from older collections. I acquired this shirt from the Buy, Swap and Sell group on Facebook. It has been so amazing discovering this group as it's you can find some amazing treasures and it's such an effective way to sell what I no longer wear. I've sold so much that my additional outlay on clothes isn't actually that much at the moment. This top is was released before Kitten D'Amour even came to Sydney. The print is so adorable with seagulls, light houses, boats and anchors. I'm not usually a fan of the brand name being printed all over the shirt (I've discounted many KDM pieces in the past for this reason) but this one is rather small and cannot be seen easily. The key hole is definitely a different design from the other tops in my wardrobe. The red accessories were an obvious choice with the top. I thought my Frou Frou umbrella which I received for my birthday was the perfect accessory for the outfit too. Although, there was actually a point to the umbrella given that it's been raining on and off in the last couple of days. This is the ultimate umbrella and so much better than any I have seen before. It's so adorable and a great size, in Sydney's week of wild weather last year it was literally the only umbrella not to fall apart.

















LOL...covered by the umbrella


Kitten D'Amour Forget Me Not Skirt
Kitten D'Amour Aye Aye Kitten Shirt
B.A.I.T Footwear Gloria Flats
Kitten D'Amour LouLou Red Handbag
Boston Frou Frou Umbrella 
Kitten D'Amour Petite Bow Belt in Red

Linking to: Fashion Friday

Outfit

Does anyone remember this dress I got about a year ago?! It's the Holly Heatwave dress from Kitten D'Amour and I posted it here. I love rediscovering pieces I haven't worn in ages and this one certainly deserves a few more trips outside the wardrobe. As I'm a massive fan of florals, I think the double florals is perfect. I decided to emphasis the purple trim by matching it with a violet cardigan which has always been a reliable piece which goes with everything. The one aspect I never liked about this dress was the length so I finally decided to have it hemmed. It suits my style a lot more now. I find this a common issue with Kitten D'Amour dresses- I often end up spending more to get them made shorter. If a dress is on my knee I'll sometimes put up with it but if it's below the knee that is definitely not my style. For me the best aspect of this look is the shoes. They are so beautifully sparkly and the shoes I already had in black and in sparkly pink. I love them so much and they are so comfortable that I felt the overwhelming desire to add the sparkly blue to my collection. This shows how much I love them beacuse it is rather excessive to have the same pair of shoes in three colours. This is yet another success from B.A.I.T Footwear- what did I do before I discovered this amazing brand?! 

I've worn so many pale blue dresses this summer it's remarkable. I keep unintentionally choosing them and thinking- wow I'm wearing yet another one. This is probably good since blue used to be one of my least worn colours. 

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Kitten D'Amour Holly Heatwave Bustier Dress
Kitten D'Amour Miss Kiten Pink Bag
B.A.I.T Footwear Robbie Heels in Blue
Alannah Hill Baby, Baby, Chips and Gravy
Kitten D'Amour Orchid Clip (similar) 

Fitness Goals Update- January

To put this post in context, see my Fitness Goals 2016 post here. The month of January was all about swimming for me. I've spend almost all my free time at the pool because there's so much to achieve and I'm very competitive with myself when it comes to sports. I don't know whether I'll be able to dedicate so much time to swimming in other months because there hasn't been time for much else and I'm so tired, but for now I will enjoy my progress. It's been a successful month for swimming. 

From my list of goals for 2016, I can cross off the following as complete:
- swim in a competitive race (first one in over ten years)
  join masters swim club

I also achieved a few things which I never planned for:

- participated four swim club nights
- raced in first inter club carnival with Masters Australia
-  swam a 400m freestyle event (most hated race)
- attended 5.30am swimming training (on two occasions) 
- better statistics than I expected for January: 53km in total distance, 13 039.8 calories burned, 25 hours 30 minutes and 24 seconds spent swimming
- decided to work towards the million metres award with Masters Australia. I've completed 5% of the total distance required so far.   

 I also bought some amazing colourful swimwear. Does that count as an achievement?

What have you achieved in January?