jewellery

by

Things I love Thursday 25/5/2017

It’s been an awfully long time since I did a Things I Love Thursday post, and there are just so many things that are making me smile this week.  I’m ready to jump on in and share the happy!

I love:

  • Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.  I just finished reading this book and it was excellent.  Sure, it’s in the young adult category, but that doesn’t lessen the awesomeness of this book.  In addition to being deliciously geeky, it deals with some really heavy issues like anxiety, bipolar disorder, dysfunctional families and navigating first relationships.  I truly enjoyed it.

Homemade sweet potato gnocchi with creamy mushroom sauce. #dinner #vegan #Italian #foodstagram #pastafrenzy

A post shared by Vanessa Bowen (@nessbow64) on

  • This sweet potato gnocchi I made for dinner on Sunday night.  I have made ricotta gnocchi before, but potato gnocchi just seemed too fiddly and difficult. I was so wrong.  It was much simpler than I expected and the sweet potato was a fun twist.  The sauce was also out of this world. It was the yummiest, creamiest pasta sauce I’ve made since I went vegan.  If you want to give it a try, this is the recipe I used.
  • Sharing my yoga mat with Mr Ringo, who thinks that yoga time is the perfect opportunity to steal kisses and smoosh his whiskers against my toes.
  • Celebrating my Dad’s 60th birthday with a low-key family dinner.
  • Warm socks and nightshirts.
  • Wes Anderson movie marathons
  • Watching American Pie with my long-distance love over Netflix and chatting on Skype about the horrendous plot holes and questionable fashion choices.
  • Good Mythical Morning.  This show has been one of my favourites for about a year now.  This week I watched this episode, featuring Mayim Bialik and nearly peed myself with laughter.

  • Nude lipstick.  I was always heartily bored by nude shades, but lately I’ve been drawn to them.  I found a gorgeous matte pinky nude by Lipstick Queen that I’m smitten with and I’ve been wearing it non-stop.
  • Rearranging my kitchen. I’ve switched around all my cupboards, moving the stuff I use most often into the spaces closest to the sink and countertop and lesser-used items into the far side of the room. It is so much more convenient and putting the dishes away takes a lot less time now.
  • Master of None.  This show is massively underrated.  It is funny, thought-provoking and full of heart.

  • This rad enamel pin.  I bought one for myself a few weeks ago and it finally arrived!  It has all the elements I love: it’s pink, it’s adorable, it’s sassy and it references Grease!
  • Chimichangas.  I had my first one last week and it was a revelation.  I can understand what Deadpool is so worked up about.

Took myself to the salon for a big chop. I feel like the sleekest fox in town. #hair #bob #sideshave #selfcare

A post shared by Vanessa Bowen (@nessbow64) on

  • Getting my hair cut.  I had about eight inches cut off my hair last week and it feels so much better now. I hadn’t really noticed how long my hair was getting, but I did see that it was due for a trim.  Once I was in the salon chair, I just wanted the hairdresser to keep cutting and cutting.  I love my swingy new ‘do.
  • Finally, this magnificent post called You Should Have Asked by Emma.  It so perfectly describes a phenomenon that I’ve been trying to put into words for years. It’s about the idea that in so many heterosexual households, the woman is the person who manages the house. Like, not just doing the housework, but undertaking the role of Project Manager for the entire home. And that this has a detrimental impact on mental health, self worth, relationships and family structure.  I’ve been in this situation, and it was this mental load and my partner’s refusal to take some of it off my shoulders that began to erode my longest relationship.  It’s hugely damaging and difficult to talk about, so I was exceptionally excited to find this cartoon that so wonderfully expresses these ideas.

What do you love this week?

by

What I wore: 17/11/2015

Today’s outfit was inspired by a pair of earrings.  I’ve been hunting for a pair of jungle-style gold hoop earrings for years.  I just adore the way they look so bohemian but with a touch of toughness.  Anyway, I finally stumbled across a pair a few weeks ago at Louvisa and I built this entire outfit around them.

This outfit was worn to have coffee and cake with my parents and to wander around the weekend market in town.

I am wearing:

  • Gold-tone hoop earrings from Louvisa
  • Black tank top from H & M
  • Purple zig zag skirt from Target
  • Black sandals from Sportsgirl
  • Gold cuff (vintage)

Another thing that I’ve been shopping for lately is plain-coloured tanks and tee shirts for summer.  While I have a lot of printed tee shirts, sometimes I want to wear something plain on top to let a bright skirt do all the talking.  I love being bold and wearing bright colours and prints but I’m not such a fan of print-clashing.  I prefer to pick a central piece for an outfit (like this fabulous royal purple skirt) and keep the rest of the outfit pretty simple.

 

I’ve also let my sidecut grow out a bit and I’m enjoying the fuzzy contrast between the short side and the rest of my hair.  I’ve been experimenting with slicking it down with wax or just letting it go wild.  I will probably take the clippers to it before too much longer, because I do love the just-shaved feeling as well.  It’s so much fun to have the ability to play around with super-short hair, while still having all the variety and security that comes with long hair.  I have no regrets about my sidecut.

 

What have you been wearing lately?

by

Things I love Thursday 27/11/2014

This week has been all about slowing things down and taking it easy.  I did a digital detox on the weekend (just wait until you hear about THAT!) and it was quite an eye opener.  I’ve been making an effort to bring more focus to the things that are important to me and jettison some of the habits that aren’t serving me well.

This week I love:

– Getting back into reading.  I love to read, but over the past few months I haven’t been able to concentrate long enough to read more than a few pages at a time.  But this week I’ve been bitten by the reading bug and I’m ripping through the A Dance with Dragons.  It’s epic.

-Finding this cute mug at the op shop. It was just fifty cents and I was drawn to the earthy pottery and the gorgeous flowers. It’s been my go-to mug for my afternoon coffee.

– Buying from small retailers and being rewarded with kind words and grateful smiles.  And awesome purchases.

– My Dad’s laugh.  It’s so booming and joyful, that it makes me just beam every time I hear it.

– New rings.  I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I inherited a few rings from my Great Aunt Anne and I thought that I would show you a couple more.  This one is emerald and it’s so lovely.  There is another ring in the collection that’s identical except with sapphires instead of emeralds.

When I first saw this ring I freaked out a bit because I thought it might have been carved from ivory or bone, but on closer inspection it’s just resin.  My grandmother told me that she and her three sisters each received one of these rings as a gift from their father.  Each one was a different colour.  Grandma thinks she still has hers somewhere, but she’s going to have a hunt for it.  This ring is about seventy years old, and the carving on it is so intricate and beautiful.

– Slippery, silky pajamas.

– Evening walks when the air is just starting to cool off after a hot day.

-Christmas anticipation.

-Taking close-up pictures of Miss Jellylorum.  She’s so pretty.  I just love the markings on her face.

-And then twenty seconds later snapping this picture.  She’s so awkward sometimes!

What do you love this week?

by

Daily outfit 16/7/2014

During the week I was pawing through a case of jewelry and I found a bunch of items that I’ve not worn in ages.  So I set them aside and I’ve been trying to wear one each day.  I unearthed a cross-body harness chain that I don’t believe I’ve ever worn.  Even though I bought it with the hope of pairing it with breezy summer crop-tops, I decided to take a punt at working it in to a winter ensemble.

 

 

It’s tricky to see in these photos, but the harness does up around my neck, crosses my chest and then fastens again around my waist.  It was an impulse buy, but after wearing it once I’m keen to work it into more outfits.

 

 

I am wearing:

– Black bodysuit from Remember Me

– Black harem pants from Target

– Floral silk bolero (vintage)

– Body harness from Sportsgirl

– Baby Doll earrings

– Biker boots from Big W.

-Gold rock ring from ASOS

 

These Baby Doll earrings were a relic from my teen years.  Although I haven’t worn them in ages, I still really like them in all their ghetto-fab glory.

 

 

Today I challenge you to take a dig through your wardrobe and find something that you haven’t worn in ages.  Try to work it into your outfit today, even if you have to wear it in a way that’s different to how you originally thought you would.  You just might surprise yourself.

by

Daily outfit 25/4/2014

Today I decided to get all dressed up for Fancy Friday.  I was feeling extra-fabulous because I ticked off one of my new year’s resolutions last night (more on that next week!) and I wanted to wear something awesome to reflect my mood.  So I slipped into one of my favourite vintage blouses and a no-nonsense pencil skirt and added a corset belt for good measure.  I’m feeling feisty and fierce.

Unfortunately, it’s always the day when you’re looking smokin’ that your camera decides to chuck a hissy fit.  I managed to snap a couple of pictures of my outfit before my camera called it quits for the day.

I am wearing:

 – Red ruffled 1970’s vintage blouse (generously gifted from my grandmother)

– Black and white polka dot skirt from Best and Less

– Fishnet tights from Leona Edminson

– Black Nine West pumps (thrifted)

– Claw ring from Diva

– Owl earrings from Diva

– Under-bust corset belt (gift from my ex).

This blouse is such fun to wear.  It’s so bright and vibrant, and I love the billowy sleeves.  I can’t help but swooshing my arms about to watch the sleeves flap in the wind.  It’s quite a boxy shape though, so I do like to wear something form-fitting on my bottom half to balance it out.  A pair of tailored trousers or a pencil skirt fits the bill.  This corset belt really helps to winch in my waist to create a bombshell-inspired hourglass shape.

This claw ring looks awesome, but it’s a bit of a bummer to wear.  I practically can’t do anything with my hands when I’m wearing this.  Typing?  Nope.  Operating my camera?  Nope?  Fixing your hair?  Nope.  Basically, I only wear this in photos or when I know I’m not going to have to do anything.  It’s outings are usually limited to trips to the movies and the occasional dinner out.

So I’m extremely happy with how this Fancy Friday outfit turned out.  I’m ready to ring in another long weekend!

What are you wearing this Friday?  If you do your own Fancy Friday outfit post, please remember to send me a link.  I’d love to see it!

by

Daily outfit 8/4/2014

Last weekend, my mother and I went to a couple of garage sales.  The stock was mostly disappointing: rusty garden tools, dirty stuffed animals and a million dog-eared copies of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.  While I was sifting through a crate of cracked records, Mum snapped up a cute pair of 80’s cat earrings for me:

So today I set about creating an outfit around these vibrant beauties.

 

I am wearing:

– White long-sleeved shirt from Face Off

– Denim waistcoat from Cotton On

– Black leggings from K Mart

– Yellow wrap skirt, thrifted from The Dookie Emporium

– Beaded flats from Target

– Cat earrings from garage sale

– Vintage curl brooch

– Jade bead bracelet

– Assorted rings

 

When I started putting together this outfit, I threw open my wardrobe and this skirt instantly caught my eye.  I knew immediately that it would be a good match for my new earrings. They’re similar colours and both have a bit of a jolly, handmade look to them.

 

This waistcoat is one of my favourite trans-seasonal wardrobe items.  It comes in handy for layering when the weather starts to get a bit chilly.  It adds a surprising amount of warmth when buttoned over a simple blouse or top.  Also, it’s brilliant for creating a bit more shape around my waist.  It cinches me in like a corset, but it’s really comfortable and never feels restrictive.  I love it.

 

After a few weeks of sustained rainy weather, the lawn is looking so lush!

 

This funky curl brooch was another gift from my mum.  One of her friends found a bunch of old brooches in among a box of random bits and bobs.  So mum gave him twenty dollars for the lot.  She kept a few for herself and passed the rest on to me.  I love the interesting shape of this brooch.  I’m looking forward to wearing it pinned to the collar of some of my winter coats.

by

Things I Love Thursday 23/1/2014

Happy Thursday everyone!

This week I love:

-being on holidays.  I adore having days filled with no agenda, and being able to catch up on so many tasks that have been hanging over my head for months.

DSCF9347-My new jewellery from Lost at Sea Accessories. I showed you my Frida brooch already.  I also got this fantastic Christopher Walken cameo necklace.

DSCF9337I am a serious Walken fan, so having my own cameo with his face on it is fabulous.  I’ve been wearing both of these pieces practically non-stop.

– Taking Jelly to my parents house to enjoy the air conditioner.  Poor Miss Jelly isn’t coping with the hot weather.  On Thursday night, she was getting really distressed and overheated and I was so worried about her.  So Mum came over and we popped her in the carrier and took her for a ride to my parent’s house.  Jelly loved it.  She calmed down as soon as she got into the cool air and had a great time frolicking with my Mum’s dog, Brodie.  We’ve been making it a regular thing now.  (Ringo hasn’t been, because he freaks out when I put him in the carrier.  Also, he seems to be managing the heat a lot better than Jelly is).

– Cool breezes on a sweaty back.

– Cool baths with a good book.

– Terry Pratchett.  Always.

DSCF9356-Bright orange nail polish.  So summery!

– Dry ginger ale with loads of ice.

– Taking my book outside to read on the lawn for an hour each night.

– Writing rapidly in my journal, filling the pages with thoughts, feelings and ideas.

– Celebrating the fact that one of my oldest friends is getting married on the weekend!  I’m so happy for her.  She is one of the kindest, sweetest people I know and I wish her and her almost-husband all the best.

– Joking around with my Dad.

– My Mum, who called into my house while I was at work last week to check on the cats.  She gave Jelly a sponge-bath with some cool water, put the fans on for them and put ice into their drinking water.  Then she mopped my floor and did my dishes.  (My mother is essentially Monica Geller from Friends).

What do you love this Thursday?

-This video of Joseph Gordon-Levitt talking about being a feminist.  My crush on him has grown to dangerous proportions.

 

What do you love this Thursday?