Thursday, May 2, 2013

Derby Day Autumn Carnival 2013!

If you follow my Twitter feed you'll remember I was originally really sad about not being able to go to Derby Day and see Black Caviar potentially run her last race. I love the races and usually only go with Members tickets (free entry, yay!) but this time there was such demand I wasn't able to get my tickets. Never fear, I managed to get last minute tickets on the morning of and my sister gave me a call while I was at dance class saying I had to get back, get changed and go go go!

So with that, I got home and had to come up with a headpiece, black and white outfit and accessories, quickly do my make up and head out within 1 hr! Luckily I have a collection of millinery ready to go for any racewear outfit and occasion and I went simple black shift dress for the occasion. If the weather had been cooler, I would have worn a white with black trim blazer I've been dying to wear on Derby.

Here's a rare headshot of me (you won't usually see my headshot on my blog!). I'm wearing a felt headpiece by Fiona Powell (which I posted about here) and YSL sunglasses. My hair is a bit messy because I've had it cut recently and it was too short for my normal chignon and as you can imagine, I was madly pinning it in 5 minutes!

Anyway, the weather was amazing. In fact, it felt more like summer carnival weather, and with that came the cringeworthy ubiquity of straw, strappy shoes and of course the always present eveningwear party dresses. Argh. I even whinged about it here if you recall!

It was so awesome to see Randwick Racecourse reopened after the refurbishment - its been a few years since I used to sit my university exams there and how has it changed! It looks really good and I think it will really herald a new racing culture that will match the new, fancy surrounds. Sydney just doesn't have a racing culture that Melbourne has and I think that is such a pity! Excuse all the dodgy pics - my clutch bag could only fit flats OR camera, not both so I went with flats and iPhone photos all day :)

I bumped into my super fashionable friend who works for Vogue pottering about as part of Vogue Style Stakes (i.e. Fashions on the Field). Here are the finalists lined up with Samantha Harris. Doesn't Samantha Harris look divine? She looked even more glamorous in real life!

I wasn't too happy with the girl on the far left being included in the finalists but I could tell she was included for the 'on trend' pick with the cat ears and cute collared dress. Don't get me wrong, I think she looked amazing and loved her outfit (and cat ears) and her accent red was great if I do say so myself...more on that later. However, I do feel like rules are in place at the Races for a reason as it is a very traditional fashion playground. Not to say you can't play and have fun with the fashion you do wear there, but it did seem a little too far. Anyway I will jump off my soapbox now :) In case you're interested, the girl second from left won!

Here's a random shot of my shoes for the day. So I went with the accent red accessories (belt and shoes) which I wasn't really wanting to do as I prefer to stick to the black/white but my outfit felt boring for the day so I needed something to make it look more polished. They're the Jimmy Choos I bought from the sample sale and posted about in December.

Enough about the random races going ons, the main event was clearly the racing of Black Caviar. And wow did the crowd go crazy. This was my sister's cute cocktail - Black Caviar inspired!

And the famous darling of the day!

We managed to get up to the barrier but on one of the furthest ends of the course but it allowed for a spectacular viewing both before the race (as they galloped past to get to the starting barriers) and also during the race of course.

All in all, a fabulous day out and I'm determined to find more time to go to the races this year :)

Monday, April 29, 2013

"First Position"

My sister won tickets to a preview screening being held by The Strand Arcade of the ballet documentary First Position.

It follows the preparation and lives of a few young dancers in the lead up to the prestigious Youth America Grand Prix ballet competition in New York City. It is truly inspiring and makes me wish I continued with ballet as a child (as I've said on this blog before!).

My favourites are Miko, for her insane technique and perfect ballerina body, and Joan Sebastian for his sheer dedication, his family story and the emotion he shows in his dance.

Here are some cool pics of some of the dancers...


If you get the chance to see it, I strongly recommend it!

Friday, April 26, 2013

Real Techniques 20% off!

I got an email yesterday to say that iHerb has 20% off Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman until 1 May!

I'm going to make an order because I've been wanting to buy their cheapie Rose Hip Oil (only $5 for 30ml!) as a body moisturiser, rather than using my more expensive Trilogy version which I use on my face.

A few months back I was also excited to see they now stock e.l.f cosmetics so I don't need to find a way to order from the US via my American friends anymore :) Woo!

Don't forget you can use this discount code - RLN426 - to get $10 off your first order when over $40, or $5 if less. Plus shipping is only $4 flat rate now to Australia - so happy!

But now my make up ban starts...

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Anzac Day

Anzac Day - Lest We Forget

Really, it shouldn't be a day of excitedly enjoying the public holiday, but a celebration of all that was sacrificed all those years ago.

This time last year, I celebrated Anzac Day by going to a special service in Westminster Abbey with a whole host of Australian and New Zealand expats. It was really sombre and beautiful (if a bit long) but in honour of this day, here are some pics from last year. Apologies for their dodgy-ness, photos weren't actually allowed inside!



Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Wordless Wednesdays: Kanye + Cartier = Love

This picture of Kayne has been on my computer since forever. Beautiful. 

Monday, April 22, 2013

Dove Real Beauty Sketches

A friend shared this with me this week and it is absolutely beautiful. I just had to share it! Enjoy!


Saturday, April 20, 2013

Easter Show 2013

I really need to get better at posting about things as and when they happen right? But I get so busy doing cool fun things about the place that I don't get time to post. Catch 22, right there.

Anyway, a few weeks back I went to the Easter Show for the first time in 10 odd years which is crazy, I know. It was a fun day out! I mean it was hot, beautiful weather (perhaps a little too hot in the sun all day) and there is a lot of walking but that's because we wanted to see and do a lot of things.

We just had to stop by the CWA ladies and their scones. I love a good scone - it has to be one of my favourite baked goods not just because they're easy to make but because they're so hearty. And these did not disappoint!

One of my favourite sections is the cake decorating and arts. I'm sure most people had the same huh? reaction to this one.

And this was just so cute. I think any 1 year old would love this cake!

Now for a more random turn of events - the CBA stand was promoting Kaching and encouraging people to download the app so that they could spin a wheel and potentially win a prize. If you don't know about Kaching, its an app where you can easily transfer money from your CBA account just with a few clicks on your mobile phone. The friends I went to the show with actually regularly pay me back for things using Kaching so it was a very successful day out when we all won a iCarte phone case. Now I no longer use an iPhone 4, but I got the case for my mum :)

And now for some random pics - there was a parade on as I was walking to the food pavilion and there was someone dressed up as an emu. It was a 28 degree day! Poor thing.

And then in the seafood area there was someone dressed up as a prawn. The kids loved her!

We also went to see the animals but I was too busy oohing and ah-ing over their cuteness to get a good photo.

Did you go to the Easter Show this year?