shopping within your means

what does that mean?? i can't help myself sometimes. i'll spend $200 on a pair of jeans or $600 on a purse or $250 on a pair of shoes etc etc etc... and on and on. i can't help what i like. unfortunately, what i like is most likely the more expensive version. i learned too young that quality often comes with a price. and an item that will last often is the pricier item. pricey items just tend to be made better - not always but a lot of the time. with expensive taste, you learn to be somewhat sleuth and crafty on the sale hunt. it's taken years for me to figure out a proper and affordable balance. i've taken up ebay, selling and trading with vintage or consignment stores, and waiting it out coveting the items online. but at what point is just ridiculous to want all the time? i'm in the throws of an obsession with a LV bag as posted below that i've literally thought about every 15 minutes since seeing and how i might possibly be able to raise the money to afford it. but not once, until this morning, did i realize - i don't need it.
have not, want not? i don't know.

what's your thought on the subject? food for thought on a sunday morning.

Top Tip:: Storing Your Little Artworks

My children are prolific artists. We have a wall dedicated to their artwork, which is now spreading to other walls. I rarely ever toss anything out. If I do, I have an acute guilt attack.

Tiny loves to go to bed with a notebook and pen(cil) and draw until she falls asleep. I am not so mad on that. I am not big on the drawing on the bed linen.

Tiny also loves drawing so much, that she's now working with mixed media. This involves textas, biro, yoghurt and our couch. Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin - watch out.

The Doctor came home with this cute collage recently, which has gone straight to the 'gallery' wall. But I'm also about rotating artwork - and I've got a tip for you if you're the same.

I visited the Post Office and bought a few of the postage cylinders, got my kids artwork together and rolled them up. Then I labelled them with their names and the date (I do say Jan-June 2011) and file them away.

Or you could photograph or scan each of the artworks, then you have a digital file of them, and either print them out, and make an album - or have them made into a book of artworks.

But if you are not as nutty as me, you can always embrace recycling.

bad weather = spending money

i went to the mall to grab my famed too expensive but feels oh so good bottle of 3 Lab Shine Stop Moisturizer ($65 but kinda worth it due to feeling like a baby's behind), when i decided it was a good idea to stop into Zara and Louis Vuitton. this is now what i am obsessed with:

Zara Woman Smoking Jacket Stars Blazer:


it's actually about $100 at Zara which doesn't seem too bad since it's really soft and totally adorable. it's not a fad since when are stars ever the "in" pattern, so it won't go out of style. i just might buy one.

and now for the major find - the Louis Vuitton Evora GM bag:



it's beautiful, it's huge (19 x 20 x 6), and it's classic.
i was never really into LV but lately i gotta admit, their style is so great.
it's classic, chic, and they have a lifetime guarantee.
they'll always repair your bag - even 60 years later.
it's like buying a piece of property - totally worth it if you plan on keeping it for life.
i'm not totally sold on the top handles though. i'd probably just use the long strap.
however, never will i be able to afford it at the price of $2360 but i'll have a casual obsession for some time for sure.
maybe a year's of sales will make me enough spending cash for it. cross your fingers for me...

most beautiful trench

Shipley & Halmos Dauntless Trench:

http://www.barneys.com/Dauntless-Trench/501159195,default,pd.html

Tiny In The Sunshine

Tiny comes up with some unusual outfits sometimes. Very unusual. And lately she's been layering herself up so much, she starts to move like the Tinman from the Wizard of Oz.

It was a couple of weeks ago that I captured this little outfit. In the Winter sun. A smocked top my Mum made for her, which she is obsessed with (Tiny, not Mum), and yellow gumboots. She stood on that top step dancing while I hung the clothes out. Tiny is also known as Baby Gaga.

Playing In The Park with Karen Walker

We popped along to the well-populated opening of Playpark by Karen Walker last Friday and aside from it being a swell party, we were impressed with the set-up of the new store. Some hand-picked new brands; Cacharel, Hunter footwear, Julie Rofman and Kate Hillier jewellery (and soon, Eddie Borgo?), Fred Perry Laurel Wreath, Rittenhouse et al are added to the entire family of KW brands inclcuding Beau Coops for Karen Walker. Karen's ever-present horsey is there nestled amongst the jungle gyms (yes, climbing apparatus!) in a spacious store that gives new weight to a trip to Nuffield Street, Newmarket. First class Karen Walker! Here's a few images from the night by photographer Rebekah Farrell - including the smorgasbord of delicious sweets that had punters hovering all night...

Deadly Ponies Shine Online

New Zealand-based accessories label Deadly Ponies have been building a solid reputation for some time as a world class designer and producer of accessories and jewellery. For their many fans in Australia and further abroad, good news then that they have launched an online store meaning you can now buy Deadly Ponies wherever you live in the world.  Says DP's Liam Bowden: “After years of shying away from direct sales to customers, over the last year we have been bombarded with on-to-it customers phoning us directly and begging us to make them a sold-out bag. I decided that the time had come to give loyal DP followers more direct access to our products.” The new website pays homage to Liam's artisan roots with a mood board style layout and descriptors for each DP offering. To celebrate the launch of the online store we have two Deadly Ponies silver bow rings (above) to give away on our Facebook page.  The offer is open to Black online followers anywhere in the world.