Just in time for christmas

Today is the day when I get to see behind the big white barricades at Westfield Southland and get to step into the latest addition to the Cotton On family - their new mega store where all the fashion brands will be under the one roof just in time for Christmas.  

So what you may be thinking but now when you looking at that great dress you can actually try it on with those new shoes you were also thinking about.  Plus you can also great the right lingerie to make sure your best assets are keeping the dress in place.  Ok so this all may be a bit 'first world problems' but hey when your a gal on a ticking clock to pick up that outfit for a girls night its gonna be very handy.    

So you can come and enjoy the exciting first days with jam-packed with fun activities & giveways.
 

Friday November 16

FREE Photobooth from 10am to 8pm 
FREE Rubi Nail Bar from 11am to 4pm 
Promo staff handing out Cotton On Cupcakes from 1pm to 5pm 
FREE Body Active Demonstrations from 5pm to 7pm   
DJ Danny Clayton from 4pm to 7pm 

Saturday November 17

FREE Photobooth from 10am to 5pm 
FREE Rubi Nail Bar from 11am to 4pm 
Promo staff handing out Cotton On Cupcakes from 1pm to 4pm 
Frozen Yoghurt Cart from 1pm to 4pm
DJ Ryan Wood from 12pm to 4pm 

Sunday November 18

FREE Photobooth from 10am to 5pm 
DJ Lauren Mac from 12pm to 4pm 

So if your in the area and in need of some retail therapy go have a look. Hopefully I'll be able to post up some images once I'm through those door early tomorrow morning.

New Colours

I have always had a soft spot for Katy Perry's style as its just the right mix of stunning makeup and quirky outfits.  Sure not all of her clothing is suitable for walking to the supermarket to pick up some milk but I love the risk of what she wears. 

So as the red in my hair dye starts to fade I have been looking for a new color, partly because of the fading but mostly as I seem to see every second person with the exact same color.  This started me searching for some inspiration.  Sure I could follow the cosplay path and go pink, green or something just as out there but the color has to be one I can also wear to work.  Which is why when sent a link to Katy Perry's wide awake clip the suggestion of dark blue/purple seemed to speak volumes to me.  I'm currently researching what it all entails and most likely I'll end up at Wildlocks in the city as they are amazing when it comes to colors like this.  So right now its all about watching Youtube clips to find out the good, the bad and the mistakes I can learn by.  And who knows the next pic of me may be with my new color.

And now for the clip that is inspiring the color change....enjoy

tik tok....countdown to zara!!!!

As I head to bed to night it is with the excitement of a child on Christmas eve as tomorrow the long awaited opening of the Chadstone Zara store is due.  It is claimed that Zara needs just two weeks to develop a new product and get it to stores, compared to the six-month industry average, and launches around 10,000 new designs each year.

Its not very often I count down to a store opening like this however I have been following the fashion trend from Europe for awhile and now I get to have one a lot closer to home than before.  With a great range of clothing for all ages I will happily attend the opening to see just whats instore for us all in their new double level location.  So stay tuned for pics and probably a couple of purchases. 

80 minutes of bliss

 After many days spent at work I decided it was time to treat myself with a bit of R&R and some pampering.  Since I work in air conditioned and heated spaces these day I felt like it was time to treat my skin with a bit of 'refresh'.  As I have very sensitive skin I am always very careful about where I get my beauty treatments done, thankfully I have a great boutique called Groom to go to.

What I adore most its more than a beauty salon, it's a place to go for a spot of ‘social grooming’.  Groom opened its first concept spa at Westfield Southland Shopping Centre where the experience begins as soon as you cross the threshold.  It’s all been designed to feel like you’ve just arrived at your best friend’s New York loft-style pad.

 

So what did I have..... well I went for the Groom Signature Facial.  Its 80 minutes of bliss because you get a  hot stone back treatment, then move onto a hot towel foot wrap. The best part is the facial is customised just for you; with a deep clean, exfoliate and an intensive pressure point massage that improves skin tone and elasticity. Next, it's the tailored treatment mask, finishing up with customised serums and treatment creams. 

Overall I felt so much better after the treatment and my skin was glowing.  So if you can spare 80 minutes out of your day just for you then I suggest you book an appointment and indulgence because your worth being spoiled.

time to break out the sparkle

Its that wonderful time of the year again, nope not just wonderful winter where the excuse to break out snuggly jumpers and truck loads of teas.  Ok so they are great things but its time to venture out into the cold dark night in search of sparkle and joy at the Melbourne Cabaret Festival.

If you haven't heard about this amazing festival before its time to embrace something new and enjoy some amazing artists.

I'm already in the planning stage of how I'm going to get to everything.  Step one is to make my short list however with over a 100 performers its a hard task, but I've manged to get it down to the folllowing.

Tom Dickins - well no surprise that Tom is on my must see list.  I can't wait to spend the night listening to these amazing songs from such a talented artist.

Dates: Wednesday 18 July

Time: 8pm

Price: $20 pre-sale / $25 on the door (+ transaction fee)

Venue: Chapel Off Chapel

The its off to the Bohemia Cabaret Club where they are hosting Steam Up II, an entertaining blend of Burlesque, Cabaret and the Steam Punk phenomenon.  Starring Oscar Sonnet, Madame ‘Mama’ Natalia, Jasper Jewell, Red Devochkin and Jack Lad as ‘Finickity Jack’.

Date: Saturday 14 July

Time: Doors open 5pm; show from 8pm
Price: $20 pre-booked; $25 at the door 

Venue: Bohemia Cabaret Club, 226-228 Coventry Street, South Melbourne

Well this is the starting point, now I just have to check the calender to see just how much I can fit in.  I do hope you jump on the website and see what you can find out there that sparks your interest.

Game Masters

Melbourne gamers its time to rejoice, maybe rage but most of all embrace our love of gaming at  Game Masters.  If your not sure what I'm talking about its the new exhibition at ACMI at Federation square in Melbourne running from June 28th till October 28th 2012. 

And for only $22 Full, Concession $17.50
ACMI Members $16 or Child (4-15 years) $11 you can get your hands on 125+ playable games across arcades, consoles, PC and mobile platforms.  

Its a chance to relive your gamer past as well as test your skills with others or at least get a CRT tan in different surroundings.  The last time I went to an exhibition like this it was great to see people share their favorite memories of games past.  Even cuter to hear dad's say things like "this was the first console I ever had" and seeing their kids look so shocked.  Pretty sure I'm going to have the same experience if I ever have kids LOL

Anyway I do suggest you come and check it out, you never know you might just see me, Tedi and the crew there.

 

Tom Dickens a musical angel

Music means so much to me, and its no secret that I love artists that play from the heart.  If your music has a story to tell then let me hear it and especially if your an independent artist let me share in your passion.  This probably all stems from growing up around struggling musicians and artists but I believe we are all here to support the arts in all its forms.  

Thanks to the many independent artist I listen to and attend performances of I have been introduced to so many more amazing talents out there.  It was just over a year ago that one such artist introduced me to The Jane Austen Argument whom I adore.  Which of course has lead me to listen to the works of Tom Dickens on his solo projects.  

Tom Dickens describes himself on his website as "an independent musician, singer, songwriter, performer and director based in Melbourne. I am a solo artist, and also a founding member of The Jane Austen Argument"  Personally I see him as a musical angel who's music cuts you to the core then holds you while you give over to emotion.  Its hard for me to choose a favourite of his songs but if push came to shove I would have to say "the Unchartered" is my pick. There is just something on about this piece that draws me in and wants to fall asleep to it only in the hope that I dream of a world where everything is possible.

Which brings me to another ask of you all dear readers.  

As Tom says "it is such a exciting time to be a musician right now.  The rules have changed.  The relationship between the artist and the audience is just so much closer than it ever has been before" which means you can now really show your support.  Put your money and support right behind the artist; cement the connection that says "I love what you do and what you create".  So please watch the vid link below and pledge what you can to help this amazing melbourne dream creator make his dream come true.

Also if you want to hear this music in the flesh come join me and others at the Balaclava Hotel, Melbourne this friday night (june 8th) and cheer on this brilliant artist and his sings his songs for us.  You will be really glad you braved the cold melbourne weather to hear him.  Much love to you Mr Dickens from this little tikidoll

THE AVENGERS

 So today is special for a few reasons number one being its my beloved Tedi's birthday day which has inspired a day of geek filled joy for all.  

This meant a goody basket filled with geeky goodness including Batman and Captain America, a Marvel superheros mug, t-shirt and cupcakes.  Followed of course by a massive brunch with buddies at Tedi's fav cafe in Prahan then the highlight of the day ........SEEING THE AVENGERS MOVIE!!!!!!!!

What can I say about this movie......let me think???  ITS A MUST! Now I adore Joss Whedon and that's no secret as my house is filled with Firefly/Serenity DVD's, books and almost anything else of Whedons I can watch/read/enjoy.  However even if you aren't a fan of Joss, avengers or even comics this is a must see. 

I won't spoil it for you except to say its funny, witty, clever, beautifully cast, amazing effects and all around the best movie ticket your going to buy this year.  So get off that couch, grab some friends and head to your local cinema for some public dreaming.  Who knows it may even inspire you to have a go at COSPLAY????

 I've uploaded the trailer to get your desire going, so click and get to that cinema

What I'm listening to

Its that time again when I share amazing bands.  Today's feature is the Jane Austin Argument.  If your unsure of who I'm talking about the Jane Austen Argument are a musical duo featuring Tom Dickins and Jen Kingwell. This amazing team will make you want to listen to track after track after track with the beautiful songs.  Some of you may have seen them feature with Amanda Palmer (hence where the clip below is from) or if you have frequented the Butterfly Club in Melbourne.

So please click, listen and hunt down more of their tunes

one of the coolest gifts ever

For those who know me I adore the day of the dead festivals; so it was no surprise that I was super excited to receive one of the coolest cross-stitch's ever. My darling friend MsBel local artist and all round super gal surprised me with one her creations. Its a stunning, vibrant skull cross stitch!!!! Only problem is where do I hang it; so many choices and I want everyone to see it. So to start the sharing I figured I'd share it with you all here.

Music Review Time - Barry M

With my hair in rockabilly curls and bright red lips its time that I declare my LOVE for my new album from my favorite Australian Singer Songwriter Barry Michael. Now long time readers will know that my love affair with Barry's music has been a long time thing, ok so I've been a fan since the 1980's but really what's time when your in love.

Well as you can see above I have in my hot little hands a copy of his latest album I Am Your Sky (iTunes) which I do suggest you grab. Why you may ask????? Well because apart from being fabulous (yep major fan here and fingers crossed I can get a chance to tell him this in person) its a great album full of songs that make you want to dance and sing out loud too. There are some wonderful tracks like "can't we get along" that make you want to dance around the house regardless of who's watching. There may be some footage taken by my friends of me dancing around the garden to this song in very 60's style moves. Think Brian Setzer meets Elvis meets Paul Kelly!!!!

Then there are the songs that pull at your heart like "Over You" but not in that sad emo way, more like "I'm sad about this but that's ok" sort of a way. There is something in these tracks that speak more hidden meanings the more you listen to them. As I write this I am listening to the track "I have always loved you" which just makes you smile and want to hug your friends and family.

Oh and the title track "I am your sky" (which is a love song) speaks to me on many levels. Personally I hear it as more than just love of another person, for me its about a love that hides in everything we do. And with that said I will leave you to enjoy the title track of the new release and please jump onto itunes and buy this. SUPPORT LOCAL ARTISTS!!!!!!

Yummy

I'm not a massive food photographer but I thought I'd give you a couple of my first attempts of food pics and also show you a couple of yummy treats from around Melbourne.

1. A beautiful double shot latte from Yellowbird on Chapel St

2. My Fav dinner of "grand young tofu" from The Grand Tofu in Glen Waverly. This is a great dish for under $10 where you get to choose your soup (curry or broth), choose your noodles and then 6 yummy extras. I usually go for a variety of wontons, dumplings and spring roll style wraps. This is one of Mikii, Vustoxn, Phate and my favourite Melbourne treats.

3. Pho from I love Pho in richmond. Another great dish for under $10 where you get meat and noodles in a broth, a plate of various green veg and bean shoots to add to your taste and then choose your spice level with various chillis and sauces you get to add. Great thing is everyone at your table can order the same dish but depending on what you add and your tastebuds each dish will be different. A yummy treat for Belatrix, Ms Mel and myself on our girls catchup nights.

Outré Gallery

Its no secret that my all time gallery in melbourne is Outré Gallery in the CBD. So when I got invited to the launch of the new book Tattoo Parlour being published by Outré Gallery Press there was no question I was going. Ok so its not till next week but I am super excited about going as I hear that the lovely Angelique Houtkamp will be out from Amsterdam to add some excitement and sparkle to proceedings!

Tattoo Parlour is a showcase of artworks made by artisans who also make tattoos. These are tattoo artists in the broadest and best sense of the term. From skin to canvas to laser cut dollar bills these are artists who are at once immersed in tattoo culture but also their own creative practice. So if your interested in having a look or trying to get to one of the three city launches you need to keep the following dates free.

Three City Book Launch
Friday 11 November - Melbourne
Friday 18 November - Sydney
Friday 25 November - Perth

So watch this space to see how it all went.

A bit more football

As I said a while ago I have recently been going to a few Melbourne Victory games. Ok so I still don't have a huge idea whats going but its still fun to head out with friends and enjoy the atmosphere. So I thought I'd share a few more photos of my adventures with you.

This is me on the way to the game while the boys try yet again to explain the "off side" rule. I must say I am actually enjoying going to the football, if for no other reason its a great night out with buddies.

Tea for two

Where do you go when your craving a nice cup of tea???? Well I head straight to T2, my favourite tea store. So when Mikii was down this week and wanting something different than Earl Gray tea it was no surprise where we headed to.

Apart from all the beautiful blends I adore this place as there are always plenty of new teas to try and my personal weakness.....Teapots. Ok so you really only need one but when I place has this many to tempt you its hard to understand why one is enough.

Our main purpose was to pick up some Tisane's which are the perfect ice teas for this sunny daylight saving weather. We opted for the scrummy Turkish Apple and Turkish Cherry to be later enjoyed once home.

We did manage to walk out with just our tea but it was touch and go there for awhile as I kept finding more and more pretty cups, saucers, teapots, glass cups and the list goes on. Needless to say I just had to take a few photos for my wish list.

Style Icons

It's not very often you drop into the shops to pick up some milk and cookies and find some dresses you would tackle a burly security guard for. However this is exactly what I found last night at Chadstone Shopping centre. In fact what I found was an exhibition of some of the clothing from MAD MEN!!!! Yep thats right Mad Men costumes so close you can almost touch.

Just in case your not a local to the Chadstone shops I'll share some pictures of what I found. Ok so its not a big exhibition but it does feature some great pieces from the wardrobe of Peggy Olsen, Betty Draper and the amazing Joan Harris.

See what I mean, how cool is this!! I did find it quiet refreshing to see such stunning gowns even if I was surrounded by mass produced modern pieces. It was funny as I did imagine these garments a little more fitted, but it does go to show its all about the woman in the dress and that we don't all need to be the same to make clothing look wonderful.

And have a look at the wonderful barbie dolls. It did almost make me want to take my collectors edition 1950 barbie out of the box and re-dress her ass Joan. Its ok the craziness didn't make me do it.

And just a couple more of the great gowns worn by Peggy. I so wish I had these outfits to wear at work instead of my uniform. Oh well time to day dream.

So keep your eyes peeled as you never know what you will find when you go out for milk and cookies!!!

Snapshots of a day off

Now its no surprise to those that know me that I always seem to be working. However my best friend Mikii and I actually managed to plan and execute a full day off together. Not bad since we live in different states, and the last time we actually had 24 hours off together in the same state was about a year ago. So just to prove we actually did it I thought I'd post some of the pics from our much needed day off.

We started the day at Zappa, a great little coffee shop in South Melbourne where the coffee is wonderful and the staff are even better.

Not to mention they have the same sense of humor as us, so it was a major plus. Once we were full of coffee, juice and the best bacon and egg sandwich I've ever had it was time to hit the road. First stop was to chapel street for some much needed window shopping which was were I found these.....

Now if I can only convince my boss that this is ok as our dress standards say black or white trainers. In my opinion it works, and the Hello Kitty feature just helps to express that we are fun and approachable. Well we'll see how that argument goes down. So from Chapel it was time to stroll down Greville street one of the best side streets in Prahran where you can find almost anything thats a bit left of centre.

So once Mikii was loaded up with quiet a few vinyl records it was time to hit my all time fav retro inspired stores. ROUTE 66!!! Now I was only going to look but when I stumbled upon a sample dress suit for $100 that fit, well there was no way it wasn't coming home; and as Mikii said "if you don't buy it I'm buying it for you!!!" And what do you know it ended up coming home. Not to mentioned so did a few other gems as we found a couple of great presents for people we know. I will post the shots of what we got in a few days.
Next we hit Chapel Street Bazzar one of the best places to find weird, old, funky and pretty much anything you could ever want. Mikii picked up a few more records and I found a great Keith Wessner print. No its no surprise that I jumped at the chance to pick up a Wessner to add to my slowly growing collection, in fact it was hard for us to leave with only 1 find each....talk about restraint. Ok so maybe the rumble in our tummy's had a little something to do with it.

So we rested our little feet while having Yum Cha and a Fruit tingle ice tea. Its a hard life but someone has to do it. What can I say I'm addicted to their duck pancakes.

Then on the way to the car with had to stop in and have a look at what can only be described as 'Guidowear'. As much as I would of loved to see Mikii wearing a screen printed shirt covered in bling he passed on the shirts and we headed to our next destination.

Now Mikii and I are no stranger to Ackland Street but we do love finding new street art, which is why I just had to post this great shot. I adore the melbourne street art scene as its always changing and you never know what you will find. Not to mention having just introduced my new friend MrC (Mikii's bf) to what treasures we have in Melbourne it has really refreshed me.

And of course we had to stop and have trampoline icecream to refresh ourselves before our biggest treat of the day. A full 1 hour massage from Sole sisters. As Mikii and I both work in jobs that require us to be on our feet for 10 hours plus per day we figured this was practically a business expense. So full of ice cream we relaxed......

Once we were fully relaxed and in all honesty we were so relaxed the two of us had trouble forming sentences, which was so funny. To finish the day off we had just one more coffee on Ackland St and then headed home to get changed for dinner and a VIP shopping night.

I know what your all thinking..."how do you guys do it?" well the simple truth is "some one has too". So for all the doubters that we actually take time off, now you have proof.