• The stool leaves ample storage space underneath so I keep our fan there. There is also room for more storage on either side.
• The drawer holds all the pretty things that are a bit useless but too pretty to throw away.
• Lots of storage space for nail polishes and gloves underneath that!
• Night time cream, perfumes and anything that feels nice and luxurious ends up on this table. It’s where I look and sit when I’m feeling a bit down because all the pretty things really cheer me up!
• I keep things here that I need in a hurry when getting dressed like safety pins or small scissors to snip threads on a dress.
• Once I get some better lighting I am planning to set this up as my new video area so I can film make up and hair tutorials much more easily :D
• I keep my gloves underneath the nail polish for easy access in winter.

So let’s look at stuff in a bit more detail! Firstly the nail polish.

For the longest time I couldn’t decide how I wanted to store my nail polishes. In our town house I didn’t have many so I kept them in a bag, then it became a big plastic box then there were so many that I lined my windows with them then there were too many for that too so I sucked it up and finally bought some little shelves. I loved these shelves because they are quite roomy so you can still see which polish is which as well as being adorable with the little heart cut outs along the side.

I divide the polishes up by colour so I can quickly find things I need for nail art. Most of my other nail art supplies are kept in a box with my crafting things but I keep basics that I use a lot like small brushes, nail treatments etc here for easy access.

I like to hang and decorate the mirror of this too, it’s the perfect place to put headphones, earmuffs and other things roughly that shape. Of course I made those bunny ear muffs like 6 years ago and still have not used them once so at this point I’d say they are definitely more decorative than functional XD I decorated the mirror with a pocket watch I bought in Japan and some A.P. charms.

Moving over to the middle…

I have a stack of night creams and things I’m working through for reviews or testing out so they all sit here. To be honest so far none of them have had noticeable results either good or bad so I haven’t bothered writing about them yet! They are all housed in the little wooden box I decorated ages ago.

Next to that there is an old Innocent World calendar that was given to me by a great friend many years ago and in front of that is my small collection of perfumes. I don’t generally wear much perfume but there are some I love (like MOR, The Body Shop’s Cherry Blossom, Epicly Epic’s Cake fragrance) so they keep here along with others that were either sent by PR agencies or happen to have pretty bottles that I’m trying to work out how to refill with something better without damaging XD

I also keep little random pretty things I’ve collected here like pretty combs/mirrors/dolls etc.

I like to keep similar items grouped together like all my perfumes in one place, all my hair things in one place etc because I’m so forgetful that if I don’t know where to look I will probably never use them >_<

In front of that…

Next we have a music box that was my grandmothers (I think) and it’s home to utility things like scissors and safety pins. It also holds things I’ve just taken off when I got home but not gotten around to putting away like the S.O.P.H.I.E bracelets. I keep my (no idea what this is actually called so I’m going to guess) make up hair pulling back headband thing here too so if I’m applying moisturisers etc I don’t have to go and try to find it in the bathroom XD

The right side:

This vase was another pretty find from the throw away pile in our building. Some people moved out and their entire house was furnished with this kind of thing and everything they couldn’t sell just got dumped in the hard rubbish downstairs, that was a great day!! I am allergic to flowers so inside lives my meerkat from the Melbourne Zoo, his name is ThunderKat and I think he should have that expression all the time XD

Again when you have limited space, it’s a good idea to fill every place you can with stuff. We don’t have a linen cupboard so underneath ThunderKat is used to store tea towels for the kitchen!

From above…

You can see that while there is a whole lot of stuff on the dresser it’s organised well enough that there is still space in the middle so it’s functional. All of the larger items are at the back so I can easily see everything at a glance.

Inside the drawer…

I lined the drawer with leopard print paper (tutorial coming soon) to make it a bit more me and like a crazy hidden oasis of bling inside a nice fancy old fashioned dresser. I suppose that’s maybe a metaphor for myself hahaha!

Inside it I keep all of my deco projects that I no longer use daily but can’t stand to throw away. Business cards, old phone cases, cameras, keep sakes, anything shiny and pretty that doesn’t have a home anywhere else. It’s so bright in here it’s like looking into the sun ;)

The only sensible thing here is the lint brush which is useful and I need in quick reach for when going out. Everything here is pretty haphazardly thrown in but I think that’s what I like about it :D You wouldn’t know it too look at but this little dresser holds so much stuff that it’s become a really valuable piece of storage in my room.

So that’s it about this one I think. Let me know if you have any questions and if this has been useful, next time I will show you my sets of shelves, then shoes, craft area and bathroom after that ^_^

The one thing to point out on the clothes side of the wardrobe is that it originally only had the higher of the two rails, I added in the second one because the first is so high that I have trouble reaching it easily… also I horde clothes like crazy and needed more room XD

The above shelves are generally the same as last time but there are some important differences. Here’s a quick run down of what’s in each:

• Top Shelf- Bags I use regularly, travel things (like passport holder and travel make up brushes etc), books I’ve recently read which need to be put away, other things waiting to be put away or things waiting to be used.
• Middle Shelf- Magazines, toys, favorite jewellery, storage.
• Bottom Shelf- Jewellery and lots of it.

Top shelf-

Previously the top shelf was all about bags which at the time seemed smart because I could display all of the pretty ones I never used. Problem with that was I had no where to dump stuff when there was no time to get out a chair to put it away properly. So it all ended up on the floor which resulted in a lot of mess and more than one foot injury from stepping on something pointy!

I realised the I never use any of my handbags other than maybe 2 of them so rather than wasting the space I took a photo of them all and bundled them all up in a space bag. That way if I really need one I can check the photo, see what matches my outfit then get it down. I’m far too lazy to change bags often so this works well for me :D

Now I have an area that I can stick books/recently used bags/stuff waiting to be crafted into something else/random junk that I don’t have time to put away in until I have time to deal with it properly. I think having a dumping space like this is important for someone messy like me so the rest of the room doesn’t get too overrun XD

Middle shelf-

The things here are pretty much the same as before, lots of magazines, necklace display, toys etc. The biggest difference is that I found a little plastic container to  to contain my toys in a display. Before, whenever I wanted to get a magazine I had to carefully reach through so as not to disturb them but now there’s no problem and I also don’t have a fear of losing any of the little tiny pieces. I know you can buy little display cases like this specifically for toys but I didn’t want to spend any money so I used the container that a free hand towel from my favorite bubble tea place came in XD Perfect size and shape!

Bottom Shelf-

This is where the biggest changes have happened. Previously I kept socks, gloves, scarves and a lot of other stuff on this shelf and it worked really well. Now I have other areas for those things so I don’t need to have everything squished in as hard.

So what I did was remove all of the socks etc at the back and move the necklace displays over there so I can see at a glance what they hold. The back ones are propped up on a couple of books so they sit higher and are able to be seen. In front I have a decorative alarm clock James bought for photo shoots and the silver tray. On top of the tray there is a silver basket type of thing that we found in the throw away pile of our apartment building which I covered with a scarf and filled up with bracelets and random pieces of jewellery. It looks pretty cluttered and messy in the photo but I think that’s just the angle, it’s actually just above waist height in real life so when you look down it’s easy to get a quick view of all the pieces and pick out one.

So there you have it! Those are the changes I’ve made so far in my wardrobe area, the next installment of this series will be my dressing table. There are LOTS of sparkly pretty things there to look forward to and my nail polish collection as well ^_^

I pretty much always have a scarf tied to the bag somewhere because they are so useful. Pretty but in a pinch they can: protect your hair from rain or wind, cover bad hair or fix ruined hair, mop up a spill, wipe away stray make up, be folded into a bag to carry groceries or shopping, smoosh into a pillow for long car rides, wrap around bag handles for more grip/padding and so many other things that I can’t remember right now XD

I like bags with lots of pockets so I don’t have to dig around for stuff. I tend to just throw random things in my bag so I like ones that keep my valuables away from anything that might damage them. This one has 6 pockets/sections which is not bag but I think I want even more haha!

In the top zip section and pocket I keep…

1. iPad
This is a new addition to my bag and it replaced my DSLite, a book and a bunch of other things I used to carry around with me. It also replaces having to take a laptop to meetings now which makes my shoulder much happier! This case is just until I finish making my custom case from scratch, so look out for that tutorial in a while!

2. Business cards
I don’t think I need to explain these… they are for work!

3. Notebook
I can’t give up the pen and paper completely so I keep a little notebook for important notes, dates and anything else which needs to be written down quickly or sketched to explain to clients.

4. Headphones
I wish I could take my big ones around with me all the time but unless I know I’m going on a long trip, these ones are just so much more space saving. I’m planning to customise them a bit more in the future and maybe add some more bling :)

5. Pens
Fairly self explanatory. The lipstick one is from the last MBBE swap and it’s adorable!

6. Mirror
Small mirror for just in case emergencies. I want to replace this with one of the cuter ones I have sitting in my drawer but haven’t gotten around to it.

7. Blog business cards
Much prettier than my regular ones haha! Again, the use is fairly obvious. These are so much harder to store because of the bows so I think I need to re-evaluate that when I design the next lot. Totally worth it for the cute outcome though.

This is what lives in the middle pocket:

1. Gloves
So important! I can’t stand my fingers being cold so I always like to have gloves in my bag just in case.

2. Fan
Seems silly but can be a life saver in Summer especially if you’re wearing a big frilly outfit.

3. Tape measure
Must have for fabric shopping, crafting and general shopping. I find it’s good for thrift shopping too because if you don’t want to try clothes on or there’s not a space to you can quickly measure them and make a decision on fit.

4. Small Bag
This holds tissues and toiletries like aspirin etc. It’s nice to have everything together in a little bag rather than rattling around in the bottom of your bag getting dirty.

The second large section of the bag holds these:

1. Make up case
More detail on that below in it’s own photo.

2. Sunglasses
‘Nuff said.

3. Camera
The charm is a Capybara that James won out of a vending machine!

4. Lip Palette
Love this so much because there are so many colours that I never need to worry about not having something while I’m out. It also has a gigantic mirror which is useful!

And inside the make up case:

1. Case
I got this one from Haigh’s chocolate shop, it was filled with delicious freckles but has been totally worth the money as a reusable tin. Mmm chocolate.

2. Lip Palette
So you can see the colours inside.

3. Comb
Always good to have one of these handy! This one is a very old metal base which is quite pretty. There are usually a heap of bobby pins in here too.

4. Lip Gloss
This is one of many that find their way into my bag… I can never seem to have enough though!

5. Perfume Oil
I’m not a big fan of perfume but I keep this one in my bag with me because it smells sooooo good. It’s very fruity and good for touch ups after a long day.

6. Cotton buds
Very useful for make up touch ups etc. These ones have water on the inside so you flick them and the end of the cotton bud gets wet for better make up removal.

7. Lash glue
Just in case of lash mishaps!!

And in the final 2 sections of the bag….

1. Mobile phone
Of course!

2. Facewasher
Again like the scarf this has so many uses!

3. Wallet
I don’t actually carry a wallet much these days, partly because James keeps all my important junk in his wallet and partly out of never going out that much haha.

4. More lipgloss/balm
Only having 3 in my bag is pretty good for me! Usually they just accumulate at the bottom because I never take them out XD

5. Handkerchief
I embroidered this one myself!

And that’s it! To be honest this is like the neat version of my bag after I have a clean out, generally the bottom of it is full of crap like sugar packets, other people’s business cards and napkins >_< It’s nice to pretend I’m neat though sometimes!!

Hope this was a fun post to read ^_^

The first day I wore it out:

I have to say I absolutely LOVE it. Couldn’t be happier with the result and I think it’s really me! I didn’t lose much length but it’s made it so much more manageable and healthy.

I think the cut is so much more versatile now and I’ve already been able to try a lot of new styles to wear so I’m very happy ^_^ It also means I’ve been able to wear curls all day just from pin curling over night so that is a massive improvement too. Also it’s majorly bouncy so I feel like I’m in a Pantine commercial every where I go now XD

The back:

And lastly, here is a bonus pic of me having myself a Farrah Fawcett moment in front of a display fan while we were out shopping XD

So many of my friends are having total hair make overs at the moment, it’s really exciting! What are you all planning to do with your hair next?

That shade of red has always been my favourite, I spent a year in it then and maybe 4 years with that colour in high school. My look was much more toned down during this time.

Even before then I had short black hair like this…

Back in those days I was a Lolita. I wore Lolita clothing pretty much 24/7 and I loved it to death. I was obsessed with it completely and uncontrollably.

I couldn’t find any photos because before that I was quite camera shy so I made you an artist’s representation of how before that… I was really into punk and alternative styles! I wore red eyeliner all the time and I had spiky blue extensions. I even had blue/green hair at one point but I still can’t find photos of it on my hard drive. Apparently I was wearing this style was before I understood the importance of labelling photos for future reference! XD

Back in those days I was also a pirate ;) Historical re-enactment for the win! I need more excuses to wear my corset again!

Now you’re probably wondering what the point of this is right? Well the one thing that all of those fashions have in common is that they are full of layers and very un-summer friendly.

Australia is hot. With the exception of Melbourne right now everywhere I’ve lived in Australia has been ridiculously hot. If I was picking fashion based on climate I pretty much failed miserably.

So the question is how do you keep cool in summer when you’re wearing like 20 billion layers of clothing? I’m not proud of this but….

A funny thing happened when I was going through my accessories section. I picked up an Angelic Pretty bow and it was exuding Lolita…

So much so that I was accidentally pulled through a time machine vortex which was swirls and swirls of petticoats and frills. I was lucky not to be crushed by the sheer weight of the petticoats.

It took me back in time… but as I didn’t have a camera for my magical adventure you’ll just have to make do with my time machine induced “artists representations”.

This was me:

Unfortunately this was the climate I was in:

See the thing about Lolita clothing is that under the dress is a blouse, under the blouse is a petticoat and under that petticoat modesty says wear bloomers… plus socks or stockings. Pretty much the only places you’ve got to sweat are your knees and arms if you’re wearing a short sleeve blouse.

In Summer it’s not fun. Bloomers are great for protecting modesty but they are also insanely hot to wear under so many layers!

But I was a crafty Lolita.

I used a trick which has been in play since fridges were first invented…. underwear (in this case bloomers) in the freezer!

Epic cool = EPIC WIN!

And this allowed me to be cool and breezy as I did the miserable walk to the train station to work in the mornings.

Hopefully you enjoyed my little walk back through memory lane ^_^

COMPETITION TIME!!

So Panasonic and Nuffnang are holding a giveaway for those of you who are just coming in to Summer (like me ;_;)

Panasonic have just launched a new range of Eco air conditioners which are aparently both smart and stylish. They’ve even won awards like “Good Design” Award. They have also launched a smart phone application to help people with choosing an air-conditioner easily. Here’s what they say about it:

The simple-to-use Air Conditioning Sizing Wizard application allows customers to enter information on their room environment and receive product recommendations. Once you have made your selection, you can access product details, features, images, videos and locate your nearest retailer instantly.

You can view and download this application in iTunes here.

Panasonic has launched a new stylish range of Air-Conditioners featuring improved energy efficiency for reduced power consumption.

• The 2010 range features the new Eco Patrol Sensor – a human sensing technology
• Inverter technology, providing temperature control for greater energy efficiency and comfort in the home.

AC Sizing Wizard App features:

• Easy navigation that allows you to find the right Air Conditioner you, and locate your nearest dealer/installer.
• Enter information about your room and then it pops out recommendations for the right a/c.
• Scroll through product recommendations and see the main product features, specifications
• You can also find out more information through videos, images and handy hints.

Once you have chosen the right Air Conditioner you can use the ‘Where to Buy’ function to find your nearest retail outlet or specialist Air Network Installer on Google Maps, or contact Panasonic Customer Care for more info.

They are also starting to make little webisode things to explain the technology in simple terms. Here is one of the videos/TV Commercials from their site:

So the prize for this competition is an air-conditioner from Panasonic’s new range PLUS the installation into your home! That’s pretty damn awesome, I want one… I need an aircon XD

What you need to do is leave a comment answering the following question:

“What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done to stay cool in summer?”

You know what my craziest thing is so I’m looking forward to hearing all about yours :P

This competition is for Australian residents only and you can view the full terms and conditions here and the information from Nuffnang here.

*edit* Please note that the date has been extended until the 25th of November. The updated terms and conditions can be found here:

http://www.nuffnang.com.au/wp-content/themes/nuffnang-2.0.1/uploadedstuff/2010/11/Terms-and-Conditions-of-Entry-for-Panasonic-Air-Conditioner-competition-v2.pdf

The update Nuffnang information is here:

http://www.nuffnang.com.au/blog/2010/10/18/competition-win-a-panasonic-air-conditioning-unit-just-in-time-for-summer/

Good luck, I hope you enjoyed this post and I can’t wait to see your entries!

Step 2.

Hover your mouse over each of the images below to see the difference between how the Panasonic Lumix TZ10 sees life and how I see it. You might have to hover a few seconds for my view to load but don’t give up, they are all there!

Step 3.

Put on your Super Jet Shoes (mine are my boots) and let’s get going!

My constant companion for the day is my phone. Music, friends and fun are just a second away with this…

The Panasonic Lumix TZ10 is around the same size as my phone though it’s a little heavier. I have been keeping it in my jacket pocket ever since I got it. It has a lot of features that a gigantic camera has like a big zoom but it still has a little body. Great for snapping on the go. The “Intelligent Auto” feature makes it quite difficult (even for someone as uncoordinated as me) to take a bad photo.

We have started to catch the tram places now to see friends but it’s so different to Brisbane public transport!

Quick start up means you can get photos in a few seconds and snap stuff you wouldn’t normally see like the inside of a tram without the driver.

I actually think trams look like gigantic electric kitties. The second I saw them I was reminded of Susie who is obsessed with kitties!

The big back wires that hang everywhere remind me of spider webs or maybe knitting… or maybe gigantic knitting spiders.

Fancy “Intelligent Auto” feature means I can take photos in terrible lighting without having to fiddle with stuff or have the technical knowledge that James does.

Sometimes not having a car can be tough with getting all of our groceries or bigger items home but it’s much easier with a little help ^_^

Of course you really just can’t go past the shopping here ;)

We visited Chadstone that day too and it’s massive!

Do you see a bit of a continued theme here yet??

More interestingly is what happens when I see something like this…

That happens quite a bit. I really try to see what something could turn into rather that what it already is ;)

I wish our landlord allowed pets but I can always dream!

Very big zoom which allows you to take covert photos of other people’s pets from the tram ;)

That pretty much sums me up I think… I hope you’ve enjoyed being in my brain for a day!

This shot was taken using the “Pin Hole” setting which is my favorite of the ridiculous amount of settings. I’ve been using the food setting lots too ^_^

So all of the photos in this post were taken with the Panasonic Lumix TZ10 aaaand thanks to Panasonic and Nuffnang you guys have the chance to win one just like mine! Well maybe not *just* like mine because I’ve already deco’d mine mwahaha ;)

So about the actual camera, I’m going to do a big proper pros/cons review on the Panasonic Lumix TZ10 this week in terms of being a good camera for blogging and showing the quality of the HD video etc but here is a quick run down of my 3 favorite features:

-The big thing with Panasonic Lumix TZ10 is that it has built in GPS so if you go on holidays or you’re traveling around town near landmarks it will remember where you were and tag your photos with the location! The drawback to this is that unless you specifically switch the function off, it chews through battery even if the camera is off. The photo organization software it comes with also only works on a PC so I wasn’t able to test it.

-My absolute favorite feature is that you can register people on it so when you focus on me it actually says “Violet” and comes up with a little heart, how cute is that?! You can even register your pets!

-It can also take HD videos and fits neatly in my bag or pocket which is very useful for blogging!

This is the basic information from their website for the more tech savvy of you:

Key Points for the Panasonic Lumix TZ10:

• Built-in GPS for easy organization of the photos you took on your holidays!
• 25mm wide-angle 12x optical zoom f/3.3-4.9 LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens…allowing it to have twice the shooting area of the standard 35mm lens
• Double hand-shake correction allowing you to take beautiful night shots at slow shutter speeds without blurring
• Record movies in HD with no loss of image quality!
• 12.1 Megapixels
• RRP AU$650

More information for the Panasonic Lumix TZ10 can be found here.

NUFFNANG COMPETITION TIME!

If you like the look of this camera you can enter into the draw to win one very easily ^_^

To enter just leave a comment on this post and answer this question “Where in the World would you take the Panasonic Lumix TZ10 and what photo would you take?”

Comments here will go into the draw to win the grand prize!

You must be a resident of Australia to enter, please view the full terms and conditions on Nuffnang’s blog here.

Good luck everyone and I hope you enjoyed being in my silly pink brain today :D