Cardigans and stockings

Once again I've been busy with my thesis (I'm not going to stop mentioning this all year, I bet, so apologies in advance) and forgot about blogging. It doesn't help that I've mainly been at home in track-pants and not thinking about any of the things I usually blog about. 

I'm actually thinking it may be time to think about having some guest posts on here and give myself a little break - I just have to find the time to organise them! Ha.

I did have to see my supervisor this week which meant I wore some 'leaving the house' clothes for a change...

Then today I was feeling pretty distracted so I decided to quickly pop over to an op-shop near me...and lucky I did! Because I managed to grab some decent things. (Which is where the title of this post comes in...)

I found some fully-fashioned stockings! There were a lot of seamless pairs, too, but I decided to stick to just the seamed ones.

And these three vintage cardigans! Practically new. They're a little roomy but it suits this style of cardigan and you can't tell too much with the raglan sleeves, anyway.

And now it's back to thesis writing to try to finish off the draft that's due tomorrow. At least it's just a draft!

Flowers in the rain

Whilst I'm not entirely happy with the photos for this outfit, I love the outfit itself. When I bought this dress I wondered if it was really 'me' but I've decided that, because I like it, it is. To paraphrase a friend I saw the other week, when we were talking about our personal styles, I'm Andi and I wear clothes that Andi likes. After she said that (using her own name, obviously) I just thought 'yes! That's it!' And I guess that's my style for now. I mean, that seems very obvious and simple but it made something I've been overthinking a lot easier. Ha.

I love that the print on the dress looks similar to many prints that made it onto bedding in the 1970s. There were a lot of stylishly printed sheet sets in the '70s! I've said previously that I'm not much of a floral print lover but that's not entirely true. I love the large, stylised florals of the '60s and '70s and their vibrant colour combinations.

Last week I got sad when I missed a perfect opportunity to break out one of my coats, not really having worn them much last year, so I made sure to drag this out of the trunk it's been in all summer and wear it when I went out last night. It's a great colour.

Slightly awkward pose. Ha.

As I wore this dress out last night, which was quite rainy, I felt this song was somewhat appropriate. The video is really neat. And it's one of my favourite songs!

Mustard and a velvety collar

So far I've started the text for this post about 5 or 6 times but can't seem to finish it.  I guess this is my opening, now! Anyway, this is what I wore to uni and to meet up with a friend, last Friday. It was the end of a particularly stressful week (I envision many more in my future, this year) and I was glad to finally have the chance to wear this dress. It's new new and a little bit cute.

Just noticed that my hair-clip isn't in properly in these photos! How annoying.

I like the velvety Peter Pan collar.

I'm don't know what else to write having just tried to madly finish my draft introduction and knowing I have to start the first chapter of my thesis today, as well. I'm not sure what my blog is going to be like, this year - I feel like too many outfit posts gets a bit boring but I suppose, for now, I'll just take it as it comes.

A photo, a song, and a winner

One of the things that I've discovered lately is that getting into a regular blogging schedule is harder than I thought. After all this time, you'd think I'd learn to have some back-up posts for times when I'm too busy to blog, wouldn't you? Well, apparently not! I think the best I can expect, whilst I'm studying this year, is that my blogging may be sporadic but I'm reassessing my aims for my blog. These, when I get around to them, will remain just for me but hopefully it will make blogging a better experience for myself and my readers!

Until then, here is a photo of one of my Barbie families (yes, I make families and life stories for my dolls). Three sisters, Casey, Cilla and Tutti (whose name is subject to change.) I love all of these clothes but the dress worn by Casey (standing up on the left) is my favourite and has a little matching bonnet, too. She even has a cute little half-slip to wear underneath.

In other news, I can't stop listening to this cover of Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me from She & Him's new album. Mel Carter's version is still my favourite but Zooey's voice suits this song so perfectly!

Lastly, but probably most importantly, I wanted to say that the winner of the What Katie Did competition was notified and her lovely lingerie is on its way to her! I'm sorry for not announcing that sooner but I've not been feeling the best. Congrats to Karin Wennerberg! And thank-you to everyone who entered the competition and to the new followers I now have. 

A musical morsel supreme!

Last night I went to see the stage production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang currently playing at the Festival Theatre. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is one of my favourite films and the show certainly didn't disappoint. Being able to see musicals on the stage is such an amazing experience and I'm lucky that, though we don't get very many big productions, I get to see any at all. 

I tweeted, last week, about being sad that the dress I'd bought for a special occasion (being the show) probably wasn't going to arrive in time after all because of some shipping delays. Well, it arrived yesterday with absolute perfect timing! It reminds me a bit of the red dress Anna Friel wore in the Pushing Daisies promo photos but without the lace. Anyone else make that connection? Or did I just have Pushing Daisies on the brain when I ordered it?

And it's from ASOS of all places! I wish I'd got it in other colours before it sold out. It's such a perfect late '50s/early '60s style, I want one in every colour. Or at least one in black (which they didn't have, anyway).

I don't know why, but I like photos from this angle. I also like that you can see the little holes under my lip where my piercings used to be (I can, anyway - maybe because I know they're there?)

A pretty vintage brooch - I don't remember where I got it from. I think it was from a fair. Very vague.

My beautiful friend, Abi, in her gorgeous '70s frock that goes so well with her hair. These photos were taken in the Adelaide Arcade where Abi has her workshop, Seams Nostalgic. 

And here we are together!

The musical is filled with great songs, so I'm hard pressed to choose a favourite. I don't think there is one song that I don't like! Chu-Chi Face may just win out for me. And Hushabye Mountain is undeniably one of the best lullabies  ever. But, well, Doll on a Music Box is so lovely, too! Rachael Beck performed this beautifully, I thought.

Any other Chitty Chitty Bang Bang fans? What's your favourite song? 

Pink on Saturday

On Saturday I went into town for lunch with some lovely ladies and decided I was in a pink mood so it was the perfect opportunity to wear this new-to-me dress...

I saw this dress on the sale rack outside the Red Cross on Rundle Street and, as I was in a hurry, picked it up without looking it over or trying it on and just went it, paid, and rushed down to meet my lift home. Without the belt and cardigan it looks a little like a nightie but I really like it like this.

My cute record player brooch is from Modern Girl Blitz.

A very similar pose to the first image. Hah.

The two lovely ladies, Shea (aka Miss Kitty Boo) and Sam, that I had lunch with.

And we had lunch at Two-Bit Villains. Incredibly yummy onion rings and a milkshake. If you haven't been to Two-Bit Villains, yet, I highly recommend it!

Shea and I also stopped for a drink at Relax in Vintage in the Myer Centre. Really cute little shop/cafe.

Oh, I had my photo taken for a street fashion blog thingie the other day - apparently if you vote for my picture I could win something? 

And last, but most definitely not least, another lovely and talented lady I know, Gemma Vendetta, is trying to raise funds to get to the Hair Expo in Sydney this June. If you can help her out, or want to know more about her and why she wants to get there, please check out the pozible page for her project: Fly 'The Vendetta' to Hair Expo - a hairy tale! 

Today I made you a mixtape...

So, like many others, one of my favourite pastimes is making mixes. I probably don't take it quite so seriously as some other people do (there are definitely some 'rules' I like to go by when making them but I'm not that finicky about it or about how other people make their own mixes).

I used to make mixtapes, on cassettes, in high school and just after, when I would make the covers by hand (drawn or glued together) and write out the playlists on brown paper and other bits and pieces. I still have most of the tapes that haven't stretched. I remember stacking up CDs and records, making lists of all the songs I wanted to use off of them and trying to figure out which songs would sound good one after the other. And never ever filling the tape up - there was always either a long gap or songs got cut off! I clearly never quite mastered that part of the art of the mixtape.

And then I moved to CDs (some of which made it into the music collections of my friends) but in the digital age, I mainly make them as playlists and upload them to my 8tracks account. I still enjoy making them and burning them off for friends, so I tend to leave them at around CD length (but I never upload the mixes I make for someone else - it seems to ruin the personal nature of making a mix specifically for another person).

Anyway, I thought I'd be self-indulgent and share a few that some of my readers may enjoy listening to! Even though it's not what I usually blog about, I guess. And if you've got an 8tracks account and like what you hear, feel free to follow me (or leave me your username if you're a fellow mix-maker). 

♥Theme for a Dream at 8tracks♥ ♥Tracklist♥

♥After Laughter (Comes Tears) at 8tracks♥ ♥Tracklist♥

A mix that is mainly old soul and some ska/reggae/rocksteady tracks. And about unhappy love/broken hearts. The photo was taken by Malick Sibide.

♥Cuore at 8tracks♥ ♥Tracklist♥

Another mix of broken hearts and unhappy love. (There are just so many great songs on the subject!) A lot of Italian songs. 

And, lastly, this ended up being my most popular playlist both on 8tracks and Tumblr:

♥Wow Wow Wee at 8tracks♥ ♥Tracklist♥

I did similar mixes compiling my favourite upbeat doo-wop songs and one of my favourite 'British Invasion' tracks, too.

I'm not sure which are my own favourite mixes but my favourites tend to be the least well-received. Off the top of my head, I'd say my favourite three (apart from those in this post) would be: Restless Feeling, Love in a Void and How Come You're Such a Hit with the Boys, Jane?

And if you want to see any of the playlists, just take a look at my 'mixes' tag on Tumblr.

Thank-you to anyone who made it this far - I've been feeling a bit nostalgic, lately, and making mixes is one of those things that lets me indulge that nostalgia, I guess. Even if I make them in a very different (and far less time-consuming) way than I used to.

Pssst, remember there is still time to enter the What Katie Did competition!

The Return of the Pink Pants

I don't think these pink pants have made an appearance on my blog since the first time I wore them! But I wore them when I went out for lunch/shopping with a friend yesterday. The weather has been strange so I wasn't sure what to wear but I ended up putting together an outfit that, for once, didn't work in my head but worked out well in reality. Usually, it's the other way around! Was a nice surprise.

It was such a comfortable outfit I felt like I was going out in my pyjamas! Ha.

Vintage sweater clips! The daisies nearly match the floral motif in the blouse.

I'm still not very good at taking photos when I go out but I did remember to take some at the Red Cross shop on Rundle Street. I love their new(ish) upstairs. A lot of cute clothes and homewares. I only came away with two records (a Francoise Hardy compilation and Heart's Dreamboat Annie album).

And I made my friend pose in this silly cape she found...she said she felt like a dare-devil à la Evil Knievel.

P.S. Remember there is still time to enter the What Katie Did competition!