So last Friday I popped myself on a plane and headed up to Sydney for a little mini-break.


Obligatory wing shot. Nice to be above the clouds for once though.


I decided to treat myself to a magazine at the airport. Obvs I haven't bought one for a while (as in years) and clearly I'm getting old because I was all like "OMG, $8.20?" It wasn't even that good! Full of bad brows, Anne Hathaway and unwearable, overpriced items that I didn't even like. Definitely sticking to blogs for my fashion fix in future.

I arrive in Sydney in unexpectedly warm weather, do the bag drop and get ready to hit the streets in my Converse, my new favourite jeans and a new jumper, both from Cotton On.


And by "hitting the streets", I mean "the shops".


That's right, ladies . . . *cue angelic choir*


I had been pre-warned that it would not be the most serene and relaxed of shopping environments so I was ready to throw elbows if I needed and ain't nobody gonna hustle me out of the way of the things I'm looking at. I spent a long, long time browsing, poking, swatching, twiddling and sniffing. Happily, I made it out with only some light markings:


So what did I get? Well, I'm glad you asked.



Made the unfortunate discovery that the "centrally located" hotel I'd chosen was indeed located centrally to Central Station which, as the name suggests, had quite a lot of train-based activity through the night, in that each one of them honked their air horn as they went into the tunnel, right outside my room. Did I also mention I was also rolling with some sort of bug/virusy thing? So, no sleep then. Awesome.

The next day, I felt rubbish but managed to pull myself together for a walk around in the gorgeous weather in my winter whites (aka legs) that haven't seen the sun since March.








My plan was to shop like crazy. But have you ever noticed that when you have the cash, the time, the opportunity and the inclination to shop, there's nothing to buy? I wandered in and out of shops and saw nothing I liked. So I didn't load up like I thought I would. A couple of items that will be revealed in a later blog post. Oooh.

Then it was time to meet my blogger blind date . . .

Christina from Love That Lippie!


We met in front of Sephora and dipped in for another go. Christina had a hit list and I couldn't resist picking up the Kat Von D Studded Kiss lipstick in Lolita (after grabbing one for my friend Stacie the day before) and a tightline mascara mini from IT Cosmetics.


We then sat down for beautifully presented tea, cake and a lengthy chit-chat about all things beauty, blogging and beyond! Christina's blog presents unfiltered, unedited lip swatches from all brands budget to luxe as well as other fun makeup looks and things, with a humourous and real approach. So check it out if you've not done so.


Christina is totes lovely. I was so happy I got in touch with her to meet up while I was there and she made the effort to come all the way into town to meet me despite being under the weather AND she was rocking a beautiful bold lip as anticipated! 

Here we are "finding our light".




I then dragged her all over the CBD as my phone took us in varying different directions back to the train station. Sorry again, Christina!

After another largely sleepless night, I had time for another good walk around the area, admiring historical buildings before brunch.




Before I knew it, I was at the airport and heading home, where there waiting for me were my daughter, husband and NEW KATE SPADE PURSE.


So how was your weekend? I think I need a weekend to recover from this one! 

A lot of people have asked me how I went as soon as the calendar ticked over into August after my No-Buy July project.

I fully expected to be racing around Rundle Mall like:



but I've actually been quite restrained!

I bought the black French Connection dress I wore to the WaterAid Gold Ball and the striped Ally Fashion skater I wore to the Paige Rowe runway show both from the Salvos for about $6.95 each. 

While there, my eagle eye spotted a very jazzy Betsey Johnson necklace for $10. 



I picked it up, I ummed and ahhed . . . and I put it back. I regretted it before I even walked out of the store but I told myself I didn't really need it and it was SO jazzy I'd probably never wear it. But I'm still thinking about it. So I probably should have got it. 

Annoyingly, I just googled for that image and found it on a Pin on Pinterest that said it was rare, hard to find and worth about $175. I should have got it.

SEE, THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BUY THINGS.

I tried a few bits and pieces on during a trip to my local Westfields but didn't commit to anything.

In particular, this pair of 7/8 jeans at Cotton On. 

The skinny high-rise 7/8 $49.95 currently $37.46

Well, they might be 7/8 length for normal humans . . . on me they are the perfect full length. I had identified the need for new jeans during No-Buy July and had decided to experiment with a light wash as I've seen them styled so nicely for S/S 15. 

I tried them on, liked them, considered them, then thought to myself that Cotton On ALWAYS has random specials like 2 for $X or percentages off and they were obviously a basics item that weren't going to sell out so I held off. 

No less than 2 days later came an email alerting me to 25% off full priced denim! So you better believe I waltzed on down there and picked those bad boys up. Well, after I had to show said email at the checkout after being rung up at full price and confirm yes it was in-store as well as online, see, right there up the top. Note to shops, if you're going to have promotional offers, please let your staff know as well as your customers - this poor girl kept apologising and it was totally not her fault!

Apart from those few items, I have managed to hold off - even from my desperately needed new wallet - because I have booked myself a little getaway to Sydney in a couple of weeks for some serious shopping me time! So I've been scrimping, saving and flogging stuff on eBay to build up my budget. My trip is essentially free, using Frequent Flyer points and the $250 Webjet voucher I got from signing up with ING Direct so that's been a huge bonus!

To add to my kitty, I got the spectacularly awesome news, that I won A Quirky Bird's 100 Style Challenge!! Keep an eye out for what I end up scoring with that . . . I'm curently torn (as usual) between quality over quantity. There are quite a few places on my hitlist (oh hai Sephora, Top Shop, H & M) so I'll be like a kid in a candy store with my prize money!

I'm also planning a meet up with Christina from Love That Lippie (and I am HANGING to see which colour she'll be wearing) as well as catching up with some old workmates. I haven't been to Sydney very often - mostly for work or stopovers to and from overseas - and I am yet to have had a fully awesome experience there so hopefully that's about to change!

Do you dig Sydney? Any hot shopping tips? I'll be in the CBD with limited time so probably won't make it out to the Homebush DFO but eager to hear of any city-based bargain locales!

#aqb100stylechallenge with A Quirky Bird

Over at A Quirky Bird, Zoe is running a cool worldwide style challenge, inviting readers to submit an outfit edit costing $100 or under to be in the running for a $100 Coles Myer gift card.

Now, for me, this would normally be no trouble. The catch was that all items needed to be current - so op-shopped or vintage pieces that usually get me well under that kind of dollar limit were out.

I spent some time digging around some of my favourite online shopping sites, which was incredibly difficult for me, given my No-Buy July status, so I hope you all appreciate the torture and torment I've put myself through to get this collection together.

Let's all agree not to mention the wavy red underline from my PowerPoint screenshot, shall we? Many thanks

I settled on this embroidered Lee Cooper tie-waist dress from Big W to build my look around, in the on-trend Marsala shade. 

From there, I snagged a bargainic pair of basic black leggings at Best & Less, then sussed out jackets at Crossroads, where this biker one caught my eye. 

A well-placed targeted advertisement lead me to find this peacock Boohoo scarf and I hit up the Cotton On online empire to snag a well-priced pair of boots and some fun shades. 

Sitting at $93.95, I knew I could squeeze a cute pair of earrings in under budget, and a quick look at Colette Hayman proved me right.

All prices were current as at 10 July, 2015.

#findingmystyle with Agent Mystery Case and The Fashionable Mum

I've also entered into the Outfit Under $50 #findingmystylechallenge hosted by The Fashionable Mum and Agent Mystery Case in the hope of also winning $50 towards the inevitable August binge.

This one was easier for me to pull out of my own wardrobe because I could include vintage and op-shopped pieces:



Having said that, the dress is actually current at Kmart for $20. I bought it in another colourway first, then loved it so much I went back and got this one.

Sunglasses were also from Kmart a little while ago for a hefty $8.

(As an aside, can we all agree Kmart need to get with the online shopping program? I easily could have completed the first challenge in five minutes if I could have accessed their stock online!)

The vintage brown PU bag with cool lucite handles picked up in this op shop trip for $4.

Tights are from a Myer dump bin years ago for $5.

Shoes are vintage leather Footrest brand, also snagged at the op shop for $2.

Oh, and I've just noticed/remembered the belt - it isn't the one that comes with the dress but I pulled it off another one so essentially, it's free. That brings this outfit to a total of $39, well under the limit.

Now, fingers crossed so I can properly celebrate at the end of No-Buy July!

Have you ever won a style challenge? Are you having a crack at either of these?

Every month, Jo at iCurvy hosts a "SPIN the PIN" link-up, posting an image from Pinterest for readers to take inspiration from and put their own Spin on said Pin.

This is the pin for June:

In My Joi [original source here]

Tee - Kmart Cardigan - Cotton On (via Mum) Jeans - Best & Less Shoes - Zara Basics (via Savers) UltraMesh Clutch - (via Salvos)  Earrings - Valleygirl

Vintage Ultramesh clutch in perfect condition for $4 at the Salvos, Port Augusta.

We had a lovely Christmas here at the Ghetteaux and were lucky enough to have my parents and mum-in-law with us to celebrate the day.

Available at Mimco for $39 - Schiaperelli Pink version

Converse All Star Dainty - $70 Image from footasylum.com

And to use the selfie stick again

Haters gonna hate on the selfie stick

Espirit pyjamas from ASOS

Today, I thought I'd post about my outfit, being that I found a spot in the yard to take a few photos this morning.