My Motivational Wall

My Inspiration Board by emmerv on Polyvore.com

What Emma Did - 29th May 2011

This week I have been:

♥ Squeeing with delight when our travel documents for Fiji arrived in the post

♥ Shopping for a Hibiscus Playsuit and finding this Route 66 one half price!!!

♥ Opening a savings account for my new spend half save half regime

♥ Becoming acquainted with Polyvore and making a motivational wall - I'll post it here soon

♥ Hunting for goodies at my local charity shop but coming home empty handed

♥ Internet shopping for 50's retro, atomic and Eames era goodies but not finding any of the things on my list!

♥ Taking a nice stroll barefoot along the seafront with the hubby and stopping off for cake and coffee

The Life Overhaul - New Goals

Way back in January I set myself a list of resolutions for the first half of the year. As well as the goals I listed in the last post there's a few more things I want to achieve. So here's the list:

Try Scuba Diving - I can try a free scuba pool splash on holiday so I'll give this a go and if I like it I may well do my PADI. I'm not sure how well I'll do as I feel a little claustrophobic underwater but I'll give it a go.

Cost: FREE (for pool splash) and then $415 for a PADI course at my local dive centre

Learn to Drive - I mentioned this in my last post. It's something I've put off for almost 10 years! So I really have to bite the bullet and do it! As soon as I get my tax back I will get my L's and book a course of lessons. The hubby is a very calm driver so he has offered to teach me as long as I have a few lessons under my belt first.

Cost: Driver Knowledge Test $38

Learner License $21

Course of 10 Lessons $458 at my local driving school

Take a dressmaking class - At the moment I find dress making a little frustrating as my ability level is not up to the items I attempt and this makes it none to enjoyable. Taking a class will help me hone my skills.

Cost: $144 for 8 two hour lessons at my local community college

Learn to ride a bike - this is something that I was too scared to learn as a child and learning to ride a bike as an adult feels a little embarrassing. The thought of taking long bike rides and picnicking with the hubby this summer has spurred me on though.

Cost: approx $150 for a cheap bike to learn on

Take a photography class - since getting an SLR camera from the hubby's dad way back in December I haven't really made the most of it by learning how to use it fully so I want to take a class to teach me at least the basics.

Cost: $160 for 4 two hour lessons at my local community college

Doing a pin up photo shoot - after losing 23 kg's I feel pretty happy with my body (which is probably a first for me) so I want to celebrate this by having a pin up style photo shoot. I am also toying with the idea of creating a calendar as a Christmas pressie for the hubby although this could be somewhat expensive.

Cost: $150 for 1 scene change at Bexterity

Getting more tattoos - I have a long list of tattoos I want that includes stocking seams, swallows of my shoulders, two frangipani flowers (as that's what I'm having in my bouquet) a peacock down my side and a pagan god and goddess tattoo on my back. This lot could be expensive but I certainly want to get a few of these within the next year.

Cost: $ ALOT!

Taking a burlesque class - This is something I have wanted to do since first seeing burlesque performed. I don't think I could ever perform burlesque to an audience as I suffer from terrible stage fright but I think it would be fun to take a class or two!

Cost: $30 for a taster class at Blush Dance School, Sydney

Trying out the Trapeze - Ever since I first saw a trapeze artist at a circus I thought it looked like tremendous fun, terrifying but fun! When I found out that I could try it for myself at Olympic Park I couldn't wait to give it a go. I may even drag the hubby along for a tandem trapeze experience.

Cost: $55 at Olympic Park, Sydney

Learn to Knit - I was hoping that the Hubby's Mum could teach me to knit when she came over to visit back in December but although we got the equipment we didn't get round to learning so I found a class in my area and thought I'd try it out.

Cost: $66 for a 6 hour course at my local community college

Parasailing - The hubby had an experience voucher to try this for his birthday 2 years ago but at the time we were too busy and it never got used. I'd still like to give this a go once the weather warms up so this time we will book it and actually do it!

Cost: $139 for a tandem parasail with Sydney Harbour Parasailing

Doing a Skydive - This is a biggie for me! The thought of skydiving both fascinates and petrifies me in equal measure but I definitely want to give it a go. Whether I will be able to take the leap when I get up in the place is a different story though!

Cost: $259 with Sky Dive the Beach

Learn to read music and play the piano - The hubby has offered to help me with this as he is very musical! We will get a few musical theory books so he can teach me to read music and a keyboard and fingers crossed I'll be a music maestro in no time at all!

Cost: $?

The Life Overhaul

I feel like recently my blog has fallen a little flat and as I mentioned before my followers and reader numbers are starting to reflect this. I want to do something about this so I decided to have an overhaul and clear out some cobwebs and I'm inviting you to come along for the ride.

I get married in 3 weeks which is a huge life step for anyone. Although if I'm honest it wont be much of a change for me as the Hubby and I have been together for 6 years and it feels like we're married already. I may feel different on the day though! I figure what better time to change the things that I don't like in my life than now.

I've always been a planner and list maker but a lot of time maybe due to lack of confidence or being scared to fail I haven't followed through with resolutions I have made. There's always a million excuses for not doing something if you look for them but now I going for action instead of excuses. I feel that even within this blog I have made promises and not always delivered so I'm going to change that.

And the best news is that any of you readers can come along for the ride. You can do this one of two ways (or both if you want!) Firstly if you feel I am slacking on any of my tasks you can call me to check and make me accountable. You can be my life coaches of sorts. Secondly if you too feel that you have become complacent in not changing thing you are unhappy with you can post your list of things in the comments section and I will check up on you!

So I figure the best way to start is to make a list of the things in my life that I'm not completely happy with:

1. The fact that I still have not learnt to drive - I have been thinking about doing this since I was 17 and old enough to drive in the UK but have always been scared about learning. If I'm honest I'm scared of being in a car with a stranger and think learning to drive manual will be difficult and I'll suck at it!

2. My job at the bakery - I took the job to have a better income and also to learn how the bakery works as the hubby and I plan to own one in the future but now I know the ins and outs of the place and I feel its not really stretching me intellectually or giving me any sense of achievement. In fact I feel it is demotivating me as being a shop assistant at 26 is hardly a confident boost and without meaning to sound arrogant I know I'm smarter than that. I also feel I've become complacent as I haven't bothered to look for a better job while this income is coming in.

3. Learning new skills - I have still yet to take the dressmaking class I wanted to when I know that it is offered every month in my area. Once again I have done the planning but never taken the leap. I have also put my extra cash towards buying clothes rather than learning new skills. If I'm honest I'm nervous about walking into a room of people I don't know and taking a class with new people but this is something I definitely have to break. I have also yet to learn how to really use my camera properly and how to knit so I will definitely look into this and also put more money aside for classes rather than spend it all on clothes!

4. Saving vs Spending - At the moment I am spending all of my allowance as soon as I get it. When I look at how much the hubby, who gets the same amount a week as me, has managed to save it makes me feel a little bad for spending money on frivolous things. I plan to implement a spend half save half system and use the money I save for any learning I want to do.

Daily Outfit: Wing Top

Today I met up with the UN girlies for a catch up. Here's what I wore:

Wing top - Miss Hussy

Crop cardigan - SES

Pencil skirt - ???

VW Lady Dragon Cherry - Melissa

As you can see I cut my bangs back in. I'm not sure about them though and its only 3 weeks til the wedding so it might not have been the best idea!!!

Ask Me Anything...

It seems that I am losing readers and followers of my blog recently. I know my posts have been a bit sporadical lately so with this in mind I am allowing readers to ask me anything and I will answer your questions or tell me what you'd like to see more of on Emma aime.

Grab Yourself Some Bargains

I'm selling a few bits on eBay as they dont fit me. The first thing is my Heyday 1940's style Mary dress in red in a size 10 that I planned to wear to the French Fairy's birthday party. Unfortunately the cut just isn't right for me so it has never been worn. Check it our here

Also a pair of Vivien of Holloway 1940s style trousers also red in a 28" waist that are just too big. You can check them out here

A Fabulous Weekend of Burlesque in Sydney

This weekend sees not one but two fabulous burlesque shows in Sydney this weekend.
On Friday night you can catch the Second Australian Burlesque Festival Sydney Show at The Red Room @ 99 On York St, York St, Sydney. The hubby and I attended the show last year and had a fabulous night. You can see my post on it here. In 2011 The Aus­tralian Bur­lesque Fest­ival will show­case the very best of Aus­tralian bur­lesque tal­ent as well as some delect­able inter­national guests to thrill and delight bur­lesque fans with good old-fashioned bump’n’grind, bawdy vari­ety, clas­sic glam­our and exotic tease!

The Fest­ival will be bring­ing to town a selec­tion of the premier acts and Inter­na­tional guests, com­bined with a healthy dose of local talent!

Dress code: Even­ing attire
Venue: The Red Room @ 99 on York, 99 York Street Sydney
Doors open: 8pm, Show from 9pm
Car park­ing loc­ated at 168 Clar­ence Street Sydney. Wheel­chair accessible

BUY TICKETS CLICK HERE!
VIP (A reserve seat­ing, cham­pagne on arrival) $70+bf
Gen­eral Admis­sion (B reserve seat­ing) $40+bf

And on Saturday night you can catch the NSW heat of Miss Burlesque Australia at The Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Rd, Marrickville

Miss Burlesque International was the first competition in Australia to combine all feature elements of Burlesque performance and personality to compete for a major prize and international title.The competition is open to Burlesque performers of any level, both brand new, emerging and seasoned professional.

In each country, Miss Burlesque applicants will go through a strict application process, and each state will hold it’s own State Heats with 10 chosen Finalists. These Finalists will compete for the State Title, and continue on to the National Grand Finals. In 2011, all National Grand Finalists will be flown to the nominated location and compete for the title of Miss Burlesque International.
Each State, National and International title will be awarded to the best overall performer across a range of activities including Traditional, Neo and Unique interpretation of Burlesque.

We are also looking for a winner who will actively use her Title to promote a better community of Burlesque in Australia, and promote the community of Burlesque in Australia, internationally.

Personality, performance, skill and presentation all form key parts of winning the competition.

Weekly Buys - 23rd May 2011

As promised here is my haul from Retro Vixens. I order a mixture of bits for my holiday and bit for the cold here. Retro Vixens sell very reasonably priced vintage inspired items of clothing. I can't comment on the quality as I have yet to receive my order but I will let you know.

I ordered:
A Triple Tigerlily Retro Hair clip in Orange (the pic is the yellow one but I can't find the orange one on the site anymore)

Rockin' Girl High Waist Shorts in Red and Blue

Nautical Nancy Off The Shoulder Top and Nautical Nancy Pin-Up Skirt
Playgirl Pinup Style Red Playsuit

What Emma Did - 25th May 2011

This week I have been:
♥ Enjoying the warmer weather after returning from the mountains and 1 degree temperatures
♥ Breathing a sigh of relief when our application for the TRA came back successful
♥ Attending my great niece's christening. She was absolutely angelic.
♥ Ordering some bits from Retro Vixens for my holiday (I'll do a weekly buys post later!)
♥ Listing some bits on eBay (check out my auctions here and here)
♥ Becoming obsessed with Spore Hero on the Wii (sad I know!)

The UN Girlies go to the Mountains

This weekend us girlies went up to the mountains to celebrate the French Fairy's 40th with a 1940s themed birthday party. We hired a super cute cottage for the weekend called Cherry Tree Cottage in Leura. The weather was absolutely freezing but Leura looked beautiful in the crisp winter light. We spent most of the weekend sitting in front of a gorgeous log fire drinking mulled wine. Friday was spent decorating the French Fairy's house for the party and decorating the cake. It was a homemade affair and the Purple Fairy and my decorating skills after a bottle of champagne were a bit 'impressionistic' but here it is.
Saturday night was the night of the party so we all got together in the afternoon to get our glad rags on. Here are a few piccies of the of UN girlies....

What to Pack for the Mountains

As I have mentioned on Many occasions the UN girlies are off for a weekend at the Blue Mountains next weekend so I thought I'd bring you my guide for packing for the mountains.

1. Winter Woolies
Remember to pack your warmest hat, scarf and gloves. Personally I'm taking a couple of different pairs of gloves, a short red leather pair for the daytime and a pair of long black kidskin ones from the 40's for the party. I'm also taking a super cute red knit scarf with interchangeable bows from Dollydagger and a few different colour berets.

2. Thermal undies
They may not be particularly sexy but they will keep you super warm. The secret to keeping warm is to layer up and thermal undies are a definite must for the first layer.
3. Thick pantyhose
Personally I love wool ribbed pantyhose but I know for some people they're reminiscent of school days! There are some gorgeous pattern wool pantyhose on the market though like this gorgeous peacock pair from Modcloth. I also cant recommend highly enough the use of support tights to keep your legs warm. Personally I'm a fan of Pacific Brands Sheer Relief which come in a range of colours and are fully fashioned so fit very nicely.

4. Bedsocks
I love gorgeously warm and fuzzy bedsocks for the winter and am inclined to wear plain black pairs in the day time aswell! They keep my feet toasty warm. I also recommend thermal socks.

5. Quality warm nightwear
When I was in the UK I got a gorgeous blue velvet dressing gown and matching slippers from Next. It wasn't cheap at 50 pounds but it has lasted me a good few years and keeps me roasty toasty in the winter. You can get some gorgeous and warm sleepwear from local department stores. I cant stress enough the importance of keeping warm at night and I have even been known to sleep in gloves and a hat on particularly cold nights!



6. Good skincare products
This may sound a bit vague but you need to remember in winter our skin is prone to drying out due to the harsh weather so be sure to get a rich creamy moisturiser and slather on the lipbalm and handcream to keep lips and hands from chapping. I love these cute lip balms from Pin Up Balms and recommend Nutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream.

7. Shoes that will keep your feet dry
As I mentioned in a previous post I hate getting wet feet. When it comes to holidaying in the mountains its important to have shoes that keep your feet warm and dry and are easy to walk in to avoid slipping on any icy patches. I adore Miss L Fire's Ellison boots with their fleecy liner to keep your feet warm and short sturdy heel they're a winner for winter months.8. Stylish (but warm) outwear:
Ive picked up a couple of pendleton jackets recently (I blogged about them here and here) to take with me to the mountains not only are they super cute but being wool they are lovely and warm however I will still need a longer length coat to keep me warm so I have been trawling Etsy for a vintage cape. I also adore this Cosy Cape by Tara Starlet

What Emma Did - 8th May 2011

This week has been another quiet week. I have been:
♥ Packing my suitcase for the UN's Blue Mountains trip (we don't go until Friday but I don't have any free time before then to pack!)
♥ Playing more CSI Wii games
♥ Scaring our neighbours when the hubby and I got microphones for the Wii and had a little Singstar session
♥ Trying to finish the christening dress which I now realise was a way too ambitious task for someone who is just a beginner when it comes to dressmaking!
♥ Going over to see a poorly Purple Fairy for UN trip planning, cake designing and general mischief making!

Weekly Buys - 6 May 2011

I apologise dear readers for my lack of discipline when it comes to posting new sections regularly. I did promise that this would become a weekly section and yet I haven't posted a 'Weekly Buy' post since the first one way back in March. So I won't make any more promises I cant keep and I'll just simply say I'll bring you this section whenever I have any interesting buys to share.

This week is a bit of a mixed bag what with buying winter clothes for the coming colder months and summer bits and pieces for our wedding/honeymoon in Fiji in 6 weeks!!!
I bought more vintage plaid. Its becoming a bit of an obsession for my winter wardrobe but when I spotted this gorgeous Vintage 50s BLACK WATCH Plaid Skirt Suit for just $24 I couldn't pass it up. I probably wouldn't wear the skirt and jacket together but I figured the skirt will look good teamed up with some winter jumpers and the jacket will look fab with my Heyday trousers. I also got this fab Miss Hussy Wing Top in the blue vintage material after seeing it on Super Kawaii Mama's blog. I wanted to snap up the red one aswell but they seem popular and sell out pretty quickly. This will be perfect for my holiday teamed up with some loose linen trousers or even a cute pencil skirt for the evening. I also picked up two Jantzen swimsuits one in a red retro design and one white one with a beautiful Hawaiian style flowers all over it. I figured as I plan to spend most of my holiday lazing by the pool. Sipping cocktails in the pool bar or sunning myself on the beach I needed a good few swimsuits and when I saw the Hawaiian print swimsuit it screamed tropical island holiday to me.
Lastly I got this gorgeous vintage fox fur stole. It looks brown in the photos but when I received it it is a beautiful rich red colour. Personally I think I got it for a steal at $26ish dollars. It will be perfect to wear over my heyday dress for the French Fairy's 1940s 40th birthday party in the Blue Mountains.

The Bookworm Presents: Style Me Vintage - Hair

I promised a review of Style Me Vintage last week so finally here it is! Style Me Vintage gives a step by step guide to recreating some fabulous vintage hairstyles from the 1920s through to the 1970s. Visually the book is beautiful and features some stunning shots of each 'do'. It starts off with a list of equipment that is needed to achieve the styles which personally I think is a bit excessive. I find you can achieve most of the styles within with less than half of the equipment listed.

The styles are shown with a classic vintage shot of the style and a modern equivalent. Each style has a brief history of the style and then the equipment list needed for each style. The hairstyles have a simple step by step guide with accompanying photos to help you achieve the beautiful dos.

To be honest I have been putting off the review of this book because I have yet to decide my opinion on this book. With some hairstyles it seems that the styles are over complicated, for example placing rollers in the hair and then tonging it to achieve a 1940s peek-a-boo style and yet with other styles there is not enough information for a beginner to comprehend what is being explained. I found this when trying the Victory Rolls style. The book says to 'Roll hair loosely over your hand rather like a French pleat'. However there is no accompanying picture for this step and for anyone (like me) who has trouble with victory rolls it seems a little unclear.

Overall I think this is a stunning little book but it may be more suited to someone who is not a complete beginner at attempting these styles. For me personally I will give Vintage Hairstyling a try and see how I fair.

What Emma Did - 1st May 2011

This week the hubby and I have had a pretty quiet week as we have been recovering from all the Easter madness. So this week we have been:
♥ Visiting the Powerhouse Museum with my nephews, niece and great niece
♥ Rereading Terry Pratchett's city watch books after seeing Terry Pratchett last week in preparation for the new book Snuff that's out in October
♥ Loving Lipton Cinnamon & Apple Herbal Infusion Tea
♥ Playing more CSI on the Wii
♥ Meeting up with the UN girlies for some serious party planning