Sponsor Spotlight: Lady K Loves

Eagle eyed readers may have noticed a new sponsor ad in the sidebar of the blog. Yes readers I am excited to announce that Emma aime has our first sponsor - Lady K Loves! Lady K Loves is a UK based vintage inspired Rockabilly, Pin Up, Neo-Vintage and Kustom Kulture clothing company run by the lovely Kessie Hodges. All the item are beautifully and lovingly crafted in the UK.

I have shopped with Lady K Loves before and have always been happy with the quality product they offer at great value so I was delighted when they agreed to sponsor Emma aime. Kessie was even nice enough to send me some fabulous Rosie Trousers to try out and I have to say they will definitely be getting a lot of wear this winter so much so that I may even have to order another pair in black!

The Rosie trousers are a 1940s style high waist swing trouser made from a cotton jersey material which are super comfortable to wear all day. I tend to find that with some high waisted trousers of different materials the waistband starts to dig in at the end of the day but as the Rosie trousers have some stretch to them this isn't an issue! They look just as good dressed up for a night out or dressed down with a warm jumper.

The Rosie trousers are available in sizes from xs to xl and run large to sizing due to the stretch material.

Here's how I wore my trousers with my victory jumper in a 1940s land girl look but stay tuned for a dressed up in a 1920s inspired look coming soon!

Rosie trousers - Lady K Loves

Saddle Oxford shoes - Predictions at Payless Shoes

Hand Knitted Victory Sweater - qbiffa on eBay 

Headscarf - eBay 

What Emma Did - 24th June 2012

This week I have been:
♥ Chilling in the Mountains for our wedding anniversary
♥ Rediscovering my childhood at the Leuralla Toy and Railway Museum
♥ Enjoying Devonshire tea at Bygone Beautys 
♥ Indulging on yummy Zokoko chocolate 
♥ Having a movie night with the bakers 
♥ Catching up with the Purple Fairy for lunch on Friday

Daily Outfit: In the Mountains

 Sunday was a bright but cold morning so we rugged up to head over to Everglades House and Gardens. I wore my newish dress from Modcloth mad warmer by adding a roll neck skivy underneath and a pair of thick woolen tights. I then donned my coat that Simon got me for my birthday from Forever new and matching hat.

Rhianna Velvet Trim Coat - Forever New

Cutie Bow Bonnet - Forever New

Drop Waist By to Say Hi Dress - Modcloth

Roll neck skivy - SES

White wool beret (shown above) - eBay

White wool pashmina - ??

Fur lined booties - Babylon Fashion on eBay

Leura Trip - Day 3

On our final full day in the mountains we went took a trip into town and had a look around Leura's vintage shops. Sadly I didnt see anything that caught my eye although the hubby did almost buy a green wool military coat for the bargain price of $73! 


After a morning of shopping we needed a little light refreshment so we popped over to Bygone Beautys for a Devonshire tea. There I spotted a pair of gorgeous red hoop earrings that had roses painted on them. The hubby bought them for me as a little anniversary gift. 

After lunch we went to check out the enchanting Leuralla Toy & Railway Museum.  Leuralla was completed in 1912 and is still in its original condition with all the original furniture, fittings and textiles. Though the house is still lived in it houses a fabulous collection of antique toys and model trains. 

After wandering around the beautiful house we went to take a walk through the gardens and see the model trains including a large scale working model! 

Leura Trip - Day 2

On our second day in the mountains I woke up to a delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs cooked by the hubby. It was a beautifully sunny (although freezing!) day so we went to the Everglades Historic House and Gardens. Although it was winter and not a lot was blooming the gardens were still stunning so after a wandering down the terraces and admiring the view we headed to the cafe for a warming tea and slice of cake. 

After some light refreshments we had a look around the house itself. The house was built in the 1930s for Henri Van De Velde and was designed by architect Paul Sorensen. The house and gardens are stunning examples of art deco and modernist design. I especially adored the sweeping spiral staircase and the bathrooms straight out of 1930s Hollywood! 

In the afternoon the weather turned super windy so we headed back to the cottage, stoked the fire and cosied up for the afternoon then in the evening we rugged up and headed out to see the fantastic Rock of Ages!

Leura Trip - Day 1

The cute Cherry Tree Cottage

After going out to lunch with the Purple Fairy for her birthday on Saturday we headed off Leura for our wedding anniversary weekend. We stayed at Cherry Tree Cottage which I fell in love with after staying there with the UN girls for the French Fairy's 40th birthday last year. After settling in we headed back out to the Metropole Hotel in Katoomba for a Yulefest dinner.

The Metropole Hotel

The Metropole was built in the 1930s and is full of beautiful art deco features. As for the yulefest dinner itself it was a delicious four course meal of pumpkin soup, a cremy mushroom vol-au-vent, turkey and ham with baked veggies and top off with plum pudding and custard.

Yummy Christmas dinner

The dinning room was decked out with Christmas decorations and we were entertained all night with Christmas carols played by Don and all this for just $49 each!

Don entertaining us with Christmas carols

After stuffing ourselves with yummy dinner we headed back to the cottage to relax round the log fire with a nice cup of tea!  

Enjoying a glass of mulled wine

The Metropole is holding Yulefest lunch and dinners all through June, July and August contact them here to book! 

What Emma Did - 17th June 2012

This week I have been:
♥ Catching up on Mad Men and now eagerly awaiting the next season! 
♥ Meeting the Purple Fairy for her birthday lunch
♥ Spending a long weekend in Leura for our wedding anniversary
♥ Going out for a Yulefest dinner at The Metropole Katoomba
♥ Checking out the beautiful Everglades house and garden
♥ Going to see Rock of Ages

What Emma Did - 10th June 2012

This week I have been:
♥ Painting my wardrobes in a black gloss
♥ Trying to get over a yucky cold 
♥ Watching series 2 of the hilarious Mrs Browns Boys
♥ Getting super excited at getting my first blog sponsor Lady K Loves! (a sponsor post will follow)
♥ Putting together a homemade anniversary pressie for the hubby
♥ Buying lots of new Sims 3 add on packs and Professor Layton and the Curious Village which will keep my busy while i'm ill

The Bookworm Presents: The Great American Pin-Up

This week I received a copy of The Great American Pin-Up from publishers Taschen. Having previously read and reviewed 1000 Pin-up Girls and Gil Elvgren - The Complete Pin Ups I was looking forward to getting my mitts on this book and I have to say it didn't disappoint. The book is a comprehensive overview of the best American pin up artists and features over 500 beautiful pin up illustrations.

The book starts with an overview of 'The Fine Art of Illustration' which follows the history of illustration from humble beginnings to its emergence as an art form in its own right.This is followed up by an overview of 'The Great American Pinup' which follows pinup art from the 1920s to 1970s where practically all advertisements were essentially 'pin ups'. Due to its popularity pin up art spread to calendar, collectors cards and magazines such as Beauty Parade, Whisper, Wink, Eyeful, Titter, Flirt and Giggles. The height of the pin ups popularity was WWII when the soldiers took pin up and risque pictures to war with them. Pin up art declined in the 1970s when advertisers and calendars started using photos instead of drawings and it is only in recent years that these artist-illustrators are only now being recognized for their real contributions to the history of American art.

The book continues with biographies of some of the most prominent american pin up artists and examples of their work. These include Rolf Armstrong, Joyce Ballantyne, Al Buell, Edward D’Ancona, Billy DeVorss, Peter Driben, Harry Ekman, Freeman Elliot, Gil Elvgren, Art Frahm, Pearl Frush, Earl Mac Pherson, Bill Medcalf, Al Moore, Earl Moran, Zoë Mozert, K. O. Munson, George Petty, Edward Runci, T. N. Thompson and Alberto Vargas.

In conclusion this book is a must buy for any fan of the pinup genre.

What Emma Did - 3 June 2012

I had such a busy weekend that I completely forgot to write the 'What Emma Did' post so here it is a day late but none the worse for wear. This week I have been:
♥ Making cinnamon scrolls with the hubby
♥ Cooking up a yummy lamb tagine for dinner
♥ Going to get pampered and my eyebrows done at Angel Touch
♥ Catching up with the Purple Fairy, my niece and great niece for a coffee and a chat 
♥ Braving the rain to check out the Vintage Fashion Bazaar at the Sydney Antique Centre
♥ Going out on another rainy day to shop at the Rock n Roll Markets
♥ Scoffing a yummy pie from Harrys Cafe de Wheels

Sydney Rock n Roll Markets

Today the hubby and I headed to Sydney Uni to the Rock n Roll Markets grand reopening at Manning Bar. Although the weather was pretty lousy the market was pretty busy. We met up with Mae Em and after a cup of tea went to scour the stalls. There were many fantastic items to snap up. I spotted some amazing items on Pia Anderson of Vintage Allsorts stall and Em picked up three gorgeous vintage hats for a bargainous $120. We also discovered some amazing repro dresses made by Claire of Fifties Frocks which were simply stunning.

Tim looking dapper as ever and Em in a dress she picked up from the SAC yesterday

After a lot more browsing we met up with Tim of like Johnny and June who popped by on his way to studying at the library.

I saw lots of amazing dresses I would like to have snapped up but sadly they were a little out of my budget I did however get this amazing pink glass flamingo from vintage and retro and some gorgeous turquoise beads.    Unfortunately in the bag carry confusion the hubby accidentally handed the bag with my flamingo in to Em with the rest of her bags so my flamingo is winging its way to Brisbane but Em will bring him back next time she is in Sydney. 

Vintage Fashion Bazaar

The hubby and ventured out in the rain today to check out the Vintage Fashion Bazaar at the Sydney Antique Centre. Its hard to believe that after 4 years in Sydney I had not yet been to the Antique Centre.

After warming up with a cup of tea from the cafe we headed downstairs to the Vintage Fashion Emporium to see what treasures were on offer. I spotted some beautiful dresses but unfortunately they were a little out of my price range. Unfortunately due to the terrible weather the bazaar was unusually quiet and some of the pop up shops could not get to the event due to the weather so the event was a little bit of a washout. Having said that the Antique Centre was still definitely worth a visit and I will certainly head back there when I have some money to spend to snap of some of those fabulous dresses.

As the weather was disgustingly cold I wore the dress suit that I had picked up in January from Bygone Beauties for the bargain price of $10!

Wool dress suit - Bygone Beautys - $10!

1940s black kid skin gloves - eBay

black clutch bag - stall in Engadine Central

Black beret - eBay

Black fur booties - babylon fashion on eBay