New Year Resolutions

Among the list this year it includes ....

NEW YEAR, NEW FEET.  That right folks, I have decided to make this year the Year of the Foot.  Forget dragon, dog or rooster.  This year it's the tootsies that have top billing.  My previously neglected, pained but prettily adorned feet.  For so long I have ignored the pain, my inability to walk more than a block and a half and the blisters.  Until finally my feet finally put a stop to the abuse.  I was hobbling like a little old lady for the first half hour of the morning and gingerly for the rest of the day until bedtime, when I would wake up with the most horrific cramps in the arches of my feet.  Only for it to all start over the next day.  It went on until June when I finally went and saw a podiatrist who diagnosed Plantar Facsitis, which had progressed until there were little tears along the whole length of my ligaments.  The final diagnosis was that they expect my recovery to take up to a year - two years if I don't follow my stretching, icing and orthotics etc etc.

I was noticing that it was a rare moment when I saw pair of flats in the style blogs until I stumbled across Kyla at Blue Collar Catwalk and read her flat philosophy with newly opened eyes.  So I took a leaf out of Kyla's blog .....

And pulled out all my collection:

I pulled any that pinch, pull, rub,  are too high, too flat, and just plain old don't fit.  

I was left with:

and I still hate to say it - I kept a couple that although I can't wear at the moment, I just love them too much to let go of  (I'm looking you my lovely stiletto oxfords ...)

So, I stand resolute for 2011 not to purchase any ill-fitting or high heeled shoes - be it pump, stiletto or wedge.  I will treasure the feet that carry me every moment of every day, and wrap them only in shoes that my FEET love.

I am so invigorated with my resolution, that I'm now hanging out for Kendi from Kendi Everyday to kick off the next 30 for 30! 

Goodbye 2010

Anthropologie Southward Stop Dress

Raindrops keep falling on my head ...

and falling, and falling and falling.  Seriously, just a day without rain would feel like a godsend at this stage.  I have had a total of 5 (FIVE!) days of full sunshine since October 22nd - the day we also moved house and discovered that our new house is smack bang in the middle of a flood zone ... can't you feel my happiness all the way across the webwaves???

This is an old outfit from a week ago, but better late than never (or so I hear ...)

 

Anthropologie - Curated Tee

Anthropologie - Homestead Skirt 

Anthro Flats 

Confessions of a Concealaholic

 

          

One Hour and Forty Five Minutes.  See that slightly scary smile I have going on?  Its the smile you get from the crazy lady down the road who your pretty sure could go postal at any moment, while doing the gardening in her bathrobe - all she needs is something to set her off.  You know the one I'm talking about, right?

I say it again:  One Hour and Forty Five Minutes.

*** Complete fashion deviation for a little while - If you're here for the OOTD (which is totally cool by the way, no hard feelings) feel free to skip on down to the normal looking photo's.  You know the ones, the one's without the crazy postal lady smile ***

I turned my bedside clock away from me at 4:58am, tears were about to begin (along with the new day) and I hadn't been to sleep yet.  Yes people, I'm talking sleep.  One Hour and Forty Five Minutes.  Then I had to get my shit together and look like I can do this Mummy thing, without tears or tantrums (me that is, not the two year old!)

Now I can hear the question, what on earth were you doing all night?  Well, to fully understand how I came to be sitting up in the dining room, under a mountain of scrapbooking stuff and photographs at 3:30am while having yet another coffee (seriously, I should have just hooked up an IV line, it would have saved an awful lot of time!)  we have to go back a week, to my daughters school.

Every week at school, one child is given Back Pack Bear.  A teddy bear that comes home with thechild for one week, and gets to accompany his new family for the week.  All the while the good little mummies and daddies are taking photo's and documenting every moment in 'BackPack's ScrapBook'.  Well after nine months of patient waiting, Grace finally brought the (by this stage, rather smelly!) Bear home.  And so began a week of fun activities, all designed around keeping BackPack Bear entertained.  Apparently he doesn't like to do the same thing twice. Or share a meal.  Or eat pretend food. Along comes Sunday night, BackPack's Bear had his farewell party and Grace and I settled to create her pages of the fabulous week that BackPack Bear had.  Two hours later, I still couldn't get the printer to print a single photo.  Grace went off to bed in floods of tears, so upset that she wouldn't be able to present her week to the class, and I walked out of her room feeling pretty darn low.  Fastforward a couple of hours and I'm getting ready for bed, packing up the printer etc and thinking about how wrong it was, that after so much effort and planning of the week that Grace wasn't going to be able to show off how much work she had done this week.  And being the grownup that I am, a little tantrum made everything so much better.  As I hit the side of the printer, it magically came to life and started printing.   

Now onto OOTD ...

This is straight-up mummy-wear.  Blouse, Jeans, Comfy Shoes.  

And Concealer.  Alot of it.  Pretty much shovelled on. Spack Filler?  Oh yes please!

  Oh and how could I forget the bright necklace - to distract you from the big bad bags and manical smile.  Did it work?  Well, did it?

Off to find my bathrobe, I'm feeling a spot of gardening coming on ....

heart, Jodie xxx

Rain clouds in the sky.

The days are being drenched in crazy, unexpected storms.  And then followed by hot summery days.  All within an hour of each other.  

So what do you dress for - the dark and crazy skies, or the breezy blue skies?

 

Cumulonimbus (?) Tee (Anthro)

Homestead Denim Skirt (Anthro)

Skinny Green Belt

African Wooden Wedges (Mathers)

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something New.

Congratulations go out to Cindi and Chris today.  It has been something special to watch the love and care that has gone into this wedding, and I for one, can't wait to see all the happy faces on their special day.

So raise your glasses.  

To Cindi and Chris   

Something Old:  Nine West Heels

Something New:  Primula Dress, Anthropologie 

Something Borrowed:  Necklace, from my daughter

Something Blue:  Eyeliner, Eyeshadow and Necklace!

I was thrilled to participate in All things Aimee's Blog Bachelorette Party for Cindi.  

Plus I had to add in a little Anthro for Cindi :)

Confessional

I have a confession to make. Over the past nine months or so, I have been devouring blogs every morning with my coffee, to the point where I actually set my alarm to 5:30am so that I can spend the time, peacefully child-free and indulging in pure unadualtered lust and envy of some blogs of a certain nature.

Anthropologie.  Kim at Anthroholic was my first find, followed swiftly (I believe it took maybe 5 mins) by Maria at Infinite Whimsy.  Then came morning staples such as Effortless Anthropologie, Love at First Shop, Have a Cute Day, You, Me & Anthropolgie as they each took a place in my morning ritual.  Recently I have also fallen for Musings by Jacquelyn , Princessof Taylor, Simply Cindi and Square Peg for Anthro (among others).  So with my newfound Anthro devotion, came the knowledge that it was not going to happen for me.  To start with, they didn't ship to Australia.  Then came the international update, Australia had made the cut!  But, as luck would have it, the site didn't allow most of the popular items, and none from the sales.  So, like the masochist I am, I continued the not-so-discreet affair, and I found love in dress after dress, skirt after skirt, and cardi after cardi.  All of which, were not coming home to me.

Then I discovered viaddress.com.  The lovely people there gave me a US address for shipping, and would hold onto my purchases and consolidate them when I requested and ship over to the land Down Under.  So I started shopping the restricted US Anthro site.  And wow did the the price-tags hurt, even before I start calculating the exchange rate with a dull ache in my heart, and thats not taking into account the international shipping rates.  But then, I discovered thanks to a guest post on Roxy's blog, how to circumnavigate Anthro's international shipping policies.  And then I discovered the internet sale times.  My heart started to flutter.  Finally, Kim started Anthroholic Shopper.  Thats right.  A shopping service directed at me.  My heart took flight and soared.  My husbands' nosedived.

Well, today people, is the day.  My first consolidated shipment has arrived.  My heart was racing, I was actually squealing when Hubs asked, "Do you have anything from Fedex coming?" (Silly man, what do you think I have been tracking obsessively for the past four days as I watched it transit the globe)

I. Have. No. Words.

Just a great big grin on my face.  No doubt you will see a few Anthro pieces pop on up here very soon.

But until then I leave you with ....

The shoes that started the obsession.  Picture-Perfect Clogs.

They are clogs.  

They are soft, soft.

They are the perfect neutral taupe.  

They have flowers.

  

They are mine.