2011 has been one of the biggest and most demanding years of my life to date. There have been a lot of highs and indeed, lows as well.

• The year started off with a fabulous trip to Thailand and Singapore. Kicking back, enjoying numerous Happy Hours, visiting the zoo and loads of shopping.

With Dweam shopping in Singapore, and with my two ‘little rabbits’ at the Singapore zoo.

• Miss 6 started school and became Miss 7 during the year!
• The opportunity to talk about my favourite subjects (shopping and vintage), on a number of national radio stations and even featuring on primetime T.V.
• Presenting some wonderful vintage shows for the National Trust and Heritage Houses Trust around Australia.

With Bonnie Rose at Wintersun & with a reader Tina at the Love Vintage Fair.

• Travelling all over the country to many of our wonderful nostalgia festivals.
• Conducting wonderful vintage glamour workshops and meeting so many delightful people.
• Learning to dance (properly)!

Dancing with Mr. SKM (awesome pic by Helen McLean) and my stand in favourite man, DJ Ray.

• Creating so many amazing vintage bridal looks with loads of stunning and inspirational ladies.
• Launching my new venture Some Fancy Ladies with my girlfriends!!
• And last, but by no means least – Writing for you!  This is by far the biggest privilege; to be invited into your lives to read about all my ramblings and goings on.  Sometimes blogging (and keeping up with the schedule) can be incredibly difficult.  Honestly, I’ve found this year a real struggle to stay on top of things and there are pages and pages of things I’ve wanted to write, film and chat about, but simply haven’t been able to find the time.  Sometimes, when you’re trying to keep everyone happy it can be hard to keep your mojo. BUT… I’m happy to report I found my mojo under the cushion on the couch!!

And so, I’ve been working away this holiday break planning all kinds of goodies and fun for you here. I’ve been shooting, editing, writing, musing, eating, laughing and generally doing all the things that make a happy blogger. So I thank you all for being a constant source of inspiration, friendship, laughter, and a good old fashioned chat.

My wishes for you in 2012 are these….

Clarity, Hope, Dreams, Joy, Strength, Passion and Kindness.

Thank you for being a part of the journey.

Much love, Candice xoxo

Attempting to look composed whilst reading this hysterical piece in public.

You know I’m not really one for writing about parenting on this blog, after all, I think some of my techniques may be a bit suspect. However, today is an exception because this is something you should all know about whether you have kids of your own or not. We all know someone with children or someone who wants to have them, and giving them a copy of this book may be the best thing you ever do for them.  In fact, it is so good that you may find yourself written into their Will / given a holiday home/ keys to the city.

Dr. Madeline Hamilton became a friend of mine after writing her book Our Girls about Australian Pinups in WW2, so it was with surprise that I first began to read her blog about being a Mother; Sh*t On My Hands. Now Madeline and her co-author Bunny have combined their observations and experiences to bring you this gem of a book. When I first opened this up and began to read, it was like that moment in indian Jones when they open the Arc of the Covenant. All gobsmacked revelation, awe and joy / horror shared.  This is the book that I wish I had been given before I had kids, the book you should give others planning to take the plunge.

In fact, you can read one of my own tales of sh*tful woe here on Madeline’s blog.

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It revels in the joy of parenthood, but pulls no punches when it comes to giving you the frustrating, maddening, hysterical truth of it all.  If you think that having kids will be all about how to decorate the nursery, what type of eco friendly brand nappies you need and which school of parenting your style will spring from – You.Need.This.Book!

Handbag sized, this is perfect for taking anyway and reading on the go. The stories will have you laughing until the tears run down your legs, so I warn you to be prepared. To top all that off, the book is beautifully presented with a gorgeous array of vintage baby advertisements that make the dreamy romance of the situation all too clear in juxtaposition to the reality.

You can get your copy of Sh*t On My Hands from Arcade Publications as either a hard copy of ebook, and from good book sellers all over the country. I think I’m going to order a box of these in bulk and send them to every new mum, expectant parent and clucky friend. You’ll thank me later.

Since July, things have gone at such a pace I’m not entirely sure what has happened to the time. I know one thing for sure, it’s been crazy around here!

Wedding season has kicked off with a bang and as a specialist vintage hair and makeup artist, it has been a haze of ivory toned lace, antique brooches, brocades, lace and all manner of other vintage bridal looks. I can’t wait to get back some of the images from last Saturday’s wedding at the amazing mid century Boyd Baker House, where the bride was a classic 50′s dream and her groom so suave, he may as well have stepped straight from the Mad Men set.

The gorgeous Marina had planned her vintage wedding with so much care and detail that she’d been collecting original fifties frocks for her bridesmaids from all over the world. She found them matching hats, shoes and even had made each bridal bouquet from a stunning collection of vintage brooches. She came to me with a vision of Audrey Hepburn for her big day and isn’t she just a picture!

Given that I live in Melbourne, home of the Spring Racing Carnival and the Melbourne Cup, it’s not only wedding season, but Racing season. And there are lots of parties to plan for, outfits to style and ladies to transform into vintage queens.  So if you live in Melbourne and you’ve been wanting to create a stunning, polished look for one of your events; you’re in luck! I’ve decided to run a special Spring Summer promotion for anyone based in the Melbourne Metro area on weekdays, to work my hair and makeup magic on you and help you entrance your audience.

But I couldn’t tell you about what’s been happening for everyone else’s special occasions without mentioning the biggest one for me this month…. the launch of my 2012 Some Fancy Ladies™ classic pinup calendar!! The calendar is only the beginning of a very exciting new business venture that I know you’ll be enjoying as each new piece is revealled.  The other fancy ladies and I are hitting the road next week to begin a round of launch parties and events that are set to be red hot.

The 2012 calendar is an homage to the 1940′s and 1950′s work of Gil Elvgren, and we’ve worked incredibly hard to not only capture the look but also the spirit of the original images. I have to say, I’m very proud of what we’ve created.  If you haven’t ordered a copy yet, do it now as the first 100 copies will be personally autographed by each of the ladies. Want to have a sneak peek at how it looks?

No doubt, there will be all sorts of other fun and games to come in the next few weeks. I have some great vintage cocktail recipes coming up for you tomorrow, another amazing pinup halloween tutorial, more scrumptious food then a great review of the shape wear you’ll need after you eat it all, and the story of some interestingly coincidental vintage finds.  If you haven’t already, you can subscribe to my Super Kawaii Mama You Tube channel where you’ll find all new footage delivered to your inbox before it even hits the blog.  And if you want even more secret tips, hints, trick and the low down on the vintage scene in Australia; make sure to sign up for the Official Glamorous Newsletter for email updates here.

Now I’m going to put my weary feet up for a little champagne and go a little crazy on Pinterest for a while. <3

Yeah a headline like that is guaranteed not to get you read.. but anyway, I think it’s important to keep you up to date with all the goings on here, especially as I occasionally disappear for a bit now and then. Right’o, so first up there’s Facebook stuff.

FaceBook – I finally bit the bullet and went ahead and created a Candice DeVille Facebook Fan Page. Because FB caps our friends lists and things were getting out of hand, I’ve decided I’ll be adding all the important updates, secret events and killer new photos to this fan page.  You’ll be able to browse portfolios of all my Vintage Hair & Makeup work, see some of the stunning Bridal looks I’m working on and check out the launch of my new secret project! So if you’d like to know about some very cool things, then come on over and ‘like’ the page.

It’s been all quiet on the blogging front here this week for two reasons. Firstly as I had a sneaky and quiet birthday (!), and I’ve been hiding in a pile of gorgeous things as my Glamorous Assistant (she even wore gold lame capris while we worked!) and I get everything ready for the my first HUGE ONLINE GARAGE SALE!! If you’ve been reading for a while, you’ll know I have a serious shopping and collecting habit. So much so that if I don’t move much of this on, then I’m going to have to get another house! So stay tuned, get your eBay and Etsy accounts ready, cause this is going to be MASSIVE!

EVENTS – I have more upcoming events and workshops than you can poke a stick at!

First up – Sunday September 4th at 2pm is the Shanghai Tea Event – a very special, not to be missed, vintage style High Tea the likes of which you’ve never seen before.  The bookings for this are EXTREMELY limited, so you’ll need to get a wriggle on if you’d like to book in.

Next - Saturday & Sunday September 10th & 11th – is my killer Hats & Style workshop with Peter Jago just in time for Spring Fashion Week and the Spring Racing Carnival.

YouTube - Yes, it has been ages since I’ve created a new tutorial. I have been filming then running out of time to edit. And looking back on much of what I’ve created, I like the content but the quality just isn’t so crash hot. The good new is… I now have a proper STUDIO to film these in for you! So I’m going to go back to square one and recreate all the tutorials from the beginning as well as tackle that ever growing list of requests you’ve all been sending my way.  While I’m at it, tell me… are vLogs of much interest to you or would you prefer that I just keep my updates written?

Anyway, better get back to this schedule and start writing up this pile of reviews awaiting me, including the most INCREDIBLE stay on lipstick ever!!

xx