I just had to share this amusing piece that has recently been released here to promote Ita Buttrose’s new book on manners in Australia. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it’s like, poor J.Lo better watch out for her crown!

This post is sponsored by Nuffnang

You know how sometimes things are one way in your head but something completely different to everyone else? I do, and that’s just one of the reasons I flipping love Cougar Town. It’s one of those guilty pleasures I have because there are just so many moments I sit there killing myself laughing, as Jules does something she thinks is uber cool only to have the rest of us shaking our heads.

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If you haven’t heard about Cougar Town yet (where have you been?), you’re missing out.  From the creator of Scrubs, the show is based around Jules (played by Courtney Cox), who after seventeen years is recently divorced and trying to get back into the dating game. She’s still looking ridiculously hot as the mother to a teenage son and fills out innumerable spandex jersey dresses throughout the duration of the show.  And while she has a very sexy, very single neighbour across the street to impress, she also has an ex-husband with an IQ of a thirteen year old boy hanging around. (See – drives a golf cart everywhere!)

Now, while I can’t relate to her single and seeking status, there is something far more engaging and hilarious I can. Those stupid day to day things we do that land us in all kinds of embarrassment.  The question of, just what is worth shaving your legs for? Is wine an acceptable accompaniment to cocoa pops on a particularly bad morning? If I leave a suspect 3am message on your answering machine, should I leave another 10 to explain why I did that?

Now given that I have absolutely no embarrassing dating stories to tell you, I’ll tell you what happened to a friend of mine when she went out with a new man and decided to get all sexy..

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After picking up a very cute pair of new knickers, pink gingham with frilled trim that did up in little bows on the sides, she put on her new purchase with a beautiful dress and headed out with said new man.  After a few glasses of wine at dinner, she nipped off to the bathroom, where re-tying those side bows on her pretty knickers was a somewhat acrobatic feat in her every so slightly tipsy state. Nevertheless, she persevered thinking of just how cute they’d look later that evening if all went well.  She powdered her nose and headed back to the table to meet her date.  Only to trip midway through the restaurant as the bows loosed and she was left with a trail of frilly gingham tangled in her stilettos and a pair of very red cheeks!

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It’s that mixture of cringe worthy moments we all know and some great examples of what not to do when dating, which make Cougar Town such a crack up. Although you may not find it quite so funny if watching it with you current partner and he looks at you and says, “ Ha Ha! That’s just like you!” (Note to Mr.  SKM: My victory dance is WAY more coordinated than that!)

Cougar_Town_S1 – Click for a sneak peek at the show!

Cougar Town has just become available on DVD through TV4ME, the place to get your hands on all those titles you’re secretly addicted to.  That way you can have all those laughs on hand when you most need them and no fights over who gets to pick the channel that night.

Want to win a copy of Season 1 for yourself? Then leave me a comment telling me your own funny dating story.  Make sure your comment has a valid email address so I can find you again too! You’ve got two weeks to get you’re your entries in so fess up!

(Contest open to Australian residents only)

It is possible that I sat up last night watching clips like these for four hours. Clips on “Being Popular” (tip – don’t park in cars), “Being a good housewife” (tip- don’t talk too much), “Being a good female employee” (tip- do what you’re told and shut up).  As amusing as the clips are, the comments left by viewers are just as hilarious at times. But I particularly liked this one about the habits of good grooming and it made me wonder, just where are children taught things like this these days?

For many of my generation these things were still learnt at home where we were fortunate to learn by good examples.  However, a visit to any local shopping mall will leave you in little doubt that there is a big, gapping, badly groomed hole in the education of today’s teenager. The things I take for granted, like knowing how to use an iron, have become rare and exotic skills in today’s teenage repetior.  And taking a clean handkerchief out with you? Well the only handkerchieves I see on most teenagers are the ones masquerading as skirts.

Perhaps if the cast of Glee did a version of this film we’d have more luck guiding the next generation on the path to ‘keeping it nice’.

This clip is from the Prelinger Archives.

Yay! Finally it is tutorial time again!

This time around I’m going to show you that long promised tutorial on how to use liquid liner to create a simple, retro, winged liner look.  This is a great starting point for beginners and those of you that don’t have such a steady hand.  You can use this same technique to bump it up a notch and go for a heavier Amy Winehouse style of liner or keep it a more subtle Marilyn Monroe style wing.

Enjoy!

Esz, Kesenya, Me & Marianne – Photo by Nada

Making things look easy is hard work! Yesterday I gave the first of two lunch time session workshops for Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, and I have to tell you, pulling something like this together is no easy task.

Given that this blog and pretty much everything I do is a one woman show, I have to be super organised and multi talented to make it work. The last few weeks have really put me to the test to see just how much I can do and has also taught me that without a good team, there are some things that just can’t be achieved.

I’m sure that over the course of this week, you’ll be reading all about the highlights of MSFW, the shows, the clothes, the models; so I want to give you a different view into what goes on behind the scenes.  Here’s what it takes for me to put on a one hour session, and keep in mind this isn’t a whole production with multitudes of garments and models – that would take an army!

Firstly, you have to come up with your concepts.  This is the bit that most people enjoy the most, things like mood boards, topics, the imagination part.  Then you have to work out how you’re going to turn that into something that entertains and informs for a whole hour.

There is a set to stage, making sure that things look pretty and that it all works. That your guests are warm and dry and that everyone can see and hear what is happening. There is a mood and ambience to set, all of which require props, lighting and people to make it happen.

Given that what I’m presenting isn’t really a catwalk show I needed to come up with ways to illustrate what I’m talking about and make the hour more than just me on stage like a bump on a branch. So I’ve been pulling together several outfits, beautiful models, doing fittings, repairing garments, writing booklets and doing all the graphic design, DVD presentations… all sorts of things!

The long and short of it all is that I’ve been working about 14 plus hours a day for the last three weeks just to pull together a one hour session. It sounds like an insurmountable task, which on some days it does feel like, but one of the most fabulous things to come out of all this has been the great team of people who have pulled together to make it happen.

Esz, Nada, Me & Marianne – Photo by Kesenya

We’re a small crew, but the marvellous Nada has been helping me prepare models backstage, Kesenya of Alice Jean’s has become my “Adrianna” (only you Australians of a certain age will know what that means), and the wonderful Marianne from Esme & The Laneway and Esz from Kitty’s Drawings, put up their hands to show how beautifully vintage can be worn.

So with all that prep time in mind make sure you get down to see Thursdays session at 3.30pm in City Square! Now that we are officially in Spring the weather is bound put on a good turn out for us… (positive thinking works).

It was such a super busy day yesterday that I didn’t even get a chance to take any proper outfit shots of what I was wearing! But you can get a fair idea from these pics at least. It was…

1940′s Silk Taffeta Blouse – via Etsy

French Navy Wide Leg Pants – Made by Me

Shoes – Black faux snake skin lace ups by Kumfs

White floral headpiece- by Samantha Sultana

I’m thinking after the last few weeks that it might be time to bite the bullet and hire an intern…. any takers?