1. Dream in Green Dress 2. Green peplum home made dress

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1. Carmen Miranda necklace set 2. Bow feature hat

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1. Barkcloth rose bag 2. Farm life barkcloth

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1.  Blue flower brooch 2.  Carved lucite rose brooch

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Peach beaded dream dress

Happy New Year’s Eve everyone!! I’m super excited about 2011 for some reason. It has been feeling for the last half of 2010 that things are going to be on the up next year with far less fails and far less dramas. Don’t know why I think this, it’s not like I’ve taken to hanging out with Gypsies on my vacation, it’s just a feeling.

Anyway, I did have big plans for tonight until 24 hours ago. Big plans for someone with two children on a babysitter impossible night, involves hanging at a friends house and watching fireworks and being poked into consciousness at around 6am by said children. Anyway, when that riveting plan went belly up I was a little sulky, knowing all the great things I could have been doing and all the parties my friends are playing at. But really, it is just another night and it is all about what you make of it. So I decided to give myself a good kick in the pants and make my New Years start the right way; with friends, food and shopping!

We all slept in then got fancy before heading off to breakfast as a family. Instead of our usual go-to of Eggs Benedict, I decided to shake it up a bit and find somewhere we could all indulge our culinary cravings, even the kids. So it was off to Box Hill for traditional Chinese breakfast of congee and steamed pork buns! For two small girls you’d think they’d died and gone to heaven such is the reaction to a meal like that. As for me, I am very (very) partial to a tasty congee, so I was grinning from ear to ear.

Then it was off for a spot of indulgent post-Christmas sale shopping and a few treats each, before heading to lunch with fabulous friends. Here is where I’ll let my pictures tell the story…

It is really hot today… 40 degrees celsius, thats 105 for you Northern hemisphere people. That explains the ‘white out’ in this pic. The sun is so strong and bleaching it is hard to look anywhere, especially when it keeps hitting back at you from the pavement.

We went and met up with my long lost buddy Violet ( I say this because we’ve both been working so hard we’ve only seen each other on Twitter these last few months!!)

How amazing is her hair?! She not only styled it herself but did the incredible colour too!

Lunching with other bloggers will always mean one thing…. photos!

Yes, we are both photographing our lunch.

A spot of shopping lead to the following for my afternoons entertainment.

I picked up the ‘new’ (read October issue now imported) of Vivi to read in the shade on this hot afternoon.

Laying around in the near dark with fans going and reading all about cute Korean spring looks.

And I did buy one other little treat to add to my ever growing vanity collection. Not only cute and practical, but exactly what you need in this weather.

Anna Sui blotting paper in the trademark gloss black case! I’ve been collecting this whole series piece by piece and nearly have a full set now. So pretty!

And that’s it… so far.  I’m heading off to get started on part two of my day. This is the bit that involves Margaritas, foot massages and movies. Now THAT is how you spend an evening celebrating the year!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!

When I was visiting a friend last week she showed me a beautiful pair of enamelled bluebird earrings she’d just inherited from her mother. Tiny, perfect and just so vintage charming. There are certain images that strongly evoke a feeling of the 50′s and this is one of them. The Blue Bird of Happiness isn’t something we see so often these days, occasionally on Christening jewellery, and Sailor Jerry tattoos, but other than that, she’s all but disappeared from the realm of modern accessories.  For a little while there I saw loads of bird imagery in necklaces, wall decals and all manner of hip interior pieces; but an actual ‘blue’ bird not so much.  So I’ve been hunting.

As usual, Etsy has a gorgeous selection of vintage blue bird pieces, from linen to jewellery.

And a quick search on eBay uncovers some real stunners.

No hunt for vintage jewellery would be complete without a visit to Ruby Lane.

It is this last little guy with his Disney eyes that has stolen my heart though. Might be time for an early Christmas present, after all, these are heirlooms!

I’ve been a tad snowed under of late (understatement of the century), because I’ve taken on a few new projects. This means I’ve been writing and shopping and writing some more, all in the name of fashion for my new gig as one of the Fashion Editors for Paypal’s new e-zine LUSTABLE! How brilliant is that?

So if you haven’t been getting enough of your fill of style  here each day,you can find even more of my style finds and general fashion ramblings on the pages of Lustable.

Here’s some of the cracking posts from the last week to get you started….

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Super Kawaii Mama’s 10 online Shopping Commandments – Part 1

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Super Kawaii Mama’s online Shopping Commandments – Part 2

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Preparing for the Party Season

Sponsored by Nuffnang.

Hold onto your hats Ladies and Gentlemen, because this may be just about the most exciting opportunity you’ll read about this year!

Last week Westfield and Nuffnang contacted me about helping them to find a very special person. A Fashion loving, tech savvy, bargain hunting maestro! A once in a lifetime opportunity to shop and be paid $100,000 to do it!!! (Is that enough exclamation marks to show you how big this is?)

Just to tease me, Westfield invited me along on Monday, to walk a mile in the fashionable shoes of the future Westfield Insider, which was both heaven and hell. The best job in the world but only for one morning? Arghh!

Before even heading out the door I knew that I was to be given a challenge. They wanted me to find, buy and style an outfit that focused on this season’s key trends, all in under an hour and for under $200!  Not getting ahead of myself I realised that this meant even more thought to the day’s outfit than just a good pair of walking shoes.  I picked out something that I could get on and off in a hurry without messing up my hair, because it just wouldn’t do for the Westfield Insider, let alone Super Kawaii Mama, to look less than fabulous no matter the conditions.

I arrived at Westfield Plenty Valley (in Victoria) first thing in the morning to meet up with the Marketing Manger and be shown the lay of the land.  After a quick scout around to find out which stores were available and a bit of a caffeinated heart starter, I hit the shop floors.

Now I have to tell you, while this challenge may sound like a dream come true, it isn’t as easy as it sounds.  The hardest part for me was to think about all the new trends and translate these into something quintessentially SKM.  We all know I’m a Style Queen not a Trend Hound, so I switched my brain into fabulous overload.

Would it be Nautical, Military, Techno, Neutrals or Coloured Denim? It wasn’t just the clothes to put together, but the shoes and accessories too – that’s a whole lot of shopping for $200! Could I do it?

So many choices! I was loving so many of the soft chambray denims and spring florals, the whole Prairie look is right up my alley at the moment.  Temt had some brilliant short, flirty skirts loaded with lace and rose prints. Jeanswest nearly had me sold on a short, ruffled light blue denim number. I could feel my head going around in circles and my eyes being drawn to so many different things that I had to stop, take five and focus, (cue great big chunky chocolate cookie at Mrs Fields).

With so many bargains in the one place it was hard not to get distracted, but I had a mission and a very short time to do it!

With so many fabulous finds, just what did I put together? Check it out!

Nautical / Military done SKM Style!

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A stunning Military style dress from Femme Connection.  It is a super stretchy poly cotton, with bronze finished button detail and petals at the bust.

The cropped cardigan from Temt captures a nautical feel with its wide navy and white stripes, finished with regimental button front.

A sleek pair of amber and gold toned aviators from Portmans capture the military vibe with their Top Gun looks.

And to carry all those phone numbers I’m sure to pick up, this roaring red handbag with ruffled rose detail from Sintra, is the perfect package.

Because I couldn’t do a Nautical feel without at least one small Sailor Jerry reference, Diva came to the rescue with their golden swallows, worn several ways with this outfit.  Tiny little swallow earrings and another pair chasing each other around along a long golden neck chain. First up I wore them as a waist chain detail, then attached them to the oversized striped rose to wear on the hip, then in the hair.

Both the Swallows and the blousy blue and white rose were found at Diva.

To anchor the look (get it..? anchor.. I crack me up!), I paired the short and sexy dress with a killer pair of summer wedges from Novo. With chunky weave-look heels and riveted toe detail, these are the perfect summer solution heel. After all, you can’t be wearing stilettos if you’re going to go cruising the naval yards for a lonely sailor!

(In the absence of said sailor, another aquatic chap stepped in)

Can you believe I found ALL of this for under $200?! I can see myself getting a lot of wear out of each of these pieces and mixing them up to make a myriad of new looks.

So what do you think – could you do the same?  This is your chance to give it a go and you could be the new Westfield Insider!

Here’s what’s on offer:

A 12 month, $100,000 contract to shop, style and tell everyone all about the fabulous new fashions found at Westfield!

What you need to do:

Go to www.westfield.com.au and apply for your chance to become the Westfield Insider!

Get prepared for the once in a lifetime opportunity to do what you do best – Shop your heart out and tell everyone about it!

Get moving because applications close on the 1^st October 2010!

You can follow them on Facebook here.

Full Details of Super Kawaii Mama’s Westfield Nautical / Military Look

Cropped Cardigan – Temt

French Navy Dress – Femme Connection

Aviator Sunglasses – Portmans

Wedge Heels – Novo

Swallow Earrings, Necklace and Rose – DIVA

Red Handbag – Sintra