Rather than beginning my year with a new set of resolutions destined for adding to anxieties and guilt, I have instead chosen to take another tact to begin the new year. I am editing my life. (Perhaps this is just a rose by another name, but nevertheless…)

Just like a good film, life needs a little editing every now and again to make it fit the romantic notion of reality you like to create in your head. Where I would like to have a well organised wardrobe where each item is visible and available at a moments notice, I instead have three wardrobes full of clothes, shoes, handbags and other accessories. When I look at my bookcase it is no longer a reflection of the me I am today, but is full of dog earred dross and unread gifts from an age ago. The same can be said for the contents of my storage cupboards, kitchen, studio etc… and the list goes on. While I have been on a mission to have “nothing in my home that is neither useful nor beautiful”, it is a slow process, and is only half the story. To really begin the year anew, a good hard edit of lifes commitments, goals and time misspent is also in order.

When you look at how you spend your time each day, breaking it down moment by moment, how much of what fills it really counts for you? How many of those moments are things that you wish to build memories from, and how many are just the motions of an over scheduled automaton? Here is a little selection of some of the things that are to be shed from my life and the little rays of inspiration that are to replace them.

* Breakfast routine – I almost always eat the same thing for breakfast, and while it is nutritious, it is beginning to bore me. Instead, I am going to make breakfast a treat to start each day. Eggs in little china cups, with hot buttered toast cut into little fingers. Fresh flowers on the table. Jam served from a nice crystal bowl instead of the jar it came in and butter in a white china dish. My coffee in my favorite cup and saucers instead of a big mug – what’s the use in having all this great china if it is seldom used? It doesn’t have to be any harder, it is just a matter of changing a habit.

* Housework – I spend a great deal of my time each day picking things up and returning them to their rightful places. It is depressing, tiring and makes me very irritable to live with. When reading about the daily housekeeping routine of women in the 1940′s, something occurred to me. While it appears that they must have spent a great deal of time each day on straightening up, the reality wasn’t near as bad as I had imagined, ( a quick chat with Nana confirmed this). And do you know why? They had so much less STUFF! With toy boxes bursting at the seams, more kitchen equipment than I could possibly use in a life time, and more miscellaneous ornaments than I even have shelves for; it is no wonder that I am driven around the bend by this chore. So the simple solution is to get rid of it. If I only have five sets of towels in the house then I won’t have to wash and store so many. If Miss four only has a few dolls, I won’t have to pick up twenty every night. I could be overly ambitious in this plan but the proof will be in the pudding.

* Television – I go through phases with this one, but it truly is one of the greatest time thieves. At the end of a busy day it is all too easy to collapse in front of whatever is on and zone out for a few hours. Generally though, the selection of shows tend to involve someone being killed, dying, on trial or being autopsied by some government agency or other. None of these make me feel any the better for it, and I find I can diagnose whatever obscure life threatening disease will kill our character within the first five minutes. So it has to stop. If I chose to watch something, it has to be on MY schedule and fit the emotional bill of whatever I am craving at that moment. Feeling a little hard done by? Watch Schindler’s List. But whatever you do, don’t leave the thing on for the next show to creep up on you and steal your evening.

* The Mall – Yes, I am somewhat of a shopping addict. I am also a bargain hunter and a fantasist. All these things add up to trouble when shopping in a mall. I don’t tend to shop for clothes and things this way, but I do head into them often for the groceries, the mail and all those weekly necessities. And this is the problem. I just can’t seem to pop in and out. I loose so much time browsing around for things I don’t need, being distracted by sale racks and promotions. What I really need to do is shop at my local grocer / butcher / fruit store. If I go to stores that have only what I specifically need, then I am less likely to lose that extra hour being distracted by shiny things. And I’ll be supporting small business which I am all in favor of. This one seems like a win win situation.

The gorgeous Kerosene Deluxe – Plus Sized Pin up.

I recently received an email from a reader who is wanting to put a little more sassy in her step. After having children however, she now finds herself wearing a somewhat larger clothing size and is faced with a dilemma.

Size and/or weight is not an issue I have discussed on this blog before. But perhaps it is time to remedy that, after all I wasn’t always this small and I know first hand the dilemmas faced by many of you when it comes to putting together a unique look.

Firstly, the silhouette is key to a great retro look. This means that even if you don’t have a waist, create one. If you want to go really retro you could go in for a girdle or even a corset. Although corsets are somewhat restricting they can be very sexy for a special occasion. In the absence of period appropriate underwear, I suggest getting hold of some of the Nancy Gantz shapewear, or Spanx for my USA readers. It can be purchased inexpensively, is easy to move in and has the added bonus of helping you to improve your posture. Being able to stand tall with our shoulders back, strips kilos before your very eyes. Even better, it gives you a nice smooth line to work with.

Make the most of your womanly assets and wear a good supportive bra that does the lift and separate job well. If you are really looking for a vintage vixen look, you could always source a bullet style bra on Ebay or other online vintage stores. You’ll find these over at What Katie Did too.

When it comes to vintage and retro styled clothing in larger sizes, there are two major problems. With original vintage, people were generally smaller in those eras, so the chances of finding something to fit is not high. With reproduction vintage, the bricks and mortar stores cater to the 8 – 12 market, so pieces made in quantities like this are somewhat cheaper to find. However, the good news is that there are some great reproduction makers out there who will custom make to your measurements for a reasonable price. When I say reasonable I mean that, should I be making these for myself, the price they are charging would cover my time and materials but wouldn’t be looking at serious profit.

If you sew this will be your savior. There are vintage patterns galore on Ebay and you can also find some great resources here on A Dress a Day. You don’t need to necessarily find patterns in your size, just Google – “How to resize a pattern” for loads of links to find the one that explains it to you best. I learnt to sew fairly recently for this express reason, as the stores never had anything I wanted.

Additionally, you can always look for clothes that work for this look in your regular stores. The trick is to pick things with the right silhouette ( circle / flared skirts, single button cardigans, lots of red and black etc), and pair them with retro accessories to translate something ordinary into the extraordinary. A great elastic waist cincher belt, that can be found everywhere from Supre to Myers to Ebay, and is one of the tricks of the trade to turn your look into Retro Goddess.

So much of what I wear day to day is not authentic vintage ( I can’t bare to see them ruined by the children), but I style them in such a way that they take on a retro flavour. It is about injecting the right stylistic elements into your look to create the overall image you want. For instance; the classic pin up look relies on a smaller waist to hip ratio, utilises lots of curls and flowers in the hair, and is nothing without the ubiquitous red lips. You can achieve this at any size, and even if your waist isn’t usually visible, create it with the help of undergarments, belting and cross over styles.

Adding this Retro Goddess flavour to your look can be achieved in two key ways that don’t rely on clothes at all. Hair and Makeup. For simple hair go with high ponytails and a rolled fringe. When your skills advance a little more, check out the great range of vintage hair tutorials on You tube for more inspiration. (Yes, you’ll find mine there too). The basics for the vintage goddess look are windged black eyeliner and red red lips. Check out this tutorial for a great starting point. What you do outside of that is up to you. You may want to add a dramatic beauty mark, heavily penciled brows or something else to make it your signature look.

I’ve kept this as short and sweet as possible for you all (as with most things I could ramble on forever), but I’m happy to answer any other questions. So with all these secrets to add to your kit, you’re ready unleash your sexy self on the world.

I’ve made a few fabulous product discoveries recently that have made it onto my Essentials List. Rather than keeping this bag of tricks to myself, I’m going to share these secret weapons and their miraculous powers with you.

Erase Paste from Benefit. This little cracker is my new favorite product. I’ve tried every concealer under the sun, yes even that well know YSL one, and nothing has come close to this. I only got my hands on some on Friday and I’m already a convert. Not only does it completely cover and brighten dark circles, it hides bags and puffiness with ease. I’ve had concealers that promise the world, but end up just adding a strange shade to my skin, or becoming wrinkle highlighters. Oddly, in the jar it looks a darker colour, but when applied to the skin, the brightening effect is extraordinary. Whether you are a Mum or just a party animal – do not leave home without it!

Olay Regenerist Thermal Mini Peel. I’ve used some pretty fancy skin care products in my time, but nothing has given me the almost instant results (with consistency) that this little wonder has. Its called a “thermal peel” as when you apply it to your face it has a self warming quality, rather like that lovely hot towel effect. Use it daily in the shower and you won’t believe your eyes. It really does gently polish the skin, and gives it a much smoother, silkier texture – and it even reduces pores! God knows all those nights on the town with the makeup piled on do nothing for the complexion, and I find that simply cleansing isn’t adequate to keep the texture smooth and that radiance we all love.

Vaseline Intensive Care Moisturiser. I’ve taken to keeping a 1 litre pump pack of this on my vanity, which I apply head to toe morning and night. I’ve got a rather sad collection of about 10 different moisturisers all around the place, but I’m always forgetting to use them. They are either organic, or smell of marshmallows, or had stunning packaging, but at the end of the day they have been forgotten in the back of the cupboard. But keeping a pump pack on the vanity is a constant reminder that I’d like my skin to be as soft as butterflies come the height of summer, and not be rushing for an emergency body scrub to do a half arsed job. For all of your coming out of winter, I’d highly recommend making this a part of your daily routine.

Lemons. No not for a pie or for a trendy table decoration, but for adding to water to make sure you get your daily requirement. There is nothing like a little fresh lemon juice to make drinking a couple of litres of water a day more palatable, and you have the added bonus of all that vitamin C. I start the day with a huge glass of this before I’ll allow myself that first coffee, and it always makes me feel better for the rest of the day. I aim to drink about 2 litres of the stuff every day, and yes, it is hard at first, but then you’ll find you can’t live without it. I am always receiving compliments on my skin, and I really think this is the trick. It seems to have turned back my body clock in a way that no other fancy pants product has.

With all these secret weapons in your bag of tricks, you wont need a fake ID for all your beauty espionage, just a fabulous pseudonym.

I’m having a lovely week at home this week, trying to make my way through all those annoying things that have been hanging on my To Do list. It can sometimes be overwhelming, and if I had it all written down I could diguise it as a copy of War and Peace. To keep a sense of humor in the midst of all this responsibility, I turn to one of my never fail tricks – doing my job “Vintage Housewife” style. Pop on a pinni, a little Doris Day and even the most mundane tasks take on a whole new shine. Who knew making spaghetti could be so much fun?

And while I’m tackling the list, I am attending to all the requests you have sent me too. Today I can tick off one more. I have been tagged by Chloe Van Paris to bring you another glimpse into random pieces of my life, and yet again I’ve managed not to exhaust my list of superfluous facts.

What are the last three things you purchased?

A vintage sheer peignoir gown. Peacock blue paint for my bedroom walls. A new pump for my fish tank (boring I know).

What are the last three songs you downloaded?

Embarrassingly enough, that was so long ago that I can’t even remember! I was kindly given Duffy’s CD for my birthday though, so that is close enough to an answer.

What are the last three places you visited?

Beechworth in country Victoria. The beach side town of Warnambool and Sydney. All my travel recently has been local, but I head of to Texas and Tokyo in three weeks now!

What are your three favorite movies?

Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (based on the play by Tom Stoppard). Mame, with Rosalind Russell (campery at its finest). Heathers, the 1980′s classic of bitches, fashion and murder.

What are your three favorite posessions?

My antique Arctic fox fur

A vintage Jean Paul Gaultier red dress that is so stunning, but has never fit me to date.

A huge oil painting of a Chinese noble woman holding her fan.

What three things can you not live without?

Water, sunscreen ( the best anti-wrinkle combination), and red lipstick.

What would be your three wishes?

I’ll have to go with that old childhood plan of asking the Genie for unlimited wishes as my wish. Then the ability to time travel at will and a magic housework wand.

What three things haven’t you done yet?

Reached fluency in any of the languages I’ve studies, mastered basic mathematics or travelled by camel train across Morocco.

What are your three favorite dishes?

Thai green chicken curry, barbecued baby octopus and Oysters Churchill. Ohhh…

Which three celebrities would you most like to hang out with?

Noel Coward, Johnny Depp and Dita Von Teese ( I think we’d make great buddies).

Name three things that freak you out?

Large hairy spiders, Space invaders ( those people that always come way to far into your personal space) and unexplained power cuts (extreme paranoia here).

Name three unusual things you are good at.

Making up songs about random things at the drop of a hat. Picking extremly subtle colour differences at ten paces. Being one step ahead of the zeitgeist.

Which three things are you coveting?

Minna Parikka shoes, a large taxidermy peacock ( I found him a year ago but he wasn’t for sale) and a bamboo 1930′s patio setting.

Name three bloggers you are tagging.

Casey’s Musings

Porcelaine Blonde

Only Shallow – who has just picked up a pair of my coveted shoes!