2013 Winter fashion trends

 

Winter weather has now firmly established itself here in New Zealand, the days are getting colder and and our summer wardrobes are slowly becoming less wearable. A new set of Fashion trends has arrived for the change of season and it's time to take a look at how we can integrate them into your existing wardrobe without causing too much of a dent in your funds.

For me the beginning of a fresh season usually leaves me feeling like I have nothing to wear or questioning what the hell did I wear this time last year. As soon as the weather changes my wardrobe seems completely outdated and useless to me. Feel the same?...fear not! You don't need an entirely new wardrobe you just need to inject it with a bit of new. Here's how you can do it without bankrupting yourself each season.

Start by stocktaking your staples...

These are the items you feel most comfortable in, the ones you can't get dressed without and your 'go-to' pieces. You don't need much, for me it's jeans (black and blue), black and white tees and a cardigan or two. It's nothing outrageous just something to build on. If you haven't got your staples under control do this before doing anything else with your wardrobe, if they need updating then replace them. Don't be afraid to buy the exact same item over and over again if you know it works for you, i have 3 pairs of black pants all identical cause they fit well, look good and i know I'm gonna thrash them. Don't be scared to spend a little more on your staples as they'll see you through from season to season. Once you get those basics right everything else will fall into place.

Now lets add some on trend pieces...

This is where you pick out the best of the new season trends to update your wardrobe and make it wearable again. Make sure you pick the trends you like the most and pieces you know will look good on you, don't be a slave to the trends this is where many go wrong, just cause its in fashion doesn't mean it will look good on you.
My suggestion for how you can easily do this from the comfort of your couch...many of the top fashion retailers give trend overviews each season on their websites. I find ASOS and Boohoo do a great job of this, you don't need to worry about the difference in seasons between the northern and southern hemispheres the same trends will still apply. I tend to spend less money on trend pieces as they come and go and I know I won't be wearing them for too long. Most of the chain stores are pretty quick at stocking new trends and provide cheap alternatives to the uber expensive designer brands.

There are a couple of things I keep in mind when buying on trend pieces from chain stores...

• Is it versatile and easy to wear? Think about what it will work with in your wardrobe, how many outfits will it make?
• Is it comfortable and does it fit well? Don't just go by the tag size go by how it fits you, if your normally a 10 and you need a 12 or even a 14 who cares all stores have different sizing and no one but you ever sees the tag but everyone will see how your garment fits you.
• Does it suit your shape and colouring? Check out this old post of mine if your not sure how to determine what colours suit you Complement your complexion with colours
• Is the fabric and construction quality worthy of the price tag and the length of time I'll wear the item? Check the stitching and feel the fabric to determine it's quality.

This checklist should hopefully prevent you from being disappointed by chain store purchases.

 

Let's have a look at some of these exciting new trends...

 

 

Hopefully these fresh new trends will help you feel excited about the colder days to come.

 

 

 Images care of Boohoo and ASOS

 

Easy chocolate cake

Last week was my mums birthday and i wanted to make her a cake, i was strapped for time so needed a reliable and easy chocolate cake recipe so i turned to a favourite of mine that can be whipped up and decorated in no time. The most convenient thing about this cake is that it comes from a box mix, some people might think this is cheating but the box mix is only part of this cake's ingredients. By altering the packet instructions and adding a few more ingredients this recipe produces a rich, moist chocolate cake that tastes amazing.
The fun part is the decorating with Cadbury chocolate finger biscuits and Maltesers...the not so fun part is trying to cut the cake with all the Maltesers on top. Oh well it looked and tasted amazing anyway...Enjoy!

Previously i have also used this recipe to make a chocolate Hershey version by replacing the Maltesers with Hershey kisses you can find images of it here.

Tip: You can use just about any cake mix/mousse combination with this recipe. Next time i think I'll try Betty Crocker French vanilla cake mix with vanilla mousse. 

Good luck and happy baking!

DIY: Coat hanger jewellery display

I'm all about using items for purposes other than they were intended for and this weekend i did just that. With the help of a coat hanger and some screws it was time to tackle my tangled necklaces that hardly ever get worn, they're not easily accessible all piled on top of one another on the dresser. Now that they're a bit more accessible and untangled i might start to wear them more often...and YES i have two of the same necklace..What? it was cheap and one of them might break!

Here's how i did it in 4 simple steps (prime, paint, drill, screw)...

 

I used White Knight Grip Lock Primer applied with a brush before using their Strokes semi gloss enamel in white applied with a foam roller for a nice smooth finish. I wrapped the silver hook with sellotape and used a hair dryer to help speed up the drying process.

 

After the paint dried i very lightly marked out the positioning of the screws by making a little indent with a nail.

 

 

I used an cordless drill with a drill bit slightly smaller than the size of the screws to avoid the coat hanger splitting when i screwed the hooks in.

 

All finished and ready for hanging :)

 

The finished project hanging in the perfect spot in my dressing room isn't it beautiful.

 

This week im sharing my post on a few of my favourite blog link parties you can find them by clicking on the links below

By Stephanie Lynn
i heart nap time
DIY show off
Twiggy Studios
Too much time
It's overflowing
Suburbs Mama
Creatively living blog
Craft-o-maniac




 

DIY: Refinishing a veneer dresser

When i first discovered the amazing John and Sherry Petersik's blog 'Young House Love' back in 2009 i was so inspired by all of their work especially their post on refinishing a veneer dresser, they took an old and boring dresser they purchased from Craigslist and gave it a new life as a dresser/change table in their nursery for daughter Clara, best of all was how simple and easy to follow their tutorial was.



Young House Love



It seems to have been popular amongst other bloggers as i found out when i started to look around at refinished dressers on the net. I found the following equally inspiring projects via Pinterest...

MODG (you can find a full nursery tour at Apartment Therapy)



Bunches of Joy provides a very thorough 10 step tutorial.

Literally Inspired

A Design Dock

And now for my version of the Young House Love inspired veneer dresser, i purchased mine from Trademe for $20 (BARGAIN!) a couple of years ago and it now it takes pride of place in the spare room otherwise known as my dressing room...

Before

  

Do you like my new framed artwork? The place names are either places we grew up in or frequently visited together and loved, every time i look at it it brings back great memories. You can find more of my framed artwork in my previous post Pinterest Challenge: DIY wall art

Style Guide:90's Grunge

90’s grunge is as iconic now as it was twenty years ago, and is quickly becoming more and more fashionable. With style influences from teen films such as 10 things I Hate about you and 90’s pop icon, Gwen Stefani, grunge is back and better than before. 

ASOS has come up with staple items you need to achieve this season’s grunge look.

Images care of ASOS

The Floral Skater Dress

Floral prints are perfect for wearing all year round, and are a great addition to your wardrobe. This floral print dress has that classic grunge look while keeping a feminine style.

Peace Print Singlet

Rock the peace symbol this autumn with this singlet. A popular staple of grunge, this singlet will help you get the look you’re wanting. Pair it up with skinny jeans and a pair of studded ankle boots for a casual winter outfit.   

Horse Print Backpack

You’re going to need a bag to carry all your things round this season, and this horse print backpack will do just that. Mismatch patterns and pair it with a checked shirt – another definitive grunge look.

Studded Biker Boots

These leather-look black studded boots are the perfect addition to any grunge outfit. They look great with tight skinny jeans or leggings!

Boyfriend Knitted Beanie

Beanies not only look cool but they keep you warm during the autumn and winter months. This boyfriend style beanie will go great with a variety of outfits and looks.

Dungaree Shorts

Dungaree shorts may have gone out of fashion in the early 00’s, but have definitely come back with the resurgence of grunge music. With the likes of celebrity style icons Rita Ora and Rihanna sporting this style, get on top of the trend with a pair of denim dungaree shorts.

Pom Pom Pullover

This pom pom pullover is a great addition to any winter wardrobe – even if you’re not looking for the grunge edge. It’s a great twist on the classic black jumper and will set you apart from the crowd for all the right reasons.

Thanks to ASOS for collaborating on this post

Pinterest Challenge: DIY wall art

I’m taking part in the unofficial Pinterest Challenge hosted by the very inspiring  Young House Love and Bower Power. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the “Pinterest Challenge”, let me give you a little rundown. It is a challenge created by Sherry at Young House Love and Katie at Bower Power as a way to motivate themselves (and all of us) to stop pinning and start doing and they’ve invited all of us to join in and share our creations. You can read all about the Pinterest Challenge here on YHL or here on Bower Power. This time around Emily from Sparkle Meets Pop and Renee from Red Bird Blue have also been invited to co-host with them so be sure to pop over and check out their amazing blogs and challenge items. This is my first time participating in the challenge which happens once per season.

I decided to create some wall art for our house. Our walls are looking very sad and somewhat lacking in the artwork department. I vowed myself not to spend too much time or money on this project but rather to be creative and enjoy it. The thing I like most about creating your own art work is you can use colors to match your schemes and personalize it by using significant words, numbers and symbols. It's also very easily done with a printer and a cheap frame, all of the frames i used are from The Warehouse or Kmart and were under $15 each...

A house warming gift for our friends who just purchased their first home

Great print for the kitchen/dining area

I'm a little bit obsessed with ampersands

Really looking forward to our internal laundry being completed so i can hang this print...we have a plumber coming this weekend YAY PROGRESS! Very excited to blog about our Laundry reno once it's completed.

I love these Mumford & Sons lyrics and now they hang simply framed on our bathroom wall.

So as you can see I’ve implemented a couple of simple wall art projects and I still have a few more different ideas id like to give a go further down the track. I spent a lot of time researching and pinning ideas for different types of DIY artwork…man there are some crazily talented and creative people out there in blog land, their projects are so inspiring I found myself getting terribly side tracked and I now have a list that's taller than me (OK its not that bad cause I'm quite short). Here are some of the projects that inspired me the most and I'm hoping to complete my version of them to share with you soon.

Tried & True

Brooke Ackley

The Creative Mama

House and Home

Mojomade

pretty love, pretty life

Nalles House

All images that aren't mine have come from Pinterest if they're yours or you know the source please comment below and ill be sure to link back to you. Thanks

Cupcake cuties

As you will know if you've been following my slow and intermittent blog that 2012 was my year for baking it almost consumed me, i spent all my spare time in the kitchen, browsing the net for decorating ideas and cruising the aisles looking for new bake ware and piping nozzles. It is such a fun but expensive hobby and i taught myself so many new skills through experimenting with different equipment and products. This year i haven't done much baking to share with you, its a very dangerous hobby involving a lot of taste testing and if you really want to know if your baking's any good you have to try it yourself...no one will tell you its rubbish when you've spent all that time creating it. Earlier this year i made some of my best cupcakes to date and it's about time i shared them with you. Friends of ours had just moved in to a new house and i hate to turn up empty handed when going to visit hence the 'Home Sweet Home' themed cupcakes. I love using click sticks to add personalised messages to baking its all the more special. You may notice i was a bit rusty with the piping bag which resulted in removing the first lot and reapplying...I'm a perfectionist when it comes to decorating and if it means going back to the supermarket to get more butter then back i go.

You can find more of my cupcake creations here and here