An afternoon in Darling Point, Sydney.

Some mementoes from my first ever trip to Darling Point last weekend. What a dreamy suburb - a mix of heritage homes, art deco entranceways, crispy orange leaves on the ground, bare branches in the sky and lots of soft shades of pink. This girl was in love.

Monthly Beauty Buys: September

As a sneaky way of getting myself back into a blogging routine I have decided to start a monthly beauty buys series where I share a few of my favourite products both new and regularly used. By nature I am pretty low maintenance so when it comes to beauty it's safe to say that my regular regime is pretty basic. Therefore I see this series as not only a way to document my favourite products but to also experiment with trying out new products. This is my first instalment of what I hope to be many more to come!

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water After reading multiple articles about micellar water in the space of a couple of days curiosity got the better of me and I knew I needed to try it out. Unlike other facial cleansers micellar water contains little micelles - oil molecules - which act as magnets to impurities on the skin, e.g. make-up, oil and sebum (which causes pimples), and dissolve them without any extra work. I suffer from regular breakouts and since starting to use this micellar water my skin has shown improvement in not only a reduction of breakouts but it also feels more hydrated and less congested. It's so simple to use as all you need to do is put the water on to a cotton pad, wipe all over your face and you're done!

Benefit Gimme Brow gel Arriving early to the airports has its perks. I picked up this little gem while wandering the make-up counters at Sydney Airport before departing to Melbourne recently. Having well manicured and maintained brows is important for me as I feel they set the frame and structure your face. Plus they help you get away with wearing a lot less make-up! I was looking for a product that would make my brows look fuller without too much fuss and voila, that's exactly what this little bad boy does thanks to the mini fibers that gel to the hair and skin on application. I also find it to never smudge and last me the whole working day.

Rimmel 60 Seconds nail polish in Rapid Ruby For someone with as little patience as me this nail polish is a godsend! The thick brush allows for quick and easy application and it sets within 60 seconds which means a greater decrease in smudges for those who can't bare to watch paint dry. 

Chloe Signature EDP Fresh, floral and feminine, the perfect scent to get into the spring spirit!

In the Kitchen: Pumpkin, Mushroom & Pea Risotto

One of my favourite reasons to look forward to cooler weather is the food. Rich risottos, creamy vegetable soups with crusty bread and lots of hot cups of tea are the perfect winter warmers. Risotto is one of my favourite dishes this time of the year. It is such an easy and versatile dish to make. Once you have the basic recipe you can use whatever ingredients you like! This risotto I have made is hearty and creamy without an excess of calories. Instead of using cream I have mashed pumpkin and stirred it through which has given the dish a lovely creamy body. The hint of nutmeg is a welcomed surprise on the palate too. The risotto recipe is gluten free, and could also be vegan if you left off the parmesan cheese at the end. Not only does it make for a yummy dinner cosied up on the couch under a blanket, it also does well as a left over for lunch the next day! Yum, yumm!

> Click to download the full recipe 

Work Outfit: Blue + Red.

Wearing: Coat, vintage, Top, ASOS, Jeans, Country Road, Boots, Country Road

I have been obsessed with this pale blue high neck shirt ever since I saw it pop up on ASOS. It's clean, fresh and elevates what ever it is paired with. In this case for work I have been wearing it with my waxed black jeans and leather boots. For impact, and warmth, I pair it with my favourite LRC (little red coat) which I found last year in an op shop for $10. Fun with that element of conservative - just how I like my work wear.

How do you keep your work wear fun?

Leopard.

Coat: Vintage (similar)

Top: River Island (similar)

Sweater: Trenery (similar)

Jeans: Country Road

Boots: ASOS (similar)

I am very lucky to have a very generous and fashionable boss. One afternoon she invited me and a co-worker over to her home to go through some clothes she was going to donate to Lifeline. I saw this coat hanging on the donate rack and made a total bee-line straight towards it! There was no way this baby was going anywhere other than with me! It's soft, thick and a wee bit heavy but oh-so amazing. Wearing it on a cold winter's day is like being wrapped up in a doona, snug and toasty. Another thing I have learnt from my boss is matching patterns and colours to complement one another through your entire outfit. Taking inspiration from her I paired the leopard jacket with my leopard print sleeveless shirt and green sweater for some colour which is a little more me. Channelling my inner leopard spirit I went on to prowl through the long, dry grass at sunset.

Winter walks.

Dress: Cocolatte

Vest: Zara (similar)

Stockings: Voodoo

Boots: From somewhere in Melbourne... (similar)

Watch: Michael Kors

Ah winter. If there is one thing I like about you it's the low sunlight you bring, it makes everything so much prettier. This a quick outfit post inspired by a wintery Penny Lane in Almost Famous. This Cocolatte dress has certainly earned its stripes in my wardrobe by stepping up when I feel like wearing something a little different to what I usually do. The print has a very vintage vibe to it whilst the drop hem gives it a little movement without losing any shape. I inherited the faux fur vest from my incredibly stylish boss who had fallen out of love with it and going to pass it on to Vinnie's. As soon as I set eyes upon it it was going nowhere except straight onto my hangers and in my closet! Also helps that it is very warm and soft too.

Hope you are keeping your toes warm in some bed socks and uggs! x

Hot Rod.

Dress: ASOS

On the June long weekend, every year since I can remember, hoards of hot rods make their way to our small sunny town of Coolangatta and set up for three days of full blown 50s nostalgia. I love old things but old cars don't really float my boat the way a Ferrari or Maserati do. However this glittering hot pink car was pretty hard to turn away from, especially when it lit up with the flash of the camera. This ASOS smock dress is one of my favourite things at the moment. The dress maintains its floaty shape from the thick and comfortable material whilst the all-over polka dots make it so much fun to wear. Now if that car would just magically turn into a hot pink glittering Ferrari then we would be talking...!

Winter Blues.

I have never been a fan of winter. About this time every year I get a bit complaint happy and start rattling off all the things I don't appreciate about winter to anyone who will listen. Some examples are listed below:

My hands get cold and it's hard to do anything with them - I feel like my words per minute are cut in half when I am typing and texting. My feet get cold, even with two pairs of socks on! It's like they know it's cold so they stay cold inside the socks where they are meant to be warm.

It gets dark early in the afternoon and it's hard to get out of bed in the morning. Don't even get me started on having a hot shower then getting out to dry and putting your pajamas back on... that one minute feels like forever!

It completely flattens my mood and takes away my shine leaving me quiet and shivering.

And this is me living on the Gold Coast, in Australia, the one place that everyone says "but you don't even have a winter! 20 degrees is not winter!"... obviously I beg to differ.

However, I think the problem here is that I am not being grateful enough. I am not embracing the season and exploiting it for all that it offer. I am just whinging and whining and complaining and being miserable about a season that I have lived through 21 times already. So this winter I am going to embrace it and be grateful about everything it has to offer; and make a conscious effort to stop complaining.

I thought I would start with some things that aren't so bad and then work my way from there. Here are a few things that I will be relying on the get me through the cold season much happier than winter's past:

Hot cups of tea and coffee - You need hot liquids to warm you from the inside. There is never enough tea or morning coffees in winter. Any amount is acceptable.

Cups - Because your tea and coffee has to look cute!

(image from Pinterest)

Thick bed socks - anything to keep my feet warm! If only they would it into my boots!

Blankets - the more, the merrier!

(image from Pinterest)

Soup - My favourite thing about soup is mostly the fresh bread with butter that accompanies it! Pumpkin and other vegetable varieties aren't so bad as long as they aren't from a can!

(image from Pinterest)

Coats, jeans and boots - All to keep you warm and classy!

(image from Pinterest)

Jumpers -  keep it minimalist and cosy or opt for something a bit quirky for some added winter fun!

Chocolate - specifically Cadbury Fruit and Nut. Now I come to think of it, it's acceptable every season!

(image from Pinterest)

Flannel pajamas and/or a onesie - both are staples to my winter survival.

Lip balm - to protect your lips from the evil chapping spirit.

What are your go to items that get you through the colder months?

Winter Wardrobe Essentials

Black jacket: Topshop

Black jeans: Topshop

Blue jeans: Bardot

T-shirt: T by Alexander Wang

Army Jacket: Bardot

Boots: Tony Bianco

Scarf: Boohoo

Watch: Michael Kors

Bag: General Pants

Winter has arrived it's time to go back to basics. Unlike summer where you can just wear a pretty dress, flippy skirt and top or denim shorts, winter is a little more difficult. It requires a little more thought and planning as you need to have the right items to keep you warm. But if you have the basics then you are set! You can wear them all together for a classic look or divide up amongst what you already have for something new and different.

Loving: Red Wine Lips

My Picks:

L'Oreal Paris Infallible Le Rouge in Bold Bordeaux 

Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede in Backstage

"You see these red wine lips? I didn't dream of this" - Lisa Mitchell (sorry, I can't help of think or this song whenever I put the words 'red wine lips' together!)

Looking for a cheap and simple way to get 'on trend' for this autumn/winter? You need to look no further than a slick of red wine coloured lippy. It was a major player in many of the Fall collections in the northern hemisphere and now has finally made its way down under just in time for winter! I scoured Priceline the other week looking for the perfect colour whilst taking notes on my iPhone so I could rehash them here. I ended up purchasing the L'Oreal lipstick because I was after a more matte finish. It was my first time delving into the 'long lasting' lipstick world and despite the glossy ads and bold claims, the L'Oreal Infallible isn't quite as 'infallible' as it makes out to be. The Revlon colour was really nice but had a glossy finish to it, again I was after something a bit more matte. I have since bought a nice natural pinky coloured lipstick from their ColorStay Ultimate Suede (why such long names?!) collection that I am enjoying for a day to day addition to my simple makeup routine. Other notable mentions include this Rimmel one and this Models Prefer one.

Just a tip for your red wine lips: make sure your base is flawless and your eyes are simple to reap the maximum rewards for this lovely statement lip. 

3.1 Phillip Lim Fall RTW 2013.

Photos from style.com

3.1 Phillip Lim Fall RTW 2013, be still my beating heart. I'll take one of every coat and vest plus a pair of the chandelier earrings and those amazing knee high black leather boots!