Obsessed - Black Cable Knit Jumper

Inspiration

Where to get one

from asos.com

from topshop

from h&m

How to make one

Keep Calm and Carry On

When I started going on holiday with my grandparents we where only ever allowed to take one bag each with us making me an excellent packer by the age of 10. I am still an obsessive packer but when it comes to my carry on I am still quite a novice. Carry on is a very hard thing to pack, unlike your checked in baggage you are restricted by size and weight, you are also restricted by what you are traveling on (plane, train, bus, ect.). I am constantly up dateing my carry on list.

etsy.com@schampagne farm and etsy.com@The Habbits of Rabbits

I have a grate pet hate of people taking large wheelie suitcases as carry on only for them to arrive and pick up a huge case in checked luggage, unless you are only taking carry on, a suitcase is way too much. The bag you take on needs to be small enough to fit neatly into a small space but big enough to hold everything. I have an obsession with 60's/70's weekend bags with them being the perfect size for traveling but can be used for a short long weekend trip. A shoulder strap can keep your hands free or if it only has handles make shore that they can be comfortably hooked over your shoulder. My bag is a rip curl overnight bag that is large enough to hold at least 3 days of clothing and is waterproof outer so you can wipe it clean.

etsy.com @ the two sparrows

A good idea is to take one change of clothes with you on the plane in case your luggage gets lost in transit and it takes a few days to get to you (this happens quite a lot) you can at least mix and match what is in your carry on with what you wore on the plane. A small makeup bag is also a good thing to have with you that contains some moisturizer and hand cream in case your skin gets dry, a lip balm, concealer, toothbrush and tooth paste so that you can be a little refreshed when you get to your destination. If you are on a train or bus some sunscreen is also a good idea.

etsy.com@OiseauVintage

Entertainment is a must for going anywhere long distance. iPod, laptop, camera, and books are handy. If you are crafty like me and need to keep your hands busy some sewing is quite handy or a plain exercise book to draw in. A healthy snack is a good thing to pack if you get peckish but if you bring fruit and you are traveling between states in Australia or from overseas into Australia remember to put it into the quarantine bins when you get to your destination to avoid paying a large fine.

OMG - do i dress like that

Yesterday I went shopping in Perth to get some things I needed while the shops still have winter stock (fleas lined opaque tights = heaven) and went to our outlet shopping center just a 10 minute walk away from the CBD. Harbourtown where all the outlet shops are is a place I only go to once a year if that. The clothes they have use to be very cheap but now with all the shops having large sale racks in them all the time it is more a place you go to if you can't find what you want in the city and want to look for it without having to spend 5 hours of going around the city doing it (yesterday all I wanted to find was a cross body bag that had a zip to close the whole of the bag up and then a flap to go over the top to keep the zip hidden, I found only one and bought it) which is handy.

I bought myself some lunch and sat down to do some people watching and found myself being able to identify where the people on holiday came from without them having to open there mouths. Have you ever found that?Perth is not a place that has lots of tourists but is the cheapest place to fly to if coming from Africa, the middle east or Europe I started to formulate a few ways of identifying them and Australians overseas.

Skin tight clothes, white pants, spaghetti strap tops in very bright colours = English girls

Short hair with way too much product in it,jeans with polo shirts and very flashy trainers = English guy

Baggy relaxed fit clothing, effortlessly polished = french girl

Shirts with the sleeves rolled up to there elbows and jeans that hug the legs but not tight = french, Italian or Spanish guy

Shorts and walking sandals, t shirts in all weather not feeling the cold, jeans, very thin scarf = Scandnavian

Flowy dresses with very minimal makeup and a small jacket if it is cold = Dutch and German girls

t shirts and shorts with very sensible shoes = -Dutch and German guys

Very form fitting style (not skin tight) that looks overtly expensive or gym branded clothes = Eastern European

I love the modern middle eastern girls style of dress with there modest lengths but there accessories are to die for. They have a similar style to the eastern European girls but know how to work there makeup with the focus on there amazing eyes.

Australians girls are easy to spot they are usually in something relaxed surfy style (even if you don't surf, shorts, dresses and lots of skin. Australian guys are ether in jeans or wearing bordshorts as normal clothing is the dead giveaway. As I had my coffee I thought to my self "i hope I don't look that obvious when I'm on holiday" and then I thought who cares if I do.

PS. I am sorry if I have offended anyone by this, it is my opinion and not meant to offend anyone

My Favorite Trends

Neutrals

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keiko lynn

Statement making Prints

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Yellow

lucy laucht

Saving Money - Food

Traveling is an expensive thing to do. If like me you do not have a lot of money but want to save you have to not only put money away every pay check but you have to change your attitude to how you spend your money. I have found that these work for me when I am trying to save money.

1. STOP DRINKING

Some people will fall off there chair at this statement but this is one of the biggest ways to waste money. If you think about it that a bottle of wine costs over $10, that is money that could be used on your food budget. I know so many people on working travel visas that complain about never having enough money but can spend $50 in one night out drinking that they do nearly every Friday and Saturday night. Going to student and backpacker nights where a jug coats $10 is not cheap if you end up buying 3 of them and then the takeaway dinner to soak it up and the taxi home. I do like a drink but especially in Perth where a night out can cost you $100 in cocktails the morning after when you see that there is nothing left in your wallet the comedown you will have (along with the hangover) will not be worth it.

2. Make friends with your freezer

Being able to make batches of stews and soups and freeze them will give you lots of lunches and quick dinners for a few weeks. Frozen veggies are grate to add to your dinners as a way to save money and also up your veggie intake if you are not the kind of person who buys lots of fresh veggies at the shops. When it starts to get hot instead of buying ice cream on your way home make easy ice pops with one small pot of flavored yogurt watered down with milk or some water or if you don't want any dairy try freezing some ice pops of tea (did i hear you say cheap) more cooling than a hot cup. Try not to get sucked into buying lots of junk food just because its cheap, you don't want to have to worry about loosing weight and saving money.

3. Quality over quantity

Try to buy food that will keep you full for longer so you don't spend money on snacks. Things that are made with refined white flower will not fill you up the same as wholemeal and whole grain flower will, you will only need to eat half as much of the wholemeal as you would the white. Instead of always having meat swap it for legumes that will have the same amount of protein but will have a big price saving difference. Take fruit, nuts and muesli bars with you to snack on instead of buying snacks when you are at work or out and about. Start loving salads that are healthy for you, can be made in so many ways with any leftovers and you can buy enough fresh salad basics for a week for about $15.

Learning the Language

I have only a few months to start to learn German so I am in a bit of a panic mode. You may say that I have left it a little late to start now but when your boyfriend is a huge procrastinator and is always having new ideas for where we should live overseas (I booked my tickets a week before he booked his tickets to force him into picking a definite date to leave) so I was still very skeptical that it would ever happen. My boyfriend has been learning German for about a year so he has a good understanding of the basics (last year he was learning Italian, see very skeptical) but I need to learn fast.

My Plan of attack:

1. Free online courses

I have signed myself up to Livemocha and GermanPod101 that help with the spoken language and written language. Livemocha has a focus on the online community as well allowing you to get pen pals so that you can get a language swap with your language for there's.

2. Podcasts

I am a very auditory learner so listening over and over to something I manage to absorb it. GermanPod101 has daily podcast but iTunes has many podcasts from the very basic to detailed courses.

3. Language Immersion

Surround yourself with German in written and spoken form so that your brain is trained to pick it up and it will not sound so foreign when it becomes the norm. These are the bloggers that I have been watching to help me. One thing never to do is eavesdrop on conversations it will just annoy the people you are listening to and anyone you are with that you will be ignoring, trust me one this, it has happened to me with my boyfriend.

So cool

I am so exited after watching this clip to try every knot, twist and tuck. Thank god that I am going somewhere cold that I will need a scarf (it is currently 30C in Perth today).

Siting in the heat wishing that I could dress like this