Canberra Weekend for the 1920s Ball

I snuck out of work a little early on Friday afternoon and headed straight to the airport. After a bit of a scare that I wouldn't be able to find a 'long stay' parking bay, I nabbed one and headed to the terminal, just in time to board the flight. We had our own personal TVs (I love it when you get one of Qantas' newer planes!) so I watched 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' and a few episodes of Outnumbered. I enjoyed the movie, it is an uplifting, feel-good flick, and although the portrayal of India is quite unrealistic, it brought back some nice memories of my travels there.

As the plane started to descend, we hit turbulence and I got to the point where I thought I would have to throw up into my airsick bag. It probably didn't help that the lady sitting next to me was gripping the armrests for dear life and screeching, which was making me stressed. Thankfully it didn't get to that and we landed in one piece. I don't know how I manage to get seated next to bad fliers or annoying people more often than not, this is the second time I have had a near hysterical stranger next to me.

Our first stop on Saturday morning was Two for Joy Café in Kingston, which used to be called Pizzazz. It has the same menu and staff, so I think they just refurbished the inside. The sweet options there are still amazing – we had the lime and pistachio hotcakes with honey ricotta, fresh strawberries, raspberries, kiwifruit and raspberry coulee:  

After that, we fit in an afternoon nap before starting the pre-ball preening process. Here are some photos from the night:

 

I am standing on the right. I ended up borrowing my sister's school ball dress which was a little dissapointing given how long I spent searching for the perfect 1920's dress (but could not find anything I wanted to spend $$$ on!). Still, I think I ended up looking nice and my long gloves and beaded alice band ensured I fit the theme.

 More gorgeous girls... everyone put so much effort into their costumes!

 

I love my friend's headpiece, which she sourced from etsy...

 



I never said I wasn't immature... ;-) I am not talented enough to make a dog out of a champagne bottle foil, but I fed it some butter.

Sunday saw us tired and hung-over but I was not about to waste the short time I had, so we made it to brunch with 'the girls'. It was lovely to sit in the sunshine and catch up at Bicicletta, which has a very unique outside courtyard. It is set in the 'New Acton' art district which has a smattering of interesting sculptures in addition to award winning modern apartment buildings which are marketed as 'architectural art'. I think I could live in this funky area…

One of the many statues - this one is called 'Time Thief' (source and explanation) 

 

Speaking of funky, my friend's housemate's collection of Mr Potato Heads is brilliant, don't you think?

 

 

The afternoon contained more catch-ups with friends and then I boarded my flight home to Perth. It was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend!

1920s ball outfit co-ordination!

In a few weeks time I have a 1920s ball and I need to find something to wear!

The more research I've done, the more I have fallen in love with the 20s. The tones of the era are neutral or dark, and towards the late 20s there was plenty of lace, heavy beading, sequin and feather detail on the dresses and in the hair. The 20s is also associated with fur collars on coats, the mary jane heel, gaudy bangles, pearls, tassle earrings, cloche hats and elaborate headpieces...

I bought a dress on Asos for the occassion but returned it. In fact, I have found almost all of my recent Asos purchases to be very dissapointing. I returned 7 out of 9 items from my past 2 orders! I really have got to stop shopping on there, it costs money to return things (Australia Post is not cheap!) - it's such a waste. Have you been happy with any Asos purchases lately? Maybe I just choose badly!

Despite the Asos dissapointment, I am loving online shopping. I don't know how people survived before you could buy everything online. I am literally in the office for a minimum of 12 hours per day. It is VERY rare that I get a lunch break. Weekends are jam packed with social events, household chores and quite often, some work as well. As a result, I have had to buy everything online.

The good news is that I now have a parking spot at work. It's costing me $6000 per year, which is a huge amount of money on my stupidly low salary... but I decided I can't put a price on my health or safety. I don't feel comfortable walking to the bus stop when I leave work late at night, and I am spending so many hours at my desk at work, any time that I can salvage to do something healthy (like go for a walk, or to a gym class etc) is very important!!!

I'll keep you updated with what I decide to wear to the ball... :-)

Vintage Ball - Wearing THE Vintage Dress

A few weeks ago I blogged about op-shopping in Goulburn. The purchase I didn't post a photo of was this amazing vintage Gerry Shaw dress that I bought to wear to a vintage ball I had coming up. It is such a stunning dress, and suits my figure brilliantly. Bub thinks it makes me look like a mermaid, and I see where she's coming from:

I got so many comments on it! The ball was a very enjoyable night, with excellent food and entertainment. I was a little dissapointed in the lack of genuine vintage attire amongst the girls - many had just worn a modern ball dress, or a modern dress and long sleeved gloves to add a "vintage" touch. If there was a vintage dress competition, I would have been sure to have won! I'm entering it into Sophie's Flea Market Find of the Year, a competition where people post their favourite thrifty find. If you'd like to vote for me, email:

sophieisobeldesigns[at]hotmail.com with the blog name 'Lisa @ Simply Me'. You can only vote once so be sure to check out everyone's blogs before making your decision.

I did snap some pictures of girls in vintage attire, as follows:

 

Left: Vintage pantsuit and lace top, which belonged to her Mum. Right: Vintage tea dress purchased at Fash and Treasure (I blogged about it here)

 

Amazing vintage sequined dress, belonged to her Mum (I'm seeing a theme here which makes me very jealous!)

Not a vintage dress, but cute accessories and she has gone to some effort to look "vintage", so I thought it was worth posting.

Some other happy snaps from the night:

 Succulent lamb for entree - this was fabulous

 Chicken main course, tasted a lot better than it looks actually!

The big band which entertained us with swingin' 50's tunes all night long