Weekly Inspiration (7/12/2020)

 

 

These last few months have been go go go with little respite. The past seven days, being my Seventeenth Birthday week and the start of December, went down a similar way. It occurred to me tonight that there is no particular reason for the hustle and bustle of life in my family. We aren’t a particularly festive group and if anything, the holidays and New Year period are a time for reflection and doing the inner work, two pursuits best carried out in solitude. I’ll be honest, we haven’t even put a Christmas tree up yet. Last year we were less tardy- towards the end of November our decorations and mini tree were in place and providing our apartment with customary holiday cheer. This year, a deflated Rudolph lays on the carpet, covered by a beanbag and a mound of clothes. Oh well, we’ll get around to it. I can only imagine how shocked you all must be- after all, my entire reader is filled with Blogmas posts. I’m really enjoying this countdown to the big day though. Everybody is so cheerful and I’m basking in the positive vibes. The festivities have just been overshadowed by other more significant events of the year. 

This weekend was spent in a fairly relaxed manner- my Grandma and I indulged in a bit of retail therapy at two local shopping centres. This way, we could get a feel for the range they currently had and visit all our favourite stores. Using money I’d been gifted, I visited vintage inspired boutique label Review and fashion house Aje. They are dedicated to raw beauty, tough femininity and effortless cool. Coveting that perfectly undone look is no longer a challenge with this brand. I love how their philosophy revolves around opposites and their undeniable attraction. I ended up choosing an absolute beauty, the oneness wrap top. It has long billowy balloon sleeves, pleated cuffs and is breathable and entirely luxurious. I made this purchase on afterpay, to the surprise of my cashier who was unfamiliar with this service. I laughed and told her there was simply no way I could afford a big ticket item without the option of paying in installments. Still, it’s always good to treat yourself when the opportunity presents itself.

I’d walked into Aje a couple of weeks earlier with my mum and was just in awe. It’s an absolute tonal dream. Being an aspiring interior designer, I took in not only the clothes but the incredibly captivating yet minimalist space. Think gold chrome racks, linen sofas, the most boujee of dresses, skirts, tops and pants, marble flooring and white industrial chic brick walls. Heavenly. I’d actually exclaimed to one of the ladies working at the time that I needed to live in the store! Yes, it was that good. Aje’s Parramatta boutique is their largest set up yet. It’s new, fresh and inspiring. The team are absolutely lovely and I couldn’t gush more about how encouraging they were. So open to chat and share tips on style- the perfect girl squad, honestly. One of the ladies explained their store uniform policy to me- at the start of the day, they are to pick an outfit from the staff wardrobe and wear it until their shift finishes. I found this concept interesting considering the price of the clothes. It makes sense that a small amount would be reserved for the staff though. After all, they are the living, breathing, walking displays!

If you can’t already tell, I’ve been working on my summer wardrobe. When I last organised my closet I realised many of my clothes had become ill fitting or no longer represented me or spoke to my sense of style. Some of these items I’ll be donating to charity and others will find their way onto my depop. When visiting Review, I picked up two dresses and a cardigan perfect for the warmer weather. The Midsummer Dream dress has a cream garden floral print with a strappy square neckline and fitted ruched bodice. It’s cotton lined cotton lined and perfect for balmy days and picnics. It comes with a stylish honeydew coloured grosgrain belt. Meanwhile, the Spring Fever dress is made of lightweight cotton in a gorgeous chambray colour with white embroidery. It features a soft sweetheart neckline, puff sleeves and a waist defining belt complete with a tortoiseshell buckle- definitely bound to be on high rotation. The easy breezy shift silhouette is cotton lined and finishes just above the knee. The Haisley Cardigan features a button through front with a scoop neckline and a lovely diamond rib stitched pattern. Its premium fabrication feels luxuriously soft against the skin. It’s highly flattering with three quarter sleeves and a gentle crop. Perfect to elevate any casual event outfit! 

Saturday night was spent near Circular Quay in the City. My family and I visited Neptune Palace, a fine dining restaurant, for my birthday dinner. We encountered along the way a surprising amount of obstacles, suffice to say. No parking, A long, distanced walk to our destination, heavy rain on and off. The odds seemed stack against us. We made our way in however. My brother, grandma and I arrived first, followed by my mum and dad. They had a funny story to share and were eager to tell us by the time we’d all settled in. As they were driving around in search of a parking spot, a group of guys were behind them, yelling and hooting and causing a ruckus. Another couple of young guys joined in from the sidewalk, waving and calling out to them. Just a lot of hoo haa. Well, not for long- a grey car that had been trailing them and doing so fairly inconspicuously appeared out of nowhere. Turns out, it was an undercover cop waiting to break up the party and fine the idiots. His lights and siren started blaring and it was all over. It sounds like quite the funny scene. I’m disappointed I couldn’t be there in person.

After this, we made a pit stop in Ultimo to have a look at Billy Blue College. It’s located smack bang in Sydney’s Central, fifteen minutes or so from the station. I’m very glad I won’t have to catch public transport. Suburban life and City life differ quite greatly and I imagine there will be a culture shock for me at first. Nonetheless, I’m getting really hyped up for the future. I have a grand total of six days left before I finish High School forever. I never could’ve imagined I’d say that. I still feel so young. My dream for my life has always been to find a better way to go about doing things. A route that saves time, effort and values smart work over hard work. A rewarding way. That’s what I’m about. In English class the other day, my teacher discussed the higher education system with our class of soon to be seniors. In Australia, this is as follows. First, you have Pre School, Primary School, High School and then College or University. You may start with a certificate one, two, three or four course, then go for your Diploma, Bachelors, Post Bachelor, Masters, Doctorate and then finally, become a Professor. In a year’s time I’ll have completed my Diploma whilst my high school buddies will have achieved the equivalent of a Certificate Two. I was beyond surprised to hear this and felt somewhat that I’d beat the system. 

I anticipate this coming week to be a real melting pot emotion and circumstance wise. I’ll be taking two days off this week. The first will be to attend my Great Grandma’s funeral on Wednesday and the second to tour Billy Blue College. I’ve never viewed the school before so can’t wait to acquaint myself with a place I’ll be spending good time in!