a trip to the coast, brilliant blues and lots of mustard -- peninsula getaway, part one

Happy Friday! Let's make an early escape, yeah? I can't believe it was almost four weeks (?????!?!?!?!!!!) ago that I headed down to Dromana for a blogger's getaway weekend. With Iolanthe at the wheel, we drove down on a golden early afternoon to the Peninsula, for two nights and three days of relaxing, good eating and brilliant company by the sea side. After a short drive, mostly along the coast, with blue skies and bluer seas around us, we were at our Aquabelle apartment, where we would be staying with Stasia for the weekend. And, just a few doors down, were Cecylia, Leeyong and Candice – five people I was absolutely chuffed to be spending a whole weekend with! And check out our view..! I'd packed with a mustard theme in mind – oh, um, I sound a bit like Kath from Kath and Kim, here, but it's true! – and when packing light(ish) (I had to fit sportswear in there) (more on that in a minute) you need to have things that go together. Obviously. So, I chose mustard – perfect for the Autumn that Melbourne was trying to conjour up, and doing a marvelous job of in a sunny kind of way – and O HAI I matched the apartment's decor! Loved the mustard couches, high ceilings and the wall of glass that opened onto a large balcony overlooking the sea. We could see massive ships go by. I'm always impressed by these. They look so dramatic on the skyline. Isn't it great that the angle of the horizon and gravity are helping the ship along..?! Note to self: think spirit level next time! My vintage mustard cardigan fit right in to its new home. The main bedroom, Iolanthe's – well she did drive us and so she more than deserved it – had a gorgeous blue ensuite. I love these tiles, and this colour is one of my favourites. And erm, yes, I may have stood in the bath – shaped like a big half egg – to get a photo. Looking back now, I feel like I should have gone for a brisk walk along the beach, taken the air, put some roses in my cheeks. Instead, drowsy from the drive (being a passenger, ha!) I made the most of the free wifi (thank you Aquabelle this is brilliant!) and did some blogging, some instagramming, and some general internetting, and then watched a big storm blow in. I love watching Victorian storms come in, and the best place for it is by the sea. I was warm and cosy in my cashmere socks. This was pre pom pom sock days. That evening, we went with Stasia to the other apartment where Candice, Leeyong and Cecylia were staying, to have cocktails – totally worth the 30 second trot! – and then we all headed back to ours where I cooked us dinner. I made a pea and goats cheese pesto pasta with roast tomatoes and rosemary – based on this recipe on Pip's lovely blog.

I didn't count on cooking for 6 taking so long – maybe the cocktails slowed me down a bit! – and we had a lovely late dinner, talking about everything and including the next morning, when we'd be up early to do a yoga class. Yoga! This is what the sportswear was for. Early morning outdoor yoga. Yep, I did it. And... more about that soon! First, we somehow managed to stay up far too late and eat far too much pasta... which has got to be the nicest introduction to a long weekend with friends.

pencil skirts, vintage cardigans, victory rolls and real autumn

After our Big Day on Saturday, Sunday was a much quieter day. And much colder and greyer and rainier. Which I loved! I wore a 1980's-does-1950's yellow pencil skirt I got from an op shop a few years ago but haven't worn very often with my 1950's beaded pink cardigan. And added my burnt orange suede wedges and my starfish brooch. These are the most comfortable shoes that aren't trainers and I am so happy I got them! It was also a super windy day! I put my hair up in victory rolls. It'd been two whole weeks since I'd last done my roots – so, yep, it's already time to get onto that! I still love the pale colours, so maybe light blue next? Or pale pink? I let the fluffy back get blown about as much as it liked. I loved this more seasonal weather, and the feeling of the cold wind blowing the leaves about. It smells amazing in Melbourne, too, at this time of year. Lots of houses still have wood fires and the smell of them burning is just the best. So Autumny and cosy.

After brunch with a friend, John and I went for a drive in the hills and watched a storm blow in. It's amazing how quickly it turns dark here when that happens; the sky goes black in just a few short minutes and then the rain drops on the windscreen make the lights outside big and sparkly, disco snowflakes. We were soon home again with hot tea and the heater going – no wood fire for us, but one day! ONe day we will have one! – and watched Call The Midwife. The perfect cosy Sunday night in.

the big day: our first ever truly vintage market day!

Last Saturday I – in my vintage party dress and dunlops – headed down to Trish's vintage shop Hunter & Co. Vintage in Preston for our first ever Truly Vintage Market Day!

It was a beautiful sunny morning. The sky was so blue, and it felt so nice to walk with bare arms in the sunshine, which is so much softer now at this time of year. Of course, it is meant to be late Autumn but I am pretty happy about this. It's lovely! And a one off – we now have the best crisp weather and I am loving it! Trish and I were soon set up, and finished blowing up our pink, mint and cream balloons. Betty was also ready for the Big Day, with her vintage silk polka dot red and white scarf. Doesn't she look smart! Piles of balloons and fresh vintage! A photo of us all together. I was kneeling down with Trish for the first few pics – there were a lot of cameras, as you can imagine! – but had to stretch my legs. And I am pretty short! Our lovely vintage ladies who were working with us. It is so nice to meet amazing people through blogging. And how cute are Claire and Teresa's glasses! Special shout-outs to Claire and Jacinta who did some baking. I can tell you that the anzacs, the rhubarb slices and the pumpkin wraps were all delicious – and, having had at least one of each, I know what I'm talking about. Amazing red hair and red vintage hat combo on Jess. Beautiful yellow shoes – hi, Kirsty! And lots of two-tone shoes. Aren't they all cute! Hi, Betty, hi! Love Trish's blue dress. It got really busy straight away. It was amazing so many of you came to see us! Thank you! It was so nice to meet so many readers. You are the best! We were all excited to check out each others' vintage. Candice had some gems! And I bought an amazing 1940's jacket from Teresa. I can't wait to wear it – I'll have to post about it very soon! I've been looking for vintage jackets (1940's and early 1950's ones) for a while and loved having the chance to try this one on first. Cute tote bag! I love Esz's sewing book. More about this soon..! These kept my sugar levels up. Phew. Yum. Phew! It was such a busy, brilliant, fun day. Thanks again to everyone! By the end we were all happily exhausted, and even though I had my super-comfy shoes on, I was looking forward to a good sit down. Betty took refuge under the table with out coffee cups, making sleepy faces. We knew how she felt! But it was so, so worth it. There will definitely be more Truly Vintage days ahead! We are planning already and we can't wait!

our first truly vintage day and a sea green vintage dress

Good morning! We had our first Truly Vintage day on Saturday and it was amazing. So many people came to see us, thank you thank you thank you! It was so good to meet you! It was also so wonderful to spend the day with a great group of vintage bloggers, and meet some for the first time. I was a bit overwhelmed by it all to be honest! But in the nicest possible way of course. I am a bit tired now – I think we all will be! – but it was absolutely worth it.

I have lots of photos from the day of course, and here is a quick outfit post from the morning, when I was on my way to set up. As you can see, it was a super sunny morning, and it was really warm too – brilliant summer weather, but in the final weeks of Autumn, um, ah, errr?! – and I wore a new pale blue vintage party dress with a chiffon skirt and lace bodice. And, to set up, dunlops! The intention was to add heels once ready but you know what they say about those intentions..! I love the pale blue-green ocean-like colour of this dress and hope to wear it again soon. With dressier heels, perhaps! Yes! Happy Monday!

truly vintage in the press

Happy Friday! And, you know what that means – just one more sleep until Truly Vintage!

We are very chuffed that we got some press. You can see more pictures of Trish and I here if you like. We are so excited that they liked our idea too!

I honestly cannot believe how fast the weeks have flown since Trish and I met in her vintage shop on a super hot summer day. Now it is here! We are so thrilled that everyone has been so amazing and keen to be involved. If you are in Melbourne it would be awesome to meet you, so do come and say hello!

Now I have to do some final preparations, get ready to say goodbye to a couple of vintage dresses that will be heading to new homes, and blow up some balloons! See you soon!

blue hydrangeas, lights in the leaves at night, tables full of glasses and friends and a tiny sprig of green

Don't you love those days when you defy the weather reports and it turns out to be a good thing? Yesterday was meant to be rainy but I wanted to wear my blue hydrangea dress – and I can tell it's been too long because it was hard to type hydrangea – and it turned out beautifully sunny after all. After a Monday of a pencil skirt and early 1960's top combo (which I completely didn't photograph, in spite of my best intentions and the fact that the top is newly mine – a gift from a friend – and a new style for me, and I LOVE it) I was feeling floral-y and back to full skirted goodness. Babycat opened an eye to show her approval. I opened my eyes to my real need for some tights and a pair of closed toed shoes for winter. You think you have enough and then... no. I met up with lovely Jacinta for coffee and cake and we talked about the upcoming Truly Vintage day this Saturday (eeee!) and the two Swedish words we know: fikka (how appropriate!) and tack! But I don't know if it's pronounced fee-ka or fi-ka. I was also worried about my camera as the focus seems to be playing up again... hmm. I didn't take too many photos as I wanted to avoid the potential frustration. Then in the evening John and I met up with some friends we hadn't seen for ages. It was so, so good to catch up, even though I was pretty tired. I was determined to see them so I picked me and my under eye bags up from the couch and headed to the pub. Thankfully my camera was playing nice again. Tuesday nights are best spent like this. With enourmous pub food burgers (but this one's not mine!) and loud talking and laughing and bartering over who gets the coffee machine and whether it is dangerous to use electrical things with the cord coiled up. It is, by the way. I wasn't hungry enough for a burger and had zucchini fritters with mayonnaise and, look, there is green on the plate! It was so good to see everyone I could have cried with hapiness, but instead went home and drew even more pictures on Draw Something with my friend. Promise to do this more often!

coral and gold, coral and silver eye makeup

A little makeup play, using the Lime Crime gold, silver and black liquid liners. Coral eyeshadow with gold, and with silver. Which one do you prefer? Do you have a favourite?