Missoni for Converse

This is one collaboration I am very excited about. These special edition Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Collection features Missoni's signature pattern to the much loved shoes. I have always loved Missoni's bright patterns and their quality of craftmanship - so this is a match made in heaven.

The shoes come in three colorways: white, pale green, and navy blue. The green and white styles are for women and feature a hint of sparkle and while the blue unisex version features a haphazard woven effect.

This is the second time Missoni has partnered with Converse; the two brands worked on a line of colorful, striped high-tops last Spring.

These bad boys hit stores on April 14 and so far are only available in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. I am on the hunt to get a pair sent up to the Sunshine State and will keep you posted.

Friend of foe - who knows?

Best friends can fight, but doing something intentionally hurtful is not the mark of a true friend.

When it comes to girls sticking by their friends, I am very loyal. Like Serena always forgives Blair after an almighty hair-pulling, name-calling, back-stabbing tirade, these besties are always there for one another.

This may not be an episode of Gossip Girl, but I can honestly say that over the years, I have got myself into fights with some of my closest friends and thanks to the bonds of sisterhood, all has been forgiven and forgotten. That is the mark of true friendship.

It’s funny when people come in and out of friendship ‘groups’ – I can honestly say that despite this, I’ve had the same friends for years – we have endured a lot together despite others trying to weaken our bond with jealousy or whatever petty agenda they might have had.

It’s the same with people ‘competing’ over a friend and trying to one-up someone. Who are you trying to impress? Are you just trying to satiate your own insecurities by sucking up to someone to prove to everyone else that you’re actually besties with them? Pathetic.

Is it something in our blood that girls have to one-up each other? Have better jobs, better cars, better looking boyfriends or husbands, nicer homes and hair cuts? I get that ladies tend to be like this with their frenemies, but with a friend? That’s a no-no. Jealously is an ugly thing after all and if we are friends, why are we competing?

So when something bad happens to a girlfriend at the hands of a supposed ‘friend’, it leaves me pretty gobsmacked. Do these sisterly bonds mean nothing?

One of my best friends was recently let down by someone she considered a friend in the worst imaginable way (I won’t go into details) and it has hurt her so much. The worst thing is, is that this isn’t the first time my friend has been affected by the actions of a girlfriend.

It makes me so incredibly infuriated that one friend would do something so heinous to another. Are girls so horrible and nasty that they take joy in bitching and backstabbing one of their own? Is that person so narcissistic and awful that their friend’s feelings never come into consideration?

We don’t have to agree with each other and see eye to eye on everything, but this is the reason why I love my friends – we are all different and have differing views on life and how to live it.

My mother taught me that I had to look after my friends and be there for them. I feel like I have always strived to do this and be the best friend I can be. Sometimes it’s hard – it’s give and take after all – but at the end of the day at least I know I did the best thing I could for my mate.

I guess on reflection, it’s a bit sad that girls still want to bring each other down, even their own friends.  Having attended school with a lot of my current friends, we have known each other for a long time. We are now nearing 30 and it saddens me that I still see girls who know not the value of a real friendship. If they did, their actions wouldn’t be so unforgivable and just plain hurtful.

The moral of the story is this – us girls need to stick together because in life, you need real friends you can always count on.

Yard update: Easter makeover

So over the Easter break, we spent a lot of time in the yard. Last week we completed the landscaping of the Western side of our house, complete with stepper stones and pebbles in the same vein that we did the other side (so it's matchy-matchy). This means much less maintenence and a better looking side yard.

Before shot: mud and grass  

After shot: We used charcoal stepper stones and a pebble mix called 'Fruit Salad'

Very happy with the finished result

So at Easter, it was time to tackle the front yard. We decided that we would fill the front trough with larger pebbles so that it would eliminate weeds or any growth around the front of the house, keeping it much neater (and much less hassle work-wise to look after).

We used a medium river rock called Autumn Gold, which has golds, cream, charcoal and brown shades. These pics were taken just after the rocks were hosed down, so they look a bit darker than they really are.

After that job was complete, we set to work designing our front garden. We started by cutting out the existing turf and making a shape for the garden bed. Then after much shovelling and lifting we dumped (a lot) of soil into the bed and planted our beautiful Little Gem Magnolia which sits in front of our master bedroom window.

Next weekend we will get another delivery of soil so we can put more plants and grasses in. We'll be using stones and larger rocks in this front garden as features as well... next time I think I'll employ the use of gardening gloves, as I still have quite a lot of dirt under my fingernails - not pretty.

Industry chic

With Easter days away, I've been thinking about plans and what we're going to do with our bit of extra time off work. I've come to the conclusion that I am going to spend the whole four days dedicated to our home and garden.

Now that we've pretty much nutted out a scheme for the house (industrial with hints of natural material) I have been googling colour schemes for feature walls, as well as decorator accents, lighting and furniture.

There will be a few trips to Bunnings, I dare say, but I am looking forward to devoting my Easter break to beautifying our abode.

Below is some inspiration I've taken from my online searches. Let's hope 'industry-chic' can be pulled off!  



Dulux's Re-Set colour template