If I were not paying off my CC, I would buy this…

Alicia Lund of Cheetah Is The New Black in Gap Cotton funnel-neck jacket

So, it has been a pretty quiet week, so decided that I must go looking for something to buy – NOT!!  Maybe, find that something I would but if I did not have my lovely credit card debt.

So, I have started to think about the cooler weather arriving soon, not that I am not enjoying the last parts of summer..  Makes me laugh, I have been listening to my audiobook on my way to work,  about living in the present, and have been trying to do that – it can be challenging, and here I am thinking about wearing clothing in the future, something that is just made up. anyway, back to my post.

So, I receive an email from Who What Wear, and they were promoting their collaboration with GAP, and other fashion influencers.  My pic of the bunch, was sadly not the girls from WWW, but from Style Blogger Alicia Lund of Cheetah Is The New Black (http://www.cheetahisthenewblack.com/).

I totally love the ensemble she is wearing especially the Gap Washed Funnel-neck jacket. I totally heart the way that she has put the leather pants together with this jacket, and the accessories are totally to die for… love the mix of yellow gold on her wrists combined with her necklace… I would so love to pull of this outfit, and imagine myself walking in Brisbane… well, I would much prefer walking the streets of NYC, but that is yet another story…

This is the perfect trans-seasonal jacket!

Gap cotton funnel-neck jacket

This Cotton funnel-neck  jacket is a reasonable, no fantastic price @ AUD $88.60, plus some shipping you can get away with a jacket less than $150.  OR unless you were cheeky like me and decided that you will also check out Piperlime for some accessories as well…- well that was the old me, anyway…

Get yours now!

Til next time… Be good….

Lucia

Images care of http://www.styled-by.com

How dare she ignore me! Am I just as guilty???

So, I had a very quiet weekend just gone, got the opportunity to look after my 2 daughters the whole weekend while my husband was out on some education with “speaker man Shaune”, and my youngest turned “1”.

Seeing that we are now managing with 1 car, we had to drop of Shane before going to ballet.  My daughter Olivia attends classes every Saturday morning.  Liv Loves Ballet.  We arrive, Miss Jo, collects our Tiny Tots, and April and I keep ourselves amused while Liv is off dancing.   Over the past year, I have got to become acquainted with some of the parents.

All went well with the class, Olivia came out with her sticker, and was very happy.  We decided that we would stop off at the local shops and get some bread, ham & stop off for a cappuccino.

We arrived at the coffee shop, and we were all having our drinks, when I noticed one of the Mum’s from ballet walk into the coffee shop.  She placed her order, and was waiting for it.  Now, I am sure that she noticed me while I was sitting there with my girls, but she looked away…  Now, I walked past her 2 more times and still no smile or hello.  I looked at her, but for some reason I must of drawn a blank with her. I did not understand, why didn’t she say hello or smile??

Did she see me?  Was she ignoring me?  Why was she ignoring me?  It got me thinking why are human’s scared of each other???

Later that afternoon I was speaking to my Mum about it, and she just calmly said maybe she didn’t see you Lucia.   How could she have not seen me, Mum? I replied.  I walked past her twice, and we were not exactly the quietest family in the small coffee shop.  It is ok, Lucia, my Mum replied.   She later rang back to see if I was ok with it all (I must of seemed upset for her to call back), and she told me that it is ok, if she didn’t say hello, maybe she just had something else on her mind.  Then my Mum said something that she seldoms says to me. “Lucia, you know that I  love you”.  Thanks Mum!  That seemed to make me feel better.   Anyway, back to my story.

After my conversation with my Mum, I thought back to a situation earlier  in the week, and a similar experience popped into my mind.

I was on the bus on my way to work, the bus arrives at the bus stop and I notice a work acquaintance waiting at the bus stop.  Now, I  pretended that I did not see this person.  I was SO involved with my audio book, that I did not even acknowledge him – pretty sad hey.  After the bus left, I started thinking should I have waved? would he have seen me?  How bad is it that I did not smile, no, I just ignored this person. Would I say something next time I saw him?  So, what stopped me from acknowledging him and why don’t people acknowledge each other.

I think it could be fear.  Fear of looking like a git if you wave at someone and they do not acknowledge you.  Fear that people will see you acknowledging someone and them not seeing you.  You, know it is like when you wave at someone and they do not see you, and half way thru the wave you quickly bring your hand back down, sort of to say I was not really waving at you.  Lol – I have had many of those experiences.  It is as though you feel embarrassed for waving.  How funny is that!  Crazy hey..

Now back to the Ballet Mum who apparently did not see me or my girls, whom she sees every week. I think she is more of a case of genuinely not seeing me.  She is was there with her son, and seemed keen on getting her coffee.  Maybe she was having a stressful day, or thinking about getting back to her daughters one time, all the while thinking what she needs to get ready for dinner.

After this post, I know that I will communicate with other humans, even if it is just a smile or a wave or a conversation.  We are all part of the same thing, on this fantastic universe.

So, my question for you all today is, Do you see people that you know or are acquainted, whom you ignore or too scared to say hello, smile or even wave?  Come on everyone lets be honest with yourself.  or is it just me who does this??

Til next time…. Be Good!!

Lucia

Bullied? victimised? or empowered?

Bullied? victimised? or empowered?.

Bullied? victimised? or empowered?

So, some of you may have noticed that I have not been writing as many posts of late, and of those posts that I have written maybe they have not been that interesting, actually quite boring, if I do say so myself.

I do have something to confess, and No, I have not made a purchase, rather been a little afraid of being who I am in writing these posts.

Let me explain.  After posting Making Space for the New, a Baby Shower & Birthday,  I received a SMS from a friend, who wanted to know what I meant by the post, and this person wrote that she was really upset that I could talk about friends and relationships like that.  She wanted to talk about it.  Uh, man, what have I done were my first thoughts.  I was a little apprehensive to make the call, as it is usually a little hard for me to stand up for what I believe, and 2 be confrontational, well that is what I thought I had to be.

So, anyway, I made the call and had the conversation with my friend about the blog and explained that this is how I felt.   I can not recall the conversation now, only to say that at the time I can only remember feeling empowered and being able to express my true self.  We ended the call on a normal note.  I felt really good about how I was able to stand up for what I believed in.

So, unaware of the impact of this conversation, I continued with my daily life, and writing my blogs.  I noticed that the people reading my posts were dwindling, and wondered what was happening.

I had to reflect on all of this (ok – I know “reflect” might sound a little J, but I like to use it instead of “thinking”).  I realised that since “that” post, I have been procrastinating big time, finding it difficult to write, and just not being motivated to write about my life.

The word “bullied” crossed my mind one day, and I thought how could I have let someone, make me feel that bad about what I wrote and feel that  “I am not good enough”, that I could not continue writing this blog?  Uh, then the next day  the word victim came to mind… am I playing a victim in this situation, poor Lucia is always treated so badly by her friends.  boo hoo…  I am actually laughing as i write this.  Why you ask?

Well, I have let these 2 phrases run my life for a long time.  Stories of not “being good enough”, and trying so HARD, I mean so hard to make people happy, even when I knew that it was truly making me unhappy.   You know, everyone one around me, family, friends, work, relationships.   Feeling a victim to myself, because I let myself down so many times, by not being who I am and who I knew to be deep down inside Lucia.  Not being who I am, has kept me unhappy.  Well, Not any more…

It was like in that conversation with this person, for about 2 minutes I was empowered ( I really can not explain how I felt).  It was a inner strength that I seldom experience.  It was like the giant of Lucia came out – roar!, for a few minutes and then it went straight back inside me.  I now realise that I was really scared to be who I was because it upset a friend.   And I much rather keep people happy than keep myself happy.   Hmm, I must say that this really does not work for me anymore, I am sorta over keeping people happy.  I want to keep me happy and feel awesome all the time.  I want to write this blog and explore what it is to be a human being, rather than a human doing.

I took what this person had to say personally.

I remember this one thing (of the many things) from a book that a lovely lady gave me about a year ago.  The book is called the 4 Agreements( a must read), and one of the agreements is “never take anything personally”.  Why cant you take anything personally?

Because everyone has a different perception of life, based on their life experiences, and everyone has a different life experience, and the stories that they have created from these experiences.  For eg, If you take 5 people all seeing the same accident happen, each of those 5 people will provide you with a different story of how it happen.   What they saw happen was their reality of the car accident, and they will create stories as to why it happened.  It has nothing to do with what actually happened. Car A hit Car B.

So, I took what this person had to say personally because deep down I did not feel that I was good enough and I would upset someone if I truly said how I felt about things.  Of course, what she had to say supported my deep thoughts of not being good enough, yada, yada, yada,  just that it took a bit of time to seep into my psyche.  All these funny little thoughts led to my procrastination, not coming up with ideas, feeling unmotivated…. Light Bulb!!  A-ha moment…. WOW!!!

So, maybe the lesson in all of this is, I can be who I want to be, (boy did it feel good), and not to take peoples comments, opinions, etc personally because it is all based on THEIR reality at the time and has nothing to do with me.   Maybe this friend was having a bad day, or she just heard something, who knows, what was going thru her head at that point that we had the conversation .  I can not be responsible for her thoughts and feelings.  I let her feelings get to me based on the stories in my head… and I must let go of that. I have let go of it… WOOHOO!!!

I can only be responsible for me, and my world!  I am creating the possibility of being LUCIA more often, and living a life where I am confident to be the best me. I feel empowered!

BTW – I actually put the new Lucia to the test just this past weekend at another baby shower, and you know that it felt fricken awesome to be the person I want to be, and talking to people and being present and enjoying the event.

So, have you ever reflected on a situation/ event and it taught you something about your true self… Have you ever had thoughts of “not being good enough?”  Do you find it hard not to take peoples comments, opinions personally??

Please feel free to share with me today….It may take some guts, but I know you all out there are awesome people, so go for it….

PS- I make this commitment to all of you out there to be open and honest with blog posts and to have a blast writing them!

Have an awesome weekend

Til next time…. be good!!!

I FEEL EMPOWERED!!!!

If I were not paying off my Credit Card, I would buy this!

So, I received my weekly email from my friends @ Anthropologie.  It is a fantastic American brand and they do ship to Australia.  Yeah!!!!(www.anthroplogie.com).  I sort of compare them to Country Road here in Australia.

I would like to share with you this beautiful top, that I found.  Beautifully, called Neapolitan Plaid Blouse, is perfect top as the weather gets cooler.  Perfect for work, and as the picture here shows, perfect with jeans or basic black pants.  The price is fantastic, only $128 US

Anthropologie Neapolitan Plaid Blouse

This week Anthropolgie are sharing their Shirt lookbook! All the pieces are pretty cool.  There are some pretty good ideas on how you can where shirts as well.

Check them out…

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/index.jsp

Til next time… Be Good!!!

Lucia

CC under $10k, and free accessories

So, I have some wonderful news to share with you all, my credit card is now under $10,000.00, to be exact the current balance is $9,869.51 WOOHOO – just a little excited!!  I am in the process of finalising something which will will  help me pay my debt off quicker and I will share it with you once it is finalised.

I went to work the other day, you know the one, just your usual day getting to work, setting up your laptop, and getting into your day.

I had a lovely surprise when the GF who sits next to me at work, tells me how she was clearing out her wardrobe on the weekend, and then she produces this bag of bracelets, and said ” Here are some bracelets that you can have, I know that you are trying to not spend, and thought you might like them”

My new bangles

WOW – that is just the nicest gesture from my GF.  I was really thankful that she thought of me.  Now, the bangles she gave me (above) are really cool, and as soon as she gave them to me, I started thinking of what I could wear them with.  I have a Baby Shower on the weekend and I think I will wear them then… I was really excited, and still am.  It is sort of that high when you buy something, and because they were kindly given to me, it left me with an even better feeling, just because of the thought of my GF.  It was really lovely!

Anyway,  I have been thinking of ways in which I can still get things with out spending my money or the banks money, and have tapped into something that you all know about “The competition”.  There are loads of them out there.  What a way to still get stuff but not pay for it.  Just this week, I have entered competitions from shopping centres, answered surveys to go into the draw to win money, entered to win a $500 voucher at Shopbop and there was even a competition to win a $10,000.00 travel voucher.  I am really surprised how many there are out there, and it is something I never noticed before.   There are some competitions which make you work a little harder for the prize.  You know the ones, the answer in less than 25 words ones.. These are not my favourite, but I have been giving it a go.

I really hope I win one of the prizes, just one, that would make me feel a little lucky!

So, my question to you today is, do you get into the frenzy of entering competitions?  Have you actually won anything??  or is it all a waste of time?

have a great arvo…. & be good

Lucia

 

Left Westfield with just 3 purchases & under $30 spent! … how did I do it??

So, I took my girls up to our local Westfield to purchase a birthday gift for a friends daughters birthday party on the weekend – which was lots of fun!

Our first stop was the Myer Toy shop, as I knew it was quiet, and I could keep an eye on my eldest, while we looked around.  On our way up to the toy department we have to go past all the make up counters, and check out all the glosses for my daughter to try on.  I am not too sure that the consultants like it all that much. Liv does do a pretty good job though, selecting what she wants and she is very careful, and precise when it comes to putting it on.  Although, this time she has silver eye shadow on her forehead!

So, we go past the Revlon counter, and Olivia and I eye off there wonderful range of nail polishes, and we both seem to enter Nail poilish heaven.  Every colour you could imagine.  Here is a picture of the shades that we finally chose.  You can pick the one that Olivia chose.  It even smelt like grapefruit..  yum.

I was very good.  I was able to get 2 nail polishes for $6.95 each. Not bad if I do say so myself.

My First Purchases for 2012

The purple colour is now on my toes, and I used the grey as a base, and the scented pink over the top for my fingers, and the nail polish does smell really nice.

I was nicely tempted and resisted for the rest of the evening as we walked our way around Westfield.  Maybe, it was because I was always distracted by my daugther, who would tell me everything that she wanted.  Note, to oneself, to stop the temptation of shopping, take your daughter.  She will keep your mind off things for yourself, and focus on things for her.

When I did get a chance to window shop, I was really surprised at the fashions from the high street retailers, you know the likes of Sportsgirl, Dotti and Supre.    I did walk into the Sportsgirl accessory store, and tried on a couple of pairs of sunnies, which my daughter proceeded to tell me did not look good  😦

I am an avid reader of fashion magazines (that is another story), and I have noticed lately that there is a bigger focus on dressing for less.  Is this just a something, (whats the word I am looking for, you know to describe our current financial crisis) that more people are conscious of how much they spend??.  Are you spending less on clothing, or looking to stores that you never dreamed of entering a couple of years ago because you are being a little more careful with your money.

I know that I am one of those ladies.  Just ask my GF’s and they will tell you that I would never step into Supre or Dotti.  I did have standards…  I was really surprised what I found in these stores.  Not only do they have great basics, ( I now count the amount of ladies who wear the Supre singlet, which comes in loads of colours), but their styles are changing all the time.  There are even stores like Rubi and Novo that sell really cheap shoes, that look half decent.  There are accessory stores popping up every where.  I know that is where I go, when I need that quick style update to an item that I already have.

I know that I used to go on about quality of the things I used to buy from the more expensive brands.  I still believe the quality and craftsmanship can not even be compared to the high street cheaper version.  The high street stores quality is still pretty good, though.  I know I have several singlets that I have had for over a couple of years from Cotton On.  Even thought they are now gym singlets, they have still kept their shape.

I think now people are becoming more thoughtful when and where they spend their money, especially during our current uncertainty in the economy.  I know that I was one of those people to last year.

So, followers, my question to you today is what is your best high street fashion store?  and what are you looking for when you go into these stores.  Have you considered going to these stores more often now that the financial landscape is different?

til next time… Be good!

Lucia

If I were not paying off my Credit Card, I would buy this….

So, in an attempt to deal with not buying any new clothes in 2012, I thought that I would share with you what I potentially would buy if I did not have my credit card debt to pay off.  Throughout out the year I will share with you many (I am sure) things that I would love to buy.  I might even tally up these things, to see actually how much I have saved!! I might surprise myself.

So, WELCOME to my inaugural “If I were not paying off my CC, I would buy this.. (sort of needs some music to go with this)
It is coming up to Valentine’s Day, and I am sure that you are starting to get all sorts of emails reminding you of this special day.  I have also kindly reminded my fantastic husband that I would love to receive some flowers this year, and they are not to be from Coles. (hopefully he reads this blog to remind himself ..hehe)
I was sent an email today from style.com, with their red themed things to buy or potentially give as gifts for Valentines Day, and I just loved this dress.  Check it out.  Just perfect for that dinner with someone special, or just perfect to wear.   I totally love the cap sleeves, colour and print.   Match it with a pair of one of your  BLACK shoes (lol)  and your set to go

Peter Pilotto Ten Dress

It has been designed by London based fashion designer Peter Pilotto.  I had a look as some of his other dresses and they are all amazing.  He launched his line in 2007, and the label quickly gained acclaim for their prints and dresses.  Celebrity fans include Sienna Miller, and Claudia Schiffer.Now the price of this dress is approx $1000.00 after UK currency conversion and you can find it at Farfetch.

So, at the end of this I am feeling pretty good, as I have just saved myself $1000.00.  Not bad….Are you doing anything special for V-Day??  Hoping for some flowers from a florist???

Til next time…..Be Good!

Lucia

Images c/- http://www.farfetch.com

Making Space for the New, A Baby Shower & Birthday

So, over the weekend, I had 2 events to attend –  A 2nd child Baby Shower of a friend down on the Gold Coast, and my sister-in-laws birthday.  I did not purchase anything new, but the pants that you see me wearing were purchased just before I set myself this goal.

My beautiful daughter Olivia insisted on being part of the photo, and I could not resist.  So, the pants I wore, were from a boutique in the Valley called Drobe.  The top is a basic from my friends at Supre.  You can get so many colours.  My shoes are from ASOS that I bought 2 seasons ago.  The necklaces are from one of the accessory retailers here in Australia, think it was Adorne.  I have my usual rack of bracelets and my Swatch from NY

Olivia & I

Once I arrived at the restaurant, I sat down with my girlfriends and we enjoyed lunch together (although I was not too impressed with the food or the price, but that’s another story).  I sat there and listened to the various stories that we all told about having children, our experiences both funny and not so funny.  We then moved to a place down stairs where my girlfriends continued their conversation with a bottle of sparkling wine.

I had to leave early to attend my sister-in-laws birthday dinner(by the way I wore the same thing.. how convenient!).   On my drive back to Brissie,  for some reason I started to reflect on the relationships I have with my girlfriends.  This is something I have been considering in the back of my mind for a little while and for some reason I was really reflecting on it today, and I wondered “Are friendships like cleaning your wardrobes”??

You know, on a regular basis you decide that you need more room in your wardrobe, so you get everything out, put it in a couple of piles, and make some decisions on them.  Could this be the same with friends?  You know there are the following piles:

CLOTHES THAT YOU KEEP – These are like the friends that grow with you,  or maybe these are your family.  They are your go to, you know that dress that always fits perfectly, and you feel like a star!  You can not speak for ages, but when you do, there is always that connection.

CLOTHES THAT NEED FIXING BUT STILL WEARABLE – These are friends that you have kept at the back of your closet, maybe not been in touch with for a while, and just need some dusting off or calling to re-connect.

CLOTHES FOR RECYCLING – These are the friends that, although you can see the holes, or that they do not fit all that well anymore, you keep anyway.  You have not worn them for ages.   It can be hard to give these clothes away, because they do come with fond memories, and maybe that is why you are holding onto them, but deep down you know they no longer fit in your wardrobe collection, and it is time to move on.

Now, the awesome and wonderful thing about making space in your wardrobe, is the opportunity to purchase new things (not that I will be doing that in 12′)  Just like your wardrobe, maybe making room for the new gives you the opportunity to meet new people in your life, and discover new styles that you never even noticed before.

This has left me something to consider,  what friendships do I have that I need  to let go? Or maybe there are some pieces of clothing that I need to pull out from the back of my wardrobe and start wearing them again, and the most exciting of them is finding new friendships that I never saw before.

Have you ever considered your friends in this way?  Have you ever sat down and questioned who your friends are for you?

How does it feel when you clean out your wardrobe?  Do you think you would get that same sense of “space” if you did this with your friends??  Am I being a little harsh?

I am really interested in hearing your thoughts on this one today?

Be good…

Lucia

Does that include thongs?? LOL

So, to those of you who have read my previous post, will recall I asked you to count how many pairs of black shoes that you have in your closet & I said I would share mine.

So, here they are….

My Collection of Black Shoes

Well, first of all I must tell you that I do not like wearing black fullstop.  It goes back to the days of when I was a little girl, and my dear Mama telling me that only widows wear black, and I have this memory of all these sad women wearing black, and I did not want to look sad.  Simple, yes, I know.  My collection is large for someone who does not like black, but anyway.

The first pair are my Prada’s.  I mainly use these in winter for work.  When I first got them, there were ridiculously high, but over the years I have become used to wearing heels, so these little darlings are easier to walk in.  Do not get me wrong, there are not a shoe that I would wear to walk and see a client.  Clearly, just a walk from my car to the office, walk around the office, and walk back to my car type pair of shoes.

The second 2 pairs looks very similar.  I think the first pair from Mollini, look a bit burlesquey, and I did enjoy wearing them a few years ago, but they seemed to have slid to the back of my closet.   The Polka-Dot pair are more cutesy, and my daughter loves wearing them.  The heel is a little low for me, and too stiletto -ish.  They are another pair sitting in my wardrobe.  Mind you when I got them they were on sale for $200, think they were nearly $40 full price.

Now, now my final pair are the most uncomfortable shoes that I have worn in a long time.  They are beautiful shoes, and I wore them when I was bridesmaid, for a GF’s wedding a couple of years ago.  Worn once, and never again.  Again my daughter loves these shoes.

“POW” what an idea I have just come up with. Writing this post today has made me realise, that I really only want to keep these Prada shoes and the others that I do not wear I can sell on eBay.   The money I make can pay off my credit card.

Am I smart of what?  How cool is that!…  So, over the next couple of days, I will post those shoes on eBay, and share with you how much I get.

So, what has the title of this post got to do with anything of this (you are asking).  Well, after I wrote my blog the other day, I was having the conversation with good friend at work, who on a daily basis, we share loads of fashion, beauty, gossip info & our latest purchases.  She started to count the amount of black shoes she had, 1,2,3,4… Firstly, it started with her pumps, then she asks, does it include flats and  I said yes, she added her flats to her count – 9,10,11…, and then she said does it include thongs?  We both cacked ourselves laughing as she clearly has many pairs of black shoes.  Maybe, it was a “had to ber these for it to be funny sort of thing” anyway…

How much do you think my shoes (minus the Prada’s) will sell for on eBay?  Do you sell stuff that you no longer wear on ebay?? or do you donate it to charity?  Send me pictures of your black shoe collection.

Til next time, as my Mama says… “Be Good”

Lucia