As you may remember, I did some work experience with the lovely Emma of Dropstitch, Xpress and Xpress Fashion last year. She is very, very good at her job and a wonderful lady as well! She, along with some other bloggers, are offering up their services to raise money for the Queensland Floods.

Emma is offering a half day styling session. You'll go shopping in Perth and figure out a new look and what suits you and helps you to look even more fabulous!


It's an unbelievable opportunity, Emma really knows her stuff and you will have an great time, she is just plain awesome! You can bid here, and all the money is going to a really good cause. Go on, it's a new year, maybe time for a new look, treat yourself!

x

I actually wore this same outfit out on Friday night to a friend's house for Sex and the City 2 bashing, and then again today for brunch at Toast with Cam, which was absolutely delicious. It's a bit tricky having half of my wardrobe here, and half at my new house, so outfits are going to be repeated and remixed quite a lot. You might recognise the top from this post, it's one of the things I got in the post Christmas sales. I'm trying to buy more separates this year, and I think this outfit is a good start!



This was at some crazy awesome fountain wall. I've never been to East Perth and it's so pretty! Not to mention filled with delicious restaurants. At Toast I had corn fritters with poached eggs, avocados and hollandaise sauce. Mmm. 

I saw these animal rings on Lovers, Saints and Sailors ages ago, and popped into Lovisa a while ago to see if they were still there. They were! (Obviously). I quite like Lovisa - I think it's meant to be like Diva, with lots of cheap trendy jewellery, but they are a bit more quirky and out there. My rings were packaged up really nicely and everything! Lovisa -1, Diva - 0. And not only because in high school Diva hired me, only to never call me again to, you know, set up any hours. Oof.


I also wanted to show off my new Gary Pepper Vintage bag! I went to check out the launch of her online store a couple of weeks ago - like half of the female population, it seems - and while all of the clothes seemed a little too small, I fell in love with this bag. I don't usually make impulse buys online (though my bank account would beg to differ) but I snaffled this one in some kind of bag-induced trance. It's the perfect size for me and a nice alternative to my new Sportsgirl bag, which can also be seen in this post.

I did actually receive some bad news yesterday so please understand if blogging is a bit slow over the next few days! Thanks, and thanks to Cam for taking all the pictures xx

It has been a really, really weird week. I found out I have to start moving my stuff pretty much straightaway (long story, but I am basically moving into my grandparent's old house), one of the girls at work quit unexpectedly, so there's only two of us now, and it has just felt like this insane madhouse! So, this week's choices are a little bit random.

♥ Kanye West - Runaway
You know, I don't even like Kanye West. I really don't. I really have never gotten the hype (except for Gold Digger, of course - can't deny the damn catchiness of that song). But this song just sounds so dark and weird and kind of beautiful, in a way. And yes, it is damn catchy as well. And at least he's admitting he's a douchebag, for once. Is he? I assume so. I kind of get distracted by all the ballerinas to pay that much close attention to the lyrics.


♥ The Drums - Saddest Summer Ever
This song is so irresistible to jump around and dance all crazy-like. I really like it! I wasn't wowed by any of The Drums albums, but I will always blast this song as high as it can go on my iPod and turn into a one woman dance party.


♥ Christina Aguilera - Candyman
So, maybe the loose theme for this week is "Yeah, I'm not really a fan of theirs, but I like this particular song". I am planning to see Burlesque at some point - for Cher, obviously, not Christina BITCH PLEASE - but I love, love, love this video. The Andrews Sisters melodies! The bobby socks! The sailor girl outfits! It's so deliciously cheesy that you have to appreciate it. Except for the awful "makes the panties drop" line. Panties is one of my most hated word. Along with moist. UGH. Anyway.


♥ Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode
So, disregard the loose theme I just mentioned. I love Chuck Berry. The last time I was in Melbourne I found a Chuck Berry Greatest Hits album on vinyl and it was pretty happy. I do love all the go go dancing going on in this clip as well. Especially when Chuck joins in. HOW COOL IS HE?!


Happy Sunday!

x

P.S - Don't forget to enter my Button N Thread giveaway here! It would be nice to have more than one entrant, there are two prizes after all! Get on it!

So it looks as though I will be moving again, I think for the fourth time in as many years, to somewhere with a lot more space and where I can decorate how I please (...mostly). For the past couple of days I've been trawling home inspiration sites like The Selby, Home Sweet Style and Awesome Space, reading the Frankie mook Spaces and obsessing over ish and chi (one of my new favourite blogs, for sure!).

Here's my first, animal themed wishlist for when I can stop unpacking and start decorating...


{Rabbits: Rabbit lamp, $165, and Porcelain Rabbits, $49.95 for three, from Raw Space; Fawn, $29.95 from Raw Space; Birds: Turquoise birds, $45, from Raw Space [currently out of stock], Birdstack by Cole Gerst painting, $38, from Urban Outfitters, Key to Flying Wall Hook, $13.99 from Modcloth; Owls (yes, I know owls are birds too!): Hootin' and Holdin' Desktop Organiser, $8.99 from Modcloth, Porcelain Owl, $14.95 from Raw Space}

I expect I'll be posting more about the items when I actually get around to buying them, but for now it's nice to daydream about the little things that can make a house feel like my own. It certainly passes the time at work!...

x

You may remember a while ago I did a review on Button n Thread's online boutique - they stock affordable, cute and on-trend pieces. They recently contacted me to do an accessories giveaway and of course I jumped at the chance!

There are two prizes: this cute studded bag (about the size of a clutch, but with a handy strap!) and a stretchy belt with a gorgeous, vintage inspired clasp. Just a word on the belt - on the website it says it should fit a size 6-10, I'm a size 12 (Australian & UK) and it fit me (though I'm not sure how tight it would be after a couple of hours!).






























To enter, you need to sign up & subscribe to be a Button n Thread member. When signing up, there should be a "Where did you hear about us?" section, where you need to enter Gin in a Teacup to be eligible. Please leave a comment here telling me you've done so (just makes it easier to keep track). There will be two winners - one for the belt and one for the bag - and they'll be chosen at random once I receive word from Button n Thread about who signed up. 

The competition will be open until Tuesday, the 25th of January, and is open internationally (I'll be shipping them out, so apologies if they're not wrapped as beautifully as when I received them!).

Good luck, and thanks to Button n Thread! Make sure you check them out!

x

{If you're interested in doing a giveaway on Gin in a Teacup, please email me at gininateacup@gmail.com}

I got this dress from Modcloth earlier this week and I'm a little embarrassed how much I've been wearing it! It's perfect for this weather - a loose shape and beautiful floaty fabric. I think it's my first 2011 purchase, as well.






This is just a quick post because I couldn't wait any longer to share the dress - I had pretty bad food poisoning on Tuesday night (thank you, heat-up lasagna from the supermarket) and I still feel a little under the weather. Hopefully I'll be feeling better by next week, I still have many, many online purchases to share!

x

p.s I also just wanted to say hello and thank you to my new followers! I'm really enjoying checking out your blogs, as well! & the Chictopia badge is in there just to let you know I'm trying to contribute there more often - so that button should link to my Chictopia account!

I hope that any readers, or reader's friends and families from Queensland are all safe. The news of the floods is absolutely devastating and if you can donate anything, you can do so here. One of my Twitter friends has also let me know that the label Cue is donating 10% of every sale made this Sunday to the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal.

x

One thing I'm loving lately is animal print. Not necessarily just your typical leopard, snakeskin or zebra print; I mean any animal, featured in some way, on a piece of clothing. Here are a few of my recent favourites...


1. Gallop With Glamour dress from Modcloth, $79.99
2. Standing Tall dress from Modcloth, $47.99
3. ArynK Silk Sparrow Dress from Nasty Gal, $118
4. Stallion Stampede top from Modcloth, $59.99
5. Lazy Oaf Crazy Cat Shirt from Nasty Gal, $58.00
6. Sleep With The Fishes vintage dress from The Ginger Fox, $59.00
7. Reindeer Raglan from Nasty Gal, $78
8. Happy Hootenanny skirt from Modcloth, $34.99
9. Sugarhill Boutique horse print culottes from ASOS, $30.17
10. I Love Ewe romper from Modcloth, $44.99
11. You And Meow top from Modcloth, $49.99

As for what's already in my wardrobe, I love my turtle print dress, my swallow print dress and my cat dress!

Do you have any favourite animal-themed pieces? Tell me!

x

First outfit post of the new decade! Wheee! This is the first day I've gotten properly dressed this year, the last two days have been spent feeling sorry for myself (after imbibing too many delicious cocktails on New Year's Eve, thanks to my friend Chloe!) and watching Rock of Love 2 with the aircon turned right up. Today, I actually managed to do some grocery shopping and get some coffee and macarons. Not too shabby.

I got this romper in the Boxing Day sales, down in Bunbury. I'd wanted it since it came out a couple of months ago, but couldn't justify paying $80 for something that probably won't get worn all that often. Imagine my delight when I found this one - the last one in the store - for a mere twenty dollars. I picked up quite a few lovely things in the sales, which will all get their own post in a few days time. Oh, and you may have noticed I had my hair dyed again! It's a much darker and richer red than before (though a bit dirty in these photos), and I love it.



I also picked up these bracelets from work. I don't know why, but I'm really not one for bracelets - they annoy me after about half an hour and I have to take them off. The cute little charms on these ones make it almost bearable, though.


And now I'm off to start making dinner. I made a goals to eat a lot better this year - working in a shopping centre with a food court kind of wreaks havoc on your eating habits! I made this salad for lunch (it was DELICIOUS), and I am making teriyaki beef with sesame for dinner. A good start so far, I think (well, apart from the macarons for "breakfast", but baby steps guys, baby steps).

x

The first Sunday Songs of 2011! There's not much "new" music on here, because that's not really how I roll. Bring on the old classics, I say! Here are three songs that have been particularly favoured on my iPod recently (and I have done A LOT of travelling on public transport over the last couple of weeks, so my iPod headphones have basically fused into my ears!).

♥ The Baseballs - Chasing Cars
I first heard of these guys after seeing this video linked on Tink in my Closet. I'm not a fan of a lot of the original songs they cover, but put them to a rockabilly tune and they instantly become favourites of mine! I've listened to this album incessantly over the last couple of months, and I hope they tour to Australia soon!  

♥ The Beatles - Hold Me Tight
Probably under the influence from The Baseballs, I've been listening to a lot of the early Beatles albums. With The Beatles is probably now my favourite Beatles album of all time, I love the rock & roll (well, 1950s rock & roll) influences on it. It makes me wish I'd been around when it was first released and I could play it on a jukebox while dancing around a diner... okay, so I'm pretty much imagining the diner scenes from Grease but a girl can dream, right?

♥ Madonna - Cherish
I am really digging vintage Madonna lately - forget all this jumping around in a leotard and thigh high boots madness. It may have been brought on by the fact that I recently rewatched the Madonna Glee episode, but no matter! I've never seen this video before (when I was in my watching-Rage-every-Saturday phase, it was more Beautiful Stranger, Frozen and Music) and I can't say that I totally understand why there are mermaids? Que?! Anyway. I quite like the 60s girl group feel of the song.


What songs are you into lately?

x

These were my favourite outfits of the year. I didn't realise how many prints I wore and how often I wore them! I'm going to do a more detailed post about what style direction I'd like to go in this year, but I definitely want to start building up a wardrobe of seperates, rather than just relying on dresses all the time.

I think this was the year that I started taking more style risks and I think it definitely paid off, in that I feel more comfortable in my choices and more on my way to find "my" style. I want to try and tone down the girliness now that I'm going into my 20s; having a feminine style that isn't too young-looking.

I have an insane collection of heels but I really need to get some more flats because, honestly, that's what I end up wearing ninety per cent of the time (especially with my knee currently in a shambolic state!).

Anyway, I'm really excited for this year and I hope you are too, and that your New Year's Eve celebrations were excellent - mine were!

x