WHAT I WORE LAST WEEKEND

Hello my dear friends, hope you are well

After  a few weeks of torrential rains, Mother Nature finally took mercy, cleared up the skies and let the sun shine upon us. Hallelujah!!!

The timing coudn't be better as the pile of washing in my laundry has grown up to the ceiling and everything in my wardrobe and linen cupboards felt damp to the touch.

But when I woke up and saw the sun streaming through the blinds, my first urge was to go down to the beach and have a nice long walk along the coast to enjoy the warmth of the sun on my face and to take a deep breath of the fresh smell of the ocean and so we did.

There are many coastal walks around Sydney, each of them offering different views, all of them spectacular in their own way but for me there is one walk that every visitor and resident of Sydney should take – a cliff top coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee in the Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. Whenever we have visitors from out of  town or overseas, we always recommend them to take this walk.  It runs for almost 6 km and although we have never done the full circle as in some parts of the walk could be quite steep or there would be a lot of up and down steps which my husband is not a big fan of so over the years we developed our favourite routes that suit his fitness and like to alternate between them.

As the name suggests, it runs along the coast of the Pacific Ocean and features stunning views, beaches, cliffs, bays and rock pools.  You can stop at any time to take a dip, to surf or have a coffee and a snack at one of the many coffee shops along the route.

On this particular day, we chose the path that runs between Bondi and Bronte beaches for two reasons.  Number one, the path is mostly flat and number two - we were meeting our friends for lunch at one of the cafes overlooking Bronte Beach. 

Normally, if we are going for a walk, I prefer to wear my gym clothes but since we were having a lunch too, I didn't want to look like I have just finished my training session at the gym.  These days many people, young and old, tend to wear gym clothes anywhere they go but I resent doing that.  I am a big believer that different occasions require a different style of clothes.  

I still wanted to feel comfortable and not so out of place, so I put on my wide-legged ecru colour un-cuffed jeans and a bright orange oversized shirt.  I feel that my clothes should reflect the sunny weather and my good mood.

As for accessories, I chose to wear a long string of beads wrapped around my neck in a complimentary blue colour.  If you follow my blog, you might remember me talking about the the nature of complimentary colours in relation to colour theory and today I am following the same principal.  I like how the blue colour really stands out against the orange.  I am also wearing a turquoise ring to complement the necklace.

And that is that.  Be well, everyone

Until then

Anna💖

 

BLACK AND WHITE BLOUSE STYLED TWO WAYS

 Hello dear readers, hope you are all well.

First of all, I would like to share with you exciting news - last week my middle step-son (I had three step-children from my husband's first marriage and he has two step-daughters from me😄) and his partner had a baby boy👦. She is originally from Japan so the baby has her almond shape eyes and thick mob of jet-black hair on his tiny head and looks absolutely gorgeous.  No name yet, though.  In Australia you have 60 days to name your newborn and after that the name will be assigned by some Government body.  Hopefully, it will not come to that.

Another not so exciting but still very important news is that after five months of looking for a job, I finally got one.  Back in September last year, the owners of the company I worked for 10 years decided to retire and sold the business to a company based in Melbourne.  I didn't not see it coming, I was hoping to stay there until I chose to retire in a few years time but that was not meant to be.  The job that I was doing was transferred to their Melbourne head office thus rendering my position redundant.  I was devasted.  

It was a small bookkeeping job, just two days a week which suited me perfectly.  It left me with enough time to help my older daughter with her two kids twice a week, and attend yoga, pilates and barre classes in my gym.  It gave me a reason to leave the house in the morning, dressed in clothes other than the gym gear, talk to people outside of my usual circle of friends and acquaintances, give my brain something  to do and earn some money.  Not that my husband ever denied giving me as much as I want, I still wanted to have my own funds.

It took me almost five months to find a replacement and it was an absolute struggle.  Sadly, my old bosses were literally old and not big friends of modern technology. Once I started viewing job ads, it hit me how far the technology has moved on in the past few years.  And it not only applies to accounting software but how much the technology has become an integral part of all aspects of the business.  I don't want to bore you with the details but if you imagine that you have been using the rotary phone and then one day someone hands you the latest model of an IPhone and tells you that this what you will have to use from now on and you have to figure it out all by yourself.  It was not enough that I have over 10 years of accounting experience, in the eyes of the recruiter I was a ignorant neanderthal.  Which is not far off, giving that I am turning 64 this year and probably was the oldest job seeker on the market.  there were days when I felt stupid, useless, hopeless and frustrated.

I was just about to give up, when a recruitment agent who saw my profile on Seek (Australian job seeking site) and offered me a role in a small company, doing exactly what I was doing for two days per week.  Sounded good to me, so I asked him to set am an interview with the MD.  During the interview, I realised how many similarities this company shares with my old workplace.  The software that they were using was about 20 years old, every document is printed on paper and either filed in the old fashion manila folders or piled high on the desks and tables or along the walls.  The MD himself is a man in his seventies so my age didn't bother him in the slightest. All he cares about is that the job is well done.  And here comes the best part - the office is literally 500 meters away from my home and I walk there in under 5 minutes.  So all and all, it worked out in the end for me, fingers crossed.  I sincerely hope, it will last🤞.

Now that my mind is in a better place, let's talk about fashion.  For today's outfit, I chose a monochromatic black and white colour scheme.  I do love bright colours and wear them quite but today  we were going to see a French movie called "The Taste of Things" which was a part of French Film Festival and I wanted to wear the colours that are so popular amongst Parisian women.

The blouse is a new addition to my wardrobe.  My younger daughter bought it for me when she was working at Country Road retail store over the Christmas break.  In fact, I was just wandering among the racks and this print caught my attention.  I also liked the fact that the blouse is cropped so I don't need to tuck it in which comes very handy when you are wearing a silk pencil skirt and you can't tuck anything inside it as it will ruined the smooth look of the fabric. 

I asked my daughter if she can apply her staff discount but she generously just paid for it.  

My cropped unhemmed pants are so old that I don't care to remember how long it is since I bought them but I like their style, they look trendy, I can still fit into them and that is good enough for me.

The movie was an absolute joy to watch. The lead roles are played by Juliette Binoche, who plays Eugenie ( a renowned cook with no equal) and her ex-husband Benoit Magimel playing Dodin, "an epicure whose ideas for recipes combined with Eugenie's talent, combined culinary magic" .It's brilliantly filmed, both actors are on top of their game and if you haven't seen it yet, I strongly recommend.

The other night we were going to the Opera House to listen to a classical concert and I was wearing this same blouse but this time instead of white jeans, I put on black pants adorned with pearl buttons running along the bottom part of the pants;  the sneakers were replaced with black patent cup-toe shoes (worn here) with a pearl clasp and swapped silver chains hanging around my neck with a long string of pearls linking all the elements of my outfit together.  

I like this blouse when I just saw it hanging on the rack and now knowing how adaptable it could be, makes me feel even better.

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

HOW TO TRANSIT LINEN PANTS IN AUTUM IN TWO DIFFERENT LOOKS

Hello. my dear friends, hope you are all well

We are a half month through our Australian autumn but the warm weather still holds which means that we haven't packed our summer clothes yet.  However, these days if I have to leave the house early in the morning going to work or for a walk after the sun is set, I would grab something warm to cover my shoulders.  

It's this in-between-the seasons period when you need two sets of clothing, one for the warm time of the day, the other - when the air gets cooler.  It could be a hoody if I am going for a walk, a jumper or a unbuttoned shirt if I am running errands and wear something quite casual or in case of a more formal occasion, a classic blazer does the trick.

It might sound like too much hassle but it's quite simple, really.  I still wear my summer clothes but always have a jumper with me, a blazer or sometimes just a long sleeved shirt to throw over a t-shirt or a singlet, depending on what our plans for the day are.

One of the pieces of clothes that I tend to wear quite often lately is a pair of my new ecru linen pants.  Thanks to their simple style and neutral colour, I don't need to worry about my colour choices and I could easily dress them up and down by mixing them with casual or formal pieces depending on what we have on during the day.

Last weekend, for example,  we were going to the Art Gallery of NSW to view the Kandinsky exhibition from the Guggenheim museum in NY.  As you all know, in this day and age nobody is expecting you to adhere to a "dress code" anymore and roll up at the door wearing a tux or a ball gown and elbow length silk gloves.    Ever since COVID all the rules of what should be worn where have become blurred or just simply disappeared.  However, my husband I, both born in another era, still like to follow a dress code, at least to a some degree and dress up accordingly.  

We are both love and respect art so for this particular outing I chose to wore my linen pants topped up with a simple white t-shirt but then I put on my red classic blazer from David Lawrence and accessorized with my new LV scarf to elevate this casual outfit to another level.  

And I decided to carry my Pinko metallic handbag with heavy metal chain to mix things up a little.

The exhibition was quite extensive, one of the biggest outside the US, and we loved it.  As a former citizen of the former USSR, I felt very proud that such a prolific and talented painter was my fellow  countryman.

This weekend, on the other hand, we were invited to a combined birthday party, my husband's middle son and his girlfriend were both turning forty.  The party was taking place in the park where they hired an open patio with casual tables and chairs and BBQ area where the host, with the help of his male guests cooked us some sausages.  

There were also a lot of different dips, freshly sliced vegetables and a several bowls full of potato chips.  In other words, it was a very casual  laid back affair, the atmosphere was very relaxed and very enjoyable.

My outfit was equally very casual.  The same linen pants but instead of a t-shirt I wore a singlet, in case the weather would warm up as the day progressed and I could take off my pink and white striped shirt that I casually threw over the singlet and left it unbuttoned.  

So, here we go - two very different occasions and two different looks, the only common thing between them was a pair of linen pants.

Glad you stopped by, please let me know what you think, I love reading your comments.

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

HOW I STYLED MY NEW LINEN JUMPSUIT

Hello my dear readers, hope you are all well.

This jumpsuit that I recently found in Myer department store was a totally accidental purchase.  In fact the reason I was there in the first place was because my younger daughter asked me to return some of her purchases that she didn't have time (they are all so busy) to do it herself.  

Besides, the Australian summer is almost at it's end and I was not going to buy anything that will have to wait another 6 months to be worn.  However, when I saw this fun looking green belted linen jumpsuit, I couldn't resist its bright print.  On top of that,  it was hugely discounted that tipped the purchase of it.

There was one feature of it, though, that I was not sure about - thin spaghetti straps which usually  means that you can wear a decent bra underneath.  However, on a closer inspection I saw that the back panel of the jumpsuit was elastic that tightens up the fabric around your rib cage and keeps everything nicely tucked in place.  You know what I mean.

It comes with the belt which is made out of the same fabric which I like, it also has side pockets and closes with a side zipper.  Tick, tick, tick.

I had a few ideas of what to wear with it and decided to go for the bold statement.  Thus I settled for the red colour shoes and a handbag.  If you look at the colour wheel, you will see that red and green sit right opposite each other and thus are called complimentary colours.  The best and most recognisable example of this winning combo would be the Christmas colour scheme.  

Sadly, these I don't wear these red suede shoes very often so I jumped on the opportunity to air them out.  My LV handbag is quite old, alas not vintage and goes perfectly with the shoes.  I like the playful vibe behind this outfit.  Wouldn't you agree?

Is a jumpsuit your cup of tea?  And if yes, would you prefer it to be in one solid colour or print?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.  I really value your opinions, my dear readers.

Outfit details: Jumpsuit (Wayne Cooper), Shoes by Edward Meller - Old (worn here)

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo