7:00am on New Years Eve and I was up at work manually counting and restocking all the full priced items before opening time. About three coffees and eight hours later I drove home to prep up the house for a night of food, friends and $400 worth of fireworks - it was a blast!

Thankyou to all those who came and Happy New Year to all!
Here's what the boyf managed to capture from our little fireworks display in my backyard. I actually deleted this video from my memory card by accident the next morning and wonderful Marcus helped me recover it - Thankyou!

Amy & Amelia - we wish you were here!

Just bought a few LUSH goodies so I'll be back to normal posts from here on (like it mattered haha)

Polaroid update

Happy 2 years and 7 months babe.

We made a gingerbread house last week to practice before Christmas day, can't wait till Friday!

have a safe and happy Christmas all!

xxx

You crazy bafoon!

Anise cropped top, Bardot Piper frill jacket, Bardot Pretty Punk Tank

Extended trading hours commenced this week as well as our $30 sale on dresses and a whole lot of pizzazz in the sales rack so drop by Bardot and join the hussle and bussle! Gosh, I've turned into a retail spruikazilla!

And when it's busy it means more work outfits which probably will make do for any hauls from now on.. buying clothes from the store means doubling them as work outfits and now I find myself passing shops that I'd normally enter (urgh, such a sacrifice!). I haven't had the urge to buy things but I find myself having to for the sake of work, which sounds like a pleasure but sometimes - it's a pain ($$$)!

Cinderbox jacket ($89.95), Holey Moley tank (SALE! $19.95)

Space junk maxi dress ($119.95)

Piper Frill jacket ($89.95) , Pretty Punk tank ($59.95)

Night Owl Jacquard (SALE! $29.95), Monaco Panel Skirt ($69.95)

I've also picked up a few more cubes for things that found no place on the chrome stand.

Housekeeping time! Not much to do but I have some time to spare for answers :)

Annie: Hehe, you have an uber cute smile. Have you had braces before? :)
Why hello fellow Annie! No I've never had braces before but I think I might need them in the near future :( my front teeth on the bottom row are being pushed inwards by the sneaky little wisdom teeth that will soon be peering from the tiny space left on my gums. Gah, dreading their arrival!

Anonymous: Hey Annie, woudl you be able to tell me what is the brand of your friend's camera? I love the quality of the photos!

I love her camera too! Hopefully next year I can cash in my next few paycheques for a new snapper! Her camera is a Samsung st500

Anonymous: hey annie is that black top from bardot a one top or like a singlet and something else? how much was it, since u work there eheh :) do u get good discounts??
Hello Anonymous :) the black Pretty Punk top is actually one top, the singlet inside was mine so I'm sorry for the misleading picture! I've reposted pictures of it with all the prices and yes I do get a discount on the clothes (but not as much as the full-timers, if only!)


Anonymous: Hey annieo, just wondering if you can help me out! LOL I just wanted to know what your getting your boyfriend for christmas, i'm absolutely clueless of what to get my boyfriend, his 18

Funny thing is I was just about to post up a question asking for xmas pressie ideas for the boyf! I had a plan to save up for things he really wanted and used, like part of his home entertainment system. But he's bought his own and it's better than what I could've given him - so that idea has gone down the gutter! He has said he wants a few things from IKEA, even though he thinks I won't be able to afford the things he wants I'm willing to cash in my next few paycheques and if anything get him a belated pressie - one that he'll make use of! Last year I got him a DVD player, the three seasons of Family Guy he didn't have and a Mossimo belt. Other pressies I've given him has just been things like Lacoste shoes, belts, jackets, shirts, Nintendo DS - guy presents are so difficult! This year I'm clueless :(

Telephone - Lady Gaga ft Beyonce

My parents are leaving to the coast this weekend then overseas on the 28th so, with the duty-free opportunity, my mother surprised me one night with an early Christmas gift!

She had been meaning to wait until Christmas but thought it was better if I could make some use of it now before their overseas trip since she'll be taking it along with her to claim back the GST at the airport. She surprised me with a Speedy and revealed that she also treated herself to a Fendi Chef Boston hehehe, nothing says x-mas like a self-pressie! Thankyou mother dearest, I promise to take good care of the house + pets! (If gifting me with a bag was a bribe for extra good behaviour ... it sure as hell worked hahaha)

My vanity (as you've probably seen) is a complete clutter. So I've been raiding the storage and kitchenware store sections for cake displays and pantry organisers which finally came down to this:

Still cluttered but there's finally a clearing on the table-top!

I found a 3-shelf pantry organizer (Target), plastic utensils container (Target) which I placed on the top shelf of the pantry organizer for MAC compacts and an X-Cube organizer (Officeworks) for lippies and mascaras.

A little cake display (Target) for cuffs, rings and bobbypins and things that have no place on the jewellery stand.

A 4-shelf and 4-drawer cabinent (Target) for bottled things and I just sort of shoved my boots on a store-display stand my dad grabbed from a pharmacy from work. I also thought I'd show you the Paul's boutique bracelet I got for myself purely because it had Paul's name on it - my friends think I'm psychotic! hahahaha

I've been bugging Paul to come with me to IKEA, just thinking about the storage shelves they'd have makes me feel all tingly inside! But we haven't had time to do so and whether or not he can come with I should head there soon for a gingerbread house kit - most exciting buy of the season! ... and usually the buy I can never grab in time :(

This week the store owner will be coming in and out of work which means best behaviour and sporting latest stock.

So, Saturday shift - Bardot Pretty Punk tank & Boulevard Bomber Jacket in Peach.

Posting work outfits - fun or annoying?
Didn't list lame as an option because you'd all pick it! hahaha.

Summer party + Stereosonic

It's summer holidays but I still haven't had a decent night's sleep. It's been one activity to the next and microdermal after-care in between so blog-wise I've been pretty inactive, most of my internet time is now used to email Amy and Amelia- two of my best friends on completely different continents that won't be back until next year :(

The fainting spell I had last week was from dehydration and since then I've unintentionally water loaded, my stomachs been in complete bloat-mode! Thank goodness for my cupboard full of loose fitting clothes hehe.

The week leading up to the Summer Party has been quite frantic. Since I lost my wallet I had debt to pay off, things to report missing and IDs + cards to be replaced. Then before I knew it it was Thursday night and time for frantic last-minute outfit shopping, my wallet was cardless so I grabbed what I could afford with the little dosh I had leftover and it was Summer Party the next night then Stereosonic the following morning.

I spent most of my Summer Party experience being pushed and shoved around, The only place with any moving space was in the public toilets (below) haha

and when the morning came it was time for Stereosonic. These photos are from Winnie's camera (which I love! Hint hint, new camera for Christmas Santa? hahaha)

The next morning I had to wake up for work and my calves were aching! Working at Bardot has been good though, a lot more laid back than General Pants. But it does scare me that my mindset at the moment is - "I don't care what my wage is, as long as I'm not couped up at a desk all day, I'm happy." ..sitting at a desk is basically ....the rest of my life after graduation :(

And now for a little housekeeping!

Anonymous: wowwwwwwwwwwwww how much did ur bf win?! lucky! can u show us ur new piercings :)

I don't know if I should mention the digits but I agree, he was lucky. I would go into another fainting spell if I had to explain to you how he played to win the amount he did though, agh my heart!

And about my piercings, I've still got about another week or two before I can take the spot bandaids off, the only time they're exposed is when I'm cleaning them so really only 4 people have seen them haha - here they are, fresh and only 8 days old.

Anonymous: hey annie did your microdermals hurt? how much did they cost and where did you get them done? post up a picture please =o)
The dermals were done at Industrie8 which are $90 each and $160 for two, then theres other costs like antiseptic and salt water sprays which are about $10-15 each.

I don't tolerate pain well. The only other piercings I've had are my ears and bellybutton so I went in expecting the worst ... but it was actually ok! The only real pain I felt was from adjustments. When he inserted the left dermal my body tensed up and it wasn't as flat as I wanted it to be so the dermal needed to be adjusted and pushed down into place but it was only a couple more seconds of adjustment pain and it was over!

Xtina: how long do dermals take to heal? does it hurt? i'm thinking of getting them on my back toooooo =] is it hard to look after?
The time it takes to heal depends on the location of the dermals, I think its a minimum of 2 weeks healing time (but then again, I'm only a patient, not a piercer! haha) but I can tell you that they've been the most easy going piercings I've had.

The after care I was given was an antiseptic spray and a salt water spray which you pretty much spray on the peircings 3 times a day. The antiseptic spray is wiped with clean tissue and the salt water spray is left to completely dry before applying the spot bandaids.

So they're pretty easy to look after, the only downside is that I'm allergic to the sticky part of the bandaid so I get a bit red and itchy but I've resisted the temptation to scratch then my gorgeous Bettina checked up on the dermals and gently scratched where the bandaid had made me itch, it felt so good, I swear I could have married here then and there LOL.

Anonymous: how long did it take to put in the microdermal piercings?
I think it took about 5-10minutes or so, it's a bit more fiddly than normal piercings but it's nothing terrible. I wanted to record it but I wasn't allowed to, which is probably a good thing. Watching the procedure on youtube never really helped me calm down all that much :

Clothes & MU

This afternoon I got two flat microdermal piercings on my back, just under my neck. Then something scary happened when I got home. I was in the bathroom with my brother explaining to him how to clean the piercings for me then my hands and arms began to tingle and when I looked up into the mirror my vision was gone.

The next thing I remember was staring at the mirror again and everything was really faint and grainy, my vision only came back when I sat down. My brother told me I was about to fall and began shaking and he held me upright for about 5mins until it stopped. I wasn't scared or nervous before I blacked out, it just sort of happened out of the blue.
Has this ever happened to anybody before? Did I just faint? Did my piercings have anything to do with it?

Apart from that, I'm happy I got the dermals done. The one on my right is just perfect but the one on my left seems a bit alleviated, I think I have to go back for another painful adjustment. The adjustments were the worst part of the whole procedure :( I have to put spot bandaids on them for the next 2 weeks, hopefully they heal fast and everything turns out a-ok!

And now here is the major haul bomb! I've been so busy I haven't been home in time to take the photos in natural light so the majority of these piccies aren't in the best quality :(

First with the MU
NYX lippies from Cherryculture, the last 4 are old NYX lippies I already had

Just realized I forgot to label the swatches! L-R: Creamy Beige, Orange Soda, Celene, Baby pink

L-R: Electra, Narcissus, Strawberry Milk, Thalia, Perfect, Honey, Circe, Rea, Creamy Beige

MAC Blushes in Trace Gold, Springsheen, Style & Peachykeen

MAC Cream Colour Bases in Shell & Hush

Stila Illuminating Finishing Powder in Gold, I placed it next to the Bronze to compare

MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer NC20, MAC Paint Pot in Painterly. Stila Convertible Eye Color in Onyx (Dual shadow & liner)

Chanel Pro Lumiere Foundation, The MAC blushes again.. just to fill in the space haha

Now for the shoes! I have a new obsession with wedges, they may not be everyones cup of tea but they sure as hell do it for me!

L-R: Ava Lace Up Hiker boots (from Topshop's opening @ Incu in Paddington), Dolce Vita Cut-out Wedges (Urbanoutfitters), He who sees field boots (Urbanoutfitters)

L-R: Heels from ZU, Sandals from Wanted

Yes, I do realize all my shoes are black. No matter how hard I try to stay away from that colour.. I can't!

Moving onto accessories and bags.

Kidada for Disney Couture - Fairest of Them All Necklace

Necklaces all from Sportsgirl, gloves from Urbanoutfitters, Rings from Bardot, Diva & Equip. Bag from Bardot, thrifted brown bag.

And finally the clothes! Its so hot but I found myself buying a clothes for the winter, I guess at the rate the weathers been going you never know when I cold front will hit(?) hopefully hahaha

L-R: ASOS Ladder longsleeve jumper, ASOS slash back dress (front & back)

L-R: Portmans Maxi, Bardot Maxi, Seduce Maxi

L-R: IT girl maxi, Forever New dress, Staple dress (Abyss)

L-R: Bardot shirt, Mink jacket, IT girl top

L-R: Mink crop top, Witchery cardi, Sportsgirl dress

L-R: Top (?), Sportsgirl dress, Anise shall

L-R: Bardot Cinderbox jacket, Bardot jumper, Topshop jumper (Incu)

L-R: Sportsgirl top, Minkpink shorts, ASOS top

L-R: Kenji crop top, Forever21 fringe vest, Top (??)

L-R: Bardot jumper, Ladakh shall, Ladakh top

L-R: Ladakh crop jacket, Ladakh crop top, Ladakh top

L-R: Ladakh top, Ladakh top, Ladakh jumper

The Ladakh & Anise buys were from the sale. I know I was meant to notify when the next sale was going to be but it was mid-exam time and I had no clue until the morning of the sale by Wendy's morning wake-up call LOL

Now to explain the extensive haul like I said I would.. I did mention that the boyf had a lucky turn at roulette, he managed to score himself enough for the home entertainment system he'd been wanting and a shopping spree for his girlf :) I don't remember exactly which items of clothing were from the spree but I can tell you that I was given a limit to spend within a 1 day span and it was a lot more stressful then it was bliss! The bliss only set in when the shopping bags arrived home but my conscience was still weak, I had myself a shopping hangover the next day even though I knew most things were courtesy of a Star City cheque haha. I'm satisfied though, the shoes really put the icing on the cake and to my Paulfish - this Christmas, next Valentines, Anniversary, Birthday.. whatever the occasion.. I would not be able to accept another gift from you. I would like a card though.... actually write me a nice letter.. LOL

My amateur nail art isn't coming far along, I realized while doing Fiona's nails the other day- I do not have steady hands! I was trembling with the deco pens and kept ruining the nails :( but it felt good to have a nice girly day of shopping and nails. I did the leopard print on Tammy using Great Barrier Beige, V and Black LA colours art pen, blue/black on Fiona using For Audrey & Black LA colours art pen and the white/black on myself using Liquid Leather and White on white ..yes, that last hand with the ugly wrinkly fingers are mine :(

Phew, done and done.