My New Bernie Dexter

So I did some more retail therapy... I'm terrible, I know. But I finally have a Bernie Dexter Dress! Hooraaay!!!!! A free shipping deal and an excellent sale have lead me to purchase what may now be one of my very favourite Autumn/Winter season dresses.

Oh lordie lordie is it perfect...I wore it out to Cavalia last night. Check out this freaking adorable bow, I cannot handle it:

I also took a silly photo because, well, you know... I'm silly and I just really love new things.

That's all for now! I'm graduating from my Masters tomorrow and I can barely contain my excitement... Wish me luck!

Renata
Xx

Thrift Queen

You'll never guess how much these shoes were...

 

I picked up these adorable vintage patent leather T-Strap shoes on eBay for a mere...

 

$5.50

 

Macklemore, step down. Your shit may be 99 cents but these shoes are comfortable, completely leather and adorable to boot.

You may declare me the Thrift Queen!

 

 

Renata

xx

Grandma's Little Bakery

Hello friends! It's been over a month now at the new job and golly have I been busy! It seems like whether I'm at uni or at work I'm always snowed under with something. I'll be graduating in just under a month which is verrryyy exciting indeed... In the meantime, I thought I'd share some more photos from my last trip to the ACT.

On our journey down to our fair capital city, we stopped at the most adorable cafe/shop I've seen in a long time. And just my luck, there's one in Alexandria as well! The place is called Grandma's Little Bakery. Aren't you feeling at home already?

Source

The one I went to was at the Fedra Olive Grove in Collector, NSW. On a very blustery Saturday we parked our car and went in to have a delicious home-style meal overlooking the miles and miles of olive trees. Pretty spectacular.

The whole cafe has such a lovely home-y feel to it, and yet despite the traditional feel of the food and decor it was the first time I ordered with an iPad! Oh, the wonders of technology. Here are some of my quick interior snaps:

I had this delicious vegetarian frittata thing that I just wanted to curl up and go to sleep in. To be honest, I don't know whether I wanted to cuddle it or eat it such was the fluffy deliciousness of this frittata. We sat next to an open room of goodies that were screaming my name, and so we got to check out Grandma's pantry before heading off. Needless to say, we bought a great deal of local made food and produce to take back home with us:

I'll definitely be making a trek to Alexandria to stock up on more Fedra Olive Grove Extra Virgin Olive Oil, that stuff was truly magical... I recommend that if ever you're on a trip to the ACT and would like a great view and delicious meal you should stop by. Or even pop by Alexandria and say hello! The people at Grandma's will be happy to have you.

Renata

xx

My Day at Retro Depot

Hello again readers! I have much to tell you about lately, but so little time as I've started a new full time job as a receptionist while I search for graduate work. I rarely feel like writing these days! Although I've been busy, I was able to take a weekend to head down to Canberra with my mum for the very first Retro Depot! You may remember me talking about it a little while ago, and I had such a lovely time.

My first impression walking past the Old Bus Depot Markets is what an unassuming place it is; on the street you wouldn't even guess all the wonders that lay waiting inside for keen Canberra shoppers...But lo and behold, I was impressed to see all the stall owners who showed up to chat and sell their wares throughout the day, there were even two levels worth of stalls!

The markets were full of amazingly colourful retro styled items made from recycled or found materials, including reupholstered furniture and clothing sold by friendly locals who are happy to talk to you about what they do and where their items come from. As far as environmentally friendly shopping goes, the Retro Depot hit a big A+! As well as retro styled items there was a range of lovely classic antiques, a few in particular I managed to take home with me..

We wandered the stalls while serenaded by a very bouncy jazz band, and it was so great to see all the tiny toddlers bopping along to the music. Too cute! One thing I can definitely guarantee about Retro Depot was how family friendly it was.

The lower level had a great local produce area, and I sampled some delicious vegan baked goods and bought some yummy home made jam. I was also impressed by the food stalls, boasting deliciously diverse noms of which we most definitely indulged in. We had tapas from a little Spanish stall and bought mulled wine from another. I hadn't had mulled wine since Europe, so you could imagine I was practically bouncing off the walls!

I thought I'd do an outfit pic and show you my scores from the Retro Depot... I got an antique letter holder which is storing my many knick knacks on my dresser currently:

Top: Asos

Skirt: Modcloth

Tights: Modcloth

Cardigan: Zara

T-Strap Shoes: Thrifted

Letter Holder: BAAAARGAIN!

... As well as a really beautiful art-nouveau style bracelet. The photo just doesn't do it justice! 

 

All in all, I enjoyed a fantastic morning out and a lovely little weekend trip to Canberra. The Retro Depot was such a diverse and enjoyable place to be and I'm thoroughly impressed by the push for recycled and antique goods. It had a distinctly local feel to it, and you get a sense that the Old Bus Depot Markets are a market run by the community for the community. Ain't nothing wrong with that :)

April's Caravan!

 Any questions you guys have about the Retro Depot please do pass them on, including any questions about the sellers. You should also visit the facebook page to find out more about the individual sellers like Charlie Foxtrot and Rapt!Upholstery. It's well worth a visit!

Renata
xx

Say Hello to My Little Friend

After my whirlwind of birthday shenanigans (which included a joyous pub party with one too many drinks!) I have now a nice tidy pile of birthday goodies, including some delicious peach and ginger tea, a sugar skull from Mexico, the new Miss Dior Cherie perfume, and some lovely Modcloth goods courtesy of my mum. What a lucky girl I am!

My favourite of the Modcloth presents is a very little friend who is very dear to me:

This is a little mouse brooch with the most gorgeous little green jewel eyes, pearly enamel body and rhinestone-encrusted tail. I love him! I've decided to name him Topolino, which means little mouse in Italian. Incidentally, also the name of Mickey Mouse in Italy, I kid you not. For those of you who are interested in having this adorable rodent companion to adorn your lapel, he is the Tailed and Tiny Pin from Modcloth, and is an absolute steal at $12. Let me know if you buy him, and we can have little mouse play dates. No, I'm not too attached, how very dare you :P

In other news, I will indeed be trekking down to Canberra again for the Retro Depot fair to pick up some much needed retro items to spice up my bedroom. I will be making a post about the day as well, and I hope to see some of you there :) Let me know in the comments if you will be attending and we can make a day of it!

Renata
xx

Retro Depot

Today I have some great news, particularly for my Canberra readers. I'm always happy to pass on news about vintage events and markets, and coming up this April is a very new and exciting event, Retro Depot!

 

Canberra natives would be well aware of the Old Bus Depot Markets, a Kingston favourite and a fantastic cultural attraction. Retro Depot is the first event of its kind to be held at the Old Bus Depot Markets, and will be happening Sunday the 21st of April. Retro Depot is a celebration of all things retro, be they fashion, homewares, furniture and accessories.

If you're a fan of retro living in Canberra, or just looking for some new homewares, furniture or accessories, you should definitely get your bargain hunting hat on and make your way to the Retro Depot!
EVENT INFO: 
Where: Old Bus Depot Markets- Wentworth Ave, Kingston, Canberra
When: Sunday April 21st 2013
Time: 10am - 4pm
Cost: FREE!
With my schedule providing I hope to see you there, and even do a more personal review of the day! If you also have any questions about the event please feel free to send them my way. 
Renata
xx


(All pictures supplied by Old Bus Depot Markets)

Lately I've been

Attending my cousin's wedding in Bowral, where I got to dress up for the first time in a long while... I love my new Alannah Hill wardrobe addition!

While in Bowral I spotted my dream home, apparently the rector's home that had been in his family for generations. Though I appreciated the story I would've done terrible things to achieve living in a house as beautiful as this one! 

As well as taking a mini holiday down to Canberra to catch the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition before it left for good! There was something really special about seeing La Goulue up close and personal, I'll treasure that feeling for a long while.

I also grabbed some adorable gift shop snaps... Though expensive, there were so many turn of the century themed things that I wanted to bring home with me! I settled for a poster and some classic French Bistro glasses.

It's been a slow month, and unfortunately my Bowral wedding stay coincided with the Love Vintage Fair, which I was very sad about indeed. If you are curious you can catch an excellent post over at Sarah's blog 'The Chronicles of an Eccentric', where she modelled some absolutely stunning dresses!

I have some vintage news coming up later this week that I am very excited to tell you about, but in the meantime I'm off to do some Modcloth shopping... My birthday is approaching, don't you know!

Renata
xx