Ruby Tuesday

Now the only problem with this is I actually met Ruby on Wednesday! I could have called the post 'Women in uniform' but I think I'll save that one up until I have a whole series of photos.

Sometimes I'm not quite sure what to say to someone when I approach them, I mean there is the obvious - 'I have a blog and was wondering if you'd mind if i photographed you', but when I saw Ruby there was really only one thing to say: 'You look amazing in your uniform!' Being something that she has to wear to work and probably gets very sick of, I'm not sure that Ruby was agreeing with me, but honestly I just saw gold!


Street Shot 5:

Ruby 

Spec-tacular!!

So don't you agree? Ruby looks super. It just goes to show, even if you're in your uniform, when you have great style, it just shines through. Thanks Ruby

xoxo

All dressed up

There is nothing better than an excuse to get all dressed up. Frankly it doesn't happen enough in my life at the moment! Things will have to change - and SOON. There are some killer dresses in my wardrobe waiting to be worn. Thank goodness there are some lovely ladies out there with the perfect excuse to don a gorgeous party dress and take it for a stroll.

Street Shot 4

The lovely Talitha strikes a pose

It's hard to see, but her shoes are killer! Perfect match for her dress

Thank you Talitha

xoxo

 



Down south

The weekend before last I took a trip with some friends down to the far south coast. This part of the world is like my second home given that I spent every summer holiday of my life camping for at least 3 weeks at a popular council run camp ground in Dalmeney, near Narooma in the Eurobodalla Shire.

I love to reminisce of those long summer days spent full of childhood adventure and teenage crush after crush! Yet the memories keep unfolding for my trips down south remain. Now there is less pretending that I am a horse galloping along the beach, chanting ‘nay nay neckedy nay’, but instead a LOT more ferreting through every op-shop I can find en route to and from my special place in the sun.

On this recent trip our party of five decided to take a little drive even further south to a small town called Bega. Yes, it is famous for cheese. Whilst two went off to play golf, three remained to explore the town. Unfortunately there was not a great deal of excitement to be had (many a business being already closed at 12.30pm on a Saturday). I can however vouch for two places that you must visit if you are ever in Bega.

Firstly, if you need a snack after your time spent in the car please visit the Candelo Bulk Wholefoods Co-operative and get yourself some dried bananas covered in carob. YUM – they are amazing, as are many of the other delights on offer in the store. There’s something about Co-op stores that make me feel more healthy and wholesome when I enter and make purchases!

Secondly, have you ever known any self respecting, small, regional town that does not have at least one antique or vintage shop? Fear not for Bega has not let us down.  The delightful shop Artizantique can be found at 8 Canning St Bega NSW and stocks vintage home wares including records, books, unique gifts, 20^th Century design antiques, vintage, retro, artisan, art. I took a few pictures while I was in there but unfortunately I do not think they have a website. You’ll just have to get in the car or on your bike.

Artizantiques - except the gorgeous art deco tiling beside the door (on the same street as the Candelo Wholefoods)

xoxo

Blue suede shoes

I'm trying hard to remember if i have a pair of blue suede shoes? I do have a lot of shoes, so this may take a while! Ah yes....a pair of navy blue suede pumps - i'll have to take a photograph so you can see them. I really like them but they don't make a statement like the ones i met out for a stroll on Crown Street on Friday night. This colour blue is so gorgeous but i'm happy that mine are a little lower to the ground because i don't know if my coordination skills would hold up in a pair of these lovelies!

Street shot 3

I wonder what Elvis would think...

Tess suddenly got a whole lot taller!

I love the nail colour with this blue - perfect for a warm summer eve.

Thanks Tess

xoxo



A Love Affair Begins

Growing up in the 70’s and early 80’s in Canberra was a childhood full of adventure for me. My parents, not the type to sit around, encouraged my brothers and I to spend most of our time outdoors playing and learning a plethora of practical skills. A favourite weekend ‘outdoor’ activity of ours was the trip to the Belconnen tip. Yes, I am talking about the rubbish dump! Dad would have the trailer loaded up with anything not worth keeping form his latest maintenance or garden project and he’d broadcast ‘ I’m going to the tip. Does anyone want to come?’ I’m not sure if he saw this as a rhetorical question because I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a trip to the tip that we did not join him. You see the tip was a wonderland of gadgets, parts and even wholes waiting to be discovered by 3 excited kids, childhood imagination still in tact, that liked to build, fix and hunt for things. I can’t quite remember anything in particular that I found at the tip but I know I was delighted many a time. Everything was free of course, your reward for having put in the hard yards to uncover it. My nose can still conjure a memory of things a bit whiffy but please don’t imagine that we were wading waist deep in rotting food and garbage – things were definitely kept in well defined sections.

Later as the dumping of rubbish became more regulated and I was legal to drive I’d go on my own to any Canberra tip I could find that had a shed filled with recyclable bits, now sorted by the council workers who did the scouring for us. Yes it was a little disappointing that that activity was taken away from the average hunter like me, but stepping inside the sheds still brought on that familiar sense of excitement at what I might find – and who could really begrudge the few dollars you had to pay to take it away?

It probably wasn’t until I was a university student that I really began to discover my love of second clothing, but I’m certain my early childhood hunting trips at the Belconnen tip were the beginning of a very, very long love affair. Thanks Dad.

Street Shot 2

Zerrin at Chinese New Year celebrations

I met Zerrin on Friday night at Chinese New Celebrations near Central Station. Her awesome 'onesy' is from ASOS along with her bag. Her equally awesome classes are a Japanese brand that she bought in China (sorry they don't come up so well in the photo). Zerrin was completely lovely and somewhat shy to be in the photo. I'm not into pushing anyone to be photographed and always give them the option to say 'no'. However Zerrin was up for the new experience and I think also a little bit happy that I thought she had great style. Thank you Zerrin.

Bronwyn at El Loco

It's all of the elements put together that make me love Bronwyn's outfit. Bold glasses are always a winner with me and the print of her dress is almost unrecognisable as floral but gives it a gorgeous feminine edge. Teamed with these boots she looks comfortable and not at all overdressed for Friday night at the pub (albeit another hip reno in Surry Hills). Thank you Bronwyn.

xoxo

Thunderbirds are go!

Ever the late bloomer, here I am with my very first blog! I have decided to join the inspiring and lovely community of worldwide bloggers who, like me, have a penchant for nostalgia.

I am obsessed by op-shops (that’s down under speak for thrift stores), flea markets, garage sales, car boot sales, retro/vintage stores and anywhere else that you can hunt for things that have a history.

I’ve recently launched a new business – yes it’s called Bird-dog Dame – which focuses on personal styling using pre-loved and vintage clothing. I’ve been wearing mostly pre-loved and vintage clothing for many years now and people tell me I have a knack for it. So I’ve decided to take the plunge from the 9 to 5 and see if I can make a living from something that truly brings me joy! There’ll be plenty more to tell you about my business adventures in coming posts, so stay tuned.

If you choose to humour me for a while, you will also be privy to updates on my ‘Top Op-shop Finds of the Month’, gain inspiration (as I do) from street photographs of peeps who have ‘got it going on’ and perhaps find some links that will take you on some very merry and educational blogging paths.

Here's your first taste...


Street shot 1

Heading to the Troc- Sydney Festival First Night 

Sydney Festival First Night is one of my favourite nights in Sydney and this year was no exception with an amazing trocadero dance hall happening right in the midst of Elizabeth Street (closed to traffic for the night of course). You can see more pictures from the troc here. I just discovered Kayla from the F tangent when I did a google search for the troc! The delights of blogs! I'll be visiting again Kayla...

Next post i'll tell you how this obsession with all things old began for me...

xoxo