༺ To See The Tulips ༻

My best friends and I went to visit Floriade last week ~ it’s an annual tulip festival that’s held next to Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra.  It has been going on for a while, and it’s become quite a popular event now ~ and no wonder!  The pictures and patterns that are created in the flower beds always look lovely, and there’s so many brilliant, eye-catching tulips ~ plus a wide variety of other flowers and attractions to see.

This year however, my heart was stolen by this pretty patch of unintended flowers!  I don’t know how they got there, scattered under the trees, but they were such a colourful bunch, and of course, you could get much closer to them than the tended flower beds. 

So no ~ I’m not tucked away in some quiet part of the woods with this vivid splash of color, like it seems in the pictures, but rather smack dab in the middle of the festival grounds ~ right next to a main thoroughfare!

Yup, tons of people were staring and I guess I must’ve made rather a spectacle of myself, but you know what?  I just don’t care any more!  (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

I don’t know if the years of wearing vintage, or taking blog photos have made me immune to the “eyes” watching me, be it a camera lens, curious public, or unwitting spectators, or maybe it’s because my 30th ~ yes, 30th! ~ birthday is coming up fast and I’ve been imbued with that special dose of confidence that you apparently get when you get older? 

I don’t know ~ but for once I could ignore the crowds passing by and gawking at the weird girl prancing around in a patch of flowers, {I hope they didn’t care?} and just do my thing.

Sort of.  

I mean, it was a bit awkward….  (⌒_⌒;)  But, then again, I still did it!

I don’t know where that sudden burst of confidence came from, but I’d like it if it decided to stick around. There’s got to be some bonuses to ticking over into another decade right? 
(ノ゜ω゜)ノ

So I’m curious ~ does taking photographs in public get any easier for you as time goes on?  Do you find that people notice your vintage dress and that helps you learn to ignore curious glances? I know that where I live ~ it’s a very white collar-government run-red tape-conservative culture, so people tend to silently ignore any “aberrant” styles of dress. I’ve become a bit immune to it now, so maybe that’s helped to build my confidence a bit.

It’s certainly interesting to ponder ~ clothing says so much about us, and can really effect the way that we act/react to the people we meet. And along the way, blogging can provide you with some intriguing insights into society and our cultural mindset regarding personal style. Just another thought to think on!

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

Pink Peony Hair Flower | Dollar Shop
Bubblegum Knit Top | Retrospect’d
‘Pheobe the Fairy Wren’ Brooch {old style} | Erstwilder
Rainbow Be-Ribboned Handbag | Forever New, 2012
China Doll Circle Skirt | Me Made, March 2015
Pretty In Pink Bow Peep Toe Heels | Light In The Box

༺ ♡ ༻

Find me:

Instagram | missbjvear
Pinterest | bjvear
Ravelry | BJVear
Twitter | bjvear
Youtube | Bonita Vear

༺ Currently: Snow days & Spring time ༻

‘Currently’ posts are a little snapshot of the events that are occurring in my day-to-day life. These episodes feature photos from my Instagram, do come and say “Hi!” if you are around. Also, if you would like to participate in this feature yourself, please feel free! I’d love to read your posts, so don’t forget to leave a link.  ♡

READING:

“The Silver Brumby: Silver Brumby Whirlwind” by Elyne Mitchell.  An oldie, but a goody off my bookshelf.  I ❤ pony stories!

WONDERING:

….*crickets*….  Not much ~ but more about that in a bit.

FEELING THANKFUL:

That I’m on my way to being over this cold/flue bug thing that’s had me sick for the last two weeks. *blergh* (ಠ_ಠ)

EATING:

Right this minute? Cadbury Black Forrest Chocolate. It’s as good as it sounds, and the only kind of Cadbury chocolate I like. Generally, I prefer Lindt ~ who doesn’t? But this Black Forrest stuff ~ so yummy. ԅ(≖‿≖ԅ)

 

WATCHING:

Just finished “Sing It On” on Netflix ~ a reality show about collegiate a cappella groups? Aca-fantastic!  ✧*:･ﾟ

WORKING ON:

A lot of stuff. So here’s the thing, right after I launched Teacup Girl Art, The Mister and I decided it might be helpful if I signed up for an online business entrepreneur course ~ Zero to Launch run by Ramit Sethi. As a result TGA has been rather derailed as I gather my thoughts together and try to figure out a path for ZtL.  It’s not been easy so far, but I’ve been enjoying the work. 

However, work it is, so between that and the colds, and all the snowboarding, I’ve fallen behind on a few other projects ~ namely TGA, my Sewing All The Things plan and blogging.  (⌒_⌒;)

So, my spare brain cells are few and far in between right now, and though I won’t be finishing my SATT plans, I will be aiming to finish my Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge ~ three garments down and two to go!

 

LOVING:

Snowboarding. Snow. Going fast over snow on my snowboard… Oh yeahhhh…. Cherry blossoms. Wattle. Erstwilder brooches. Hanging out with my family. Spring breezes. Gorgeous sunsets. Sparkly, glittery gel nails! Satchel bags. White Peach Tea ~ look out French Earl Grey as The Mister says! Nylon hair scarves in all the colours of the rainbow.

ATTEMPTING:

To start my online business… Help! 

WANTING:

To get a grip on this entrepreneur course, and slim down a bit. *sigh* Baby weight. The struggle is real.  

DOING:

A crazy amount of stuff, from exercise to errands, and for the most part ~ loving it! Snowboarding is done for the season, winter is officially over and now we can fully embrace the spring time.

(‘Currently’ post inspired by Danielle of Sometimes Sweet and Kaelah of The Clueless Girl's Guide!)

xox,

bonita

༺ ♡ ༻

Find me:

Instagram | missbjvear
Pinterest | bjvear
Ravelry | BJVear
Twitter | bjvear
Youtube | Bonita Vear

༺ Woven Wattle ༻

You probably all realise that I’m a lettle bit obsessed with Erstwilder jewellery by now ~ and yes, I’m doing another post about it. Sorry, not sorry.  :P

Part of the reason for my obsession is that Erstwilder is a home-grown brand ~ I love the fact that they are Australian! It feels great to support my fellow Aussie artists, plus the brooches are just so darn pretty.  With all the golden masses of wattle trees in bloom I knew it was the perfect time to feature their “Woven Wattle” brooch.

Canberra is currently awash with the bright yellow florets, which was partially the inspiration for acquiring this new piece for my collection. Ever since the bushfires of 2003 {which did a lot of damage and burnt several suburbs of our city} there has been a rapid growth of the wattle trees. While too many wattle trees would technically be a problem ~ making them a weed ~ I find I can’t be unhappy to see the all the sunny golden puffs. They make me smile everywhere I go at the moment. It really is quite a sight!

It took some hunting to find the Woven Wattle brooch ~ sadly, they don’t have it in stock on their website, as they don’t seem to be making it anymore.

Instead, I found mine at Rocklily Wombats which is an awesome wildlife refuge based in the Greater Blue Mountains National Park in NSW, Australia. They have an online shop where the profits from their sales are donated to helping Australian wildlife. It’s a great project they have, and I was more than happy to help out by buying this delightful brooch to wear!  \ (*≧▽≦)ノ

What is your favourite flower in spring? Mine are wattle, cherry blossoms, violets, snow drops {Lily of the Valley}, and grape hyacinths. A long list ~ but how can you not love all of the cheerful splashes of color?

xox,

bonita

Discloser |  I am not affiliated with Erstwilder or Rocklily Wombats. I bought this product myself and chose to feature it because I like it so much. (✿◠‿◠)

༺ ♡ ༻

Fall Fancies Dress | Me Made, ‘12
Erstwilder ‘Woven Wattle’ Brooch | Rocklily Wombats
Pretty in Pink Cardigan | Kmart
Vintage Buttercup Gloves | Gifted
Tan Wide Belt | Thrifted
All Around Brown Heels | Rivers

༺ ♡ ༻

Find me:

Instagram | missbjvear
Pinterest | bjvear
Ravelry | BJVear
Twitter | bjvear
Youtube | Bonita Vear

༺ Winter Blossom ༻

Everywhere I look, I see blossoms bursting open, unfurling their petals to welcome lengthening days and warm breezes that herald the approach of spring.

Whilst autumn is my favourite season of the year, there certainly is something so promising about springtime ~ those delicious, mellow days that hint of lingering golden sun to come. All the tiny, intrepid violets fighting against the clinging frost of winter. The splashes of color that brighten up even the greyest of rainy weather with vivid carpets of emerald, or entire trees daubed in outrageous gold as the wattle comes out in full force! ✧ ✿ * ❀ * ✿ ✧

Though spring is officially here, I’m still in my winter wardrobe as you can tell. Canberran spring definitely isn’t warm enough for lighter clothes until at least October. While I’m waiting on nicer weather and less rain, I am happy to wear the new knit tops I picked up last weekend. (◕‿◕ ✿)

The quality of the ‘Robin’ Knit Top* by Collectif is so good. The woven knit fabric feels light and silky in your hand, yet it’s still warm when you wear it. It’s comfortable, easy to wear, and effortlessly fits into a vintage wardrobe for either a 1940’s, or early 1950’s look. A versatile piece for sure!  Also, I adore the sage color they’ve called ‘antique green’, and all the details like the lace pattern, gathered sleeve heads, pearl buttons, and dainty collar really make for a simply gorgeous top. 

I can see why the Collectif brand is so popular. The quality is fantastic, and the styles they produce are so charming and perfect for vintage appropriate looks. I must say, I think that Collectif could easily be named as one of my top vintage reproduction brands ~ which is saying something considering all the amazing brands out there!

I am eager to try out some more of their pieces, but it’ll have to just be one at a time ~ quality like that takes time to save for.  (- ‿◕)

Do you have any favourite pieces from Collectif? Or maybe another reproduction brand? I’ve actually started collecting Vintage Reproduction Brands on a Pinterest board in hopes that I can list all of the places to shop the best vintage reproduction. Please do tell me your favourite sites so I can check them out and add them to the list!

xox,

bonita

*This top used to be called “Freddie" but I guess they decided to change the name! That’s okay though, they have more colours now. Would it surprise you that I think I need them all?  :P

Discloser |  I am not affiliated with Collectif; I bought this product myself and chose to do a review because I like it so much. (✿◠‿◠)

༺ ♡ ༻

Vintage Christmas Bell Fur Hat | Ebay
Caramel Nut Vintage 1940’s Bomber Jacket | eBay
‘Freddie’ ~ re-released as ‘Robin’ ~ Knit Top by Collectif | Faster Pussycat, Sydney
Vintage Pearl Stand Necklace | Thrifted
Vintage Matchstick Plaid Skirt | eBay
Navy Satchel Bag | eBay
Wine Red Wedges | Rivers, 2013

༺ ♡ ༻

Find me:

Instagram | missbjvear
Pinterest | bjvear
Ravelry | BJVear
Twitter | bjvear
Youtube | Bonita Vear