better the dare-devil you know

lately i feel as though i have been taking a few more chances, getting things done a little more sporadically yet efficiently (if that is even possible!), and trying some new things. what does this have to do with dare devils you ask? not much really but given that i'm usually a fairly calculated person i find it daring to step away from this and into a new side of me.

firstly i have started doing some occasional work offshore, on an oil rig, where i am often one of 2 or 3 females to about 85 guys. at first the idea of this scared the pants off me but i took a deep breath, psyched myself up and went for it. in actual fact it was so much fun and such a strange new experience that i am glad i talked myself into it. with these trips comes a degree of un-planning since they usually confirm my flights within 12 hours of flying out. this used to stress me out more than anything (i'm not a stress head whatsoever so this is a big thing for me) however now i have decided to just go with it. makes it much easier to deal with if i relax this way.

on a completely different note, my newfound diy obsession has had me scouring my wardrobe for things to cut up and run through the sewing machine, some of which were fairly pricey items at the time of purchase. last night i took a chance and actually put my scissors into one of these dresses and i am more than pleased with the results (you'll see this in an upcoming post). it took some guts for me to start cutting up a silk dress even though i haven't work the thing in over a year! i'm really glad i did though.


dying my hair blue and being a little more risk taking with fashion, hair and make-up is another new daring trend i've been getting into. for nights out you'd only ever see me with a smokey eye and long loose curled blonde hair, then i chopped all the hair off, dyed it brown-ish, grew it all back a dark dirty blonde and wear it up most if the time. i used to freak out about getting the slightest trim on my ends but the dare-devil me got my mum to cut a good 2 inches off last week, no sweat! and i've been rocking toned down eyes and bright lips all the time lately.

these things have really inspired me to take more chances, whether or not they are going to end up with happy faces or otherwise, and i feel like its a good thing to try new things every now and then. i am going to continue being a dare-devil and try new things as often as i can.

side note: proof reading this post i realised how lame this all sounds! i feel like a dare-devil and that's all that matters!

wardrobe rehab

given my recent obsession with everything diy, craft and sewing it seemed only natural to create a blog feature out of just that. and so wardrobe rehab was born! the premise: find and fix existing wardrobe items making them once again wearable, unique and stylish. sounds like my kind of challenge! i love wearing clothes that no-one else has, however sometimes funding this habit can become somewhat challenging. this seems like the perfect solution to recycling things i already have rather than buying new things and giving the old unworn stuff to charity.

my first rehab project was a little bit of a cheat but i think its still valid because of the insanely low cost involved.

existing item: a leona edmiston scarf i found scouring through my local salvo's store for $5. this is where the cheating comes into it, i purchased a navy blue racer back tank top from big w for $6 because my other tanks are all rather strappy.

the idea: sew the scarf to the top in the fashion of a floaty clown collar. 

supplies: racer back tank, scarf, needle, thread

first, i gathered the scarf from the centre, so it was doubled over, with a needle and thread. 

ta daa! the finished product

then i simply pinned and sewed the gathered scarf onto the tank. finito! 

must have been the easiest thing i've made/altered, i finished the whole thing while watching an episode of gossip girl!

my favourite things - beauty edition

i love a bit of oprah, her crazy excited yelling and her generosity, mostly i love how she regularly gives away her favourite things, passing on her love, knowledge and trust in one product to another. she was my inspiration behind this post. i love sharing my favourite things and have recently began 'doing an oprah' and giving my favourite things to people as gifts also.

so here we have, in no particular order, my favourite beauty products.

aloe vera plant. a friend of mine had about 40 aloe vera plants that had gone on a rampage through her yard, so she potted them and gave them away to friends. i love using this plant, either in home made masks, or out of the fridge and straight onto my skin when i need a hit of freshness or after being in the sun. just cut a stick off, squeeze out the goop and put it where you need it. 

mario badescu control cream. being a pink-cheeked girl is sometimes hard when you don't want to constantly wear makeup. this cream is an absolute lifesaver, after i put in on the redness fades and clears my whole face up, its amazing! never have i felt the need for a product like i do for this one. big thanks to chloe for telling me about it.

lush bubble gum lip scrub. in the last few years i have become very experimental with my makeup. i used to only work the smokey eye but now i frequently go for a bold lip and keep everything else simple. this lip scrub is so great for smoothing out any peeling, dry lips before you pile on the bold colours. its 100% edible and tastes amazing and your lips are silky smooth after using it, and for around $9, who can't afford this beauty?

diorshow mascara. this has been a long time favourite of mine. my mum introduced me to it years ago when i first started buying makeup and i have to say its one i cannot live without. i am blessed with having fairly long and thick lashes but this mascara takes that to a whole new level, sometimes even giving them the illusion that i have falsies on. 

elizabeth arden mineral makeup powder. this one is a fairly new addition to my favourites list. i love love love this powder! everything from its makeup smell to the way it smoothes out your foundation. amazing!

mac strobe cream. this is another new favourite, in fact i have only began to discover its amazingness this summer. it gives your skin this beautiful, lustrous shimmer and i have been mixing it with a little liquid foundation to get a dewy, glowing look that isn't too heavy during the day. i wish it had an spf in it, then it would be perfection, but you need to wear a sunscreen underneath.

so there you have it, my favourite beauty products! 

(pictures courtesy of strawberrynet, lush, mac, google images)

blue my mind

as a teenager, i was a little bit of a punk. i frequently went to punk concerts, never brushed my hair and wore spikey cuffs and lots of other punky accessories. i remember always looking through second hand clothing shops for the perfect tartan miniskirt to go with my green doc martins. anyway, it turns out a little bit of that punk teenager lives on in me as i foray into the diy hair colouring world, opting for bits of blue scattered throughout my mop (much to my mother's dismay).

i have done this once recently, inspired by lauren conrad (my hair idol, i swear if she can do it, so can i!), however last time i opted for colouring all of the ends of my hair, and was a little timid on the amount of colour i used. this time, i went nuts! i scrubbed some fudge 'blue hawaii' into a long thick section at the base of my skull and left it on for 20 minutes before merely rinsing it off, rather than shampooing like i did last time. the results were amazing! such bright vibrant blue and i love how it only shows through in small sections underneath my hair.

 (the dye and my disposable gloves afterward)

 (look how bright and blue it is!)

(blue flash)

i think its over for my unnatural hair colouring, i reckon two times a charm. i'm sure mum will be pleased!

thoughts this thursday

its been an interesting week this first week of january, it began with a luau for new years, a few lazy meals from maccas, an insanely fun music festival and a little operation followed by lots of nursing for my henry (poor guy got the snip and proceeded to make me feel insanely guilty about it for a good 24 hours). as for thursday i thought i'd post about a few of my favourite moments from this first week of the new year.

luau. we had my siblings and their partners and a few friends over for a low-key party on new years eve which included board games, jelly shots and lots of leys and grass skirts (supplied by my dear friend nicole). 

making the punch

fun with sparklers

festival. summadayze was on tuesday, a strange day for a festival given that most of perth was heading back to work. the day was excellent, snoop dogg was hilariously fun and ben had been waiting about 6 years to see the french dj duo justice who put on an amazing show. the day was topped off by the two of us managing to just get on the last bus home and avoid hefty cab fares. the only unpleasant part of the day was the insane amount of dirt that we were covered in afterwards (see below...).

 yep i wore lipstick, all day

dirty legs and shoes on the bus home

pan am. i feel like i am a little late on the uptake with this show but i must say i am thoroughly enjoying it. from the early 60's fashion and beauty, the eloquence and poise of the women from that era, and also the political incorrectness. i find it similar to mad men with a little more drama and a much younger cast (all of whom are remarkably good looking!).

picture courtesy of imdb.com

diy projects. after getting a sewing machine as a christmas present i have been finding myself overwhelmingly inspired by the wide array of diy blogs and photos on pinterest. i have been non-stop trawling the web and saving pages and photos onto my ipad. i even searched through my old clothes for things to alter and went to my local salvo's store and picked up a few bargains to jazz up my outfits. my favourite project at this stage is definitely my glitter oxfords. ben bought me these shoes a while back and i have only worn them a handful of times. i feel like they'll be back on a pretty steady rotation now.

see? awesome hey! 

my latest diy project... stay tuned to find out what it is...

Welcome to my life

Here we go, new year, new hobby, new blog. This was something I never really saw myself doing, but after some guest blogging on my sister's blog, I found it was something I really enjoyed doing and made it my sole new years resolution to start up my own.

At this stage I'm not entirely sure what it will be about, most likely the things that occupy my free time, my interests, inspirations and anything that my mind finds itself attached to. 

So welcome folks, to its-me-asha! This is me. I'll admit the photo is a little bit of a glamour shot but it was the nicest I could find of just me that wasn't on facebook, I have been lazy with taking my camera places these days as I find there'll always be someone with one, uploading them the next day! Anyway this photo was from my friends wedding in the Hunter Valley in NSW, she is my oldest friend in the world so that makes it a little more special.

Here are the guys I live with, my gorgeous boyfriend Ben and my adorable puppy Henry. They hang out a lot and become a morph of one another I like to call Benry, I am sure they will feature often on my blog.

So there you have it, I'll finish with a few things about me that I enjoy, and will endeavour to explain and elaborate at some point in the future. I love painting my nails, I love nail art and have many many many nailpolish colours at my disposal. I have recently acquired a sewing machine and have started making my own clothes which is so much fun, there's something all 50's housewife about making your own wares that I adore! I work away in very remote parts of WA, this often impedes on my sleeping abilities, social life and home enjoyment because of the limited time I get to spend there, but I love making people healthy, fit and responsible for themselves in the process.

That'll do for now, and once again a warm welcome to my blogging adventure!