Aussie Curves Bling

The girls at Aussie Curves have been at it again. This week's theme is "Bling"
Now I'm not opposed to a bit of bling but it can be tricky. Work in the wrong place it can emphsise curves we may not particularly want to emphasise. But I had no trouble choosing an outfot for this week's post.
I've already work it to two Cristmas parties this year.

17 Sundays are on a winner with this Melon Sherbet cocktail dress. The sheer overlay with the glomesh type insert is gorgeous and brings the right ammount of bling to an occasion but the dress itself is on a natural fabric so that it breathes. You have no idea how comfortable it is. Feels like you are cheating by wearing a sun dress to a cocktail party.

It was nice to add my Pandora bracelt to the outfit as a necklace just takes away from the bodice.

Now "Tis the season" and all that so DD and I did a little artistic Christmas portrait play the other day. And my dress was the perfect outfit I think. She really is a talented amateur photographer in my mind and you should have seen how excited she was setting up my clothes line with fairy lights to give us this background.

Just in case you didnt get enough bling, try wearing fairy lights as your necklace. They burn if you are not careful enough.

 Just love this dress. Going to get my moneys worth here.

We tried to get my pretty sparkly shoes from Evans but the grass ate up the sparkle.

Heres to wish anyone who reads this blog a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New year. I have a lot of change ahead for me which will take a lot of energy but I am looking forward to some new beginnings. I hope the new year brings blessings and growth, Peace and Happiness.

Aussie Curves Orange

I have to say that some of the Aussie curves challenges seem impossible to me. And orange is one of those themes. I have never worn orange successfully in my life! It is simply not a "cool summer" colour. I had decided that the only way to participate was to colour my toenails orange. They would be far enough away from my face to get away with it.
Somehow I felt I was chickening out. After all we are supposed to be pushing the boundaries right?

So yesterday I went shopping to my local Myer. I love the TS girls at Hurstville and had a nice chat. But wandered off into the rest of the plus size section which has been improved recently. And what did I spy?

Is it orange enough? This beautiful dark corally, watermelony, orangey fabric?
Did you know that Leona Edmiston makes clothes for plus sized ladies now? And they are just reworked dresses from her normal collection rejigged for our more generous bodies?
I had to try it on.

It drapes beautifully and feels cool despite today's humidity. The detailing of the pleats in the front is lovely.

I had to pair it with my pearl necklace. I know retro right? But a pearl necklace was just the present every girl wanted when she turned 21 in the 1980s. Mine doesnt get work by me that much anymore although the oldest DD with the retro touch in her fashion choices drags it out every now and then. She however is not sure of the colour on me.
What do you think?
I can see this being a good work dress or even nicer, a dress for being a lady who lunches. Can you?

dress Leona Edmiston for Myer It was on special and doesnt seem to be on their web page anymore.

Shoes Target.

Watch Emporio Armani mens collection

This is a blog hop. See what the other awesome women of curve are doing with the theme. And be generous with your comments to all.

Aussie Curves Dark

I would have thought a theme of Dark would be easy for this plus sized woman. After all much of my wardrobe is black. But that's just the thing. How do you choose the one dark outfit that most represents you?
In the end I chose this lovely dress from SWAK.

 

 I think this hugs my curves well. Perhaps a little too well but it is my body after all and I have to love it. I love the V neck of this dress and the length.

 Believe it or not I did a smoky eye makeup for this photo. But my eyes are quite hooded and we were in a hurry to catch the light. I originally applied a very red lipstick but decided the frosted rose was a better match.

I love this balcony in my house. Going to miss it when I move.

This is a blog hop and there are some great looks and stories that the others have posted. Check them out. And, as always, comments are welcome.

Aussie Curves Strapless

I wonder what kind of giggling went on when the lovely women who dreamed up the Aussie Curves challenge set the tasks. I think they knew what they were doing when they wanted to push our limits. But it must have been a hoot when someone yelled" I know, let's do strapless".
I do not know a single large woman who likes wearing strapless. I do know a lovely curvy young dancer who loves strapless. Especially if that means corset. But her mother is acutely aware of the slopy shoulder dilemma that means strapless emphasises her apple tendency. I dont really have a problem with my arms. Its just the shouldersok?
Never the less I have two wonderful skirts by TS14 plus that lend themselves to a dress conversion. The red one has already been featured in an Aussie Curves challenge for skirts so I have used the other one.

The belt is from Autograph and the shoes from Rivers. I think the necklace is Autograph last season.
Strapless doesnt mean you cant wear sleeves though right?
So I would prefer to team my skirt/dress with this lovely light mesh shrug from Autograph.

It's the line thing. The opening of the shrug gives a vertical line. Always good on a round body.

But just for fun, lets show some shoulder girls

My oldest likes the cheekiness of this one.
Thanks for reading. Comments are always welcome.
Go see what the other, much younger than me women are doing to meet this challenge.

Aussie Curves pastel

I love these Aussie Curves challenges. But sometimes I just want to go with what I know works for me. 10 years ago I "had my colours done". And there were very few pastels in my palette. Stronger deeper colours match my skin and hair and light eyes better.Interestingly, the colours that I had always struggled with were not on my palette. I had worked it out pretty well without the expert's help.
But I wanted to try. Even put my money where my mouth is and bought a dress that I would love to look good in.Sadly I just dont think it suits me.I have tried to make it work in 3 different permutations but the girls agree. I can do better.
But before I send this lovely dress back for somene else to buy and look gorgeous in, I will share it with you. Because we have to play and take risks even if it doesnt always work.

 However, I do love this new necklace. It is pastel and I wouldnt have bought it if we werent tryng pastels this week. So lets see what we can make work.
I bought this swimming coverup to wear as a summer dress. I think it looks great with a camisole and leggings underneath. It is going to be a very comfortable outfit for summer BBQs. The neutral colours lend themselves to all sorts of different accesory options. This time the pastel ones.

To add to the pastels I paired the necklace with some statement pastel ear rings.

I'm pretty happy with this second outfit. Thanks Aussie Curves for pushing my comfort zone. I guess I just have to know where to push to and where to stop.

This is a blog hop. Check out the other girls

Aussie Curves, Polka dot

I didnt think I was going to get this one published in time. But, ever the last minute girl, I might just make it.

This week's challenge is polka dot. I like them but dont have too many examples. And both currently in my wardrose are the same colour. I think I might avoid them because they make me think of Minnie Mouse. But Aussie Curves is here to stretch us so here we go.

New York day 6 October 6

 Saturday October 6 Brooklyn bridge
 Today was predicted to be a little cooler but sunny so we took the opportunity to walk the Brooklyn bridge.

 We are becoming masters of the subway now and found our way down with no trouble. There is a level above the car traffic just for pedestrians and bikes. 

On the way to the bridge

The beautiful Gehry apartment building

We've been under it, Now it's time to walk it

What a joy. This bridge is beautiful And a master of engineering. It took its toll of workers in the initial stages because they had to work under water in cages with pressurized air and many of them died of decompression sickness. The original engineer was killed in the early stages by tetanus and his son was made an invalid by the bends leaving his wife to complete the project. Go girl engineers!

 The view from the bridge is spectacular. The combination of the soaring sandstone with the city architecture was really lovely.

Barriers on the aproach

Even though there was reconstruction going on and some large barriers blocked some of the view. We had a wonderful time.

Looking back towards Manhattan

It's like a cathedral

The road underneath

 

Manhattan bridge from the Brooklyn

 It was a busy day and there were many pedestrians and bike riders on the bridge. Bikes to one side and pedestrians to the other and heaven help you if you wander to the wrong side!

There are 2 exits off the bridge and of course we took the wrong one. So we ended up taking the long way around into the area known as DUMBO.

Down under the manhattan and Brooklyn overpass. This area reminded me of the Rocks in Sydney.



 

Towards Brooklyn

Seaside industry and old warehouses have been converted into shops , museums and galleries. We found a great place for lunch. Looks like it is jumping at night but it had a great daytime ambience.

 I left Monica there to explore some more and made my way back to Times Square for my next show. This time Nice Work if you Can Get It. Songs by Gershwin but a new book starring Matthew Broderick and kellie Ohara from South Pacific . The story was true musical comedy. Unlikely plot twists and character progress but the singing and dancing was good and it was really fun. Monica had been shopping for presents so I made my way down to Macy's and met her there and we walked back up town .

Bryant park carousel

 It was dusk as we came upon Bryant park again. It was so pretty in the moonlight with the trees lit up and the public library in the background. The weather had turned cool but I braved the cold and we found a cafe in the park for dinner.

 The food was ordinary. Mostly salads or bread based things which was a pity because it is a great setting but I guess they don't have a big kitchen or something. Still it was a lovely experience eating dinner in the park. A good way to end the night.

New York day 5 October 5

New York day 5 October 5

Of blisters and heat.

First aid to poor feet

I really got the weather wrong when I packed. Expecting the highest temp around 20 during the trip, today was quite a surprise. It must have been at least 27 at times. But it was lovely to see the sun.

 Unfortunately I have been breeding a monster crop of blisters and they are taking their toll as well as my general unfitness meaning every muscle in my legs seems to be aching.  Even jelly bad aids and nurofen at not making a great deal of difference. But my desire to limit growing my blisters means we have mastered the art of catching buses now. Today we walked down to 34 th st and caught a bus across town. Then down to the corner of 9th Avenue and 30th street for the start of the high line.

Monica at the start

The high line  is a new garden planted over an old railway track no longer used.

See the rails incorporated in the walkway

 It has been planted with native grasses and plants that were naturally occurring along the line already.

Echinacea

  It seems to be an oasis for birds and natural life in the middle of quite an industrial part of town and now there are some interesting architectural developments springing up around this newly beautified area.

Taking advantage of the green

 And great street art taking it's inspiration from the graffiti New York is famous for even though there isnt as much of it around on the subway.

Well at least it's imaginiatve advertising hoarding

A well loved and used area

We got to the area that goes through the Chelsea markets and found a place making real espresso. So I had a macchiato. And it was good. Especially combined with peanut butter gelato. Yum.  Walking along looking for a seat I saw a vaguely familiar face. Sure enough it was the husband of one of my patients back home. We stopped for a chat and a photo. Nice to hear the Aussie accent although you hear it all around the place. 

Chelsea markets were calling. Set up in the old nabisco factory. Home of the Oreo it is a mix of food shops flea market and stores. The lobster market was serving freshly cooked lobster at very reasonable prices. People were taking advantage and it looked delicious. But I have never really been a fan of lobster so we found a Thai place and ate there.

Chelsea Market

We then went our separate ways. I headed off to the south st seaport to get show tickets and Monica stated to explore Chelsea. Except she got lost and ended up in Greenwich village which was also fun.

The TKTS booth at the seaport is much less crowded. Definitely the way to go for tickets. I had my purchases within 20 minutes and made my way back uptown. 

South st seaport

The seaport is a lovely place to visit of itself. A bit like the rocks in Sydney. It pays homage to the history of the city and there were lots of outside eateries and nice shops to visit. My feet were getting the better of me and I needed a rest  our tour guide had recommended the shopping area on 6 th ave between 14 th and 23 rd so I walked that strip. 

 This weekend the stores are full of sales for the Columbus Day weekend so I was able to get a few things in Gap for people at home. But I was exhausted so headed back to the hotel for a rest.

Later that night I headed back into the theatre district for the spoof show Forbidden Broadway. Rewritten regularly to reflect what is currently showing on broadway, it was very very funny. And the performers very talented. I was sitting next to a girl who had clearly seen all of the shows they were spoofing . She is a New Yorker living and working in London. She gave me a few show recommendations because after seeing everything sent up it was hard to know what would be good.

 Finally I understand what broadway and off broadway mean. And it has noting to do with location of theatre. A broadway show is in a theatre over 500 seats. 100 to 499 is off broadway and under 100 is off,off broadway. 

So even though forbidden broadway is in the next block from Book of Mormon, it is off broadway. And neither of them is actually on the street called broadway!
 I love this city