outlet city

i’m just about to go to Parndorf Designer Outlet City with my mom. we are skilled bargain hunters, and i think a good 95% of my wardrobe was bought on sale or special offer.

i don’t like paying full price for something… it is such an exhilarating feeling making a bargain on clothes, shoes, bags and accessories!
since i’m travelling to the states in a week, i want to see if i can add anything to the stuff i’m taking :)

i’ll post how it went later today!
toodles!

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update:

i got some major bargains!!!
from the michael kors store, i got two slouchy cardigans, one black and one cream in a wool mix, for a ridiculous price. i also found an awesome blazer with long satin lapels that will help glam up jeans perfectly.
from the ralph lauren shop i got a merino wool mint colored sweater, with a lilac pony embroidery- so beautiful and soft!
i also couldn’t help myself, and had to stop by mango- genius idea (one should always follow their instincts!) i found pretty camel colored suede booties with a cylindric dark wood stiletto heel, and super practical beige linen wedges with straw wedge heel. and, i also found a caramel colored oversize blazer (similar to this color) for 15 euros! 15!!!
did i mention i love a good bargain?
oh and i got a fuchsia skin watch to wear at the beach from the swatch outlet.
i’ll post pictures of the items when i wear them :)

fancy eyelashes

i went to get my eyelashes curled yesterday!

it’s the second time i did it, and i love the results! the method is a little tedious, it involves alot of waiting around, but it’s totally worth it.
i got them done at makeupbine. Sabine, the owner and beautician is a really sweet girl, and she has an adorable french bulldog that roams the salon :)
the first time i permed my eyelashes was in october, i gave it a try because dailydeal had an offer, and i was like- why not? i bought 2 coupons right away, and as said, yesterday i used the second one.
i’m equipped with relatively long lashes, but sadly they aren’t very shapely… just straight, that’s why i use curler tongs- so this perm (lasts about 6 weeks) is a great way to enhance what nature gave me! below are pictures without and with mascara. sadly i forgot to take a “before” pic, but i’ll do it next time :)

lashes without mascara

lashes with mascara

sorry for the creepy eye pictures, but no other way to show it!

the difference isn’t very visible, but that’s also because i didn’t put alot of mascara on- i was in a hurry to leave, and was like “well, they’re curled anyhow” :)

outfits of the days 2

it’s official- spring is finally here, metereologically and equinox-ically!

i put away all my winter coats, winter shoes are next to be stowed away- it makes me unbelievably happy!!!
being a spring child, i thrive on the delicate yet every fortifying rays of sunshine, the blossoms on the trees, and the chirping of the birds! it’s time to start wearing all my pretty colorful dresses and shoes!

below are three outfits i wore last week (i apologize for the quality of the first pic, don’t know what happened there):

jacket: zara
tshirt: splendid
pants: h&m
shoes: asos

jacket: ashy london
scarf: mango
poncho: h&m
pants: sportsgirl australia
shoes: chloé

sweater: sans souci
pants: zara
shoes: steve madden
bag: baldinini

models own nailpolish

finally my nailpolish box from models own arrived!!

it only took about 10 days, i was expecting it to be way more!

i was always curious to buy nailpolish from this brand, but since it isn’t available in austria (to my knowledge), i never really followed up on it. well, i was checking out their homepage and fell in love with the pastel color palette set! of course i had to get it, and added an eyelash curler to the bag aswell. i haven’t had a good one in a while, and didn’t want to spend a little fortune at MAC, so i went with the pretty pink one from models own (6 pounds) :)

pretty pretty pink eyelash curler

the pastel palette box set has the following colors: feeling blue, lemon meringue (another pretty non-eggy yellow!), pastel pink, lilac dream, top turquoise and fuzzy peach

pastel palette

the other box sets are (l to r) : beetlejuice (changing colors), kaleidoscope, smash up (cracking polish), neon brights, metallic, autumn/winter collection, champagne collection and glitter collection.

swatches of the other box sets

all box sets contain six bottles of 14 ml, and cost 20 (gb)pounds instead of 30 pounds! i cannot wait to try the pastel palette, the colors are just so beautiful! kinda wanna eat them…
i’ll post pictures as soon as i do :)

on being phoneless

since i got back from switzerland on sunday night, my phone hasn’t been working… something is wrong with the puk code or something silly like that, and it tells me i have to contact my provider. yesterday, i forgot to go. i forgot to get my phone fixed.
you must know that my phone and i have a very codependent relationship- i do everything with it, it’s always with me. even when i’m in the shower, my phone is always in reach- just in case. i might be a little nuts.
so these past two days, i’ve been slumming it caveman style! ok ok to be fair, i have my computer, so i’m communicating over facebook and twitter- it’s not like i’m totally severed from the world, but i must say, it has been… how should i say, oddly relaxing being without my phone! you hear about people doing “detoxes” from their phone every once in a while, and how they describe the feeling of freedom from the technological chains. i always thought that was bullshit, honestly. how much of an impact can your cell phone actually have on your life- get a grip!
well, now that it’s happened to me (albeit unwillingly) it really hit me how dependent i am of my beloved blackberry! and not just the dependence on the phone itself (calendar, contacts, etc.) no, the constant ring ring that i am compelled to answer, makes me a slave to my little cell. i’m not saying that from now on, i will turn my cellphone off during the night, or that i won’t take it with me to the bathroom- no, i just think that i probably will have a more nonchalant attitude towards the whole concept… i’ve been two days without my cellphone. nothing happened. life goes on. people reached me just fine.
it reminds me a bit of the 90s… i was in my very early teens, and cellphones were only being used by very important businessmen. sometimes i wonder, how we managed to go years- no decades!- without cellphones… something that seems so essential now, and yet is so new! i remember people being more punctual… without a means to let the other party know you are running late, you either had to be on time, or you had to profusely apologize for being late. i think this is the main difference i remember- people being more self centered when playing with their phones when in public or in a group seems less evident- i recall people dedicating this much attention to books, magazines, game boys and tamagotchis- no real difference there.
now, i’m off to get my blackberry fixed- two days is enough detox for me :)

st paddy’s day

well well well… st patrick’s day came and (almost) went, and i barely noticed!
being in switzerland- in a remote part of bern, it doesn’t surprise me at all that i missed it!
i just was on twitter and saw all the st. paddy’s day posts… usually st paddy’s is a reason to go drink (green) beer at thee many irish pubs in vienna, and hang out with friends dressed in green- this year i spent this day with my family, and it was great. we went for a walk in the sunshine and were chatting all day long, just enjoying each other’s company. i think this year’s st patrick’s day celebration is by far my favorite :)
tomorrow i’m going back to vienna! i miss my kitties a lot :)

ttt- totally tired thursday

i’m so tired! haven’t been sleeping very well the past couple of days, and i’m absolutely dreading waking up at 4 am tomorrow to catch a 6.55 flight… baaaah!

my brother and i are visiting our parents in switzerland over the weekend, and i couldn’t find a cheaper flight :( oh well… at least tomorrow i’ll be so tired i’ll fall asleep fast!

i spent most of the day outside today, and the weather was just divine! it was about 15 degrees (celsius), sunny and just so springy! first time wearing ballerinas this year! yay!
hope the weather in switzerland will be just as nice as in vienna- temps are predicted to reach 20°C!
my brother and i are getting my dad an iPad 2 for father’s day (in switzerland it’s on the 19th of march), so we went to town to check when the new one is coming out. turns out it will be available only end of next week, so we will make him a nice card and bought him a chocolate shaving set- should keep him busy till the iPad’s here :)

don’t have much more to report, so i will leave you with a cool/funny pic i found online

musings

i’ve added a new category: musings and daydreams.
it seemed appropriate, as i didn’t really know in which category i could put random thoughts, brainfarts, general wonderings and all the other things that whirl through my mind.

at the moment i’m constantly followed by some sort of restlessness… which expands into (day)dreams and a desire to make a change. it is now my 6th year in vienna, and i love it. i mentioned in an earlier post that to me, vienna is the most beautiful city in the world. i live in a great apartment with three cats and my brother. our parents visit us often, i have a great group of friends- honestly, i’m very happy with my life.
then why do i keep getting this nagging feeling? this urge to move on, try something new, do something else?
it might be because i’m still jobless at the moment- granted, i could be looking for one alot harder, but still, the point is to find something i like (or would like) to do, not throwing myself into just anything… right?
maybe, and i think that is the actual problem, i don’t really know what i want to do. wow. when i first realised that, i was a little taken aback. if i don’t know what i want to do, who would?
i want to add that there is no lack of wishes and dreams as to what i would like to be doing. i think it’s quite the contrary, maybe there’s just too many things i want to try!
one of my life dreams is to work with animals, particularly horses and dogs… it is probably the one constant passion i’ve been carrying around my whole life. other things came and went, but this always stayed. in my mind, i would own a ranch, somewhere in montana -thanks to the horsewhisperer, that’s been the backdrop for this dream. or maybe somewhere in california would do too, with access to a nice secluded beach. my brain plays it out like this:

riding through snow - montana

a girl and her horse (photo by kevin sadler)

yeeehaaw into the sunset

then again, i have another very very different dream. the glitz and glamour of a career in fashion or the entertainment industry! that’s quite a change from the previous one, isn’t it? i think i’m on the right track about not knowing what i want…
having worked at a model agency, i got hands on experience with this fantastical world, and i’m hooked. i don’t care if it’s a shallow, exploitative industry- it’s fun and fast paced, and i like it!
now, sadly, in vienna this particular sector is veeeeery limited… it is bigger in paris, milan or london, but it doesn’t compare to the land of entertainers, the united states. would i be able and willing to move to the usa to pursue a career? cowgirl or showbiz? or is it better (safer?) to stay in good old europe and make the best of it?
the thing is, i would consider moving to denmark, too. for totally different reasons, but it would be an option! the people are so cool, the whole scandinavian culture is so different and relaxed, it almost feels like being out of europe. i used to say “the danish are the australians of europe”. i still stand by that. but then again, i loved australia! sydney and melbourne were such amazing places, i would love to move there too! again, different reasons than any of the ones above, it has a unique appeal!

see where the problem is? my (let’s face it raging) wanderlust has gotten me all confused! so many places, with such different characteristics and appeals! how could i make a decision? what would be the best thing to do? how do i determine what the best thing is? is it happiness? career? money? ideally it would be a mix of everything, but the existence of such an outcome seems quite utopic, no?

i would love to hear your thoughts about this :)

my kitties <3

i’ve talked about my cats, but i haven’t showed you my furballs yet!
most of my friends (except for the purely “dog-people”) go gaga for my kitties, and they should! i know i sound like a proud mom, but my cats are awesome. they are actually like little doggies, they are so loving!

yuki, the only male, and the biggest of the bunch is turning 6 years old this june! he’s an absolute lovebug and cuddlemonster, and he is the most vocal of the three. he recognizes the words hungry, come and his name :)

sitting at a window looking magical

sleeping like a baby

cookie is the second of the gang, 5 years old, and the most beautiful cat in the world (proud mom syndrome again). no seriously, she is a gorgeous dark tabby, with huge amber-green eyes, and the cutest heart shaped nose! she is also a cuddlemonster, but a little skittish towards strangers, especially men. i think she was abused by the farmer where she was born at, and carries around a fear of men, but it’s getting better and better, and i hope she can one day be fear-free towards everyone.

cookie being all cute and fluffy

sleeping beauty with the heart-shaped nosy

the third musketeer is loki, a rambunctious half bengal little terror, but oh so cute. loki turns 4 this year, but she is still the baby, even physically she’s the smallest of the three. she is the funniest creature i’ve ever met, and is too spirited for her own good, always causing trouble! but she’s just too damn cute for me to be angry with her, so she just gets away with everything! she is very communicative, especially when she dislikes something- for example if she’s picked up but doesn’t want to be held, she’ll make these adorable complainy sounds, to tell us to let her down… soooooo cute!

loki sitting like a bawssss

dreaming of mischief, surely

my cats are rescues, and i wouldn’t have it any other way! adopting an animal is saving a life- i strongly support adopting instead of buying, because buying pets encourages illicit breeding, also known as puppy and kitten mills, where the animals are kept in horrendous circumstances, whete all are very sickly, inbred and unhappy. i have nothing against buying pedigree puppies or kittens, but it has to be from ethical, registered breeders, that don’t treat animals like birthing machines until they die. i will write a post about this soon, also about spaying and neutering, which is just as important.
getting back to my kitties, i adopted them from the kittenfriends organization, a group of cat-lovers that go around the viennese countryside, catch (spay) and release adult cats, and take the (weaned) kittens into the city, to adopt them out to people. they do a great job, and i can’t thank them enough for giving me my three furbabies :)

asos future stylist round 3

just wanted to announce that the asos future stylist competition went into its 3rd round!

unfortunately billy didn’t make it, but kani, jazmine and christing did!
please take a look at the remaining candidates, and vote daily! voting is closed on march 19th, so every day counts! :)

ciao x