Vote for Nikki to win a dream!

I've previously blogged about my friend Nikki in the Miss Shop Style Off competition. Just a quick reminder that the competition is still on, unil Friday 20 August.

Winning this competition is a dream of Nikki's, and it'd be great if you could send a vote her way.

Nikki is beautiful inside and out - she definitely deserves to win! Look at her fabulous style!

All photos are from Nikki's style blog, Flair to Remember. After you've voted, check out her blog.


How to vote:

♥  Register as a voter here: http://www.myer.com.au/missshop/register.aspx?vote=1
♥  Check out her profile & click the 'Vote for me now' button here: http://www.myer.com.au/missshop/profile.aspx?id=1034
♥  Then click the validation link in the email you'll receive from Miss Shop! (Very important as this will ensure your vote is counted!

If Nikki wins, this is what she will get:

• A $25,000 MYER shopping spreeeeeeee!!!
• 2 VIP Tickets to the first ever Rosemount Sydney Fashion Festival Myer Miss Shop Show
• Flip Mino II HD camcorder valued at $299
• Be a Shop Til You Drop fashion assistant for a day

Good luck Nikki, and thanks to my readers for your votes!

Let's help make Nikki's dream come true ♥

Vote for Nikki for the Miss Shop Style Off!

One of the first fashion blogs I started reading was Flair to Remember in 2008.

I loved Nikki's take on corporate wear and her relaxed yet stylish weekend wear. And her race day creations are stunning. She inspires me a lot.

I was a lucky winner of her Freez Ray of Light dress last Christmas. I entered a competition on her blog and won this gorgeous dress! Here is my entry.

Nikki has entered the Miss Shop Style Off competition run by Myer.

Look how stylish Nikki is - she deserves to win!

(Photos from Nikki's blog)

You can vote for Nikki here!

If she wins, she will get

• A $25,000 MYER shopping spreeeeeeee!!!
• 2 VIP Tickets to the first ever Rosemount Sydney Fashion Festival Myer Miss Shop Show
• Flip Mino II HD camcorder valued at $299
• Be a Shop Til You Drop fashion assistant for a day

She is such a gorgeous girl inside and out - I'd love to see her win!

Friday night thanks

I went to my fourth body balance class tonight. So proud - I stood on one leg, held the other leg back with my hand on my foot, and pushed this leg out behind me while pointing the opposite arm into the air straight ahead. I was grinning so much I had lipstick on my ears. Not really. But you get the picture.

Right now however, I am treating myself to a smaller piece of cheese than usual with some blueberries. I read a tweet this week: 'why are blueberries more expensive than plane tickets?'. Mine were $2.99 at Coles Showgrounds Village. I swear I am so in love with Coles Showgrounds Village that I am going to marry it. The cheese may be counteracting my gym classes. But I've actually tried to stick to three meals a day this week, and if you don't count the maccasquarterpounderfriesandthickshake (written as one word so you may just glance over it and not make me feel guitly) on Monday before Avatar, I'd say I've eaten pretty well with smaller portions and less fat. Even the seventeen courses of tapas at Movida before The Temper Trap was pretty healthy!

I'm feeling pretty good in myself!

Next week it's ChIPS camp and I am super excited! Can't wait to see these young people develop in the three days of fun and challenges. It makes me very proud to be involved in their lives. Plus I develop and challenge myself, too.

A few blogs you should see -

Faux Fuschia - FF is the Queen of Glamour.

The Rock Lair - this is my friend Lucy's music themed blog. She writes so well.

Flair to Remember - the gorgeous Nikki documents her style.

I've put a counter on my blog this Wednesday and so far I've had around 150 page hits. That's amazing! Everyone who comments here or on Twitter or Facebook has been so positive about my writing. I love to write and am proud of this skill, so your feedback means so much to me. Thank you.

I'm going to put my feet up now with Shop Til You Drop magazine, my cheese and berries. Goodnight all :)

Internet places I like.

Hello!

On this Sunday afternoon, in an attempt to procrastinate cleaning the house before the cleaner comes tomorrow, I want to share with you some of the places I like to visit on the Internet.

Vogue forums

This is a community of fashionably minded people - me included - who discuss all things fashion. Sales. Clothing trends. What they are wearing today. Where to find that fabulous dress Miranda Kerr was wearing. And a bit of other stuff including pop culture, current affairs and food.

My user name is Sqoggle. I don't chat there a lot, but I like to lurk.

I took part in a great Kris Kringle (Secret Santa) on Vogue forums this year and last year. Both times I received something beautiful from anonymous Vogue forum users. Both times I received something from this wonderful Etsy seller, Wiyomu.

This year I received this necklace, but in silver. It's so delicate and special. It's perfect, well chosen from someone who didn't know me at all. Thanks Polly 6034!

Red Dog and Jude

This is a blog by my friend Danielle, who is a graphic designer. She designs books and images for children's clothing and toys. Danielle is very talented and very busy.

Flair to Remember

As mentioned a couple of posts back, Nikki is the creator of Flair to Remember. Nikki has an amazing sense of style, and I do enjoy reading her blog for inspiration.


Vegan Lunchbox

I used to be a regular at Vegan Lunchbox, but not so much recently. Jennifershmoo creates amazing vegan lunches for her son and herself. They are presented so well. Even if you're not vegan, which I am not, you'll find the presentation and inventiveness of her food amazing.

Faux Fuschia

I have only begun reading this blog recently, but I love it! The writing reminds me of a glamourous TV character. Very tongue in cheek, but very serious about style.

Alibi Online and Freez Clothing

I'm not a huge online shopper outside of Ebay. I often buy clothes, books and CDs from Ebay. Recently I bought a fabulous playsuit and Mimco headband from Ebay. I like the buy now option - the bid option makes my heart beat fast. I've not had many bad experiences on Ebay apart from the time I bought seasons one to four of Felicity on DVD and when I received them, they were pirate. I really really wanted them though, and they were relatively cheap, so I wasn't too disheartened, but I don't like supporting piracy.

But the online stores I visit and make purchases from (as opposed to visit and see what I can buy in store - hello Mimco and Sportsgirl have been Alibi Online and Freez Clothing. These have affordable and stylish clothing that are mailed super fast. If you're into fashion, and like things you don't see every day in the shops, try Alibi Online and Freez Clothing.

Well they are just a few of the Internet places I like. Check them out.

The things I am thankful for

I know my previous two blog posts have been quite sad. Legitimately so, but I want to try to give this blog a positive vibe, while still maintaining honesty.

This week, particularly Thursday, has made me thing about what I am thankful for.

Bushfires

On Thursday 17 December I received news from a friend in the country that my parents' town had been evacuated due to bushfires. I cannot believe the rapid panic that came over me. Even though I spoke to my parents who were not at home when I found out (so they were safe), I was so worried about the dogs being left at home alone, with no means to escape. At that stage, I didn't know the location of the fires, just that they were in the main town. They managed to get home, water the gutters, pack some bags and remain on alert. I heard from them via phone calls and texts, and a few friends called me and kept me up to date via Facebook. But I am 300 km away, and the unpredictability of bushfires meant that even with reassurance of their safety, I was very scared. That Worksafe ad kept on going through my mind, the one with the Dido song. 'I won't sleep, until you're resting here with me'. Fortunately they are all safe. I am so thankful for that. Four houses were lost, countless damaged, and thousands of livestock were killed. But no human life was lost. The NSW Rural Fire Services website currently says the fires are contained and there is now low to moderate risk, residents need to remail vigilant. I am looking forward to getting back with them at Christmas. I really miss them in a time like this.

Friends

Last Saturday I had my birthday party at a restaurant called Bopha Devi. It's a Cambodian restaurant. The food was amazing. I love Cambodian and Vietnamese food so much it makes me want to take a food tour in these two countries. I had about 14 friends come, plus my Mum, and it was a fantastic night. At one stage, the whole restuarant, including two other parties, sang me Happy Birthday! I felt very loved, and I am so appreciative to have these great friends. I received many lovely gifts too - they were all very 'me'. Thank you to everyone that came and shared the meal and the fun time. Apart from that dinner, I've caught up with a few other friends over these past two weeks. It's been very social and very lovely.

Uni results

As I mentioned, I'm studying part time for my Masters of Communication. I push myself quite hard and don't strive for anything less than a distinction. I received my final result for last semester on 30 November, but I picked up an assignment on 7 December. While I didn't achieve a distinction in my graphic design subject (something I've never done before but enjoyed a lot and came out of it with a new skill - book binding), I achieved a distinction in my other subject of last semester - Communication and New Technology. I was escpecially pleased with the result for major essay, which was about how new technology allows for mobility and self empowerment. I focused on how the internet and mobile telephony creates identities and communities for people with chronic illnesses. I achieved a high distinction for this, something I was pleased with because it was such a hard subject.

Flair to Remember

Lastly, I was lucky enough to win a beautiful dress from a blog called Flair to Remember. The lovely Nikki teamed up with Freez clothing to give away a dress to a person who described how they let their light shine. I was honoured to be chosen from a selection of great entries. You can view my entry in this blog entry. The dress arrived on Thursday and it is so beautiful. I cannot wait to wear it at Christmas. Thank you so much to Nikki at Flair to Remember and also to Freez clothing for this gorgeous dress. I feel honoured and lucky to have been spoilt.

I had my work Christmas parties yesterday. We went on the tramcar restaurant, but unfortunately it ran out of power so it remained stationary for most of the 'journey'. Oh well, the food was great, and so was the company. This week I've been to FIVE Christmas parties and two morning teas. Phew! I'm exhausted and looking forward to the rest!

Hope you're having a relaxing weekend, not too stressed with the Christmas shopping. Mine's done so now I'm just enjoying the wrapping of the presents.

Talk soon,

Carly :)