Spent the day at the library researching African jewellery, ate fresh carrots and sundried tomato gluten free toast for lunch, just about to head to the gym and then off to have coffee with a friend. I then plan on drinking wine and having dinner with the Smaggles! 

* Dress from DFO in Canberra

* Cardigan from Valley Girl in Canberra

* Obi belt thrifted from Salvos in Canberra

* Tights from Big W in Canberra

* Boots from Joanne Mercer in Canberra (I bought these yesterday and I love love love them!)

How is your Monday going angel?

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

A big massive thank you to all who entered the armwarmer giveaway. Your answers were gorgeous and Captian Apricot and myself had a hard time coming up with the winner. 

BUT… we both loved Scribbles and her love notes so congratulations love! The armwarmers are yours. Just email me at lady(at)smagglestyle.com and I’ll pass your deets along to the Captain!

Again, thanks for entering! I love you all. And thanks Captain Apricot for sponsoring the first Smaggle giveaway!

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

It’s the end of the weekend and I’m utterly exhausted. The weekend was spent spoiling the shit out of Mr Smaggle for his birthday. I also slept for an obscene amount of time. 

* Hammer pants from DFO in Melbourne

* Singlet top from Country Road in Melbourne

* Cardigan from Valley Girl in Canberra

* Earrings from Bijoux in Canberra

* Shoes Doc Martens from DFO in Melbourne

* Singlet by Metalicus 

* Brooch Smaggle Made (It’s a black chip board square with a diamante ‘MJ’ design on it. I’m going to wear it for thirty days to mourn for my beloved Michael Jackson who I’ve been listening to non-stop for the past few days.)

This evening I’m going for a chilly jog around the lake, cooking an old fashioned meat and veg dinner for Mr Smaggle and getting ready for a busy week. 

What are you up to my love?

Love Lady Smaggle

P.S The winner of the armwarmer competition will be announced tomorrow! Good luck! 

A wee little while ago I received an email from a super gorgeous gal who has an Etsy store called Captain Apricot and she sells hand made armwarmers. She very kindly sent me a pair to road test and I have to say I’m literally in love. These babies have been with me since the day I received them. Last week I thought that I lost them and I was literally devastated. They are so warm and they scrunch beautifully around the wrist when worn. It makes SUCH a difference that they are made from wool. My arms have never been toastier! And I can easily hold a glass of Merlot without it slipping through my fingers. Absolute genius design.

AND to top it all off the gorgeous Captain Apricot is giving all Smaggle readers the chance to win a pair of super awesome armwarmers! Holy crap! 

All you have to do to win is visit her store, mosey on over to the armwarmers section, pick which ones are your favourite (personally I’m all over the champagne shorties) and leave me a comment. Not just any comment. I want to know your favourite thing about Winter. And if ANYONE says ‘Hot chocolate in front of the fire place’ NO ARMWARMERS FOR YOU! Be creative people. Impress us! Don’t forget to tell us which armwarmers are your fave! 

So…

1. Visit the store

2. Pick your favourite armwarmers

3. Make a comment on Smaggle saying what your favourite thing is about Winter

It’s that easy!

You have until Wednesday at midnight to leave your comment. The Captain and the Lady will then decide the winner and it will be announced later this week. 

Oh the excitement! 

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

This weekend was utterly blissful. Highlights include a trip to the farmers markets, the most decadent afternoon sleep I’ve ever experienced, yum cha for Mamma Smaggle’s birthday and a Mario Kart tournament with my man. Sigh! 

* Dress thrifted in New Zealand

* Obi belt from DFO in Melbourne

* Necklace gift from Mr Smaggle

* Scrunchy tights from Itrip Iskip

* Sunglasses Le Specs from Itrip Iskip (I bought these yesterday and they are rocking my world)

* Shoes Doc Martens from DFO Melbourne

How was your weekend poppet pie?

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

You’ve all heard me talk shit about body image and self confidence in the past and if you’re a regular reader you’ll know that I promote body maintenance above anything when it comes to loving yourself. I’m a Virgo so I like to sit around a lot and think about how perfect I am so naturally it comes as quite a shock when it’s pointed out to me that in fact, I’m not perfect. Oh my god it even hurts to write that. I was having a brag to Mr Smaggle the other day about how you can’t fault my diet and he said ‘Yeah except for all the chocolate’. Naturally I was a little affronted. ‘Bitch please. Exsqueeze me? Baking powder? You MUST be referring to your other girlfriend’*. He then pointed out that despite the fact that I eat a protein shake for breakfast, two pieces of fruit, salad-like lunch and healthy dinner it appears that I lose the fucking plot after dinner and consume chocolate as if I am dying. Right. Thanks for this info. This got me thinking that although I do exercise and eat right there was a time in my life that I would rather have eaten wallpaper than gone near calorie-laden chocolate EVER let alone every day. So I thought I would compile a list of health tips to get me back on the right track to health… or get me out of the cocoa fields and steer me back to the straight and narrow. Here’s what I came up with…

Write down everything you eat

Okay I know this sounds like eating disorder territory but trust me it works. Use an online service to figure out how many calories you should be consuming in a day (based on your weight and activity levels) and start adding up what you are eating. Including wine. I mean it. Calorie King is awesome for Australians because it has all our food brands and you can look up something like ‘apples’ without having to scroll through ten thousand kinds of apple pie/treat/snack/candy unlike some other online services in other unnamed countries**. I did this everyday for two years and I could very easily eat exactly what my body needed in a day without calculating it and a few months ago I stopped doing this. I started again this week and it’s amazing that my brain forgot how many calories there are in some kinds of foods. It’s a great little reminder about ’sometimes’ foods and also about the portions that you should be eating. 

Rock out when you work out 

Get yourself some awesome songs on your Ipod (personally I’m all about show tunes and Cher) and zone out while you work out. It makes SUCH a difference. I look at people who exercise without music and they look like they are going to cry. So sad. 

Mix it up 

Don’t just stick to the gym. Get out into the fresh air and go for a run. Even though I hate outdoors (this is true I just really don’t like sun in my face, or bugs or flys, loud cars, windy days – ugh! Outside is SO temperamental) I do love jogging in quiet areas and singing really loudly with my Ipod and pretending that I’m Britney. Seriously try it. Sometimes this actually makes me look forward to exercise. 

Dress like Lara Croft or one of Charlie’s Angels

I wear a lot of black when I exercise. Not because it’s flattering but because it’s tough. Would Angelina wear baggy grey tracksuit pants and a Nirvana t-shirt? I don’t think so. It’s all about black Lycra. The tighter the better. And do pretend that your training for the invasion of an ancient Egyptian tomb. Imagine your whole workout as a movie montage. It will make the time fly by. I promise. 

Get over it 

Obviously there is no way that you can never eat chocolate or bread again. That’s just stupid. All I’m asking is that you own it. If you eat a whole block of chocolate (we’ve all done it!) just deal with it and eat well for the next week. Also exercise hurts. And it’s boring. Deal with it. It’s like 45mins out of your WHOLE DAY and it makes you look and feel amazing. I understand the issues that people have (believe me, I have them too) but just do it. Like cleaning the bathroom. Or paying your car insurance. 

But also relax…

Honestly it’s SO BORING watching your weight all the time. Be realistic and flexible. Eat well most of the time and track it in your diary but if your man brings you home an ice cream treat for the pair of you to share just enjoy it love! If you’re going to indulge in a cheeky wine night with your ladies savour every mouthful and maybe skip dessert. As one of my students said to me the other day ‘Just kick back Miss. Chillax!’. Indeed.

And to prove that I actually follow my own advice I had cereal and yogurt for breakfast, tuna and crackers for lunch and I went to the gym so now I’m going to Browny’s house for dinner and wine! 

Be balanced! 

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

*He doesn’t actually have another girlfriend. I don’t share. And in my defence the only reason why I eat chocolate is because Mr Smaggle’s brother, Mr Squiggle has several opened blocks of different kinds of chocolate in the fridge ALL THE TIME. It’s hell. I’m a peer pressure chocolate eater. I don’t even like it that much. 

** Yes USA. I’m talking about you. 

Yes my lovelies. I’m still wearing clothes despite the lack of documentation to prove it. 

* Dress from Country Road

* Cardigan from Valley Girl

* Grey wool tights from… ahem… my year 12 school uniform. Although I never wore them then because the forbidden black opaque tights were SO much cooler. 

* Shoes Doc Martens from DFO Melbourne. BEST SHOES EVER. So comfortable and they have a chunky little heel that you can’t see. 

* Bangle from Ojay 

* Earrings from Bijoux

After a ridiculously frustrating morning I seriously spat the dummy and called on Mamma Smaggle to play with me today to cheer me up. Lunch and a movie worked like a charm! Feeling delicious and just about to head out to hang on my friend’s balcony and drink red wine…

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

In my unemployment-induced haze of boredom I stumbled across one of the most frightening blogs I have ever encountered. I refuse to link to it because quite frankly I’m terrified of these people and I also don’t want to give these attention seeking little maggots any kind of credit for their appalling behaviour. Here’s the low down – From what I can tell it’s a whole bunch of women who know each other (from some of the comments I assume that they are mothers at the same school) who have set up a blog to anonymously bitch about each other. Kind of like New Weekly magazine except that it’s about people they know by people they know. 

Isn’t that disgusting? These people are MOTHERS! What the hell kind of children are they raising? Is this seriously the direction that the world is taking? I understand that technology is advancing rapidly and that we need to adjust to the times but cyber bullying seems so… planned. We know that I can be Queen Bitch Supreme at the best of times but I can’t imagine what makes people write horrible things about others and then post them in blogs or in comments. I’ve been caught several times in real life blurting out horrendous things but it was in the heat of the moment and I was actually present to apologise to the person whose feelings were hurt. The act of actually writing and then posting the defamation just feels so much more awful. And permanent. Gossip fades and gets forgotten but the written word seems so impenetrable. 

What do you think? Is on line bullying just something we are going to have to deal with? Or is it really weird and repulsive behavior? And either way is there anything we can do to stop it? 

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

This week I’ve been asking why…?

… Why do the Christian the Lion guys have to have a book? The story is beyond gorgeous and I tear up every time I think about it but the you tube video pretty much explains it all. What on earth is in that book? 

… Why do I need ANOTHER National Criminal History Record Check? The ACT won’t accept my valid NCHRC because it was conducted in Victoria. I have had FOUR of these checks THIS YEAR and they take around a month each. Stop calling it National. Call it Employee Specific. Or a colossal waste of everyone’s time. Whatever. 

… Why, in a horrifying documentary on female genital plastic surgery did the doctor, after having removed some 18 year olds inner labia have to jiggle it in front of the camera? Why?

… Why are ugg-boots so deliciously tempting? I nearly wore them to Mr Smaggle’s parents house for dinner last night. 

… Why do all the cafes in Civic (city center of Canberra) close at 3pm? That’s prime hot beverage drinking time people!

… Why did I read the Twilight books? They’re utter crap. 

… Why do people bitch about really specific and personal matters in their blogs? I know I rant like a mofo but I never actually point out decipherable people or events. That would be mean. 

Well lovelies, I’m off. Outfit post soon! And sorry it’s been slow here at Smaggle. I’ve been living. 

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

I got tagged for this Daddy Likey project AGES ago and because I’m lame I’m only just doing it now. Frocks and Frou Frou – I’m so sorry it took so long but here it is. 

My blog spot…

This is where I spend most of my time blogging these days. Either on my Melbourne couch or Mr Smaggle’s Canberra couch. On the table next to me (fashioned from an abandoned street sign and a few neglected boxes of beads) is a glass of mineral water (my new favourite) and our fish tank. Our fish are called Tae (after Roomy Smaggle), Simon (after her man), George from George’s Marvelous Medicine and an unnamed ’special needs’ fish that’s missing an eye and has a strange growth on his face. Simon knows I work with kids with special needs and that I adore them so he thought he’d buy me a special needs fish. Bless.

My lame daily outfit is…

* Really old jeans from Cotton On

* Cardigan from Supre

* ‘I’m beached as bro’ singlet top 

* Scarf from Sportsgirl

* Glasses from vintage store on Gertrude Street

Best be off my lovelies… I promise you more outfit shots soon!

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx