HAMILTON ISLAND - DAY ONE

DH and I travelled to Hamilton Island for the first time back in January. We chose to stay at qualia resort (more on the resort later) on Hamilton Island and we did day trips to Whitehaven Beach and Reefworld. 

Day one recap: 
x Arrived in Hamilton Island around noon (plenty of time for us to freshen up and explore the island before sundown) 
x Checked in at qualia 
x Explored Hamilton Island (mode of transport: buggy)
x Afternoon snacks and cocktails at One Tree Hill lookout (for amazing Whitsunday views and a perfect spot to watch sunset)
x Dinner at Bommie restaurant (a separate review will follow) 

Embellished jumper and pleated skirt

Sydney weather has been unpredictable lately. It could be scorching hot one day and shivering cold the next. The past couple of weeks have been quite hot so I decided it is time to finally pack away my winter clothes, with the exception of a jumper or two in case of sudden weather changes. Lucky that I did because the temperature dropped significantly over the weekend and while it feels warm under the sun, the weather is definitely not summer clothes friendly. 

I paired this fun embellished jumper with a recently purchased pleated skirt which I have been so eager to wear. It is definitely my favourite pleated skirt so far, just the right length and the material is super light and soft to touch. I like it so much that I also bought it in White.

What I wore: Sass&Bide Beetle Motif Jumper (sold out)/Country Road Pleated skirt (in White here)/Valentino Rockstud Flats (similar pumps here)/Valentino Small Rockstud flap here)/D&G cat-eye sunglasses 

MENTON

I originally tried to blog about places that I visited on my most recent Europe trip chronologically so it does not seem like each new post jumps back and forth from one country to another. However, since I have not been blogging regularly and it has been a few months since the trip, I will just note when I visited each place instead. Hopefully it is not too confusing =)

Dahlia shorts/Zimmermann tee/Valentino rockstud bag/Tod's flats (similar here)/Prada baroque sunnies/Cartier Love bracelet/Kenneth Jay Lane ring/Dior 'Mirage' nail vernis

On our last day in the French Riviera, we were determined to make the most of it and set out early to visit the last seaside town on our list, Menton. It should only be a half an hour drive from Nice to Menton but DH took a wrong turn and we detoured to Monaco so it took us over an hour to get there. Menton is very close to the Italian town of Ventimiglia, in fact while in Menton you can easily just walk across the border so it was no surprise that parking was scarce (there were so many cars with Italian number plates!) and notable Italian influence in the cuisine. We found a parking spot near the port, had lunch and a lovely stroll along the beach. I'm really glad that we got the Provence & Cote D'azur guidebook by Lonely Planet for this trip, without it we would've have missed this beautiful town and so many other hidden gems.

AUTUMN MOOD

Zara skirt/Quirky Circus jumper (from MYER)/Tabitha Simmons 'Hermione' flats/Chanel Boy bag

MATCHY MATCHY

BOUGAINVILLEA

GOLDEN LEAVES

MONACO: PHOTO DIARY

CASSIS

Île de Porquerolles

EIFFEL

~WEDDING PREVIEW ~

Engagement session

I was meant to post these engagement photos last September when I got them back from our photographer but did not have a chance to finish the post. We had a great (and rushed!) afternoon running around Sydney CBD for our engagement photo shoot. I finally got to wear my favourite Alice + Olivia one shoulder dress with embellished bodice and fluffy tulle skirt which I got (on sale =D) on my visit to HK back in 2012.  

With our Europe trip (aka late honeymoon) only 2.5 months away, I'm going to try my best to get into a regular posting habit so that I can document our trip on a daily (or at least, weekly) basis. No doubt we will constantly be moving from place to place, there will be so much to take in and since I probably won't remember everything, I will have to rely on these blog posts to remind me in the future. 

Wedding photo diary coming up next! 

Black and gold

 Little White Lies dress / Charlotte Olympia Kitty flats (this is also cute)/ Valentino Rockstud Lock shoulder bag / Kenneth Jay Lane ring

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia was last week and this year, there was also a Weekend Edition (tickets available to the public) to view collections just days after Fashion Week wrapped up. I really enjoyed the runway which showcased all designer collections in just 30 minutes but because there are so many designers, we only got to see a few selected pieces from each collection.

The weather has been terrible in Sydney these past few weeks. It rained almost everyday and unusual cold for April so I guess winter is near. I got this black dress by Little White Lies from ASOS a couple months ago when it went on sale and the weather was finally cool enough for me to wear it out last Saturday. I chose to wear my Kitty flats for comfort instead of heels (too slippery!) and paired with my favourite Valentino lock bag. This bag comes in so many colour combinations it's tough to pick just one. I'm thinking of getting one in a bright colour but not sure which yet. How pretty is this pink one though? 

Easter is only a few days away. Can't wait for the long weekend to be here already!! xx

PURPLE

Zimmermann dress/ Chanel earrings / House of Harlow rings / Cartier bracelet / Christian Louboutin "Maggie" Pumps / Lux By The Style Net clutch / Nail polish - Dior "Frou Frou"/
Hair by Annie Johnson

Last week DF and I had our pre-wedding/engagement photo shoot. Typically, Asian brides and grooms often have a full on whole day pre shoot where the bride changes into several wedding gowns and the groom in a formal suit. I would've loved to do that as well but since we are going to have time for photos after our ceremony, I figured a casual and fun photo shoot around Sydney CBD would be perfect for us. DF and I are city dwellers, we love the vibrant feel of city life and of course, being close to pretty much everything. 

I don't usually have my hair done but this time for the shoot, I made an exception and booked a hair stylist. She is super talented and I absolutely love the waterfall twist she did for me. For the 2 hour photo shoot, I chose to wear a cream embellished full tulle skirt by Alice & Olivia and then changed into a purple print Zimmermann dress. Our viewing session is this Saturday atnd I cannot wait to see the photos!!!

The pre-shoot wrapped up at around 5:30pm which gave us just enough time to drive to Mrs Macquarie's Chair for some photos and watch the sunset. This is one of our favourite spots because it has a stunning panoramic view of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, with a lot less tourist traffic. DF and I had a lot of fun playing around with the balloons we blew up in the morning for the photo shoot. DF is still a newbie when it comes to photography so some of the photos came out quite dark (I think the proper term is 'underexposed'?). I attempted to edit the photos with Photoshop to make them brighter but I am hopeless at it. If you see any odd shadows/random dark marks in a photo, that may very well be the result of my terrible Photoshop skill >_<.

A sunny day in mint

 Sal Y Limon bangle / Storets top / Tiffany & Co bracelet / ASOS skirt / Prada bag

I saw this gorgeous crochet mint skirt on ASOS a few months before my Europe trip and originally passed as I wasn't sure if I could pull it off. A couple of weeks later, the skirt went on sale, I took it as a sign and went for it. On my second day in Florence, it was sunny and quite warm so I took the opportunity to wear the skirt for the first time. The material is light, comfortable length and I absolutely love the crochet flower pattern!!

Peplum

River Island peplum top(here)/Black pants(similar here)/Louis Vuitton ballerinas/Prada Saffiano lux tote (similar here)/Kenneth Jay Lane elephant bangle

This was meant to be posted 8 months ago but I've been so busy with work and wedding planning since I returned to Sydney that left no time for blogging. DF and I took many photos while we were in Florence (last October), including some amazing views of Florence from the top of the Duomo that I'd love to share but unfortunately they were saved in my external USB which malfunctioned in the last week of our Europe trip and we have not been able to retrieve the photos from it since.These are one of the few photos I managed to upload to Flickr before my external broken down.