30 for 30 Fashion Challenge - Day 1

So, last week I donned my safari hat and went on an epic adventure into my walk-in-robe.  There was a good chance I would never be seen again only to be discovered in 3 months time buried under a pile of bohemian maxi dresses and assorted gym gear (extremely squeaky clean, almost brand new gym gear that will probably never see the light of day in a gym).

However, I made it out alive and 5 garbage bags later ended up with a my own capsule wardrobe of about 50 items.  You can read all about my massive Wardrobe Cull here.

The problem is, I am endeavouring to adopt a "less is more" approach to my life, and I really don't think a "50 item wardrobe" is that minimal.  Its a start, but it could be better.

So, I have decided to embark on the "30 for 30" Fashion Challenge.

"30 for 30" was started by Kendi Lea from Kendi Everyday and has become an internet sensation with thousands of women all over the world trying it out.

Basically, the premise is very simple -

Take 30 items from your wardrobe and create 30 different outfits for 30 days.  

Pretty easy huh, but remember those 30 items have to do you for work, weekends and going out (just pray you don't have a wedding in that month!)  And this doesn't mean you can wear the same items every week for 30 days - its 30 completely different outfits.  The only extra things allowed are your accessories, work uniform (if you have to wear one) and gym gear.

The other part of the challenge is to not buy any clothing in the next 30 days.  I know that in some strange parallel universe there live people who don't like clothes shopping but I love it so this part of the challenge will require a super human effort from me.

Why am I doing the 30 for 30 Challenge?


I'm hoping the 30 for 30 Challenge will force me to make better use of the clothes I own, to be more inventive with what I have and to make me think twice about buying any more clothes than I really need.  It will be a good thing if I can whittle my 50 items down to 30 permanently.  Who knows, after that I may even be able to tackle '15 for 30' - gulp!


If you are up for the 30 for 30 Challenge, let me know, it would be great to have someone to act as my sponsor for Shoppers Anonymous to compare outfits with.

My 30 Items


Okay, so here are the 30 items that I picked out of my wardrobe to use for the challenge.  I have to admit that there are actually a couple of items here that weren't in the 50 items from my wardrobe last week. I bought a few things on the weekend *oh dear, this does not bode well for my NO SHOPPING part of the challenge*. However,  I did ditch a couple of items that were on my 50 list and replaced them with these.  You can click here to view a bigger picture at Polyvore.

A quick note....

I should point out in advance that I am not some kind of fashion-forward style guru.....I am a busy mum with 4 kids and I work full time from home so comfy and practical is the go.  It also means I can get away with wearing leggings and jeans for work.  I am definitely on the plumpish side of 'festively plump' (size 18) so don't expect any catwalk model poses - no laughing out loud please (sly grins allowed hahaha).

Having a large family means my budget is pretty tight so I tend to buy my clothes from chain stores and almost everything I buy is on sale.  I will try to put the brand and price of everything I wear in each post.

Okay, so let's see how I went with Day 1 - French Country Chic

Denim stretch jeans $39.95 from Suzanne Grae 

(with 20% off  if you spend $80 -this deal is available now!)

White stretch long t-shirt $12 from Target 

(Target have 20% off women's clothing from August 11th to 17th)

Red cardigan $20 from Giordano 

(was originally $50, reduced to 2 for $40 -

this deal and some other great sales are still available and their online shop is great!)

Floral cotton scarf $12 from Lincraft

Red patent ballet flats $9.75 from Big W

(lots of other cute styles and colours available and all less than $15)

Blog Love XOXO

Love XOXO, a photo by Pink Sherbet Photography on Flickr.

Well its been just over a week since I wrote my very first blog post and I have enjoyed every second of it. Am very grateful for my friends (old & new) who are following me and for all the positive comments I have received here and on my facebook page. Its exciting and heartwarming to have joined the blogging community here in Oz. So many funny, talented and caring bloggers out there! A huge big thanks to Kate from Kate Says Stuff who has been my blogging inspiration (even if she didn't know it!) and who has encouraged me to get out there. And my greatest joy of all has been finding that every sentence I write is taking me one step further away from a horrible 2 year writing block, woohoo! go me!

Decluttering My Wardrobe - or - Where the Heck did All This Stuff Come From???

So, I've been reading a few articles lately on living minimally, reducing our footprint on the planet and becoming less consumer-driven, etc.  This idealism has mostly come about as a result of 6 people living in a smallish townhouse with too much stuff.

I saw an episode of Hoarders on Foxtel the other night - scary but addictive viewing - and one of the poor ladies sobbed to the camera (while sitting on a mountain of stuff that had swallowed all the furniture in the house and was about a metre off the floor) ..... "I feel like a speck of sand in a tsunami"

And I thought to myself 'you know what Hoarder Lady, so do I!'

p.s. this is not my house!  It hasn't quite got that bad yet!

A lot of the stuff that is bugging me is clothing.  My laundry is full of it, naturally.  The family room is being swamped by something that is starting to resemble Mount Everest but is actually my 'putting away" pile.  And my bedroom floor, well let's not even go there.

p.p.s. unfortunately this IS my house - and my pile of washing to be put away, sigh

Unfortunately, both the Rock God and I are fashion victims.  At last count he had over 30 pairs of jeans.  30 pairs of jeans!!!  He could literally wear a different pair of jeans every day for a month.  And do you know what happens to those jeans?  They end up in a big pile on the bedroom floor in the washing basket for me to wash/dry/fold/put away and it doesn't really matter because there are 29 other pairs to wear, grrrrrr.

It would be great if I could point the finger at the Rock God and say 'you are to blame for this over-consumption!' but sadly, I am just as guilty.  There are clothes hanging in my wardrobe that I have never worn.  At last count there were 6 black cocktail dresses - heck, I don't even LIKE cocktails.

The 20% / 80% Rule

The truth of the matter is, we generally wear the same 20% of our wardrobe about 80% of the time.  This is known as our 'capsule wardrobe' and consists of the basics like a good pair of jeans, black pants, white t-shirt, a trench coat or winter jacket, etc.

Then there is all the other stuff.....peasant skirts from when I was going through my 'bohemian' phase, a Hooters souvenir tank top from my Vegas trip last year *oh dear, I must have been very drunk*, my engagement outfit from 10 years and 4 kids ago (which, realistically, I will never fit into again) all those bargains which I bought on sale and wore once (yes, I'm looking at you bright floral tunic).

Have you ever stood in front of a wardrobe bulging at the seams with clothes and thought to yourself 'I have absolutely nothing to wear'.  The problem is, your 20% of wearable clothes are being hidden and suffocated by the 80% of clothes you know don't suit you, are uncomfortable to wear, out of fashion or just plain ugly.

2 hours and 5 large green rubbish bags later......

Oila!  My wardrobe is now one fifth the size it was.  Its compact, its co-ordinated.  Its the stuff I actually wear most of the time.  I know I can pick anything out of the rack and it will make some kind of super stylin' outfit that I wouldn't be ashamed to be seen in.

Andrea from Fox in Flats has a great post on the 13 essentials items every woman should have in her wardrobe - I'm particularly in love with her trench - mine definitely needs updating!

My De-cluttered Capsule Wardrobe

So, what did I end up with in the end?  Here is what I kept in my wardrobe.....(keep in mind I live in Melbourne and you cannot survive in this place without a good assortment of cardigans/jackets/thermal underwear!)

• Jeans - 2 pairs
• Black dress pants
• Black leggings - 2 pairs
• Grey leggings
• White capris
• Chino capris
• Denim capris

• Black wool mini skirt
• Grey stretch pencil skirt
• Denim mini skirt
• Navy & white summer skirt

• White t-shirt x 2
• Black t-shirt x 2
• Grey t-shirt
• Grey sequinned shirt
• Navy & white striped t-shirt
• Blush tank top
• White button up shirt
• Blue stripe button up shirt
• White linen tunic
• Lilac cami top
• Orange cami top

• Grey cardigan
• Grey wrap cardigan
• Black wrap cardigan
• Lilac cardigan
• Blush cardigan
• Black turtleneck jumper
• Grey wool jumper
• Oversized beige wool jumper

• Black jersey stretch dress x 2
• Black maxi dress
• Navy maxi dress
• Peach summer dress
• Orange summer dress
• Grey summer dress
• Black & white summer dress
• Navy & white summer dress
• Black cocktail/going out for drinks dress
• Black business like/funeral dress
• Pink silk tunic/dress

• Black blazer
• White blazer
• Navy blazer
• Grey blazer
• Red cotton jacket
• Navy cotton jacket
• Khaki trenchcoat
• Black trenchcoat
• Cream leather jacket

So, I think that comes to about 50 items (I didn't count the doubles) which is a nice round figure but still A LOT for a minimal wardrobe.  Never mind,  I'm getting there slowly! And I feel better.  I feel lighter.  I feel slightly less like a speck of sand in a tsunami.....which can only be a good thing.

How about you?  If you feel inspired to have a massive wardrobe cull, or have already been on the wardrobe war path, I'd love to hear from you!

10 things in my life right now....

1. Listening

There seems to be a glut of incredibly sad but absolutely AMAZING songs out there at the moment.  I am loving "Someone Like You" by Adele, "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perry and "Nobody's Perfect" by Jessie J.  These are heart wrenching, belt them out in your car and shower, kid wincing type songs.  Loving them.

On the subject of Adele, how gorgeous is she?  It just goes to show you do not need to be a stick thin, bra-wearing-in-public or booty shaking individual to be beautiful and talented.  Yay for Adele!

2. Eating

Oooo, one of my favourite subjects....well in the last two weeks I have had Curry Crab twice.  My hubby's family are from the Seychelles Island and their traditional Creole food IS TO DIE FOR!  Curry Crab has to be my favourite.  The crab goes in, shell and all, so its definitely finger food and not something I would recommend on a first date hahaha.  Expect to have yellow fingers afterwards.

3. Drinking

Still have not managed to wean myself from my coffee addiction.  Not being a lady of leisure (and generally having at least two of the monsters in the car with me at any given time)  I have mostly resorted to grabbing takeaway espresso from my local Maccas *hangs head in shame* which is drinkable about 3 times out of 5.  I am seriously considering getting one of those Nespresso coffee machines which takes the pods.  My sister has one and it's fabulous.  Now if only  George Clooney actually came with it :)  As I seem to have some kind of problem with drinking anything and spilling it straight down the front of my shirt, I have lately taken to drinking my coffee with a straw.

4. Wearing

Last weekend I bought something I have wanted for years - a pair of tan leather riding boots - so as you can imagine I have been wearing them with everything.  I even considered pulling them on over my tracksuit pants.  They are the most expensive shoes I have ever bought ($200 on sale from Sandler at DFO) but as I have spent a lifetime trying to find boots that will actually zip up over my calves, I just had to have them.  I am in now riding boot heaven.

5. Reading

On the weekend I finished reading "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque.  Originally published in German in 1929, it's one of the best known novels about World War I.  Remarque was a veteran of the war and the story is told from the point of view of German soldiers.  I really enjoyed the book and had tears in my eyes as the main character, Paul, sits by the side of his dying friend.  It's not a cheery read by any means but really portrays the futility and brutality of what a generation of young men did (on both sides of the wire) and how it changed them.

6. Weather

After months and months and months and months of cold, grey wintery weather Melbourne has finally had some lovely "almost spring" days.  Yesterday it reached 22 degrees and was apparently the warmest August day in 4 years....which is far better than a couple of weeks ago when it was the coldest July day in 3 years.  Coming from lovely warm WA I have struggled with Melbourne's weather over the last 18 months and I am dying to sit outside and feel the sun on my back.

This photo was taken by my gorgeous friend Cat while out on a walk and is a hint that spring is on its way!

7. Wanting

More hours in a day.  That's it.  I'm not asking for too much, am I?   My problem is that I have so many things I want to do vs. so many things that I HAVE to do, that I can't fit it all in.  Which inevitably means I stay up until 3 or 4am every night doing the things I want to do and get up again at 7am to start doing all the things I have to do.  This situation cannot continue or I may start losing my mind.  I did dream that I had grown a beard the other night so maybe its already started!

8. Feeling

The last few days I have felt fine.  The weekend, however, was a complete write off.  I felt miserable.  MISERABLE.  I was over the cold weather, I was homesick for Perth, I missed my family and I was involved in a confrontation with someone that really hurt my feelings.  I am an Aquarian so confrontation is something I try to avoid at all costs.  What did I learn from this?  Sometimes "saying it how it is" doesn't make you honest, it just makes you mean.

9. Thinking

I'm thinking I need to get my butt into gear and be more organised around the house - either that or get a full time slave/valet/hairdresser housekeeper.  I have never been a domestic goddess - it just doesn't seem to gel well with my creative side - and frankly I can  think of a 1,000 things I would rather do than clean.  When I worked in an office back in Perth we had a full time nanny - the amazing Karen - who not only looked after the little two and picked the big boys up from school/kinder, but also managed the house.  She was marvellous.  I barely had to do anything for 2 years.  But having been extremely spoilt for all that time I am now struggling with having to do it all myself, while still working full time.  Something has to be done!

10. Enjoying

I am loving Pinterest.  Its brilliant and has kept me up until 3am more nights than I can remember. Basically it allows you to create virtual 'pin up boards' where you can 'pin' images from websites that you like all in one place.  Renovating your kitchen?  Pin all those pictures of taps and butler sinks and scrubbed French farmhouse tables on your Pinterest board for inspiration.  Interested in fashion?  Pin all the cool style ideas from fashion blogs that you like in one place to create a style guide.  Pinterest is currently in beta development and is invitation only but I am allowed to invite 6 friends so if you want to get on board with Pinterest send me an email at eloise (at) webbi . com . au

Are you a blogger?  Link up and tell me 10 things that are going on in your life right now!  (I will be doing fortnightly updates)

Wordless Wednesdays: Last night I dreamt I had a beard

Joining My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday

I have no idea why.  Perhaps it has something to do with my hairy legs.

My Life as a Couch - 1 Couch, 4 Covers, 8 Years

I have always been deeply attached to my couch - probably because I spend so much time sitting, lying (and occasionally snoring) on my super comfy cushiony couch.  In my opinion, a comfortable couch is one of life's great pleasures!

I think my obsession with couches started when I moved out of home at 18 and my mother gifted me with her old leather chesterfield couch.  I loved that couch because it was the only thing I had from my childhood prior to my parent's divorce.  Can a couch be sentimental?  Well, the couch is now over 30 years old and its still sitting in my family room.  The cushions are beyond repair, there are some holes in the leather and it no longer has any feet but I can't bear to part with it and have dragged it across the country more times than I can remember.

Here is a photo of my trusty leather chesterfield in 2003 just before the birth of my first child.  My couch had served me well for 14 years by this time (and lasted longer than my first husband).  Did I ever live like this?  I can hardly believe it.  Look how clean it is, how neat, how - dare I say it - elegant.  There are no crumbs on the floor, no finger prints on the furniture, no books with torn off covers, no toys cluttering up the space....oh yes, this was couch life B.K.  (Before Kids).

After the arrival of my first born, I was somewhat shocked to realise that for the foreseeable future I would be spending about 50% of my day breast feeding this child on my couch and the other 50% sitting in a dazed stupor wondering if I would ever sleep again.  And as attached as I was to my leather couch, it just wasn't that comfy to breast feed on.

So hubby and I decided it was time to buy our first couch together.  Budget restraints were in place as we were living on 1 and a bit wages so Ikea seemed a practical and inexpensive choice.  With the money we had we could either buy one leather couch or two fabric ones.  We definitely planned to have more kids (although having 4 never came into my mind back then) so we opted for two fabric couches instead.

In the end we went for a pair of Ikea's Ektorp 3 seater sofas.  I liked the classic shape with rolled arms, I liked the feather cushions (still feathery after 8 years) I liked that it was long enough for me to lie down fully stretched out, I liked the price (around $499 depending on the cover)  but best of all I liked the fact you could wash and change the covers.  And change the covers I have!

Originally we started off with "Red".  It was winter when we bought the couches and Red seemed like a nice cosy colour.  It also matched my favourite painting in the house perfectly.  Here is my couch in Red - I am actually sitting on the other end of the couch breastfeeding in this photo haha.

Red lasted us a long time.  We were happy with Red and I think Red was pretty happy with us.  It seemed to put up with the baby vomit, mushed in biscuit, slight wee accidents (not just from the kids!) and spilt milk bottles with good graces.

But then we bought a house to renovate, it was the middle of summer, and I think the heat must have gone to my head because - against all popular advice - I decided "White" was the way to go.   Here is my couch in White - I believe this photo was taken 5 minutes after we bought the new covers which coincidentally enough was about 5 minutes before they got their first stain.

I really don't know what I was thinking - other than that I wasn't thinking.  Yes, they looked lovely and fresh against our bright lime green walls and hardwood floors  (we were living in Perth then and lime green walls were very hip and tropical, oh why am I trying to justify myself haha) but with 3 boys in the house under the age of 4 they stayed lovely and fresh for about 2.1 nanoseconds.

Within 6 months, even with washing and bleaching, I couldn't stand looking at our now "non-white" White covers anymore without leaving the house and going shopping getting depressed.  Out they went and in came "Floral".  I really liked Floral.  It was pretty but relaxed and had an English cottage feel to it.  The floral pattern was not too in your face and did quite a good job at hiding marks and stains.  Here is my couch in all its florally glory.  Pretty, isn't it.

Floral was a part of our lives for about the same length of time as Red.  They both hold special memories for me but after taking the brute force of 4 little boys and another interstate move, Floral was looking a little worn.

What to get this time?  The first thing that came into my mind was ANYTHING THAT HIDES THE GRIME.  So "Black" it was.  Black might sound pretty ominous but I am loving the whole black and white decorating theme right now.  Plus, Black matches the favourite thing in my house (not counting the kids) - my pair of antique black lacquered hall chairs.  Here is a photo of Black, you have to admit he's quite suave with his matching black ottoman (also from Ikea).

Yep, I'm feeling quite happy with Black at the moment.  I think Black and I will be best buddies for a while.  Maybe not as long as Red and Floral, but definitely longer than White.  Who knows, maybe after Black I might go nautical - blue and white stripe....ohhhhh, I like the sound of that.....

Got any furniture addictions?  Something you just can't get rid of even though its seen better days?  Ever bought a couch and now you hate the sight of it?  I'd love to hear all about it!

Mad for Markets!

Once upon a time, before the big supermarket chains landed in town with their wobbly trolleys and cramped car parks, grocery shopping was a much different experience.  If you wanted bread, you went to the bakers.  If you wanted meat, you went to the butchers.  If you wanted fruit or vegetables (the ones you hadn't grown yourself) you went to the green grocers.

But then the big supermarkets arrived and offered all of that in one convenient place.  Convenient AND expensive.  Ridiculously expensive, really.

I suppose the 'lefty' side of me resents these big supermarket conglomerates buying up everything in sight - Woolworths (Australia's largest supermarket chain) has gone into the fuel business with Caltex, they also own Big W, Dick Smith, Tandy, BWS Liquor, Safeway/Woolworths Liquor, Dan Murphy's and Cellarmasters - and that's just the ones I know about.

On top of that Woolworths also own 75% of the ALH group who run 286 pubs and clubs across the country which effectively means that Woolworths own one third of all pokie machines in Victoria.  For some reason every time I hear the jingle "we are the fresh food people" all I can hear in the background is the incessant beeping and button pushing of pokie machines.  Or maybe it's just me.

The $20 Sphagetti Bolognese!

However, this is not really the reason for my rant.  What it boils down to really is that I resent the prices I pay when I do my grocery shopping in the supermarkets, particularly for meat and fresh produce.

The final straw came when I went to make spaghetti bolognese for dinner one night and it cost me $20 to make.  Since when does it cost $20 to make spaghetti bolognese!!!!  But at $2.00 for a capsicum and 80 cents for one red onion, it soon starts adding up.  Woolworths made $2 billion profit from pokie machines alone between 2005 and 2009 and at those prices I can only imagine the profit they are making from spaghetti bolognese ingredients!

After recovering from the shock of my $20 bolognese, hubby and I had a brainstorming session on how we could shop better and decided that we would visit Preston Market on the following weekend as it  has a large meat and fresh produce section.

Visiting Preston Market


The following weekend we drove to Preston Market which is about 35 minutes from where we live.  We ended up spending around $120 on meat which made three weeks worth of meals for a family of six.  Normally I spend around $80 to $90 a week on meat alone so this is a huge saving for us.  And not only that, the meat was much better quality - much more tender than the chewy stir fry beef I was getting from the supermarkets.  I also got a whole bag of red onions (around 2 kilo) for $2.00!

This weekend we spent around $120 on meat (including $10 on crabs to make traditional Seychellois Curry Crab - sooooo delicious!!!) and we got the following -

• 20 rissoles 
• 20 sausages
• A whole pile of lamb chops (enough to do 2 full meals plus a bbq pack)
• 6 chicken breasts
• Rib eye steak on the bone (which I cut to make 6 thick restaurant quality steaks)
• 6 big pieces of rump steak for casseroles, stir frys
• 2 kilos of mince
• 2 pork roasts
• Chicken mince
• 4 fresh crabs

So every 3 to 4 weeks we schedule a market visit on a Saturday.  We make it a fun day with the kids and get a family size pizza for lunch from Vinnies Half Price Pizza (reputedly the best pizza in Melbourne!) for only $10.

The kids love the market too - there are all kinds of stalls and the atmosphere is absolutely engaging with stallholders shouting their prices over each other, pigs heads hanging up on display (the boys are fascinated by them) and people from every culture (African, Asian, European and Australian) all jostling, chatting and shopping together.

Market Tips


Get there early!  Before 12 if possible as parking is at a premium and on the one occasion we got there around 1pm we spent 25 minutes trying to get a car park.


Don't buy your meat until after 1pm.  Around this time the butchers start "auctioning" off their produce just to get rid of it.  You can pick up trays of rump steak with 6 large steaks for only $15.  Half an hour before they would have been $20.

Get yourself a trolley on wheels.  You can buy those "grandma" trolleys at the market for about $15.  They are well worth the money and will hold all your goodies.

Try Vinnies Pizza!  Seriously, its really good pizza and great value.

I have definitely been converted to the benefits of market shopping.  Sure, I still visit Woolworths from time to time if I run out of bread or toilet paper but I won't be giving them the majority of my hard earned grocery shopping money any more.

Preston Market is located at 2/30 The Centreway in Preston, right next to the railway station.  There is also an Aldi Supermarket next door which is great for cheap groceries.  The market is open on Saturdays from 8am to 3pm.  You can visit the Preston Market website here.  All the photos in this post were taken at Preston Market or at my home.

Have you visited any other markets?  How do you save money on your grocery bill?  Drop me a comment and let me know, I'd love to hear from you.

Im linking up with Multiple Mum from And Then There Were Four for our "Frugal Living" Weekend Rewind!