I just got my winter boots re-soled and re-heeled.

It cost me $69.95AUD at the cobbler’s, and I have to say, I hesitated when they told me how much it would cost. Reason being – I bought these boots (real leather) on extreme sale two years ago for around $120AUD. Did I really want to pay half as much again to get them fixed? In the end, a few things swayed me towards paying to get them fixed:

1. The cost of new boots at this time of the year. Going into winter, I was unlikely to find a decent new pair of black leather knee-high boots for any less than $250-$300AUD. I certainly wasn’t going to find any for $120AUD until the turn of the season in late September.
2. The size of my calves. At the best of times, finding knee-high boots that actually fit my calves is a challenging exercise. At the worst of times, I end up throwing a tantrum and crying in stores because I’m convinced that I have man legs. I’m not ready for that.
3. There’s nothing else wrong with the boots. There’s no massive scuff marks, nor anything wrong with the actual top of the boot because I’ve taken relatively good care of them. It’s just a heel base that’s broken off, and a hole in the sole.
4. I love these boots. I wear them three or four times a week in winter, if not more. They’re just a pair of nice basic black boots that go with most dress/skirt outfits I wear.

Also, there’s also the self-important greenie urbanite in me who’s feeling smug because I am recycling and reusing, rather than being a consumerist whore. MUST FEED INNER GREEN URBANITE.

It probably looks like a lot of clothes, but it’s essentially enough for a week’s worth of clothing without having to do a load of laundry. It actually also squashes into two small vaccuum bags/space storage bags, which are, by the way, the best invention for travellers. Use a roll up vaccuum storage bag, and you can almost double the storage space in your luggage, leaving that much more room for shopping overseas.

Am I forgetting something really obvious? Please let me know!

I find it fascinating that your body shape can dictate your personal style, no matter what your personal preference may be. I personally really love the look of floaty feminine dresses in neutral creams and light pink shades like this. Unfortunately my body type simply doesn’t allow me to wear items like that – my breasts are too heavy for delicate straps, my shoulders are too wide, and I am simply too stocky for items like that to look good.

Similarly – I don’t often dress down to outfits like the one to the right. That’s what I’m wearing today – jeans, print Tshirt and a zip up hoodie with sneakers. I’ve dressed down a bit because I’m spending the day out in Sydney with my brother, and I wanted to have comfortable footwear on as we walk around. However…I just don’t look great in it. You can’t see my figure, and I simply look a bit bland, and somewhat larger than I actually am. Pants don’t work well for me because of my waist to hip ratio.

Form fitting dresses that show my bust and behind, while highlighting my smaller waist, suit me best. See this blue dress, or this black outfit as an example. I know this as well, hence why I have 37 dresses in my wardrobe and almost no pants. Perhaps that’s a bit overboard, but if you know what suits you, why not seek to accentuate it?

Essentially, I’m pretty sure I have Christina Hendricks‘s figure.

I got these beautiful earrings as my Secret Santa present. How gorgeous are they? Whoever got me clearly knew my penchant for earrings over other pieces of jewellery.

You’ll all be proud of me as well – there was no vomit. There was actually a bet going around the organisation as to who would win the yellow jersey that night, with the prize going to the drunkest person. I kid you not, everyone put their bets on me to win. I actually felt a little indignant about it, so made a point of reining myself in – I got my drink on until 11pm, then drank nothing but water until I left at 1am. Responsible drinking, yeah! The yellow jersey ended up going to a forty-something mother of three children who is normally incredibly staid in the office, but is absolutely hilarious when she’s on the piss.

I don’t normally celebrate Christmas, but I’m getting really excited about it this year. I’ve paid for my brother to fly up to Sydney for a week over Christmas so that I don’t have to be alone…but most importantly? His Melbourne to Sydney flight includes freight for one animal. That animal is Darcy. I’m going to finally have my cat with me now that I’ve got my own place!

Which one should I wear? Needless to say, all three dresses struggle to contain my lady lumps, so I’m going to have to wear a camisole or similar underneath for a bit of dignity. I’m leaning towards the blue patterned dress as something a bit more special than a plain LBD, and more sophisticated than a gold party dress.

To give you a bit of perspective, the last time I went out with the girls from work, I ended up leaving a vomit trail from inside the bar onto the street. I spent some time in the gutter as the gutter drunk, then vomited down the side of the taxi on the way home. Hopefully it doesn’t end up being that kind of night, but I’ve got to be prepared for all eventualities!

Showing your appreciation for services rendered should not be automatically expected everywhere you go – it should be for wait staff who really do go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that you have a good meal. I tipped between 10-20% for each meal – 10% if they were unremarkable, 20% for really excellent servers. But I resented having to do this – I would have preferred a higher cost for my meal, and only tipping the exceptional wait staff as a mark of distinction.

I find it baffling that a country which has historically always sold the “Great American Dream” (however diminished that dream be now) doesn’t have a realistically liveable minimum wage that’s consistent across all states. I recognise that the low wages paid are reflected in the restaurant’s lower running costs (and therefore lower costs for meals), but I think it would be more equitable for workers if the base tip amount was built into the restaurant’s costs, and workers received a higher base wage.

Food

Is there any food in America that isn’t loaded in calories? We started off in Los Angeles eating dinner in places like Hooters and diners – iconically American joints because we wanted to have an All-American holiday and immerse ourselves in American culture. This essentially meant dinners were burgers, steaks, ribs, fries, onion rings, hot dogs, and if we were lucky, a miniscule side salad. We felt physically run down, sluggish, and truth to be told, a bit constipated from having no fruit or vegetables.

After a week, we were so sick of the typical American lifestyle that we got to the point of having supermarket breakfasts (e.g. buying a piece of fruit and some yoghurt from a supermarket), sandwich lunches, and dinners at fancy restaurants where we would be guaranteed salad and food that wasn’t deep fried. Speaking of fancy restaurants, oh my god the food. I was ordering seafood at pretty much every meal, and it’s hard not to when you can get a salmon or crab main for around $25 at a fancy restaurant, as opposed to $40 in Australia.

We really lived it up in the last three weeks, eating like kings at nice restaurants. Three course meals and a bottle of wine became pretty standard for us – and all generally for under $100 for two people, which is just a remarkable price. We did end up blowing our food budget because of this fine dining, but I think it was worth it when we consider the amazing food we got to experience in places that were rated highly in the Zagat Review.

Shopping

I shopped. That was always going to be one of my reasons for going to America, because I knew exactly how much cheaper everything was from anecdotal evidence. Coupled with the strong Australian dollar (if not as strong as it was when I booked my flights), I was prepared for bringing back my full 30kg luggage allowance (I went over with only 12kg). I ended up not only bringing back 30kg of luggage but also posting back about 10kg of the fruits of shopping halfway through my trip.

It was hard not to shop when you’re offered Fossil leather handbags for $70USD, as opposed to $350AUD. Is it any surprise that from Fossil alone, I ended up buying five handbags, five wallets (three were gifts!), sunglasses, sunglasses case and a dress? The price of all that combined was about the same as buying a single leather handbag from Fossil Australia. Or when you’re buying fancy Nine West heels for around $12USD a pair (thank you Ross), instead of $100AUD+ a pair. Or a Calvin Klein dress for $25USD (thank you Ross again), instead of $150AUD.

The sheer volume of my purchases means that I can’t really list them all here. That’s for a separate post!

People

I have mixed feelings about American people. On one hand, I had some really sleazy and bad experiences in places like downtown LA and Las Vegas (and don’t even get me started on my experience at a football game in Oakland) where I felt physically threatened by men who were wolf-whistling, cat-calling and hollering at me. That’s just not behaviour you would normally get from Australian men. I was also sad to see the amount of homeless and other itinerant people in America…and even just the number of poor people getting by day to day. The sheer immensity of the class divide was staggering, and appalling for a supposedly developed nation.

On the other hand, we were shown nothing but hospitality from other Americans as soon as we opened our mouths and started talking (apparently I have a really Australian accent?). People were happy to start chatting to us on public transport about our travel plans and made suggestions about places we should go and things we should see. Those people were great, and perhaps were the reason why I haven’t yet lost my faith in the general American population.

As with my most of my overseas trips, my itinerary was informed by people I wanted to meet. They included Noemi and Marilyn in LA and SF respectively (who I’ve known since 2004 and a tennis fan forum we all frequented), Felisa in Seattle (at the last minute when she realised I was there!), Meggan in Portland, and Aisy, Rose and Chanel in Vancouver. I always think myself very fortunate that I get the opportunity to forge strong friendships with people online, and that I can have a network of friends from all over the world.

Places

We ended up going to (in order): Los Angeles, San Diego, Tijuana, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle, Forks, Vancouver, Portland, Sacramento and Big Sur. We obviously did activities and sightseeing outside of the cities as well – e.g. we went to the Grand Canyon when we were in Vegas, we went to Anaheim and Santa Monica when we were in Los Angeles, we went to Victoria when we were in Vancouver, etc.

There’s a lot to be said about all the places we visited, which is probably best left for a later entry. Overall though, my favourite place was Disneyland, and my least favourite was Tijuana. People warned me not to go to Tijuana…I should have listened to them.

I think what affected me most was the fact that I knew what would happen to the people in this film. Colin Firth would die twenty five years later. Helena Bonham Carter would live to the ripe age of a hundred and two and have a neat half dozen grandchildren. The elder daughter would grow up to be one of the most remarkable monarchs of the twentieth century. It’s this knowledge of history that makes me view such a movie not so much a movie and more of a dramatised documentary with extremely good looking people.

I thought the costuming was remarkable. It’s really quite a shame that we don’t dress in such a tailored and well-turned-out manner these days – it really makes one yearn for the more ‘proper’ days when going out into company necessitated putting your best foot forward and making the best possible first impression. If only we could somehow start a fashion revolution – where everyone actually starts making an effort instead of just throwing on a T-shirt and jeans in the morning. Of course having said that, I’m currently typing this dressed in a extra extra large men’s Tshirt and wearing no pants. The irony!

On a nearly irrelevant end note – who recognised Mr. Collins from BBC’s Pride & Prejudice early on in the film? Jennifer Ehle was in the movie too. It was almost like a BBCP&P reunion!

I had a read of a number of different style blogs and what they’ve suggested as a capsule wardrobe for a week away. I didn’t feel particularly inspired, so I’ve decided to come up with my own list:

Three dresses. Two dressy for nights out, one casual for daytime. Five tops (ranging from extremely casual to semi-dressy) and a black skirt. Two tank tops, one long sleeved top, one long sleeved cardigan, one short sleeved cardigan. Primarily for layering purposes, to accommodate for all possible weather conditions!

In addition to the above, I’ll wear jeans and heels on the plane (they’re bulky, so wearing them will allow me more space in my luggage). I’ll also take a pair of thongs and a pair of flats for daytime, as well as standard makeup and cosmetic supplies (and will nick some shampoo and body wash from Tracey to save on luggage space). Depending on the weather report, I may also take a pair of tights for a colder day. This should allow me to mix and match enough outfits to last the whole trip!

1. Witchery black cotton skirt – $19.95AUD (necessary purchase, the zip on the skirt I was wearing broke while out shopping and I was flashing everyone!) down from $89.95AUD
2. Wish dress for my cousin as a belated birthday gift (she picked it out) – $29.95AUD
3. Set of kitchen scales (stainless steel) – $34.95AUD down from $169.95AUD
4. Two pairs of Puma runners (one for me, one for Dylan) – $48AUD total down from approximately $140AUD a pair
5. 160GB slim Playstation 3 (with HDMI cable and remote) – $380AUD plus Super Street Fighter at $59AUD down from about $450AUD (current price of 160GB PS3)

Dylan should be paying me back for the Playstation 3 and game when he gets a job…if he gets a job. To say that his current lack of gainful employment is a sticking issue would be an understatement. But let’s not get into that right now because then I’d just get angry and start throwing things. It gets messy.

I’m also planning on purchasing a fancy entertainment unit for my flat screen TV some time this week. I’ve earmarked a handful of units that are on post-Christmas special, and will be making a decision soon. I’ve blown my budget this month and will actually spend more than I’ve earned…but what can you do? I’m still in a strong financial position, and like I’ve always said, I have specifically put money aside for making my apartment ‘complete’. Electronics, furniture and kitchen appliances fall under the category of ‘apartment completeness’!

1. Garfunkle branded thick grey double-breasted blazer jacket (autumn/winter weight): $9.50AUD
2. Target black corporate-esque tunic dress (brand new with tags): $8
3. Cue mushroom coloured corporate pants: $7AUD
4. Portmans short-sleeved grey corporate jacket (brand new with tags): $12AUD
5. Temt grey mini shrug: $5AUD
6. Cue violet short sleeved baby doll top: $5AUD

For a grand total of: $46.50AUD for six items of clothing! I also bought a new Sportscraft shirt for Dylan for $8AUD but I’m not counting that here. The only item I’m not 100% certain on are the pants – I don’t generally wear anything in that earthy colour palette as I find it washes me out. For the price that they were though, I couldn’t turn them down! Worse comes to worse I can either give the pants to my mother (she wears brown often), or re-sell them on eBay.

This little shopping spree will top up my work wardrobe well, as some of my more regular items were starting to pill and require replacing. I was particularly after something like items four and five for the next few months, as most of my cardigans are a bit too warm for summer. I also needed a new jacket for winter (item one) and had been searching for a few months but had had trouble finding something that fit my budget and my boobs!

I enjoy shopping at second hand stores because unlike your average chain store, you never know what you might find. In most cases it’s luck of the draw. It takes a lot of dedication to trawl through disorganised racks of old clothing in dark and crowded shops. This lot of clothing required me to spend six hours at ten different op shops!