perfume trays

A while back Maria and I had a great day eating porridge, reading magazines and making the perfume tray DIY that she spotted on the Ruche blog here. It turned out perfectly considering my recent attempts at giving my room a makeover. This sudden urge to spruce up my room was fuelled solely by my Pinterest addiction. Instead of actually organising my real life, I now prefer renaming my boards and grouping my pictures into categories. I love the internet.

I am currently working on a major project that I hope you will all love- it should be revealed in a week or so! I unfortunately have to go back to school tomorrow. Goodbye nail polish, winged eyeliner and unconventional hairstyles. The "unconventional hairstyles" rule is particularly annoying because I have grown quite fond of my mohawk.

Ps. It would be so nice if you lovely people could take a minute out of your day to vote for me on Dotti Style Nation. Just scroll down and click on the loveheart next to my entry called "Easter Day." Thank you!

lately

 { We smashed cascarones on each other's heads }

 { I made green (yes, green) cake pops }

 { We saw a movie and I wore a basic outfit to escape the cold }

{ I got pointe shoes! }

... And I answered your questions in a Q & A post on my Tumblr! I hope I answered them all, and if I didn't feel free to drop me an email or comment saying so. One question I did think was appropriate to answer here was one about how I edit my photos. I would like to get into a little more detail in a post, but basically I use Photoshop and the free curves available on Julia Trotti's website here.

 Lately I have also been getting into other platforms like Facebook and Pinterest, so if you want to see more photos and hear more rambles, be sure to check them out!
Just a quick note: the last two photos are not of me, but are some photos we took during dance class. I am still on holidays and have not been to dance yet!

past & present

{A Valentine's Day afternoon tea feast}

{My first attempt at a street style shot. Those shoes...}

{Trying to put together a 'Wardrobe Essentials" post}

{My little sister and friend}

{Making the most of the warm weather with a floral crown}

I have been dramatically reunited with one of my long-lost memory cards and have rediscovered all my random snaps from the past six months or so. A lot of these I was planning on using on my blog, printing out, etc and I thoroughly enjoyed looking through them. It was quite beautiful to rediscover all my random snaps. You really had to be there.
Inspiration has been sadly lacking in my life lately and I would appreciate some questions, topics and suggestions to mix it up a little. Feel free to send any enquiries to my email (viewsofnow@gmail.com) or leave them in a comment below. I am planning on getting back on track a little with my posting and would love some help!

lately

 {Macaroons from our trip to the city! Finally!}

 {Beautiful pastel embellished blouse}

 {The best body scrub in the world}

{Valentine's Day fairy lights from Maria}

These things keep me sane in the chaos that is currently my life. Last week was full of -ugh- school and this week the best Mother ever took me into the city. We found macaroons after hours of searching in Starbucks and Copenhagen and bought about 11. It's kind of a big deal. As we were walking to catch the train a man stood, absolutely fixated on these macaroons, just staring at them in my hands. He then proceeded to run after us asking-in broken English- where we had gotten our "cakes". It was sweet, but by the determination in his eyes you would have thought he was going to pounce on me and wrestle the macaroons from my hands. J'adore the city.

circular

Oh, Thanksgiving is taking its toll on me. I do love that it is a massive affair in my house, it makes us unique here in Australia, but I am absolutely exhausted. And I leave for America in less than a week! Everything is so crazy right now, so I played with the editing on my photos on Lunapic and pulled out some old photos I either a) don't remember using or b) liked in circular form. 

Just jumping into the Thanksgiving spirit, I am thankful for all my wonderful followers, my best friend Maria, and the opportunity to have a place to share my style with the world. I can feel the love right now. 

circles and stripes

Quirky Circus dress, bow socks from America, Vans brogues, Dotti sunglasses

Being frivolous and dancing around in my newest purchase because... I finally went shopping! The results are very pleasing. I picked up everything on sale, and got this adorable travelling dress for on the plane to America. I'm a little too excited for my own good. Holidays are coming up also, which means more outfit posts, less assignments and more time to do absolutely nothing. Bliss.

P.S. Please vote for me on Style Nation! My entry is called "Picnic". 

city shopping

Minkpink bodysuit, Target denim shorts, Moda silk shirt, Cotton On skirt, Target (again) sandals and sterling silver Navajo squash-blossom necklace. 

My outfits for the next weekend! I bought this amazing Minkpink one-shouldered bodysuit while shopping in the city, I have to admit these photos do not do it enough justice. I hope my late-afternoon photography shows you lovely readers the amazing silk-shirt and Navajo-necklace combo borrowed off my mother well enough. The look I was aiming for was Indian-themed chic, based around the bodysuit and my new sandals from Target (yes, Target) for $13. I am such a bargain nerd.

classic

Dotti Boater, Breton-striped shirt made by my mother, Finders Keepers shorts.

I found myself running to my closet to find my Breton-striped shirt (that my lovely mother made for me) after reading Teen Vogue's Alexa Chung interview, where she claimed it to be one of the most versatile pieces in her wardrobe. I can't believe I hadn't realised that before! Alexa strikes again, influencing wardrobes all around the world with her classic style.
Aside from being inspired, I had a lovely weekend, starting off with a girl's night with Maria on Saturday and doing absolutely nothing on Sunday. Feeling somewhat defeated with this Jane Austen book review I'm attempting for tomorrow's English class but I made a very pretty Powerpoint to accompany it. Maybe no one will notice the sloppy paragraphing if I include swirly effects on the photos?

beauty essentials

Eyes: My two favourite products would have to be Prestige Soft Blend Kohl eyeliner in brown, Maybelline Great Lash big in Very Black and the only eyeshadow I use, Maybelline Colour Delights creme shadows. 

Face: Always, always use something with SPF. I use Neutrogena Healthy Defence moisturiser with The Body Shop mineral foundation over the top. If I'm going out, I'll use the body shop concealer as well. 

Pink lip tint: 

And the wonderful pink pout you lovely readers saw here is achieved with a bottom coat of (a very worn) Burt's Bees Replenishing lip balm in Pomegranate for a sheer pink colour. Then I use the ultimate pink Almay lip tint in Rose Incarnation, and a coat of Liplicious in Frozen Daiquiri!

To all those beauty Youtubers out there... you are very talented! Filming is actually a lot harder than it looks. And considering that I am a perfectionist, it made the whole say-whatever-you-want thing really hard. So, I decided to stick with what I'm good at and do a mini photo-shoot with all my favourite products. Sorry I didn't put a video up! I hope this helps.

october photo diary

 Looking displeased in a kaftan from my mother's closet.

 Nojitos and my spooky manicure.

Fresh blueberries and strawberries... I think yes!

Newest Frankie magazine and my favourite springtime top from American Apparel.

A few happy snaps of what I got up to in the lovely month of October! I am seriously upset at the lack of Halloween spirit in Australia. It was so traumatising that I had to glue tiny little ghosts to my thumbnails to remind everyone that is actually Halloween. If you want (better) spooky nail art, Teen Vogue has some terrifying ideas on their site.
Aside from this, I have been wearing my sunglasses a lot, reading the new issue of Frankie, sipping mocktails with sprigs of mint and doing a little online shopping on Sarah Leora's Etsy. She has the most adorable designs and watercolour paintings! Definitely check out the store. While sipping a nojito (mojito minus the alcohol) and eating strawberries. Bliss!

P.S. My beauty video will be up soon, still working on the editing!

chameleon

So I have been experimenting a little with my hair, no I did not get it cut! Of course I am still growing it so I can have it blow in the breeze and look all whimsical and whatnot. This is a faux-bob, done with a curling iron, some clips and patience. Lots of patience.
The look is topped of with my now-favourite lip colour. The perfect colour - between purple and pink. I am thinking of, since I have a slight Youtube beauty video obsession, doing one myself. Just my daily beauty regime and some diy's. Tell me if you would like to see a video. Happy almost-weekend!

miss unkon

You should all know by now how Princess Polly-obsessed I have become (currently my favourite store, shh don't tell Youth Culture!). While lusting over the pieces on their website recently I discovered the brand Miss Unkon, and scrounged around for a little until I found their collections page. They only had the campaign for Autumn/Winter 2011 and it should be Spring/Summer, but their clothes were so whimsical and full of those hippie-ish vibes I have been channeling that I don't even mind! These are the kind of photos I will eventually take. This is my goal!
Plus, I changed my name on Blogger. Such a big thing to do but I hope you are all enjoying my full, given name, Isabella. Has an ambitious photo-taking fashion-blogger ring to it, no?

lazy sunday morning

I've just been enjoying some Sunday morning snapshots with my new camera: a Canon Rebel SLR. I adore the blurry background/focused subject type photo with my Macro lens, so I experimented a little with that. Also, since this is a fashion blog (I was looking hideous yesterday so the photo shoot option was out) I included some pictures from the Karen Walker eyewear newest collection. I want some new sunglasses so bad! The only pair I own I featured in this post, and they are getting a little old. I can't afford Karen Walker (let's be realistic) but I do want a pair from Princess Polly or Etsy. Tell me what you think!

ps. Check out this amazing giveaway at Design3rd's blog, win a replica YSL ring!