Weekends with pals.

I'm pretty sure I wore this to a weekend hanging out at my oldest pal's place in Geelong, but it's getting hard to remember! Look how long and damaged my hair was then - cringe. It's so hard for me to grow my hair out because it's slow to grow, and once it reaches this terminal length it just gets ratty. I chopped it all off in 2016, and now it's short and healthy. I don't even really miss my long hair, surprisingly. I think short hair is cute and fun. :)

This bodysuit is a swim from BlackMilk; I got it in an eBay auction. Denim skater skirt is from Boohoo. Sandals were in a Rubi Shoes sale. x

Mars power, make up!

Pretty much by complete chance, I ended up invited to my manager's birthday party. In Cranbourne. With a bunch of people I don't know, and that she also didn't know. It happened last week, when she showed me a snapchat of her dressed up as Sailor Mercury, and when I asked what it was for she said her birthday. And then she immediately invited me, and when she asked if I had a costume I couldn't lie, because I do and here it is, and it was too perfect so I couldn't not go, even though I had work that day and that would make us (boyfie came too - what a champ) late. So we went. And we were late.

It was a pretty decent party, actually, even though her cousin (the only person she knew) and all her friends were dressed up like famous movie axe murderers, which was utterly terrifying and made us look awkwardly, obviously out of place. They were nice people though, and they'd ordered - kid you not - fifty pizzas and a tower of garlic bread loaves. I've never seen so much pizza. It was heaven. Despite how weird things got (watching your tiny manager play beer pong dressed as Sailor Mercury tops the list), it was fun - until their dog (they brought their dog to the party) ate rat poison and had to be rushed to the emergency vet hospital. Several hours and much vomiting later, he was fine, and we drove them back to the party, then scarpered for home. Shit got real. The night was not at all what I expected. I'm sure we'll all laugh about it fondly one day.

This amazing dress is an imitation of a limited edition range Living Dead Clothing ran last year. Unfortunately the authentic one was too expensive for me at the time, so I had to get this rip off from eBay. It's pretty good, considering. Rei is my favourite sailor scout. It's impossible not to love Usagi, but Rei is just mint. She's so driven and passionate, and she's stunning. So badass. My wig isn't a perfect match for Rei's hair, but I'll invest in a better one at some point. This one was for my gender-bent Ash Ketchum cosplay for PAX Aus last year. I think it did all right. Sensational red pumps are from Famous Footwear. I also wore elbow-length white gloves from my debutante, but I'd forgotten to put them on here. Mars fire, ignite! x

Not a hero.

Oh, god, life got so busy. Massive updates incoming.

Anyway, we saw Deadpool on Friday 12th. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't what it was. The movie is pretty great - cinematically dynamic, hilarious, great casting, good plot without trying to achieve too much (which often happens with action movies, I find, which is why I get so confused). But if you're not into gore - like me; minimal gore please - steer clear of the first twenty minutes. Seriously the most graphically violent NPC deaths in a film that I've probably ever seen. There's one guy and a billboard... I was shocked. But the rest of it is awesome. Ryan Reynolds is a beautiful human. You probably should go see it; everyone should. It's just not at all like the rest of the superhero films, which is 1000% absolutely the point. I should have done my research first so I was prepared. Yikes.

Sailor Chibi Moon tee is sold through tons of good online J-fashion retailers. My fave is Spreepicky (have fun!). Black jeans from Cotton On. Super awesome sparkly gold sneakers from Sportsgirl a few months ago. Bad hair day completely organic (sigh). x

'Straya.

Happy 'Straya Day. As boyfie pointed out, it's cool to have a national day, but they should change the date of it. Right now, we celebrate our national holiday on the day the British colonised New South Wales. Many activists fondly refer to Australia Day as "Invasion Day", which is pretty much true, and which makes it all very uncomfortable considering the majority of the young, educated population of Australia is all for equality in every way. It would be appropriate to change the date of Australia Day. It's not fine to celebrate only one version of Australia's history, especially the one that silences the voices of Australian indigenous and minority groups. Contrary to popular belief, we actually have multiple histories stretching much farther back than the last two hundred years. Perhaps if or when Australia becomes a republic it'll be a thing that happens. Maybe it can replace Sorry Day. I'd be okay with that.

This dress is one of my most faithful. I'm fond of polka dots, in case you hadn't realised yet. It also has a super cute scalloped collar. It was from Coco-Latte about five years ago, and cost me twenty bucks. The brown belt came with something else - I can't remember what. Pink frilled socks are from a sock shop in Harajuku's Takeshita-dori, and the shoes are from a little shoe shop in Fujisawa, when I visited on the way to Kamakura with a Japanese friend who likes basketball and trying new foods. They were both inexpensive. I love oxfords and brogues of all kinds. If I wasn't trying to avoid buying new things, I'd invest in more. Hue hue hue. x

"Super cute" in Japanese.

Sometimes I like to channel my inner adolescent Japanese magical girl and wear varying degrees of garish, baby pink clothing. This is one of those times. Today was a boring day. I worked. It sucked. But my friend (who likes Geelong football club and classic novels) did surprise me with an adorable birthday gift bag full of lovely goodies! That was definitely the highlight. The rest of it sucked. Little else to report.

I found this awesome tee in an arcade in Nagoya back in 2014, but for whatever reason (ie: no real good reason) couldn't justify the 1500 yen (approximately $15) it would have cost at the time. I was filled with regret when we moved on, knowing we weren't going to be returning to Nagoya before our journey home. So when we found it again in Kanazawa at Korinbo109 (the sister store to Shibuya109), I grabbed it. It's pretty much my favourite tee. Twenty bucks, I think. Anime eyes. Dying. The tennis skirt is from one of many Japanese (or at least Japanese-inspired) street wear online retailers like kokopieshop, and probably cost me twenty five bucks. It's also in need of a decent iron. Socks are from eBay, three dollars - if that. Basic flats are Carla Milani, probably about $30AUD. Pink bow barrette is from an accessories store in Takeshita-dori, Harajuku's prime shopping street. Su-pa-ka-wa-ii! x 

Happy birthday to me.

January 4 is my birthday, yay. If you can guess how old I turned this year, then... you'll have the satisfaction of being correct (and who doesn't enjoy that?). I was weird about my birthday this year. I love celebrating other people's birthdays, but honestly, I didn't really want mine. The older I get, the more uncomfortable I am about being the centre of attention. It's probably because I was an attention-seeking asshole when I was a teenager, which I've come to find detestable in young people. 

Anyway, it ended up being a lovely day. Traditional birthday breakfast with my family at our favourite brekky cafe, then cake with my grandparents, a summery walk through Sherbrooke Forest (no, not Sherwood Forest) in the Dandenong Ranges with boyfie - to a waterfall! - followed by afternoon tea with my other grandma, and polished off with dinner at Meat & Wine Co., a trendy steakhouse in a converted old bank. Plus boyfie transformed his bedroom into a temporary day spa and gave me a massage complete with meditative music, candles and delicious massage oil. Pretty awesome. He did good.

This dress is my birthday dress. I ordered it last year during a barrage of deadlines, as a reward for surviving that particularly difficult week. Hashtag unilyf. It's so gorgeous, all covered in cupcakes and strawberries and sprinkles, and I absolutely adore it. Look at that polka dot netted sweetheart neckline. Ugh. Even more amazingly, it's completely handmade by the lovely girls over at bonnechancecollections. Definitely check their shop out, they hand make beautiful one-of-a-kind party dresses with the most adorable designs and prints. Completely affordable, too. Mine cost about $50AUD. I belted it with an off-white belt that came with the Polite and Day dress from Modcloth. The wedge sandals were about twenty bucks from Famous Footwear, and my super rad soft-serve handbag was a gift from boyfie. x