Birthday Recap.

Disclaimer: This is going to be an incredibly picture-heavy post, because it's Monday, and I still feel like ass.. Soz in advance.

Well guys, I survived my 21st birthday and I think I deserve a medal because that was a close call. Let's just say there isn't enough concealer in the world to hide the circles under my eyes right now. But they're the good kind of bags. The kind of bags that meant I stayed up late all weekend dancing, and shouting, and eating, and acting like the weekend will never end. I'm currently running on less than enough sleep and three cans of Monster.

But, as amazing as my birthday weekend was, it's one of those days that I'm kind of glad it's a Monday. The weekend was so good, and felt so long, that I'm actually just excited to reflect back on it. I also need to put myself on a detox after all the food I ate and alcohol I drank this weekend. Oops.

Friday night was spent with good friends. I hired out a party bus and hit up a few bars and clubs in the city and Saturday, my actual birthday, and Sunday were spent with my boyfriend and my family who made me my weekend so very special.

Anyways, I know why you're here, these are the photos taken over the course of Friday night.
You may judge accordingly:


Top: Ally / Skirt: Supré / Shoes: Betts

 

Party Bus via Go Party Bus

 I'd like to thank all you beautiful people of the interwebz for your well wishes, and happy birthdays, I had a truly amazing weekend.

Spring Inspiration Board.

In case you couldn't tell, I'm super inspired by Spring lately. How could I not be? It's the most wonderful season there is!

 

Here are my current Springtime craves:

 

 

 

Colour Palette:

Pastel.

I'm sure you're sick of me saying pastels are huge for Spring.

But whether you incorporate pastels into your look in the form of jewellery, nail colour, shoes, or clothes, it will be sure to brighten up any look.

 

 

Scent:

Anything with a hit of Jasmine, or fruit.

Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream has both, with top notes of blackberry, grapefruit, lychee and pear and floral jasmine and blue wisteria undertones, brought together by white woods, musks and coconut water; my very favourite Springtime perfume!

 

 

Accessories of Choice:

Structured Bags and Pastel Summer Scarves.

In preparation for warmer temps & cooler colours, getting a new handbag is a great way to update your wardrobe. A structured bag is very lady like and classic, while this light, watercolour scarf is incredibly feminie. Both will instantly pull together your look.

 

 

Nail Polish:

My favourite Essie polish colours: Bikini So Teeny, Tart Deco, Mint Candy Apple and Mademoiselle.

Painting any of these shades on short, square nails makes for an incredibly chic look. OR, try out a splatter manicure.

 

 

Makeup:

Nude lips, cream blush and dewy skin.

I like to keep my day-face simple and fresh in the Spring, with clever highlighting down the bridge of your nose and cheek and brow bones.

I then opt for a natural looking cream blush or cheek tint to give that youthful glow.

 

 

Shoes:

Pastel pumps and strappy wedges.

Perfect for bare legs.

These pumps are versatile enough to be worn to the office, or out after house, while wedges are so incredibly comfortable when wearing all day or walking at length. Cork wedges are also perfect for Spring, and can be transitioned over to your Summer wardrobe to

 

 

Wardrobe staple:Skater skirts and playsuits.

Both light, flirty, and super feminie - Which is what Spring's all about.

 

 

Loving:

These sunnies. 

'nuff said.

 

What's inspiring you this Spring?

 

DIY Spring Nail - Pastel Edition.

 {Via Pinterest}

 

I love anything pastel for the Springtime, especially on the nails!
Maybe it's the fact that pastel colours are so feminine, and go with any Springtime outfit, maybe it's the fact that I'm reminded tea parties and sorbet. Either way, I can't get enough.

Remember Natalie from Yours Truly, NY?
That cutie Natalie who inspired this post?
Well, today she and I are collaborating on a fun little Springtime nail art DIY.

Check hers out

She and I are both loving the galaxy nail lately, especially in pastel. It looks gorgeous and every nail is unique.

{Via PShiiit}

..But It's fucking hard for someone with as little creative talent, patience, and a steady hand as old mate Christie over here.

In fact, I tried my own DIY galaxy on my sister just last year.
The results are so shameful, they have never been seen by the light of day. Until now...


Sweet mother of God. D':

I managed to improve them ever so slightly (and I mean EVER so slightly) after about one rage-filled hour.

Safe to say it was never attempted again.

Then I found this alternative to the galaxy manicure and thought I'd give it a go.
I introduce to you, the splatter.

Remember that fun blowing food colouring over a piece of paper with straws activity you did back in the kindergarten days? Do the same thing with some polish and BAM! you've got a splatter manicure. It's so simple!

This is my favourite colour combo; mint and baby blue over a white base, but you can use any colours you please.
 

 

You'll need:

- Three polish colours - You can use any colours you like. For this particular pastel look, use Essie
  nail colours Blanc, Bikini so Teeny and Mint Candy Apple.

- A Straw

- Scissors

- Cotton Bud

- Some paper/cling wrap

 

 {Images & Tutorial via Makeup.com}

Directions

1. Start by cutting your straw in half.
2. Apply as many coats of Essie's Blanc polish to your nails to make a solid base (white can be
    somewhat transparent if you don't apply enough layers).

3. Pour a small amount of Mint Candy Apple polish onto a piece of paper and dip one end of your
    straw into it. Hold the straw about a centimetre from your nail (once base is dry) and blow on
    the other end. Polish should splatter onto the nail. Do this across all 10 nails. (You may want to
   do this over some cling wrap.. It get's messy. Fast.)

4. Following the same technique as in step 2, dip the second, clean straw into a pool of
    Bikini so Teeny and blow on the other end. You may need to dip and blow polish onto the nail
    multiple times to achieve the desired coverage. Remember, every nail should be different, so
    don't worry if one has a thick spot of mint and another has only little speckles.

5. Once all nails are completely dry, clean up around the edges with a cotton bud and finish off
    with a top coat.

Chambray 12 Ways.

If I had to pick only a few fashion staples that every girl should have in her closet, a good chambray shirt would be at the top of the list.

As a matter of fact, I just bought my first chambray shirt of the season (this one from Supré).

They're so cute and so very versatile, easily being styled in so many different ways. The trick is, to think of the denim shirt as a neutral… which it basically is. You can pull off wearing chambray during any season, and let’s not forget about the fact that they are super comfy!

These are my very favourite chambray looks:

1.

My all-time favourite Spring/Summer look: Chambray & Lace

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2.

Tuck it into a polka dot skirt. Dots and chambray = match made in heaven.

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3.

Instead of a cardigan, wear a chambray shirt over your dress.

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4.

Tuck it into a skater skirt – cinch the look with a cute belt.

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5.

Chambray shirts look amazing with white jeans. To keep it from being too bland, add statement accessories.

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6.

Use it as a coverup at the beach. Perfect for windy days! 

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7.

Tie the bottom and wear it over a dress to put a new spin on it.

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8.

Make a sequin skirt work for the day by tucking your chambray shirt into it.

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9.

On chillier days, wear it under a blazer for a professional look.

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10.

Layer your denim shirt under a sweater.

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11.

Make a crop top work for colder days by putting it over a chambray shirt. This is also a great way to incorporate crop tops into your wardrobe without exposing your stomach. 

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12.

Wear it open or buttoned with a cute pair of floral bottoms.

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What's your favourite chambray style? 

Mistakes Made and Lessons Learnt before Turning 21.

I'm sure you're sick of reading this by now, but there's not long now until I turn 21.

I thought it would be interesting to really look back over the past few years and see how much I've learnt about myself and the way I live my life.

Although I'm still incredibly naieve in most aspects, I've made some pretty substantial mistakes and have learnt some important life lessons.

Mistakes Made

• Not getting enough sleep. “But Christie”, you ask, “How can I sleep when there are so many mistakes to make?!” Don't worry, you have an entire decade's worth of days and evenings to irrevocably fuck up your life.

• Being addicted to social media. He liked that picture of your cat on Facebook, and then you retweeted his tweet, and then you trolled all of his friends’ Instagrams to try to find out if he was dating someone else, and then he posted a news article to your wall that related to this inside joke you guys have, and by the way, it is a beautiful day outside.
• Washing your hair too much. Yes, too much, refer to this post.
• Wasting money on restaurant meals. I spent 5 years of my late teens dragging my hungover ass out of bed and feeding $20 worth of food in to my mouth. If only I had skipped maybe one of these a week, I’d have $60 extra for grocery money, or for one GIANT feast that we could all share. Who am I kidding, get your own feast.

• Being health-bipolar. During the day we’re drinking green juice and going to yoga. At night we’re out partying with friends and ending the night with 4 am fast food. The former does not detract from the latter — your body is just confused as shit.

• Spending all your time in a relationship. Friends of mine who were with the same guy all through their teens are lamenting it now. Before you settle down, you gotta get some strange. To truly appreciate the good men, you have to road test the bad ones. 

• Or chasing after someone who is completely disinterested in you. Does he never ask you questions about yourself? Swoon. Does he take at least 24 hours to text you back? Nice. Are you in his phone as “Mike” so that the other girls he’s hooking up with don’t know? Yayyy!

• Get a long-term pet with a significant other. So you and your boyfriend decided to drop a few of your start-up paychecks on Chuckles the $1,200 cockapoo. If you don’t last as a couple, Chuckles is a child of divorce, which we all know is a gateway to drugs and juvenile delinquency.

• Drunk texting/dialing. And rolling over in the morning dreading to look at your phone.

•  Hoard $15 H&M trend pieces instead of saving for something expensive and timeless. A cheapo peplum top  or pleather leggings are always bound to go out of style. Like, tomorrow.

• Splurging on beauty products that you know in your heart you won’t use. Sephora is in business because “If I just buy this $75 unicorn-horn face powder, everything in my life will immediately improve and I will know what the fuck I am doing”.

• Spending a lot of energy on envying someone you have decided is your nemesis. She is the 2.0 version of you, in possession of the career, boyfriend, wardrobe and apartment of your dreams. Or she is just an acquaintance whose superiority complex and complete lack of self-awareness annoyed the shit out of you. Take a breath, and let it go.

• Letting harsh judgments of your friends’ boyfriends’ (or your friends’ harsh judgments of your boyfriend) tear apart close friendships. He’s a tool. Just let everyone figure it out on their own time.

• Letting your office treat you like an intern when you haven't interned in years. Yes, your mum’s over-enthusiastic friends are right when they tell you “how lucky you are to have a job in this economy.” But being a full-fledged employee with a salary who is regularly told to get coffee for supervisors and carry heavy boxes is bullshit.

 Making mistakes is more important than we think. How will we learn without having made them?

Lessons Learnt

• It's important to have an opinion, don't let people beat you down because you don't have the same one as them.
• There is no great love without struggle
• Going through the bad makes you appreciate the good even more
• Don't be so quick to judge
• Be the best version of you
• Everything you want in life doesn't arrive all at once, things take time
• Be kind to yourself
• Don't wait until things are gone to appreciate them
• The most important relationship you have is the one you have with yourself. That one will always be with you.
• Value the opinion of people who are closest to you, not the complete strangers
• It's okay if a friendship comes to an end
• Because you will lose friends
• But you will make new ones
• Look after your health - It's more important than money could ever be
• Being confident is vital in life
• Working towards what you want instead of what you think you should be doing will become what your most proud of.
• Things really do happen for a reason
• If it's meant to be, then it will be.
• Cutting people out is hard, but necessary
• Never let somebody tell you what you should be doing with your life
• Everybody needs rest once in a while
• People will do anything to make you feel bad in order to make themselves feel good
• Work hard for what you love. If you want something, then you work for it. Don't wait for it to just fall into your lap
• Stop worrying about every single thing
• People do shitty things, don't rise to them
• You can be in a relationship that makes you so happy, you forget the rest of the bullshit you went through.

  

What I'm getting at here, is slow the fuck down. Adulthood doesn’t happen overnight. Enjoy the decade — appreciate your wide-open future and perky boobs while you still can.

My Month on Instagram Link-Up - September.

If you've been following Christie's Take on Life, you'll know by now that I'm a major lover of Instagram! It's the perfect outlet for posting inspiration and little snippets of life, and seeing what my favourite bloggers and friends are up to.

There are so many times my Instagram posts never make it to my blog, and that's a damn shame because I consider myself quite the photographer.

Instalife the past month looked something like this: 

I was straight in to my Springtime outfits come September 1.

Both dresses from BooHoo.



Cute date hikes up waterfalls with Jesse.

I can't even deal with how much I love this top coat.

Oh, and I got my nose pierced.

Drinks with the best friend.

Remember this post?

Dem lunch time chills.
PS. My spotty shoes are cuter than yours.

Grab yourself a button, link your accounts on up and get following!

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