Easy Snuggly Autumn OOTD

You know those days where its so cold you just want to stay at home snuggled up in a blanket? Well its reaching that point in Melbourne right now. The breeze is icy and the sky is dark but its gorgeous to watch from the comfort of a warm house.
And then you realise you have to go to the shops...
Now, I live in an area where I could get away with going to the shops in some beaten up trackies but I try and avoid it. I'm always on the hunt for clothes that are borderline pyjamas. Things that can look cute when I leave the house but are still disgustingly comfortable that I can still lounge around the house in them. By pure accident, this has become my go to winter jumper for those reasons.

I was in H&M looking for a new coat and sussing out their cape/poncho range and had both arms piled with clothes. My arms were becoming weak and I needed to get to the closest change room ASAP. But I saw this beautiful leopard print knit on the tallest shelves in the plus size section (which has now relocated upstairs btw). There was no staff around to help and I couldn't reach it with my arms stuffed like they were so I did what any person would do.. I put one armful of stuff down, stepped on a shelf to get some height and yanked that shit down like my life depended on it!  Turns out it was a sz 24 but I decided I wasn't going to do that again so I bought it anyway and It ended up fitting the exact way I had hoped it would! It's not often plus size gals can find oversized jumpers that are adorable, so I was absolutely stoked!

Also, can we just talk about these boots for a moment?! Mum and I went into Millers to suss out some jackets for my grandma and I found these gems! I'm not going to lie, I avoided looking in places like Millers because I thought they were for an older age bracket, but damn! They've got some stylish goods! I picked up a dress that was on sale as well and have my eye on this pink quilted coat. These babies were only $40 and fit like a dream. Well done Millers!

Knit: H&M // Skirt: Cotton On // Stockings: Sonsee // Boots: Millers

My Mum Is Cooler Than Me ft Ruby & Lilli

Today is Mothers day in Australia and this post is all about my Mum because my mum is cooler than me. Seriously. She's the coolest person I've ever known. Hands down.

She's been through a lot and she's still a tough broad. Just like my grandma. Tough as nails but still mushy on the inside. They've taught me a lot over the years. How to be a good woman and a good human being. My mum was into art, the 50's and Elvis when she was younger. 3 obsessions she passed on to me. We're so different yet exactly the same.
When I was a kid in primary school, there was this task. Draw what you want to be when you grow up. Kids drew things like, firemen, astronauts and all that kind of stuff. I drew my mum. I wanted to work where she did (and now I do. I really didn't think that one through haha). She went back to work about 9 months after I was born and worked full time all throughout my life (she still does and is patiently waiting to retire. She's still got another 30 years to go though) so I wouldn't really see her at my school events that were held during the day because she would have to work and my grandma would take her place. Any time spent with her was cherished.

One thing we would do a lot of was shopping. This is where my obsession with clothes began. We would shop and be critics for each other. Nah Mum, that colour is shit. What is that fabric? How much did you say that was?! Nup. Put it back.
It was much easier for me to critique her because I was the know it all teenager. But she let me go ahead and make my own fashion mistakes and didn't hold me back with my own style. People would ask her "Why are you letting Sabrina cut her hair so short/dye her hair pink/wear those clothes/get those piercings/get any tattoos" and she would reply 'Why should I hold her back?'. Why hold a child back on doing innocent things like playing with their look when its not hurting or affecting anybody?

I was so alternative and 'cool' as a teenager being experimental with my looks and never wanted to end up looking 'boring' like my mum....Never say never.
Since having those thoughts I've progressively become more and more like her. What used to be "Mum! Look at this neon pink glitter PVC handbag!" has now become more along the lines of "MUM! COUNTRY ROAD IS HAVING A SALE!!". Don't get me wrong, I still love me some weird fashion but now I'm a bit more for the simple things. And thats great because it means we get to share clothes!!

I bought these two Ruby & Lilli tees for Mum and I when they were having a sale a few weeks ago and we are obsessed! I convinced her to take some photos with me and she (very) reluctantly agreed. The gals that run Ruby & Lilli are lovely and left a little handwritten thank you note in the delivery which was such a sweet personal touch. The tees are nice and soft and the prints are brilliant. My fave is the Hello Lover one that I'm wearing. That font is just so damn perf.

Mum and I accidentally were matching when we came out for the photos. Hair down, wearing Converse. Like Mother, Like Daughter, hey. haha

Happy Mothers Day to all the new mums, old mums, grandmas, expecting mums, mums without their  bubs and any other kind of mother in between. You're all amazing.

MUM 

Tee: Ruby & Lilli // Jeans: Levis // Shoes: Converse

Watch: Swatch // Earrings: Bevilles // Nameplate Necklace: Gift // Chain Necklace: Gift

ME

Tee: Ruby & Lilli // Skirt: Vintage via Op Shop // Shoes: Converse 

Orthodox Easter Coloured Egg Tradition

I was really excited to see a comment pop up on my Orthodox Easter blog post asking about the tradition of dyed eggs. I was trying to find a way of structuring my answer but one of my fave blogs already had the perfect post that explains it all wonderfully.

The Modern Domakinka (domakinka means housewife in Macedonian.) is a fantastic new blog all about traditional Macedonian recipes and I'll insert her post below.

"The traditional red, hard-boiled egg is the most prominent symbol of Orthodox Easter. Orthodox Christians will spend Thursday (Veliki Cetvrtok) dying dozens of eggs and decorating them with different colours and designs. However, it must be noted that the first three eggs should be dyed before dawn on Thursday, before Good Friday. It is said that these three eggs will not go rotten for years to come if they are dyed before the sun rises.

The first egg is dedicated to God; the second egg is dedicated to the head of the house or the 'Domakin'; and the third egg is for good luck. The first egg is said to be magical, and is therefore placed next to a religious icon in the house. It is even believed that this egg can cure illnesses. It is for this reason that the housewife or the 'Domakinka' should not attempt to dye these three eggs on an empty stomach. She must eat at least a mouthful of bread, as any eggs dyed on an empty stomach do not bring any luck. It is even believed that they can bring bad luck and illness. The egg placed on the icon last year should be buried in the ground before placing the new egg on the icon.

With the first rays of sunlight, the housewife or the 'Domakinka' will wake each member of the household by rubbing the first boiled egg on each of their faces saying "Crveno, belo, debelo," or "Red, white, plump!"

This beautiful tradition of egg dying represents life and birth; and the red dye symbolises the blood of Christ. The tradition stems from the story of Marija Magdalena who travelled to Rome to inform King Tiberij of the miracle of the resurrection of Christ. She offered a dyed red egg to the King and said "Hristos Voskrese!" or "Christ has risen!" From then on, Orthodox Christians have been dying red eggs to symbolise the resurrection of Christ."

I honestly couldn't have put it better myself. The whole process is a tradition and when I was a kid it was a fun one. You would never see the stuff that happened really early in the morning but when you got up baba (grandma) and/or mum would be dying the eggs and you'd stand at the stove with her and it was some good bonding time. You buy the dye at most delis (you can tell which ones will have them by how woggy they look) and I remember there being a lot of egg stickers that you could put on them too. Nowadays theres heaps of fancy things you can do to the boiled eggs. People paint them, add stickers, add textured coatings and all this stuff but they're especially beautiful when they're kept simple. 

Usually over Easter the Eggs are given to basically everyone you interact with. For example, one of my grandmas makes eggs for her household, then gives my family a dozen for us to share, then some for my other grandma, some for my aunties family and any of her friends that are Orthodox, and then everyone that receives the eggs gives her some of their batch. So its basically a lot of egg swapping haha

If you want to know more about being a Modern Macedonian housewife and learn about some great traditional recipes do check out The Modern Domakinka's blog  &  The Modern Domakinka's Facebook page because I'm honestly obsessed with it.