Inspirations – Rachel Mc Adams…

Cute, vintage chic and apparently super sweet – Rachel Mc Adams is up this time round. Not only do I love her as an actress but she is constantly changing her look and she cares about the environment too, taking the bus or her bike when she can – how many people with her status do that these days?

She wears a lot of vintage and always looks darn cute – even when caught off guard without make-up or a good night’s sleep. Sometimes I think I want to be her…

Pretty…

This is one of my favourite necklaces – it was given to me by David as an anniversary present last year. I have worn it but it is a little too long – I’ve been meaning to get it shortened but haven’t quite gotten round to doing it.

You can’t see it well but the little robin is floating above the image in the background, its kind of like one of those paper images from the seventies where they’ve added layers of paper to a 2d image to make it look 3d. It’s really neat!

(Click me and I get Bigger)

I’m going away on a work trip tomorrow so won’t be posting for a few days – but hopefully I’ll come back with lots of little treasures.

Miss you already…

I heart Threadless…

I do you know. I own probably about 8 t-shirts I think, the BF owns a ton as well. They are awesome quality and when they have a $10 sale you can’t really go wrong. These are only 3 of the masses I own – I’ll post more up when I can.

(click me and I get bigger)

Pancakes...

I have a new favourite pancake – nutella, chopped banana and dried coconut sprinkled on top, Yum!
Any way, it’s freezing out today. It’s apparently 3.5 degrees Celsius, which equals cold and it’s supposed to snow sometime today – which is a bonus. If it’s going to be this cold we at least need the consolation prize of snow!

(Click me and I get bigger!)

I got this skirt in Wellington (I don’t know where I’d be if we hadn’t gone to Wellington – probably naked and cold somewhere), it’s dark grey with a cute little belt around the waist, I also got the scarf in Wellington albeit a few years back. I’m wearing my woolen winter tights (which I just recently bought another pair of and then may buy another pair of again this weekend) and a simple white singlet underneath a black thermal. Simple, but oh so cute and warm.

I do have a small problem though - in winter when it gets seriously cold I find myself wearing pretty much the same thing because it’s too cold in the morning to decide what to wear and the weather changes too much in one day. My winter staples are jeans, chucks, thermals, fingerless gloves and a beanie here or there, lame but true (and warm). But for the sake of this blog I am going to try and be a bit interesting with what I wear and hopefully my work trip to Auckland this weekend sees me coming back with a few pieces of warm yet interesting fashion (this is my last shopping spree for a long while, I need to save money!)

(Click me and I get bigger!)

I was trying to call Mocha into the photo but she was camera shy.

Stripy Mc Stripe…

I haven’t had any ‘me’ photos lately – sorry, I’m always in a rush in the morning and therefore never get time to take photos, by the time I get home just after 5pm its getting too dark to take photos and its best to take photos in natural light so you can actually see everything (and so I don't get red eye).

As a result, this weekend I grabbed everything I had worn/wanted to do a post about and spent about 45minutes taking photos. Now I have a few stock photos which I can pull out at will this week – so super organised!!

The first is my stripy black and white top, purchased in Welly wood (I also got a red one, is that bad?) and one of my favourite pieces - a really nicely tailored waist coat I got in Melbourne last year.

Winter Solstice...

Well, I was still sick but was going out to dinner so decided to leave slightly earlier to catch the parade down town to celebrate the winter solstice. We missed most of the parade due to having to scrape ice off the car, not being able to find a park and then having to walk from a wee way away - we didn’t however miss the fire works which were pretty awesome coming from the DCC.

I took a few photos of some of the lanterns that had been involved in the parade – they are made from the paper of old sewing patterns and then have candles placed inside them (does that ring alarm bells for anyone else besides me? Considering they let children parade them as well?).

They look quite pretty at night...

Bleh...

I am feeling slightly under the weather today – I won’t describe my symptoms but they are most definitely cold/flu related, I had a really bad sleep last night and its only going to get worse over the weekend!!! But its Friday today and I can get my weekly dose of America’s Next Top Model and Project Runway – and that makes me feel so much better. Its also the Winter Carnival tomorrow night (since it’s the shortest day of the year here) and depending on how I’m feeling I hope I get to go.

And since I’m not feeling amazing, I’m also not feeling very ‘fashion-y’. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like looking at other people being fashion-y, I was just browsing The Snail and The Cyclops
and saw a lovely picture that she had taken of her wearing a beautiful vintage lace shirt that she had got at a market – I am jealous and want a beautiful lace shirt as well. I’m officially on the look out.

To end my post, here are some pictures I took of the amazing moon last night. Of course as we all know, the real amazing-ness of a moon never translates into a picture – its just one of those things where you have to actually be there to experience it, but I tried anyway…

Little Inspirations...

I tend draw a lot of my fashion inspiration from what some of my favourite ‘well known’ people are wearing. When I’m watching a t.v show for example I tend to always find my self studying what they are wearing and how they put their outfit together. As a result I’m going to share with you the people who I draw inspiration from/would love to have their wardrobe to pick through – so each week/fortnight/when ever I can be bothered I’m going to do a little profile of the people who inspire me, hopefully they will inspire you too.

The Paper Doll’s first ‘Little Inspiration’ comes from the t.v show The Ghost Whisperer – she is Melinda Gordon.

Vintage lace, cinched waists and beautiful silhouettes are what this ghost whisperer is all about. Its really quite hard to find pictures of her standing in full view where you can see her outfit, but I did manage to find one of my favourite outfits of hers, during the whole episode I was fixed on it. It was smart, casual, cool and oh so beautiful at the same time…

Love it! Here are a few more...





A while ago I did a post on a little blue vintage dress that I don't quite own, buts its incredibly similar to the last dress she's wearing - pretty, floaty and girly.

What Season is it?

Well I thought it was Winter but these pretty little things that popped up in our garden seem to think its Spring - what do I know?


I had to throw in a picture of Mocha for good measure :)

A little Bit About Me...

Right, I decided that its time to fill you in on a little bit about me, my name is Jen and I currently live in New Zealand. I work full time organising events – everything from bands and gigs, art festivals, comedy shows, debates, awards dinners, film festivals, market days etc… I could go on and on but you get my drift – if there is an event out there then I’ve probably done

it!

I accidently fell into events in my second year of university, I graduated with my Bachelors in Marketing and went into events full time after that, next year though will be my third and last year working where I currently am. In 2010 I plan to go to Canada and have some fun there.

I do like clothes - alot! and would love to get into something along the fashion line like PR or TV/film production.

I have a kitty called Mocha, she pops up from time to time in my photos and I love her very much I also have a boyfriend called David who I also love very much (and prefers being behind the scenes).

I am gluten-free, love sewing, love Frankie Magazine, love things I can't afford, love clothes, shoes, scarves and accesories. I think I love the thought of vintage but haven't quite got there yet with having a lot of it. I love being inspired by other people and beautiful things and need to learn where all my precious little money goes.

Back to Work, Winter Style...

I couldn’t figure out how to start this post today so I’m just going to jump right on in there. This skirt is a second hand vintage skirt that I shortened, it’s made from wool (so is super warm) and was made right here in NZland. I got it on sale really cheaply when it was going into summer here so didn’t really get to wear it until this winter – and its one of my favourite little skirts.

I’m also wearing it with wool tights – I had never owned a pair until the weekend just past and I’m wondering how I ever did without them. They are so incredibly warm and cosy it’s almost better than wearing pants! And then we have my boots.

It was a long hard road trying to find these perfect boots – I’m talking years of wanting flat, not pointy toed boots but never finding exactly what I wanted - until this year. I was flying back from the first wedding of the year and reading the in-flight magazine, when, there they were in all their glory. I promptly called the shop the next day and found that they were slightly more expensive than I thought, but I had to have them. A week or so later they were mine. I know you can't see them that well but maybe later I'll do a post on shoes.

I think some of the most expensive clothing items I own are shoes – I figure you can pick up a pair of jeans relatively easily for not too much and the basics that form the base of your outfit are normally quite inexpensive as well. And like I’ve said before, I love details and so will probably spend more on those little things that make an out fit than go without.

My next purchase is a pair of brown boots and hopefully a woolen dress that I can pair with a waist cinching belt. I’ve seen them around, I am just yet waiting to find one that suits me and that I love!!

ps) As usual my kitty Mocha was there to participate in photo taking and she's just so darn cute!

Radio One’s Next Top Model…

So a little while ago I was asked to pose for some of Radio One’s posters/magazine ads advertising their hoodies and t-shirts. I was really flattered and so said yes, today I got back to work and there was the poster lying on my desk.

I think they look awesome (but my nose looks big) and am still really flattered that they asked me to pose for them and then actually used the photos, thanks guys!!! Here are some of the original shots they took…

I am officially back from my two weeks holiday and ready to get back to work in between bouts of wanting to be back on holiday. Wellington had awesome weather the whole time we were there, it was almost (dare I say it) hot!! I did indulge in a little retail therapy and ate way too much (does that happen to everyone?). The weather here is somewhat cooler and on the way to work today from the top of my hill I descended into a foggy mess.

Monday-itis I think they call it.

Little Blue Dress...

I don't actually own this little blue dress - but I have had it in my possession for a little while now and I may just keep it till its owner wants it back.
It's a beautiful second hand vintage dress made of a light cotton and its so lovely and girly - it's one of those dresses that makes you want to constantly twirl. I wore it to two weddings at the start of the year and everyone loved it.

This dress reminds me of one that Jennifer Love Hewitt wore for publicity shots for The Ghost Whisperer - which I love watching for the clothes first and the plot second. I tend to do that a lot with TV shows, I recently started watching Men In Trees because of the fashion and I'm thinking about buying the Ghost Whisperer on DVD so I can watch what she's wearing and try and copy it!! I'm also going to see the new Sex and the City movie tomorrow night and like before, I basically only watched it for the fashion and that's pretty much the same reason I'm going to see it tomorrow (and because the friend I'm going to see it with I haven't seen for ages!!)
Since I'm going to continue 'looking after' the dress for a little while, I'm going to copy the pattern and hopefully make one of my own - I could have those dresses in all sorts of colours!! I am going to change the bust a bit though, its a little saggy at the front because I don't quite fill it out and the v at the back doesn't let me wear a bra without it looking tacky.

This is going to be my last post for a bit - my sister comes tomorrow and I'm going away to another place for a few days. C'ya later...

Oh Mini Cupcakes...

Here they are as promised - my gluten-free cupcakes. Just to set things straight though I did actually use a sponge recipe - this is because every cupcake recipe I found used a pre-made cupcake mix. I hate using pre-made mixes for any gluten free baking, I find that they tend to taste salty and not 'real'.
Anyone who is gluten-free knows that gluten free baking can be gross - me included!! We just want to eat fluffy bread and yummy pastries and cakes without everything being either dry or hard as a brick. I do have a few yummy baking recipes that I will share with you throughout this blog and I hope you will do the same :)
Anyway, back to the cupcakes - using the sponge recipe gives you light and fluffy gluten free cupcakes like you've never had before but it does require brute force (unless you own an electric beater - I really must get one of those). The recipe can be found here...
I didn't half the recipe but because I was making mini cupcakes I really should have - this is what i ended up with, I like to call it cupcake mountain!!
Okay - it dosen't look that big but it is!! My raspberry icing didn't quite work out how I had hoped so I have decided to call it a raspberry glaze instead (raspberry essence, or any essence will make your cupcakes extra yummy!!).I do have a piping bag and different nozzles to make flowers and stars and all sorts of cool decorations with, which I have never used but will when I get my icing right.
One thing I've noticed looking through the internet is that most American cupcakes are more icing than cupcake - whatever happened to balance? If you're not too much into icing then glaze is the perfect way to go. A bonus with this recipe is that you don't even have to ice them, they are also great with jam and cream!!


I hope you like the recipe - let me know your thoughts!!
Happy eating...

My Cute Little Vintage Suitcase...

I know I promised Gluten Free Cupcakes - I'm going to make them soon, but I couldn't resist doing a post on my cute little vintage suitcase.

It took me a while to find my suitcase, I had been searching for a long time and had an idea of what I wanted - but every time I found something it was normally in quite bad condition.
I found my suit case on the internet for a bargain price and bought it immediately.
It is dark navy blue with cute little white polka dots, a hard case and a little beat up which just adds to the charm - it also has the initials H.E.H printed on it. I'm not sure what they stand for but I love that I own something that has a history, something that somebody else used and loved. That is what I love about vintage pieces, they all carry a personal history about the person who owned it before you, and if you don't know the history behind the piece, the best part is making it up.

I must admit it took me a while to figure out how to open it up, it came with its own cute little key and slightly rusty locks - but when I did finally get it open I was definitely happy. I was greeted with a baby blue nylon type fabric and cute little pouches in the lid and on the side at the bottom.
I still want more vintage suitcases and hand bags (I'll do a hand bag post soon) - as you know I love details and that means I can't get enough handbags and suitcases, I have a slight obsession. Any way I'm off to make cupcakes. I'll post recipe and pics soon!