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Karen Cheng

A Perth Fashion and Lifestyle Blog

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Archives for February 2013

3 Ways to Wear a Long Leather Skirt

February 13, 2013

How amazing is this Faux-Leather Maxi Skirt by Korean brand Sarah, that I got for $72?!

I thought it deserved its own “3 Ways” blog post, because I want to wear it with everything I own.

Since it’s a long black skirt, it pretty much goes with everything. Wear it tops that are coral, mint, silver, printed, striped, or just plain black.

3 Ways to Wear a Leather Skirt

1) Simple tank and a crisp white blazer, for a slick and polished look. I love this!

White blazer: Bardot (on sale) from The Iconic
Top: Rick Owens from The Outnet
Shoes: ASOS

3 Ways to Wear a Leather Skirt

2) Play with textures. A black furry vest (faux) notches up a modern-gothic glam look. Try wearing leather skirt with other textures like lace, beads details, embroidery, jacquard, tweed, or even feathers.

Fur vest: From YesStyle
Top: Rick Owens from The Outnet
Shoes: GlamRockChic

3 Ways to Wear a Leather Skirt

3) Simple tee and a cropped jacket. Nothing says effortless style like a simple white tee.

White Tee: Abi and Joseph
Blue faux leather jacket: Redopin (old)
Shoes: ASOS

( See all my Daily Outfits here )

…

Check out more of my favourite online shops in my Women’s Online Fashion Shopping Guide.

Fashion & Shopping, Outfits

Stand Up Paddling for Valentines

February 11, 2013

Whenever my husband and I are at the beach (or river), we often see people glide past us on these funny looking stand up paddle boards. We see them paddling slowly, over the calm, still waters… looking so peaceful and satisfied. And we are always filled with a bursting desire to try it ourselves!

So to celebrate an early Valentine’s Day, I surprised my husband with an experience, courtesy of Red Balloon.

Yes, we went Stand Up Paddle Boarding together!

Ain’t we romantic? :P

Stand Up Paddling for Valentines

A good Stand Up Paddling Boarding experience depends solely on the wind.

(If you’re really cool you can call it SUP boarding, but we’re not that cool, as it turns out.)

We booked for a 9am session, but the location of the paddling could only be confirmed the night before. This is so that the boarding people can look at the weather forecast and find the best spot out of the wind.

We turned up at 8:45am, in Rockingham, and we met the crew and other participants. The weather was beautiful. The water was flat, and there was a gentle breeze.

Now my husband and I are scuba divers, and we’ve been on 7-day scuba diving camping trips, roughing it out in tents, on the coast, or living on a fishing boat for 5 days. So our brains are programmed with safety protocols, dressing for the weather, and being sun and water smart.

And today? We may have over-did ourselves.

It was 39C and we turned up in long sleeve, turtleneck rashies, hats, sunglasses and long shorts.

Everyone else were in their bathers. Girls were in their itsy bitsy, floral bikini tops and bottoms, and guys with rippling muscles were in trendy shorts and were completely topless. I felt like such a nana.

In fact, I needed to carry my waterproof camera during the paddling. So I actually wore my cycling jersey (which had zip pockets) with my cycling arm sleeves! I really felt like a freak! Oh well. I’m sure my skin loved me for covering up.

Stand Up Paddling for Valentines

The briefing was great. Luca, our guide, gave us paddles and boards that suited out height… and he gave us lots of good tips.

I was a bit nervous. I’ve never been surfing before. I’m not great with boards and waves.

I was told that I might lose my hat and sunglasses if I fell into the water. Ugh, so I started to get worried about losing my sunglasses. SO THAT’S why no one else was wearing their sunglasses!

When it was time to start, we carried our boards into the water. And even I could lift the board by myself!

We waded about knee-deep into the water, and then crawled onto the boards on our hands and knees. When we felt steady, we stood up.

Stand Up Paddling for Valentines

It was pretty easy to stand on!

The boards were so wide that it was easy to find balance. The water was calm too, so the boards were not wobbly or shaky.

My husband, who, in my opinion, is not as *talented in coordination* as myself… found it to be very easy too.

I noticed there was another young lady in the group who was very, very unsure about her balance. She took a long time to steady her feet, stand up and balance herself. But when she did, she was fine.

After we all stood up, we had to start paddling.

It took me a few minutes to get used to the paddling arm motion.

I felt very uncoordinated at first. Concentrating on standing + balancing + paddling was a bit tricky. So I was doing very “weak” paddling, as if I was sweeping rice around on the floor haha.

Stand Up Paddling for Valentines

But once I got used to it, it was fuuuuun!

My paddling technique improved quickly. I began to paddle a little faster and became a lot more in-control of the board.

Oh my, it was so peaceful and soothing. It felt like we were gliding. Or strolling over water.

My husband and I were paddling side by side, laughing and chatting about romantic things like, um sharks.

Just kidding! We didn’t see much marine life. Just pelicans and a stingray.

Stand Up Paddling for Valentines

Haha I look so content and relaxed here!

We were paddling WITH a gentle wind behind us, so it was quite effortless. We could really just stand up on the board and use our bodies as sails to push us along.

Near the end of the session, we parked at a little beach, and our guide asked us to paddle back a bit, INTO the wind. He showed us how to activate our core muscles and use our shoulders to paddle hard. I tried it for a good 5 minutes and I could feel my abs getting a good workout. It felt goooood, a bit like rowing.

And… we didn’t fall into the water!

No one in our group fell into the water. Even the young lady who had trouble with her balance in the beginning.

The whole experience took about 1 hour (might have been 1 hour and 20 minutes).

Overall we had such a great time!

It wasn’t an overly strenuous activity, that we needed to lie down and take a nap after.

It was *just* active enough, *just* new and unusual enough – for a couple to share a new experience :)

I recommend it for couples, as a fun date to do together, or a simple and enjoyable anniversary or birthday present to give to someone, or to do it with your mum or dad on a Sunday morning, or just by yourself to try it out!

Stand Up Paddling for Valentines

And after the paddling we drove off to a beachside café to enjoy a hot breakfast and a cup if tea.

Such a lovely morning!

.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.

The team at Red Balloon are offering my readers a special promotion!

Receive $30 off when you spend $129 or more on ANY experience.

To redeem: Visit www.redballoon.com.au and enter the promotional code REDKC13 at the checkout to receive your discount.

Terms and Conditions: Offer valid until 31/12/13. Promotional Code can only be used once per person. All purchases are subject to RedBalloon T&Cs, for full details read here.

Out and About

P-p-p-palazzo Pants

February 9, 2013

Just wanted to share my new palazzo pants I wore the other day.

Palazzo Pants

I love the print on these pants, they remind me of beautiful batik sarongs that my mother used to wear.

They make my legs feel so long, and when I walk, I feel so sooo tall!

(I’m only 160cm.)

They swish beautifully like a maxi skirt, but I think they definitely ooze a bit more style :)

Because they are so long and there is so much pattern, I wore a simple black, jersey, tube top to balance my outfit and to show a bit of skin. A white tank top would be equally nice with these pants.

These pants are by Chic Yamada, from FashionValet.

This design is not in stock anymore, but there are heaps of other cool palazzo pants, prices ranging from USD$19 – $60. It’s definitely an affordable place to try buying palazzo pants, if you’re keen.

( See all my Daily Outfits here )

…

Check out more of my favourite online shops in my Women’s Online Fashion Shopping Guide.

Fashion & Shopping, Outfits

Getting My Sporty Luxe On

February 6, 2013

So the other day I bought two new things. A pair of shorts and some shoes.

Two *totally* separate purchases. For two *totally* different functions.

I wasn’t supposed to actually wear them together. But by haphazard accident (or laziness), I did.

And the result was a very relaxed, effortless, “Sporty Luxe” look… which was so much fun to wear.

Sporty Luxe

Bonds Summer Shorts – Lemon

I was walking through Big W to buy my son a lunch box. I spotted these cute, drawstring cotton shorts (RRP $34.90, but these were on sale for $20) and grabbed one in size 8. I needed some soft, slouchy shorts to wear around the house or when I go for a run or walk. Most of my shorts are denim, tailored with cuffs or formal looking.

They turned out to be soooo comfy that I just wore them all day! I wore them while walking my boys to school. Then I put on a cardigan while going to the shops to buy apples (I get cold in the air conditioning). Then I realised we were going out for lunch with my parents and of their friends (in the fancy part of town) so I QUICKLY grabbed a blazer to throw on top and changed my shoes.

Yep, so it turned out that the sporty luxe look is AWESOME, and I’ll definitely be doing more of it :)

Shoes Nine West

Nine West Leather Wedge Sandals

I’m completely in love with these sandals. I love the design, the leather, the mid heel, and the fact that they were on sale.

They are a gorgeous pair of shoes… especially because they give my everyday outfits a nice stylish omph.

This style is called “Play FWD” and I’m wearing a size 5.

Buy Nine West from The Iconic
(Enjoy 20% off, min spend $59, only full price with discount coupon code – COMF20GW)

Buy Nine West from Amazon

( See all my Daily Outfits here )

…

Check out more of my favourite online shops in my Women’s Online Fashion Shopping Guide.

Fashion & Shopping, Outfits

How’s the air up there?

February 4, 2013

We have a new toy in our backyard – an old trampoline!

My parents decided they wanted to get rid of their old, discarded trampoline, which was over 25 years old. And we thought our kids might like it.

So we nabbed it, took it apart, loaded it into the back of a trailer and brought it home.

However, it needed a good clean.

So we threw all three children onto it, gave them a scrubbing brush each and a bucket of soapy water!

Personally I thought it was a recipe for disaster. But they cleaned and bounced with such abandoned thrill and joy!

Our New Old Trampoline

I love this photo of one of my sons – happily cleaning away- totally oblivious that his movements were making the bucket tip over dangerously and with each bounce, it slowly “walked” towards him. It was like watching a cartoon.

And of course there was a water fight and foam party at the end of all this cleaning business.

The funny thing is… this trampoline was our trampoline when we lived on Christmas Island.

I remember being 9 years old and playing on that thing with my brother, sister, and neighbours.

I remember the HOURS we spent bouncing, climbing up and down, sitting on the edge, waiting for my turn. I remember all the silly bouncing games that we used to make up, all our funny jumping moves, and pretend wrestling matches and so much more. Ah such good times :)

Anyway I was very pleased to see them enjoy it so much.

My 7 year old said, “Jumping is the BEST feeling in he world. It’s like you’re flying in the air or floating in space!”

Family Life, Home & Garden

Our Mango Tango

February 3, 2013

mango_neighbour

Our neighbour has two big mango trees growing along the other side of our back fence.

He usually cuts the trees back and keeps them neat and tidy, by trimming any over-hanging branches.

But this year, he seems to have let them grow a bit wild.

So much so, I have counted at least 50 little green mangoes, that are hanging and drooping over our fence, into our garden.

In Australia, if you have something growing over the fence into YOUR property, you are allowed to cut it. It’s technically YOURS.

So that means… these mangoes are technically OURS. Right?

The biggest problem is… our back neighbour doesn’t really like us very much. In fact, I don’t think he likes anyone very much. We don’t see him very much. When we do, he can get a bit grouchy. And sometimes he can be unpleasantly bossy. But who knows what situation he’s in.

We try to be friendly. We try to stop our children from screaming and shouting in the backyard when they play. And most of all, we try not to piss him off too much.

Which brings me to the question… Should we steal his mangoes??

Or rather, OUR mangoes??

Hmm. Tricky one.

My kids and I are still tossing around ideas. But it looks like we might… pluck the mangoes when they are ripe, pop them into a fruit box, then walk around the block and deliver them back to him, at his door.

Aren’t we nice? :P

Home & Garden

And don’t forget the…

February 1, 2013

shoplist_poo

My 3.5 year old saw that I was writing a shopping list… so he wanted to help.

I prompted his spelling for one item (almonds).

But then he got bored… and just started to add his own items.

(He thought he was being so funny!)

Family Life

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Welcome

Hi I’m Karen!

I’m a UX Designer, with a background in visual design, digital + interactive design, advertising, social media and blogging.

I’ve been blogging since 1999 – which is 20 years of sharing stories about my kids, motherhood, fashion, fitness, food, books and all my weird and wonderful daily adventures.

These days, my kids are 16, 14 and 10, so I don’t talk about them very much. But I’m still trying to write about my passions – I have so many!

Stick around if you’re a bit obsessed with fashion, social media, reading brainy books, a nice dose of art, design and culture, the constant learning of really random stuff, annoying teenager stories, experimenting with intermittent fasting (not going too well thanks for asking) and plants.

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  • Hello to Australia’s largest cheese display fridge @cheesecathedral! 🧀💕We celebrated the launch of @europeanfoods_au new Marketplace wholesale outlet with the crew from @wagoodfoodguide and yummy eats by @chefvalvasori! Amazing cheese, chocolate, food, coffee and gourmet grazing table - I was in heaven!!
  • Celebrating Friday with a new blog post! About a year ago, I made a plan to look for a pair of sustainable, earth-friendly and ethically produced jeans, fall in love with them... then buy them in ALL colours. 👖💕 I found a pair from @Everlane for AUD$103 - and yep, I bought them in blue, white, black and grey. Head over to my blog for my review and pics 💕☺️✨
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  • Well hello there! Got a new post up on my blog about using a dress hire service, now that I’m working in a different industry (tech, not fashion!), going to less events and trying to spend my fashion budget on more sustainable fashion choices.
Also...Trying to kick off the flu. Trying to exercise more. Trying to spend smarter. And trying to resist all the office treats! 🍩🎂🍪😆✨
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