Karen Cheng

A Perth Fashion and Lifestyle Blog

Daily Life

Launch of Sparkling White Smile in Perth

Sparking White Smile 2018

A little while back, I was kindly invited to a launch by the team from The Perth Collective. They always host such amazing, stylish and luxurious events, so I was super excited to get an invite!

The launch was a bit mysterious at first, as I didn’t know what the brand was at the time I accepted the invitation.

It turned out to be Sparkling White Smile: a mobile teeth whitening service, established in 2014 (in Sydney) and now launching in Perth.

Sparking White Smile 2018

Their unique point of difference seemed to be:

They are a mobile service (they come to you!), you can book for multiple people and save money, you can get a full consultation and follow up service in the comfort of your home.

Other interesting snippets:

They position themselves as an “affordable but deluxe service”. Apparently the business has been so successful, it’s now a multi-million dollar business and the founder, Alison Egan is just 24!

They are also rolling out a new whitening product in collaboration with a major Australian airline – um, amazing!

And they also seem to have made a huge splash in the Australian media circuit, with lots of Australian celebrities, personalities and influencers endorsing it.​

Sparking White Smile 2018

The theme of the event was “Luxurious Summer Brunch by the Beach” at the Cottesloe Beach Hotel.

The set up was gorgeous. The food was delicious. The setting, details, flowers, vibe, lighting… all styled to perfection!

Sparking White Smile 2018

Sparking White Smile 2018

We also had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Alison Egan (pictured left), who shared her business journey with us. Basically she borrowed $10,000 from her parents and started her business when she was 20!

Also pictured here is Nikki (right) from The Perth Collective.

Sparking White Smile 2018

Me and my bunch of gorgeous girlfriends – missing a few though!

It was such a fun networking event – meeting new people, catching up with friends, enjoying a lovely brunch and getting to know the SWS brand.

Most of all we ate, ate, ate and talked, talked talked – even about teeth whitening!

Credit: Shot by Thom for Sparkling White Smile 2018

These two photos were taken by Shot by Thom. You can see more photos of the event here.

* Just have to make a note here… I haven’t tried their teeth whitening service.

Kind of a funny story: I actually had my teeth whitened through a sponsorship collaboration using a DIFFERENT service, 2 weeks before this event! I was very happy with that service and the whitening results, so I’ll be sharing about that different service in another blog post.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to review Sparkling White Smile’s service, as I need a bit of further dental work done, which SWS doesn’t provide. They have professionally trained technicians, but I needed / wanted a dentist to do my teeth!

I do know a few girlfriends who have tried SWS and they loved their results and the overall experience.

So if you’re looking for teeth whitening, my advice is to ask around, get to know the brands in the market, do lots of research and talk to your dentist first.

Good luck!

Hello to my new look

Wisteria

Well look at that!

After years of procrastination and working at a glacial speed, I’ve finally updated the look of my blog.

My last blog design was made in 2010 – it was a hand-coded, hacked-up version of WordPress, made by me, kind of an ode to my old school blogging days, which I still love in essence.

The biggest differences now:

  • My blog now scales nicely on mobile devices (omg finally)
  • I have lots of NEW CATEGORIES, so my older posts are easier to find
  • The photos are larger
  • You can now leave a comment (way hey!)
  • And boring technical stuff. My posts are in a new database. New WordPress framework. This is a bought theme. I didn’t hack up the php this time (ok only two changes).

Embarrassingly, I’ve been working on this update for 3-4 years.

Why did it take me so long?

I have over 3000 posts on my blog, with my first post starting back in 2003. I’ve edited them all.

It captures 15 years of my life and my family’s life, albeit only an edited portion of my life.

Working on this was like writing a freaking autobiography. The story of my life! It was emotional. Overwhelming. Entertaining. Hilarious. So many great reads. So many funny stories. So many stories I would never share now, but I’m happy I did share them back then… and happy to keep sharing.

I try to stick to my rule of 50% fashion and 50% life stories.

I hope you like it!

If you’d like to browse around, I recommend you find a random date on the right-hand column —>(which I have left there intentionally, because the size of my archives looks ridiculous haha!).

Or take a peek at the menu on the top of the page.

Or check out my About section.

I’ll be making little tweaks here and there over the next few weeks.

Feel free to say hi in the comments!

A Weekend in Sydney

Karen at A+S Wedding

My husband and I flew over to Sydney for a quick, weekend trip to attend a wedding.

We were only there for 2.5 days. But we flew without kids and oh boy, it was soooo relaxing and fun!

This is me wearing my Self Portrait 3D Azaelea Dress. I love that I can fold it up, shove it into my suitcase… and then throw it on and go! No ironing required!

Also wearing Schutz Cadey Lee Heels. And gold tassel earrings by Mezi.

(I swear I’ve worn this ‘heels and earrings’ combination for the last 3 years, with every dress I’ve owned haha!)

Sydney 2018

The first morning, my husband and I woke up early at 6am to go for a walk, in search for a coffee by the river.

We stayed in the Kirribilli area (a very old and posh suburb, where the Prime Minister lives) and the houses and gardens were just beautiful, amazing and full of character.

I guess, if you’re rich, you can afford a gardener and you can water your garden to perfection haha.

Sydney 2018

We found a cafe by the river called, The Flying Bear.

The view was stunning. The coffee was just ok.

 

Sydney 2018

We walked down a street and I noticed that it was really pretty – lined either side with blooming jacaranda trees.

I took a few quick snaps… then I noticed lots and lots of other people taking photos.

Girls in ball gowns. Asian tourists. Photographers with very big cameras. Matching couples. Backpackers. Families. It was like a street festival.

Later on, I found out that we had stumbled across one of those “Instagrammable Hotspots” and the street was a bit famous.

Search up “McDougall St, NSW” or “Kirribilli, NSW” to find it.

Sydney 2018

The next day, after the wedding, we woke up at 9:30am (yes, 9:30am).

It was the best sleep-in ever. I felt rested, fresh and like a completely new human being haha. I don’t think I’ve felt like that in 15 years!

We stumbled over to join the rest of the family and wedding party (who were staying at an AirBnb, which belonged to celebrity chef, Rick Stein!) for a long, relaxing, chatty, 6-hour brunch.

In the late afternoon, my husband and I spontaneously decided to head out into the city – because you know, we were travelling without kids and we could do whatever the heck we wanted haha!

So we caught the ferry into Circular Key, caught a glimpse of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, and walked around for a few hours.

We went back to the Airbnb for dinner with the family again, left early for an early night, and caught a cab to the airport at 6am.

It was a quick and simple trip, but yep, I didn’t have to do any cooking or anything important, so it was my idea of a relaxing holiday!

Reading: Obsessed with Ancient Rome

Rome

I am currently completely obsessed with reading about Ancient Rome!

I’m ALSO obsessed with Victoria Beckham (front cover of Vogue Australia this month), Ultraceuticals 50+ SPF suncream, and my new Hexagonal Ray-Bans.

But getting back to Ancient Rome… why am I obsessed?

I’m not entirely sure why. It’s not a particularly natural interest of mine.

I never studied it in high school.

I didn’t know anything about Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Augustus – except on a very superficial level.

I pretty much avoided anything to do with politics, war, military history… but here I am, completely intoxicated by all the crazy stories!

What do I love about it?

I love the drama, the intrigue, the corruption, the ups and downs of a growing society.

I love hearing about all the leaders of Rome in chronological order, learning about the lesser known characters, the rise and fall of emperors, what made them a good leader, what made them a bad leader, the beginnings of western civilisation, the history of western politics, war strategies (surprisingly interesting!), the history of a war obsessed empire, the history of Christianity and beginnings of the Islamic Empire.

One particular topic I’m fascinated about is political propaganda. Why were the Romans so swayed by it? What is it about mankind that makes us all so susceptible political propaganda and savvy marketing?

I have already read 3 books about Roman and Byzantine History, and I have listened to 180 podcasts about the History of Rome (and now re-listening to them all – because they’re just so good!).

Someone asked me, why not go study Ancient History? I looked it up and discovered that it’ll cost me about $19,500 to do a 3 year degree – holy crap no thanks.

To me, it is just pure entertainment.

Some people watch tv in the evenings, I’m just happy to read.

And happy to tell people random facts!

The Ancient Romans were delighted by all the imported fruits from their growing empire (pomegranates, oranges, apricots, peaches) but they simply called them all “[country of origin] + Apples”. Everything was an apple! Ha so cute!

…

I recently read Rome by Robert Hughes (famous art critic for TIME magazine), pictured above, and oh boy, I don’t recommend it at all!

Yes, he had a very interesting perspective on ancient Roman art, but everything else was very hard to read as it jumped about, he repeated himself, he was so vague, he wrote as if the reader already knew all about the history of Rome (I have a basic understanding and I found it hard to follow).

So I’m picking up another book, considered to be an “undisputed masterpiece of English historical writing”  and I’ll let you all know how I go haha!

xxx

Who Gives A Crap

This post is not sponsored. I’ve been buying from Who Gives A Crap for close to a year now. I love it and just want to share!

I do have a $10 off referral link for you at the end, if you want to try it out for yourself.

Who Gives a Crap

About 18 months ago, my family went travelling and camping through central Australia.

It is very remote there, and there are not many facilities and services between the towns. So if you happen to stop at a remote location, you are encouraged to take your own litter away with you.

We made many stops… and saw first hand the disgusting, eye sore on the landscape – blinding white toilet paper everywhere!

Ribbons of it waving in trees and bushes, sticking up out of the ground, crumpled up and littered on the earth.

At that point, I decided to start buying biodegradable toilet paper – and I found Who Gives A Crap.

(I was introduced to the brand by 3 friends!)

Who Gives a Crap

Their toilet paper are made from 100% recycled paper, good for the environment, forest friendly, with no inks, no dyes, no scents.

They don’t wrap their toilet paper in plastic.

All the inner cores of the toilet paper and cardboard boxes are made from recycled paper too.

They donate 50% of all their profits to non-profit organisations working to help build toilets and to improve access to hygiene, water and basic sanitation in developing countries.

What’s the difference between Biodegradable Toilet Paper vs. Standard Toilet Paper?

Most standard toilet paper are made from virgin trees!

Standard toilet paper breaks down at a slower rate than biodegradable toilet paper and it needs more water to fully decompose.

Biodegradable toilet paper is usually made from a fast growing material, such as bamboo, which needs less water and matures faster. It also dissolves and breaks down faster (in less water) than standard toilet paper.

It can also be made from recycled paper, which means no trees are cut down.

Basically, biodegradable toilet paper is much better for the environment.

Who Gives a Crap

We buy the tissue boxes too!

My kids say it’s a little difficult to get the paper out, but omg I tell them to get over it, it’s a small price to pay.

What’s the Cost?

In terms of cost, YES it’s a little more expensive than buying it on sale from the supermarket.

But I feel… if I want to do something good for the environment (as opposed to just feeling all sad about it), I can support little businesses trying to be transparent and trying to do some good and make a difference to the world. My money is my vote!

I haven’t worked out how much more it costs me each year, but if it’s something like $50 more, I’m totally happy with that!

(Some people would prefer to have luxurious toilet paper and donate $50 to an environmental cause – which is perfectly fine as well haha!)

Who Gives A Crap has a subscription option and normal one-time purchase option.

For the subscription option, you can get a delivery every 4 weeks (for 5-6 people), 6 weeks (for 3-4 people) or 8 weeks (for 1-2 people). I don’t use the subscription option.

We are a family of five – 2 adults and 3 boys (aged 15, 13 and 9) and I’ve found that we finish a box of 24 rolls in about 8 weeks. Maybe because boys use less toilet paper?!

So I just make a one-time purchase every 7-8 weeks.

Who Gives a Crap

Special Discount Link

You can get $10 off your first order, if you use my referral link here.

I think you have to spend over $48 though, and it’s free shipping over $30.

If you do purchase, I get a reward of $10 put into my account, but seriously, I’m not doing it for money, I’m sharing the discount, hoping others try it out and make a switch to a more environmentally friendly option too!

Enjoy!

xxx

 

Wedding in the Family

We haven’t had a wedding in the family in yeeeears – and now we have TWO in two months.

My brother in law got married on the weekend. It was such a beautiful, intimate and happy wedding – it was so touching that I cried.

Unfortunately I can’t share too many photos, as I don’t really have permission to share faces :)

RS Wedding

This is my husband and father in law getting dressed.

If you’re new here, my husband was born in Scotland, his family migrated to Australia (on a boat!) and they grew up in Perth.

They don’t own these kilts, they hired them from a hire shop. The pattern was chosen to be as close as possible to their family “clan”… however, it was also chosen based on what the hire shop had available that day haha.

Having said that, the pattern looked suspiciously like a tartan pencil case I once owned in primary school, so I do wonder how accurate it is as a single clan’s historic identity.

Oh and yes, that’s my son in the background with a gimbal and camera. He did an awesome job! Modern technology these days! Kids these days!

RS Wedding

Here’s a group photo of us and the bride and groom – it really is no fun without the faces!

From left to right: my oldest son, me, the groom, the bride, my husband and my second son.

(My youngest son is going to be so pissed off that he wasn’t included in this pic. The third child is always left out of everything right?! But he was just too short for my head crop.)

RS Wedding

This is the wedding cake made by my father in law and sister in law! Amazing!

So much talent, care and family love went into this cake.

RS Wedding

And lastly, here are some teeny tiny polaroids of us, taken at the end of the day, for the guest photo wall.

Can you believe we were all so busy and having so much fun, that I forgot to take a family photo of just 5 of us together??  Ah well. These little polaroids are perfectly fine as keepsakes!

Recycling Computer Equipment in Perth

Recycling Computer Parts

This is not a sponsored post :)

This is just something we’ve been doing for years and many people have asked me about it.

We collect all our old computer parts and regularly take them to Officeworks for their “Bring IT Back” Recycling Program – to keep all this waste out of landfill.

The equipment is sent to recyclers where up to 98% of the material recovered and recycled. Which is kind of amazing!

They accept desktops, laptops, computer mice, monitors, printers, scanners, multifunction printers, keyboards, computer power supplies, printed circuit boards, motherboards, network cards, disks and CD drives.

You can also bring empty ink & toner cartridges, mobile phones, batteries and accessories.

All the materials are used to make roads, garden beds, pen, rulers, plastic pallets and steel products.

It’s a super easy process. We just throw all the items on a shopping trolley, wheel it into the store, the person greeting customers will call someone to receive it and takes it away, while you’re still standing at the door  – so good!

You can find out more information about the program here, and here is the list of Officeworks stores that accept the items.

Enjoy!

xxx

Holidaying Without The Firstborn

Dunsbourough 2018

Aah, for every long weekend that comes along, it feels like the whole of Perth drives down to enjoy the chilled out vibes of Dunsbourough!

Even though it gets a bit crowded and busy down there, I really do love it and I wish we could buy a place near the beach :)

We joined 5 others families, stayed with friends and “camped” on their property for a few days.

This trip was slightly different for us.

My 15 year old remained back in Perth and stayed with my parents, because he had to go to work! He just works in a cafe, but has to give 2 weeks notice of leave.

Part of me felt a bit sad and filled with regret, that my first born son wasn’t joining us. He IS still a kid. He should be doing stuff with his family. He should be going on family holidays. He has his whole life to work. He’ll never get his childhood back.

Buuut part of me knows that we have had many, MANY great family holidays together and we did just come back from a 4 week overseas family trip. Also he is a teenager… and although he wanted to stay home alone for 3 days (to which we said NO) staying with his grandparents gave him a nice taste of “freedom”. Kinda.

He survived. We survived. There were no parties. And our house didn’t burn down.

An excellent outcome!

Finished Reading: The Brothers Karamazov

The Brothers Karamazov

Earlier this year, I read Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky – and I loved it.

The plot rocked, the language was lush, the drama was intense and the characters were crazy!

It was also peppered with philosophical ramblings about society, theology and morality, which I kind of liked too.

So I bought Dostoyevsky’s other well-known book, The Brothers Karamazov. I did a bit of research and found an award winning translation of the book too haha!

It’s basically a murder mystery, with the story revolving around a despicable man, his three grown-up sons  and a love triangle and a murder trial.

What did I think?

Interesting story. But damn, it was a bit drawn out.

So much religious and philosophical ranting. All the characters were dysfunctional and horrible, all the relationships were messy. And I speed-read through the conversations with the devil.

Yes parts of it was pretty amazing, in particular, the language and depth of characters. You don’t read text like this anymore!

It is often rated as one of the greatest stories ever written. But I struggled to get through it. It’s not light reading.

Honestly, I don’t recommend it, unless you have a sudden burning curiosity about the book (which I had). And have 2 months of spare reading time in the evenings up your sleeve (which I had).

I do feel like I have a new level of bragging rights now, but given how I feel about the book, I might not be so quick to chime into dinner party conversations about 19th century Russian literature – haha!

Coffee Catch Up: September 2018

castorboard

It’s been a few months since I’ve shared various random thoughts in my head. I managed to sit back this weekend, take stock of things and write up what’s been going on around here.

1) Imma just cruising, thanks!

I wish I could share some HUGE, EXCITING NEWS and be all SUPER INSPIRATIONAL — but I got none of that haha!

Life is simple, life is good, life is just cruising along at a good speed.

With all the crazy shit happening in the world right now, I just want to hug my husband and kids and be grateful for stability, good health and a roof over our heads. Super happy about that.

2) Travel plans

After travelling overseas for 4 weeks, the general consensus of our household: No more overseas holidays! We just want to stay home and get shit done!

Having said that, last weekend we travelled out of town and went camping with friends. We spent another  weekend out of town with friends. My husband went on a “Boy’s Trip”. And we have an interstate trip coming up. We are blessed!

2) I’m learning how to skateboard

Three new families have moved into our street and there’s been an explosion of kids outside our house almost every day. It’s been great. I love the sound of kids NOT on their devices!

(Plus there’s a little girl who changes her outfit 3 times a day?! She’s such a cutie.)

I’m teaching some boys across the street how to ride a castor board (pictured above)… and they are teaching me how to skateboard. It’s super fun. But I’m not very good, because I’m too afraid of falling and breaking my teeth.

Once I’ve mastered basic skateboarding, I’d love to try a longboard… and then eventually try surfing :)

2) My body shape is changing!

While it’s easy to think that this is an age thing, I believe other factors might be at play here.

I’m the same weight as I have been for the last 10 years. I eat well. I exercise well. But I’m just not fitting my clothes the same way. I guess it means that I get to buy new clothes, haha!

But seriously, it’s interesting to see how my exercise routine has changed over the years. I used to do more long distance activities: 4 -5 hours of cycling, or 2-3 hours of running once a week.

Now I do more short, sporadic, high-intensity workouts, mixed up with gentle stretching and yoga, more often.

I’d love to get back into long distance running again.

(And it’s much cheaper than gym classes.)

3) Budgeting household spendings

My husband and I sat down one day, we looked at our last 3 credit card statements and put it all into a spreadsheet. It was really interesting to see the distribution of our combined income.

We spend about $350 per week on groceries and household consumables for a family of 5.

I’ve been trying sooo hard to bring that figure down. I’ve been buying in bulk. Buying on sale. Buying cheaper cuts of meat. Buying less processed foods (our weakness is chicken nuggets and frozen pizzas, they are so convenient to bulk up my teenager’s school lunch boxes. Works out much cheaper than them to buy from the canteen). Buying home-brand items. Buying from cheaper places like markets, independent grocers, in-season produce. I bake a lot of treats and desserts (instead of buying). And we don’t eat out very much.

But despite everything, my weekly bill is always about the same.

Nuts are a killer. Almonds are about $20/kg and peacans are $28/kg.

(Good grief! Just listen to me! First world problems here. Haha sorry! We eat a lot of nuts.)

On the other hand, we still manage to put 10% – 15% into savings each month and it’s very satisfying to see our savings creep up and up.

4) Health Insurance

Our other big + regular spend each month – would you believe it – is health insurance!?

We spend $280 per month on health insurance for a family of five.

I have in the past tried to cut it back (delete things off our plan that we don’t use). But after sitting down to crunch the numbers… it turns out that we actually get back ALL that amount from our kid’s dental bills, orthodontic bills, plus my husband has ongoing check ups with medical specialists and optical work.

Sooo it doesn’t “cost” us anything in the end. And if we have an actual emergency, we’re covered, so it’s all good right? I have no idea.

5) Pointless wasting of money

On the topic of money. My kids have been sooooo careless and infuriating.

We have an outside freezer. I freeze all my bulk-bought meats, bread, berries, frozen foods etc. One evening, my son went outside to grab a smoothie bar and didn’t close the freezer properly… so the next morning my freezer was beeping (too softly!) with its door WIDE OPEN. $300 worth of food was soft and mushy! I was so mad!

It took me a lot of slow breathing (and a bit of shouting) to get over it.

Ugh…. at least I cooked up a whole lot of dinners and gave it to some mum friends.

6) Teenage boys and online shopping

Also on the topic of wasting money… (just joking!)

My two older boys, who are 15 and 13year old, prefer online shopping to actual shopping.

This is amazing, because I don’t have to drag them around the shops for hours. They simply browse and buy their own clothes. To me, this is a godsend.

I always remind them to check things like: Well-known online shop? Ships to Australia? Shipping fee? Refund policy? Shop around? Read reviews. Check sizing. Sign up to newsletters to get sale updates and a discount code!

They like to compile a list, email it to me and I will send back some feedback. I’m pretty brutal though. Such as: Don’t you already have 5 plain black t-shirts?? You’re way too short to wear that style. That’ll look pretty bad in real life.

They make the purchase and they sort out the refund or exchange if it doesn’t fit.

They are excellent and very careful shoppers. Not impulsive at all. I’m very proud haha!

(They like to buy from The Iconic, ASOS, Nike AU and Adidas AU).

7) Teenage boys and saving money

The downside of possibly getting my kids hooked on online shopping (let’s face it, this is ALL my fault) is trying to teach my kids about saving money too.

I made them read “The Barefoot Investor” and they thought it was pretty good.

They’ve set up their multiple bank accounts, they’ve committed to saving over 50% of any money they receive, and they are already planning how to be millionaires. Ah to be young!

Anyway, that’s all from me now.

xxx