Dress 29 : This is the Purple Dress

So this is the purple dress that, the forget the purple dress post refers to!  I have to admit though it is a little worse for wear.  The back material has split, it’s not the seam it is actually the material! I have spoken to a few friends and unfortunately it cannot be fixed .. maybe I could turn it into something else as it couldn’t be donated to charity the way it is.

That is such a shame because this is an infamous dress!!  It has been to parties, worm to work, it is a dress to wear when I want that special feeling that comes from wearing something you love! It also appens as my theme this week I wore it on a first date.  I bought this dress with a voucher that Joy had given me for H & M.  I loved the military cut and the colour with purple being one of my favourite colours.

This dress was a favourite of Boyfriend A until the red dress came along, which also came from Joy!  It had worked on one Irishman I thought I would try it on another.  My first delve into online dating came in New York.  Meeting people at bars and through friends hadn’t brought Mr Right so I thought I’d jump on the new New York thing and join a dating site.

One of the matches to come up with a 100% match was an Irish boy.  After my experience with Boyfriend A I wasn’t sure I was ready to date another of his countrymen.  After a few months this guy just kept coming up so I thought why not, not all Irishmen can be bad!  I sent him an email and found out he was extremely funny.  We decided to meet at Eight Mile Creek as he had lived in Australia for a few years and missed Aussie Beer.  Another friend of mine owns this restaurant so I thought if he did turn out to be crazy like Irishman Boyfriend A I would have a friend close at hand.

I put on the purple dress and with horror realised the stitching was coming undone from the bottom of the dress and the lining was hanging down (this dress has been falling apart from day one!).  Fortunately I was meeting Joy and Rachel for brunch.  I timidly told them I was meeting an Irishman later for a drink which they didn’t think was a good idea.  But as Rachel was kneeling down on her apartment floor sticky taping my dress together she said ‘I hope he is worth it’!

The first date with we shall call him Boyfriend C wasn’t anything special, although it turned out he was from Northern Ireland land of my favourite potato chips Taytos – so he won points there as I love Taytos (especially because they are made in a castle!)!!  We had a few beers and nice conversation but I wasn’t fussed if I never saw him again.  A few days later he text and asked if I would like to go out again.  I normally say two dates is a good time to judge someone so I agreed.

We met at a place down in the west village where there is a bar and game tables everywhere.  You can play chess, scrabble, ping pong and there is even a band playing!  It’s such a cute place.  We played scrabble and I had a fabulous night.  When we went to leave we had been messing around with the horse from the chess board and when we got to the street corner he said to me do you think they’ll miss this? And he pulled out the horse from his pocket!  Turns out he did have something in common with Boyfriend A!  Although I did think it was very romantic thing to do and horse became a running joke with us.

After this date I realised he was a great guy.  Over the next few months we had a great time getting to know each other.  He met my friends and work mates (who actually approved of him), went to concerts and karaoke, we drank Guinness at his local Irish pub with his brother and he framed photos I had taken all over the world for his new apartment.  My family got to know him from afar and it seemed that things were finally looking good in my relationship area.

This was until just after New Year’s Eve.  Boyfriend C had told me he was separated and basically explained they were young when they married and that was how he was able to stay in the country (what’s with me and Irish men who need to stay in America through various illegal means).  Three days after New Year’s he told me we needed to speak.  We met at a local pub (great location to break up with someone by the way!) and he told me his ex-wife had been living overseas in Germandy and had just returned to America.  He explained that this was the first time he had seen her since they separated and he was feeling many emotions and needed time to himself.   He assured me I would find someone else and that it wasn’t me, he just needed to work out what these feelings were. 

So it ended.  As did my respect and trust for him.  It took me months of frustrating phone calls and emails to get my belongings back from him he kind of dissapeared and my friends and family were truly shocked at the person he turned out to be.  From his Facebook a few months ago I saw he was engaged to a girl he met 6 weeks after breaking up with me.  Who knows is this ‘ex-wife returning from Germany' was real or not but as I always say when one person doesn’t work out it just leaves the door open for the right one to walk in.. and tomorrow you may just hear about that boy who has just walked in the door.

Yours in Dresses

Skye

Dress 29 : This is the Purple Dress

Bought: 5 years ago
Price Range: $29.99
From: H&M New York (H&M near Bloomingdales)
What I like about it: I really like the military cut and the colour

Tag Info: Made in Turkey, H&M97% Cotton, 3% Elastane

Photo Credit: KMcKinnon

Dress 28: Request for Back Up

This is actually a staple date dress for me.  The colour is fun, the material is good so you can wear it all day (in case your date is after work – what were you thinking!)  and it has a nice shape to be a little revealing but still girl next door.

The last date I remember wearing this on was with an American I had actually met online.  We met up at The Australian in New York (A great place for those looking for yummy Aussie good, a cold beer and friendly staff, oh and the owner is a good friend of mine).  For anyone who has ever been online dating there is a code that you have with friends to request back up.  In New York our code was at 9pm for the other to text how did Australia do? And you would either write back Australia was winning or losing. 

The other girl would wait staring at her phone all night to ensure that your friend hadn’t been abducted by a psychopathic murder.  You would also tell them the name of the restaurant you were going to and all dates photos were vetted by or coven of girls beforehand.  Any one of us was more than happy to drop everything and run to the rescue of an online date gone bad or sometimes if it had gone well but there was another problem – they had brought a friend.  I remember one night getting a distressed call from a girlfriend who will remain nameless that I was to meet her at a bar in the UES in 20 minutes no questions asked.  Of course it was the middle of summer and I was wearing a bikini on my couch (my apartment didn’t have air conditioning)   but in no time flat I was up meeting her and her new friends.

This back up was a great plan .. I on the other hand did have another back up to get me out of a date which was to take them to karaoke.  If a date wasn’t going well I would suggest that I had a friend who did karaoke nearby – which was true!  Karaoke does something to people.  It brings people together to talk .. and better to drink!  It is also a distraction. If you can’t talk to the person you can talk about the latest American idle on stage or just watch in amazement as the latest drunken person to be belting out total eclipse of the heart takes to the stage.
This unfortunately did happen to this guy who I met at The Australian.  The conversation was easy enough when talking about the meat pie in front of us or the fact Australians don’t drink Fosters but that’s where the conversation ended… at least for me.  He was quite happy to keep talking and putting his arm around me – eeewweee .. no touching on the first date!  I casually mentioned that my friend hosted karaoke near by and he was up for the night to continue.  Once we had a few drinks (and he was a little drunker) and I sang a few songs, it was an easier way to let him down that I’d had a great but I didn’t think we would be singing karaoke together again.

But for those reading this that has been to karaoke with me it’s not always the case of taking bad dates, karaoke can suit any number of occasions for me.  Birthdays, happiness and also when I want to say something special to someone I can’t say in words .. so the next time I or someone takes you to karaoke just check there may just be another motive behind it .. and if it is because your date is letting you down easy call me I’ll be there to rescue you!

Dress 28 : Request for Back Up
Bought : 5 years ago
Price Range : 49.00
From: Quicksilver New York
What I like About it : The colour, the meterial and the neckline is very flattering.
Tag Info: Made in Macau, Roxy by Quicksilver, 100% cotton
Photo Credit : K.Brett

Dress 19 : You give me Butterflyz

Growing up as I mentioned I loved listening to Whitney and Mariah.  I would listen to Rick Dees and the Weekly Top 40 once a week that was broadcast on Fox FM and it was the top 40 from the USA.  While other kids at school were listening to Nirvana or Silverchair I was listening to Toni Braxton, Monica and Tupac.  I didn’t really see it as different until I changed to my second high school and the cutest boy in class offered to rescue my tape when it was eaten by my Walkman.  He only gave me a look when it was rescued and he saw it was Boyz II Men.

I did listen to all the main pop music that was coming out like Aqua and Britney Spears.  But at the time I was happier discovering people like Destiny’s Child and Mase.  One of those discoveries around that time was Alicia Keys!  I remember paying her album Songs in A Minor for the first time and it felt like I was transported straight to Harlem.  Her voice was so rich and pure it was an amazing album to listen to.

A few times at school the boys would give me a hard time and call me names for listening to RnB and rap.  I discovered one day that they were all listening to the same!  I will admit I did also wear cross colour jeans (no dresses then) and did try to braid my hair in little plaits.  This was also while wearing Billabong and Rip Curl, I was certainly a walking contradiction.

Around that time it seemed that the smaller ethnic groups were drawn to RnB and rap.  I remember going to RnB singing competitions when I was in a duet and all the people introducing themselves as ‘Malaysian Australian’ ‘Chilean Australian’ and then they would look to me and ask ‘So what are you?’.. I’d answer ‘Australian’ and they would ask ‘But what about your parents?’ and again I would answer ‘Australian’.  I was at this time in the minority but as soon as everyone started dancing to Next or Mary J Bleige race or nationality were completely forgotten.  There is even video of me in an RnB group called Tabu where I actually rap TLC (that video will never be seen again!).

Moving to the US you would have thought I was in music heaven.  One moment that makes me smile is driving down an LA freeway with a friend who worked at Disneyland and he was impressed when I could rap the whole of Tupac’s California Love in an Australian accent.  But being there and listening to that music my interest in it started to wear off. It really didn’t fit who I was or give me any sort of reflection of where I was in life.  It was only then that I discovered rock,  music and lyrics that actually meant more to me. 

I will still always have a soft spot for Brandy and dance along to Montel Jordan but now my music heart belongs solely to another genre. 

Day 19 : You give me Butterflyz
Bought: 6 months
Price Range: 10.00
From: H&M New York
What I like about it: I LOVE the colours and the pattern. 
Tag Info: Made in India,H&M, 100 % polyester
Photo Credit: KMcKinnon

Dress 15 : You're my butterfly

This week I will be wearing butterfly dresses and coincidently many of my favourite songs are called Butterfly.  I’m hoping to blend dresses and music this week – two of my favourite things together wrapped into a story.

Delta Goodrem - Butterfly


When I moved the first time to California, Delta Goodrem had just been unleashed on the music industry in Australia and I remember walking down the Streets in Orange County when we felt home sick singing along to Born To Try.  When I returned to Australia Delta was everywhere!!  I had met her a few times while working on Neighbours and she was always a friendly, down to Earth girl playing the Bishop’s piano during set breaks.

I think at one point in time the stats said that 1 in every 3 households owned Delta’s first album Innocent Eyes and returning to Australia I became one of those.  I loved her vocal range and the way she actually would sing on pop songs.  She became a favourite in my stereo, microphone and mirror combinations!  When I came home to Australia I had started to date a boy from New York, let’s call him Boyfriend C.  There’s some people you meet in life and you have this indescribable connection like you’ve met before in another time and place and the universe is returning you back to the other.

When I met boyfriend C it was that feeling.  I didn’t matter he had a thinc NY accent and I couldn’t understand a word he said there was something there.  We dated long distance for 6 months and then I returned in NY summer to spend two weeks with him and meet his family.  Dating long distance you have to get creative in the ways you communicate.  I had started sending him CD’s of songs that reminded me of him and when he said his American buddies had caught him listening to ‘Never tear us Apart’ by Inxs I couldn’t stop laughing.
 
I had an amazing summer in NY learning about catching fire flies, drinking at his local bar and meeting his friends and we went on a road trip up to Niagara Falls.  After the two weeks was up being the romantic that I am I wrote the lyrics to this song and left it on his bed on the way to the airport - even though I had made him listen to Inxs I knew I may be stretching the relationship a little too far to make him listen to Delta.  About 3 months later the struggle with distance, miscommunication and leading different lives we broke up, my first real heartbreak. 

But as fate would have it I was offered a job in New York and a few months after we had broken up I moved back to NY.  I ended up moving in with Boyfriend C and his family on Long Island (not the smartest move to move in with your Ex and his entire family – readers never, never do this!!).  Our story did continue for a while after that but ultimately we were not even meant to even be friends and after a period of time for us which is a whole other story in itself I felt strong enough to flee to New York City.  I finally became the independent and brave girl that was hidden behind a small girl from Australia.  I contacted him a few years ago when I heard his Dad, who had always been so nice to me had passed away ,and he thanked me for my email.  We have also since become Facebook friends but it still makes me sad to think of that innocent 21 year old girl who thought he was the rest of her life to him now being pretty much a stranger to me.

Once I arrived in New York City I remember on nights when I was lonely I would put on Delta’s Innocent Eyes CD and fall asleep to it.  It was something comforting that listening to this it always brought me home in some way.  When I started at my Australian office I told people about Delta and they had never heard of her!  A few years later she did come to New York as they were trying to launch her in the States and my office and I went down to support her appearance on NBC’s Today show.  As did Molly Meldrum who was doing a special for the Sunrise show in Australia.

After her interview Molly brought her over to meet us and as she got closer to us she gave me a funny look.  As I was at the end of the row of people I was last to speak with her.  When she got to me she said “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to give you a funny look but I feel like I know you from somewhere” and that’s when I laughed and said “Yeah I used to work on Neighbours”.   She breathed a sigh of relief and laughed to herself and said “Oh good I thought I was going crazy I’d love to chat some more but I have to run and sing in the studio, it was so nice to see you again though”.

Delta songs became a favourite to sing at karaoke – there was never any competition to sing them and many times people would come up and ask who the artist I was singing was.  Steve even learnt back-up vocals to ‘A Little too late’.  Delta has had moderate success in the US and maybe this year will be the year she finally takes it over.  The US is always in the sites of ambitious Aussies and if I can take on the USA and make it .. I’m pretty sure Delta can too .. and I hope she does.

Yours in Dresses
Skye 

Day 15: You’re my Butterfly
Bought: 1 year ago
Price Range: $35.00
From: Valley Girl, Perth, Western Australia
What I like about it: I LOVE the fact I found a dress that makes me happy to wear white!  I love the butterflies!
Tag Info: Made in China, Valley Girl, 100% Polyester
Photo Credit: DWhite, SCondon

Dress 9 : Forget the Purple Dress!

Given the small apartments, lack of cupboards and daily shopping sprees, girls in New York tend to have yearly clean outs.  This would involve inviting all of your girlfriends over popping a bottle of champagne, cheese and dip on the table and a bed full of clothes you were willing to part with (to make space for more clothes!)

Today’s Dress came from one of Joy’s clean outs.

When you live away from your real family you tend to make your own out of the friends you have made while living overseas.  Like family they are always there when you need them most.  One day I needed them more than ever.  While on a first date on the 4th of July with an attractive British boy we were chatting over a pint at one of my favourite pubs in New York when I suddenly felt like I was on fire – and no I had not been hit by an out of control firework!  My whole body was burning up, I was lucky that a good old Irish bar tender I knew was on duty and I promptly asked him for a glass of water and that he kept one eye on pouring beer and one on me in case I literarily blew up.  Being an Aussie I thought I’ll be right and promptly stayed at my place in the bar.  After all isn’t it the worst excuse on a first date to suddenly say I have to go home I’m sick!!

After an hour I really felt like I was going to die, so I said the line to my date.  He felt my head and his face was overcome with shock.  He exclaimed he had never felt anyone that hot in his life – I took this both as a compliment .. and confirmation that I needed to get home and to some panadol fast!  My New York taxi ferried me into the night I grabbed some aspirin and fell into bed.  A night of switching between shivering and sweating ensured and when I woke up in the morning things hadn’t improved.  I took more aspirin and messaged Joy and Rachel to please come to my apartment as soon as possible I needed my family!!  They both arrived at 4pm with icy poles, lozenges, water and Chinese food. 

I crawled back in a hoody and coward under my doona while Rachel and Joy discussed what they could do with me.  I tried to keep up the whole I’ll be fine but my temperature was at 103 degrees and didn’t look like budging.  By this stage the girls were really worried so they did what any girl in a crisis does, Rachel phoned her Dad in Oregon.  Rachel’s Dad is famous to us girls as a man who can fix anything and on this day even though he was States away from us we looked to him for a solution. Rachel’s dad also fixes other things – premature babies and helps them to breathe so he was more than qualified to handle a little temperature like mine.  After Rachel explained my symptoms he ordered her to take me to the Emergency room.  Now if I thought Rachel was scary in putting me in line to clear out my clothes, she was even scarier when getting me out of my bed to go to the hospital.  She was able to combat every one of mine ‘But I’ll be fine it’s just a temperature’ and with Joy help me to a taxi.

In the Emergency Room 15 minutes later I was rushed into see the triage nurse who does the preliminary assessment.  After asking me a few questions the nurse looked up to ask “Do they belong to you?” I was like “huh?” and then I realised he was pointing to the window and there were Joy and Rachel concerned faces pushed up to the window!  I claimed them as mine and the nurse advised one would be allowed to come in with me and then they could switch over at any point. 
As my temperature had been so high for 24 hours I was taken straight into the wards and with Joy allowed to come in first Rachel waited for her turn.  I got a lecture from a very camp male nurse that honey when you have a temperature you should not take aspirin as it actually enlarges your brain and you should always take paracetamol!  They monitored me until the doctor could come and see me.  30 minutes later my temperature was still too high but the Doctor came to check me over.  Now as far as Doctors go this had to be the most good looking doctor I had ever seen and he was a cool doctor because he was wearing army pants! – I guess more room to hold stethoscopes and needles. 

He poked and prodded me and advised that my throat airway was actually nearly closed.  After a saliva swab he thought I had strep throat.  He monitored me for another ten minutes and then advised I would need a steroid shot to keep my airways open.  With Joys hand in mine I took the shot and continued to wait for my temperature to drop.  Joy switched with Rachel and after another 30 minutes or so my temperature finally decreased a little.  I was released with prescriptions and pretty pink ER admission papers.  I was on house quarantine for a week and lost a lot of weight – which is never a bad thing.
 
Rushing to get ready for work a few weeks later I decided to pull out this red dress and wear it for the first time since receiving it from Joy.  As I was getting ready to leave my buzzer went.  At 8:30 in the morning I wasn’t used to having visitors so I pressed the buzzer to say “who is it” thinking it must be someone locked out, this tended to happen a lot when people would lock themselves out of the apartment building they would just buzz everyone until someone opened the door.  The person answered back “It’s me” and I’m like “who?” and he replied again “it’s me”.  I didn’t have time to play the It’s me game so I buzzed them in. 

I have a thing called movie moments – moment that would only happen if it was a movie (Taylor Swift song if this was a movie included below to set the mood).  I had my first movie moment on that day because when I opened my front door standing in front of me was my ex-boyfriend we shall call him Boyfriend A (he will have a post of his own coming up I’m sure, so I won’t go into too much detail about him just now). 

While dating Boyfriend A he had a habit of going missing, not calling for days and being an illegal immigrant from Ireland was used to keeping hidden.  This was one of the main reasons I had broken up with Boyfriend A, the actual illegal thing didn’t bother me so much when he explained his reasons for trying to come to America.  I hadn’t seen him in about 5 months and he was one boyfriend I don’t think I ever fully let go of.  So when he showed up like that, that day I was shocked and literary had to sit down.  When he saw me in the red dress, noticeably skinnier, he said “Bub you look amazing, forget the purple dress this dress is much better”.  I had a purple dress I used to wear that he loved. We had a quick catch up of each other’s lives and then he gave me a lift to the subway.  I was so blown away that rushing to leave the apartment I put on two different shoes!!   

After that day I never saw or heard from him again.  Even three years later I still wonder what happened to him.  I have no idea why he dropped in that day or what he wanted,  I guess he will always be an unfinished part of my life.

Thank you Joy and Rachel for being my substitute family , giving me hot dresses like this and holding my hands when I needed it most on that occasion and the many times you held my hand over Boyfriend A. 

Frock Up Fridays continue to be so much fun at work, with heaps more of the girls at work joining in the dress movemoment .. even a boy snuck into this one even though his dress didn't fit he still got in the spirit of my project - thank you Kon you look adorable you totally frock!

Yours in dresses

Skye

Day 9

Dress: Forget the purple dress
Received: 4ish years ago
Price Range: Free
What I like about it: It reminds me of Joy and it doesn’t require ironing!!
Tag Info: Made in USA, Steps,91% Rayon 9% Spandex
Photo Credit: FGreenland & SDobson

Sunday Video Ad'dress' : The One That Got Away

Today I thought I would share a video post for what I like to call the "Sunday Ad'dress".  Today I reflect and share with thoughts on the week just past and show you some dresses that 'got away' and didn't make it into my closet... my closet is breathing a huge side of relief I on the other hand look back with sadness at what could have been! 

PS: Thank you to Pink for a great song and song title to inspire the name of this post.

Yours in Dresses,

Skye

Dress 4 : You never know where you willl find inspiration or a friend!

Most days I wake up, find my way in the dark to the shower (because my eyes don’t really wake up until I’m out of the shower), get out of the shower, traipse to my room leaving wet footprints and rummage through my closet to find the nearest clean piece of clothing.  These days I have to be more careful!!! I don’t want to pull out a dress I absolutely love … and then not be able to wear it again for a really long time.  But today was an exception because I was wearing this dress that is one of my favourites at the moment for a very special person.  I also wore this dress because it works as something to wear in the office and something to wear out at night.

When I moved to New York I knew 2 people.  Through my first few years I made and lost friends.  Found people who were real and those who were not.  Within a year I had a few really good people around me who are still extremely close friends with me to this day but I hadn’t made a group of girlfriends like I had here in Australia.  What I mean by that is the type of girlfriends that you call at a minutes notice to hold your hand when you’re sad at 2am, a coven who share and keep your deepest secrets, that don’t care that you sing the same song at karaoke every single time and drag them there even though they hate karaoke!!!

Then one day I met Joy.  We actually didn’t strike a friendship at first and we even laugh to this day that it took us so long to be friends.  She started a few years after I started at my job and given the nature of her job she was immediately extremely busy and didn’t have a lot of time to get to know everyone.  The limited interaction we had didn’t really give us a chance to bond.  Then one day we both ended up at an American Australian function.  Mix ball gowns, Olivia Newton John (yes live!!) and some champagne and you have an instant recipe for friendship!! That night we got chatting and 6 or so years later haven’t stopped.

Once we actually could stop and get to know each other I met an extremely interesting, fun, worldly and beautiful person.  She taught me how to use chopsticks, I made her sing karaoke.  She explained to me what paprika was (yes I will admit I didn’t know) and I made her wear black nail polish for the first time!  Meeting Joy was finding that dot to connect all those other dots.  I was already lucky enough to have found my lost other half (Mel .. but more to come on her) but meeting Joy gave me closure to an open circle.  In turn I also met Rachel (as mentioned in the first blog .. also more to come on her!) and Bec and Rose and Zoe and Fran and Sarah and soooooooooo many other people to name.  I found my coven to share my deepest darkest secrets, I found the girls to hold my hand at 2am in the morning when I was sad, I found those who would listen to me sing the same song at karaoke every single time.

When I left New York it broke my heart to leave those girls behind.  But one by one as I was building my life back in Australia they were missing me terribly and started to move home!! Haha no … for some it was time and others it was to follow their hearts but I got my wish and some moved home including Joy.  Today she was visiting Melbourne, as she lives in another state in Australia.  So this dress I wore for her.  I won’t go into it now but while in New York I discovered my dark side and found a fascination with gothic imagery and one element that come out a lot are skulls.  When Joy and I became friends I introduced her to some of my rock influences including skulls which sort of became a theme to us.  Since we were having dinner tonight I thought I would wear this dress to show her.  It’s not often we get to compare cute dresses together in the same place.  She and I would also frequent De Janeiro together and she was the one to introduce me to the awesomeness of tights (another blog post to give homage to them later).

I miss her a lot.  I miss being able to call her up and get white castle and sit on my couch in my apartment and just talk.  I miss so many things about her.  But one thing being home has taught me is that real friends are always friends no matter where you are in the world.  I also have realised that being home has allowed me to still have these friends but also make new ones.

I was so amazed at work today when a co-worker announced to me that she had worn a dress and called today Frock Friday.  She had asked other colleagues of ours to also wear dresses.  She had been reading my blog since day 1 and it inspired her to pull out a dress.  I have been in this job for almost 11 months and today made me realise that I have not only found co-workers who support me but also new friends.  All of the girls, who I must say looked so super cute kindly agreed to be photographed together for a special photo on today’s blog.  Hopefully frock Friday will continue because it was so lovely to see the girls together trading stories of dresses, maybe next week the boys will join us!? 

So tonight I feel thankful for friends old and new and that dresses seem to have given me the chance to bring a smile to other people and to bring people together.. who knew a piece of material could be so powerful?!

Yours in dresses

Skye

Day 4
Dress : Skeleton Surprise
Bought : 4 months ago
Price Range : $59.95 (on sale!)
Where bought : Dangerfield, Chadstone.
What I like about it : I love the pattern!  You don't notice it is skeletons at first ... then you look closer!!! Also that it is a size 13!!!
Tag Info : Designed in Melbourne, Made in China, Black Friday, 100% Polyester
Photo Credit: JDuncan, SBrown (group shot)

PS: Don't the girls look so adorable!!! L to R with dress brands  Erin (dress details secret), Sal (Leona), Lisa (Veronica Maine), Skye (Black Friday), Helen (Stiches), Rochelle (dress detals secret), Pip (Raw Cloth - a cute shop in Darwin .. thinking Darwin needs to be on my next shopping list how cute are those carrots!!)