here are my tips for job interviews:

• pop a breath mint before hand
• take a pen and paper and write down their questions as you go, and as you're answering pretend to tick off the points you wanted to make (people are sheep, if you look like you think you've answered the question, they might too. especially if they have stopped listening)
• remove your chipped black nail polish the night before. noone wants to hire someone who looks like a lazy goth.
• eyemakeup - no amount is too much
• make your panel laugh. which is not necessarily difficult. the hard part is figuring out if it is with or at you.
• avoid making miss world statements akin to wanting world peace as a result of your appointment.
• pause before answering questions to give the appearance that you are thinking about the answer, even if you only have one example left and you were planning to use it regardless of the question.

i can't tell you if these tips work or not. because i haven't heard back from my panel. which is probably not strange since the interview finished at four pm today. i guess i will keep you posted. another tip, which is i think probably best avoided, this morning i realised i look like my mother.


i was just taking my morning selfie, as you do, and lo! i look like my mother in the photos from when i was just born. goddamned nose.

anyway on the topic of selfies, TRAGEDY! this week's fashion challenge was tragically cut short by the scattering of my beads all over the kitchen floor after an altercation between the beads and a door knob. but short as it is, below i present:

fashion challenge!!!!! part iv

week four: candy beads

history of the necklace: i bought this on my sister's wedding day. she was being a semi bridezilla. as in she decided about three hours before her wedding ceremony to go shoe shopping. i blogged about it at the time. but left out the part where i left her and her other bridesmaid and bought this necklace.

it went with the shoes i had bought. plus looked like lollies. who could resist? although really i often wished i had because it is really long and i had nowhere to put it.

day one: purple rain

i thought what would work with such a colourful necklace was to pick the general hue (a pinky purple) as a key piece of the outfit and then have the rest of my outfit as plain as poss. cardi from veronika maine (my fave piece of the summer), top from world season 08, and skirt from the internets. all up cost around $170.

i enjoyed wearing this outfit. mostly cos i enjoyed wearing the necklace. here i am first thing in the morning. overjoyed.

although truth be known i was listening to robert palmer on chelsea clinton so that may explain the smile as well.

i really would have struggled finding another outfit to wear with this necklace. i once had a wardrobe dominated by pink clothes. currently i own one top that is vaguely pink, but actually it is more purple.

the problem with the necklace breaking is that i didn't get to give it away. and pay it forward or whatever. luckily i recovered most of the bigger beads from the kitchen floor. so i may make a bead art work. or just throw them out. i haven't decided yet.

fashion challenge!!!!!!

when i cleaned up my act and got organised i discovered i had about a million necklaces and half a million rings and a further 75,000 badges, brooches or buttons. and i couldn't part with a single one. so this week i turned my accessories cull into sport.

the rules: each sunday i pick a piece of jewellery and i have to wear it at least three days that week with outfits that match sufficiently well. the outfits must be different each day.

the prize: if i successfully find three outfits that match the jewellery AND that i'm prepared to wear in public i get to keep the piece of jewellery. if i can't do it, the jewellery gets given away or thrown out or sold (in the case of anything that actually might be worth something).

week one: the peapod necklace.

the history of the necklace: bought from etsy for $9 (although it is currently selling for $10US and interesting the seller is not shipping to NZ any more). i am not sure what made me buy this other than from mid-last year anything green caught my eye. plus i love peas. which not everyone can say. i think i MAYBE wore it twice in six months... until the fashion challenge that is.

day one: end of the holidays

although it wasn't my first day back at work this year, monday was for most people in my office. and i gave them such a treat with this ensemble.

dress: $85 from brooklyn industries (???) last year in (what do you know) brooklyn, ny. cardigan $unknown, bought about three years ago from jacqui e.

here i am in the outfit. have to say overall i thought the outfit successful although noone commented on the necklace.

Day two: the colour purple

in the early 90s i thought no colour combination held a candle to purple and green. which is why i owned purple tracksuit pants. but anyway, that was a lifetime ago. today i paid homage to that colour combo with this outfit.


cardigan $95 from veronika maine (on sale!) top $75 from world (on sale!) and skirt (not pictured) $20 (reduced from $120). so basically this is my bargain of the century outfit.


and as you can see, i work this outfit. comments abound for the necklace with people SURPRISED at its price. as in they probably thought it was a priceless collectors piece. again, i count this outfit a success.

day three: crunch time

anyway tomorrow is d-day. i spent 45 minutes scouring my wardrobe for another outfit to match the necklace. and i have to say... it was nearly impossible. in the end i decided on this...

tee: $15 from cotton on! adelaide (august 2006), singlet $? from glassons about three years ago, skirt $100 from gregory at least two winters ago.

i haven't put them all on together yet so not sure that it will work. but i'm fairly confident i'll at least make it out of the door tomorrow morning in the outfit, therefore meeting my "wear it in public" criterion. and i obviously think they go together sufficiently otherwise i wouldn't wear in public. therefore: week one is a success and the peapod necklace stays with me. hurrah.

** prices are included where possible because i'm totally obsessed with my fashion budget. it is the unintended consequence of trying to be more fiscally responsible.