One last time, with hair. (ft. the $49 outfit & ladylike glamour)

Tomorrow, I'll be shaving my much-loved locks off, in the name of charity. While we've had a few family members opposed to the idea (read: old-school Asians who think that Vietnamese girls should all be slender, soft spoken, light-skinned and have long, straight hair...as we all know I possess none of these features anyway), most people have been amazingly supportive. I am so, so grateful to have such beautiful, generous souls behind us and I am humbled and overwhelmed by the kindness that we have been shown.

I'm not going to lie, I'm extremely nervous about the day ahead, and the idea of baring my oddly-shaped head. But at the end of the day, it's just hair, it grows back. There are many more important things out there, and if people are willing to pay to see it go - to give to a charity that has helped, and will continue to help, so many people going through an absolutely (for lack of a better word) shit phase of their lives - well, then, away it will go.

 Right now our total stands at $6685, which is just $815 off the rather ambitious goal I set. Even if we don't make it, we'll be pretty freaking close, and whatever happens I'm so extremely proud of our team and the efforts each one of us has made to get this far. I have faith though. I have a feeling that we'll get there in the end. And if we do, one Mr Aron Poole will also be losing the chest hair (by wax, ouch!).

You can still donate here (if you haven't already, please do, it's a great cause!):

http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/vinhluong

http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/teamawesome

We'll be sure to take plenty of pictures!

So, this will be my last post with hair for a while. Have I mentioned that I love my (messy, unruly, frustratingly-sticky-to-my-facey) hair?

This was Thursday, feeling pink. This whole outfit, top to toe, cost me $49. The dress was one dollar. Yes, you read that right. ONE DOLLAR. (And no, it's not because it was stained...those marks on the skirt part are just because I was being a grub and washed my hands and then wiped them on my dress haha).

 

Dress: Supre; Belt: Dotti; Shoes: Novo; Bag: Vintage; Ring: Colette by Colette Hayman.

And this, was today (well technically, now yesterday). I decided that for my last day of hair I'd dress as ladylike as I possibly could, because I'm not sure how well I can pull off the ladylike-look (my favourite look of the moment, as I'm sure you've noticed from my previous posts) with a shaved head. I'm actually kind of obsessed with this outfit - I felt so amazing, classy and girly in it! If only I had somewhere more fancy to go than my cousin's house followed by martial arts at Fairfield/Cabramatta PCYC lol. Ah well. As long as I felt good, right?

 

Top: Cotton On; Skirt: Romwe; Shoes: Diavolina; Bag: Vintage: Sunnies: Chanel; Ring: Colette by Colette Hayman; Watch: Marc by Marc Jacobs.

 

A Lady of Leisure

Thought me being currently (f)unemployed would mean more regular posts? Well I sure showed you didn't I!

Haha, seriously though, so did I. I've been planning to post for a while now but the life of a Lady of Leisure can actually get pretty full on. And even when it's not, I rarely find myself able to actually force myself to sit down and write - the procrastination is strong in this one, even if it's from things I actually enjoy doing.

Since we last met, I did a brief stint 'working' (read: sitting there and making sure no one steals anything) at my dad's shop, had a massive wardrobe and shoe collection clean out (about fifteen huge bags full of clothes and over 200 pairs of shoes got the flick), celebrated the year of the sheep/goat (so Asian!), applied for some jobs I've yet to hear back from, made a cameo at Glebe Markets, dealt with some family dramas, and, oh yeah...signed up for this:



That's right. On the 14th of March, 2015, I, Vinh Luong, will be shaving my head to raise money for The Leukaemia Foundation. Those of you who know me well enough will know that I absolutely ADORE my hair, so this is a huge deal for me. I'm getting pretty nervous about it now that the count down is just reaching 10 days; reality is just starting to set in. 10 days left until I reveal my unevenly-shaped head to the world. I'm a bit anxious just thinking about it, but at the end of the day, it's just hair - it grows back. If shaving it off means that I get to help raise funds for an organisation that does such great work to help people who are going such a tough time in their live, then bring on the clippers! Cancer is shit. I'll take any chance I can to kick it's arse.

If you can afford it, please donate generously to myself here or my team here. Any donation, big or small, goes a long way, and is greatly appreciated!

In the mean time, enjoy one of my last few posts feat. hair. Weekday casual (pretending to work at Dad's shop):

 

Top & Cardigan: Cotton On; Jeans: Ziggy Denim; Shoes: Human (Premium Collection); Hat: Rubi; Necklaces: Dotti & Diva; Ring: Lovisa; Watch: Marc by Marc Jacobs.

And being a real Lady of Leisure:

Top & Skirt: Blossom; Shoes: Diavolina; Bag: Vintage (Glebe Markets); Necklace: Colette by Colette Hayman; Watch: Marc By Marc Jacobs.

Being a lady (of leisure)

So, it's my first week off after finishing up at work. So far I've bought three pairs of shoes, a bag, four tops, three dresses, two scarves, a pair of shorts, a skirt and a drink bottle. Apparently my debit card doesn't know we're unemployed yet. I'm avoiding looking at my bank account. I blame the Peter Warren Service Centre for being so close to Westfields, and so busy that I had three hours to kill before I could pick up my car.

I don't know about you guys, but I've been a little obsessed with midriff tops and matching skirts/shorts lately. Summer heat makes ab-baring seem oh-so-right. And this season, retailers have hit the nail straight on the head. Today, I'm feeling like quite the lady in my lemon-yellow set:

  Top & Skirt: Forever New; Shoes: Novo; Bag: Vintage (Glebe Markets); Necklace: Colette By Colette Hayman; Watch: Marc by Marc Jacobs.

compilation

To say that it's been a while is an understatement. I apologise as per usual, but make no promises that it won't happen again. In fact, I promise that it probably will happen again. I know all too well that quite often, life gets in the way of me and the blogosphere.

Since we last touched base - the blogosphere and I - much has happened. And at the same time, not all that much. Another year, another chapter, ended. There were celebrations, there was laughter, there were tears. A certain mister moved back to Sydney, and  I  we could not be happier. I ask him every time I see him if he's sick of me yet. He smiles and replies 'as if,' or rolls his eyes and repeats 'am I sick of you yet...' and occasionally, 'yes, oh my god, what are you even doing here again?!' to which I say 'GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM!'

Whoah, that escalated quickly.

I have still been thinking about you guys. I don't even know who 'you guys' are. Who reads this shit anyway? Who knows. Who cares? If I'm writing to an audience of one so be it. I'll just sit here refreshing the page to make it look like I'm heaps popular. Lol jks I don't do that...

I'll cut to the chase (fun fact: old films almost always ended with car chase scenes. If producers thought the movie was getting too lengthy and boring, they would cut the movie down straight to the end scene, and that's where the term 'cut to the chase' came from - that one was for you nic if you're reading lol) - this week has been a bit bitter sweet for me. Tomorrow, I have my last day at my current workplace. The end of my intern year means that I will now be fully qualified as a radiotherapist which is an achievement to  be celebrated. I don't know if I feel quite ready for the responsibility it entails though. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a bit scared of going out into that big wide world.

I'm sad to be leaving the place I've called home for the past twelve months. I'll miss the job. But most of all, the people. Thank you L/MCTC for solidifying the fact that I'm meant to be doing what I'm doing. Thank you, for making me want to be at work, every single day, no matter how trying it was at times.

On the plus side - I'll have a lot more time for blogging now! Haha. This was yesterday, on my last RDO:

 

 Top: Valley Girl; Shorts: Cotton On; Blazer: Scanlan&Theodore; Shoes: Novo; Bag: Vintage (Glebe Markets), Necklace: Equip; Watch: Marc By Marc Jacobs; Ring: Cotton On.

And these were the two consecutive days I rocked the same top, two ways and took photos with the intention of blogging but obviously didn't:

 

Top: Blossom; Shorts: Forever 21; Bag: Vintage (Glebe Markets); Shoes: Novo; Sunnies: Chanel.

 

Top & Skirt: Blossom; Bag: Vintage (Glebe Markets); Shoes: Dialvolina; Sunnies: Chanel.

And a random day in a maxi dress that I don't remember but found photos of on my camera:

Dress& Cuffs: Valley Girl; Shoes: Parisian.

Til next time, whenever that is.

Where are you going?

...one of my martial arts masters asks as I walk out of the change rooms at the local club where I train/casually instruct. They're used to seeing me in my uniform, with no shoes on, and my hair tied back, so I realise that seeing me in shorts and a nice top and sky high wedges must be odd to them. I suppose I am more dressed up than my usual Sunday gear, but it's really not anything out of the ordinary for me (a woman who does not believe in the concept that one can be overdressed).

"You know...out...places..." I try to sound coy when in actual fact I gave such an answer because I actually had no plans whatsoever but didn't want to admit to that.

I ended up at the shops FYI. Just 'having a look' resulted in two pairs of shoes, a top, a skirt, and some perfume. Whoops.

  

Like a gladiator

The weekends come and pass all too quickly these days, and I cannot believe that November is already upon us. The weather has been a bit psycho of late; confusing and unusual and incredible all at once.

On Saturday I awoke to already 30-something degree weather, the heat making it hard to breathe properly (but not stopping me from putting myself through a work out at my friend's place that morning because we're crazy like that). I entertained the possibility of a beach trip but my hopes were dashed when the sky turned from beautiful blue to the colour of concrete, and spilled buckets of water all over them. Never mind though - shopping, manis and pedis would suffice. And when the sky cleared - sun bathing on my balcony, followed by a Skype party date (including food, wine and music) with my one and only.

Saturday: a beautiful mess of confusion. And a dress to match the occasion.

Dress: Dotti; Belt: Bardot; Sandals: Urge (from Wanted Shoes); Cuff&Ring: Lovisa; Sunnies: Ray Ban

Sunshine, florals and my favourite colour(less) combination.

Sydney sure has been stepping up it's weather game as of late! Loving the sunshine and soaring temps - and dressing to match.

Today, floral print shorts (my latest obsession!) for lunch with the girls.

 

 Top: Mink Pink; Shorts: Ally, Shoes: Novo; Necklace: Gift; Sunnies: RayBan

And the other day, back to monochrome for what was meant to be a quick grocery shop  (but resulted in 8 pairs of shoes, woops!)

 

 Top & Shorts: Witchery; Sandals: Urge (from Wanted); Bag: Vintage; Sunnies: Chanel; Watch: Marc by Marc Jacobs.