Mentally checking out

Well, I have had a long break from blogging and updating this however, I have still been reading all my favourite blogs and pinning like a mad woman on pinterest so I am still around.

What have I been up to for the last 6 months?

Work, work, work, oh and some more work! This is how I have felt lately, as if there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done!



I find it hard to mentally “switch off” - my mind is always going, so I need to regularly schedule in some down time or I find that my weekend has flown by and I am in the office again on Monday morning all too soon feeling as though I haven’t left.

I find the best way to switch off for me is to indulge in some beauty routines, either DIY or at a professional salon. Nothing beats having a facial at the salon but it is hard to fit it in, not to mention all the different treatments required to look glamorous all the time can quickly add up. I love to spend an hour or two on a Sunday evening giving myself a pedicure, facial, body scrub and manicure, this gives me some time to relax and also means I am ready to face the week ahead, fully primped. There are thousands of recipes that can be found online that will only take a few minutes to mix up that will rival most bought products and will be able to help a myriad of problems be it dry skin, breakout skin oily skin etc. Most ingredients used will probably be in your pantry cupboard also or can be purchased cheaply on your next grocery shop.

There is endless inspiration to be found on pinterest also, I have saved a few of my favourites - http://pinterest.com/megan_rose/diy-beauty/

I found this great article recently, via The Glamorous Housewife . Dita is the epitome of modern day glamour and she shares lots of her tips and tricks here.

How do you unwind, do you set aside time often to mentally “check out”? How do you make yourself feel special?

In which I am fooling myself

That I would have the dedication to regularly contribute to this blog.
I start with the best of intentions and it always seems to go by the wayside once I become busy and then leave it so long between posts.
But, I have come to realise that this may be one of the only places where I can get a break from stress and real life and escape for a bit so I need to get back into it.
So, I shall make a post later today and schedule in time to regularly post. I spend alot of time online reading others blogs and using pinterest so I am still around!

So, what would interest you for me to blog on?

Testing of the tasty kind

Our new oven is electric, rather than gas which I am used to. So, it called for a bit of experimenting to get used to a different type of baking.

Today’s effort was a lemon meringue pie, delicious by all accounts!

Lavender dreaming...

What a stressful last few months we have had... A family property much closer to our work became available unexpectedly, and with absolutely no prior intentions of moving from our home, we packed up and moved in under 2 weeks (crazy, I know, and not something I want to EVER repeat again, especially still travelling 4 hours each day to work and coming home to pack until midnight). It is amazing how much junk you find you have once you have to pack it all up!

We have now been in our new place almost 3 months and are settling in well and starting to make the place our own. Husband is away for work at the moment so I am working on a makeover in our bedroom to surprise him when he returns. I had never really unpacked or set up our bedroom properly when we first moved in, and it is also very different to our old bedroom. Our old bedroom was very French boudoir with blacks, grays and silver with splashes of red. Our new bedroom has pale lavender walls so I have decided on a smoky grey and silver theme. The below pinterest board was my inspiration

www.pinterest.com/megan_rose/lavender-bedroom/

Lavender or shades of purple are not particularly my favourite colour, but as we are now renting, I have no say in the matter. It actually looks lovely and feminine with the silver shades and touches of gray. I will post pictures of the completed room once I am done. Although it is a functioning bedroom, not of show home quality like the ones in my pinterest board. I am waaaay too messy for it to stay like that all the time! And I don't have a fireplace in my bedroom (I wish!)

Cleaning out my closet...

Hello!

I have been busy, busy of late, cleaning out my closet after being inspired by The Glamorous Housewife’s recent posts on creating a capsule wardrobe. I have been throwing out anything that is unflattering, pilled, looking a bit tired and generally just not things that make me feel fabulous! This was a bit hard for me as I do have some hoarding tendencies (according to my husband, mind you!) and the realisation that the items that have been in the mending pile for two years already probably don’t have a very high likelihood of being taken up or altered and would be best to go to charity was a tough one.

It does however; now mean that I have a very functional and streamlined wardrobe. In an ideal world, I would be able to have only one wardrobe that would be able to cater for any function or event with the right accessories and shoes etc but this doesn’t seem to work for me. I have one section of the wardrobe for work wear. I wear very corporate wear for work so these are not things that I can wear on the weekend or to other events. Then I have a section of casual and more formal wear for weekends, family functions, shopping & catching up with friends. This is mostly made up of dresses and separates that I can either dress up or down depending on the occasion. Lastly, I have my more formal and cocktail wear. This generally gets worn when I do a cruise or attend work functions/awards etc for my work or with my husband.

Luckily I have accessories that are interchangeable with all three components of my wardrobe. I think that is the key to creating a more streamlined wardrobe, even though I can’t really wear my work clothing to a weekend event, I can use the same accessories for a weekend or more casual look.
I’ve put together a few looks using items very similar to what I already have in my wardrobe to give you some ideas.

And lastly, I can’t stress enough, buy the very best quality you can afford for the basics – a good quality white shirt, a good pair of fitted and bootleg jeans, some tops to mix and match, at least one cardigan and some basic black heels and flats. I’m not saying you have to spend hundreds on each item but be prepared to invest a little bit extra in these items; they will wear better in the long run and be better value for money in the end. Save money on accessories or on trend items that may only be around for one season.

Oh, and neck scarves, you can never have too many scarves... You can pick up cheap vintage/vintage inspired ones in op shops... I wear one 80% of the time.

Interchangeable wardrobe by meganh89 featuring ballerina flats

Becoming the more fabulous me!

So I have decided to create my own blog after spending many hours whiling away my time reading others who share the same interests as I do. First of all, the name... New World Nana... as most of my interests are those that would usually be associated with those in the over 60 category. I love baking and keeping house, cooking in general, gardening, craft and vintage clothing, hairstyles and memorabilia, in particular the late 40's and 50's, they were so glamorous in everything they did! I've started this blog in an attempt to become more fabulous in all aspects of my life, whether it be shopping for groceries, weeding in the garden or baking in my kitchen.