(pictures from greenweddingshoes.com)

So as you know, my life at the moment is rather wedding consumed. But I've got to say that I am loving weddings these days!? They seem to be so personal and unique and really creative! No longer is the traditional, princess-style-church-set-wedding the norm but instead couples are having their wedding in a way that authentically reflects them. With D.I.Y decorations and personal touches (as featured above) there's a real sense of fun and that shabby-chic vibe we all love!

A lot of people are also making their weddings ethical these days, which I think is pretty cool. I've discovered quite a few ethical wedding alternatives that I'm going to suggest to my sister, here's a couple of my faves!

'Couples are having their wedding

 in a way that reflects them'

The ring ...
So, I haven't been looking so much at rings, seeing as it's not my wedding, but quite a few of my recently engaged friends have gone for vintage, art-deco rings which seem to be the current trend and are stunningly beautiful. After watching the heart-wrenching movie 'Blood Diamond' though, it would probably be good to check you only buy conflict-free diamonds, so you know no one suffered for your sparkle!

The gift registry ...
I think this is a really easy way to make your wedding ethical. Everyone is going to be forking out cash so that you can start a marital home well with all the necessary items. But why not make sure they're also planet-friendly purchases and set up your registry with an ethical company? Or if you're feeling really generous you could even ask your guests to make donations to your charity of choice?

The party favours ...
You can give gifts that keep on giving. My favourite ideas were cute homemade gifts such as jars of homemade chutneys, jams, eco-shopping bags and picture frames. Another cute idea are mini plants like Bonsai trees and cacti.

The dress ...
So if your anything like me, when it comes to weddings, it's all about the dress. However these days the only way to make your dress vaguely ethical is to have it made locally out of fabrics like linen, silk or hemp. But if you can't do that you could always re-use one like your Mom's? Another option is to go for a pre-loved gown which you can get off websites like Love Me Twice and I Do Gowns, this one is pretty extreme, but if possible you could always use the material, remake it and change up the style a little?

Just a few options to make your special day even more special. I'll definitely be passing these on to my sister!

Nothing a bit of Chantilly cream won't fix ...

So today I baked. I seem to have a little bit of an obsession with pastries at the moment and had the perfect excuse to make myself a whole batch of them today! Tomorrow I am going to another tea party for cancer research as a part of 'Australia's Biggest Morning Tea'. I seem to spend my life sipping from china tea cups and stuffing down mini-everythings at the moment .. But who's complaining??

I decided to have a go at these (very easy) pastry hearts with Chantilly cream! Seriously they are YUM. I put them up on 'recipes' for anyone else who wants to try.

Anyhow. This last week has been crazy, wedding prep is nuts but it looks like I'll be heading over to the UK in just a month! I'm so excited to be with family and be back in my hometown with lots of English goodness. This week I'm going to attempt to be at the sewing machine making gifts and little bits of cuteness to take home to them all! We'll see how I go!

Oh and PS - Just got on Pinterest and loving it! Coming in very handy with all the long-distance wedding prep. Sometimes I love technology!

Fully Conscious

So I have some awesome news! Last week my sister got engaged! And that means I am headed back to the motherland for 3 weeks to see my family and then head off to sunny Morocco for holidays and the ceremony! I know, how exciting!?

Now amongst all the planning, flight booking and giddy Skype conversations with the sister, I have been giving some thought to my summer wardrobe! It is officially winter here in Sydney and I started swapping my gladiator sandals for chunky boots and my singlets for knitted layers a month or so ago!

''Conscious Collection' is affordable,

 beautiful and full of must-haves'

 So as I was dreaming of London fashion I realised that I need to hunt out some great ethical clothing stores so I can pick up some summery pieces for my African holiday! Much to my surprise I found out that H&M are releasing a new summer range that is totally ethical.

True to H&M the 'Conscious Collection' is affordable, beautiful and full of must-haves for the summer. In their production H&M have used greener materials, more sustainable operations and even support community development. So, I think I'm set for a trip to Morocco that keeps me true to my pledge. Summer holidays here I come!

( images from blogg.flingly.com )

My Trash. Your Treasure.

So this has been the first week of my 7 month pledge and to kick it off I had a clothes swap over the weekend with some girlfriends. After munching on macaroons and browsing organic food shops in Balmain, I got some girlfriends together for an evening of tea and scones and a clothes swap! I came away with a pair of black over-the-knee suede boots which I had been searching for for ages!Also a Witchery shrug, a summer dress and a beanie. Everyone left with at least three new items for their wardrobe and a big smile on their face!
The crazy thing is that according to the Australia Institute we spend $1.7 billion on clothing that is either never worn or worn very little. Rather than keeping these unworn pieces clogging up our wardrobes we can swap with friends and let someone else wear our valuable but unused clothes. This is a really good way to avoid wasteful consumption of precious resources and helps us look at more planet friendly and resourceful alternatives!

And I gotta say it feels good to find a new fashion fix whilst not spending a penny!

The Seven Month Pledge

Image from Heidi&Seek via isismade


As you all know, I started this blog to document my discoveries on how to incorporate altruistic things into the everyday. With my goal to learn how we in the Western World can make a difference in such huge issues such as global poverty, disease, slavery etc I have looked at small but significant changes I have chosen to make in the hope you might be inspired to do so too!
So, the news is that I have decided to set myself a challenge. One of my favourite humanitarian and environmental initiatives has got to be ethical fashion. It seems to be a reoccurring topic on my blog thus far and from now on it will be almost the only topic as I am choosing to buy only ethical fashion until December. That's right no high-street shopping! The goal is that I will learn how to live more ethically and it will become a lifestyle! So here's the pledge:

I pledge to only wear clothing that is one or more of the following:

1. Pre-loved
2. Handmade
3. Reconstructed
4. Made with ethical / environmentally friendly materials
5. Made by a company with strong ethical policy & workers’ rights

Now this is a 7 month trial before I up and move to London in December. I want to give myself the opportunity to get settled and work out the most ethical way to shop there AND possibly save up for a new sewing machine! However, this will be a lifestyle choice and one that I hope others feel inspired to follow too. If you want to take the pledge click here and join 'isismade' with the rest of us!

A cuppa tea.

Today I went to the most decadent High Tea party! My seriously beautiful friend Jen threw all her girlfriends a party to raise funds and tell us all about her upcoming trip to Africa. She has been a teacher for many years but resigned this year in order to spend some time teaching in third world nations. In June she will be heading to South Africa, Kenya and Uganda with 'Hope: Education' to train up teachers and assist teaching some of the poorest children who battle conditions such as HIV everyday. Isn't that amazing!?

So, we all donated towards her trip and spent some much needed girl time digging in to mini-cakes, ribbon sandwhiches and lots of tea! Here's some pics from our beautiful afternoon!!

A little distraction ..

I am writing this on a cold rainy afternoon in the middle of two very big papers that happen to be due on the weekend and as you can tell I am procrastinating! This month has been non-stop study wise and all I can do is dream of Monday when I am free and can do activities outside of the library! So whilst I continue on with the study, here are a few pics from my Easter ...when I had a life !! Hope your all having a great week! XX