well, see ya

I can't think of a single thing to say that will sum up how amazing this month has been. It has been a month of growth and discovery for me and I hope you've enjoyed coming on this journey with me.

My exams start tomorrow, and yes, I will be wearing shorts.

I'm ending the month with a reminder of a very special day in my life. This is my bridemaid dress from my sister's wedding way back at the beginning of the year.

Thank you to the nzgcf for allowing me to do this and supporting me. Thank you to Natalie, Asia, Victoria and Mum for lending me dresses. Thank you to those who convinced me to wear a different dress every day, not just the same dresses over and over. But most of all, thanks to all of you for your extreme generosity.

I'm ending the month with $666 in donations, but I will obviously still be accepting donations even after the challenge is officially over.

Love you all

xx Grace

we are all ninjas

A ninja is someone who comes out of nowhere to kick butt. Did you know that in real life, ninjas do not, in fact, dress all in black. Because the point of a ninja is to go unnoticed, and nothing is more noticable than a guy dressed in a ninja costume. If you ever encountered a real life ninja, they would look just like you or I.

Well here's what I think. I think we're all ninjas. Sooner or later, we're all going to step out of our real lives and kick butt. We're going to go ninja by getting A+ for an essay. Or go ninja by getting an interview at your dream job. Or go ninja raising over $600 for the NZGCF.

That's you guys. That's why you're ninjas. You kicked butt on this. I'm blown away by your ninjaness.

Just today and tomorrow left. And guess what? I DON'T HAVE A DRESS FOR TOMMORROW! Can you help me out please?

This one I bought when on holiday in Wellington with the lovely Laura (check out her new accessory brand Elle Elvish) from a shop called Indeja. It contains the most gorgeous and exotic clothing. I think this dress matches my henna tattoo.

xx Grace

fake last day

I am officially sick of my fringe. You may have noticed that over the month it has been getting longer and messier. I was trying to grow it out, to give myself some more options next time I get it cut. But I'm sick of it. So we'll see how long I last before I just cut it myself.

This is the dress from the pink 'logo' picture to the left. I thought it was time to bring this one out. I actually really like this dress, but never have anywhere fancy enough to wear it to. But today I am working in the Box Office, which means I need to wear black... and this is my last remaining black dress!

I've decided that after seeing the gorgeous tomboy Danielle win New Zealand's Next Top Model (unfortunately beating my favourite Elza) that I'm going to enter the next cycle of the show. You've seen from all my fabulous poses that I'd be a perfect model, right? Never mind that the minimum height is 170cm and I barely reach 159, I'd still beat everyone else. I wonder if NZNTM would put me on as a social experiment... what would all these skinny rabid girls do if they were competing against a short 'plus-size' model?

Only two more days to go after today... you'll remember that I'm doing the first two days of November too, because I missed the first two days of October. I'd like to say another huge giant thank you to everyone who has donated so far. The donations have been far more than I ever thought possible, and it's because of the generosity of you guys. So thank you. I'm absolutely ecstatic that together we've raised this much for NZGCF, but it's not just about the money, it's about awareness as well. Girls, I'd like to ask again for you to head to the website and check out the symptoms of gynaecological cancers.

I will, of course, still be accepting donations online after the challenge has finished!

xx Grace

P.S. Happy Halloween! No costume for me today...

P.P.S What a long blog today!

festivals of lights

Cabaret was a.ma.zing, but with some usual Auckland Theatre Company ick moments. If I described any of them, anyone with Net Nanny would no longer be able to view this blog. It was only the second night, so there were some dodgy moments with singing and sound, but I'd say that'll clear up as the season wears on. Go see it and find out for yourself, please.

This dress is best known for its appearance at the 2008 work Christmas party, a night of drunken bliss and inappropriate superiors. After that day it was put away in the wardrobe, never to be seen again... UNTIL TODAY...

It seemed a bit to dressy for sitting around studying, so I've paired it with these gorgeous grey slippers all the way from a London supermarket.

I have to find just three more dresses. My days are numbered. We're counting down. Not long to go now.

Tonight is Diwali Festival and Brooke Fraser... do do do do do do do do do do.

xx Grace

what good is sitting alone in your room?

I raided Mum's wardrobe again for this maxi dress, which is of course way too long for my short self.

I'll be tripping over it all day!

Tonight I'm saying goodbye to a friend of mine. Clare's heading back home to the UK, and we'll miss her at work! I'm also seeing the musical Cabaret... that should cheer me up, huh.

xx Grace

a brownie does a good turn every day

 I promise to do my best to love God, to serve the Queen and my country, to help people at all times and to keep the Brownie law.

Back in the day, I was a Brownie Guide. This super brown dress reminds me of those days dressing up in my brown tunic and heading off to Brownies. I still shake hands with my left hand instead of my right, because you'd be doing the Brownie salute with your right hand and shaking hands with your left.

Last night I got home (very late) from catching up with some old and new work people, to discover a pile of Flagstaff's (the local paper) on the stairs. I was interviewed for this last week and the paper has just come out this morning. I've included it below for your perusal.

xx Grace

the picture palace

So last night Natalie and I headed out to the official opening of the Victoria Theatre in Devonport, and saw the first movie to be played there.

I'm looking forward to seeing this become a great landmark in Devonport, because it is an absolutely gorgeous building and deserves the attention it's now getting.

There is one thing that makes me sad. When I was growing up, the Vic was a bright pastel flag welcoming you to Devonport. I've always remembered it as being painted bright yellow and blue and pink. A couple of weeks ago, however, it was painted a very bland whitish colour, which makes it seem a lot more blah than when it was multi-coloured. I definitely don't think it has the same appeal as before.

I think the change in colour probably has some historical reason behind it - perhaps this was the original colour of the theatre?

This dress is another Melbourne jobby, notable for the time I crazily danced in the Speigeltent to the sound of a Slavic five-piece band with the wonderful Kinloch and the gorgeous Mauve... both of whom have left me for far shores.

xx Grace

Then

Now

a journey i took

Right back at the beginning of the month, I took a trip to The Warehouse. I purchased this dress, and I love it. I've been saving up, not wanting ot wear it too early. Today felt right.

xx Grace

mmmmmmm, labour... delicious

So today is Labour Day, which means that all those who work in retail must spend the day labouring, or something like that.

It's a day for sales and for the beach, both of which I've done today.

I asked Natalie how I should pose today and she did this pose, so I copied it and here you go. I also stole this dress from her.

Happy labouring!

xx Grace

three and four and

So I have a guilty pleasure. I love to watch The Secret Lives of Dancers... or rather, loved, since the last episode was on Tuesday.

The show is basically an extended documentary about the Royal New Zealand Ballet, which I love to see every time they're here in Auckland. They're much better than the ballet I saw in Milan.

The thing is, I have a secret wish to be a ballet dancer. Not for the swollen feet or the sprained ankles or the hours of hard work... but just so I could randomly dance when I'm hanging out with my friends. That would be awesome.

Yes.

So I'm feeling a bit floaty-free in this floral dress, just like I could dance away into the bright white clouds and live as a seagull the rest of my life

xx Grace

P.S. shout out to Hayley and Kyle, my call centre buddies today.

one and two and

My sincere apologies for the lateness of this post. It's been a super-busy day today!

First of all I headed into Devonport to check out the Gala Opening of the Victoria Theatre. It's super exciting to have this Devonport icon open for business once again! I'm going to see my first movie there on Tuesday night!

Then Lucy and I headed out to see 42nd Street (yes again!), which was fantastic once more. And straight after that I headed to work, picking up Asia's shift so she could go to another friend's 21st. Then I ended up at the party anyway, because Lucy left her glasses in my car. So it's been pretty hectic with no time really to blog!

Today's dress does in fact belong to the gorgeous Asia, so she's been a big contributor to my day :) I feel very 42nd Street in it.

Anyway, there have been some questions asked about the fact that I missed the first two days of October and didn't wear dresses... so I've made the decision to also frock up on the first and second days of November, to make up for it.

That's a promise from me to you!

xx Grace

end of days

So today is my very last day of university lectures for 2010, and hence exams are bearing down on me. It means that the next time I go to uni for a lecture, I won't be a lowly first year anymore, and I will be attending uni with people who were born in 1993, which just weirds me out.

You wanna know something sad? Unlike every other university student from UofA (I imagine), I have no plans tonight.

Any suggestions?

You'll recognise today's frilly dress from when I went to 42nd Street. I don't count it as doubling up, because last time it was for a special occasion!

A big, giant, huge thank you to everyone who's donated so far. If you don't have a credit card but still want to donate, thank you! Please talk to me because we'll be able to work something out :)

xx Grace

i'm blue da ba dee da ba dai

I'm sitting in my CompSci lab... last lab of the semester. I have one class tomorrow, and then I'm done with classes for 2010 and it's on to studying for exams... eeek!

Floral blue provided by Asia, it reminds me of the nineties.

Ah, Fresh Prince... how I miss you.

COMMENT BELOW... tell me your favourite thing from the ninetes!

xx Grace


P.S. I've had a few people say they aren't able to comment, so here's how.
Type your comment. Then choose 'Comment As' as 'Name/URL'. Type in your name (forget about URL) and click continue, then click Post Comment. You'll also need to type in something for anti-spamming. And hey presto, you're done!

hey mama welcome to the 60's

Why do I look slightly annoyed in this picture? Well, it's because of all this blasted sunshine.
It's inevitable that once a year, for a period of approximately two months, I cannot leave the house. Okay, that's an exaggeration. I cannot leave the house without spending half an hour slip slop slap and wrapping. Such is the joy of living in a country below a giant hole in the ozone and having very fair skin.
Yes, I'm one of the dreaded palies. Corrupting your perfect tanned worldview with our horrific whiteness. We can easily blind you if you stare at us too long while in direct sunlight. Beware us.

xx Grace

P.S. Sixties dress from the lovely Asia, who I've decided is extremely awesome.
As if I didn't already know.

when people run in circles it's a very very

Mornin folks,

Today's denim dress is courtesy of the lovely Natalie, with bracedanna (how's that for a neologism?) thanks to Canteen.

Their new ad campaign features teens falling to the ground, stiff like mannequins, in slow-mo, set to a cover of Mad World. This ad freaks me the frick out, and is definitely effective in producing an emotion response. After you've donated for the nzgcf, please head into your nearest New World and buy a bandanna for Canteen.

Combat apathy!

xx Grace

**Taken outside Albert Park**

why are you all wet baby?

Last night I went round to Asia's after work to borrow dresses (featuring later this week) and watch Shutter Island. It's pretty creepy and pretty thought-provoking... but made me a little scared to drive home by myself.
The only problem was that someone had already told me what happens at the end of the film. That is one of my pet peeves - I still haven't seen the 6th Sense because my form two teacher ruined the ending. I was at a talk once at the Auckland Writer and Readers Festival when the chair (host who's talking to the author) mentioned what happens at the end of the book in question. The author then asked how many people in the audience hadn't read the book yet and about 80% put their hands up.

How many of you have had the ending of a book or a film ruined?


Today's dress is gorgeously bright pink, lent to me by Victoria, who keeps me sane in Linguistics.


xx Grace


P.S. Beth dies.

black on black

Though this may look like some weird combination of shirt and dress, it's actually TWO GARMENTS! The picture doesn't show it very well, but I'm wearing a black shirt and a black pinafore dress (with pockets!). Once more I am supervisoring at work today.

Yesterday I had super fun hanging out with Natalie in the sun. Luckily I didn't get sunburnt...


xx Grace

good day sir

Yesterday was a good day and here's why...

1. I got to have lunch with Asia: ni hao.

2. Natalie and I scored some sweet tickets to the Brooke Fraser concert at the Civic. Throw ME a lifeline!

3. Natalie found out she has an interview at Starship for emercency care... stars in her eyes.

4. Ran into the wonderful Tim, who gave me my first real-life donation for my donation purse... I'm rollin' in it.

5. Mum sent out a text to her friends about what I'm doing, causing a huge jump in donations! I almost cried... good thumbs Mum.

6. I handed in my last essay of 2010! Well, not counting exams.....

Wanna jump on the donation bandwagon? You can hand me your donation in person or head to www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/girlyforacause.

I bought today's dress in London last year when I had nothing to wear to Avenue Q. What do you do with a BA in English? I guess I'll be finding out.

xx Grace

the avenue I'm taking you to (+ photo bonus)

Last night I went to see 42nd Street with a whole bunch of cool people. It’s one of my favourite musicals for two-tapping fabulosity and catchy songs that have nothing to do with anything. The original film of 42nd Street, about a young chorus girl who gets pushed into the limelight when the star of the show breaks her ankle, was made in the 1930’s. In 1980, a group of people decided they wanted to make it into a stage show, but the problem was that the movie didn’t contain enough songs for a full-length musical. Instead of writing whole new songs, they pulled some from Al Dubin and Harry Warren’s (the originals writers) repertoire. The result is a strange mesh of all kinds of songs... it’s like the forerunner to the Abba musical.

But anyway, we enjoyed it. Enjoy the photo bonus!

The gorgeous Anita and I after 42nd Street - I love this dress, something I got in Melbourne. It's so short I can't bend over, but so pretty!

I once broke today's dress when doing my signature dance move at a party a few years back. It only cost me about $10 at an Asian store once, so I didn't mind. It's floaty and pretty, like Hannah's dress. Big love!

xx Grace

P.S. if you're lucky, and you ask nicely, I might show you my signature dance move one day

there's something in the water...

Yesterday I bought a copy of Brooke Fraser's new album Flags, and I've been listening to it pretty much non-stop ever since. I'm really liking her latest offering, you can definitely see the growth and maturity since her last album

I decided to go with patterned tights again today, because the weather looked a bit grey... it's disgustingly sunny now. I don't think my legs are quite ready to see the light of day just yet. This dress was my very first lbd and has served me well ever since. It's a faithful friend, and I'm a bit disappointed I dropped chocolate on it earlier. Will have to change before I head out to 42nd Street tonight!

Almost halfway through the month, what am I going to do with myself when it's over?

xx Grace

it's gonna be legen- WAIT FOR IT...

So today is International Suit Up Day, in honour of the magical Barney Stinson. I was stressing about how I was going to celebrate ISUD while still wearing a dress when it dawned on me... this is a dress I used to wear all the time when I was Miss Office Lady, and same goes for the jacket. I haven't worn either for quite some time so this is the perfect opportunity.

My lovely friend Victoria has lent me a dress to wear so that should be appearing in the next couple of days.

SUIT UP!

xx Grace



P.S. ...DARY

when i grow up

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. Now that I'm older and wiser, I know that's never going to happen, so I've settled upon a new ambition: to be an editor.

On Sunday night I watched the film Suburban Girl, starring Buffy Summers and Jack Donaghy. Buffy plays an editor in a publishing company in New York, and though the film is not exactly in the running for an Oscar, it made me want to be a busy New York editor, living in a cramped apartment and living on takeaways, even more.

Well, writing and editing my own blog and wearing this scribbled-notebook dress will have to do for now...

xx Grace


P.S. don't forget to donate if you like what you see!

red lights

I was waiting at a red light in Glenfield last night when I discovered I was almost out of petrol. I couldn’t think where the nearest petrol station was, so I turned around to ask the people in the car behind me if they knew. They laughed and said no, but hopped in the back of my car to help me look. They were young, probably around eighteen – there was an Asian boy, a brunette girl and a red-haired boy. We drove off, the car struggling with the weight, but we made it to the next red light. There we were accosted by a group of young boys (supervised by my friend Moen) who asked us to sign their petition. I told them to go away and we kept driving.

A petrol station suddenly appeared before us, and I completed a rather illegal manoeuvre to pull into it. I spent ages positioning my car beside a pump before discovering that the pump, despite having approximately ten different kinds of petrol, had no 97. I hopped out of the car and saw that it had turned into a wheelie office chair, which is probably why it was so hard to position. The Indian station attendant found the right pump and filled up my chair, while the three kids and I transferred the grocery shopping from their car to my chair. I asked them where they were going and they said Devonport. I asked them where they were from and they said Tauranga. We all laughed – that’s probably why they didn’t know where the nearest petrol stations were.

I drove off without the kids, and when I was a little way down the road received a text from the brunette asking me if her phone would do all right in Devonport, considering how it survived that blizzard.

And then my alarm went off.

go-to-work barbie

Today I'm Miss Supervisor in the call centre with the lovely Hayley, so I certainly have to look the part. She's keeping me sane while we deal with the usual Sunday callers... who are, of course, fantastic intelligent people.

After saying the other day how much I love receiving letters, I got a package from the nzgcf containing some fantastic pamphlets and wallet cards for me to distribute. I'll carry them with me and hand them to people who ask about what I'm doing - they are extremely informative (and styley!)

So, after wearing these heels for about two minutes to take this picture, I decided I couldn't put up with them for the whole day. I bought these for a Lady Gaga number I was in a couple of months ago, but I can't see myself wearing them ever again. They're cool, but not cool enough to put up with the agony for a whole day.

Complaint of the day: Starbucks hot chocolate = $5.80... what?!

P.S. one week in!

P.P.S. Hayley and I are singing along to BoRhap. That's why she's the bomb

P.P.P.S BoRhap stands for Bohemian Rhapsody. Yeah, I'm just that cool

i feel like scones...

Today I'm spending a quiet day in with my linguistics asignment, featured in today's picture. This purple stripy dress is my super comfy Saturday dress, which I wear when I can't be bothered buttoning myself into jeans but it's not cold enough for trackies. It's a bit chilly today, but trackies are a no-go so it'll have to be this.

I'm almost a week into my challenge, and I've realised that I actually own a heck of a lot more dresses than I thought - just that most of them I've only worn once or twice. I'm looking forward to breaking out my pretty going-out dresses for a day at uni.

This homebodyness has made me crave home-baking... I might have to bake some scones later. Mmmmmmmm...

xx Grace

i was like, 'holy frock'

I wasn't really feeling it for the camera this morning, hence my weird suspicious half-smile. The truth is, the realisation that this semester is almost over has just come crashing down on me in a flurry of assignments and tests and exam prep. Wearing this pretty floral dress is actually making me feel a lot better, and sharing the joy of tights with my friend Sonia this morning definitely made me laugh!

I don't really have too much more to say today... the title of today's post is a direct quote from my friend Theo.

Love to all

xx Grace

the shock!

My bright blue shoes have given me such a shock, I can't even believe it! But you know what else shocks me? The fact that every single day in New Zealand, approximately one woman dies from a gynaecological cancer. Ladies, I would love it if you could head over to the nzgcf website and check out the symptoms of the four main gynaecological cancers... with screening and early detection, this statistic could be reduced.

Today's dress is a lovely floral item I picked up a few years ago when I was visiting my sister Rachel in Melbourne. I don't wear it that often, because without those leggings it's rather short! Tonight, I'm off to the call centre for my evening shift... and as a bonus, I'm working with the lovely Asia (of the 50 dresses). She and I are then heading up to Shadows, the uni bar, to see my friend's band Jackal. Can you imagine me rocking it out in this gorgeous dress? We'll see...

If you are in Auckland and free, come to the gig!!

I had so much fun wearing yesterday's vintage frock! Yes, I got some odd looks, but the feeling of the heavy fabric billowing around my legs more than made up for it. My best friend Natalie (while laughing at the dress) picked me up from uni, and we headed back to her place to bake some afghans. Look at us being all domestic!

xx Grace

post me a parcel of love

I love my parents. They are amazing, wonderful people who raised me to be the kind-hearted person I am (hardy har har). Every morning since starting the challenge, one or both of them have greeted me in the morning with 'nice frock'... which isn't too bad. But yesterday when I arrived home, my mum asked 'did you have fun frocking today?'. They're going to have so much fun with this.

On Monday morning I started reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and I finished reading it about 11.30 last night. It is a really fantastic book which I would recommend to anyone. It's set in post-WW2 London and Guernsey, and is written entirely in letters (the post kind, not the alphabet kind) and telegrams. Now, this is a fun fact about me. I love recieving letters. Proper, handwritten letters, sent in a real envelope with a real stamp. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

So to reach out my hand back into the past, try and grasp the days when people would write to each other rather than light up the screens of tiny devices, I raided my lovely mum's wardrobe and found this amazing vintage number she made for herself in the mid-70's.

She offered my her wedding dress, which I politely declined. She was serious.

put simply, the full story

This is who I am: Grace, a 21-year-old university student from Auckland, NZ

This is what I am doing: raising money for the New Zealand Gynaecological Cancer Foundation.

This is how I am doing it: wearing a dress every single day for the month of October

This is why I am doing it: I want to give helping out others a go, and challenge myself at the same time

This is what you can do to help: click the donate button on the left, and make a contribution, however small.

This is what you will get: a smile on my face, and the knowledge that you have helped out an amazing cause

This is what I will get: the chance to smile more.

xx Grace

the paisley sideburn brothers

Today's dress reminds me intensely of long, hot summer days in Milan. It was around this time last year, and summer was just burning its last goodbye before autumn set in. That summer decided it wasn't going out without a fight, and the heat was absolutely sweltering and unrelenting - I practically lived in this cool stretch cotton dress... without the tights, of course. You can sort of see that the tights have a pattern... yes, I'm wearing pattern with pattern and I'm not afraid to admit it! You only live once!
My gorgeous friend Hannah, who writes aychblog, has offered to come over and help with styling sessions and work with what I already have. I'm so looking forward to this, to avoid any future disasters. Hannah always looks completely fantastic, if I can catch even a smidgen of her style I'll be happy.

My friend Lucy (of the purple dress text) pointed out something today. This was the issue of whether I'm supposed to wear a different dress every day. The answer is, of course, no! I don't own nearly enough dresses to do that, although I would love be be able to. The lovely and wonderful Asia, among other friends, has told me I can borrow dresses from her. She counted - she owns over 50. If and other wonderful people are willing to help, I just might manage not to wear the same dress twice

Lucy brought up the whole same dress twice issue when I was hanging with her in Albert Park today. I decided to take a picture of her since she's supporting my by wearing a beautiful frock of her own. I don't know if you can see in the background, but just look how many people there are enjoying the sunshine in the background! It's disgusting! Yeah... I hate summer. From tomorrow onwards I'm going to have to start slathering myself with sunblock every morning. *yay*.

xx Grace

P.S. bonus points if you know where the title of this post came from.

donation frocktation

Hey chickdees--

Fantastic news! Online donations are now up and running! I would love love love it if you could help me support this fantastic cause. Donating online is quick and painless - and if you feel the need you can easily donate anonymously, plus you get a tax receipt so you can get 1/3 of it back next April! Sweet deal!

If you don't want to donate online, you can hand me your donation personally to put in my fabulous new coin purse I bought from Trade Aid today.

xx Grace

day numero duo

This morning I received a text from my friend Lucy saying 'Nice purple frock'. This was odd, because I haven't actually seen her at all today. Stalkerrrrrrrrrrr
Anyway... I decided to take advantage of the weather while it's still fairly cool, and wear this long-sleeve purple tunic dress I've had for aaaaaages. I have huge love for dresses with pockets, they are really practical but so far seem to be added more as a design feature than because they're super useful. The t-shirt dress yesterday has really deep pockets which are basically like two handbags attached to your hips, but the pockets on this dress are pretty pathetic... you can barely fit a phone in them. What's your opinion on dresses with pockets?
I'm wearing the dress with, yes, brown tights. Which actually have runs in them, but isn't that what all the young kids are wearing these days?
Donation info will be coming very very soon, promise to keep you kids updated. Please spread the word about my frocktober... I'd love to raise as much money as humanly possible! Your ideas for raising money would be much appreciated also.

xx Grace

Frocktober: day 1

Hey everyone–

Recently I heard the phrase ‘Frocktober’ – a chance to dress up for the whole month of October and celebrate being a woman. I heard that and immediately dismissed it. My personal style is… well basically non-existant: jeans or denim skirt and t-shirts most of the time. I hardly ever wear dresses, pretty much only if I’m going out somewhere fancy. The more I thought about Frocktober, the more I thought what a fantastic idea it was.

So I’ve decided to make a pledge this Frocktober: I am going to wear a dress every single day for the rest of October.

This may not seem like a big deal to a lot of you, but considering how little I wear dresses, I’m looking forward to the challenge.

And no, I’m not just doing this for fun… at the end of Frocktober I will donate money to the NZ Gynaecological Cancer Foundation (www.silverribbon.co.nz). I’m not sure right now exactly what form the fundraising for this will take, but over the course of the month I’ll make sure to get a clearer picture.

I’d love your support over the month, and look forward to blogging about how I go!

xx Grace