RUBY VELOUR

My Life « rubyvelour.com

Archive for the ‘My Life’ Category

As we already know I’m a bit of a fitness junkie. As such I finally decided it was time to buy some new sneakers as my Puma’s were kind of cheap and I was starting to get sore shins and calves because they weren’t supporting me properly anymore. I’ve been eyeing off those Sketchers Shape-Up’s that people are always talking about but I was a bit skeptical about them because Sketchers have always seemed like a casual shoe as opposed to an actual proper exercise shoe. Theta and they they cost $200!

So today I was browsing through Rebel Sport and found Reebok have their own version called Easytone. As they were only $180, and as Reebok are definitely known for being good sport shoes, plus they didn’t look quite as dicky as the Sketchers, I got ‘em! I also like their website and how they give you workouts that work best with the shoes (for free). You can even design your won Easytone’s! That is so neat!

They’re designed to cause micro-instability which basically means your leg and butt muscles work harder as you walk and move, because there’s these raised lumps on the soles that make balance just a little harder than with normal shoes. So I am going to test them out at gym and when walking and doing weights and see if I notice anything in the butt/leg region. Even if they don’t work (though I’m sure they will) they’re cool-looking shoes and weren’t too expensive so at least now my damn shins won’t hurt so much after hardcore workouts! Win’s all round!

I will keep ya’ll updated on the results!

Posted in Body and Soul, My Life, Sport Stuff | View Comments

Nailin’ It- Blue Glitter & Diamonds

Sunday, August 8th, 2010

Before I talk about my nails, let me just say, I never knew I had such odd looking hands til I saw this photo! Maybe it’s because I’m not wearing my trademark bling rings or the fact my knuckles are all messed up from going nuts at boxing last week (you can still see the scabs because I punched til I bled!!!) or because I have small, skinny hands. Whatever it is, this photo kid of freaked me out!

Anyway, here are my new nails! I am pretty excited about these because they’re BLUE which is not usually a colour I deal with often, and yet the colour is amazing! I got them done last week in a dark, shiny royal blue which looked divine til they got a bit knocked around and so needed a lift. I bought some el-cheapo blue glitter polish from the chemist and BAM it brought them to life.

I had planned to use some of my favourite nail stickers but I knew I needed to do something bigger and more intense so I finally used my nail diamantes in varying patterns. This was my first attempt at bejeweling my own nails and I am so proud of myself I have been showing them off to anyone who’ll look at them! It was surprisingly easy too, I just gave them a thick coat of polish, used a scalpel to pick up each diamante (dip the tip of the scalpel into the polish first so that they stick) and pop them in place. One my nails were just about dry I gave them four layers of top coat to keep the jewels in place. I just discovered Revitanail Top Coat and OMG it is great. Much thinner than I’ve used before but holy cow is it super quick drying!

Meanwhile, in other news: MEET OUR NEW POODLE! Technically he’s my mum’s BUT he’s still a part of our family! We got him from the RSPCA on Saturday on a bit of a whim, though we have been talking about mum getting a dog for a little while now. It’s been just over a year since our beautiful Belle passed away and it was a massive thing to get over. I feel a bit bad that the new poodle looks exactly like Belle but he stole our hearts as soon as we met him. He’s a toy poodle and apparently was rescued from a puppy farm that was raided about two months ago. He has a malaligned jaw which means the top and bottom jaws don’t quite meet which means one of his lower canines juts out (it’s hilariously cute) but it doesn’t cause any discomfort so nothing to worry about. He’s very quiet but seems really relaxed, he’s shown a few signs of nervousness but nothing to match the massive changes he’s gone through so suddenly. He’s two and a half so over his puppy phase but still young and active.

We’ve not yet named him. He was called Smudge but we want to give him a suave French name though nothing is striking us as appropriate so far. After all our last two poodles were called Pepe and Belle which were so perfect and cute and as it turns out, impossible to beat! Hopefully we’ll think of something soon, and once we do you will get many updates about how he’s going!

Posted in My Life, Nails | View Comments

Music on my Mind – Part Four

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

So this morning I woke up with both “Jesus Walks” by Kanye West and “The Power of Love” Huey Lewis. Yes that’s right, two of the most different songs ever produced. Am I the only person who gets two songs in their head at a time? Particularly of two very different styles/eras? I admit I know how they both got in my head, because I heard them at work. Yep that’s right, we listen to music at work! This probably seems like no big deal to most people but it’s a HUGE deal to me. Music makes my day go so much faster and I’ve not had the ability to listen to music at work since that last job I had up until late last year. Being able to listen to music while I worked was just about the best thing at that job and as glad as I was to get out of there, I missed music in the workplace terribly.

So at my new job we listen to the radio. I am not a huge fan of the radio, what with all that repetition, the morons who have “shows” and waste my time by talking absolute crap and then those damn obnoxious adverts that cut through me like razor blades. I thought that after a few years of rarely listening to the radio that maybe I’d be over it, but I’m not and commercial radio, particularly in Brisbane, bites balls. Luckily for me though, we discovered internet radio which has (foolishly) been put into my control! I know I am always about 5 years late on technological advances as a general rule, but I cannot believe I did not know about this!

So anyway, I have made some observations about pop music since I’ve been listening to the radio so much. Most notably is how badly they overplay certain songs. Sure we all know they do that, but it came as a bit of a shock to me when I realised how overplayed some songs really are. No one anywhere ever needs to hear “California Gurls” three times in one work day on the one station. No one needs to hear that song at all, but that’s really just my own personal opinion. And speaking of that song, I am amazed at how some stations don’t play the Snoop Dogg rap bit. What, are black people too scary for the listeners of anytime radio? Or is it just Snoop in particular that freaks out all the old cows in offices who tend to tune into stations like 97.3 and B105?

Another gripe is how often they plays the songs of Train. I didn’t even know who this band was until I got sick of this one song and found out who they were through the power of Google. Then I Googled the lyrics of another song I liked an discovered it was by Train as well! I cannot understand how two songs from the same band can range between being quite good to totally crap. Nor why they both get played so friggen much. This also applies to songs like “I Wanna be a Billionaire” and “Nothin’ On You” which I used to like until they ruined them with multiple plays every fucking day.

And last but most shockingly of all, I have heard Nickelback played a LOT. I honestly had this idea in my head that no one listened to them and they just released albums and kept touring anyway. Well, I figured they’d have a fanbase of redneck Yanks scattered around the States, but c’mon, Aussies can’t be that dumb. Turns out I was wrong, if how much they get played is any indication. My god that band fucking sucks. I’d choose to listen to all of Katy Perry’s music on repeat and possibly even out up with her for a day than hear any Nickelback song ever again.

So that’s my thought on music for the week. I’ve been out of the loop for a good nine months and as expected, not much has changed. Thank god for internet radio, even if I have to put up with the shittiness that is iTunes to use it!

Over and out!

Posted in Music Love, My Life, Random Thoughts | View Comments

Bloggie Time!

Friday, July 30th, 2010

I have been trying to embrace new technology these days, particularly since I am now working at a company that sells lots of new-fangled gadgets. As such I have been looking at getting a hand-held video camera and so got to loan a Sony Bloggie for the weekend. Naturally, I chose the pink one ;)

I’m hoping that by having a little video camera on hand at all times I will film more stuff and document my life in a zany kind of way. See, I used to be a film student who specialised in editing, and over the years I’ve not had any opportunity to use my talents. To see how I feel about the whole thing (remember, I am painfully shy) I am going to film my busy weekend and make a short video to test the Bloggie out as well as see if I can inspire myself to keep the filming stuff up!

I am off to Screamworld right now followed by lots of other fun stuff so stay tuned for my adventures in video form!

Posted in My Life, Nerds and Geeks | View Comments

Nailin’ It x2

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

I haven’t done a Nailin’ It in ages! I’ve actually got two to show you as I never got around to blogging about the manicure I had a month ago due to various reasons (ie. my being slack). There was another one in there as well but due to the fact two nails broke within a few days of them being done I decided not to take photos (you can check them out on my robo.to though, if you really want). Shame because they were so long and I got this amazing purple/glitter paint job done. I’ve now leaned there is such thing as too long when it comes to acrylics because the acrylic gets old and starts to get weak and breaks off for no apparent reason D:

I had my nails done in the cute pink colour or ages before I decided to try some of this gorgeous glitter I got off my mum. I used the same technique as I did when I last added glitter to my nails but learned very quickly that it needed a lot of top coat due to the glitter being so coarse. I totally ruined a pair of stockings because I’d only given my nails two top coats. It too another 3 before the sharp bits of glitter were covered up (and I still had to file a few bits down). It was more work than expected but the effect was pretty cool. They remind me of those toilet seats that have seashells and stuff in them, hahaha.

Now for my latest nails. Because of the breakages I got them much shorter than I’ve had in ages (technically since I started getting my nails properly, actually). As I’d just had dark purple for about three weeks, I decided to go for the brightest colour possible HOT PINK! I LOVE fluro colours and am not afraid to admit it. Fluro pink is obviously my favourite, it’s just so damn bright and obnoxious! I added these cute stickers which I got in Japan as they’re white and light pink which looked nice against the brightness of the pink. Unfortunately, since I redid the pink in my hair recently they’ve all started turning the same shade of pink so they’re not standing out so much now. Such a shame :(

You may notice the top of my pinkie looking all messed up. That was caused by a nail file. No pain no gain, baby! Though next time it happens I may have to kick some arse because that shit hurt for two days! This pic properly reflects the actual colours, the one below is all about the detail:

Once again for the length of time between posts. I just started a new job and as you can imagine it’s always exhausting getting trained up in a new position so I’ve just been too tired to commit to writing anything worthwhile. But I’ll get back on it this week, I promise!

Posted in My Life, Nails | View Comments

Goodbye Old Friends!

Sunday, July 4th, 2010

Today is the end of an era. I just took out my snakebite piercings for the last time for my new job starting tomorrow. I considered keeping them by taking them out before work and then putting them back in when I got home but I have decided that it is time to get rid of them for good. I knew I got them after being in London for about a year but after some research I found the original Livejounal entry where I posted about them.

That there is me a day after they were pierced back on the 1st October 2005. Let me tell you, lip piercings HURT! It was absolute agony getting them pierced, which is probably why I kept them for so long. I found they healed pretty quickly and never really gave me any problems. Accidentally biting down on the backs hurts a fair bit but you quickly learn to avoid doing that too often! I had metal studs for ages before I discovered the ones with plastic backings where the diamante stud kind of clicks into the backs. They prevented any damage to my gums and almost never fell out. I found the balls on metal studs would always wind themselves undone and fall off which was always a huge pain in the arse. The only time I took my snakebites out was when one of them was giving me some grief, I’d give them a day to rest before putting them back in to make sure they didn’t start healing over.

It’s been almost five years since I got them pierced and it’s probably going to take me a while before I get used to the fact they’re gone. I’m worried they’ll leave nasty scars as most people I know who’ve taken out lip rings didn’t have the piercing all that long and still have small scars to show for them. But we’ll see how it goes!

Goodbye little snakebites! You’ve served me well and I was always proud of how you looked on me But time to grow up (albeit reluctantly) and move on to bigger and better things! And may I go back to being an excellent kisser once more!

Posted in Body and Soul, My Life | View Comments

Finders Keepers Markets

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

This weekend I went and saw the Finders Keepers markets at the Old Museum (my favourite building in Brisbane as a matter of fact) for the first time. Admittedly I mainly only went because my good friend Lara was one of the organisers but was pleasantly surprised by how good these markets were! They’re indie markets for up and coming designers and artists and feature lots of unique arts, crafts, jewelry, clothing and music from all over Australia.

I went with my mum and a couple of friends, who ended up leaving mum and I to wander the markets as we found ourselves spending a good half an hour at most of the stalls. Unfortunately neither of us had money on the Saturday (I had too many bills this week and mum left her purse at home!) so we returned on Sunday to do some spending. I had a migraine like nothing else but was desperate for a few pieces I saw so braved the nausea and throbbing head pains and spent the early afternoon getting some amazing jewelry and brooches.

(Pink Girl brooch by Lauren Carney, Alice in Wonderland brooches by Tree Party Design, Skull brooch by White Square & my FAVOURITE, the owl with mice corpses in his tummy necklace by Made by White)

There’s also music but it’s all cutesy indie pop rock which I am really not a fan of, so I didn’t check out any bands (not that my migraine would have allowed for it anyway) as well as food and drink stalls. Unfortunately the cupcakes weren’t very nice so hopefully he next markets in November will have a proper cupcake stall *nudge nudge* though that was my only complaint about the whole thing, which was as a whole very excellent indeed.

So you won’t be able to go to these markets any time soon since the next ones in Brisbane won’t be on again til November. But that’s good in a way because I may actually be able to save money and buy a lot more next time! They’re also in Sydney so if you’re from down that way, I insist you check them out!

This is how I look with a killer migraine, by the way. Please note the nasty bed hair (which I only just got cut on Friday as a matter of fact). I am wearing my new lucite Eiffel Tower necklace by Tree Party Design.

Posted in Fashion and makeup, My Life | View Comments

Curious Questions!

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

GUESS WHAT? I finally got with the times (about 10 years too late) and got a webcam. And by “got a webcam” I mean “nicked the one my boyfriend owns and never uses from his room while he was out”! Mwahaha! I have ALWAYS wanted one but always chickened out of it, like I was being too vain or vulgar for wanting to project my face to the world on the internet at any time I felt like. Sometimes I am weird like that. By the way, that face up there is how I look about 90% of the time when I am on the internet. Except my hair isn’t usually up, you can thank tonight’s exercise for that. So now that I have a webcam, I now also have ROBO.TO!!! Check mine out: robo.to/rockfotze

Anyway, the main reason or today’s blog is that I decided to bring it back the good old days of LJ where we all used to do little memes and share them around. I saw this one at Monster Girl Writes and liked the questions so decided I’d join the fun!

1. Would you ever get cosmetic surgery? If not, why not? If yes, what would you want done?
Yes. I don’t believe in cosmetic surgery for the sake of it (I’m looking at YOU Heidi Montag) but if you’re really unhappy with one of your features and have the funds to fix it, then I don’t see the problem. Make sure you’re doing it or the right reasons though, not just because some assholr guy will like you better if your nose was smaller and your boobs were bigger. Personally I’d get lipo like THAT if I had $10,000.

2. What is “your drink”?
I don’t know if I have one! I enjoy a range of drinks depending on where I am and the occasion. I tend to go for vodka lime soda’s the most though I am very partial to cider.

3. What are your five fashion essentials?
Mascara, an excellent bra, a cute tutu or amazing dress, bright shoes and perfect hair.

4. Do you have any tattoos? What are they? If not, do you want some? What would you like to get?
Yes, I have many. On last count I have 13 and I will probably get more in the future though I have slowed right down and am pretty content with how many I have at the moment. They range from the grisly (skeletons/skulls, zombies etc) to the girly (pansies on my feet) and the downright geeky (TWO Harry Potter tattoos so far).

5. What is something most people don’t know about you?
There is a lot people don’t know about me. I am quite secretive about most things and have a lot of issues without opening up when it comes to my honest, inner-most feelings. I am also totally paranoid about hurting peoples feelings or making people worry unnecessarily so I usually keep anything that might cause hurt/concern to myself to avoid and bad feelings. It’s terrible, I know, but I’m working on it constantly and am getting much better. Oh and I am crazy shy! I know I don’t look like I would be, and I tend to come off as bold and abrupt to most people but I am painfully shy. Another thing I am constantly working on!

Please feel free to share your answers in the comments!

Posted in Body and Soul, My Life, Random Thoughts | View Comments

What’s Goin’ On

Monday, June 7th, 2010

I am a strong believer in not writing unless I have something worthwhile to say, hence why I have been a bit quiet round here lately! But I also believe sometimes it’s a good idea to blog about random things and not just about one subject each and every time. Which is why I am writing right now! I figured I’d keep ya’ll updated on what’s occupying me so that you k now I’ve not just ditched my blog and moved on to other things.

OMG look who is dressed corporate! That’s right, me! After getting so many excellent comments on my last post, I figured I’d suck it up and get some good corporate pieces to start myself off and see how I went. Even more shocking, I got both the short and skirt at Cue! On Friday after work while killing time before an appointment I accidentally discovered they were having a sale and found this gorgeous pencil skirt and shirt or over half price. Of course, being the spend thrift I usually am, this was still pretty pricey for what I’d planned to spend but damn they’re so nice! The skirt is lovely and fits so well and doesn’t give me the dreaded fat-office-chair-arse! It has a cute ruffle at the back but I’m afraid I am not yet brave enough to go posting pictures of my butt on the internet (sorry guys!). This picture doesn’t do the outfit justice as I was tired after a long Monday at work, plus I have a cold and am pretty run down. But I got lots of positive comments at work, my team leader was so delighted when she saw me walk into work! So it was definitely worth it. Now to brave the dreaded work pants which I also managed to buy this weekend (though as it turns out I’ve gone down a pants size so I was actually kind of excited about the pants in the end).

As I mentioned, I have gone and gotten myself another cold. I was still suffering from the one I got months ago and then BAM along comes another one! The fact I forget to wear jackets all the time probably played a significant part in this so I have no one to blame but myself. As such I spent the weekend at my mum’s place to chill out and avoid the temptation of going out (which was hard as a close friend was having a farewell do on Saturday night). As such I learned a new skill: SEWING! Yep, I’ve moved on from scrapbooking to sewing! I’ve always wanted my own sewing machine so I can remodel all my old, daggy clothes and I have sewn one or two minor things in my life, but this weekend I spent an afternoon learning how to sew a jungle-themed cushion! Oh yes! It’s not yet finished but I was pretty proud of my efforts and may well show off the finished product whenever I get around to it! And to prove it really happened:

AMAZING!

We are getting right into the organisation of the Brisbane Zombie Walk for 2010. Right now we are looking or sponsors to help us make sure the walk actually happens! We’re getting together business proposals and all sorts of crazy stuff I never thought I’d find myself doing in the name of zombies! So far the walk is set to take place on Sunday 24th October, though there is a slim chance that could change. I’ve just designed a logo for the walk (sneak peak here) and am now going to start redesigning the website which is very daunting but also pretty exciting. We’ll soon have the option where people can register, and for those extra nice people, donate money at the same time.
We’re actually looking for volunteers for helping out with this years walk, if you or someone you know is interested PLEASE let me know by emailing zombie@brisbanezombiewalk.com as we need all the help we can get!

Posted in My Life, Weekly Wrap, What I Wore, Zombie Walk | View Comments

Do I Look Like I Know How To Dress Corporate?

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

I found myself in a bit of a dilemma yesterday at work. When I first started the job back in February I’d wondered if anyone was going to say anything to me, but after three months I figured it was all good, which as it turns out, wasn’t the case at all. I was asked by my team leader to start wearing work clothes that fitted the company dress code as some people higher up had asked her to talk to me about how I dress. As it turns out my zany, off-beat style which I’ve toned down to suit a semi-corporate environment wasn’t quite right. I was pretty mad at first (still am, actually) because while I understand my style of dressing isn’t what you’d see listed in the regular company dress standards, I felt I was doing a bloody good job of looking nice while remaining an individual. Serves me right or making assumptions, I guess.

My manager asked me if I could just wear some regular work pants instead of my usual skirt/legging combo. I was appalled and honestly told her “I don’t wear pants” because I don’t! I used to wear jeans a lot and even use to wear black work pants all the time, but that was years ago and I’m strictly a cute skirt/dress with leggings kinda girl nowadays. I told her I’d do what I could but what I wore to work was all I really had and so the deadline of “tomorrow” (I know, right) wasn’t going to work because I wouldn’t be able to get anything “business-like” until pay day. I think she was surprised that I simply do not have normal, boring, work clothes like everyone else. I’ve worked in fairly casual places for a few years now and since this is a call center, I thought my funky twist on business wear would be more than adequate! Anyone who’s ever worked in a call center like the ones I’ve worked in probably get why I’m feeling so hard done by about this. Call centers are just always so much more relaxed clothing-wise than most office environments, because our jobs typically suck a whole lot more than typical office jobs.

So, this leaves me with a dilemma. I’ve obviously got to get some more corporate attire unless I want upper management hating my guts forever (I already noticed some evil eyes today because I literally just had to wear what I normally wear due to running late and not having any other options). So this is where I need YOUR advice, guys! I’m not a corporate sorta girl and I don’t want to look like a total business jerk with a big butt in crappy business pants. What brands are available that aren’t too expensive, look good and will prevent me from getting into any more trouble? Any shops in Brisbane that you can recommend that suit a girl with an arse like Kim Kardashian (who lacks the millions of dollars to make it look amazingly sexy). How can I take some dreadful work pants and make it look a little bit funky? How can I do this without selling my soul???

For the record, this is basically the sort of thing I wear to work every day:

That is, a black button down shirt, usually with the sleeves rolled up a bit, a black tutu-style skirt over plain leggings with my satin, 3/4 sleeved blazer, some plain lats and maybe some cute clips in my hair or a nice brooch. I believe it’s the skirts and leggings that aren’t working or me, hence the suggestion of work pants, as I cannot see how my shirt/jacket combination can be wrong in any way.

So please give me any suggestions and if you work in a corporate business environment, how do you ensure you don’t to look like a frumpy old dag or a slutty secretary (seriously, it seems to go one way or the other and nowhere in between, as far as I’m concerned) and maintain some sanity???

(Please note any suggestions involving “Get a new job” are duly noted in advance and my options are already being explored)

Posted in Fashion and makeup, My Life, Pissed Off | View Comments