Lost in thought

I thought it was time to drop in and say a quick hello, for the past several months I have been away in wedding la la land... planning, creating & dreaming wedding; which btw exudes more energy then one ever thought! I think working full time with big hours may hinder to aid in energy depletion.

Countdown is now officially on, 7 weeks to go & still plenty to do. A series of spontaneous excitement outbursts and to much procrastinating is consuming my existance.. this bride to be is happy we are on the home stretch cause I'm missing normal life conversation haha. Saying that I'm truly excited & can't wait to marry my prince charming.. Or should I say my batman (inside joke) <3. I feel incredibly lucky to find my  true love and even more lucky he feels the same.. For this reason all my stress disappears and once again reminds me to enjoy & rejoice in how amazing our day will be!

It all seems to be falling into place nicely and im lookimg forward to blogging about the big day, the journey and all the pretty little things that make a vintage ethereal wedding...

Till then I'll see you in bits and pieces

xo

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diamond in the rough

BEBE SYDNEY

Recently i bought my first BEBE Sydney dress from fashion boutique 'Principessa' in Fortitude Valley, where i met Rocco the lovely shop owner. I have been longing to buy one for awhile...

I wasn't initially going in to buy a dress as it was only that morning when i was at 'Always Habit' a fashion & suits shop for men with my fiancee who was trying on suits for our wedding, we met the adorable Chantelle who invited us to her & fashion partner Samantha's upcoming fashion launch for their label 'Ash to Gold'. So when my eyes gazed upon this gorgeous antique gold/champagne sequined 'diamond in the rough' dress i instantly fell in love & to my delight it was designed by fashion label BEBE Sydney. Rocco must have seen my enthusiasm as he instantly whisked me off to the changing rooms, and from there on it was a winner!

I had so much fun at the 'Ash to Gold' fashion launch, hanging out with my good friend Desiree (best makeup artist ever) & my fiancee, chatting and sitting front row at the runway show sipping on champagne in the Rainbow Booth at the whimsical Cloudland Bar . Through out the evening i was shocked at how many people complimented me on my outfit.. thinking maybe i should wear this dress more often hah :-) i may have not taken many photos of the night but i thoroughly enjoyed the show, dinner in Chinatown and all the lovely compliments :-).

I'd like to say thank you to Chantelle for inviting me to the her fashion launch, thank you to Rocco for encouraging me to try the dress on & thank you BEBE Sydney  for designing such a gorgeous dress!!

music makes me reminisce

lost in thought

out of the blue music hit me in a way i didn't imagine possible, a thought i never thought about. this music floods my head with past memories... never felt so nostalgic; time passed by.

yes I am happy but there's a part of me that wishes I could just float back to those rock n roll times & soak up that feeling of eternal youth!

a day of solitude with old school music is required for this 27 year old muse.

music holds onto memories that those forget about...

journey of a vintage wedding..

bride story

'Ivy & Aster'

'Ivy & Aster'

When i first started my journey as a bride to be i thought it would be easy to plan a wedding, easy because I've been a production manager for a photography studio, a photography assistant for many weddings & a makeup artist for 10 years..  but Brisbane has me worried. why, well finding a vintage wedding dress that has a simple whimsical feel about it was actually alot harder than i first anticipated. 

I didn't find the 'ONE' in Brisbane. Instead i found the dress of my dreams at Victorian bridal boutique  'The Bridal Atelier'. After searching for months & visiting countless bridal boutiques across Brisbane I was left disappointed, as nothing made me feel like i found the one..

So when i stumbled across the lovely Victorian bridal boutique i was instantly relieved!  Erin is so lovely,  & i couldn't believe it when she told me she could source the dress of my dreams from the American Label 'Ivy & Aster', who in my opinion makes the most beautiful wedding dresses I've ever seen!  

'Little Gray Station'

I sit here & wonder if the year is going extra fast because in 6 months the big day will be here. Now finally hitting me that its closer then it appears..

I'm over joyed to be getting married to the man who i adore & love so much. I feel fairly organised but i know what it takes to plan a wedding, let alone a wedding with a understated vintage theme.. perhaps a little too much.


Lucky I have an amazing vintage inspired wedding stylist Judi from 'Little Gray Station' to make my dreams reality! Meaning i don't have to spend countless hours & nights searching online sites like Etsy & Ebay for vintage inspired props & decorations (i cant help myself to still look though). Any other day I enjoy looking for unique vintage items but to complete a wedding for guests up to a 100 its a bit manic & time consuming.

When i'm out & about in Brisbane looking for inspirational bits & pieces i'd say i spend most of my time in the vintage precinct Paddington (Retro Metro, Ra Ra Superstar, Karen Willis Holmes) & Ann Street in Fortitude Valley (Babushka Ballerina, Hoe Boutique, Akira, Principessa) i'm constantly revisiting all the fashion & vintage boutiques around these areas.

Did i mention that the talented fashion & wedding photographer Nat from 'Milque Photography' will be capturing all the special moments of the big day, & with all the beautiful vintage inspired styling from Judi, my enchanting dress from Ivy & Aster, & i'm marrying the man of my dreams... i feel pretty excited right now even though i know we have lots to still do!!!

A big thank you to my maid of honor, bridesmaids, MUM & Judi from 'Little Gray Station' for making this journey a fun & memorable one!! xo

My search for flowers & cakes are in the next chapter of my 'bride story' :-)

'muse' moves on for now...

Busy girl

A big warm shout out to my beautiful dear friend Kylie Balint. I  thank her for all her energy & support with kicking off serenemuse blog. 

My lovely girl is off studying hard with her new adventure 'Event Management', working full-time, & of course is my full-time maid of honor :-)

But she wont be far away & i'm sure she will be back as a guest writer for serenemuse one of these days soon... forever a serenemuse!

love you kylie-muse

♥ 

a very vintage wedding fair

wedding inspiration

a very vintage wedding fair 

Sitting around daydreaming about my inspirational day at 'a very vintage wedding fair' bleeding heart, Brisbane today. Speaking with vintage enthusiasts, like Judi from 'little gray station', Stephanie from 'the forever dress' Maudie's Millinery, Kim from 'hermias wishes', & the talented Jennifer Gilford... How could I not be re-inspired about my vintage wedding theme!

Meeting these amazing people have made it oh so easy for me to get the vintage inspired wedding of my dreams :) thanks girls!

Oh and a special thank you to my handsome fiancée for waiting several hours for me at the fair while I bath myself in vintage inspiration!

♥   

Check out these gorgeous vintage inspired businesses

little gray station 

jennifer girlford designs 

the forever dress 

maudies millinery 

hermias wishes

♥   

It's Valentine's Day again & we want to know how you're celebrating? Whether you're sharing the day with your partner or a bunch of friends.. sharing the love is what it should be about! 

My fiancee & I usually don't buy gifts but we do treat ourselves to a yummy dinner.. this year we are heading to The London Club at Tenneriffe in Brisbane. Every year we like to try somewhere new.. so we're looking forward to checking this rustic looking restaurant out! Time to eat a 3 course meal with no cleaning up afterwards :-)

We wish you a very happy Valentine's Day & remember to share the love! xo

We love Frankii online xo

Check out Frankii Online facebook page, LIKE, post on wall ' I LOVE FRANKII ONLINE ' & you could win their amazing giveaway..

Good Luck xo

Frankii Online

What to do when you've been naughty

So, the holidays are over and you've eaten and drank too much, stayed out too late and generally over-done it in so many ways that can leave you looking and feeling more ugly step-sister then Cinderella.

Beat the bloat. Drink a cup of herbal tea each morning and night, and sip on water throughout the day to minimize bloat. Dandelion root tea is especially good for flushing out your system. Minimise your salt intake; when you're having decadent meals, stay away from sodium for the rest of the day. It's also a good idea to steer clear of carbonated beverages - even diet ones! The chemicals make you retain fluid and can increase your craving for sweets.

Cut out a few things. If you pass up candy, for example, you could save at least 300 calories a day; white bread, up to 1,000 calories a day; red meat, 200 calories a day; and cheese, several hundred calories in one sitting.

Skipping meals is bad for you! Don't fast all day in anticipation of a giant feast, or think you're losing weight by doing so. You'll be so hungry by the time you get to dinner that you're likely to eat twice what you might if you ate right all day. It also slows your metabilism down therefore increasing the amount of fat stored.

Set a goal. Eat healthy for a solid week right after the holidays, and then keep it going for as long as you can after that. Some juice cleanses are a good weight loss tool - but not the ones that leave you famished or fad detox diets (such as the lemon one we've all heard of; which has been deemed by nutritionists as one of the worst detox diets currently on the market). Fad diets will leave you feeling lethargic. A good cleanse SereneMuse recommends is BluePrint Cleanse, as it provides adequate calories. The safest bet however, is to stick with small portions of whole grains, lean protein, raw vegetables and healthy fats like those in avocado and almonds.  An amazing breakfast to kick start your metabolism and boost your energy everyday is eggs with one yolk and dried oregano, spinach, or basil for flavour.

xo

Sweat it out

This weekend SereneMuse visited Zen Hot Yoga & Spa located at Sherwood in Brisbane (Australia) to experience the Detox Box (as seen on The Great South East).  

This 40 minute detox involves sitting in a chair and sweating it out using Far Infrared (FIR) technology; also referred to as "happy rays". FIR heat is the most effective way to remove those nasty toxins from your body and stimulate endorphins. It's like doing a 10km run while sitting down! Trust me... the sweat will be dripping off you.

The beautiful set-up and friendly staff at Zen add to the relaxing atmosphere. You'll even be greeted with ginger tea and water. While you sweat those toxins away you can stay amused by choosing from a selection of dvd's - or bring your own dvd or music. A shower is available and much needed after your detox!

Also available at Zen Hot Yoga & Spa is Hot Yoga (obviously) and Pilates. The Hot Yoga also uses FIR heat; so if you don't feel like you're achieving anything without sweating - this is the yoga class for you! There are yoga and pilates classes every day so check out the timetable and book yourself in for some ancient therapy. 

So whether you live in Brisbane or elsewhere, research spa facilities that are utilising the FIR technology to get the most out of your time and money. SereneMuse is a big fan!

Also a great gift idea for Christmas.

xo