Thursday, 12 November 2015

The Domestic Playlist


Hello lovely friends!

We believe that music definitely has the effect to change the mood. We dedicate (almost) every Saturday morning to cleaning our apartment and doing our grocery shopping. To enjoy ourselves more while we dust our shelves and clean the bathroom, we usually get one of our computers out and blast some music. It is even better when it is a sunny day and we have all of the windows open letting the fresh air in.

This playlist I first made as a smooth driving tunes mix that would satisfy both our parents and us when I am in the drivers seat (yes, we are 19 and still on our L's). However, I discovered that the mix also works well with cooking and cleaning. I added a few songs, and now we have the perfect domestic task playlist filled with many old and new tunes for easy listening, and dancing around singing into your broom. 

WARNING: There is a lot of adult contemporary on here. 




 




What are some of your favourite mixes or playlists?


Stay Gold,
Claire & Grace x
--

p.s What? you can embed Spotify playlists?! Well this is just a game changer.

Monday, 9 November 2015

Our Summer Bucket-list '15/'16

Hello my lovely friends! 


How about that rain last week? As I was wearing my LL Bean Boots and clutching a red Starbucks cup I was beginning to get confused as to which hemisphere we live in! Now that we have finished exams for the year, we cannot help but get excited for the Summer time, even though Summer is technically a little over three weeks away. 


We have the habit of being all talk and not enough action when it comes to how we want to spend our breaks, and our social life in general. So this year we have decided to actually write a Summer bucket list! Hopefully we stick to it and actually achieve everything the want to do to make sure we make the most of the break and make the memories Summer deserves. 





1. Explore more suburbs



2. Go to the beach



3. Sew at least one thing    



4. Blog more!



5. Eat out with friends



6. Sort out interior decorating of our apartment



7. Spend time with family



8. Go to Camberwell Market



9. Visit a winery



10. Go on a mini road trip with best friends



11. Go to Andy Warhol x Ai Wei Wei at the NGV



12. See The Night Before with our siblings



13. Host a Christmas movie marathon



14. Pet more dogs



15. Read a book a week (Grace) / Watch more movies (Claire)



--

What is on your Summer bucket list?

Stay Gold,
Claire & Grace. 

Tuesday, 3 November 2015

WHERE HAVE WE BEEN?!

We're back!


 My oh my has it been a while since we have made a post. We are truly, terribly sorry about that. Trust us when we say that over the past two months we have been thinking about this little 'ol blog and coming up with new ideas to make it bigger and better. It is just that our lives just got way too busy during the last weeks of semester that we couldn't fit in anything else but study, work and volunteering. 

However, have no fear! We finally made it to the end of the semester. I finished on Monday, and Claire finishes tonight. This means that we have four, glorious months to get this blog back up and running. We have plenty of exciting things planned, so stay tuned!

Before we get ready for our second year of Graceful and Claire, we need to catch you up on what we has kept us so busy while we were away.

Enjoy! I will see you again soon. 
(I promise)


The sun finally came out and this photo was taken just to commemorate that. 


We went to our first Uni Ball together! Unlike other student society balls where you actually dress all fancy like, us Arts students prefer to have fancy dress. The theme was 'Please Don't Stop the Music', which of course we took to mean *Mrs Darbus voice* 'Please Don't Stop the Musi-cal'. Taking advantage of our new hair colours, we dressed up as Elphaba and Glinda! Classic Grace and Claire.



Since we moved to Melbourne, we have decided to make it a tradition to see at least one ballet a year. Last year we saw the contemporary ballet Chroma (which was amazing!). This year we decided to go more traditional and see Sleeping Beauty with Miriam and Elektra. It was a truly beautiful night, and I am so glad we got to experience it with some of our closest friends.


Claire was Publicity Manager for a uni student production, which mean organisng the photoshoot and all other publicity. Emails on emails on emails.  
This was a behind-the-scenes shot she took while the Facebook cover photo was taken. 



This semester I started volunteering at an art gallery, and it has been one of the best things to happen this semester. I am extremely grateful for the experiences and connections I am gaining. Plus, the free pizza and wine leftover from the bar after an opening always goes down well. 


What a beautifully candid typical-uni-experience photo of Claire and her two friends working on a group assignment on the lawn. The photo is so typical it needed to be included. 



(Side note: I got glasses! Yep, over the weeks I could read my lectures less and less until it got to the point where it was ridiculous. I don't need to wear them all the time, but without my glasses my vision is analog, while with them I have HD vision. Who would have thought?!)



Oh my word, was this night a goody. As part of the Melbourne Festival, Flight Facilities and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performed together for a concert at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. It was our first event at the Bowl and it totally looked different from watching Carols by Candlelight every year. We have loved Flight Facilities for years since we discovered the RAC remix of Crave You and found out that the original was so totally our style. Also, the MSO has had a special place in our hearts since the days when we played musical instruments. Together, it was purely magical and atmospheric. It was hands down the best musical experience of my life so far. (Sorry Taylor Swift).


(such lovely faces)


Once again typical of Arts students, in week 12 the Arts Student Society at our Uni held a Week 12 Carnival. We spent an extended 2-hour lunch break standing in various lines to score as much free food as we could, and even took part in the face (or rather, hand) painting on offer. 


This photo was taken at opening night of the show Claire worked on! The guys is one of her good theatre friends, Peter, who is amazing and has helped keep her as sane as you can be when it comes to theatre. Looking fab.  



What is the point of finishing an essay if you cannot share it with everyone via your snapchat story? (Featuring my glasses I probably didn't need to be wearing to make me look smarter).


Not the best photo to document the experience, but in between Claire's show opening and swotvac, Claire volunteered at the Girls on Film Festival! If you know Claire personally or saw this post back in April, you will know that Claire is very passionate about women in film, television and theatre. Also, after her volunteer gig at the Melbourne International Film Festival in July, Claire has been hooked onto the film festival bug. So this opportunity was basically a dream come true. One of the says she volunteered was an event called Girl Germs which was kind of like a fete for young feminist babes. Two Riot Grrrl bands (the Girl Fridas and Miss Miss) played, there was lots of glitter, DIY badges, zine, derby girls, a nail art station, you name it. It was a magical experience. this photo is the merchandise table Claire was stationed at. 




At the start of swotvac we went home to visit the parents, watch The Great Australian Bake Off, and get our hair done. However, essays stop for no woman and with a week until Claire had two essays due and one not even started yet, we had to utilize every moment. Including trains and hairdresser appointments. (It was very productive)




Claire was nominated the a student theatre award for Excellent Offstage! She didn't win :( but she was the only publicity manager/assistant stage manager nominated, so it's basically a win.
Claire was also (on the same night) appointed to be an officer in the committee of her student theatre group for 2016! Yay Claire!


(Claire has been busy) 
Back in July/August, Claire submitted a piece calling out the lack of female representation in one of her cinema studies classes to the women's department magazine at Uni at last week it got published! How great is that illustration?


Halloween was this past weekend and what is more in the Halloween spirit than realising that you had absolutely no food while it was pouring rain outside and you don't have a car? So I donned my loved Bean Boots and trusty bright yellow IKEA umbrella (similar linked) and trekked down to the grocery store. We also ducked into the local video store to hire some festive family movies to watch while we wrote our essays.

Stay gold,
Grace.


Sunday, 20 September 2015

Our Spring/Summer Wishlist 2015





check shirt | anchor shorts | tan sandals | shirt dress

These upcoming warmer months, I am looking forward to exploring my blue and white with a splash of colour (I'm feeling pink for this season, perhaps some mustard yellow, too) palette into my S/S wardrobe. The pyjama set from H&M are to die for! The only thing that could make them total perfection is if they were monogrammed. I also refuse to let go of jelly sandals as the shoe for Summer. They are such a classic! I am planning on keeping the trend going with jellies in black, white, and maybe pink too.

In case you have not noticed, I like to keep things classic in my style, with a few surprises here and there. The shorts, also from H&M would look perfect with a button down, while the neon pink cross body will be my go-to bag for day adventures.

The blue and white dress is definitely my splurge item. I was walking past French Connection when I saw the most beautiful dress in the window. Automatically I walked inside the store to have a closer look, and guys, oh my word was it amazing. French Connection is actually really appealing to my aesthetics at the moment. The dress is a bit out of my usual price range, but I know that I will definitely get my wear out of it. So it is totally a valid investment, right? 






This combination of items are making me hearteyes all over the place. 

This season I am feeling a lot of white with my blue denim high-waisted shorts, black shoes, and I am determined to make the swing dress work for me. I am such a mid-20th century aesthetics kinda gal, (60s and 70s I ADORE) so I am 100% here for the return of the 70s right now. Bring me all the bell sleeves!


We had a ball creating this post! We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. As the new seasons come in and when Uni comes to a close for another year we are excited to start creating more fashion/style posts for the future.

What trends are you looking forward to rocking this Spring/Summer?

Stay gold,
G & C

Friday, 11 September 2015

Favourite Instagrammers

Hello all,


Things are getting busy around here (thanks, Uni!) so today we bring you a list of our favourite Instagram accounts. The perfect instagam is an artform in itself. Looking at these accounts is also quite inspiring (#goals) and so aesthetically pleasing.


So, without further ado:

Three Corgis (@threecorgis)
We absolutely ADORE corgis, and this household has THREE of them! Meet Hambone, Cupcake and Wolfgang: the ultimate three-dog wolf pack. What can get any cuter than this?


A Lonestar State of Southern (@lonestarsouthern)
Also known as Kate, this Texan blogger is one of our absolute faves. We just adore her southern prep, filled with bold and bright colours and always a touch of class. She is an absolute sweetheart (the kindest girl ever!) and her photos are #styleinspo always. 


Estée Lalonde (@estee_lalonde)
Estée (formerly known as Essie Button) is a Canadian YouTuber who lives in London. She used to be a "beauty blogger" but has recently begun rebranding herself to explore more creative ways to make videos. Her style is so relaxed and chic, and sometimes her boyfriend Aslan and greyhound Reggie will pop up, too (cue the adorableness).


Draper James (@draperjamesgirl)
Draper James is a retail brand founded and created by our no.1 fave, Reese Witherspoon. The brand fully embraces classic Southern living, pearls, curls and all. One day we will be able to afford one of their pieces (preferably the Totes Y'all tote bag, omg). Even though we live in Australia, we are all about the American Southern Prep style, and Draper James is all of our goals in life.

Vogue Brides Australia (@voguebridesaustralia)
While we also love the Vogue Australia account, we seriously love weddings. Visiting home, and our Foxtel, means marathons of Say Yes To The Dress: Atlanta (have you noticed the Southern theme, yet?) and we both have a wedding themed Pinterest board, respectively. Grace has also been thinking about possibly taking this love of weddings into her career, so as well as this account making us very happy, it is a great motivator as well. 


Daily Blooms (@dailybloomsmel)
Daily Blooms is a Melbourne based florist service, which creates a different bouquet each day, available to be delivered right to your door! And if you can't afford fresh flowers, with their Instagram account you can still witness a different beautiful bouquet every day on your Instagram feed.




What are some of YOUR favourite Instagram accounts? We're always keen to follow more!
Also, make sure to follow the Graceful & Claire instagram account, @gracefulandclaireblog. 

DISCLAIMER: we are not affiliated with any of these accounts, and thus we were in no way asked to sponsor these accounts. All thoughts are our own.


Stay gold,
Grace & Claire xx

Saturday, 29 August 2015

August Favourites

Hello all!


August 2015 is nearly over (yay spring!) and we have always enjoyed these kinds of posts and videos from other bloggers, so we decided to do one ourselves.

Note: both of our favourites are mixed up in this photo


CLAIRE

My Paris Dream by Kate Betts
The first thing that grabbed me about this book was the cover. I mean, look at it. Blush pink, copper and Paris? It's just too pretty. An autobiography, this book is about Kate Bett's, who, in the 80's, moved to Paris with little plan and no job after graduating from Princeton. She then snagged the chance to work at Womens Wear Daily magazine and became submerged into the life of Parisian high culture and fashion. I took it on the train with me to and from the city (and the hometown) as a nice easy read, and a break from academia and studying.

Tortoiseshell Sunglasses
I got these glasses for $10 from The Rocks Market during our trip to Sydney last month. Even though August was quite a dreary winter's month, I loved having these on when the sun came out. I love the shape, and tortoiseshell and gold sunglasses are my favourite to wear. I expect to be wearing these a lot more in the warmer months.


SIMILAR 

BIEN Necklace
I have been wearing this necklace everyday these past few weeks. Fully adopting the classically chic Parisian style, I have been wanting a subtle long chain necklace to wear with t-shirts and jumpers. My love for all things Paris and french has really flared up this past month, so I just adore this necklace! I am also a gold jewellery person so it's just so pretty.

I got this necklace from Sportsgirl at the start of the month, but it was on sale so it is no longer available. However, I am definitely going to be getting some more delicate long chain necklaces for Spring/Summer, and Sportsgirl has some beautiful ones at the moment, so check them out. 

Sephora Universal Lip-liner
For someone who wears red lipstick everyday, I have never used lipliner before (which is a lipstick faux pas, because it actually prolongs your lipcolour.) However, I was always hesitant because I always found red liners that are darker than my shade of lipstick, so they just didn't match. 

During our trip to Sephora in Sydney, I decided to try out their universal lip liner. It's an invisible liner which can be used with any lipcolour and still prevent feathering and keeping your lipstick all in one place. I have been using it everyday and my lipstick is so much neater.

(P.S Melbourne is opening a Sephora in Melbourne Central, which is currently set to open at Christmas, but I got that information from their Instagram, so fingers crossed it's true!)

Sportsgirl Pout About It Lipstick in "Bombshell"
I have been using this lipstick all year. While I do own a number of different lipsticks, this is always the first one I'll grab and use basically everyday. The one I currently have is a repurchase, so I must trust it.

I love a matte lip and so what I love about the Sportsgirl lipstick is how matte they are, but yet extremely pigmented. I love the colour, it's nice and bright and for $10, it's pretty great.

The Mindy Project
This show had taken over my life for the past two weeks. I just love Mindy Kaling and her character Mindy Lahiri so much. Lahiri is such a great character, and I loved the show. Sometimes Danny is like, the worst person ever, but eh, he has his moments.  I just finished season 3 this morning, and I am looking forward to season 4 (thanks, Hulu!) 


GRACE

Lily Pulitzer 2015/16 Planner in Wild Confetti

I have been eyeing off the Lilly Pulitzer agendas for a while now, and when I saw the new prints for the 2015/16 agendas, I finally decided to take the plunge. Sadly, Lilly Pulitzer does not ship to Australia, so I actually ordered mine from Amazon. It did cost a pretty penny, but when it looks this cute, how could I resist? Plus, it spans from August 2015 through to December 2016, so this planner is taking me through to the end of my degree! Definitely a worthy investment.

Jeweled Cuff

This navy and green gem bracelet I bought on sale from Forever New last month, and it has easily entered my every-day arm candy. What I love about this bracelet is that it easily goes with every outfit I wear, seeming that navy is my neutral. It also reminds me of the darling (but super expensive!) Kendra Scott Andy and Elton bracelets. 

Amazing Grace perfume by Philosophy

My dear friend, Miriam, bought me the travel sized version of this perfume for my birthday/Christmas (December baby!) last year. Basically, this scent is perfect for me, being a) being literally named after me, and, b) the brand is called Philosophy which holds a lot of meaning to me. When my travel size ran out, I automatically bought another travel size, and a full size, without even thinking twice about it. It smells so light and floral, and perfect to be my signature scent. 

Navy Blue Loafers

I actually bought these shoes earlier in the year, probably around late February. They have caused me a lot of pain over the past few months as I have been breaking them in. The backs of my heels will never be the same again. However, I have FINALLY, broken them in enough that they are so comfortable. They have been my go-to shoe when I don't feel like wearing my riding boots or L.L. Bean Boots. Seriously, I wear them basically every single day. So cute, and so totally me!

Disney's Descendants

I am not ashamed to admit that I was totally a Disney Channel pre-teen growing up. And okay, maybe I still am. When I found out they were making a Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) about the children Disney's best villains and heroes, I was intruiged. The movie aired on July 31st, but it took me a while to get around to watching it. Verdict: I actually enjoyed it, and now I cannot get the songs out my head. Probably because I keep on listening to the soundtrack. (I'm totally a normal 19 year old, I swear!) I think what I enjoy about it most is that it reminds me of my Disney-loving pre-teens. How can it not, when it was directed by none other than Kenny Ortega,?! Which totally makes sense with this final number that gave me serious HSM flashbacks. If you don't mind a DCOM, I do recommend. 

Special mention to K Chen's performance as Maleficent. The woman can do no wrong!

While this Winter hasn't been too bad, we are so ready for Spring! 


Stay gold,
Grace and Claire

Saturday, 22 August 2015

Funfetti Cupcakes

Hello all!

The latest season of Great British Bake-Off has begun (hooray!) and we are LOVING it so far. As always, when watching Bake Off, we just want to bake all the time!

We had a Betty Crocker box in our pantry for a while ever since they were on special for like $1.50 (bargain!) Keen for a night in, we decided to finally make the delicious vanilla cupcakes. EXCEPT WITH A TWIST. We decided to make them Funfetti Cupcakes, which is a trend that has been going around for a while, especially on Pinterest. 

Basically, Funfetti is when you add rainbow (or any) coloured sprinkles to a cake, which then melt into the batter and create a confetti type effect. Super cute and fun (hence the name)

We also made the white icing the box came with pink with some food dye because who doesn't like pink?!



The ingredients: Vanilla Cupcake mix, 2 large eggs, 1/2 a cup of milk, 60gm of butter, rainbow sprinkles and pink food dye (for the icing)

As it says on the box, you mix the butter, milk and eggs in a bowl with the cake mix, add some rainbow sprinkles, bake the cupcakes and hey presto, Funfetti cupcakes!

We are in no way claiming this recipe as our own. It's just a cake mix and some sprinkles. 

However, Zoella made some from scratch, so you can check her video out! (super baking envy with that bronze Kitchen Aid of her's...)




The sprinkles we used were quite pale, because they were the only ones Coles had, but you can kind of see the confetti effect in this photo. Super cute, super fun, and that pink frosting though!!

To make the icing pink, we emptied the pre-made frosting from the mix into a small bowl, added a couple of drops of pink food dye and just mixed it all up. To ice the cupcakes, we made a make-shift piping bag out of a sandwich bag with a corner cut off. 

They taste so good! Hopefully in the future we can bring you more baking posts (from following an actual recipe/from scratch, we promise) in the future. What would you like to challenge us to bake?! Note: we are not as skilled as the contestants on Bake-Off, so no 3D biscuit sculpture's please. 

What is your favourite thing to bake? We'd love to know!

Also, if you're a fan of Bake Off too, come talk to us about it! Any season at all, because Grace has watched all of them.
Bake-Off time is all the time.

Stay Gold!

C & G xx