indigo

Oasap top and bag, Kmart skirt, Forever New belt and earrings, Rubi shoes

Greetings internet! How are you all? Things in my life have improved considerably since the stress and exhaustion at the start of the week. I've been pretty sick and aside from the soccer triumph, have been feeling beyond lousy and less than motivated. It's definitely been a test of whether or not I can pick myself up and dust off and I think I've done okay. The afternoon walks, earlier bed times (and reading instead of phone usage at night) has definitely helped and I'm starting to feel less overwhelmed, exhausted and sad. Mood swings are so weird; one minute you feel as though your whole world has swallowed you whole and then next minute, you feel as though you're on top of the world. 

Today's outfit is something I think I will wear to the university Open Day I'll be attending in the next few weeks. Next year's ambitions of moving away to study are becoming a reality and I've started planning ahead and hopefully I'll be certain on a course soon. I liked the way this outfit made me feel; well-dressed, well educated and as if I have my life in control. Unfortunately I still haven't reached the latter stage yet as I still feel like a lost, naive sheep on their first day of school, but hey! There's still time. 

I hope you enjoy the rest of your week xo

petal

 Dress c/o Oasap, Target platforms, Forever new belt, Lovisa ring, Sportsgirl hat

I think that if you've been reading Avenue Maria from the start, you'll be aware that I sorta kinda ....maybe... (really) like pink. Oh okay, I'm lying to myself. I love pink! Pink is the equivalent to waffles and maple syrup on a Sunday morning, Ryan Gosling singing in Blue Valentine and the smell of old books. So, as you can imagine, I was delighted to unwrap this beautiful frock from Oasap this afternoon. I feel like an an absolute princess in it and it's simply perfect for Spring. I took advantage of the pretty afternoon light and aside from nearly breaking both of my ankles (note: these shoes are not ideal for the countryside), it was a lovely time. It's lucky my photographer is a good sport. *high fives the little sister*

Aside from the usual excuse for my blogging absences - wallowing in school work, horrendous time management skills etcetera - this time around, I have to admit, I've been so unmotivated! School isn't even that busy! I've had many opportunities to do blog things... catch up on emails, return comments, take pictures and put together posts but I simply haven't found the energy! Now, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has hit rock bottom when it comes to lack of inspiration (and I don't want to keep digging), so help! How have you dealt with lapses in inspiration? I would love to know because this blog is supposed to keep me relatively sane and I don't want it to turn into a 'once a week' kinda thing. 

I hope you've all had a wonderful start to the week. I'm off to bed... my eyes are starting to close on me... that's a sign that I'm tired right?! Good night! xo

mathilde

 Top c/o Oasap, thrifted dress (worn as skirt), Kmart shoes, Forever New belt

Phew! What a huge week it has been. I've missed blogging so much and am really looking forward to going on holidays and doing absolutely zero school work and reading, blogging, shopping etc to my hearts content. I've worked so hard this term with my school work and I'm really hoping it pays off in next week's exams and monologue performance. My final assignment was due in today though and after a (very!) late night, I finally finished it and handed it in - super proud of my solid effort on it I must say, haha! 

Anyway, this top arrived in the mail today (the perfect Friday afternoon treat) along with a floral backpack from Oasap. I'll review the bag when I do an outfit post with it, but this top was pretty good. I find Oasap to be a little 'hit and miss' when it comes to bags and clothing, but this top was definitely a 'hit'. It's a one-size-fits-all top which did make me a little nervous (since I am quite blessed in the chest area...) but it fit perfectly fine and the quality was lovely. A perfect top for the warmer weather which is fast approaching. 

Anyway, I am going to go enjoy some "me time". I'm thinking a bubble bath, a few back issues of National Geographic magazine and some tunes from the latest Arctic Monkeys album. Have a lovely weekend - thank god it's Friday! xo

frost

 Emerson sweater, Asos skirt, Miss Shop boots, gifted boater hat, necklace c/o Oasap

Well, it's officially Winter here in Australia and it still hasn't quite sunk in. How on earth are we already half way through the year?! It hasn't been too cold over the last few days, but it's still perfect sweater weather. My weekend was quite relaxing; my friend Ruby and I had a sleepover, ate pizza and fought off an early-morning grasshopper that interrupted our lavish breakfast. The gardener trimmed the hedges so now the silly old things have been pouncing on us unexpectedly! I nearly ate one on Saturday morning! It dived into my breakfast as if it were its own!

Sunday was very lazy. After Ruby headed home I watched Little Women, had rooibos tea and macadamia cookies and tried to read the novel we are studying for English. If you are having trouble sleeping, I highly recommend reading The Secret River by Kate Grenville... I was snoring by 8 o'clock. 

I hope you had an excellent Monday! Mine was great apart from being on the verge of a colossal sneeze all day (which finally erupted during period six!). xo

pink peony frock + an exciting giveaway!

Hello all! Wow, it's been over a week since my last post (how ridiculous, where did the time go?!). A lot has happened since I updated last... including my new hair colour! My natural hair colour was growing tiresome and I love this change a lot! I think dark brown suits me a lot better. I've been getting a few kind emails as well from people asking how my medication is going. The answer is wonderfully! The first week was pretty awful as my body wasn't used to the drug overload but the side effects seem to have subsided for now and despite not seeing any improvement in my skin yet (I'm on a low dosage to begin with so this was expected) I am feeling pretty confident. I also went back to school today and it was quite nice to be back, although I am absolutely petrified of the work load for this second term (I'm not sure how Avenue M will cope).

Anyway, onto the exciting news! I've been partnered with Oasap for a little while now and last year I was sent the prettiest bag ever that many of you were dying to get your hands on. Well, Oasap sent me an email to let me know that my readers could win a piece from Oasap (and one of them was the dream bag!). I'm so excited about it. All you have to do to enter:

Simply make an account with Oasap here and comment below with your email letting me know you've done so. 

If you'd like to throw in a few extra entries, you are welcome to like my Facebook page, Follow me on bloglovin or Instagram. You can enter up to four times, just make sure with each entry, you leave a separate comment :)

A few little extras: This giveaway will close on the 29th of April and I will select the winner using random.org. 

If you win, I'll be sending an email your way with a list of things you can choose from, so if the bag sells out before then you will have lots of other pretty things to choose from!