Sunday, August 31, 2014

16 Australian Bloggers and Their Shoes | ProBlogger 2014

I thought that a fun way to introduce you to some of the gorgeous bloggers that I met over the past weekend at ProBlogger 2014 might be through their SHOES!

You want to see, right?!

There were lots of lust-y shoes on show; this is just a small sampling! I recommend clicking the links below to discover the blogs of the shoes that speak to you the most :) 

Here we go:


Anna Spurling from Colour Me Anna


The only feet that I'm not sure of the owner of! #whoops. But I had to include them because I loved the pops of colour. Very cute. 

Update! These feet belong to Alex from The Armchair Crossing :) Thanks Alex! x


Vanessa Rowse from Style and Shenanigans


Carly Jacobs from Smaggle


Andrea Smith from Sublime Finds


Kirsten Pilz from Travel Pilz


Kate McKibbin from Drop Dead Gorgeous Daily


Nikki Parkinson from Styling You



Brooke Schoeman of Her Packing List


Okay, okay, these are mine. Hahaha. Read more of my blog here! ;) #cheeky.


Cheryl Lin from Business Chic


Katrina Springer from The Organised Housewife


Juliet Siu of Lace n Ruffles


Kim-Marie Williams from Kimba Likes and Sonia Bavistock from Sonia Styling


Danielle Cresp from Style For A Happy Home


Candice DeVille from Vintage Current

Ahhh, shoe-porn. Loves it.
Which ones are your favourite?!

Going to ProBlogger was absolutely one of the best decisions I've made this year - and the very best thing I could do for myself and my blog and my business right now. I got to watch, listen to, learn from and meet so many amazing women. And men { Hello Darren Rowse! } and was thrilled to enter the 'circle of bloggers' feeling so welcomed and connected. It was a really special experience. And I can't wait to do it all again next year.

Do you already follow any of these blogs? Tell me which ones { and which shoes you love best! } in the comments below.
Amber. XO


242/365 Old Dogs Are The Best Dogs


Boston Bosley.

Doing his favourite thing ever. Which is pretty much just doing whatever we want to do :) As long as it involves going somewhere. Or food. Or love.

Have you read the love letter I wrote for him yet? Yeah, I write love letters to my dog. Don't you?! ;)

Bossy will be fourteen next month. And we will be partying. Well, we WILL be party-ing but it will be a day late. I just realised that we'll actually be away on his actual birthday { Oct 2 } #whoops so shhhhhhh, don't tell him the date ;) But fourteen is a great age for this old fellow and he deserves to be spoilt.

Are you an animal person? 
Amber. XO


Saturday, August 30, 2014

Bringing Sexy Back: Winged Liner and Hot Red Lips

Last night’s L’Oreal ProBlogger event was a LOT of fun. 
Pretty, sparkly, no-little-boys fun! Whooooop! #justwhatineeded :)


I hadn’t been able to work out what the approach of the night would be - so I was thrilled to hear practical advice on applying our everyday AND event makeup. The beautiful duo of Elsa Morgan and Jane from L'Oreal Paris Australia talked us through the "tool kit", while makeup artists worked onstage with models so we could see the work in progress. Lots of blending and contouring and skin perfection!


My personal favourite look { gorgeous skin aside; drink water people!! } was featured; Winged Liner. And apparently I’ve been applying mine back to front - Who knew?!! I always start at the inside of the eye and work outwards - but the TIP is to start with your wing line and work back from there, filling it in as you go. Time will tell if I can work in reverse ;) 

Here is a step-by-step:


The other look that I loved was the Bold Red Lip. I was slightly enamoured with Erin-the-makeup-artist's look: superstar RED lips with black rimmed glasses. Such a STUNNING look. It always makes me wish I needed glasses!! That's crazy, right BUT TRUE. Well, I didn’t exactly lose my eyesight but I DID get the red lips! And loved them #heartemojis

I didn’t get any good photos but you can see one here on my instagram { please excuse the dodgy iPhone 4 photography - the camera SUCKS in low light! } 


We also got sent home with a very generous pack o-delights. Yay!

So the QUESTION is - What do you think was in our L'Oreal goodie-bags?! The reader who can guess at least 2 of the products will win a little kit of nail polishes!! I'll post worldwide :) Good luck!
Amber. XO

p.s. Leave your answers below!



Friday, August 29, 2014

Pureharvest Breakfast with ProBlogger


I’m posting SUPER late because I'm going to this Pureharvest breakfast at 7am tomorrow / this morning! 

But I'm STILL.AWAKE... damn you 12:33am!!! 

I should probably get some beauty sleep before then. And, ummm, some BRAIN-sleep. Hahaha. Yeah that. I have a big day tomorrow :)) Can't believe ProBlogger time is HERE.

I accidentally managed to miss both lunch AND dinner last night, a few canapés aside - Wahhhhhh!! - so I’m actually starving and CAN’T WAIT for a yummy, healthy feast. 

YUMMMMM, bring on the morning. 
Amber. XO

p.s. Do you want to see some healthy Pureharvest recipes on my blog?!! Leave a message below and let me know what your healthy-eating dreams are! { Mine usually involve copious amounts of strawberries ;) } 


Thursday, August 28, 2014

Getting My Pretty On With L'Oreal


So, this is where you will find me tonight! Squeeee.

It's the first of the Niche Networking Events that I'm attending at ProBlogger this weekend { read my last post here for more details about how that all happened! }

I'm really looking forward to meeting L'Oreal's makeup artist Elsa Morgan and learning some new tips and tricks. 
"Elsa is one of the beauty industry’s most acclaimed professionals.  Sydney-born, Elsa heads up the L’Oreal Paris backstage team for the iconic Melbourne Fashion Festival and has also worked backstage at the Paris and Milan collections for brands such as Balenciaga, Valentino, Missoni and Christian Dior."
Impressive credentials! If you want to catch all the gossip tonight, just make sure that you're following me on Instagram and my new Twitter account. I'll be sharing my favourite things. XO



Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Turning ProBlogger | The Story So Far!

My name is Amber and I’m going to ProBlogger.



Pro-Wha? you say! I would have asked the same thing a few months ago. The explanation is coming, I promise you. But first, some back-story...


I started blogging in 2008. T says it was earlier than that, and he may be right, but this blog says 2008, so I’m taking that as my guide. Actually, if you don't know, this blog started as Adventures of a Montessori Mama and only changed to its current name about two years later when Buster B starting kindergarten at the local Steiner school and we suddenly weren't so Montessori-niche after all!


And so I blogged. Quietly. Anonymously. For a bunch of years. Over which time we moved to Sydney for a year, moved back home, started homeschooling and then travelled the world!


It has definitely been a fun few years. Some of which got more attention here than others. But it was only last year that I started telling people about my blog. Like my parents. And my in-laws, and my best friends... “Ummm, I have a blog.” Or maybe I didn’t even say that - I cautiously invited a few friends to my page without explanation. And I linked to a few of my posts! To say it was a unadventurous start is an exaggeration. I had loved blogging anonymously. I loved the little community that had found us; Rainbow Mamas in America and Japan and England and other far-flung places. And I loved not feeling self-conscious about what I shared or had to say. But at some point - I knew that something was shifting for me. I realised I was ready to lay myself bare...

Kind of. Lol.

Blogging is confronting. In every way. It’s a vulnerable position to put yourself in but it’s also exciting and cathartic, and I started seeing it as a creative challenge as I became more and more obsessed with returning to my photography roots.


Coming home to Australia at the start of the year, and the boys starting school marked a major turning point for me. I threw myself into my creative projects. And this blog. And I very quickly knew that I didn’t only want to blog... I wanted to BE a blogger. Now, this is obviously all semantics; if you blog you are a blogger. But I had never identified as a “blogger.” Today I have reached the point where I finally do; and the next step is - dadadadaaaa - ProBlogger! Alongside my photography, this is what I’m doing. Professionally. The end. Hahaha - how cool is that :) There are a few big changes in the ranks - namely that I am launching a new blog in January! But don't worry; Adventures of a Rainbow Mama is here to stay -  the new blog will be the Yin to it’s Yang. A place for all of the work that doesn’t fit here - and this time around I will be starting it as a fully fledged business. I. Am. So. Excited. 


But enough about ME! ;)


I’ll be posting more details of my new project in the next few months, but what I really wanted to talk about was how this newly baptised ProBlogger ended up with the golden tickets in her hand - tickets to ProBlogger 2014.

ProBlogger is the brainchild of Darren Rowse. It’s the name of his wunderkind blog, but it’s also now an annual Australian Bloggers Conference under the slightly clunky { shhhh ;)} title of ProBlogger Training Events. A shiny-shiny event with major blogosphere stars, workshops, partners... and 500 other bloggers attending.


For me, it all started the day I went to the Creative Business Women’s High Tea { do you remember this post? #teacupheaven } and met the amazing Chantelle Ellem of Fat Mum Slim. Chantelle is the über-blogger. Crowned Most Clickable Woman of 2013, she started the popular Photo-a-Day challenge { 13 million photos shared to date! } and released the whimsical Little Moments app while raising raised two little girls - the smallest of which only turned one this past week! Which is all crazy impressive - so it was very cool to discover the woman in front of me was completely approachable and sweet. We chatted; I liked her immediately, and then as we parted ways - she asked me if I was going “to ProBlogger”. I knew of Darren Rowse, but the conference had never crossed my path so the question hit me sideways. Ahhhhhh...


ProBlogger. I went home, and I just couldn’t shake the idea.


I googled it { praise Google } only to discover it was long sold out! Wahhhhh!! By this stage, I had read enough to know that I really NEEDED to be there. What to do?!! It took about a week, but amazingly, through the facebook event page I managed to buy a ticket from someone who couldn't attend :) Poor them. YAY me!


That was about two months ago, and everything has moved AT SPEED since then! I’ve booked accommodation, printed business cards, created a Media Kit, accepted invitations to two niche networking events { details to come - I have to split that into a separate post! Who knew I had so much to say here?! } and connected with a wonderful community that has welcomed me with open arms.

And it all kicks off TOMORROW.


You’ll be hearing more about it I’m sure ;) Hahaha. Possibly til your ears bleed. But right now - I need to finish packing, get over my bone-crumbling nerves and, ummm, sort out my eyebrows.

Have you ever attended a blogging event?
Amber. XO



p.s. All these photos are from the first year of the blog! Nawwwww munchkin alert.




Monday, August 25, 2014

La Mia Bella Casa Launch Party!



I’m so excited!

Because I'm FINALLY able to show you some of the cool work that I’ve been doing for luxury online homewares brand La Mia Bella Casa this year.

Sarah Arbiter, the mastermind behind the brand, and I met in a funny, almost serendipitous way a few months back { snoop on her blog for more details ;) } and before I knew it I was her official lifestyle photographer! And a wonderful collaboration was born.

The La Mia Bella Casa website went live a few weeks ago now, and I popped up to the Gold Coast for the launch party. A beautiful event, none the less. Sarah has sublime taste and is building an amazing reputation for luxury home furnishings, all of which are now available in her online store.

I’ll be posting photos from both her linen table-wear and bed linen ranges over the next few weeks. And I hope you like them as much as I do!

But until then, champagne anyone...? #yesplease




Do you love your home? Tell me your favourite thing about it! 

Amber. XO


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