A lot can happen in two years.

Two years ago tomorrow, my best friend's life was turned upside down. Two years ago tomorrow is the day we remember my best friend's little brother. Two years ago today was the day that changed my life.

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A week ago, my girlfriend and I started using MFP again. She's just had a baby (in January), and I want to lose weight to feel awesome at my 30th birthday in August. 

In April 2012, something changed in my life that I never imagined. I lost someone I loved. If you've read this blog before, you will know just how much he meant to me. Losing him sparked something in me, and prompted me to change my lifestyle.
Tonight, I write this post at 81kg. I've put on 3kg since my epic loss, (I lost 20kg) but that's okay. It's just over 10% of my loss, and I can lose it again.

I need to tighten my belt a lot in what I consume. I took my measurements today and while I'm not surprised, I'm still disappointed in myself. Weigh in is now Monday, and measurement day is the 7th of each month.

07 April 2014

Body Part	Measurement
Neck	34.5cm / 13.58"
Upper Arm	34cm /13.38"
Bust	107cm / 42"
Underbust	89cm / 35"
Waist	89cm / 35"
Hips	117cm / 46"
Thigh	63.5cm / 25"
Total Body Weight	81kg / 178.5lb

I'm not going to be writing here as often as my last journey, or my attempted journeys. I'm doing my honours year at uni, as well as my final year. This year is my fourth and fifth years at uni, all rolled into one. Crazy, you say? Yes, yes I am. And at the end I'll have a marvellous piece of paper, industry experience under my belt, and be happy that my life is going in a positive direction.

Here's a couple of photos for you from the first quarter of the year so you can see how I'm looking.

Sunday, 2 February 2014: Alex's brother's wedding
Hair & Make-up by Candice De Ville

Thursday, 13 March 2014: Collins234 Boutique Place Fashion Event

Wednesday, 26 March, 2014: A's graduation ceremony, MCC The Plenary 

Friday, 4 April 2014: Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Two years ago tomorrow, my best friend's life was turned upside down. Two years ago tomorrow is the day we remember my best friend's little brother. Two years ago tomorrow was the day that changed my life.

"You look like you've stepped out of an Alannah Hill magazine!"

Last night was my work's Christmas function. It was the first function I'd been to, given that I've only been there four weeks.

I rocked up an hour late (traffic and appointments booked well in advance held me up) but slipped in unnoticed during speeches.

Figuring out what to wear was a curse. I had wanted to wear the red dress with white polka dots, but it didn't look flattering, so I was going to wear my gorgeous Sweet As A Rose Princess Highway Dress. Problem solved. Then I had a stroke of luck and was able to wear the red dress with white polka dots after all.

This outfit is styled almost exactly to what I wore last night, but only a few things are exact: cardigan, makeup, perfume, nail polish, and watch. The dress and remaining accessories are the closest matches I could find on Polyvore.

I found my friends, and one of them, who is quite gorgeous herself, said to me: "Oh my God, you look hot! Gosh, you look like you've stepped out of an Alannah Hill magazine!" Well, that was it. My night was made. I didn't care about anything else. I finally feel like I've made it in the world of fashion! Never mind the fact I felt completely overdressed as most other people were in denim (they'd declared it a casual day at work), I finally felt amazing! Thanks, S!

I got quite a few compliments throughout the evening, so that lifted my spirits indeed  (along with the free moscato, cheers!).

For the record, it was not intended to look so Christmassy in my attire, and fortunately no-one picked up on the colour scheme/party theme. Further, the shoes I wore, from Zu's 2009/2010 summer range are aptly named Holly.

"You look like you've stepped out of an Alannah Hill Magazine!" 

Emily and Fin cherry dress / Cropped cardigan, $93 / Caparros shoes / Jane Norman glitter handbag, $29 / FOSSIL stainless steel jewelry / Marc by Marc Jacobs bangle bracelet / Bracelets bangle, $235 / Georg Jensen diamond earrings / Charm pendant, $300 / Waist belt, $83 / Nina flower hair accessory / The Body Shop body shop / Burberry perfume, $77 / Sally Hansen beauty product / Gloss - Mirenesse, $42 / Nude By Nature Mineral Cover Medium 15g at Terry White Chemists / Eyes Right

Swimsuit Shopping

Polyvore Playtime

In my last post, I talked to you about Polyvore. Polyvore is this wonderful site that allows you to throw together outfits from things you see online, as well as many other awesome things like throwing together home decor, or digital artworks, or collages etc., though I'm not really doing the description any justice. Go and read for yourself. Then make yourself an account and play. It's all shades of addictive.

Le Swimsuit Challenge

Now that I've lost a game-changing amount of weight, it's time to step up to the plate and get a new swimsuit. Fact of the matter is, the one I got 8 or so years ago really just doesn't cut it anymore. It never was fashionable, but was very practical. That was an important quality for me in a swimsuit. I wanted it to hide all my yucky parts and still give me great support for the girls. I had a racer-back thing from Target. It's still in my wardrobe, and was great for doing laps. It's now got a few small holes from its travels though, so perhaps I'll be on the hunt for two swimsuits. Pretty, and practical.

Below is a slideshow (thanks, Polyvore!) of a few swimsuits that I really like the look of. Pretty, yes. Practical, hell no! Most are available from Australian retailers, there are just a few that are from OS online stores. Click the slideshow, or the links below, for more details.

Swimsuit Shopping by monsoonprincess on polyvore.com

I plan on doing a few more fashion-type posts as times goes on. I do have a few up my sleeve but I've been waiting for the right moment. Once I'm into a routine, I think that will be the beginning of my fashion-type posts. Not only does a girl need a swimsuit, but a new wardrobe too!