All the cool kids wear shades

* this is not a sponsored post (as in I wasn't paid anything to say stuff) however I was gifted an awesome pair of sunglasses after the lovely people sunglasses shop saw my Facebook post about killing off my last fave pair.
Postage was from the UK but it arrived in Perth in 10 working days (faster than some of the mail my mum sends from regional NSW!)
Well worth taking a bit of a look around. Great prices and great styles.





My wish list! ;)

http://au.sunglassesshop.com/jeepers-peepers.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/jeepers-peepers/bibi/tortoise-jp460/37205.aspx (these are the ones that i got)
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/prada/04ps/black-1ab1x1/38507.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/sxuc/28147/tortoise-28147/29443.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/guess/7140/black-35/36418.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/dolce-and-gabbana/2096/cream-14268/27505.aspx

Hubby's wish list!
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/police/8095/black-531/17697.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/police/8647/matte-black-0531/31015.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/ray-ban/3183/black-00281-polarised/27893.aspx

And all the ones little madam wants for her birthday (which isn't until June and her list has been worked on since Christmas!)
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/rocket/lucy/red-24566/27380.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/disney-kids/cars/silver-d0110c-polarised/30267.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/zoobug/daisy/team-gb-white/32976.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/dior-junior/babymanege/shiny-black-807/31351.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/quiksilver-junior/small-fry/green-238/34377.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/sxuc-junior/belle/yellow-k219/27735.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/rayban-junior/9046/shiny-havana-15213/8736.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/zoobug/butterfly02/purple-pur/29669.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/cebe-junior/gecko/crystal-purple-cb998500132/35607.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/sxuc/stan/black-833/29718.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/rayban-junior/9528/pink-23884/11915.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/rocket/vader/black-24596/35036.aspx
http://au.sunglassesshop.com/gucci-junior/5001/black-iql-bd/26491.aspx

http://au.sunglassesshop.com/

Exposed

So February. The month that New Years resolutions are already feeling like a life time ago. School, work and all the other busy aspects of life is chugging along like a off beat Groundhog Day scenario. All pretty mundane and boring expectations of the entire month really.

However February for me has been a massive eye opener.
It took one pretty massive argument with my husband to completely rock me to my core
An argument that to anyone on the outside didn't seem to be a big deal. No yelling, not even slightly raised voices and a relatively calm exterior to it all. But underneath I was reeling.

It was a massive bombshell that had taken me over 5 years to become aware of


I have been a dick!

In so many issues in marriages the husband is always blamed. In my case I realised it was all me. I've been a pushy, bossy controlling bitch and blamed him for everything.

The reality was that I have become so closed off to any wrongdoing on my part that I couldn't even see what I had been doing was wrong. It wasn't until I heard some things I said come out that I started to dawn on me.
I have been doing every single thing women complain about men doing. I wasn't emotionally available, I pick fights, I don't show any appreciation for all the things he does for me. I never even say thankyou!

It wasn't my marriage that had issues. It was me

I know that this must sound like the biggest heap of brainwashed bulldust you have ever heard. And I'm not writing this for him (he doesn't actually read my blog. He's pretty anti social media to be honest)
I'm writing this for me and maybe the one other person that this may help.

He has never been anything but supportive, respectful, thoughtful and understanding of me.
I know for a fact I'm not an easy person to live with but I never knew how difficult and spoilt-bratish I actually was. I wasn't listening to him and I wasn't listening to myself.

So after this "moment" of self awareness I I did what any Gen-Y woman would do with an issue. I googled and I googled and I googled some more. Nada. Nothing I could find seemed to be the right fit. I I considered (and still considering) spiritual guidance. (Will experiment to see what I the right fit as I'm not a religious person)

The other good old fashion fallback plan for women trying to fix something is self help books. Mindfulness for dummy's and the happiness project are currently sitting on my bedside table being devoured in every spare quiet moment to myself.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully it's not a speeding freight train

Much love.

Cie

Gomi and Aussie mummy bloggers

Hello all!

Because everyone else is doing it I'm being a "sheeple" (sheep people- someone following the herd) and throwing my 2cents into the ring.

For those out of the loop GOMI stands for "get off my internets" and is a snark forum. (Snark being snide remarks)
There has recently been a topic about Australian mummy bloggers started and many of the big names have been mentioned in fairly unfavorable terms.

It has a heap of panties in a twist in the blogosphere.

It sounds twisted..

(and I know that this wont go down well!)

BUT

.... (Pause for effect..)

I love GOMI.

I have read a heap of threads including the one about Aussies and because I adore lists I'm going to tell you why.

(IF you are still reading that is)

1) As a fledgling blogger it pretty much sums up a lot of do's and dont's, especially in regards to transparency of post types (eg sponsored posts vs review posts) It turns out that I'm not alone in my frustration when reading a post on someone's blog and discovering in the fine print at the bottom of the page that it is indeed a sponsored post and financial remuneration was received to post it. Not that I'm against bloggers getting paid for what they do. It's by no means easy money I imagine. However I would like to know in the first line if its a sponsored post (paid for) or a review post (products received) or a mix of both (products and payment)
*note- if you are ever unsure about any of my blog posts and the motive behind them PLEASE leave me a comment and ask!! I would hate to be a hypocrite!

2) I have discovered a heap of fantastic blogs that I would not have found otherwise via the links and naming of them.

3) Mixed in with all the snark is a lot of praise. When something is liked it is shared. (Referred to as SOMI, stay on my internets)

4) Bloggers don't always get a lot of feedback. People just stop reading a lot of the time. It's nice to get an insight as to why.

5) It makes me feel validated in my decision not to include anything about my daughter or husband. Yes I'm currently on top of my high horse but each to their own and what works for some may be a deal breaker for others.

Really I just see GOMI as a giant international brainstorm session and anonymous feedback form. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and by reading them you can learn a lot.

So signing off for tonight. I'm off to google product placement fauxtography ideas (jokes!!)


Much love
Cie

Is serious blogger an oxymoron?

Hello hello!

Stupidly spent last night online until way too late rather than making the most of having a whole bed to myself for the night and I started thinking while reading some articles about blogging about what sort of direction I would ultimately like Pathetic to Pinup to go in.
While many of my ideas were pretty far fetched on the reality radar (like being sponsored by a pinup clothing company or shoe company to attend blog conferences in Australia and overseas while supplying me with amazing items to test out and giveaway enabling me to be completely decked out to enter miss pinup Australia....Not very likely right!)

I did start to ponder the ideal of a "serious blogger" and if its really an oxymoron much like military intelligence.

Blogging in Australia from all accounts is a vastly different ball game to being a well known blogger in the USA. I'm guessing none of us are making 7 figures a year from blogging alone.

So to be a "serious blogger" in Australia what is the criteria that needs to be met?

I would love to know what should be added to this checklist. (And therefore how I stack up)
Which Australian bloggers would you class as serious bloggers and why?

Hopefully things will get cleared up for me ;)


Much love

Cie

Taking it all off...My hair colour. Review and giveaway

Disclaimer- This is not a sponsored post... However the products used were sent to me as a gift as well as the giveaway product. :)

Now that that is out of the way and I've done the right thing by letting you know how I got the product I used in my hot little hands (Don't you hate when bloggers don't mention that until the end of the post, if they even mention it at all. LAME!)

I was sent a spiffy little package from a hair product company breaking into the Australian market called Jo Baz. From what I can find in google searches its already readily available in the UK but only just making its way into the great southern land.


I was sent 3 boxes. One of max strength hair colour remover, one of normal strength colour remover and their keratin based hair straightening product. The max strength remover is the one I used today.

Jo Baz Max Strength Hair Colour Remover

 

Some back story...I have been colouring my hair in some way or another since I was 13. I'm now 26 and have no idea what my natural colour is. My last colour I put in was a black permanent home colour. It had started to fade slightly to dark brown but there was no way I was going to be able to update my colour without growing it out or bleaching it as nothing would have coloured over it.

The JoBaz hair colour remover was easy to use. It gives simple step by step instructions that although they take a while to complete wasn't fussy or complicated. It was super stinky so make sure you use it in a well ventilated area but it was by no means intolerable. And the results were pretty surprising.

Before.

After!

My hair feels slightly dryer than usual when wet but no significant damage that I can detect and it still feels soft and silky now that its dry. I didn't even need to put a treatment through!


Now for the fun bit. I have a box of the normal strength colour remover to give away. The catch is that you need to review it for the Jo Baz peeps. So have you had a hair colour fail recently that you need help with or like me you have gone too dark and now want a change?
Comment below with your story and I will announce the winner in 3 weeks time when I review the straightening product (need to give my hair a bit of a rest)
Make sure you also like the Pathetic to Pin up up facebook page (here)


Jo Baz is available from Priceline in Australia if you want to try it out :)


Much love

Cie
xox

The obligatory New Years resolutions post. And as usual it late.

As usual my posting schedule thing is all shades of fudged up but whatev's as the cool people say or something-or-nothing.

I'm hoping for 2013 to be a big year for me and my little family. Little madam starts full times school, the husband is all systems go in his new job and I've managed to get through 4 months of full time work without any major stuff ups. Yay!

The big goal for this year is to buy our first house.
Smaller more personal goals are as follows in simple list (meaning at the end of the year I can cut and paste to see how many I actually have done, I also LOVE lists!
- lose another 12-15kg
- make a patchwork quilt for little madam
- find a super cheap second hand furniture place to buy furniture to make over. We sold most of ours before leaving Darwin to reduce storage costs. Local perth locations, ideas and suggestions accepted!
- grow my hair out so I can finally learn to do victory rolls
- master the use of liquid eyeliner
- post on here at least once a week
- watch less tv
- spend less time on Facebook
- spend more one on one time with the husband. (I hate referring to as him like that but can't think of another name for him...also open to suggestions)
- make pathetic to pinup bigger and better with awesome new things to show you all and maybe some Vlogs in the future so you can actually HEAR all the crap I come out with rather than just reading it :)

What are your goals for this year?

Much love

Cie

What NOT to do as a customer.

Hello lovelies

It's heading into that time of year that those of us in customer service roles dread.
The silly season.
Ugh!

So as a public service to all others, who like me are pretty much living at work over the next couple of weeks, I figured I should compile a what NOT to do list for customers.

As much as the things listed seem like common sense to avoid, they are all examples given by others I know (as well as my own experiences) so common sense may not be as common as it should be. I couldn't make this shit up if I TRIED!

1) While you are being served get off your bloody phone! It's rude and transactions take longer when you aren't listening to the person serving you. Also don't tap your fingers at us. Or worse.. Click at us!

2) Fitting rooms are NOT toilets. Hiding a turd under a pile of clothes won't solve the problem either!

3) Following on from number 2, fitting rooms aren't a private space for you to have a "hand relief" session over multiple pairs of women's underwear. (The police were called for that one)

4) Don't try on clothes while "aunt flow" is visiting an you have no grasp on personal hygiene.

5) DON'T expect to return items that have been used or soiled. Clothes reeking of cigarette smoke or worn UNWASHED underwear cannot be returned. The undies riding up your crack while you were wearing them doesn't make them faulty!

6) FYI. The oldest looking staff member is not always the manager.

7) Don't ask the person serving you super personal questions. Whatever someone's sexuality is, is NONE of your business.

8) Don't ask the pregnant woman serving you if she's keeping the baby just because you have assumed she's 16 when really she's 22 and married.

9) Don't poo in pot plants

10) Sex in change rooms isn't cool.

11) DONT strip down to your jocks to show the bartender how much weight you have lost.

12) If your child has an accident in a store. Clean it up! Or at least let someone know. Don't a) cover it with a notebook or similar. b) park your pram over it while in the store an then wheel out a trail of crap behind it. c) wipe their backside and leave the wipes behind as well!

13) Ask if there is a bin, DONT put your empty cup wherever you feel like.

14) DON'T comment in the size, shape or appearance of the person serving you unless it's a genuine compliment.

15) DON'T get snippy when greeted at the door. It's our job. As long as its genuine and happy...stop bitching.

16) Yes we will try to up-sell. Again...it's our job. Take it in good humour.

17) We aren't babysitters. Supervise your own bloody kids! I don't know you an I don't know your kids so don't leave them alone in the store!

18) If its obviously busy please try not to get cross with us. We are as frazzled by the whole season as you are. Remember we also need to fit in our own Christmas shopping at some stage when we aren't helping you with yours!

19) DONT dump your money on the counter then rudely push it towards us to pay. Be a freaking human and HAND it to us!

20) If you see someone with staff ID tags or uniform while in line for the loo don't start complaining about a product they stock. Write to head office. We don't choose our products. Especially DON'T continue the conversation/complaint from the cubical next to us. Wee time is ME time!


Enjoy your Christmas shopping folks.

And remember to be nice. If you are in one of the many shopping centres in perth it could me serving you...and I'm a right bitch!

Cheers
Cie


Ps. Don't get me wrong. I actually really enjoy my job and 99% of my customers. The other 1% give me great material to blog about.