~* Keeping Warm and Gothy in Winter *~

Since the weather here is extremely cold at the moment, I've unfortunately started wearing pants regularly to work. I promised myself I would try to only wear skirts but the temptation was too strong because of such frosty, icy weather.

But on this occasion I did manage to wear one of my Winter skirts with thick tights underneath. I have worn this new sweater to work a few times already: it is very college-student looking but I really love the effect of the white lines with the black – I think it gives an illusion that I’m slimmer than I actually am in some small way (hopefully)! Always a bonus!

I tried to wear my hair differently here too – I am not going to wear ponytails so tight all the time as they seem to give me a headache/migraine these days. I’m also wearing my fingerless gloves (which certainly kept me warm) and my lizard brooch.

I am wearing a bracelet that The Husband bought me when he was on a business trip: It was also for my 31st birthday present together with this matching hair pin and a matching hair comb (the comb is not pictured here, but I’m sure I will post a picture of it one day).

What do you like to wear to keep warm in Winter while still retaining your gothiness? And do you sometimes dislike wearing skirts in the wintertime?

~* A bit of Crochet for the Day *~

Here I am wearing my standard Corporate Goth Attire but also with a crochet black cardigan that really gives it a bit more pizazz and interest. What do you think?

Unfortunately with my job I cannot wear very outrageous outfits, they have to be a bit conservative since I am often near the reception desk and so forth.

I’m also wearing my new Mary-Jane-style shoes that I got from a thrift store, which I decorated with some satin black ribbons.

This is an old world Victorian brooch I found at a Collectables and Antique Fair. I really fell in love with it and also managed to get it for a bargain. I also sometimes wear it for semi-formal affairs like daytime parties or functions.

~* My Everyday Make Up Look *~

This is how I wear my make up casually whenever I am not at work - either on the weekends, on my day off and so forth. I even wear this make up when I go to buy groceries, run errands and whenever I leave the house.

You can see that my eye make up is a bit more extravagant than my Corporate look. On the lid is charcoal eyeshadow with black liquid eyeliner over the top, with black eyeliner and black mascara. Sometimes I also draw a little line with the liquid eyeliner or I might draw designs or lovehearts around the eye too (depending on my mood and what time I have to spend on my make up).

For the lips it’s usually just a red or purple lipstick colour – I rarely wear black lipstick but sometimes I wear brown lipstick.

On my face I use cleanser, then moisturiser with SPF 15, then sunscreen SPF 30 then I use a brush and apply talcum powder over the top (yes, that is MY SECRET - it is just an ordinary talcum powder – it does the same job as a translucent powder that you would buy in a cosmetics counter but so much cheaper – plus, the same ingredient is in the translucent powder anyway).

I only use concealer or foundation on my face if I am going to a special event! I try not to use it too much because it makes me want to scratch my face off and also I find it makes me get pimples everywhere. So that is why I rarely use it. I find the powder does enough to cover the redness of my skin.

Here I'm also wearing my tattoo choker (I wear it almost everyday) and a sparkly black bow in my hair.

~* A Casual Goth Outfit - Sunday Shopping *~

This is a standard weekend outfit - I usually wear something like this to go shopping or go about my daily errands.

Here I am wearing my casual floppy velvet black hat which I decorated generically with a black fabric rose etc.

I’m also wearing my gorgeous Alchemy Gothic Bat Pendant necklace (described as "Creature of the night in full flight; on split chain"), a fake tattoo choker and skull brooch.

This is a semi-punk-goth outfit I suppose, since I am wearing the tartan mini-skirt and the "Punk Lives" singlet over my lace rimmed long sleeve top.
What do you like to wear to go shopping and run errands?

~* Liebster Award *~

Thank you so much to Bethezda's Preoccupations for tagging me for this award!
The Rules:
Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
Answer the questions the tagger has set for you.

11 Things About Me:

1. I am interested in organisation – that is, being as “organised” as I can be with my time, my life and everything. I think I am quite an organised person, although I still need to improve my time management!

2. I enjoy baking – making cupcakes, desserts, sweets, tartlets etc. But I hate cooking other things – that is, savoury meals or main meals! I know, it sounds crazy doesn’t it? I am a sweet tooth though. I would pick sweets over savoury any day.

3. I am addicted to chocolate, the internet, reading.

4. I have been a massive fan of Winona Ryder since I was a teenager and continue to be a fan (despite THE shoplifting INCIDENT).

5. As embarrassing as it may sound now, I used to be infatuated with Joey Lawrence when I was a teenager.

6. I am petrified of public speaking and I shake, stammer and get so nervous that I make a fool out of myself.

7. I’m very shy. I’ve been an introvert since I was a child, although I am slowly becoming more outgoing these days and trying to force myself to be more sociable and talkative.

8. I have low self esteem. Even though I try terribly hard to become more confident, no matter how hard I try, I still seem to have these nagging self doubts about the way I look, my value/worth as a human being and everything in between.

9. I do Kabbalistic tarot readings for myself everyday together with affirmations. I feel these assist me with my daily life and provide spiritual development.

10. I call my daughter my “gothling heart”, my “baby bat”, my “darkling” and various other nick-names.

11. At the moment, I am attending sewing lessons (which I am really enjoying) to improve my sewing skills.

The questions I was asked from Lady Bethezda @ Bethezdas Preoccupations:

1. What is something you used to do all the time and now don't, but miss?

I used to do yoga all the time and I really miss it. I started yoga when I was about 16 years old, and it completely changed my life. I couldn’t believe I had actually discovered something that made me feel so relaxed, calm and refreshed afterwards. Nowadays I cannot go to classes. If I am lucky I might do a bit of yoga on the odd occasion (which is on a rare occasion on the weekends)!

2. Makeup Y or N?

Yes, always, everyday, even to the grocery store, even if it’s just a bit of eyeliner etc. However, I don’t wear foundation or anything like that. I might wear a bit of concealer if I’m going to a fancy party or wedding, but that’s about it. I mainly use translucent powder for daily use.

3. Tea or Coffee?

Tea! Tea! Always addicted to Tea! I am actually allergic to caffeine which rules out all coffee anyway. So I don’t drink regular tea either. It has to be herbal teas – caffeine free. I adore rosehip the most (see my cup below) but most of the teas are delicious – lemongrass, cammomile, peppermint – Yum!

4. Pointy toe or round toe?

I like them both and I wear them both but I would have to say I like pointed toe shoes better. They look gothier to me, and they look witchy so the witchiness factor would be the main reason.

5. Long or short nails?
I would love long nails but unfortunately mine are relatively short because I do not have the time or energy to look after them properly or go to a special manicurist or anything.

6. Favorite Summer activity?
Hmm… That’s a hard one because I am not a huge fan of Summer and the Sun. I like going for walks in the sun though, it really does help me with Vitamin D and so forth. So I would say walking and enjoying ice cream (I love ice cream)!

7. Favorite Winter activity?
I am a bit of a hermit and a homebody. I love staying home with a cup of tea and the heater on either reading my books; writing; cuddling/snuggling my lovely daughter and husband; watching DVDs or listening to music etc. Just chilling out and relaxing. That’s my dream and what I adore doing.

8. Favorite Holiday?
I assume you mean major holidays in each year? Well, that’s easy - Halloween, of course. Yes, I am one of those clichéd goths who adores Halloween, bats, spiders, Nightmare Before Christmas and everything that is associated with it. Also because I am a witch, it is a meaningful holiday to me.

9. Do you prefer to call someone or text/email them?
Depends on the situation. If it’s just to organise a time to catch up in person, I might email or text the person. If it’s about another more delicate or complicated matter, or if I cannot physically meet up with them for some reason, I would chat on the telephone. I don’t really mind either way though.

10. Full skirt or straight?
Full skirts are my favourite – especially a gothic lolita style petticoat enhanced skirt. Straight skirts don’t suit me but they do look great on many women, especially in a rockabilly outfit.

11. Tights or bare legs?
I’d have to say tights because of all the different types of patterns and styles you can get. Bare legs can get boring (unless you have a wonderful physique or lots of lovely tattoos)!

Thanks for reading. Unfortunately, I don’t really have time to tag a bunch of people or ask all sorts of questions – hope you can forgive me!

~* An Evening Casual Goth Outfit *~

It's finally Friday evening, and the end of another working week... And here I am wearing an outfit I would generally wear from work to casual evenings out (for example, going from work to dinner at my mother-in-law’s place etc).

I simply changed my accessories and changed into a more gothy, velvety cardigan. I changed the ribbons in my hair to skull shoelaces (who said I bought these to go on my shoes? I definitely intended to wear them in my hair thankyouverymuch).

And for some reason I didn’t want to wear lipstick, which is very rare for me actually. But it does happen when there are odd days I would rather not wear lipstick. Actually I am not really wearing much make up here except for some eyeliner and translucent powder.

These are shoes I wear casually, sometimes for work but generally I wear these small heeled velvet Victorian shoes on the weekends. I found them at a Garage Sale (Yard Sale) and they used to belong to an elderly lady so they truly are Victorian and Old World. And they are very well made! They certainly don’t make shoes like these anymore!

A very easy way to dress up shoes is to tie some ribbon or fabric strip onto them. I added the lace bows on these shoes - I simply tied some fabric on to them and presto!

What do you like to do to jazz up your shoes?

~* Introducting Myself to the Interwebs... *~

Greetings and Salutations, interwebs! I suppose I should really introduce myself since I have already posted two entries without any sort of introduction. So here we go. I’m an Advertising / Publicity Coordinator, Writer, Editor, Publisher and Designer. I have worked in (and continue to work in) various industries including public relations, the web and the media.

My philosophies of life are a combination of New Age, Gothic, and Jewitch (that is, I am a Jewish Witch). I’m interested in various aspects of kabala, magick, yoga, meditation, astrology, tarot, aromatherapy, naturopathy, affirmations, visualizations, candles, crystals and the general concept of balancing mind, body and spirit and all aspects of my life.

I live with my husband and daughter in an endearing 1970’s-style house which we continue to decorate and renovate into an olde-worlde Gothic style (this is indeed an on-going project). I call our home The Stardust Castle (the name of this blog) or the Enchanted Gothic Cottage. We were married in 2006 in a Victorian Gothic Romance themed-wedding with a traditional Jewish ceremony followed by a Celtic hand-fasting.

Here are a couple of photos from my wedding day including a full length view of the dress and the veil:

With an addiction to buying old, recycled, secondhand, pre-loved and vintage items: I purchase anything that takes my fancy from clothes, books and collectibles. I am almost fanatical about this pastime and am interested in creating my own outfits, putting together costumes and décor while even researching historical periods and antique aspects of the items I unearth. I have an insatiable longing for the romantic times of the past such as Elizabethan, Edwardian, Renaissance and Victorian.

I am a dedicated Doors fan and Jim Morrison enthusiast and at one point, even started a fan club and website for the band. When I was 19, I made the pilgrimage to Jim’s grave in Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris which was a truly spiritual experience I will never forget.

I love attending masquerade balls, festivals, concerts, Goth clubs and any event that gives me the excuse to “dress up”. Despite this, I am also a bit of a hermit and require my solitary time! I must admit I'm very shy – but I’m attempting to come out of my shell which is one of the reasons I started this blog!

~* Another Corporate Goth Outfit of the Day *~

Here I am wearing something I usually never ever wear - a belt… I was given this belt as a gift from my mother-in-law and couldn’t resist wearing it since its style is very Elegant Gothic Lolita. I usually NEVER wear belts so it was very daring for me to experiment with it. But I love it now. I think it really suits me. I am not as self conscious wearing it as I used to be.
I’m also wearing my old world Victorian style floral heart brooch with my name on it. I’ve had this brooch since I was really young, maybe ten or twelve years old.  

Here is a close up of the Alice in Wonderland necklace that my close friend gave me as a gift. You can see the bottle that says "Drink Me" and the key together with a teapot and an illustration pendant from the book.

~* Another Goth Girl's Blog of Outfits and Life... *~

This journal will focus on examples of some of my outfits for work, weekends, functions/events etc. I hope you enjoy it and it is not too boring...

Firstly, a sampling of my Corporate Gothy Attire:

Here I am wearing my standard work outfit – I always tend to wear the Alice in Wonderland necklace, the spiderweb badge, the rose tapestry brooch on my skirt (for some reason I like to wear brooches on my skirts – it’s an idea I came up with myself. This is a brooch I made myself using embroidery that I found in a picture frame and then sewing a black lace border around it and turning it into a brooch. Easy and effective). When it’s cold I like to wear a scarf and decorative clip around my neck. The clip is actually a hair clip but I wear it around my neck instead (I’m strange like that – always finding other ways to use things). I also always wear pieces of fabric in my hair as ribbons (alrhough I never really tie them in bows, I just leave them to hang as long strips as though they are part of my hair). I also prefer to wear a cardigan rather than a jumper so I can always take it off easily if I get hot during the day. I am wearing black shimmery bows in my hair (they have sequins) but it’s not so easy to see them in this photo. As usual, I have my spider earrings on.