2009 / 2010

Travelling was a blast - 7 weeks, 6 countries, 12 flights, 2 train trips, several reunions with old friends and a ton of photos - but it didn't really give me the chance to reflect on the year gone by and the year to come. So I thought I'd kick off my first week back in Sydney by doing just that.


2009 Highlights

• January: Enjoyed my last month in Melbourne. Road tripped back to Sydney with my mom, listening to ABBA on repeat.
• February: Started fashion school. Totally intimidated by my outlandish teachers and super cool classmates.
• March: Struggled to juggle a course load of 11 subjects. I thought first term was intense but little did I know how much more stressful it would get!
• April: Experienced my first Rosemount Australian Fashion Week backstage as an "assistant photographer" to my friend Trish...(was really just an excuse to see the pretty clothes up close!)
• May: Started spending a lot of time at the library's fashion studio, poring over the collections archives.
• June: Attended the premiere of The September Issue with friends from school. One of the most fun nights ever! Also saw Coco Avant Chanel, which I loved, loved, loved.
• July: Went to Melbourne for a long weekend. Picked up a white silk blouse by 3.1 Phillip Lim at my favorite boutique, Clover, that I'd been eyeing for over a year - I'm definitely the "think before you buy" type! Also started work experience at Sara Phillips, who is not only an amazing young Australian designer but one of the sweetest people I've ever met.
• August: Finished my first major project, an adapted sport design incorporating an embellished cultural fabric. So relieved that it was well-received by the judges.
• September: Celebrated my 25th birthday!
• October: Finished my second major project, adapting two national costumes using DYLON dyes. Finishing it on time nearly killed me. I've never pulled so many all-nighters before in my life.
• November: Thankfully all that hard work paid off! Was shocked to receive the runner-up prize for my garment at our annual fashion parade. Subsequently rewarded myself by splurging on a Chanel black jumbo flap with gold hardware on eBay.
• December: Skipped the last week of school to go overseas. Visited fashion capitals London and Paris for the first time and loved them both! Met up with my family in Toronto for our first wintery Christmas and New Year's Eve.

2010 Resolutions

Fashion school completely took over my life last year, so although 2nd year is meant to be even more challenging than 1st year, my goal for 2010 is to achieve more work/life balance - i.e.

• Spend more time with family and friends. I need to jump back on the Skype bandwagon.
• Eat healthier. I really love the vegetarian recipes on 101 Cookbooks but I haven't cooked any in months.
• Exercise regularly. When it's warm I wake up extra early on weekdays to go to the gym, but I tend to slack off in the colder months.
• Stick to a budget. Last year I kind of ignored the fact that I was no longer earning an income. This year I'm going to be more frugal...although I definitely need to invest in a new pair of flats and handbag!
• Get more work experience. I'd like to complete 2-3 internships this year to help me figure out what area of the fashion industry I'd like to work in when I graduate. Design? Publishing? PR? At this stage I have no idea.
• Take more photos. I got a Mini Diana camera post-Christmas, which has reignited my love of photography. I also intend to take more photos at school to share with you - I can't believe I barely took any last year!

So that's it from me. What are your 2009 highlights and 2010 resolutions?

Photo credits: http://www.siljechantel.com/?p=485