BNNM: Local Farmers Market

One of the great things about living in Mildura is the crazy amount of fresh produce available to us. It's so nice to eat with the seasons. It's fresh and great quality produce. During winter we has loads of pumpkin soup because we could pick up huge pumpkins for $5. Last weekend I wandered down to the Mildura local farmer markets and soaked up the sunshine. Each week we have Sunday markets either in Mildura, Merbein and Red Cliffs.

When you buy local you are supporting local jobs and businesses. You are cutting down transportation costs and you know where your products come from. Local is good and they care about customer satisfaction. Need any more reasons?

I love chatting to the local vendors. I walked away with some fresh sugar snap peas, avocados, passion fruits and carrots. Each week there is something different and it depends on what is available and that's half the fun of it. Eagerly awaiting the arrival of fresh tomatoes. HELLOOOOOO bruschetta!

Big Love,


Falala Mele 

BNNM: How to buy a pre-loved present

Hello lovely ones,

One of the biggest challenges when participating in the BNNM is trying to stick to it when other things pop up. Birthdays usually mean the purchase of a gift for a friend. You couldn't possible give your friend something second hand. That would be tacky. They wouldn't like it right?

Wrong.

Yeah yeah yeah....it's the thought that counts blah blah blah. But seriously buying a good present is a skill. You have to think about the person, their interests, what they have, what they don't have, what they like and of course the budget.

On my last birthday I received perhaps the BEST present I have ever gotten. My friend Moala sent a big box with me as I made the move to Mildura and I waited to open it when I got into my new house. With each item I picked out of the box I thought "Yes! You know what I like!".

I think if someone gets you something that let's you know that they know what you like, then your job is done.

Wrapped beautifully in some newspaper ;)

Instead of buying tissue paper she wrapped it in this beautiful scarf.

Loads of gems inside. This vintage buckle bag, AMAZING glasses and one of the many fab pieces I got.

Moala works at a radio station in Sydney so she gave me some CDs she scored from work. YAY country music ;)

Five gifts that won't break the bank but still mean a lot

1. Photos of special moments. Many people take loads of photos but hardly anyone ever prints them off. I usually go to my local opshop and find a beautiful frame and fill it with a special memory.
2. Cook breakfast, lunch or dinner. You have to eat right? Why not spoil them with something you made.
3. I personally love letters. I cherish all my 3 shoeboxes full of high school moments and memories on each page of scribbled handwriting. The conversation was riveting. Who loved who, who wore what, who kissed who. But that was our youth. We were still innocent, calling our friends houses for a three way chat and collecting tazos. We were still listening to Rick Dees and recording our favourite songs onto tapes. Now days kids get texts and pictures. Just not the same. Write a letter to your friend and fill it with special moments or special nothings that will one day mean something as they open it up 10 years later. I scanned all my old letters I got from my BFF and made a photo collage for her birthday. She loved it!

4.Vintage bags. While some people get all freaky when it comes to second hand things, most people cannot turn down a beautiful vintage bag. There is usually 1 or 2 quality bags when I visit a second hand store and prices start from around $5

5. Pick some flowers. It's spring. Go for a walk and pick some. My Mum has been filling our house with loads of flowers from her morning walks. She put some in my room when I went home for the holidays and it was so nice. Get an old glass jar and tie and ribbon around it. People love flowers.

What about blokes? Wash their car. It's a nice gesture and it leaves them with one less thing to do.

Big Love,

Falala Mele

Buy Nothing New Month is back!

Hello lovely ones, How are you all? I'm sooooo excited (even though I am a little late) to announce that Buy Nothing New Month is back HERE . Ever since I took up the pledge last year I can gladly say that those habits I formed within the last October, have stuck with me throughout the entire year.

 My wardrobe is now 90% chock a block with thrifted/opshop one-of-a-kind pieces and I just can't stop encouraging others to do the same. On my trip to New York and Vegas in July, nearly all of my pieces were sourced from second hand stores and I even managed to shop in some over there ;)

 I take extra care to turn off all the lights, recycle and I always think before I spend my hard earned money. I save for things I need because I really hate unnecessary bills. Even though these are simple things that we all should already do; the truth is that most of us don't and being mindful of my purchases helped me to unconsciously be mindful in other daily tasks.

 So I know you think a whole month (well it's less now) feels like an almost impossible task to buy nothing new, but in reality it really is only a few days. Just do it! Be responsible and accountable for your finances. Put your credit cards aside or better yet cut them up and if you really need it you can get another one.

 Buy nothing new.

 Buy what you NEED.

 Buy local.

 Buy smart.

 If you are currently buying nothing new please let me know. 

I would love to share your experiences and or blog posts on here.

Big Love,

Falala Mele

Aussie Curves: Blue Lady Antebellum

Hello Lovely ones! 

This week marks the end of my school holidays :'( so its back to work for me tomorrow. 

I took an 8am flight out of Sydney to Melbourne and caught the 10:30am flight all the way back to Mildura. So I'm sad to be leaving all my Sydney-siders for another 10 weeks. 

My 2 weeks were jammed packed with outings and catch-ups and lunches and dinners so I guess it will be good to get back into my normal routines and my controlled cupboards ;)

Anyways this weeks challenge is Blue and I planned to wear a gorgeous vintage blue pussy bow dress to my friends wedding but the weather was warmer than I anticipated and I didn't want to be melting at my friends wedding so I didn't wear the dress. I will have to save it for another occasion I guess.

On a brighter note I finally made it to one of my opshops. I didn't get to scour them all as I planned but I made it to my favourites Mickey and Mallory and the local Salvation Army store. I found this pretty blue blazer at the Salvos and it was only $3.50! I wore it with another opshop favourite of mine; this pink and brown rose blouse. This ensemble is comfortable and I love how blazers can transform and smarten up any basic outfit. I wore my converse chucks because I was catching public transport into the city to watch one of my most favourite bands at the moment and I just didn't feel like donning a pair of wedges or sandals. I mean any excuse to wear a pair of chicks. I also thought of Closet Confession's October Blaze challenge HERE. So two birds with one stone. Gotta be happy with that right! 

Also October marks the start of Buy Nothing New Month. So before you make a purchase why not take the time to consider if the item is an essential or whether you could swap, borrow or buy it second hand. If you want to participate you can actually win a monetary prize so all the more reason to buy nothing new this October. It's only 4 short weeks and a challenge worth taking.

Those who know me are aware of my love for music and a special place in my heart is reserved for country music. Raised up on it because my Uncle would play all the old classics on all our road trips. Soooo I nearly passed out in class when I saw that Lady Antebellum had tickets on sale. I had no idea they were even coming to Australia. Thank goodness for credit cards because I managed to get 2 tickets to the 3rd and final show of their Own The Night World Tour.

Blazer: Salvos $3.50 Blouse: Opshop $2.00 Tights: Target $10.00 Chain: $2.00 Opshop Shoes: Converse

The concert was sooooooo very good! Lady Antebellum were so much fun with loads of audience interaction. They even sang American Honey acoustically. I was just saying to my sister a few months ago "I'd die if I got to see them live" seriously though I woke up the next three days hearing their songs replay in my head. Definitely the highlight of my school holidays. Planning to go see Boyz to Men in November and the Made in the 90's concert this coming December. Sooooo excited to see Colour Me Bad. How about you guys? Any concerts or upcoming gigs you are looking forward to?

Big Love,


Falala Mele xo

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BNNM OOTD .1

Hello friends! How are you all? I'm happy that I finally have some time to start posting my BNNM outfits. So most days it has been pretty casual, but I am either wearing my opshop/thrifted finds or my old faithful clothes that have been sitting in my closet for a while.

 I have had a few fruitful visits to my local second hand shops. and have walked away with many wonderful finds at AMAZING PRICES!!! My Mother, cousins and friends are all eager to go treasure hunting with me and my cousin Tashia who was featured in my previous post here, said "Going into shopping centres is not same anymore, I don't find it interesting shopping in them, it's not fun and everyone ends up wearing the same thing". I have to say that I agree whole-heartedly with her!

Throughout this challenge I haven't really found it hard not to buy anything new. There was only one item that I really wanted. It was a gold thick rock chain, and the price was reasonable ($10) and I walked away from it....(slowly), but as for clothes I look at clothes in retail stores and find them even more ridiculously priced than ever before. I also haven't seen anything that I have really WANTED.... I think it may be a different story if I was in America (I seriously fell in love with Forever 21 clothes and prices) but the stores in Australia are in some serious need of inspiration >,<

ANYWAYS, back to my outfit....apologies for the lack of a full outfit shot. My sister has her camera with them on it and I only had a few on my camera. I found this cute dark blue polka dot top for $2 and it was fairly cold so I just wore my old back leggings and a black sweater. It was pretty basic and simple. But that is how I like it. I finally had some time to meet up with some of my college sisters. It's been nearly two years since graduation and it becomes increasingly hard to catch up.



Jenny and Theresa are wearing their second hand jackets. Jenny paid $2 for hers & Theresa found hers at Vinnies for $2

This is my girl Amy, we studied the same course so we were in all our classes together.



Out of the 6 girls here, 5 of us are teachers.

After dinner and dancing, it's time for fun and games at Cronulla Beach.

Stay tuned as I will be posting more BNNM outfit posts, I will also be featuring some of my favourite blogger thrifters and I also had a wonderful email which I will tell you more about in my next post.

I hope you are saving money, reusing items, buying less and making the most of what you have, while looking like a BOSS!

Big Love,

Falala Mele