Working as an early childhood educator means my wardrobe has to be comfortable and washable. I need to be able to sit on the floor and get up again without offending anyone. And I definitely don’t want to be devastated if I get paint, playdough, or, God forbid, something else on my clothes.

So I have a minimal winter capsule wardrobe and a summer one. For work, I basically rotate between two or three outfits and wear pretty much the same things on repeat every day.

But I love clothes!

I love finding a great piece, putting outfits together, mixing and matching what I already have and getting inspiration from Instagram. And when I do have somewhere nice to go, choosing what I’m going to wear is half the fun.

So, let’s talk fashion.

We’re at the tail end of winter here in Australia, and even though it’s been a mild one (thank goodness), I’m still reaching for my winter layers. So I thought I’d share some winter outfit ideas I’ve put together from my wardrobe for those times when I have somewhere nice to go. It’s nice to wear something other than work clothes, don’t you agree?

Winter Outfit Ideas

A Really Nice Lunch

I love this outfit for a long lunch. The gold blouse makes it feel a little special, while the tailored pants and loafers tone it down a little, so it’s dressy without feeling too dressy.

Dinner Out

For dinner out, I’d go for something a little more dressed up. The flippy detail on the skirt makes the dress feel fun as well as dressy, and I love the way it moves when you walk. The black suede pumps are a classic, and surprisingly, they’re really comfortable too.

A Winter Day Trip

For a winter day trip, I’d keep things comfortable but still put together. I like the mix of the cosy knit, short trench and white sneakers, and these loose straight-leg jeans from Uniqlo are such a winner! Perfect for a day of walking around and exploring.

A Night Out

This is currently my favourite outfit for a night out, and it’s actually what I’m wearing on Friday. I love the combination of the tailored pants and cropped jacket.

A Day Shopping in the City

For shopping in the city, I want to be warm and comfortable, and this feels just right. I love the chunky boots with the black coat

 

So those are a few of my winter outfit ideas. Now I just need to get out of hibernation and give myself a few more reasons to dress up!

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By the time Second Lieutenant María Camila Mora Mahecha arrived in Bogotá on November 26, the afternoon drizzle in Colombia’s capital had given way to an overcast evening. Despite the drab weather and long journey, the 27-year-old had something to look forward to: she was going to the Beéle concert at the city’s Movistar Arena that night with friends.

Mora had driven 120 miles (195 km) from Duitama, where she was taking a specialization course, to a military complex in northern Bogotá known as Cantón Norte to pick up a friend. At around 8:30 p.m., Mora called to say she had arrived.

Watching from her apartment window, the friend reportedly saw Mora’s car parked near the Officers’ Club. Then they saw Mora begin to get out of the vehicle, before being intercepted by someone who urged her back inside and got into the passenger seat.

Minutes later, Mora called in a panic. She screamed in fear of her life and called for help. Then shots rang out. By the time her friend reached the vehicle, Mora was gone. Slumped across her lap was the body of Captain Pablo Andrés Másmela Zapata.

Perez Hilton may be finding out that a hospital bed can be one of the loneliest places to be in, according to family friends of the Hollywood blogger.

The 48-year-old, born Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr, has been hospitalized since posting an alarming livestream, where he was seen harming himself with his children inside his Miami home.

“He’s about to find out who his real friends are,” said a family friend close to the controversial blogger.

Perez Hilton may be finding out that a hospital bed can be one of the loneliest places to be in

Hang Out with Sean Hannity

Since the day Perez Hilton attempted to harm himself on August 4, he has been hospitalized under Florida’s Baker Act, a state law that allows someone to be temporarily taken for involuntary mental-health evaluation.

The blogger is “healing up” after receiving extensive stitching for his injuries, a family friend told the Daily Mail.

“Physically, he is going to be okay,” they added.

theperezhilton/Instagram

As Hilton receives treatment, his loved ones have reportedly been telling him that all his “friends” are “in [his] corner.”

But apparently this is far from the truth.

The family friend claimed that they are still trying to figure out how to break it to him that he hasn’t received a single bouquet or get-well-soon card to cheer him on as he recovers.

“All the ones he wanted to reach out, all the celebrities who he has mended fences with, all the ones who said he’s their friend. None of them are doing anything,” they told the outlet.

The blogger’s famous friends are nowhere to be found as he recovers in a hospital, a family friend claimed

theperezhilton/Instagram

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The family friend said Hilton would be “crushed” if he found out and questioned where his famous friends were.

“It’s sad really, how little people are rallying behind him. People who have told him they love him, but where are they?” they asked.

It was in the mid-2000s when Hilton turned into one of the most recognizable celebrity gossip bloggers on the internet. 

He became infamous for closely following Hollywood stars and sharing rumors and unfiltered commentary about them on his website PerezHilton.com.

But his provocative style often landed him in feuds with celebrities.

Christopher Polk/Getty Images

For years, Hilton seemingly counted some of Hollywood’s biggest stars as his friends. The list seemed to include the likes of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Adele, actress-singer Emmy Rossum, and TV personality Spencer Pratt, who named Hilton as his son’s godfather.

“People who said they were his friends have not spoken out, not shown any support, publicly or privately,” the family friend said. “They know who they are.”

Alec Baldwin’s daughter Ireland reportedly took a swipe at Hilton while wishing him well

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Chris Polk/FilmMagic

The silence from Hilton’s friends isn’t the only thing his family is keeping from him.

They are also apparently trying to shield him from seeing messages that have left them “pretty offended.”

One of those messages came from Alec Baldwin’s daughter, Ireland, who posted saying Hilton “was a piece of sh** but I wish him well.”

Perez Hilton/Facebook

The family friend asked if it was necessary to “make a dig,” saying “Why go there if you want to say something, do you need to get your pound of flesh?”

“Those are the ones that we don’t want him seeing, we don’t need him to see people saying things like that, it’ll just make him spiral,” they added.

The family friend spoke about the future of his blog, saying content is likely to continue going up on his website. 

But the tone will not be as snarky or “mean” as it used to be, and it won’t be calling people out.

Hilton “has a bible with him, and he’s really reading it,” the family friend said 

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Hilton, too, is currently focused on his faith and has been “really committed to it,” the family friend added.

“He has a bible with him, and he’s really reading it,” they said. “Praying.”

Hilton’s hospitalization came after a self-harm incident that took place on August 4.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Family members said he had been battling mental health issues before his sister found him locked inside his bedroom.

She later found him covered in blood, without clothes on, harming himself with a box cutter during a TikTok livestream.

His sister fled the house with Hilton’s three kids and her own kids, after which first responders arrived and “began treatment on scene for multiple lacerations and an overd*se,” authorities said. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with self-harm or s**cide ideation, help is available: International Hotlines

“Genuinely feel for him but he sets a bad example for millions of messed up people,” one commented online

The job industry is in a bizarre place right now. It’s rough out there. Graduates are finding it hard to land even entry-level jobs. Even veteran professionals are struggling to get hired. AI hype is driving panic and layoffs. And raises and promotions aren’t guaranteed even for great employees and top performers.

‘Corporate Absurdity’ is a social media account that posts painfully relatable memes about work life that hit a bit too close to home and feel very personal. We’re featuring our favorites, and we think you should definitely show them to your boss, HR, and work besties at your next big meeting (which, let’s be honest, could have probably been an email).

British photographer Brock Elbank has spent much of his career creating portraits of people whose faces, bodies, and life experiences challenge the narrow ideas of appearance we are used to seeing in mainstream imagery. From freckles and vitiligo to scars, birthmarks, disabilities, and life-changing injuries, his work places individuality firmly at the center of the frame. Bored Panda has featured Elbank’s distinctive portraiture before, and his approach remains immediately recognizable. Subjects are often photographed against simple backgrounds, with little to distract from their expressions, skin, and features. Rather than smoothing away the details that make someone stand out, Elbank gives viewers an opportunity to really look at them, and, more importantly, at the person they belong to.

That interest in the person behind what we immediately see is also driving one of Elbank’s newest and most personal projects: homelessness. The idea began developing after the COVID-19 pandemic, when Elbank noticed the number of people experiencing homelessness in London. In late 2024, he began trying to better understand their everyday circumstances and challenges. He is now traveling around Britain and photographing people who have experienced many different forms of homelessness, not only sleeping on the street, but also staying on friends’ couches, living in cars, tents, or abandoned buildings, sleeping at workplaces, and finding shelter wherever they could. Elbank hopes eventually to create 101 portraits for the series and exhibit the completed work in Liverpool. His goal is both to challenge assumptions about who can become homeless and to share stories from people who have managed to rebuild their lives, offering a reminder that homelessness does not have one face, one cause, or one experience.

We also reached out to Elbank to learn more about what drives his work and how his new project fits into it. So scroll down to learn more about his past projects, read the full interview, explore a selection of his work over the years, and let us know which portraits stayed with you the most.

More info: Instagram | mrelbank.com

Hey there, friends! I hope you all had an amazing week!

I’ve been all over the place with blogging lately. I haven’t really been posting regularly or following any kind of schedule or pattern. But I’m glad to be back today to link up with Erika and Andrea for Friday Favourites.

I joined the Share Our Lives link-up on Monday and chatted all about my favourite current music, so I didn’t do my weekend recap. I thought I’d do that today and share what we got up to last Saturday.

Last Saturday was the 150th anniversary of Hurstville Public School, and to celebrate, they had a big fair.

My husband went to Hurstville Public School, so we were excited to go along with our son and his girlfriend and see the place where so many of his childhood adventures took place. Over the years, we’ve heard plenty of stories about his school days, and some of them have become family favourites that we still tease him about.

I’ll just say that he was more mischievous back then than he is now. Our sons find this particularly hilarious because anyone who knows him today would probably describe him as a bit of a goody-two-shoes! But we know better. Haha!

First stop was the school hall, where they had all the school memorabilia on display.

When we spotted the naughty book with all the students’ names who had been given detention, you should have seen Steve’s face!

Luckily for him, the last entry was 1966 — way before his time. I’m guessing they must have had another system by the time he was at school.

There were quite a few food trucks, and the smells made us hungry, so we stopped for an early lunch.

Then wandered around all the stalls.

We checked out the grounds and saw one of the original buildings. I think there are quite a few original buildings, along with some newer additions, but they were all blocked off.

Seeing this building made me wonder what it must have been like 150 years ago. There must have been so much open land around back then, and it’s so different now with all the high-rise apartments in the area.

We live about a seven-minute walk from the school, and I’d never actually been inside the grounds, so I was surprised by how big it was.

Spotted a few vintage cars they had on display.

Saw the ponies.

We sat down for a while to watch the current students perform dances and play in the bands. Before we knew it, we’d been there for hours and decided it was time to head home.

On the way out, Steve bumped into a friend he didn’t even know had been in the same Year 6 class as him at Hurstville Public School. Oh my goodness, we were in stitches hearing all his stories!

I won’t go into detail, but they involved the principal, the cane, his mum at the principal’s office, and then having to face his dad when he got home. And it was all over footy cards!

I mean, it sure must have been traumatic for him at the time. But on this day, hearing him tell us the story, we were all laughing so hard. Poor guy!

Sounds like school was way stricter back then. Do you think so too?

Anyway, it was a fun way to spend last Saturday. Reminiscing and laughing about school days. Time goes way too fast, doesn’t it?

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Happy Friday 😊

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When I saw that this week’s link-up was all about favourite current music, I initially thought, hmmm… Oh, I don’t really have a favourite type of music.

And as far as what I’m currently listening to, well, it really depends on my mood. I’m a mood-listener kind of gal.

I go with my mood.

What I listen to can change completely depending on where I am, what I’m doing, and whether I need calming down or cheering up. And all of that can change in the space of one day! Maybe I’m like the weather – changeable.

So here is a little look at what’s currently playing on the soundtrack of my life.

Calm and Chill

When I’m home alone, I love putting on something chilled-out. It could be ambient, lo-fi, jazz or anything calming. I listen to it on TV through YouTube Music, and the bonus is that it comes with a beautiful scene. So I can choose whether I want to be in a swanky New York apartment, a cosy coffee shop or a little cottage somewhere in the countryside. And I don’t have to leave home.

I love having it playing in the background while I’m getting on with chores around the house, cooking or having a cup of tea. I can also pretend I’m in one of those calm Nordic slow-living YouTube videos.

My husband, however, absolutely cannot stand it. To him, this music is total auditory torture. Whenever he hears it, he practically has a seizure.

So I tend to save it for when he’s not home.

When I Need a Pick-Me-Up: Latin Music

When I need some energy, give me some upbeat Latin music, and I can usually shake off a funk (usually). Latin music makes it almost impossible to sit still. The beat is too contagious and, as Gloria Estefan says, the rhythm is gonna get you!

80s Music Will Always Have My Heart

And then there’s the 80s.

No matter how much new music comes along, the 80s will always have a very special place in my heart. I especially love the new wave era — Duran Duran, OMD, Talking Heads, Simple Minds, Tears for Fears, The Cure, New Order and Depeche Mode.

These are the songs that can come on, and boom, instantly transport me back to my teens. That’s one of the best things about music, isn’t it? One song can take you straight back to a particular time in your life.

I am 100% convinced that the 80s was the best decade EVER!

When I Want to Travel Without Leaving Home

I also have playlists for my trips to the USA and Japan, and I love putting them on when I feel like reminiscing.

USA: A Bar Song (Tipsy), Counting Stars, Blinding Lights, A Sky Full of Stars, Alive, Heaven is a Place on Earth, Walking on a Dream, Titanium

Japan: Tokyo Drift, Blue Monday, Just Can’t Get Enough, Smalltown Boy, Hit That Perfect Beat

I used these songs as the soundtrack to the videos I made of the trips, so I think that’s why I associate them so strongly with those holidays. Whenever I put these playlists on, bam! I’m back on that road trip through Utah or walking around busy Tokyo.

There was actually a time when I couldn’t listen to these songs because I had the post-trip blues so badly, especially after the US trip. I’d hear one of them and actually start crying. Dramatic? Maybe. But I really loved that trip! I’m OK now, though, and can listen to them without crying. Haha!

And Then There’s Preschool Music…

Last year I discovered Stephanie Leavell, and she is an absolute godsend with a voice that will calm a room full of wild preschoolers. Her voice is so beautiful and soothing, so any educators out there, take note! She’s on Spotify, and I kid you not, she saves my sanity weekly.

Sometimes the children are behaving like they have been playing in a windy playground for six hours.

Everyone is talking.

Everyone is moving.

Someone is calling out.

Someone is poking someone

Someone else is running around.

I play Stephanie Leavell and… calm.

So, What’s My Favourite Current Music?

Well, I’m not sure I have one.

I have chill music when I want peace, Latin music when I need a lift, 80s new wave because it will always have my heart, travel playlists when I want to revisit some wonderful memories, and Stephanie Leavell when I need to restore order to a room full of… ahem… excited children.

I think that pretty much sums up what I’m listening to. And it all depends on my mood.

Linking up with Adrienne, Dara, Joanne and Jen

 

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