Hi all

I have been on holiday for the last couple of weeks. We made 2 separate trips: the first to the country and the second to the coast. On the country trip we were able to take our dog, the "real" Brooklyn, who is known to us as "Ms B". We did a lot of hiking and made occasional excursions to neighbouring towns.

Pic 1 (worn for travel on first day and lunch en route): cuffed jeans with uniqlo cotton sweater. This was the debut of my freebird quails, which I think I share with half the forum.

Pic 2 (worn to lunch and shopping at a nearby town) new blank NYC denim skirt I picked up for around $30 at an Australian department store. I think Janet has a similar one. It seemed perfect for a country trip (dust resistant!) but I was a bit meh about it in this combination.

Pics 3 and 4 (worn to lunch): the same denim skirt with an abstract patterned top. I liked this outfit better. I blame Angie's maximal campaign for the pattern mix with the leopard bag. I hoped that the brown jewellery and tan shoes would be enough to tie the bag in with the rest of the outfit. Yay or nay?

Pics 5 and 6 (at lunch): The denim skirt and the freebirds working overtime as a head rest for my dog.

Pic 7: a pretty bag deserves a seat at the table.

Pic 8: Ms B's collar. Pretty stylish, eh? Handmade by my DH! He also made her a collar that has her name spelled out in pink cubic zirconias. But that's for Xmas and special occasions only.

Pic 9 (hiking): the jeans in outfit 1 remixed with an added layer of Aussie dust OK, no style awards for this outfit, but it was functional for the sun, dust and wind.

Pics 10-12: bonus pics of wildlife spotted on our walks. An echidna, a blue-tongued lizard and a shingleback lizard. There were lots of roos but they move fast, so no pics, sorry.