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How to Change Your Mind

Posted on August 4, 2022 by Sarah

I had been watching Netflix, and had it on pause for a while, and it started showing me screenshots of a bunch of different shows. I kept seeing this one called How To Change Your Mind, and I figured it’d be something about meditation or life affirmations on how to change your mid in stuff like politics.

It turns out, it’s a four part series on psychedelics and how people see the world differently after taking them.

I recently had a conversation with someone who told me they took some psychedelics to heal after a sexual assault, and how it worked for them. Gwyneth had an episode on her show about people traveling to Jamaica to take them to also heal from traumas.

This series wasn’t just a show about taking drugs, it actually had a fascinating historical perspective on how things like LSD started, and how they were used for healing purposes before the 1960’s free love movement took it out of healing facilities with careful monitoring and then Nixon came down and hated anyone who was free thinking, and started the War On Drugs.

As someone who hasn’t done any interesting drugs, apart from trying pot a couple times, I found the whole series fascinating. It’s only four episodes long, and each one focuses on a different psychedelic. The fourth episode was my favourite, as it dealt with peyote and whether non Native Americans should use it.

The series isn’t just about drugs, it’s about how people who take these substances become connected to the earth in a way that most people aren’t. They see plants breathe. They understand how the earth gives us life. How we’re all connected. Someone back in the black & white days suggested we should put it in the water supply to make everyone calmer and get along more. In this time of everyone fighting and growing division, it might not be a bad idea.

I gave this series two thumbs us 👍👍. because it’s not just a documentary on healing with natural substances, but about our environment and how we can all be connected to it.

What to Wear

Posted on July 24, 2022July 24, 2022 by Sarah

Real talk.

It’s always fun going on TV, or going to a movie premiere and having your photo taken.

But let’s face it, it’s different for boys and girls.

Men can turn up in pants and a T shirt, and wear the same one to every event, and nobody bats an eye.

Women on the other hand are expected to front up in a cocktail dress and heels for a 5 minute chat on a morning show, and heaven forbid they ever wear the same thing twice. That would get everyone chatting, in the wrong way.

But it’s ridiculous. First of all, women should be allowed to turn up wearing whatever they’re comfortable in. If they want to wear nice pants and sneakers to a morning show, they should.

Second of all, who is paying for all those outfits? Mother Nature.

Buying an outfit to only wear once is ridiculous. Not just for your bank account, but think of all the clothing that women buy to only throw away.

Fashion is one of the most polluting things on the planet. We should all be comfortable buying things we will wear many many times, and then actually doing that.

I came out with a very small amount of clothes. I like to travel light. I was going to be here for two weeks, so only brought a few pairs of pants, 3 sweaters and three shirts.

Then I attended some premieres, and thankfully I was staying in Newtown, so I thrifted some dresses. Super cute, easy on the wallet, and I didn’t have to feel bad I was buying something new.

I have bought a couple new pairs of pants, but they are ones I’ll wear all the time, as well as a couple washable merino wool sweaters, which I will also wear non stop. So I don’t feel bad about buying sustainable fabrics that I’ll wear till they fall apart.

But tomorrow I’m going on The Morning Show. A quick chat, in the AM, and I’m searching for what to wear.

I’m not going to wear a cocktail dress and heels. That’s just not me. Especially at 10am.

So I’m going to exercise some gender equality, and wear pants and a top. Something I’m totally comfortable in, and something that I’d actually wear all the time. If I’m going to be talking about me, I think I should also look like me.

The Shrimptank mantra is “Small on the Earth” I try to live it. Every day.

So here’s my options for tomorrow. I’m going to let y’all vote on what I wear tomorrow. Pick from 1-12. Outfit with the most votes is what I’ll wear.

Party Sneakers!

Posted on July 13, 2022July 13, 2022 by Sarah

So I’m currently in Australia, and I was only meant to come for two weeks. But then I decided to stay a bit longer, and then a bit longer again.

I had brought four pairs of shoes, which I thought was generous. I had a pair of black sling back heels, a pair of tan heels, both to go with outfits for either the court appearance or my media interview, a pair of white canvas sneakers, and cap toe ballet flats.

Problem is, I’m not a fan of heels, and the ballet flats were not a good fit. So I was down to the canvas sneakers.

So I’ve now bought two pair of shoes while I’ve been here.

The first pair were an Australian icon, the RM Williams boot.

I had RM William’s as a kid, and used to ride in them. I figured they’d be great for back on the ranch in Texas, and they make a nice dress boot while I’m in Sydney. Chelsea boots are having a minute, and everybody is wearing them with skirts and dresses as well as pants, so I decided to rock them on the Moulin Rouge Red Carpet.

It was a rainy night, so my feet stayed dry and warm while we walked from the performance to the afterparty. I’ve recently bought insoles for them, because there’s a weird line inside where there’s a piece of leather under the heel, that has a couple mm height that just cuts off under your foot. They’re also a hard sole, and my feet get sore if I wear them all day. They do look fabulous, and are very practical. I can’t pull off the skirt and boots thing, being so short. It just cuts my legs in weird places making me look shorter, but with black pants, it creates a nice long line, making my legs look longer.

Then I did a photo shoot for Stellar Mag, and they couldn’t find heels for me in my size. They ended up getting a nude pair of heels from Nine West, which were pretty, but just a bit too big, and super tall, which made my legs look amazing, but I couldn’t walk in at all.

So yesterday when I went to the Big Brother Finale, I decided to wear comfortable shoes that were also cute. My capsule wardrobe here in mainly black, and I did also buy a pair of cute adidas shoes for a charity tennis match, and they’re great for daytime, but not for evenings. So I went into Bared Footwear, which is an Australian brand, who actually stocks a size 4.5 in store!

I’ve been looking forward to visiting Bared, because I had found them online while in the US, and they fit ALL the Shrimptank criteria. They have my size, they’re designed by a podiatrist, so I don’t have to worry about if it’s going to flare up my tendonitis. They all come with a Fit Kit, which has interchangeable insoles, so you can make them fit perfectly. They even had the little dots to put on your feet to help break them in.

They give back to the community, donating 1%. They’re focused on sustainable sourcing and ethical manufacturing. When I bought them, there was no plastic packaging. Each shoe was in a fabric bag, and the box itself was the tote. They’ve got twine handles, so there’s no need for a plastic bag to carry them home in. I was so excited to actually try on a pair of shoes in a store, instead of ordering them online and hoping they fit. They actually measure your feet in store, like when you were a kid, and they brought out two sizes to make sure I got the right ones.

My favourite type of shoes are brogues, and they had a pair of Brogue sneakers, so I knew immediately which pair I wanted, but there was lots of other super sexy sneakers that stole my heart. They had sparkly ones, some with leopard stripes, and black or white soles. They even had ones with zippers if you don’t like laces.

But I grabbed this pair, and I wore them to the Big Brother finale, with a long leopard print skirt, and not only did they look cute, but they were super comfy. We had lots of walking, standing and dancing, and they lasted all night, with no complaints from me about sore feet. So they’re a total winer.

If I need dressier shoes, I’ll go back and get a pair of their heels. They had lots of really nice ones, but it’s still too cold for me to be wearing any of the strappy ones I liked. There’s a pair of wedges I’ve already got my eye on.

Planting Trees at the Ranch

Posted on April 25, 2022April 25, 2022 by Sarah

We were a day late for Earth Day, but we spent Saturday out at the ranch, finally planting all the Australian Eucalyptus trees I bought a couple months ago.

The ranch is full of red dirt, with mesquite and cactus, but it could easily double in a movie for Outback Australia. It’s over 100 acres, and Matt’s parents are doing some wildlife management on most of it, but we decided on the acre where we camp to plant a little bit of home, so I bought some Australian natives.

After doing a search on the interwebs for Australian Natives, I came across Australian Outback Plants who had a huge variety of Aussie natives. I messaged them to get advice on what would grow best in my area, and the my surprise, the owner called me back. Paul Chambers is another Aussie Expat, who started with a bag full of seeds, and now sells plants to all the major stores in the US. Yet, he still called me back personally, and we had a good chat about the land, the soil, the weather, and he said if I made a list of what I wanted, he was doing a trip through Texas the following week, and would deliver them himself on the way.

That was a couple of months back, and Paul delivered my 11 trees, and gave me two baby ones, out of a massive semi trailer on his way to Houston. We were still having major freezes, so we put them in the greenhouse at Matt’s parents house, until a couple weekends ago, when everything started to bloom at the ranch. Apparently once the mesquite blooms, the freezes are done. The cactus is covered in flowers too, and I’m looking forward to prickly pears soon!

So we pulled out the bobcat, put the driller on it, and dug some holes.

We bought a bunch of dirt, because you’re supposed to plant them with 50/50 good soil, and whatever they’re growing in. We got them all in the ground in one day thanks to modern machinery, and then we used our water tank to go around and give them all a good drink.

Hopefully we get some good rain this year, so they can all grown big and beautiful. I strategically planted them all so that I could see most from our outdoor sitting area, with the bigger ones west of the camp, to provide some summer shade.

For our first set, I also bought all different kinds of Eucalypts, so we can see which ones do the best, and then get more of those later.

We also put little cages around them all, because one of the miniature donkeys had found them very tasty, and was ripping whole limbs off some of them. – Bad donkey!

If you’re in the US, and looking for some Australian Natives, call Paul at Australian Outback Plants. Their website is super comprehensive, and has good details on each plant. They’re also on Facebook. He’s also a really nice bloke, and I’d buy from him again any day. He sells to Lowes and Home Depot, but I’d rather give my money to a supplier directly. 👍 The plantation is out of Arizona, so if you’re in the south, might be a pretty easy trip to get some plants, otherwise, they will ship them to you.

Customize your own shoe

Posted on April 20, 2021April 25, 2022 by Sarah

I’m an absolute sucker for a wingtip shoe, and while I love the traditional black and white, I squeal like a little girl when I see a fabulous bright color combo. The biggest problem is nobody makes the color combo ones in smaller sizes. Or at least I thought.

This week, Travel Fashion Girl sent out a newsletter with a bunch of golf related outfits, including shoes. I hadn’t thought about the fact that if you can walk for hours on the course in a shoe, it’s probably comfortable enough to be out sightseeing in. There’s lots of casual looking golf shoes these days, but I really like the old school dressy ones.

So I was searching around, and looking for traditional golf wingtip shoes in kids sizes, which didn’t appear to be a thing. But I did find a site with size 5 golf shoe at FootJoy, and then I discovered, you could customize them, to have any combination you wanted, and then your shoes would be YOUR shoes!

I played around, and I think this might be my dream shoe.

Yes, they’re expensive, but they’re custom, and it’s golf, so it’s not going to be cheap. But it’s probably worth paying extra to have something that exactly what you’re always dreamed of, not just getting something you kind of like… For me, the fact they make a size 5, instead of starting at a 6 like most people is a big deal. They also come in narrow, medium and wide widths.

It’s not just the wingtip either, there’s a couple different styles of shoes that you can customize, and they can be in your hands (or on your feet) in 2-4 weeks. Design your own or make give someone an amazing gift.

Here’s a more casual sneaker style I played with.

Do you know of anyone else that lets you customize your shoes like this? Leave a comment below.

Just FYI, this isn’t a sponsored post, I just thought it was really cool.

Hello world!

Posted on July 11, 2016July 11, 2016 by Sarah

Starting Over!

Sometimes in life you just need a do over. Or a fresh start. Or to try something new.

I started life as a fashion model, went to acting, wrote a book, and now I’m going to come full circle back to fashion, with my own fashion blog, and hopefully soon, my own apparel.

This site is geared towards the Shrimps like me. As a 4’11” petite, who wears a size 34 shoe, I know the very real struggle of getting clothes to fit, without a trip to the tailor.