Another Way to Procrastinate

http://www.dearblankpleaseblank.com/
So hilarious and extra cool because it's all different kinds of people contributing.

The Sufi Whirling Dervishes of Istanbul

So hypnotizing and entrancingly beautiful. Turkey is one of the places I want to visit the most.

A Big Box Under The Christmas Tree

With this in it.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/C.I.53.40.5a-e

Quirky Lass

Not many people like Georgia May Jagger, she's an 'acquired taste'. Mick Jagger used to be good looking, circa 1967, he had an English Boy charm, now he looks like a sun dried tomato. Which taste good, but don't look that nice. I see the same charm in Georgia May, don't worry, I don't have a gap-tooth fetish hiding up my sleeve, I just think she's really cute.

I quite prefer when she has her mouth fully closed or in a full smile, not the mouth half open teeth hanging out situation.

She's pretty cool in my eyes.

Just a Laugh

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mitch_Hedberg

His humour may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I find it really funny. There's a few really good ones in there.

Happy Holidays

I love Christmas, even though I work in retail.

The Perks of Being a Hermit

For the past six months I've been living the life of a hermit, not a full blown 'living in the wilderness cut off from civilization' hermit, but a hermit that has no social life and develops tendencies such as inspecting their belly button because no one is around to stop them. I still go to work and see the beau-hunk and spend time with the fam, once in a while I'll go see a gig, but that's the extent of it.

Don't get me wrong, this wasn't voluntary, in an ideal world I would be a social butterfly with my licence, a car, and a job I actually like. In an Ideal World I also wouldn't be watching Meerkat Manor on a Saturday afternoon while playing Mahjong on the Internet. Most of my friends live in Melbourne, or we have fallen out. Make some new friends you say? Well I have, but we're not close and as with most people they already have their own group of friends if not several.

But, there are bonuses to being a hermit:

• you don't have to fight over the remote with anyone, or worry what they think of you while you watch random episodes of Gossip Girl season 3 and try to piece it together


• eating in your room is a nice peace full time with you and your glorious food


• walking around in your underwear is liberating and there's no worry of making someone uncomfortable or hearing the words 'don't you own any pants?' of course I own pants! I just don't feel like wearing them. Douche


• watching bad T.V is acceptable, see above (Meerkat Manor, Gossip Girl...need I say more)


• staying up late is fun, especially if it's a good book and reading until the wee hours of the morning


• there's no pesky costs of taxi's or the trouble of getting home after a night out, not to mention dealing with seedy no-goods who have nothing better to do than to go out and annoy people who are trying to have a good time

I think this is a pretty good list, I could go on. But I won't. I have been scarred by outings in the past where I spend half the night wishing I had stayed home and watched Maid in Brooklyn or whatever other bad J-Lo movie they're showing on free to air. Having said all that I'll admit that going out and being social can be lots of fun, whether you're hitting up some markets with some girlfriends or going to a huge party where you see people you haven't seen in a long time. I would trade being a hermit for a social life any day, because other people make you laugh...ever tried laughing at you own jokes?...It's sad, and also the clothes are better.

Timeless Beauty

Marion Cotillard is one of my favourite actresses and I think one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, past or present.

A New Handmade Goodie..Sort Of

After looking at this beautiful lady's blog and ordering her book online http://meetmeatmikes.blogspot.com/ I was inspired to start up my crafting again. With the spring issue of Vogue they gave away a tote bag that was fairly plain, you could have black or white and it had Vogue printed in the middle. Now as much as I do love 'The Fashion Bible' I don't want to be a walking advertisement for it. So I came up with the idea to cover it somehow, I didn't think of the patchwork design until was in Spotlight (trusty old Spotlight) and was standing in front of their off cut shelves, I could buy a few different fabric off cuts (they're all about 50cmx50cm) and use them to make patches. Et Voila!

I just cut squares, hemmed them and because the canvas was to tough to sew and it would awkward sewing onto a bag I used fabric glue to stick them on instead. It looks quite nice and I'm very happy with it (although I'm still learning my way around a sewing machine and it's a bit wobbly).

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE

Stephen Colbert is one of my favourite media personalities. What I love about his show is that you don't neccesarily have to know a lot about politics, let alone American politics. Just watch it!

It's usually on ABC 2 at 7:30pm.

Own Those Noobs

http://www.poladroid.net/

You download it to your computer and it changes ordinary pictures into Polaroids, and honestly Polaroids are cooler, but this cheaper...hehe

Four Lions - In Cinemas May 7

Very funny and wrong sometimes but definitely a nice change from the usual 'shoot em up' terrorist movie. Go see it!

A Surplus of Smarties = Smartie Cookies

I recently went to a Monday Double at the Luna in Leederville http://www.lunapalace.com.au/index.php?cin=cinemas&cinema=1 and being the glutton for chocolate that I am, I bought to much and a huge bag of Smarties left over (among the Forest Fruit Jellies, Pascalls Eclairs and Crispy M&Ms-but I didn't buy those). So the next day the boyfriend came over and instead of going for a bike ride and getting the excerise we need we decided to make cookies instead! Always the healthier option for us. We used Nigella's recipe, no one else comes close to her, sorry, although I do love other chefs she would be one of my favourites. http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=13056m/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=13056

Here are some pictures for your titiallation:

We also made the MOTHER OF ALL COOKIES with the left over dough.

They came out really yummy, crispy but still moist, I guess the whole stick of butter helps :)

So Beautiful

http://www.hmsass.com/default.html
And will be sold here
http://www.facebook.com/WeHeartVintage
There's something for everyone, atleast check it out :)

The Joys of Fremantle

I spent a lovely Sunday wondering around Fremantle with a very good friend of mine, it's always nice to have some girly time. We did a bit of op-shopping and walked around the Freo markets. And after all this walking around and eating we settled in for a movie at the Luna of SX. I've taken pictures of the goodies I found :)

This is gorgeous 60s inspired dress I spotted at the Good Sammy's. Unfortunately it's not real vintage (although it looks it)it's Jeanswest ;) and it was only $4.

This a cute number my friend picked for me, it's one of those dressed you can just throw on and you know you look cute, it's really comfortable which is an extra bonus. This one was $10 also from the Good Sammy's.

This gorgeous mesh Oroton wallet is from Vinnie's it was quite expensive for an Op-shop but it was cheap considering it's Oroton and it's vintage and it's in pretty good condition. I love it so much, not sure if I want to use it though.

This is a gorgeous compact I've added to my collection. It's form an antique store in Guildford right on James St. Only $15 :)

This lovely hat is from the We ♥ Vintage market that was on yesterday at the Flying Scotsman in Mt. Lawley.

At the end of it all we watched The Runways http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTpdXKocacQ it's very interesting. I liked it despite my uneasiness toward Kristen Stewart and my loathing for Twilight. It's definitely worth seeing.

Love This Song

Short Bread Cookies

Quite often my beau hunk and I will get the urge to bake something, usually we try and use things that are already in the house, not only because it's cheap but neither of us drive and this limits us a fair bit. Last week we found a recipe for easy and quick short bread cookies.

This is the recipe we used:

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons of margarine


• 6 tablespoons of icing sugar
  
• 1 beaten egg yolk
  
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  
• 1 cup of sifted all purpose flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

• Thoroughly cream butter and sugar
• Add egg and vanilla, beat well




• Add flour and mix well


• Teaspoon the mixture onto a greased baking tray
  
• Bake for 10-15 minutes
  

Plate and enjoy, best eaten with tea or coffee and perfect for a rainy afternoon :)

Some of the Artists/Photographers I love- Part 1

I have a quite a few photographers/artists that I really like. I though it would be nice to share them and post a few samples.

One of my favourites is Helmut Newton whose photography I feature at the top of my blog. He's best known for his portraits, nude models and erotic photography (which is always tasteful).

Edward Hopper is one of my most loved painters and I hope someday I can create art as beautiful as his. His most famous painting is Nighthawks which remains of the most iconic pieces of all time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Newton

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hopper

Here's a bit more info on each of them and you can buy their prints at various stores on line. I can't wait until my home is full of these beautiful images. :)

Paloma Faith - Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful OFFICIAL VIDEO

Death to the Vuvuzuela

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU3F8iE1mxg

I love this dog.

Push by Sapphire

A while ago I saw a movie called Precious at the Luna on SX, it was a very hard movie to watch, and it's the kind of movie you can only see once because it's so heartbreaking and tragic. It was adapted from a book called Push by the author Sapphire who has also published a book of poetry. I don't know why I read the book, it was just as hard if not harder to get through than the movie. But I was glad I did it because I learnt something from it, if Precious can go through all the things that she went through and still be OK, and ready to live her life then I have no reason to complain, about anything.

The story is based around a 16 year old girl named Claireece Precious Jones, and it is narrated from her perspective. She is pregnant for the second time by her father, who she never sees anymore, lives with her abusive and obese mother who only wants Precious to go on welfare and stay home because 'the bitch it to stupid to do anything else'.

However through all the abuse, rape and poverty Precious endures there is an under current of hope. She is determined to finish high school and get her G.E.D so she can provide for her children and be a good mother. It's very funny at times which is refreshing especially after all the heavy issues of rape, oppression and AIDS. I don't know if this is a book I would recommend to people because even though the overall message is hope it is very depressing at times, and people choose to read because it's an escape, and why would you want to escape to 1980s Harlem where everything looks bleak and tragic? You can't help admire Precious though, if you're brave enough to read it, read it to enjoy her character. She's unlike anyone else.

Poached Pears in a Red Wine Sauce with Orange and Pistachio Cream

Monday was a very relaxed and easy, my mother and I have a very similar sweet tooth, we both like chocolate but have a soft spot for fruit desserts. When she did her grocery shopping on Saturday they had this promotion going on, if you bought three Philadelphia Cream Cheese products you got a free cook book, of course every recipe has cream cheese in it, but that's the catch I guess. So we since we had pears, cream cheese, pistachio's and cream cheese we decided to make this recipe. http://www.philadelphiacreamcheese.com.au/recipes/Desserts/Poached-Pears-with-Orange-and-Pistachio-PHILLY.aspx It's fairly easy, and quick, although you need to keep an eye on the sauce because it can catch and you don't want it to burn. Here is the red wine sauce simmering away, it smelt delicious, the star anise has such a distinct sent. I hope someone makes a perfume out of this, I'd love to smell like it! The pears have the most amazing colour when they come out of the sauce, such a rich fragrance too. This is the end result of mine and mum's attempt, think ours looks better :)

Adventures of the Weekend

Saturday

During the long weekend of Foundation Day I tried to take advantage of the free time I had and actually go out and do things, for example on Saturday I enjoyed a busy afternoon in the city by myself. I went to the Gallery of Western Australia to see Patricia Puccini's exhibition called Relativity, having to do with genetic mutations, stem cells, cloning etc. Her goal was to try and get a picture of what the future would look like and this is her interpretation http://www.artgallery.wa.gov.au/. It's quite disturbing and a bit creepy to look at, but I couldn't look away, they were so life like I expected them to start moving any second. My favourite was the two scooters and how she manipulated them to look like deer with side view mirror's as antlers, it's amazing. I had more of a look around, saw the 2009 Year 12 Perspective's exhibition, which is a showcase of different pieces of art done by Year 12s from different schools. Sadly my old high school wasn't represented. There were quite a few other interesting exhibitions, after I walked around for quite a while I went to the gift shop and they were having a 20% of everything sale. I decided I really liked this brooch of an outline of a branch, and thought $10 wasn't a bad price, I went to pay for it and was politely told that it was $100 not $10. I was embarrassed to say the least and beat it out of there fast. Lunch was Caccitore pizza at Deliciozo upstairs in Carillion, which is very yummy and I highly recommend it. After that I was off to catch my bus and stopped by Pigeon Hole http://www.pigeonhole.com.au/ to say hello to my friend Bobby Von Baker http://theboygeniusacademy.com.au/home/ who is a very kind and wonderful gentlemen. Back home Iwent, to spend a cold winter evening curled up on the couch with my honey-bunch :)

Sunday

I spent Sunday roaming the city and Northbridge, I was supposed to go to a 'HUGE VINTAGE SALE' http://www.facebook.com/notifications.php#!/event.php?eid=11014531569688745315696887 but I got there too late and there was a gigantic line-up and the lovely ladies I was with and I decided to hit up Northbridge for some Op-shopping and lunch. Almost all the Op-shops we went to were closed as was Turnstyles so lunch it was before we headed into the city. We had a Dim Sim lunch at the Chinese Red Dragon Restaurant, I couldn't eat much of it because I don't like seafood so pork (I hope) spring rolls and pork buns it was. In the bustling metropolis that is Perth CBD we headed to a shop called Ally, which is very much like Valley Girl or Dotti, these stores aren't my favourite to shop at, but once in a while you can find a gem. Like this shirt which was $20, and very billowy, I'm going to wear a little cami underneath it of course, but I love the pattern on it, it's very feminine and pretty. One of my lovely ladies, Adri, suggested it because she she said they had some good stuff. Chic and Chic was next which is a small little Japanese store with lots of little kitchy things but like the other store you can find some good cheap things that you like. I found myself these gorgeous brown leather shoes with a low heel and Velcro strap for $15. I can't wait to wear them to a gig or something. After adventures in shopping and eating, we bade good-bye and I made for my bus stop. When I got there the other lovely lady, Lisa, gave me a ring and invited me to a Gyroscope concert for that night. Now Gyroscope is a Perth band that have reached national fame, they have never really been my sort of thing, I was more into Karnivool and Birds of Tokyo. But since the ticket was free I decided it would be better than sitting at home and doing nothing. So off we went, to enjoy a night of WA music. I came home very tired and sore, and slept in until 11. http://metrocity.com.au/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=23:gyroscope&Itemid=53

I'm in the bright blue stockings :)

Mecca

Last Sunday I ventured out in the cold and took a train to the Perth Convention Centre and finally got to go to the Craft Fair. My mecca. I spent quite a bit of money, which I shouldn't have and made lots of friends with wonderful elderly ladies that taught me many things, like don't sew in bad light because whatever you're sewing will come out crooked. It was mostly common sense stuff but they were sweet nonetheless. My first purchase was embossing powder, a pigment stamp pad and some rubber stamps which I bought to do this project from this book http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9781416937852/The-Big-ass-Book-of-Crafts. I spent quite a bit of time just looking around and hoping that the things I really liked would be reasonably priced, but alas, it was not so. I'm really interested in quilting, I would love to make my own, must find a work shop or something. Anyway round and round I went until I decided to do make a flower with the felting ladies at their booth. I can't find their website, but they're based in Brisbane. I made mine with silk, muslin, and wool of course to bind it and 'felt' it if you may. I've felted before but only made a brooche, this was a bit more challenging. This is the result and everyone praised it. It was $20 to do the workshop and they provided the expertise and material. After that I did this decoupage sort of thing where you choose a 'motif' from a napkin and then glue it on to canvas using this all purpose sort of thing. Anyway the canvas she gave me was this hideous beige colour and my motif got all buggered, its rather an ugmo so I won't humiliate it (and myself) by putting it on the Internet. But after that I found this blown glass booth that had little trinkets and what not for cheap so I bought this pendant.
I ruv it so much. I walked around some more and then decided I should probably beat it home before it got dark and even colder. I spent the rest of the Sunday catching up on my Sex and the City. www.craftfair.com.au/Perth2010/ Enjoy.

Another Little Creation

A few weeks ago I was waiting for the boyfriend to finish work so we could walk home together, and he suggested going to Bassendean Fabric and Craft, a store I always pass by but never have the time to go in and have a good look. So of I went, a very nice elderly lady stood behind the counter and patiently waited while I looked and looked and spent the better part of an hour carefully choosing my items. I bought gorgeous fabric, just an off cut for $6, some invisible snaps (for my make-up bag, which I haven't sewn on there yet) and a very cute little cat button, which I will most likely turn into a brooch.


After spending $12.65 of my hard earned money I toddled off to the library where I had a brain wave and decided to make a case for my new iPod. Why buy one when I could use this crappy wallet that came free with a bottle of bourbon(not for me) as a water proofing thingo and the outisde could be the gorgeous fabric I picked up?. Here is the result of my labour, two gruelling hours at the sewing machine (trying to figure out how it works) and then half an hour or so hemming it by hand and putting on the snaps to close it. I used an old pillow case to line the inside and I must say I am quite happy with my efforts. My own of a kind iPod case :) Be sure to visit Basso Fabo and Crafto, as I fondly like to call it, or check out the website (there isn't much to it, but it's 'quaint') http://www.fabricandcraft.com.au/

Droooool....

I love high fashion, I will never be able to afford it but I love the art that is Couture. A man who I think could be the epitome of style (for men) even though he kind of wears the same thing, is the one and only Karl Lagerfeld ( I also love Tom Ford, but Karl's got seniority). He apparently lost quite his love handles by drinking only Diet Coke and eating steamed veggies. http://www.coutorture.com/Diet-Coke-Obsessed-Karl-Lagerfeld-Appears-Limited-Edition-Bottles-Shoots-Coco-Rocha-Campaign-7978663

Now he has come out with this, as the article above states, and boy do I want to get my hands on it.

Something Old Turned Blue

I recently acquired some new make-up (which is very much needed) and my quite yucky, and old make-up bag was far to small. So I figured I would put some old clothes to good use and make my own make-up bag. This is the result, my mum helped me sew it because I am still a major n00b when it comes to sewing machines.
I used an old skirt and thick plastic bag to line it, sewed it all inside out whacked on some left over satin from a petticoat that my mother was making and voila. I'm glad that it turned out so well even though I'm quite new at sewing and didn't use a template of any sort. :)

Marry Me

Gene Kelly.

We ♥ Vintage Part 2

I skipped over a clothes rack and headed straight to a jewellery table, where I struck up a conversation with two lovely ladies. I told them I had a penchant for animal brooches and one of them showed me a cheetah, which didn't particularly grab me, so I specified and said 'Owls'. The lady sitting behind the table took out this tackle box and out came this little guy. After I bought it she showed me this book about 60's collectibles and there he was! I named him Owly.
Next came these beautiful pair of suede shoes, I didn't even plan on buying shoes, I was there for bags and trinkets. But I couldn't resist, and they were fairly reasonable. Gorgeous aren't they? I can't wait to wear them to a gig or for a night out!
I saw this purse when I first walked in and didn't know if I should spend the money on it, but I've always wanted a Glomesh bag/purse/clutch. So I walked away from it and when I saw it wasn't there anymore my heart broke, but lo behold when I came back a second time to have a look at this other wallet there it was! I knew I had to buy it. A small badge on the front declares it to be GC, anybody know what that is? Or if they could possibly give it a date?
I knew this had to be my last purchase because i was down to my last $10, but there was still my Soda-Girl waiting with the lovely gent outside. What to do? So I went out there and told him I spent all my money inside and I only have $10 left, and he kindly said 'I'll give it to you for $10'. Did I also mention the lovely compact collector give me $5 off on the one I chose? I was very excited to show off my new wares, and display them proudly in my room.
Please excuse the quality of the photos, I only had my mother's point and shoot and it was about to die. All in all I was quite glad the Craft Fair didn't happen because I would have missed out on this amazing market and meeting theses lovely ladies and gentlemen. The next one is on June 12th http://www.facebook.com/pages/We-Heart-Vintage-Perth/365311675866?v=wall. :)

We ♥ Vintage Part 1

This weekend I was led to believe that there would be a Craft Fair on at the Perth Convention Centre. So on Saturday I pried myself from a warm and comfy bed and got dressed and ready and was on my way after a breakfast of croissants with the boyfriend. When I got to said Convention Centre (after a long walk from the Esplanade without realizing that there is an entrance from the Bus Port saving myself a 10 minute walk, but whatever, it was a nice morning) I only saw signs for the Careers and Traineeships Expo and a Franchising Expo. I was thoroughly disappointed. I found a receptionist/concierge type and asked what was what and why there was no Craft Fair. Her reply was 'There seems to be some misinformation, quite a few people have come in here asking about it. You crafty lot are good natured though, no one has gotten angry yet'. Well I wasn't going to taint our 'crafty lot's' reputation by flying off the handle, so I debated for a little while whether to stay in the city or go to Mt. Lawley and meet the boyfriend there before he had this radio interview thing.

So at the Esplanade I bought some credit and a Bounty (for a bit of a moral boost), promptly called my mother and expressed my disappointment, and then she cheered me up by telling me that she made stew for dinner and my sister and her new husband would be joining us. Off to Mt. Lawley I went with the taste of chocolate and coconut in my mouth and Band of Horses in my ears.

Well when I finally got to 'the hippest suburb in Perth' according to Getaway, I had done the right thing, because as I was walking past the Flying Scotsman, a hip and trendy pub, I saw one of those tee pee signs that sits on the sidewalk advertising a We ♥ Vintage Market place at the Flying Scotsman with the dates underneath, and there was one today! So I looked further down the sidewalk and there it was. I saw records, old radios, Cd's, tapes, scarves, some furniture and pottery. I was immediately attracted to this, it was $20 and I thought 'not bad, I need some more wall hangings'. As I turned around I noticed that there was more inside, so I politely asked this kind gentleman if he could keep it aside for me while I looked inside (the crack in the glass was due to transporting it, it was perfect when I got it).


Well I don't know if going inside was a mistake or not because I spent pretty much all my money, I even went to withdraw more cash, so it's safe to say I went crazy in all that vintage splendor. I must note that this isn't 'vintage' like things you could find in an op-shop yourself, but they found it first and added $30 to the original price. There were women there who have been collecting various items like hats, shoes, purses etc. for a very long time. My first purchase was this beautiful compact which I put back at first because it was quite expensive, and I picked up another smaller one, and inquired about it's price which was $30. I had my heart set on getting a compact, ever since I saw an episode of Trash to Cash where they find this collection of beautiful art deco compacts, I have wanted to create my own collection.