Grow Fonder

art in the dark v 2.0

2011-09-28T18:44:00.000-07:00

We have a beautiful new website and beautiful new artists. Go have a look.

i am a woman of vision

2011-09-08T19:58:00.000-07:00

Do you remember when I talked about perfume?

Well, yesterday I sprayed some perfume on before leaving the office. My best pal in the office, an ageless gentleman named Donald who enjoys church organs, fine vintage auto-mobiles, whiskey and opera, smelt it in the air and asked about it. I told him that it was my perfume, Numero Uno, and that it was actually a man's cologne, and that I hope I hadn't sprayed too much. No! Not enough! He loved it, to the point that he asked if I'd mind if he bought some. Of course I wouldn't mind. So now, as of today, Donald and I are man-fume twins, connected for life, smelling similar, yet subtly different.

I also had my nails done today - glittery sparkles - and Donald said "now there's a woman of vision!" Now he is listening to his recording of the Royal Wedding, again, because he loves the church organ bits. Kate and Wills are about to say "I do".

These are not my nails.

NZFW

2011-08-31T15:19:00.000-07:00

I went to New Zealand Fashion Week (well, two shows, yesterday) and I wrote about it here. If you're interested, pop over to Always Sometimes Anytime to look at their very up-to-the minute coverage and photos of pretty much all of the shows.

One of the most polarising articles of the week was What's up with Adrian Hailwood? Read that, and then read this and this. It is interesting to see the different perspectives, right?
On the whole, I have learnt that I don't have the stamina for fashion week. I'm a spectator, not a participant, and I just can't buy into it - I can't afford to, and it's such an effort. I have horrible blisters. My brain is fizzing with hare-brained schemes to obtain the boots from Ruby, the leather pants from Lonely Hearts. When I eventually made my way home, I cooked a steak and ate it in front of the TV, and could not imagine having the energy to haul myself to the show I was meant to go to later that evening.
But I do have an interest in nice things. These are photos of some nice things from Liam, Ruby, Lonely Hearts. Liam is taking over from Madame Hawke, in case you were confused, and is, apparently,Ruby's slightly more grown-up best friend. All images courtesy of the sweet and talented Claire Wolf via Always Sometimes Anytime.

book smarts, not street smarts

2011-08-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

Lou and I have both gone back to school this year, and for me, at least, its been pretty fun. By "go back to school" I mean go to a "continuing education" Italian class. Apparently I have a good accent, for a beginner. I've noticed that a lot of the older people in the class just don't get the accent thing. Italian vowel sounds are rather different from New Zealand ones, but its like they're a little embarrassed to make Italian words sound Italian. They read them out phonetically, with decidedly New Zealand sounding vowels. For example, when you say: "mi chiamo Hannah" in Italian, it should sound a little like "me kiamo Hannah". My classmates might say it like "my chee(as in cheese)-ammo Hannah". I was paired up with a lady who didn't get the sounds and I tried to help her come to grips with them by saying that the vowels were a little similar to Maori vowels - "ahh eeeeh iii orr eww" - and she said "I wouldn't know, I've never heard Maori" and then made a joke about Asian drivers. Whatever. Pictures from T Magazine.

eighteen

2011-08-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the first night we met? We had actually met a few times before, but I mean the first night we hung out, without any mutual friends as buffers. I came to your work after close with my workmates and must have been there until at least 4am, it can't have been too much later because it was still dark when we got to your apartment. Your friend Jase was there – he became my friend after that night – and someone else maybe but that I'm not sure of. I'm not sure of very much, considering the circumstances and all the years that have passed since, but there are things that have stayed with me. I tripped on the stairs, I remember protesting that I had not eaten that night, it's something you say when you are embarassed at showing how drunk you are, isn't it? I remember you, I think it was you – there was something there I thought, I hoped, eyes had been made earlier – putting a pill in my mouth. Actually I might not remember that, maybe it was handed to me and I swallowed it on my own. It was not my first but still new enough. I remember only a few minutes passing before I was throwing up all over the bathroom. Had you been showering, did I burst in? Maybe you came in and found me there. I imagine any glimmer of that something faded away while you cleaned up my puke, I don't really know now. I remember you found a hair tie somewhere, to tie my hair up. I remember that I fell asleep and you went out with the others, there were early morning 'hospo nights' then, surely there still are, and I remember when I woke up the next day I thought someone had come into my room and painted the wall while I was sleeping, before I remembered that I was in your bed. You were next to me then, and I remember that you kissed me when we were both only just awake, I remember you had been wearing blue underwear, not shorts but tight, y fronts, no boys I knew wore that sort of underwear then.

Though your blue underwear may have been another time, later on.

I heard a few years ago that you were living here, and we have talked once, on a bizarre trip out of town we both happened to be on. But I didn't think about that night then, I just thought of it today, when we passed each other on the street, without recognition. I remember we joked about the wastefulness of my purge, I remember being both flattered and repulsed that you had kissed me after the events of only a few hours earlier. I remember that I went to your apartment for a while after that, always so late at night that it was already the next morning, a few times staying until it was the next night again. You were tall, tall and skinny with a baby's face and curls. You wore underwear that was different from the boys' whose underwear I had seen before.

blerg

2011-07-17T21:04:00.000-07:00

I am still alive! Just have been a bit uninspired of late.
I'm saving, saving, saving for an adventure. It means that I've given up a more grown-up life of flatmates, dinners and extravagant laybys for parents, spending all my time with an ill tempered cat, and bringing leftovers in for lunch. On the plus side, I get to spend my spare time working through some very basic questions:
Should I live in Milan, Rome or Florence? Or somewhere else entirely?
Should I go full Eat Pray Love and stop in India and Bali, just to be facetious?
Should I buy the language book or just photocopy whole chapters out of it?

Florence

Milan

Rome

we're still here

2011-07-10T23:37:00.000-07:00

just.

I spent a lot of last Friday morning booking tickets to the Melbourne International Film Festival later this month. I decided to do something I never do which is actually go to all (or a lot) of the movies I want to see. I bought one of those passes you can get which costs a lot but works out to be not so bad per ticket, I also got a bunch of tickets for my friends so that I only have to go to one or two alone. There is nothing wrong with going to a film by yourself, it's fun actually, liberating even, but more than ten in the space of only a few weeks could be more in the realm of depressing.

I booked tickets to a few much anticipated movies, The Future and Norwegian Wood among them, as well as Beats, Rhymes & Life and a few other music films. I got tickets to a couple I hadn't heard of at all before reading through the timetable last month, like The Matchmaker and some I had been looking forward to but it turns out no one else I've met has (Tiny Furniture for instance).

I very rarely go to the movies any more, it feels like such a treat when I do. This actually feels a little excessive but if you knew how many I didn't get tickets to you would be impressed with my self-restraint. Or not.

Also, I finally got around to watching Catfish the other night and it was good, plus all of the guys who made it are dreamboats.

man decor

2011-06-30T23:36:00.000-07:00

I really like this rug (via I'm Revolting).

I also really like and want this book (via Vena Cava), and would like to have it in my home which I would like to look something like these homes.

That's all.

i think i like you

2011-06-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is relevant to my youth

Wild things is on television right now. I'm watching it and keep being reminded of Neve Campbell's skin peeling scene in The Craft. The acting in this movie is almost as bad as the shoes, but there's nothing not to love. Wtf Bill Murray?

mash up

2011-06-01T04:22:00.000-07:00

Rittenhouse

Surface too deep

Jennie Ford for Marimekko

good for nothing

2011-05-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

I am not of the best health at the moment. I have a vitamin b and possibly iron deficiency. I know this because I have angular cheilitis. This self-diagnosis has been informed by advice from various friends and colleagues, and at least an hour or so on the internet. Angular cheilitis, it turns out, is what they call the terribly annoying and persistent cuts that can develop in the corner of one's mouth. They are PAINFUL and DISGUSTING and do. not. heal. They aren't cold sores but they may as well be, they are equally as GROSS and render one equally as unlikely to ever be kissed again in their LIFE. They also make it difficult to laugh, yawn, brush one's teeth, and eat anything larger than a grape, or anything on a fork.

So there've been a range of suggestions about what might have caused the face wounds, and after two weeks of no apparent improvements (in fact it got worse, double bad) the common theme I'm hearing is vitamin b. I actually spoke to a real pharmacist about this, they're the free version of a doctor, or at least slightly more informed than me after a dr google consultation. Admittedly the pharmacist I spoke to was working at chemist warehouse (the only place I buy my drugs) but they agreed with my self assessment and the ego boost was enough to send me away with a bottle of some super ultra multi B complex pills. Never have been much of a supplement taker though, and I am now sitting here munching on salmon, broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, leafy greens, beetroot, brussel sprouts and brown rice, trying to work out how I can possibly incorporate millet, wheat germ and beef livers into my diet as well... I am an easily sold hypochondriac.

dreamy

2011-05-17T01:27:00.000-07:00

I've been having the strangest, most vivid dreams recently. It's probably the seasons changing or something. Unfortunately for most people around, I've been compelled to share them with whoever I can, in person, on facebook, and yay now with you. You're welcome.

Not really, it's too late in the evening to write anything compelling about something that occured in my own subconscious over 12 hours ago. But here are a bunch of pictures that somehow fit into the bizarreness and loveliness of this whole scenario, as I seem to have begun to mush all the recent dreams into an ongoing state of being that I'm having a hard time pulling myself out of when awake.

A few tidbits: model planes made of chickpeas and rainbow garlic // b grade celebrity look alikes mouthing silently along with gangster rap for hours // sleeping in a hat on a couch at a party // straw // forests // grey skies // warm hands, cold weather // that's all.

champ fest

2011-05-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

Wa-hey, Champ Press Creators Supplement showed up in my mailbox last night and isn't it delightful!

A lovely little thing printed on a beautiful old press, here in Melbourne, this journal is full of pictures and words from some of the most inspirational people creating around the world. Editors from Apartamento and Monocle (my two actual favourite bits of print), designers from Tokyo, Berlin and London, I'm excited to actually sit down and read it all.

You can buy the supplement, and Ala Champfest the magazine at a bunch of shops around Melbourne and the world, and online, have a look at the website for stockists.

I took these photos on my phone.

knit picks

2011-05-03T00:40:00.000-07:00

see what I did there?

I would be so happy if all of my friends wore these all of the time, including me.

I am obsessed with All Knitwear, ever since I saw it in a shop on Gertrude Street that was shut every time I walked past. Admittedly I only walked past at night, until about two months ago when I walked past in the middle of the day, and it was open. I went in and found that these sweaters and minis and scarves are even better in person than through the window/online. The shop is called Dagmar Rousset and is full of really great things. Please go there if you are in Melbourne. You could even get french lessons there if you wanted, which you should.

If you're in Auckland, which I think a few of you are, All Knitwear is stocked at Douglas + Bec in St Mary's Bay, a shop which I don't think existed when I lived there.

we are children of the nineties

2011-04-26T17:40:00.000-07:00

This weekend I sat by a lake with eight others of roughly the same age, and turned 25 as we sang along to the smashing pumpkins, spice girls, ace of base and alanis morisette. We still remembered every word.

We communed with nature, smoking cigarettes and drinking beer and red wine in the mud. Wearing polyester blankets patterned in leopard print. We made new friends and ate chinese takeaway in the middle of a tiny town, deserted at 10pm but for a few hangers on at the pokies.

We talked about Kurt Cobain, 2 Pac and Biggie. We rowed in Kayaks on another lake, our iPods and portable speakers splashed with water but continuing to play incredibly offensive gangster rap. (We turned it off when we realised how many children we were sharing the lake with).

We spent hundreds of dollars, on beer, breakfast, barbecue supplies. We feasted on sandwiches and easter eggs in the middle of the night and powerade and golden pash the next morning. We got lost on the way there and the way home, but we got back to the city in time for the unfortunate few who had to work.

quarter life crisis

2011-04-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

It's my birthday on Monday, dear rich friends and family (all of you) please note:

I would like the fox dress

This perfume

These sunglasses

Flowers, always

A cocktail ring or two, particularly this one, in smokey quartz

A timepiece that isn't my cell phone. Preferably a large-ish man-ish gold or silver watch with a big round face

And a new computer,

Thanks.

a banana wrapped in tin foil

2011-04-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

My favourite boots fell apart five minutes after I got to Russell, a small town in the Bay of Islands, a few weeks ago and I was left with just my ridiculously high bridesmaid shoes and a pair of jandals borrowed from han. I re-bought the same boots as soon as I got back to Melbourne so it's not as much as a disaster as it could have been, but at the time my only consolation was that I might get to fill the broken pair with plants. Not so, unwearable footwear is not something you want to lug around in a suitcase for three weeks, and they now rest in a bin somewhere in Auckland.

Anyway I'm kind of hung up on the work of Aurelian Arbet and Jeremie Egry (good names too), which features among other things my current favourite plant containers - clothing.

i exist

2011-04-13T22:45:00.000-07:00

And I like things:

My giant velvet polka dot dress from Twenty Seven Names

Wearing said dress with a ridiculous cardigan covered in mini pom poms, burgundy tights, or a skin coloured slip

Smokey quartz everything

99 Problems, my new local* with the nicest proprietors ever

The fact that I am going to see Bone Thugs N Harmony next week

The wonderful, amazing trip I just got back from in little ole New Zealand, and all the babes I got to see naked in the ocean after two of our beautiful pals tied the knot

In fact, everything about that day, except the sweat during the ceremony, and the entire missing outfit

Hanging out with my granny

Hanging out with my friends' babies

Being home

The Asos package that just arrived

This lovely distraction (select journey)**

Winter's approach,

and my acceptance of it.

Thanks for your time

* it is, dangerously close to my house

** found via Lolita, thanks!

*** both of the autumney wintery photos are from Le Portillon, my new favourite

no-neck monsters!

2011-03-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

RIP Liz. Once I dressed up as her for Halloween (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof). I can't imagine a world without Elizabeth Taylor.

This has been very encouraging

2011-03-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

Last night, when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Tom Waits said this:

I just want to know if there's a keychain version that I can keep with me just in case I hear someone say, "Pete, take the cuffs off. I think he's a Hall of Famer." Thank you for the kind words, Neil. I'm honored to be honored. And, gee, I don't know where to begin. Songs, uh, are really just interesting things to be doing with the air. I love working with tunes. I love music, but we really want music to love us. Neil was saying the other night, he said, "When there's a song approaching it's kind of like there's an animal in the room, and you don't want it to run off." You know, how did it get in?

I was, uh, fifteen and I snuck in to see Lightnin' Hopkins. I put white-out in my hair and I drew on a mustache and I put on an overcoat and I stood there and I said, "Ticket for one." Amazing show. Every time he opened his mouth, that orchestra of gold teeth was just devastating. And then I saw him leave the show and he walked through a door and slammed the door behind him. And on the door, it said, I swear to God, "KEEP OUT. THIS ROOM IS FOR ENTERTAINERS ONLY." And I knew at that moment that I had to get into show business as soon as possible. So, uh, that was a real big one for me. And I've had the pleasure and the privilege of playing with a lot of great musicians over the years. Some of you are here and some of you are not here. Some of us are on the wrong side of the dirt, as they say. But any day on this side of the dirt is a good day, for me and for all of us.

Let's see, what else? They told me I should talk for quite a while, but I don't intend to. I fully do not intend to. I'd like to thank my family. They know me and they love me anyway. My wife and her incandescent light that has guided me and kept me alive and breathing and sparkling. And my kids who, well, they taught me everything I know. Or maybe they taught me everything they know. I don't know. They taught me a lot.

Okay, I did the bit about the door and the club. Um, the first time I went onstage, my face felt like it was made of plaster and if I smiled, it would crack off, and I thought, "This is such an interesting [Christian?] experience" and somehow wanted more of it. They say I have no hits and I'm difficult to work with, and they say that like it's a bad thing. [crowd cheers] The only thing I really can compare this to is I was given the key to the city of El Paso several months ago. It was a really kind offer. They told me there's only one key to the city, but I found out later there were a whole lot of them, and they fit nothing. So, I'm just hoping there are some fringe benefits that go along with this baby. Thank you very much. This has been very encouraging.

2011-03-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

Taken one year before her first album was released. So cool. Photo by Richard Corman.

no-hope

2011-03-10T12:37:00.000-08:00

Why am I so preoccupied with winter boots? All I want is a plain black leather pair that come up to the top of my ankle with a bit of a heel. In Auckland, it is impossible. I whinged to Lou about this, and she said they're everywhere in Melbourne, but that's always the way. New Zealand is a boot desert. There are no good boots here, unless you're after the massive-wedge-lace-up-cut-out style. There are heaps of those. Below, the Alexander Wang Addison boots (unattainably expensive), Jeffrey Campbell Areas (sold out) and the mystery ones in Miss Crabb's look book.

hitched

2011-03-07T22:42:00.000-08:00

Two of my favourite people are getting married (really soon!) and they have something special planned for their cake which I'm pretty excited about... It's special in quite a different way to these spectacular monochromatic lovelies but I'm loving the boar cake and it just reminded me of how not-bland weddings can be if they want to. I know weddings think about this stuff.

The top picture is from Once Wed and the white cakes are all by Emily Miranda via I'm revolting.

oh I wish

2011-03-07T12:17:00.000-08:00

Perfect: no make up (jealous), cheek bones, relaxed hair without a massive fringe, vintage jacket, brown silk shirt, vintage belt, blue velvet pants. Man.

2011-02-23T19:26:00.000-08:00

There's not much to say at the moment. We're all just watching and waiting. Our country is calm and safe and, above all, small. We all know someone who knows someone. We've crowded around the TV and radio, waiting to hear more. I've spent the last couple of days working with eleven year olds, and today had to start answering questions about the earthquake. I tried to focus on good things, like the way everyone is pulling together to help, how they're looking out for one another. But I know those kids will go home, turn on the television and see it all. They'll feel that visceral pain we're all feeling at the moment, of seeing your country literally torn apart, ripped at the seams, collapsed in a heap.

At the moment, they need money. You can donate to the red cross, or click here for more information.

do it for yourself

2011-02-15T19:54:00.000-08:00

I'm not much of a jewellery wearer, but I do like to look at it... I particularly like looking at these colourful chunky tribal numbers from Proenza Schouler's Resort 2011 collection. I love big statement necklaces and plan to collect many for when I am a much older lady, with a grey bob.

Anyway the reason I'm posting them is because I just discovered this DIY on Honestly...WTF and I think it's great. I also think their other DIYs are great and am feeling rather inferior in my lack of craftiness/motivation/materials. I did pick up last years knitting last night though, it's a start.

I know. I KNOW.

2011-02-13T16:41:00.000-08:00

They look better on.

I know that I am not really a Karen Walker girl. I think you have to be a certain type of girl to wear her clothes and I am just not that type of girl. I am, however, a Beau Coops girl. I'm also an Agent 99 girl, a That Girl girl, a Mary Tyler-Moore girl and an Elaine from The Graduate girl and therefore I really am a Karen Walker x Beau Coop girl and I wish they weren't five hundred dollars because then I would buy them and wear them everyday.

the clouds have lifted

2011-02-12T14:23:00.000-08:00

And if my friends aren't too hungover, we're going to drive to the quarry for a swim under the willow trees. We'll listen to this song on the way up.

i like today

2011-02-10T18:59:00.000-08:00

Things that are making me happy right at this moment are:

This dress from Deyrolle pour Opening Ceremony

The work of Diana Drake

Warpaint, who were better last night than I'd even hoped (and I had high hopes). I've been wanting to see them play ever since Natalie put Billie Holiday on a mix she made our friends for their engagement a year ago. They make beautiful music and look like girls I would like to be friends with.

Emma Stone. Han went on and on about Easy A whhile she was here and I was skeptical, but I finally watched it and I loved it and am quite comfortable saying she is the new LiLo and it is the new Mean Girls.

reliving my youth

2011-02-10T14:05:00.000-08:00

I turned 25 in January, and celebrated by moving to my Dad's house. I'm trying not to feel weird about missing out on fun, which is probably the thing about living at home that trips me up the most: sober-driving home a bit earlier than usual, or committing to a taxi home before everyone gets a second wind and stays out all night. I've become really comfortable on the couch, I weep over Catelynn and Tyler on 16 and Pregnant and watch far too much Jersey Shore.* Dad's house has a hammock to lie in, an elderly cat to befriend, a kitchen full of healthy food. I've paid off my credit card. The best thing about my Dad's house is my Dad, though. I haven't lived with him for more than four days at a time since I was ten. I get to hear the best, most punny Dad jokes before anyone else. So all in all, I think this is a good thing.

*and feel vaguely and confusingly attracted to The Situation

ochre

2011-02-09T16:08:00.000-08:00

I really like Rodarte. They did the ballet costumes for Black Swan and they've recently collaborated with Opening Ceremony. In case you didn't know.

this is not edgy

2011-02-07T18:41:00.000-08:00

BUT I LOVE MUPPETS, ESPECIALLY OSCAR THE GROUCH WHEN HE SMIIIILES!

dawwwww

From a 2009 Harpers Bazaar, celebrating Sesame Street's 40th birthday.

oh jeez where have you been

2011-02-06T17:56:00.000-08:00

In the weeks/months since I posted anything (regularly) on this blog not a lot has happened, but I've had a pretty nice time. Han visited and we ate out every single day, every single meal. The highlight being a meal of cheese, mozzarella to be precise. Three fist sized balls of mozzarella and then two ginormous pizzas covered in the stuff, along with mushrooms and a few other things, which I couldn't get through but Han put in a stand-out effort and so we managed to leave almost empty plates. A bottle of dusky pink rose on the side and a montenegro to follow. It's a digestive so the whole point is it helps you digest the mountians of cheese you just consumed. In the rain on a little table outside under a tree. With a waiter who seemed abrupt, gruff even, but loved us actually because we are two young ladies dressed nice for a saturday night. A taxi and a cocktail roumored to revive corpses. Not us though, too full of cheese and wine and more cheese we ended it all with a midnight chai and a balmy stroll home and the next day Han went home to New Zealand.

I moved house, finally, it's small and delightful. I went to the Shout Out Louds, Beach House and Andrew WK. The night Andrew WK played was definitely the best night out I have had in forever. I got a cold on the hottest day, I went to the pools, a lot, I didn't cook a meal probably this whole time. I got my hair cut. It's not 'short' any more, more what could be considered 'shoulder length' (it's actually a tiny bit past my shoulders though, just so you know). I thought about posting something on this blog. I went outside and read in the sun. I drowned in hundreds of pages of watercolour. I made new friends. I hung out with girls, so many girls, all the time, this is new for me. I booked a trip back home in March (5 weeks Han!!) and I searched for shoes that would please everybody. I thought about posting something on the blog. Our friend's baby was born. It rained, torrentially, and flooded. Not as badly as in Queensland but it's still been pretty crazy. My housemate's car floated down the street. Not outside our house though, at her parents', in the suburbs. I made marmalade. You can try some at a cafe in Collingwood where our friend works, it's delicious I think (I haven't had any since we put it in the jars but it was pretty marmaladey, so if you're into that sort of thing then it's probably still delicious).

velvet!

2011-01-18T16:56:00.000-08:00

Lou loves velvet, I love velvet. I love what Courtney has done with Lonely Hearts' velvet shorts on her v. cool new website always/sometimes/anytime. The question is, do you go for the pants or for the shorts?

shorts

pants

All pictures from Always/Sometimes/Anytime, which is definitely worth a look or two. On an unrelated note, I bought some Mac Face and Body foundation as a birthday present to myself and I'm worried its too dark.

rising sun blues

2011-01-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

I need to know more about Alan Lomax, folklorist and ethnomusicologist. Listen to interviews with him and his biographers, as well as excerpts from his recordings, on NPR. He travelled the world recording folk songs and talking to folk singers. I especially love his early recordings of blues singers in the South. In 1937 he recorded "House of the Rising Sun", sung by 16 year old Georgia Turner on the street. And, you know "Po Lazarus", which the chain gang sings in O Brother Where Art Thou? He recorded that, in Mississippi State Penitentiary, in 1959. Its just so interesting.

when you're a jet, you're a jet all the way...

2011-01-12T18:46:00.000-08:00

Check out this babe being a babe on a skateboard. His name is Kilian Martin and it was all for Man About Town. Does it remind you of West Site Story, too? Photos from Future Shock.

I like her tattoos

2011-01-12T12:10:00.000-08:00

I only have one tattoo, but I'm sure I'll get more. Its addictive! I like Olivia Kim's tattoos, especially the little birds on her hands. She talks about them on Into the Gloss.

it's not sunny here at all

2011-01-11T18:34:00.000-08:00

A scratch has appeared in the middle of the left lens of my sunglasses. The (black) arms are turning a bit white, I think from wearing them in the pool too much. I left them at a friend's house and then at a bar after he returned them to me. I got them back, but I am thinking this may be the universe telling me it's time for a new pair...

I am sorely tempted by Retro Super Future's Super Lucia, particularly after seeing them in this shoot (via Because I'm Addicted), they're the kind of thing one needs to try on before purchasing though and I don't know where to find them in Melbourne.

There was a pair of PAM sunglasses at FAT about 15 months ago that I loved. I didn't need new sunglasses then and now I can't find them.

I'll most likely end up with another pair of wayfarers. Probably tortoise shell all over again. Change is hard, stick with what you know.

back at work

2011-01-11T16:12:00.000-08:00

Working during the summertime is not a good thing. I've been back at work for 5 hours and I want out. Perhaps its time to go off the grid and offer my services as a hermit to an isolated small town in need of one? I have a friend who lives in a hut in the forest; he thoroughly enjoys it and has not yet gone looney.
Images of sweet huts from here and here.

šuti

2010-12-26T13:56:00.000-08:00

Šuti means "shut up" in Croatian and I heard it a lot on Christmas day. Uncle Ivan, seventy-something and rather tipsy, was explaining in detail how to tell if your fish monger is ripping you off (there's a complicated equation with the price of a fillet versus the price of a whole fish). His son, Stefan, bounded upstairs with a present: "Šuti!" he shoved the present into Ivan's lap, "Open this, old man!".

In between talking about fish prices, Dalmatia and the act of being Dalmatian (if you get a bunch of elder Dalmatians together, I swear, its all they talk about) I ate a pile of kroštule, otherwise known as hrvoštule. They're little pastry bows, deep fried until just golden and dusted with icing sugar. My Aunty Marlene is the only person in our family who makes them and has promised to teach me the recipe before she dies. A cousin said I'll only receive it on Marlene's death-bed because "Marlene wants to be the only person alive who knows the recipe", which I think is true! There are recipes here and here but I doubt they are anywhere near as good as the one locked away in Aunty Marlene's head.

a little hiatus

2010-12-24T13:12:00.000-08:00

happy holidays you guys! Han and I probably won't be around for a couple of weeks because after christmas, she's coming to Melbourne and we'll be too busy lying next to the pool to post... See you in 2011! xx

This photo is by mädchen, via Lolita

stars in my eyes

2010-12-22T20:48:00.000-08:00

I like this print too. I don't know where it comes from or I would try to buy it, I found the picture in a folder of mine called 'space is the place', which is a fact. I would like the Nasa Hubble book that Zoe brought to my attention. I saw Hubble 3D at the Imax when my mother was visiting and it was so good I hyperventalated and almost spilled my giant coke. It was so good I'm going to go again.

I'll send you a postcard from space/the future, suckers.

chrismukkah, oy humbug!

2010-12-20T05:12:00.000-08:00

I've watched:

The Shop Around the Corner, Bad Santa, Home Alone 2, Love Actually,the Melrose Place Christmas episode,* both of the Chrismukkah episodes from the OC and the episode of Seinfeld where Elaine accidentally slips a nip on her Christmas card. Two words: SETH COHEN.

I've eaten:

Steamed Czech dumplings filled with strawberries, doused in melted butter with a dollop of cream cheese. Roast wild boar, covered in a rosemary and thyme herb oil, served with whipped potatoes and red cabbage, followed with licorice ice cream and fra angelico on ice. A burger with bacon and cheese, also a sausage pizza, cheese pizza with extra mushrooms. Frozen coke. A suspicious tasting "ginger bread" frappaccino on the most humid day so far. I went to Winehot with my Pa and had a simple pork belly with new potatoes and (more) cabbage. At flat christmas, where several of the movies above were watched, I ate mushroom and ricotta empanadas and drank horchata for the first time (delicious!)
*"Does this gift cross the line between friendship and...romance?"

picket fence

2010-12-19T19:37:00.000-08:00

wood floors // white walls // natural light // outdoor space // a window seat // glass fronted cabinets // tiled bathroom // one or two or three bedrooms // gas stove // window seat // fireplace // built in shelves // a pantry // pot plants // bathtub // a name at the top // art on the walls // a shelf in the kitchen for cookbooks

the pictures are all from Convoy

edges

2010-12-18T22:09:00.000-08:00

I've just given myself a modified version of this spiky manicure (with paint, rather than clippers), and would do anything right now for that sweet, scalloped bedspread.

Not sure where the nails are from but the bed comes from this tumblr which I'm currently obsessed with.

a good thing to do

2010-12-16T19:11:00.000-08:00

Is to go to Empress Garden chinese restaurant on Jervois Road, pre-order two Peking Ducks and then bring ten of your friends along to eat them with over three courses. You need to drink lots of Tsing Tao for optimum results. Empress Garden is in a pretty villa and has Lazy Susan facilities(messy as!)

underthings

2010-12-16T18:26:00.000-08:00

I got my first ever strapless bra today*. Han and I are both 'lucky' enough that we can go without whenever a bra's straps might cause issue, however the Lonely Hearts dress I just bought has these lovely lacy ladders up the bodice which show a little too clearly any lack of support or, ah, coverage. So the very helpful girl in the shop pointed me towards cotton on body as the best place for 'a good cheap strapless bra' and I got one. That's all.

*I technically already owned one but it was a hand-me-down from my mother from about eight years ago and besides being not my size, it features scraggly lace and no padding (which I understand is kind of a useful reinforcement in strapless situations), instead it just has elastic along the top which creates a boobtube-like sausage breast effect. This is not desirable. I should have thrown it out a long time ago.

all i want for christmas is my two front teeth

2010-12-15T22:10:00.000-08:00

I've never done a 'gift guide' before. And this is hardly a very helpful one, but I was inspired by this I'm Revolting guest post on Etsy, particularly this line This is for the one whose absence is keenly felt in those moments when the only sound is the city traffic beyond your window and you need to talk to someone and be understood. Because it made me think of you han, and made me want to get you the rug. And so here:

For the one that I admire from afar, compose text messages and emails to in my head when I'm walking, chat to all day, every day, about nothing. The one who loves all the best and some of the worst food, who can pull off every style, trend and item I never could, who calls me when she's drunk, high, and screams down the phone, who calls me sober, from work, to play me the carols being sung in her office (it'll be a tradition). The one who once called me her heart, the one who I get to see in 14 days and counting. If I could I would buy her a pair of Opening Ceremony shoes, some Arnsdorf Jeans or this Navajo bag from Need Supply but I'm far more likely to give her a Trotski and Ash calendar, a candle from Lover, or, realistically, a bucket of gin and tonic and my bed.

Christmas is not for spending on onesself. If someone else wished to spend on me though they could get me some pretty jewelry like the smokey quartz on silk cord from Vamoose or the beautiful Morse Code necklace by Coatt (it spells 'love me do' in morse code!), or if they were feeling very generous I would accept the gold, diamond and turquoise ring by Mociun, from Magpie and Rye (I would accept anything from M&R, or Mociun for that matter, thanks). Even though it's kind of similar to one I got from Ruby in October, I would still love the Viva Vena Mustard Seed t shirt, because I have already worn the Madame Hawke one to death, and the back is special! It's sold out (probably thanks to I'm Revolting) but I would have love love loved the Moon print and lastly, I am actually considering buying the smokey quartz in geode for myself, because who doesn't love a chunk of rock?

oldies but goodies

2010-12-15T16:25:00.000-08:00

Look at this collection of behind the scenes photos of old hollywood. I love how in most of them people are just hanging out, smoking, playing miniature board games, reading books, looking like I would like to be friends with them.

acting

2010-12-08T14:52:00.000-08:00

The internet has gone crazy for James Franco pashing himself in a series called Fourteen Actors Acting. And rightly so! You'd think the moustache would detract from his handsomeness but, astonishingly, it just makes him better looking. The NY Times hooked me with Franco + mirror but reeled me in with Vincent Kassel + chair. What a graceful man!

bikini babes

2010-12-06T17:55:00.000-08:00

Man, it is H.O.T here. I've been frequenting the beach and the Parnell Baths, which makes me think about swimwear. My current bikini is a black number from Glassons, it has little frills and cost me $20. It's fine, but is made out of quite a thick, cheap fabric, and I think the ties are a little short. I don't really "get" spending lots of money on bikinis. I mean, I would love to, just like I'd like to spend lots of money on everything I buy. But bikinis are just so unsubstantial and small. Like you're paying $20 per square inch of fabric, if not more.* And yet, I imagine having a really nice one would probably make me feel sassy and confident. Maybe one with an underwire? A pattern? Perhaps Tigerlily, or Insight have good ones?

This is an unrelated picture because its hot and I can't find any photos of nice togs that aren't from Lover.*

*I'm sorry Lover, but I'm not spending AU$350 on a bikini. Thank you, and good night.

please please please

2010-11-30T21:25:00.000-08:00

I'm going to Shout Out Louds in January and Warpaint in February and I'm looking forward to both shows ever so much. I'm especially looking forward to Shout Out Louds because Han is coming!

it has been a while

2010-11-28T13:56:00.000-08:00

Things I have done recently that might be of interest:

Went to an incredible food show at Victoria Park. We had free tickets and wandered around stuffing our faces with cured meats and cheeses and ciders and breads and chocolates and NO VEGETABLES. There was an unattended table with a giant plate of shredded roast duck on it and I ate heaps of it. It made me spin around slowly with my arms stretched out in the fashion of Bill Murray in Ghostbusters after he meets up with Sigorney Weaver after her orchestra rehearsal. If you know what I mean. Oh and fried HALOUMI, too. We stayed there, just eating, for four hours. Four of the best hours of my life.

Then I went to Tawaharanui with some pals and we basked in the sun and New Zealand's ridiculous beauty and built a boat out of sand. Seriously, that beach is one of the most beautiful in the world. New Zealand's beaches tend to be surrounded by rolling hills covered in little sheep, which is pretty idyllic. The water was clear and warm. It was a nice way to end a really sad week. I know two people who lost loved ones last week and along with the horribly sad Pike River Mine...well, I think we were all in dire need a good surf battering.

oh ho ho HO

2010-11-21T15:52:00.000-08:00

Auckland Zoo is getting a pygmy marmoset (or dwarf monkey) next year.

i'm going to win this thing

2010-11-17T21:52:00.000-08:00

I told you a while ago about The Vamoose. So now she's having a bit of a giveaway and I'm crossing my fingers because a) I never win anything and b) those necklaces are lovely!

It was pretty much impossible for me to choose just one (these three are maybe my best) but I went for the bug chunk of turquoise, just to be different... What would you choose if you could?

Have a look right here for details of the competition. I will forgive you if you win.

leo fuchs

2010-11-17T14:05:00.000-08:00

Tres chic photos by Leo Fuchs of some of my favourite Hollywood dreamboats. More here.

good things to do on a lunch break

2010-11-16T18:08:00.000-08:00

lunch time manicures (I favour Sassi Nail on Lorne St).
eat a burger, or perhaps some dumplings or even some noodles.
go to chain stores like Glassons and Wild Pair and find hidden gems
tour of lunch
sunbathe in Myers Park, go to the beach
put an extravagant thing on layby
buy a lipstick or some fancy socks
go to the library if it is rainy or read books in a nice bookshop that isn't Borders or Whitcoulls
lunchtime yoga - I haven't done this but plan to
or else go to an art gallery, which is usually accompanied by a sweet cafe
get your eyebrows threaded (but never any kind of wax, it feels weird to go back to the office after having your privates dealt to - trust me)

Bad things to do on a lunch break:

watch a pigeon eat a mince and cheese pie at a traffic light (witnessed today)
watch a person walk down the street drinking straight out of a giant bottle of milk (witnessed about two months ago)
see a girl wearing a t shirt that said "I WISH THESE WERE BRAINS" on the boob part (witnessed concurrent with milk drinking two months ago)
see apprentice hairdressers drinking heaps of energy drinks and smoking cigarettes outside Farmers = depressing
walk down Queen Street
stay in the office and eat a toasted sandwich at your desk (the worst)

two pastas

2010-11-15T12:56:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we were shells of our former selves. Husks. So hungover that there was nothing to do but draw the curtains, drink some beer, and make two different types of cheesy pastas to eat while watching Enchanted. The first one was nominally "healthy" in that there were vegetables in it. We roasted some of those teensy capsicums that are sweet and delicious with some mushrooms, onion and garlic. Then we put some fettuccine in the roasting dish (out of the oven, obvs) and mixed it together. But then, THEN, we got a wheel of brie, chopped it up, stirred it through until it melted, then ate it with piles of rocket on top. Good. Goood. The second pasta, made simultaneously, was a classic macaroni cheese. We eschewed all onion, garlic, mushroom and whatever else you put in a mac n' cheese to make it feel respectable, and replaced it with a ridiculous amount of cheesy bechamel (which I happen to make incredibly well, using the Silver Spoon's technique). We topped it with parmesan, then a layer of chunky ciabatta (leftover) breadcrumbs which soaked up the cheese juices, some fresh thyme and a sprinkling of nutmeg, and finished it off with some more parmesan. It looked so adorable when it came out of the oven in my beautiful pastel coloured pie dish that it was almost a shame to have to eat it - the thyme made it look and smell reassuringly rustic. When we cut through the cheese crust the pasta made a very satisfying squelching sound. We ate the whole thing, in stages, between 2pm and 1.30am. These pictures are from Smitten Kitchen's mac 'n cheese, which looks very good and also quite similar to our one.

you said it

2010-11-15T12:29:00.000-08:00

You are probably going to be a very successful computer person. But you're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you're a nerd. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won't be true. It'll be because you're an asshole.

i know this matters to you

2010-11-14T18:20:00.000-08:00

(besides an unfortunate bratwurst incident at Camberwell yesterday) all I ate this weekend was strawberries and avocado.

space is the place

2010-11-13T22:32:00.000-08:00

The other day I was looking on the internet for the planetarium because I thought going there would be a fun activity for my workmates (we do outings like this sometimes, go karting, cooking classes too) or friends. I accidentally searched for observatory though, not thinking about the difference, and found this and then this. The fact that a website called places of astronomical interest in Australia even exists was enough to be a highlight of my week, but it gets better. It turns out the Old Melbourne Observatory is open every Monday in spring for tours called Gallilleo's Satellites and I'm going, tomorrow night.

You may not know this about me, if you don't know me at all, but, I LOVE SPACE. I have no idea what goes on on these tours and the weather's been kind of shitty which doesn't bode well for a building with no ceiling, but I am still incredibly excited. It helps that the tours are conducted by members of the Astronomical Society - "a volunteer organisation for astronomical enthusiasts" - people who I am excited to meet.

The cat/space posters are by a woman named Boya who I was loosely aquainted to quite a few years ago, I love them and plan to buy and frame them.

not listening when you say GOODBYYYYE

2010-11-11T17:48:00.000-08:00

Talk about face palm.

Saw our lovely Kate do a monologue last night, she was fantastic! We followed this up by going to the seediest karaoke parlour we could find and getting on the whisks. It turns out that I can do Semi-Charmed Life by seminal 90s band Third Eye Blind really ~~well~~ accurately, even while shaking a light-up tambourine. I like the bit where he raps the best.

p-p-p-aceeyy

2010-11-10T12:23:00.000-08:00

I'm halfway through the last ever episode of Dawson's Creek. All I can say is: the answer is ALWAYS Pacey. To celebrate, the immortal music of Sophie B Hawkins.

an ode

2010-11-10T03:02:00.000-08:00

Dear Spring, I love you
I love your beans and peas, your zucchini, asparagus and artichoke, I love your lemons
I love your wisteria, your clematis and your roses
I love your pimms cups, your long necks, your optimism
I love your bare legs, your surprise showers, your cool mornings and your longer days
I love your open windows
I love your bike rides and your plans for summer and your clean sheets
I love your parties and your promise

I took the top photo in my grandma's garden and the bottom one in my old backyard

forgot to mention asparagus

2010-11-09T14:38:00.000-08:00

After the not-a-good-choice lammington I had some skinny spears with lemon juice, butter and parmesan. I ate it with my fingers, while watching An Education in my track pants and wishing I could have a sixties makeover like Carey Mulligan. And Sezza, you are SO right about Nigel. Pictures from here.

Saaarsssgaaaaarrrrrd

reeepeat

2010-11-09T13:03:00.000-08:00

(This is not a food blog.)

Foods I have eaten recently:

grilled lamb cutlets with mint, feta and thyme, it was simply the best and the fat rocked my world (I like fat, OK? I'm not sorry, it tastes too good)/ciabatta with hummus and fresh orange juice for breakfast all week, because I have heard that hummus is the healthiest spread for toast/scones made by mum with lots of butter and cream/vegetarian eggs benedict with a huge slice of avocado and parsley pesto (by far the best eggs benedict I've ever had, perfectly balanced and not at all sickening). You can get it from a cafe near the Parnell rose gardens/chicken livers with red onion. I liked the flavour but not the texture/a lammington from the Fridge - a hungover choice I lived to regret/countless pepperoni rolls from sals, the pepperoni fat crystallises at the bottom of the roll, making it a perfect cheesy juicy meaty scone-like treat and they're only $3 or two for $5/lemon pasta, this time without cream. You whisk olive oil, lemon juice and parmesan together, then mix it through the pasta with a huge pile of fresh basil/about 7 bubblegum flavoured iceblocks from the asian supermarket on K Road dipped in vodka/pork chops with thyme butter made with feta, thyme and a squeeze of lemon juice, melted in the pan with the pork juices, eaten with more ciabatta and a pile of rocket to make me feel less guilty/strawberry oreos(gross yet oddly compelling)/a hamburgini from Burger Fuel, which is a teensy burger (not quite a monkey fist) that has aioli, melted cheese, bread and butter pickles and tomato sauce, and is basically the most moreish thing you can eat for $4.95/avocado and feta with pesto on toast for an after dinner snack/sour lollies/rocket and cheddar scone at the art gallery with a short black and trashy mag/oh and last night I went to a bbq for my friend Max's birthday and the boys surprised everyone by getting all the meat from the organic butcher in West Lynn, so I ate a fairly rare steak and it was incredible.

Most things I cooked were taken from The Kitchen Diaries, which I bought last week, which takes my Nigel Slater recipe book tally up to three, which is possibly too many? Or NOT ENOUGH. <3 u Nigel.

ice cream and applesauce just before bed

2010-11-08T03:56:00.000-08:00

I listened to this song twice while I walked home today. There were eleven rainbow lorikeets in a tree on the corner of my street. I've eaten asparagus every day for a week.

This photo was taken by Michelle

let the world know of my majesty

2010-11-07T23:08:00.000-08:00

Ashik Kerib (1988), a movie I would like to see. Pinched from Mafia-Hunt. Reminds me of this.

mum's house

2010-11-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

Tea and scones and my dear Mama's house on Sunday. She just threw it all together. Hope you had a marvelous weekend. I had a mum date that was the most "Susie" day ever. We went to the Parnell Festival of Roses, had brunch and then bought some strawberries and fancy bread. While I was lazing with the cat at home, mum made scones. By the way, our phone chat was just the best, Lou-lou-la-lou.

2010-10-31T20:06:00.000-07:00

Sent this photo to my friend who works in a very busy television newsroom (from here):

her: oh my goodness

his little face!

me: eeehheee!

15:48 just standing on some cheeseburgers

that is my kind of art

her: currently stiffling silent laughs in the newsroom

15:49 me: mua ha ha!

15:51 her: aaand now it's my wallpaper

me: YES

15:52 her: I want to know what's going on in his head.

I imagine it's "oohhhweeeeiiirdddwwhhhyyy"

15:55 me: hahahahah!

her: someone just asked me what's wrong because I had my shirt up over my mouth and my eyes were watering

a small act

2010-10-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite pieces from Art in the Dark was Emilie Priest's Miniature Cities. There is a plastic mountain the size of Texas growing in the Pacific called the Pacific Gyre, which is having catastrophic effects on the natural world. Emilie's work responds to this, in the hope that a small act can affect a huge problem. She has made a series of beautiful miniature cities which can be found in four of central Auckland's waterways. Each site has a response code which allows you to activate the a small act website. Emilie's works are truly captivating; see more on her tumblr, website, or better still, have a real-life look at her delicate, watery cityscapes around Auckland.

Images of Minature Cities by Emilie Priest (2010) at Art in the Dark by Hans E Hammonds (top) and Elizabeth Clarkson (bottom).

eating (dis)order

2010-10-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

Damn it han you've made me hungry despite the fact that I've been eating pretty much continuously for the past few days (early starts makes me hungry? drinking coffee makes me hungry? cooked breakfast being given to me makes me eat regardless?).

The top image I found on Design Crush and the bottom is from the adorable series by Kawashima Kotori.

halloween

2010-10-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

I have two Halloween parties to attend this weekend. One is a birthday party where you have to dress up as an animal, but in a non-sexy way. Like, in a giant animal onesie from Kigu way. I am planning on going as a Ring Tailed Lemur. I could, perhaps, wear my grey velour trackpants (!) with a matching hoodie (yet to be purchased!) and construct a great big bushy tail out of a sock, or something. Another option would be buying some grey drop-crotch elephant's vagina harem pants. This is my reference picture:

Dressing up in a costume that basically negates all of your physical attributes can feel a bit strange. I'm used to wearing ironic-yet-still-a-bit-pretty costumes to dress up parties, so going full-Lemur will probably feel awesome, if a little, um, uncomfortable at first. As for the other party, I'm thinking I curl my bob (hob), wear very dark lipstick and pale makeup and go as a silent-film-horror-type thing. Or else Winona Ryder in Beetlejuice.

peas and other things

2010-10-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

I love eating frozen peas straight out of the freezer! Another really good thing to do is to smash them with broad beans and pop them on some toasted ciabatta with a wodge of mozzarella. Another thing I feel like eating is ravioli. Like, really good hand-made ravioli from Maria Pia's, covered in sage butter. Dripping in it. I could also go a giant American hot dog, with onions and mustard, cheese, and a medium-to-low quality sausage in the middle. Yesterday I ate the rest of the Gouda that Lou gave me while making a lemon and asparagus risotto, and that was pretty good. I would like some lamb, marinated for hours and cooked on a barbecue. A cheeseburger from a fish and chip shop, cooked on a grill. I had Cocoa Pops for breakfast. I wasn't allowed them when I was little but I figured "Hey! I'm a grown up! I can eat whatever I want!". Take that, Mum. We bought the most incredible honey-cured streaky bacon from the Kerikeri farmers' market on the weekend, it made my fingers smell delicious. The market also had beautiful orange juice - or perhaps a mix of orange and tangerine - which we actually kept a secret from our friends waiting for us back at the bach so we would not have to share. Corn fritters with fresh mozzarella. Vietnamese salad with mint and lemongrass. Mushroom lasagne with bechamel and no tomato. Pizza blanco with Gorgonzola, prosciutto and big basil leaves.

you live your life like a page from the book of my fantasy

2010-10-23T00:45:00.000-07:00

I'm listening to Warpaint's new album on Hype Machine. I can't wait until it's released next week.

siciliana

2010-10-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

Hey Lou, how was The Knife's opera? I've been obsessing over one aria in particular at the moment, which I thought I'd force you to listen to. It is the Siciliana, or O Lola c'hai di latti la cammisa from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. It opens the opera, but is sung off-stage, which gives it a beautiful echo. The title means "O Lola, lovely as the spring's bright blooms". A siciliana is actually a musical style which has "lilting rhythms" which evoke a pastoral mood...which makes sense. The version below is by Italian Tenor Tito Schipa, recorded in 1913. To hear a more modern interpretation, click here!

keri keri

2010-10-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night, my dream of hitting the road will come true- we're going on a road trip. It might be warm enough to swim (!) but I'm going to pack woolly jerseys too. That's New Zealand for you. I'm especially looking forward to sea food, dancing on the grass and exploring the rocky shore...

Bulb Ornaments by Land Rich and Cascade by Noemie Goudal via I'm Revolting.

thoughts?

2010-10-20T01:02:00.000-07:00

These are nice dresses, too, from Juliettte Hogan s/s2010.

a little absence

2010-10-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

I've been in New Zealand, and it was beautiful!

I'll try and get photos developed this week so maybe there will be some on here eventually... A real post will happen soon, but for now I am trying to readjust to Melbourne time, a whole two hours behind, and am very much still in wedding committee/research mode (the above picture is from Once Wed).

Oh, and tonight I'm going to the Knife opera, yes I am.

head on, 2006

2010-10-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

Found on my new favourite blog, i'mrevolting.net, this is by Cai Guo Qiang, and is called Head On (2006).

From the artists' website:

With few wolves scattered in the front gallery, all ninety-nine wolves run, gallop, and jump toward the far end of the exhibition hall, where a wall stands. The bravery of the wolves is met head on by the unyielding wall. As the leading wolves go down, many more follow with force and determination. As those in the front fall and pile up, those behind take up their positions.

gosh, it has been a while

2010-10-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

Lou is on the Wedding Committee and I'm on the Art in the Dark Committee, so we have both been very busy over the past couple of weeks. I'm going to write about mine later on - once all the photos come back - but if you want to have a look at Art in the Dark, the event in Ponsonby that I helped organise with three of my greatest friends (and lots of other amazing helpers) click here!

Now that Art in the Dark is winding down, I'm starting to work on other more superficial projects: getting my eyebrows threaded; buying foundation; looking for a dress to wear to the Wedding Committee's project in March. I think these Miss Crabb dresses may well be the winners on the day. Which do you think I should get? I'm quite fond of the second one, but then the first looks very versatile and sens-u-aaal. I really, really want to buy one (or both!)so I hope they're not, like, thousands of dollars.

eva fontanelli

2010-10-10T03:13:00.000-07:00

...has got such good hair, and a winning smile. I want to curl my bob!

Hey Lou - how is Hamilton? Sunny, I hope.

Photos from Hanelli + The Sartorialist.

fanny hill

2010-10-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

Hey, Lou. Um. Look?

There's an article about it,and bigger pictures,here.

Sexy puns!

So awesome...yet distasteful.

this is heavy

2010-10-06T14:32:00.000-07:00

Marty McFly was one of my first ever crushes. I love this watery poster art! AND I LOVE BACK TO THE FUTURE!!!! These are all by Drew Struzan who is a gen-i-us.

really glad

2010-10-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

That this happened. Really glad they included the important getting cool/dressed montage and in particular the close up of Ozone's earring. I was so into that earring. This just reminds me of a specific time in my life that was generally full of rubbish but which I remember very fondly. Also, my fascination with a palette I can weakly describe as 'fluoro-pastel' can be quite clearly traced back to the sequel to this film, Breakin' 2 - Electric Boogaloo. Look out for an incredibly enthusiastic black lycra clad JCVD in the beach scene...

I want all of it

2010-10-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

Sonia Rykiel! Photos from The Cherry Blossom Girl.

dance dance revolution

2010-10-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

Got far too drunk too early last night. We were dancing in the lounge when - WHOOP - one of the dudes took his shirt off and - WHOOP - then the other one did, too. The Rolling Stones played on and boy of boy did we twist. Hats were stolen, shoes came off. Don't worry, us girls stayed fully clothed. Today I went round to that house to have a sun bathe and - WHOOP - someone had hung their camera from a light fixture and filmed the entire toplessshakeytwistydance party. It was twenty minutes long and didn't even capture the whole thing. I feel no remorse.

to do

2010-09-30T22:41:00.000-07:00

It seems this blog has spiralled into a stream of what we did this week/weekend lists and seventies adoration. That's okay, I'm not sure what it spiraled from and whether this was a downwards spiral either.

Here's why I'm happy: it's a bright Friday afternoon and after work I am going to drink beer in the sun with a sweet girl, and tomorrow with a sweet boy in another sunny spot (I hope), this weekend I'm planning to go to the giant hardware store and buy paint for my bike and a friend's, finish my book, bake this cake, transplant the seedlings from my windowsill to the garden (despite the impending house move - it would be a waste not to plant them...), listen to this and go to a barbeque to raise funds for a friend who was arrested last week for swearing at a police man who swore at him first.

I guess some people like it hot, I personally prefer classical music

2010-09-30T04:48:00.000-07:00

Tony Curtis has passed away. RIP Josephine!

pigs and pascal

2010-09-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

We're going to watch the film adaptation of The Unbearable Lightness of Being soon. I have watched most of it before, but gave up, exhausted, after what felt like hours of concentrated watching. Anyway, I love the book, so figure the film is worth a second go, especially because it has Daniel Day Lewis (the man of a certain age of my dreams), Juliette Binoche (with my hair cut), and Lena Olin in the outfit pictured above. I also remember there being a funny moment with a pig which I look forward to seeing again. On an unrelated note: I just heard an interview where Francine Pascal admitted to hating high school. Then why write about it so much, Francine?? Interesting.

the roaring inside her

2010-09-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

A few disjoited thoughts:
I really like this photo series from National Geographic, Being Jane Goodall. I don't know if I could pull it off (i tend to stick with black dress as my outfit of choice year round) but I would like to take some sartorial inspiration from Jane this Summer. I remember 'studying' her when I was about six.

The other night I watched a David Attenborough primate special and I thought of you Han, there was a whole segment on Lemur mating habits, you should watch it if you haven't already.
I love David Attenborough, so much.

bizarre members of a fabulous clan

2010-09-29T17:15:00.000-07:00

Two of our friends are a part of an exhibition which opens today at No Vacancy in Melbourne. There is no opening party so don't go there tonight you will be disappointed. Do, however, go along sometime in October, except on Mondays, to see some of the collagey, multi-disciplinary goodness. There is a closing party on October 30th, so if you are the art party type, you could go to that.

No Vacancy is upstairs in the QV at 34-40 Jane Bell Lane, in the city.

Here's what they say about the show:

The 14 artists from Australia and New Zealand embrace an offbeat approach to art making. Exhibiting a mix of 1970’s influenced aesthetics, works in progress and a range of free events throughout the month of October.

The process of collage, or ‘cut and paste’ allows the artist to situate their interests and concerns into spatial and relational consideration combining mainstream and minority viewpoints, revelations of past and present with new and redundant technologies. The works will explore a range of ideas including interpretations and understandings of identity, kinship, community, spirituality, religion and personally transformative and psychedelic experiences.

No Vacancy gallery will act as a workspace for some, exercise and relaxation studio for others, and creative paradise for many. Audiences will be invited to align themselves with unusual activities, artistic processes, and work that is often humorous, intuitive, and evolving.

currently

2010-09-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

Life's photos of the Hells Angels circa 1965, especially the ladies. Go look through all of them, immediately.

Vogue Paris covers are also worth trawling through, obviously.

And I love this disgruntled chair by Hector Mamet.

i hate this but

2010-09-26T23:56:00.000-07:00

I'm looking for a new home, again.

We've been here less than three months but we recently found out that our landlords are selling. While we don't have to be out until January, I don't think I could bear four months of househunting and so am hoping to move sooner rather than later (and have so decided against purchasing a bookshelf specifically for the current house, and unpacking the books).

Everywhere in Melbourne seems to have gone up by about $200 per week since I last checked and it's all a bit disheartening. All the time spend perving on beautiful light-filled scandanavian apartments of parquet floors, white walls and mismatched dining chairs is also a bit disheartening, but also inspiring.

Most of these pictures came from here, here, here and here and are also stuck to my wall in a kind of 'The Secret'ish way.

this is twee, I apologise

2010-09-26T02:04:00.000-07:00

But I truly love the tangle of poppies sitting on my window-sill. The unopened buds are a bit obscene, bristly snake heads which stare pointedly from their wiry stalks. The opened ones are just great, though. I had to take pictures with my terrible cellphone.

new hair

2010-09-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

Lou: Of course, of course, OF COURSE I have seen Boardwalk Empire.

Its fashion week here and I'm completely uninvolved in it (its also NZ Opera's Macbeth week which obviously is much more important). However, one of our friends is very involved in it, and she somehow found the time to cut my hair yesterday. Now I have a Clara Bow bob sitting on my head, and I like it a lot. It is taking some getting used to, though, mostly because my neck is a bit cold and I feel as though my face (and, of course, my lip pimple) is very much on display. Anyway, I want to curl my hair so that it looks like this:

And then I want someone to host a Boardwalk Empire themed party so I can dress up in a saucy tuxedo.

Backstage at twenty seven names (photo from NZ Herald)

I'm not going to any shows other than Karen Walker, which is hilarious because I only own one KW thing, and it is a T Shirt. I wish I had gone to Ruby and Twentysevennames, though, since I actually buy their clothes. But as a person who enjoys fashion but otherwise is totally removed from the Fashion Industry, I wasn't going anywhere. I especially like Ruby. They have beers and sausage sizzles at their sales, which is a sure fire way to make me buy things from them.

Ruby at Fashion Week, from Fashionz

Instead of going to Fashion shows I went to the Atrium on Elliot, which is a mall near my work that is chocka-block full of small, mostly Asian boutiques. I wandered through, feeling a bit out of place and not-put-together-enough but found a knit jersey with a panda on it and a really pretty black dress. I would like them both. And that is my NZFW 2010 report.

ruby red lips

2010-09-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

A sneak preview of the fifth issue of I Love You magazine, available soon, and this edition is all about princesses. The cover features Paz de la Huerta who, to be honest I hadn't heard of until I watched the first episode of Boardwalk Empire the other night. She plays Lucy Danziger, Nucky's slightly annoying flapper mistress and I think I only noticed that because she has an interesting name... Anyway she has gorgeous hair and I'm excited about reading this!

Incidentally, Boardwalk Empire, Han have you SEEN it yet??

We have both been counting down to this, along with everyone else, for months. I've watched the HBO teaser (and forced others to) at least 25 times and the pilot which played this week lived up to expectations in almost every way. Steve Buscemi is an excellent man. Michael Pitt is a massive babe. Apparently it cost $5 million just to produce the pilot, holy cow. Here's another trailer.

high or low?

2010-09-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

I'm going to buy some white chucks today, the ones with the red and blue on them. I'm leaning towards low, I think. I will protector spray the chucks so I don't ruin them. And then they will be my chucks forever. I like this picture of Elvis wearing Chucks. It sums up how I think they are best worn: crisply, with letterman sweaters, slacks a la Take Ivy, with pre-fat Elvis.

Incedentally, this movie, Change of Habit, looks really good. That's Mary Tyler Moore with Elvis. Photos are from here.

When I was 16 I bought a pair of chucks that were black and had "Mangere" embroidered on them. At the time I thought I was being really funny and ironic, but in retrospect I think I was just being a little shit.

I've often moaned about my inability to dress as preppily as I would like. Never mind that I only seem to wear grey marl, blue denim, tan shoes and khaki anoraks: I just can't shake that grungy, rumpled feeling. Maybe white chucks will help. But perhaps the answer is that I should iron my clothes.

Another topic I frequently rant about is how much I love Linda Ronstadt in the 1970s. Well, get a load of these photos from her Simple Dreams tour. *Also get a load of JD Souther (far right). Babe.

Everyone on that tour was impeccably dressed. I love the flares, I love the short shorts, I love denim on denim, I love shirts tied up in knots, I love flowers behind ears, I love hirsute bands.

2010-09-19T23:14:00.000-07:00

Image from lurve.

as for me

2010-09-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

Juice date, opera (good), wine, antibiotics, art party, trombones, zombie songs, home, antibiotic, bacon and avocado Molenberg sandwich, coffee, antibiotic, Kat, tea, smokes, several episodes of mad men, beer, Bobbie Barrett, pizza, beer, smokes, bonus mad men, antibiotic, carrot and citrus soup, chai, antibiotic, sleepover, spoon, antibiotic, toast, coffee, work, chocolate cake.