Percy Owl

More Sydney photos plus a Superheadz Golden Half review

2012-01-29T21:19:00.001+10:00

You can check out all the other photos from this roll on my lomo account.

Let's start at the start: the Superheadz Golden Half camera is a half-frame 35mm film camera. Each frame is split so two exposures can be taken. If you have 24 exp film, you would end up with 48 photos, or 48 different pictures. It's easy to understand if you look at the pictures above. You can divide these up post processing if you wish.

Overall I would recommend this camera, it's reasonably cheap around the internet and an easy starter for film beginners. I particularly like the low-res pictures it gives with a natural blurring towards the outer edges of the picture.

One thing that you must consider is lighting conditions. It has two aperture settings, f/8.5 and f/11 for supposedly sunny and cloudy conditions. You'll be lucky to get a good picture indoors or during particularly dark conditions, but the bonus being you can add a flash for party photos if you wish. This is like most film cameras though - no light, no picture. Oh, and remember to take the lens cap off. I've lost far too many photos by leaving it on.

Overall, it's a fun little camera and I totally love how the pictures turn out. I guess the full-frame equivalent would be a Superheadz Ultra Wide & Slim, although there is no hotshoe and the aperture is fixed at f/11. I finally purchased one, so perhaps I'll review that one day too. I love toy cameras because each has it's own way about things and it really pushes me to take better photos.

Top tips

Choose you film carefully: I wrote a long rant about how you should use 400 iso film for this camera - I was certain that was what I had used. But for journalistic accuracy I checked my negatives and the little 'kodak 200' would prove me otherwise. I'm stumped. So I'll just leave it at this - the higher the iso number the more sensitive the film is to light. This increases noise in theory but the difference between 400 and 200 is not a problem. It's when you start buying film speeds of 800 and 1600 where it might be something to think about. I guess I'd recommend 400 film, but I can't really justify that now, can I?

Take quite a few starting shots: because I have missed several frames due to the fact that I haven't realised that the film may not 'start' until maybe 2-4 frames onwards. There's alway a few extra frames at the end to make up for this.

Scan negatives in yourself if you can: I confuse film developers. This camera is crazy to most, bar perhaps your most experienced lomo film developers. But even they get tripped up, I've had missing frames in scans and silly little things like that.

You probably don't know how keen you are on film photography yet, but once you get to roll 5 you've probably got a bit of hobby going. Film scanners can save money in the long run - you can buy specific film scanners, or there are flatbed scanners that are able to scan film as well - check out your university computers too. Prices vary dramatically, but it costs me an extra $5-$10 AUD roughly for scanning. Remember that you can also scan in your parents' negatives for safe keeping too, so it can be worth it. Just don't buy a 35mm scanner for your 120mm film...

Take the lens cap off: I would almost advise leaving it at home. I don't because the camera floats around my bag and knowing me I would be the only person ever to scratch a tiny sunken lens with my car keys. But it you have a separate compartment, leave it. There's nothing worse than realising you've left the lens cap on and wasted a frame or Kodak moment. Even if you're not using Kodak.

Film is hit and miss: I'm still learning, and film is challenging. And I know a lot about film, and a little bit about photography. Sometimes I get a roll back and there's only a few frames I'm truly happy with. But this is how you learn, and there's nothing better than improving on a skill that not everyone has.

Still not sure? Why not try an Aqua Pix. It's about $10 on eBay. Don't even think about it.

Any questions? I'll answer them below.

Lace and suede

2012-01-21T20:44:00.000+10:00

Top: Temt
Shorts: Forever New
Brooch: Kirbee Lawler

I still wear clothes! Strange, I know, since I haven't done an outfit post on here for ages. I've been super-busy with work and usually by the time I'm ready it's time for me to run out the door. These are my favourite shorts at the moment. I feel strange wearing them because the waist is so high and the hem so short, but I can't deny myself of their 1970's (?) structured charm.
I went shopping today in Paddington and almost had a stroke when I discovered Retro Metro. Then my bank account screamed and I promptly left the store before I spent all my money. For anyone who does have a dime to their name though, I would highly recommend it. I scored a few dresses at their 'outlet' a few houses down the street. To hem or not to hem, hmmm.

I'll also mention that I'm working on a truly one-of-a-kind dress which I will finish tomorrow. I'm not the most perfect seamstress yet, but I'm getting there. Here's a sneak peak of a what's to come.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T16:27:00.000+10:00

Clockwise: Disco ball at midnight; hair and makeup; lazzzzzers; quadruple rainbow!

Happy 2012! This year has been kinda crazy so I'm glad it's over. Graduating uni is the best, despite my current lack-of-job, it means I don't have to do uni work. I could never work from home, I get too distracted, so thankfully that part of my life is over, for now.

Last night I went to a ball and it was pretty fun. No-one knew each other so I had some pretty weird moments and conversations, as did the rest of my group. A guy tried to trap me in a hula-hoop and then asked me why I wouldn't kiss him ('er, it's only 10pm, you're thinking of midnight'), safe to say he smelt of drinks; someone whipped me with their tie; I gave a hula-hoop demo to a crowd sitting on the bleachers; and last but not least, the couple who gave us details of their sexual endeavors. Very entertaining.

I also played the matchmaking game where you had to find your other half, i.e. the person with the matching sticker. I had Carrie, and I actually found Big. Well, my friend did and frantically texted me. Pictures of my dress later! Hope everyone's New Year's celebrations was fun, and that 2012 brings lots of luck. What did everyone else get up to?

P.S. There's something whacky going on with my layout, I'll fix it soon.

Canberra

2011-12-21T14:30:00.000+10:00

All above: Australian War Memorial

Australian National Gallery

All above: Parliament House

I've had to put Canberra in a completely different post to avoid drowning you all in pictures. I took a bus tour to Canberra on a Monday. I was worried in the morning because as I waited outside the Sydney YHA for the bus it was absolutely pouring, and I was wearing jeans and a jumper. It's supposed be summer btw - you know, 35C heat, but instead it was rain and temperatures typically 15-20C. Luckily when we got out of Sydney it was not raining. I also managed to get a few hours sleep on the bus, which is a big thing for me. I must have been so smashed from the flight plus the trip to the Blue Mountains two days before that my brain temporarily forgot I can't sleep in a moving vehicle.

Canberra is just about one of the most beautiful cities I have even been to. I felt that it was so clean and open. For those who don't know it's a planned city that was built to resolve the Sydney/Melbourne capital city dispute. More than 30% of the population are government workers.

The war memorial was beautiful, and I had to stop myself crying since thinking about wars makes me sad. The murals above are made out of the tiny little tiles pictures. I'm pretty sure it was made of something like 6 million of those tiny squares. It was really amazing in person, and the mural of the pilot is probably 4-5m tall in person. After the war memorial we had a very quick visit to Parliament and an even quicker visit to the Australian National Gallery. For some reason we were very late and only got a painfully short 30 mins, by far not enough time to stare at Monet and Sidney Nolan, among many others. I would really like to go back to Canberra now when Parliament is in session. Especially question time, it's just hilarious. Bob Katter is hilarious. Although most of the politicians put on a good show, Bob Katter is just something else.

Blue Mountains and Sydney

2011-12-20T23:26:00.000+10:00

1-9. The Three Sisters and Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains
10-12. Pitt St Mall, Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge

I recently spent a week in Sydney because I had a job interview (don't know how I went yet) and I figured that I might as well enjoy my time there regardless. I booked some bus tours to the Blue Mountains and Canberra, which I shall show in a later post to reduce photo-craziness.
Unfortunately I have discovered with bus tours you don't get a lot of time to actually do anything. Also everyone is with their family or well past my age group. That ok though, I'm reasonably independent. I've always wanted to go to the Blue Mountains, and now I've been, and seen some caves. It's pretty crazy to think they were formed naturally.
I hung around Sydney most of the time and went shopping. I tried not to buy too much since I was flying back, although I 'accidentally' bought 9 novels the day I flew back. The shopping is ok, although Crown St in Surry Hills was definitely the highlight. The mall has pretty much everything Brisbane has that is in my price range, whereas Crown St was full of vintage shops aaaaaand American Apparel. Despite the raunchy ads, I now want everything in the store. It's all just so basic, well made and feels nice, which ticks all my clothes-buying boxes.

Sydney shopping picks:
- Crown St in Surry Hills: American Apparel, decent cafes and vintage stores.
- Kinokuniya Books: Like heaven. Something for everyone. And I say that without a bookworm-bias.
- The Galeries: A little more pricey but if I had a real job I'd love it more. I also scored some redscale film from Incu, ate at Wagamama and includes Kinokuniya Books.
- Pitt St Mall: I guess you should go here if you're in Sydney, but like I said above, most was out of my price range or available in Brisbane.

There's really nothing else too exciting to say about Sydney, I think most of the excitement is in the photos. It rained quite a lot, which was annoying. I like overcast weather, and generally I love the rain, but not when I want to walk around an take photos! I walked so much that it was crazy, except I ate so decadently that it balanced out.
I met up with a friend while I was there, which was lovely. At least if I do move to Sydney I'll have someone to talk to! Fingers crossed on the job hunt otherwise.

I will also mention that I've gone over to the other side - I bought an iPhone. I wasn't going to but I need a new iPod, so I was going to buy a iTouch, but considering my current phone plan I just decided to get an iPhone 4S and be done with it. I have Instagram and I'm in love with it (username: hperci). I am also addicted to Angry Birds.

P.S. If you don't have Instagram you can view my account over here (and you can find anyone else too!)

A good day

2011-11-30T21:09:00.001+10:00

A few of photos from the last couple of months on my Pentax ME. I'm getting a little better at setting the exposure and finding the focus. I also bought some 100 and 200 iso film today; I was excited.
Today I got great news - I have two professional job interviews, one in south-east Queensland and one in Sydney. Tomorrow I'll be booking flights and accommodation, looking for things to do, and psyching myself up to be interviewed by a panel at one of the top hospitals in the country. Yeh, like you know, whatever. I'm not having a mini-stroke at all. Hopefully my next post will be full of Sydney pictures, or Seaworld since I'm going there next week. If anyone has suggestions for Sydney whether it be places to eat, things to do or see I would much appreciate it. I'm definitely going to have a day at the Blue Mountains, and shopping in Pitt St Mall. I'll only have 5 days so I'm not going to try and pack everything in, but find some quality things to do.
I'm relieved that I got these interviews. I was starting to feel really super-depressingly hopeless. It's a really crappy feeling. I'm sure anyone who has faced graduation/their future without direction knows the feeling.

Finders Keepers Brisbane November 2011

2011-11-05T17:26:00.000+10:00

Etsy 2012 calendar - Alice Nightingale dress and bowtie - Fads lollies and Love Hearts from Frankie Magazine - Etsy pin - Pannikin brooch - Only Midge purse

Jayjays lace top - Sarah McNeil bird brooch - Portmans belt - Cotton On skirt - Rubi shoes

Pretty flowers at The Old Museum

Today I went to the Finders Keepers markets in Brisbane. I was little hesitant because last year I felt a little let down, and I have a very financially unstable future right now, i.e. graduating without a job and my casual job just installed self-serve registers. Nevertheless, I absolutely couldn't resist buying this dress by Alice Nightingale. It was truly love at first sight, and I can't wait to wear it. My Pannikin brooch joins a collection of laser cut brooches, and the purse will come in handy to separate my keys and phone in a tote bag, since they fight/scratch up the phone. I could have spent so much more, but I stopped myself. It's still on tomorrow, Sunday October 6, if you're in Brisbane.

End of year ball

2011-11-04T15:34:00.000+10:00

1950's dress: Etsy
Shoes: Target
Clutch: Portmans
Earrings: Lovisa

A few weeks ago my cohort and I had our end of year ball at an upscale hotel in the city. It was a good night overall, although there are definitely some aspects that could have been a little more coordinated. Dinner was 2hrs late and since it was an open bar everyone was absolutely off-their-face by 9pm. There came a certain point at which I felt my heels were extremely far away from the ground, and another point where we were meant to look under our chairs for a card and I felt the ground was getting a little too close.

It was great catching up with everyone since we've been on placement and sporadically at uni since April. People kept complementing me on my hair, and I finally figured out that most people had not seen me for 6 months, and the length of my hair is a new thing to them.
I couldn't help but trash others while I was there, maybe it was the champagne, or maybe it was just me being a judgemental bitch, but some girls were dressed for clubbing, not a ball. I mean, sure, it's the 21st century and whatever, but you can wear that sort of trash any day of the week.

On to my dress: I chose this 1950's dress from Etsy. I was unsure about peach with my colouring, but I think it worked well. I did my own makeup and I went to hairdresser that day, but unfortunately I think I could have done my hair better than she did. I need to trust my skillzzzz!

On another topic, I've been very silent here because I'm about to do my final exams to graduate, and it's sort of important. Yes, exams are more important than blogging. I finish on the 15th of November so I'm hoping I'll be back to blogging after that. I miss it.

Karen Walker ready-to-wear 2012

2011-09-15T19:57:00.001+10:00

Kimono top, pink and blue, yellow nails

A retro style with a contrast collar, neutral two-tone brogues, head scarves

Bright pop blazer and bold prints

Origami styling, mustard yellow

Wide legged pants and loafers

Blazers and a relaxed skirt, skinny belts, neckerchiefs

70's brown blazer, shoes and socks, sheer blouse.

Simple tailoring, patterned loose-fit pants and minty brogues

It's no secret that I love Karen Walker. My love affair with this brand started in high school, and 5 years later she hasn't failed me yet. The most recent 2012 RTW collection is no exception. The colours and patterns blend beautifully with the relaxed-yet-tailored style that is quintessentially Karen Walker. Oh, and did I mention the shoes? I want them all.

Source: Karen Walker via Style.com

Pentax ME

2011-08-19T21:01:00.004+10:00

Pentax ME
Fuji Superia 200 35mm film
SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/1.7 lens
See the rest of the photos on Flickr

If you remember my camera collection post not so long ago you may also remember my Pentax ME. I love it not only because it looks a bit like a Fuji X100 (or perhaps, the Fuji X100 looks like it), but also because it was gifted to me by my Poppy when he found out that I was into film photography - one of the few benefits of having relatives on Facebook. When I first tried to test this camera there was film inside that had been inside about 4 years, and I discovered with much despair that the film was not advancing. So I left it a few months and tried again the other day. Clearly, success!!

I am reasonably happy with the quality of the photos, but I think there is more practice needed on my part too. Some bright areas have halos/reflects, you can see this a little around the cat's white feet, but there are definitely pictures where this is far worst. I'm guessing in these situations that decreasing the aperture would do the trick, because I had it on 1.7 the entire time. Which is fine when it's a test roll - keeping one variable constant makes critiquing much easier. Since this camera is from the late 1970's I shouldn't expect miracles either. A camera this old gives that vintage vibe to the photos.

For anyone who may be looking at this article as a review/reference to buying a Pentax ME here's the lowdown. The first thing you need to know is that this a heavy, heavy camera. I mean it. It's made of metal and thick mirrors, and thick glass in the lens; so it's not happy-go-luck-take-anywhere sort of camera. It's not heavy to pick up, but your shoulder may feel it if you're not wearing a backpack. Having said that, most vintage SLRs are probably reasonably weighted. One good point is that it's way cheaper than a Canon AE-1, lenses are cheap and easy to find, and there's certainly nothing wrong with this camera. This is a manual focus camera; every time you want to take a picture you have to twist the lens to focus. Time consuming, and not great for spontaneity, but advantageous in certain situations. Like me you've probably taken pictures on your digital camera thinking everything was good only to get home and realise that every single shot is out of focus because the camera decided where it wanted to focus. Manual focus means it's all in your control. I find this a nice feature for portraits and flowers.

In conclusion, it was a fun camera to use. I love the vintage photos and I'm glad I own this camera. I was so excited that the film had advanced that I got it developed at the on-site, quicker, slightly more expensive shop.

This is the best article I have found on this camera. Please click through if you would like to know more about this camera.

Pentax ME manual

Edit: I've researched a few more features on this camera and I've made several mistakes such as setting the wrong ASA (I was unsure how to move the wheel - lift and twist!), and there are a few little handy hints on the exposure that I can use now to control shutter speed.

Sailor

2011-08-12T20:09:00.000+10:00

Dress: kitbits on etsy
Tote: myfolklover on etsy
Tights and chambray shoes: Kmart

Despite my severe look in these photos (must be my look - blue steel perhaps?) I did have a fun today going to lunch with Mum. We had Chinese food for lunch while we were out and it was quite delicious.
I ordered this dress off etsy a while ago now, and since I'm scared of stockings in the cold and windy weather it hasn't made an appearance. However today was really very warm, so warm that I think it's time to charge my leg shaver. Anyways, I love the denim, and the cute sailor collar, but eventually I might take in the waist a little. Oh, and my tote has been a staple for a while since I discovered how good my other bag is as a bucket for powerade. Hmmm.
I bought some fabric today for a little project that I'm quite excited about. It should be nice and simple and take a few hours from start to end. Also, my housemate's parents are here at the moment, and it's feeling very crowded in this two bedroom apartment - hopefully I'll get some more outfits photos in this week.

Mulberry Resort 2012

2011-08-11T12:07:00.000+10:00

Images via style.com

I've been dying to share this for a little while now. As soon as I laid eyes on this collection I knew it was perfection. It really ticks all the boxes for me: heels with socks, denim everything, bright footwear and short suits. It's a very simple collection really; I could see myself wearing everything, but it's not boring either which is what makes it great. I picked my favourite looks, but it looks super-effective and cute when the models are lined up in each segment here. It makes me excited to wear all the clothes I bought in preparation for summer. I can feel spring slowly approaching as the temperature starts reaching 22/23C during the day and there is sunlight earlier in the morning.

Burger day

2011-08-07T20:29:00.000+10:00

Overshirt and shirt: Cotton On
Necklace: Sportsgirl
Brooch: Kirbee Lawler
Jeans: Sass&Bide
Shoes: Kmart

On Friday I had a really great day overall, despite being wedged in between sort-of-crap parts of the day too. I woke up to find out that I didn't get 1/4 possible jobs, let alone an interview, and I went to work at the end of the day which involved working until 9pm, which is always un-fun.

The middle part was excellent, so I'll concentrate on that! I was quite excited about this outing as I was going to a new burger place with a high school friend. It's called MOS burger and it's basically an Asian (Japanese?) burger place - and they have rice burgers! I didn't have one this time, because I was starving and not feeling adventurous, but my friend's burger seemed alright and next time I'll probably get one. I order the Wagyu beef burger with cheese, chips and cranberry iced tea, and my friend ordered a MOS burger, and what I think is a seafood kakiage rice burger. As you can see they come in nifty paper wrappers that allows you to hold the burger properly while you eat it. Although I must say that I've held a burger once or twice in my life so I found it funny to have a paper helper. All in all, I'll be back. Very good prices; each burger is about $5, yummy and I feel very lucky now to have the only one in Australia only a few suburbs away (sorry the rest of Australia). For dessert we went to a juice bar and I got a lychee frappe. It was so damn good, I'm still thinking about it.

We also went shopping for 'interchangeable lens cameras' for my friend, and I get the feeling I will be somewhat jealous when he receives his Sony NEX-C3. But only slightly. Seeing the new Panasonic Lumix GF3 almost made me die. So, damn, pretty. Oh, and a Fuji X100 made me blank out too. I bought lens a bag while we were there to protect my precious zoom lens. I like the way I look wearing it, is that weird?

Probably the best part of the day was heading back and playing New Super Mario Bros. Wii together. Sooooo fun.
"Ah! Jump out of the way!"
"I can't when you're jumping on me!! AHHHHHH!"
"PRESS A, PRESS A!!!"
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

We also took some instax pics in the yard with his 210 wide. OMG it's massive. Words cannot describe how big it is. I must mention that I haven't been doing a lot of outfit posts lately because I'm very lazy in winter. I don't wear stockings because I freeze, so it's just been a mix of jeans/shirt/overshirts.

Winter coats

2011-07-25T16:23:00.000+10:00

Stil in Berlin - Stella McCartney - Stil in Berlin - Stil in Berlin

Karen Walker - Stil in Berlin - Stella McCartney - Street Style Aesthetic

Nothing makes winter better than owning a big jacket to keep you warm and shield you from the icy winds. This year has been particularly cold in Brisbane (or maybe it was just summer for too long), so I've been eyeing these big structured jackets for cold nights and frosty mornings. I love the simple shape and structure, and while greys and blacks are a popular choice, the bright vintage colours also appeal to me. Wearing colour in winter is always a winner for me because it helps combat those icky-winter feelings, but the versatile and budget-friendly blacks and greys have their place too, especially if you work somewhere conservative.
Having said that I doubt I'll be investing in any more winter clothes anytime soon, it's been about 20°C during the daytime, I've been able to stay indoors, and I have a raging fever, so I've felt quite toasty.

Please follow links for image sources

Camera Collection

2011-07-21T14:52:00.000+10:00

Most of you have probably figured out by now that I have a bit of a camera-thing going on. I won a camera when I was 14, and 7 years later not only have my photography skills grown, so has my camera collection. I also had another digital camera, but gave it to my mum last week seeing as I don't want too many redundancies in my collection. Most of these cameras I've won, been given, or bought with birthday money over the years. I feel lucky that whenever I think about a new camera they seem to just come my way. Do you have any favorite cameras, or perhaps one you're lusting after?

Top L-R:

Pentax Espio 145M: A recent purchase; I've only just sent away a roll of film for this camera. I imagine it will be in working order, but then who knows! I bought this instead of a Superheadz Slim because it has zoom, flash and panorama. Having said that I'm still have to hold myself back around a Superheadz Slim on eBay.

Fujifilm Instax 50S (piano black): Poor baby, I often forget that I got this back in late May. I had lunch with a friend yesterday who I influenced with my instax so much that he bought a 'real' Polaroid camera! Needless to say we will be going on instant-camera adventures soon.

Superheadz Golden Half: Takes half frame pictures, and my first analogue camera. Good, light and cheap.

Panagor 80-205mm lens: So heavy! It's made of glass and steel, and compared to the Lumix lens it's just crazy heavy. One thing I do like is the manual focus adjustment, which is good for capturing the exact depth of field that you want. The downside is if your subject moves you have to spend time re-adjusting.

Pentax ME: Gifted to me from my Poppy I still don't know if this work yet, but it's pretty. I've tried film and it just hasn't advanced, whether this was due to the camera or the extremely old film I could not say.

Panasonic Lumix G2: I won this camera a while ago and I haven't looked back. You can really see the awesome quality of this camera when compared with the top picture, taken with the Canon. This was a relatively expensive camera when I won it, however it has really come down it price drastically, probably because the G3 has just come out. Although I'd look into the cost and range of lens compared to Canon/Nikon if I was buying it. Not to mention the amount of second-hand products out there. One plus is that it has beautiful HD video, with a lovely focus.

Panasonic 45-200mm lens: Auto-focus, how I love thee! Great for little adventures when I'm sitting a mile away from the action and super-light.

Bottom L-R:

Sony Cybershot DSC-P43: My first-ever camera! I won this in grade 9 through a girls-in-IT thing. I recently found the receipt for a 256Mb memory card - it was $84. So many things make me laugh: the teeny tiny screen, 4.1MP etc. Of course it's broken now.

Ricoh 126-C EES: Unfortunately this camera will not be working anytime soon. It takes 126mm film, and even if you can get that you then have to develop the film yourself. Too much effort.

Canon IXUS 105: Naturally I bought this camera just before I won the Lumix G2, so I was a bit annoyed. However, I'm glad I did because it's good for days when you need a camera on you. So many times I've gone over Mum's, the cat has done something hilarious and this camera has proven it's worth. I must say that I find this the best quality out of all my friends' small cameras.

The Abbey Medieval Festival 2011

2011-07-10T17:35:00.001+10:00

See the whole set over here

Yesterday I went to The Abbey Medieval Festival in Caboolture, just north of Brisbane. I went last year as well, and it was just as good. This time I took my Mum and little sister; every year Mum says how she would like to go, but never organises to go despite loving medieval culture and dress. So this year I made it happen.

It is really well organised every year - parking, seating, events, decoration, accuracy - everything. The only thing that can't be helped is the arrogance of others - like people sitting on the ground at the entrance to places, they usually get stepped on without an apology. Then that's nothing new.

Whenever I tell people where I'm going I get this look - everyone seems to think it's for nerds and losers, but honestly these are probably the same people that think drinking to the point of being sick is cool.To emphasize my point - it is really fun, and you end up learning some cool things. I have a mainly English background with some German and Spanish in there too (not to mention half the other European countries, I'm sure), so I find it interesting learning about the sort of culture that my ancestors came from, which is not something I often think about. Quite a lot of periods and cultural groups are represented, from the Crusaders to the Gypsies and everything in between.

It's worth going to see people bash each other heads in (really, ambulances turn up), hunting birds fly around, traditional art and music, costumes and the plethora of other things that are there. The bird show was quite funny as the falcon flew away and decided it wasn't coming back for a little while. You could see it doing figure-8's in the distance. Unfortunately it was too windy to fly the massive eagle, which was a bit disappointing, but maybe next year.

I ate some Hungarian langos, which is soooo good and such a guilty pleasure. I'm sure that I killed part of my heart because it's basically a deep fried flat bread, topped with cheese, garlic and sour cream. To ensure that my coronary arteries would be nice and full I also indulged in some strawberries and cream. Now I'll just have to eat vegetables for a week.

One of my favourite stalls was 'Jack the Medieval Furrier'. Now, I know some of you will be jumping out of you skin at the mention, but I'm just not worried about fur as long as it's not endangered, and it was killed humanely. We found an awesome hat with the weasel attached, as you can see above. It was so crazy seeing what lots of different animals felt like - they had beaver, squirrel, weasel, rabbit and so many more. If I'm still around Brisbane next year I'll definitely buy a pretty lilac cape that I saw at another stall. I also have a dress that I really should have worn, but I haven't washed the stains out of it yet.

In other news it's been a crazy week and I'm glad that I've had a day to wind down. Monday was a catastrophe which was coming for weeks, but thankfully everything worked out. My new work is crazy, my workload is 5-10x higher now, not to mention an extra 35min travelling time, so I'm completely stuffed. Friday I worked, then went to dinner. Saturday was the festival and I went out for another birthday that night too. Phew! Good news is that I finish placement at the end of the week. I've got lots of posts planned but I have to have the time and daylight to take pictures.

BFK

2011-07-03T17:21:00.001+10:00

White lace dress, button up shirt, shoes: all Kmart
Maroon jumper: Cotton On
Rose tights: Forever New
Wolf pin: A Skulk of Foxes
Bird brooch: Sarah McNeil

This weekend I went to the Brisbane Finders Keepers Markets again. Honestly, but I just don't think it was as good as it has been in previous years; despite a few of my favourite internet-people being there: Daydream Lily, Pannikin and Lauren Carney. Usually I spend lots of money, but I stuggled to spend $20 this time. I suppose when you've got no money coming in it makes it especially hard to justify buying anything.

Has anyone else seen Community? I've been watching it lately and I must say that I've really been enjoying it. It's a bit like Scrubs, but better because it's not as dumb thanks to the absence of Zach Braff and the addition of Chevy Chase.

P.S. Some of your blogs are being strange for me. Some will have me logged in with my Google account to leave comments, but some do not. So if you do not have a name/url option I literally cannot leave comments. I'm guessing it's another blogger glitch.

Bedroom

2011-06-23T18:56:00.000+10:00

As a student I live in one room only, so all my clothes, TV, computer, sewing machine and the rest, all have to fit in; so its pretty messy most of the time. This is the non-messy part of my room! I bought this yellow rose quilt cover at Suitcase Rummage a little while ago; I really like the repeating circles. I also have a yellow-love-thing going on lately.

90's

2011-06-18T15:06:00.000+10:00

Overshirt: Gap/thrifted

Tee: T-bar

Crystal necklace: Sportsgirl

Claw neckalce: Lovisa

Leggings and shoes: Kmart

My mum bought me this overshirt for 50c - I saw it's potential after a few minutes. I suppose it was the super-soft velvet that make me coo! I love this stripe tee too, T-bar has the softest tees ever, and they super-good-quality; you can't see here, but it dips at the back. I've been layering these necklace a lot lately, I also have a bird's skull and another crystal, but with amethyst stripes which I need to find a chain for.
I should also mention that I got my hair cut today too - it was getting all long and weird at the back, so I'm a lot happier now! While it shows how not-blonde my hair is near the nape of my neck that's ok, because my natural colour isn't even thanks to the sun. I was thinking of getting something a bit radical; either really short at the side, or a short fringe; but I decided against it since I'll have actually-important-life-determining job interviews in just over a month's time. I certainly don't want to ruin my chances just because someone is a little conservative.

Blogiversary

2011-06-16T20:02:00.000+10:00

I did it! I made it a whole year without quiting - now if only I can apply the same basic theory to my research assignment! It doesn't even feel like a year ago that I started my blog, but I suppose that a few landmark events have happened in that time. Although I really feel like nothing much has changed.

This was my birthday dress when I young; the splattered pastel colours, the collar, the lace, the bows - truly a sign of a 90's child. I'm pretty sure this dress is tucked away at Mum's house somewhere, so I'll have to rescue it eventually and reserve it for my (not yet existent) daughter. Or make an adult copy...

Sorry things have been a little quite around here, I know I've been promising posts for a while so I won't be doing that. I'm at placement again and having a rather difficult time - it's very hard to be patient with someone who's not willing to teach you. It's a big waste of my time, frankly. It makes me want to drop my whole course and run away to do an arts/IT degree, but with 6 months to graduation I know it's silly. I'll just keep telling myself that.

What's everyone else been up to?

Australia Zoo

2011-06-01T13:57:00.001+10:00

More photos on Flickr

Yesterday I went to Australia Zoo (Beerwah, QLD) with my friend Amber who is studying Zoology at university, so she was an obvious choice. Yes, that is the zoo that is owned and run by the Irwins. There's really not too much to tell about the entire day, you can see from the photos that the animals were beautiful. I enjoyed the aviary immensely. So many beautiful birds, and two cheeky lorikeets who zoomed past everyone, scaring us all in to thinking that they were going to hit us in the head at break-neck speed. I bet they thought it was funny.
The show was good too, when 'Thunderstuck' is turned on all the birds go crazy and twist and dart in the air, usually quite close to your head!
The ultimate-best-part-ever for Amber and I was feeding the elephants at the end of the day. In the morning session there had been a massive line, probably a few hundred people deep. So you might have gotten two gos? In the afternoon there were only a few people, most of which left and we ended up just feeding them for quite a long time by ourselves! Unfortunately I left the picture of me feeding them at Mum's house but I'll find it soon enough.
I have plenty of video, so perhaps one day I'll put that all together - and it's all it HD! I also realised I need a far bigger memory card, I ran out of space after the tigers and had to delete some. So yeah, I took 500 photos. Shutter bug, or what!?
A great day, and I'm so excited that I finally got to go!

Mori

2011-05-29T11:51:00.000+10:00

Black ex-romper: Possibly Temt

Lace dress: Cotton On body

Stockings: ASOS

Shoes: Rubi Shoes

Friday night I went out for my friend's 21st. First went went to a restaurant, I got the salmon, paid a fortune, and it was crap because I make my salmon far better. I finally got to use my Instax 50S, and it was even better than I had ever imagined. After that we wandered around for a while and eventually all four of us ended up in a karaoke room together, which turned out to be the best time ever. We are all dorks, and we really don't need any alcohol to fuel our silliness. Air guitar, serenades... at one point I was lying on the floor with my friend, singing like some sort rock god. Oh, and we scored 100 on Tatu's 'All the things she said'. Surely that means something.
I'm sure that more than one photo will surface on facebook of me being an absolute fool, but that's ok.
I will definitely be dragging people to karaoke now!

Now, about my outfit. I've known about Mori girls for years now, but Amanda's blog post reminded me again. I had bought this dress with the lace bottom ages ago intending to wear it in layers. This outfit isn't spot-on Mori, but it's close enough in my mind!

Cutest shop: Tsumori
And here are some mori-ish tumblrs I follow: ohyeahmorigirl.tumblr, paperpear.tumblr & himacchi.tumblr

AND - I got my hair cut! I posted a pic ages ago on Twitter, but I've been too busy to take a proper photo here. It's suppose to be uneven, but I don't think it's uneven enough. In three weeks I've got another appointment and I'm thinking I'll go really short, Michelle Williams short. Everyone has said how much better short hair suits me, and I tend to agree.

Space

2011-05-24T21:29:00.000+10:00

watercolour

I painted the background first as a draft, but then I painted the banner to make sure I knew what I was doing before I started on the final piece. Turns out that I did know what I was doing, and I was so happy with this 'draft' that now I won't be discarding it! I'm thinking I'll go over the text with black pen... although I do like how it's not too contrasty... I'll have to think about it.

I see many more space pictures in my future. And so will you now that my scanner semi-works!

I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides yesterday and I really really liked it. In the first movies I would get frustrated with Keira and Orlando's makeout scenes, as well as their acting skills. Thankfully they are not in this movie at all! Ten out of ten. I also want to be a mermaid now.

Have I mentioned yet that I have a twitter and a tumblr now? On twitter I post my random thoughts and pictures of lunch; and on tumblr it's pictures that I like by myself and others. I couldn't help myself - I probably have far too many satellite sites.

Sleepless

2011-05-21T00:28:00.000+10:00

High contrast version at top and near-original at bottom

Tonight I went outside to take some photos of the stars - the main reason I haven't done this yet is thanks to the light pollution. Nevertheless I am pleased with how these turned out, but it really makes me wish there hadn't been cloud cover on my holiday in the mountains.
I almost wasn't going to post this, but I've been a particularly lazy blogger lately. I bought a super-duper scanner which is so far not turning out to be super-duper at all since the program won't even open. Grrrr. I had planned to scan lots of things including film and painting, but it's not happening!
I also took outfit photos the other day, but they were terrible, so I'm just going to super-glue my tripod back together - I've had enough of this!
On a lighter note I got my Instax in the mail, bought a lovely peach 1950's dress for my graduation ball, lovely necklaces and super-cheap-and-awesome earrings from Lovisa.
I think I'm finally getting over my vague illness, so fingers crossed!

Bunya Mountains

2011-05-18T12:52:00.000+10:00

Rather than flood this post with pictures you can see the rest here

As you may have read I went to the Bunya Mountains at the end of April for my 21st birthday. Bunya is about a 3 hour drive from Brisbane, Near Dalby and Kingaroy in the South Burnett region. It is so named for the Bunya Pine which grows in the region; this tree produces pinecones almost as big as your head which can weigh several kilos, hence why you never park under such a tree. I went with my friend Lorena, and my mother and sister came up the next night. The drive out there was seamless, which is great for me because I get motion sickness. We stopped at Blackbutt to waste some time and have a break where we bought crappy magazines, food supplies, ate spinach and fetta bread and went to what I could only describe as the best crystal shop I've ever been to. I could have bought way more crystals than I did, but you'll see them soon.

The house we stayed in is set high on the mountain with many other unobtrusive houses. There is a plethora of wallabies just cruising around the grounds, and tiny little wrens dart through the trees near your veranda. Unfortunately it was drizzly the majority of time we were there. We went for a walk through the forest, but it was extremely muddy so we didn't go on any more treks after that. I didn't get to do any night photography of the stars as I had planned either due to the cloud cover. Most of the holiday involved sitting around the fireplace eating marshmallows; oh, and did I mention it was freezing.

On my birthday we all went for a drive to Kingaroy, Nanango and surrounds which was fun. The highlight for me was the Peanut Van in Kingaroy, where I bought some peanut butter fudge. So damn good. It's not soft and gooey like a lot of fudges, but sort of dry, but still a little oily - just like peanuts should be.

On the drive back home we followed Mum, but once we reached Maidenwell I knew she was turning the wrong way. I rang her:
"Mum, we were supposed to turn left back there."
"No, I know where I'm going."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, yeah."
Of course we reach Crow's Nest, get out of the car and Mum says, "I think we took a wrong turn back there somewhere. I don't remember going this way."
"Yeh... like when I rang you and told you we were going the wrong way."
It was a happy mistake though as I was thinking about going back through Toowoomba instead of the way we had gone already. Now that I've been to Toowoomba and seen the size of the city (it's way bigger than I thought!) I'll happily apply for a job there next year. The situation of Toowoomba is so beautiful, everything was lush, green and clean while we were there.

Overall it was a lovely country drive and I'm looking forward to planning more outback adventures. I was disappointed that we missed out on the Maidenwell Observatory, but I guess that will have to be another time. While driving we almost hit a wallaby (jumped out of nowhere) and Mum actually hit a quail, and we had a close miss with a little field mouse.

I discovered a few other places too, and I would really like to go to the Charleville Observatory, Goomeri Cheeseworld and Pumpkin Festival as well as Easter in the Country in Roma. Hopefully my next holiday won't involve so much rain!

In other news I've been flat out working to save for clinical last week, and this week I've fallen ill. Today I spent the whole day in bad - and I had so many plans!

This post was deleted by blogger and appeared back in drafts a few days later, so sorry that all your comments are gone, and if this appearing in your list again!

Superheadz Golden Half

2011-05-04T11:46:00.000+10:00

A while ago I bought a Superheadz Golden Half camera which takes half-frame photos, as you can see above. I think my favorite pictures are the hand and the succulents next to each other. I have a few more favorites that I can't show here since my sister is in her school uniform.
I found film really fun, and attaching a flash makes this camera even better. I recently got a vintage camera from my Poppy along with several flash units too, but mini flashes are readily available on ebay for about $20. My main problem with this camera was forgetting to take the lens cap off - whoops! So there were quite a few totally black exposures. While the instructions were in Japanese the pictures are easy to follow, so no problems there either. This was my first 'test' roll, so I could figure out what low-light is, how the flash works and so on. I think I'm getting the hang of it now, so the next roll in there will hopefully have many more useful exposures!
I'm finally on holidays from uni now, so hopefully a few more decent posts will be possible. I also ordered a Fujifilm Instax 50S for my birthday with the money I received (plus some of my own), so I'm all excited about that too. I couldn't resist.

Polyvore

2011-04-24T22:48:00.002+10:00

Find me on Polyvore

I think I might have a slight Polyvore addiction. I only used to visit the site once a week, fairly sporadically. Now I visit it everyday and I'm making at least one set per week. I suppose it was always going to happen; a younger version of myself used to spend hours/a whole day on Jasc Paint Shop Pro (before the days of decent internet) just editing pictures or drawing vector art, making background and patterns.
A part of my addiction to Polyvore is the fact that in a matter of mere months I've have far more set views than the pageviews for my blog, ever. And I've just about surpassed my followers with contacts. But I guess that's the beauty of a well networked site. Blogging is so hard. You have to find way to direct traffic to your little blog, mostly through commenting, and it's a lot of work. I can appreciate the effort of bloggers with 1000+ followers!
I'm really proud of my sets too. I spend quite a lot of time searching for items and piecing together a set that looks right; there are dozens of drafts just sitting there. I prefer a simple style, concentrating on the clothes and the feelings in the set by putting some relating images to help translate meaning.
I won't stop blogging though! I love creating original content too, it's just harder between study and the like.

I'll be away this week in the mountains - so you know there will be some pictures here on my return! Happy Easter everyone, see you all in a week!

Terrarium

2011-04-11T22:10:00.002+10:00

Look what I made! After all this talk of terrariums on Etsy (and some on Twitter too), not to mentions my mother's terrarium I was finally convinced to make one myself. When I was younger I put some moss in a pot and watered it everyday. It didn't last long, and then bugs started living in it. I think this attempt at tiny-plant-love will be much more successful... I hope. I bought the bottle for $3 from the op-shop, and gathered everything else from my mother and what was already around my place.

If it's still alive later on I'll update it's status!

To Be Adored (only)

2011-04-04T21:42:00.004+10:00

Dress: Catworld double collar dress @ Yesstyle.com
Socks: Portmans
Shoes: Rubi shoes

Ok, so you know how TBA dresses are super adorable, like this one, but as you may have noticed, super expensive. To a humble uni student like me that's a whole Wii, a fortnight's rent and food, or 3-4 months worth of petrol. While on Yesstyle.com I spotted this gem by Catworld - tent shape? Ditsy floral print? Cute collar overload? I couldn't let it go.
Overall I am happy with the fit and length, however I wasn't expecting it to be a 'flannelette' cotton, but I guess that will just make it a winter dress. It proved to be especially warm yesterday in the windy weather and lecture theatres.
Winter seems to be in the air at the moment and I'm excited for stocking and boots with dresses, scarves and glove. I really want one of those hat with ear flaps, and some nice mittens. I saw the perfect hat at Country Road, but couldn't justify spending $70 on a hat no matter how amazing and soft it was. Maybe I should make a winter wish list, there would definitely be some Chelsea boots on there too. Does anyone else have winter on their mind (or summer for northeners)?

Returning again

2011-04-03T15:33:00.000+10:00

I have internet again - yay! Thanks to moving I haven't had internet for 5 weeks, which is not great when it's the first 5 weeks out of a 6 week uni semester. I was going to do a serious/interesting post, but I like a laugh just as much as the next person, so instead I thought I would share some photos I've taken recently. My mother and I were laughing for ages about all of these, especially since my sister was adament that we were reading it wrong and kept reading it to us. The pictures of Panther are not edited at all! My housemate is away for the next two weeks, so that will make outfit photos much easier, stay tuned! Here's some other things I've been doing:

Moved house: I'll do a post about that soon
Bought Starbucks for the first time: it was good and slushy and coffee-ish
Booked my trip to the Bunya Mountains for my birthday in April: I can't wait to take photos of the mountain scenery, here's one I took in 2007.
Broke up with the bf: it's not really sad when you know it's time to end it. Now I'll have all the time to do the things I want, so I'm happy :)
Bought a Wii: I have lots of Nintendo love. I'm seriously considering downloading Kirby's Dreamland and Yoshi for 64 since I love the SNES Yoshi's Island.
Got my pop's old Pentax ME SLR and bought a Superheadz Golden Half camera too: I can't wait to snap up the film and get them developed. I got the Superheadz from Lofico, which has excellent prices and shipping for my Australian friends.
Got lots of dresses to wear: you'll see them since now I have a big room and a nice clutter-free background.
Rid my room of several car-fulls of rubbish: it was obviously time for a serious clean out, silly things like my 5th pencil case or the shoes I haven't worn since high school. It feels a lot better, but there's still more to do.
Stressed about getting all my uni work done: especially the proposal for my year-long research subject. It took me so long to find a partner that by the time we picked our topic it was almost due. I still have heaps to do this weekend as well. Oh, and my end of semester exams are in 2 weeks (because some of us go on clinical after that).
Rediscovered my love of documentries: Ok, so I never really forgot, but sometimes you just have to be in the mood. I've watched some about the English coastline, Marie Antoinette and Gauguin, which reminds me how much I love art history. Artwork is really nothing without the backstory, then you really see what the painting is about beyond the skillful brush strokes. My perfect job would be working in an art gallery, but not a modern art gallery, one with renaissance, impressionism or Australiana. Since I'm not doing a fine art/arts history degree I don't see it happening.

What has everyone else been doing?!

Mt Tamborine

2011-02-16T23:08:00.004+10:00

Chicken breast with pesto and salad - Travis

Grilled eggplant, roast pumpkin, pesto, marinated fetta and ciabatta bread - me.

The fog rolling in

Lemon meringue, cherry ripe and caramel macadamia fudge.

Outfit details:
- Pidgeonhole antler necklace
- Self-made skirt
- Kmart shoes
- Karen Walker charm bracelet
- Supre belt
- Agent 99 spike bag from General Pants Co.

I have been wanting go to Mt Tamborine again ever since my friend took me to Thunderbird Park in the seventh grade to mine 'Thunder eggs' (rocks filled with crystals, if you're lucky). It was an hour drive from Brisbane with some very twisting mountain roads. As soon as we got there you could feel the fresh, cool air that I've been missing. I really hate the beach, mountain tops are my thing. We had a bit of dilemma deciding where to eat as the place I had planned was a little expensive and there was not as much that I was interested in. We debated takeaways and bakeries, but we didn't want to drive all the way there to eat takeaway either, and thankfully we found The Kitchen Table, which have lovely food, excellent prices and stylish decor.
The rest of day we just wandered around the tourist areas. There's lots of specialist shops like a fairy shop, cuckoo clock shop, crystal shop and of course a fudge shop among many other. I bought some Australian Geographics from the 90's, a citrine cluster and far too much fudge, but only half as much as Travis bought. We went and tried some local cheese too, but unfortunately it was a little pricey for me so I didn't end up buying anything (not to mention I had bought lots of cheese the day before!).

In the afternoon a strange mist starting rolling in, and we realised that it must have been a cloud surrounding the mountain, then it rained quite hard, but that was ok. Fog is my favourite weather, I just love the look and feel of it. All in all it was a lovely day, despite the INSANE rain on the drive back. It was so white on the highway that you could barely see the car in front let alone anything else.

We'll go back again as we missed the glow worm caves, sky walk (in the canopy), the lavender shop and I really wanted to go back for a photo of cutest chapel you ever did see, but ran out of time.

Which do you prefer, mountains or beach - or perhaps something totally different?

Things that I did in my time away

2011-02-13T20:44:00.019+10:00

Panther

Tutti Frutti is such a poser

I really love the speckled pink in this plant

It's almost been a month since my last post! I'm glad I took the time off because there have been a lot of things going on.
- Made a really kick-ass cake for my Mum's birthday: lemon, with lemon icing, blueberries and passionfruit on top. Damn it was good.
- Visited mum quite a lot, took many photos of the cats. My little sister treats Panther like a toy and he takes it. She had tied a skipping rope around plastic baby's cradle/sled-almost and a box to make a sort of sled-with-box that the cat rode in. He would just sit in there while she shuffled him around the house.
- Went swimming at the local indoor pool in the absolute heat, which was bliss.
- Finally got some reading glasses
- Removed the ruffle on a skirt I made ages ago, so now it's wearable.
- Got a haircut and colour, but I'll go shorter at the back next time.
- Went clubbing for the first time in two years (since college). I remembered why I don't go clubbing - it costs so much!! It was a friend's birthday though, so I felt it was justified. On another note I was happy to see more flats than I thought I would, as I was wearing flats too.
- I've been Polyvoring up a storm!
- Found yet another place to move to. I just moved but unfortunately my room is like a hot box, and quite frankly I'm paying too much for a tiny hotbox near a main road, *sigh*. The new place will be much cheaper too, so I won't need to cut down on my hair-dye/shopping/petrol habits!

This week is jam-packed, and then I'm moving the week after, but I feel I'll be settled a lot quicker in the new apartment. I might as well tell you that I'll be previewing the new 3DS through work soon at a fancy function, super excited! As well as going on a little day trip this week.

How has everyone else been? Is there anything coming up that you are excited/nervous/dying inside about?

Moving along

2011-01-22T21:35:00.002+10:00

Good news - I found a really awesome house to move to, I have my own bathroom and garage. It has a dishwasher, so my most hated job will be done for me. A window that doesn't look onto another window, and someone who doesn't put 'must be fun' in their room ad.

Bad news - I have so much rubbish, and it's all been carted through several sets of stairs. Since I had a bit of a breakdown today (I overheat easily + stress), it will be quite a while until I get everything sorted and just sort of relax a bit. I've been pressured since I was told the house was being sold (thanks for telling me three days before xmas), then the open houses twice a week since then.

I'm planning on doing a REALLY good post when I resume, because I truly love blogging but haven't been doing a good job lately. Thankyou to all my beautiful followers and commenters! I always read everything and I still do, but I won't be posting for probably 2-4 weeks. Bye 'til then!

Flood warnings

2011-01-11T15:54:00.002+10:00

At the moment most stations on television are broadcasting one thing - flood emergency and evacuations. I should be fine where I am - I think most of Australia would have to go under before I'd have to worry. Hopefully the rain will let up soon, but apparently there's worse to come on Thursday particularly. I won't be going to work if it's raining, because quite frankly I don't want to risk my life for people stupid enough to need cheap junk in a flood situation. I'm not happy that my bf is working there right now, but he should make it home.

Having said that, I needed to turn the television off, it's just making me more nervous than I need to be. So let's concentrate on things I've bought as a superficial distraction - yay!

1. Clogs. Remember my xmas wishlist? Neutral clogs? Yes, done! Even better when picked up for a totally awesome $5 from Rubi shoes! So even if they last a little while it'll be worth it.

2. Same deal, Rubi shoes, $5. I love a short 50's heel. I'm not into heels, so when I do have to wear them I like having some non-toe-breaking pairs. They remind me of the ones all the nana's wear too.

3. Borrowed Suitcase zine from Mel Stringer. I waited eagerly for this one in the mail. I think I'm acquiring a taste for cute handmade zines. I was going to buy Curvy 7 this year, but decided that $45 was far too much to pay when I severely doubt much of this reaches the artist. Very awesome, worth the $5 - I've spent more on a meal and gotten less.

4. The view outside - so much rain! I've put off moving plans for the moment naturally. I don't think heavy car + ridiculously wet road + very inexperienced drive = win in this situation.

I also bought superglue yesterday to fix my clogs, but unfortunately I got it home and upon reading the label realised it said 'non-clog'.

Get it? Lame right :D

Hopefully everyone else is staying safe. What do you do on a rainy day... even if it does stretch across six weeks?

Review: L'Oreal Professional Expert silver shampoo

2011-01-02T11:11:00.013+10:00

I don't usually do beauty reviews on here - but hey, what the hell, it's my blog anyways, and I can do what I want!

I dyed my hair blonde quite a few years ago now, and have neglected to care for it as I should. There are really two main types of blonde: yellow and ash. Yellow is exactly how it sounds, and ash has very little yellow pigment, and is actually more like a white/grey colour, although I keep some beige in my hair. I've been every colour, even purple, but I went back to blonde because the regrowth doesn't look weird as with other colours i.e. dark with light roots.

I've tried a couple of toning products lately, some which promise blonde hair, some which don't - and work for some strange reason. John Frieda Blonde shampoo and conditioner - crap. Didn't work. Goldwell pastel pearl blonde semi-permanent soft mousse color - great, but a pain when it comes to application. You have two options here: wait in the shower for 20 mins, or get out, stuff around for 20 mins and go back. If it wasn't a weekly quest I wouldn't mind so much, but you need to buy gloves too. I usually put some clingwrap around to keep the hair in place and trap heat. Don't ever let anyone see you this way. I also have a Schwarzkopf shampoo which is no longer available that is really good at toning - even though it wasn't designed for that, at all!

Finally I ordered L'Oreal silver shampoo from Strawberry.net, opting for it over the more expensive brands. Overall I would recommend it, my hair is foil dyed, naturally a dark ash blonde, quite fine, and slightly curly. Be aware, it might stain your shower, so be careful. With most lightening products the hair is fairly dry after you use it, so I use a heavy conditioner like MooGoo afterwards to lock moisture in. If you're going to be stripping colour from your hair then you should expect this. I only put it through my hair and mooshed it around for no longer than a minute or so, and now my hair is fairly ash as you can see above - despite neglecting to use a toner for several weeks. Next time I might leave it in for a min longer, and obviously for anyone with Lisa Simpson hair you should leave it for maybe 5 minutes or longer.

I've heard good things about Joico Color endure violet shampoo, which is also available in a conditioner. Despite being harder to find, I'll be trying it next.

If you're thinking about dying you hair blonde you will have to think about the added costs, otherwise you might as well never dyed it in the first place! Luckily I can just get away with leaving 3 months between salon visits because my hair is already ash blonde, but if you have dark regrowth you'll have to go every 6 weeks.

If anyone thinks they have a better product let me know!

Update: So this post is massively, insanely, search-engined. I'm still using the same bottle 10 months on and I'm still very pleased. It does a great job in between salon visits and I notice any drying effects less now - just leave your conditioner in a little longer, use a 1-minute leave-in hair mask in the shower and/or use a spray afterwards (I use a heat protectant because I straighten my hair now).

I notice that a lot of you have been trying to figure out if this will strain your shower, and here's my answer: if you're looking on google, you already know it has a deep pigment. I have never had problems specifically, but I make sure not to get too enthusiastic about washing my hair while using it and as soon as I wash it out I wash down the walls and shower curtain. If you leave it to stain I have no doubt it will. In short, keep the shampoo on your head and dilute.

Xmas wrap-up

2010-12-31T12:03:00.001+10:00

- Christmas book and card from my little sister

- Scoobie and bracelet, handmade by little sister

- 99' Daewoo Nubira and keyring from mum

- Futurama calendar and salt + pepper grinders from Lorena

- Derwent colouring pencils from my boyfriend Travis

Overall a very successful xmas! I got the thing I need most, being the car, and while I paid a small portion for it I would have never gotten a car for the price I actually paid. Having said that, it still needs major mechanical work yet, so it will end up being a bit more pricey. I can't wait to start using the pencils, they're almost too precious to use! My friend Lorena gave me exactly what I wanted, and I didn't even have to tell her - what a champ.

Probably the best presents were from my sister Tifini, who is 8. I always get her to make me things, because I find bought gifts can be a bit generic and I don't really need for much anyway. Myself and mum had a good laugh over her gifts, apparently the reindeer started out as a cat, and the place where the whiskers were ripped off is visible. My sister said that, "it wasn't Chrismassy enough". Her gifts will be going in my bookshelf because they are very precious!

Tifini got a Wii for xmas, which I've been tempted to buy for a while. I might have to buy guitar hero now!

In other news, I'm still looking for another place to move. It's been disappointing at the most, nowhere seems to be properly priced, or the tenants expect too much.

How was everyone else's xmas? What did you get, do and eat?

Everyday should be a holiday

2010-12-24T21:41:00.001+10:00

1. Christmas parrot - I was quite silly and got ant bites trying to take a photo of it while simultaneously trying not to frighten it again.
2. The moon rising over the bushland
3. The xmas lights on the hill opposite me. I think the tent one is really cool, so I had to take a picture!

Tomorrow I haven't got much planned apart from going to Mum's for lunch/dinner and doing the general family thing. We're quite boring and don't have any real traditions, I guess we've never been into xmas that much. Like most we'll drive around and have a look at the Christmas lights and stuff ourselves silly with food.

Do you have any traditions, or perhaps something exciting planned for tomorrow?

Dinner

2010-12-17T12:31:00.000+10:00

Cotton On lace top, shorts and bag, Rubi shoes.

Lorena: Dumplings with choclate sauce, ice-cream and berries.

My meal: Creme brulee, ice-cream with berries, biscotti, raspberry sorbet and fairy floss.

Justine: Lemon tart, cannelloni, an mystery icre-cream/sorbet (we couldn't figure it out!)

Continuing on from yesterday's post, this is the outfit that I wore out to dinner. I was hoping to wear a skirt, as shorts aren't terribly classsy, but being hot and lazy I just went with it. I'm loving lace tops at the moment, they add interest to a plain tee shape. I think if you keep it classy, it works. This new bag is perfect for times when I don't need to carry my life in a bag. Australians will probably notice that all my clothes, including the shoes, are from the same brand, that's a little embarrassing. I swear I own other clothes!

The food was delicious. The first restaurant we went to I had the best veal I've ever tasted, which is why I forgot to take a picture. I was ravenous, but it had the most delicious spinach, potato, mushroom and gravy I've ever tasted. Needless to say I'll be going back. The next place we went to get dessert was next door, and they sat us right on the edge next to where we had just had dinner. I felt like such a traitor, and avoided the eyes of the waiters.

In other news, I think I've finally finished my christmas shopping, not that there was a lot to be done. I also went and looked at a house today, so I finally feel like I'm making progress on the house hunt. I don't really want to be here when people are being shown through the house as potential buyers, especially seeing as my room is not exactly tidy.

Any plans for the weekend?

A busy week

2010-12-15T20:55:00.003+10:00

Yesterday my friend Lorena turned 20, finally. So I decided I'd finish making the skirt I promised her months ago which was interrupted by exams. The zipper goes down the back, and I didn't include a picture of the front because it looks the same, but without a zip. Come to think of it, you could really wear this skirt backwards or forwards! I'll have to get a picture of her wearing it as it is hard to imagine, but it sits on the waist and goes to above the knee. I also gave her a Where's Wally mug like mine.

In other news, it's been a hectic week. I got a car, which is so awesome. It's nice being on time for work. Secondly, I have to move house again. It seems I have a curse - every year I have to move. This time the house is being sold, so I have no choice. Sigh, every holidays I have to go through this - packing everything up and trying to find somewhere nice, well-priced, and filled with people who have a life, which is the most difficult part. Maybe I'm just a loner, but I don't believe in trying to make life-long friends with housemates, because at the end of the day I've found it's easier to live with someone if you don't know them intimately. At least now that I have a car looking for a house will be wayyyyy easier!

Food and outfit post to come soon!

Christmas wishlist

2010-12-09T23:19:00.001+10:00

1. Vintage 1960’s mod day dress: A cute 60’s day dress with a graph-paper-like print
2. Porcelain Rabbit with Yellow Bow Brooch: Sarah McNeil by Corky St. Clair
3. Vintage grunge FALL HARVEST babydoll dress: A tartan dress in grungy autumn colours
4. Karen Walker mini skull ring: it’s finally time to buy a proper ring for myself
5. Retro style sunnies in a quirky colour
6. A Skulk of Foxes x-ray elk brooch: X-rays being my career, I just can’t resist.
7. Clogs in a neutral colour such as beige/camel/sand
8. Tortoise shell sunnies in a odd shape
9. Vintage blue Floral day dress: Another vintage day dress
10. A new computer, mine is completely dying. With a fancy-shmancy LED widescreen full HD monitor, naturally.
11. Eating Ghosts no.1 Original Painting: A proper investment without going totally over budget
12. Panasonic micro four thirds lens
13. Retro Fonts and Flashback, as well as a million other books
14. A proper set of real pencils, instead of kiddy Crayola pencils I’ve been using.

Ok, so I have something to admit. I acutally bought the computer and monitor on my wishlist already, however I made this graphic on my old computer and can't be bothered to install programs to change it. And yeah, it's an awesome computer. It's just annoying having to find all your favourites and software again. AND wtf is up with new Windows Live messenger - so annoying. And learning the new operating system is frustrating too. I'll admit that I've yelled at the screen a few times initially. But apart from that, thank goodness for my portable hard drives, and yay for a pretty screen. Now I can install Photoshop, and next on my list is a Wacom Bamboo tablet for pretty drawings.
Since I made this wishlist it has increased exponentially. Yesterday I went to the local fabric store and I was completely in awe of the new material they have in. The MOST beautiful digital prints as well as plenty of others that I have favourited on Etsy, but are cheaper in the store - and no delivery time! Lets just say that digital prints will be taking over my sewing machine after work slows down.

Also, I would like to remind Australian girls (and guys!) to start using sunscreen now that summer is coming along. If not for the skin cancer, but for your good looks. The sun is a massive radiation source which kills cells, and especially those that produce collagen. It only takes 5-15 minutes to get your vitamin D dose from the sun, so don't use that as an excuse either ;)

Typography

2010-12-03T11:57:00.002+10:00

Lately I've had a lot more time than usual, and most importantly a lot more headspace. With uni finally over for the year I can push aside thoughts of physics and pathology and focus on drawing lines to make pretty pictures. I've felt like doing some typography lately as you can see. I've also done a few drawings of girls too, but I'm not ready to show them to you yet. Not because I'm afraid you won't like them, but because they are not developed yet, and the last thing I need is someone else taking my ideas and drawing them before I have the chance!
I've been working on watercolour too, but I need to remember to stop putting so much pigment on my palette - it's supposed to be subtle colour, not near-acrylic!
Also, I'm 90% sure that I'll have car by the end of the fortnight! Which will mean a 15 minute drive to work instead of leaving 2hrs early to catch the bus. It's frightful I know.

P.S. I'm also working on a new header, the current one is fairly bland. It will incorporate my little owl though! I could never lose my owl.

P.S.S. Over 50 followers now - yay! I'll have to do a giveaway at 100.

Artery

2010-11-30T20:29:00.001+10:00

Today I went to a very very small art gallery to look at some work by local artists. It was a bit of a funny day today. It had ups and down of varying degrees. I went to an art gallery which wasn't open, so I was very annoyed, thinking I had missed it. Then I went back later after some shopping to find it was open. In a shop I felt very annoyed at the pretentious-ness of the guy behind the counter on his mobile phone. Going on about all the famous people and bands he knows, being the biggest name dropper in the world. I went to an awesome art supply store and bought some awesome things. Then I went home, and realised later that I forgot to buy cheap clogs that I had seen - whoops! When I got home there was a lovely little package waiting for me (below) and then I ate my delicious chinese food.

I tried some lip stain today, I think the 4th one might be the winner. Also my new ring! I like it, so I might have to buy a 'real' ring now that I've gotten used to the feel of a ring.

Jay Jays bow-tie, Agent 99 studded bag, T-Bar shirt, Cotton on dress (as skirt), Mimi Loves Jimi clogs, Dotti belt, Kitson ring from ASOS.

This is my new favourite t-shirt, I've been dying to wear it for ages. It has Charles Darwin on the front if you're wondering. This skirt is actually a dress, I think it will get a lot more wear this way.

Flyers for the upcoming Moonlight Cinema. I just love the little graphics!

Some patterns I found today... which I will adapt natually.

Buttons! Only 50c a bundle, yay! I particularly love the fabric covered aqua-blue buttons.

My order came from Shop Moose today - so stoked. I can't wait to start framing.

Devon Smith, Sarah McNeil, and Devon Smith again.

Ikea

2010-11-28T20:05:00.000+10:00

A few days ago I finally went to the local Ikea. It's like a giant blue lego block on the outside. I can't really say that there was anything remarkable about it - the furniture was expensive, and so was the food. Nothing was nice enough to want, maybe the dinnerware, but that's about it. So now I can say I've been to Ikea. The highlight of the day was the pond in the picture above. As I walked past the window it looked like someone was throwing something in the pond, but I realised no one was there, and it was actually a large fish jumping out of the water. So we turned the chairs around and watched intently to see the fish. After about 5 or 10 minutes it jumped and flipped in and out of the water 4 times. We sorta wanted to keep watching, but didn't.
I can't remember if I've worn these stockings before, but I like them now, so they will get a bit more wear. On Friday I found out that I passed uni! So that's a relief, only one more year to go now. I've also started car hunting, so hopefully I'll have a car by the end of the fortnight!

Is there a store you're keen to visit?

Chocolate day

2010-11-24T21:20:00.001+10:00

ASOS dress, Sportsgirl bow, Karen Walker necklace, Dotti socks, Kmart shoes

Yesterday I went to Max Brenner (chocolate restaurant) - it was ok. I think I have more of a savoury tooth at the end of day. I love a big plate of chips with aioli and avacado, but a plate of chocolate might be too much. I had the banana crepe, and I was thankful for the the fruit! Not that I don't love chocolate, the food was excellent (here's a picture of our meals). I went with some high school friends that I've barely seen this year because we go to different universities. It was nice catching up, and now that we're on holidays we're planning to do more.

Thankfully work has given a few more shifts, but still not enough, so I don't feel as drained money-wise. Also, I forgot to mention this last post, but I'm going on a clothes-shopping ban until Christmas. Now that I've bought a few things and gone crazy I'm only allowed to sew myself new clothes if I want them. I also need to buy a car, so I think spending 5k+ will deter me too.

Now, to the pictures above. This dress has been on here before, but not in good detail. Travis suggested I wear 'not-black' shoes, and I think he was right. I chose the bow to bring it all together. AND I finally got my Karen Walker necklace! It was pretty quick to come in really (only 4 weeks), so that is the pride and joy of my small jewellery collection now.

P.S. I finally got Spaces, and it is soooo awesome. I can't wait to read everything in it!

Pink

2010-11-19T22:32:00.000+10:00

Singlet, Frankie Magazine vintage houndstooth skirt, shoes, Pidgeonhole antler necklace

This week I've been quite busy, even though I handed in my final piece of assessment on Monday. I went to some friends' house on Monday night, cleaned all day Tuesday, went to work Wednesday, and yesterday I went to Harbour Town (awesome shopping centre), and saw Harry Potter 7 that night. I bought the the best winter clothes, including a pair of velvety jeans which I can't wait to wear in winter, even though that's at least 6 months away. Right now is the best time for winter shopping, because everything is discounted. I spent $80 all together and saved $240 off the RRP. Awesome.
I also saw Harry Potter 7 last night, and it was pretty awesome. I can't wait for the last one, I liked how dark it was, just like a "real" wizarding world, and the graphics were excellent. The only thing that annoys me is people taking under 12's to see it - it's rated M for a reason. Sorry, don't bring children.
Tonight I went to my little sister's x-mas carols concert. It's funny when they don't know the words and you can watch it back on the video!

Illustrators to know about

2010-11-16T20:42:00.002+10:00

Above copyright of the listed artists, obviously!

Left to right in no particular order...

1. Sarah Abbott
2. Sarah McNeil
3. Kris Atomic
4. Devon Smith
5. Illustrations of British Mycology reprint
6. Lauren Carney
7. Audrey Kawasaki
8. Courtney Brims
9. Emily Martin

It should be no surprise that I like a bit of artery, but lately I've been aching for some prints. These are some of my favourite artists at the moment who I'll probably end up buying prints from (or already have), minus Audrey Kawasaki - a bit pricey! Maybe one day. I like illustrators most, probably because I love drawing too.

P.S. I know number 5 technically isn't an 'illustrator' but... someone drew it, and I love it.

Finders Keepers

2010-11-12T19:32:00.000+10:00

The Old Museum

Lorena inside the vine cave (see below)

I'm not particularly happy with my outfit on reflection, but look at the awesome vine cave!

Driving home over the Story Bridge

Last weekend was the Brisbane Finders Keepers Markets, and as you may see from my previous posts I was totally excited. I bought:

- Antler necklace from Pidgeonhole
- Fluro pencil from somewhere
- Two prints from Lauren Carney
- Courtney Brims blank cards x5
- Frankie Magazine vintage mini houndstooth pink skirt

I also excitedly flicked through a preview copy of Spaces at the Frankie stall. Honestly, all the artists are so cute in real life! There were a few other things I wish I had bought, but no matter. My prints are eagerly awaiting to be framed and hung on the wall. That will be done shortly, because today was my last day on clinical placement - so now I'm totally free (apart from casual work) until March!
There is a massive hole where my blog stats once were, it's really quite dismal. Quality posts are now imminent. Sewing, cooking, drawing, painting, travelling and photography are my plans for the next 15 weeks.
Another thing I'm excited about is the launch of Curvy 7, with pretty much all my favourite artists, i.e. Courtney Brims, Devon Smith and Sarah McNeil to name a few.

Just pottering around

2010-11-05T22:49:00.000+10:00

2. Gelato suede boots at General Pants Co.

Just a quick look at some things I've been doing lately, and buying of course.

1. I've been practicing watercolour painting so I can add more colour to my pencil drawings, and I'm quite impressed with the progress I've made since last week. The week before I was getting a little frustrated, but this week I've had time to think about the technique and opacities. I actually made my first picture in a series that I've planned, but I'll show you later when I've done a few.

2. New boots! I bought them a few weeks ago after much un-decided-ness. They are butter soft and I'm sure in winter they will be excellent moreso.

3. New socks. Finally after much searching I've found the perfect pair, post-winter naturallly. Hopefully this rainy weather will stay for a while and I'll be able to enjoy a slip-on/sock combo.

P.S. Thanks to all my recent followers and commenters! Next week is my last clinical week, so I'll be able to explore blogs, and do some nice things to post on here.

Bowling

2010-10-30T19:36:00.001+10:00

Today I went bowling with my bf, mum and little sister because I haven't seen my family for a little while due to uni. I lost, and was beaten by an eight-year-old that has never bowled before. I am obviously excellent at sports.

I was particularly happy that this necklace matched my shirt, which I also love due to the pattern. Apart from that I've really just been working which is not exciting in the slightest. I watched The Supersizers Go... the other night and I thought it was really awesome. Basically these two food critics/journalists work their way through different eras of food, dress the part, and do whatever else they did in those days, then go to the doctor and see what it has done to them at the end of the week. So bizarre it's awesome.

Purple

2010-10-25T21:06:00.000+10:00

I often look in my closet and realise that it is fairly monotone - black, grey and white. Sure, it all goes together, but it's fairly boring. I bought the lilac shirt the other day to help brighten up my closet. It's a very loose fit, which is good in the fact that it will go with most things, but bad in the way that it doesn't show my shape and can look a bit baggy. When I bought these shorts I was unsure about them, but ever since I totally love the patten.

In other news, I had the worst day ever today. Almost every patient screaming, and then the CD printer wasn't working so I was so stressed that I totally lost it by the time I got to uni to hand my assignment in. Grrr. Now I've had a shower to calm down, and I'll go to bed early tonight. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little better.

Patterns

2010-10-22T21:52:00.000+10:00

Ahhh Polyvore, the soother of my window dressing desires - it saves money in so many ways. Not only can I figure out which colours and shapes I like together, it means I can indulge in ridiculous trends without spending a cent, using high-class brands too!

1. Delicious dark green and soft textures. I think tortise shell goes nicely with green somehow. I've been a little obsessed with the shape of these glasses, round with a twist, and try to resist using them in every single set. I also bought my desert boots that I've been lusting over for ages, and I totally love them. Suede desert boots are riddled throughout my account. In winter I'm thinking of expanding into dark moss and aubergine colours via ebay.

2. There are only certain tones of yellow that will suit my pale/porcelain/twilight-esque skin, and they are all very close to mustard. Naturally I could not resist the Miu Miu shirt. But I'm in love with everything really. I couldn't decide which pair of shoes I loved better, so I put them both in to account for different occasions.

3. A bit of a twist on my usual style that might be night-ish? I love those loafers, anything gem-rock and pretty much all maroon.

Have you noticed a traffic lights theme yet? Entirely unintentional, but it is really my favorite pattern to find. At college I would always line the cordials up at dinner in such a fashion.
In other news I have been really enjoying my new clinical placement. I'm at a public hospital this time and the difference is very noticable to me, and I'm having a ball - everyone is so nice and doesn't look down at their nose because I'm a student, like some people might. I've still got three weeks to go and very little social life. Full time work will take getting used to. In a few weeks I will be going to the Brisbane Finders Keepers Markets, which I'm am very excited about naturally.
Now that Travis' car has been fixed after weeks of scary-car-shuddering-agony we might be able to do some things too. It is certainly nice when using the car isn't scary.

How is everybody else? Any plans for the weekend or anything particularly exciting recently?

Hate to love

2010-10-08T18:09:00.002+10:00

All images copyright Karen Walker

I don't know if I've mentioned it on here before, but I'm a bit obsessive with Karen Walker. Most particularly her jewellery, and I'll never forgive myself for not buying her sunglasses at a sale when I was in high school - they were $30 (I, know). Recently she released some new jewellery (above) as well as clothing.

Since forever I've loved the Lion & Hoop pendant, but have always thought it was well over $200. Recently I went to Violent Green and discovered they could order it for a mere $165, so today I bit the bullet and ordered it. I think after 4 years of pining that I have to have it - what else do I go to work for? Unfortunately I've also discovered the delicate skull ring, and while I'm not a ring wearer I think that this is the perfect little ring for me, and at a mere $40 I think I will buy it too.

Violent Green is possibly the most terrible store for me to go to - I could conisistently spend and never stop. If you live in Brisbane I recommend a look, they stock my beloved Karen Walker among many other brands, my favourites being Noemi Klien, a million Holga and Lomo cameras, Victoria Mason and the most beautiful Tristan Blair shoes I've ever seen (however, they are a painful $500!!). This isn't an advert, I just want to live in the clothes racks there forever. I also want this, this, this and this (all Karen Walker).

After this I will stop. I've been going stupid with money and barely saving. I'm a great saver too, which is why I should stop now before I burn half way through my car fund. Instead I'm vowing to distract myself with creative things like art, photography and sewing. Oh, and start styling instead of buying.

My hair is a pretty non-regrowth blonde now! I finished exams today! If I lack posting for the next 5 weeks it's because I'm on clincal placement (I do an allied health degree).

P.S. I won the I (he)ART Chictopia contest! You can check out my interview over here by the lovely Angie.

90's

2010-10-04T22:08:00.002+10:00

Cotton On dark floral dress, Kmart socks and shoes, Rubi Shoes watch neckalce, Miss Shop cardigan

Pattern detail here

This is what I wore to my totally exciting exam today. In contrast with yesterday's cold, drizzly weather, today was really warm, and there was a massive shower just on nightfall. I really love the rain, it's so easy to fall asleep when it's raining outside, especially with thunder!
This Friday I'm getting my colour redone along with a haircut in the same style as this one. I feel like my colour is ok at the moment, but there are times when my regrowth looks terrible. The main reason is that I'm starting my clinical placement for university on Monday and I want to make a good impression there, and I don't think untidy hair says professional. Not only that, but I won't get a chance during the 5 weeks to get my hair done so I'll do it now.
I was really surprise by the coolness of the material in this dress today. I'm trying to lean towards a more 90's grungy look lately - Elaine Benes, Wednesday from the Addam's Family, all sorts really. I feel safe in the dark, muted and dusty colours, but still feminine with sweet collars, lace and florals.
Is there a look anyone else has discovered lately that is luring them?

Buzz buzz buzz

2010-10-02T11:11:00.000+10:00

Just a few pictures that I took with my Lumix G2. There are a few in the posts below this one too. There was a crazy number of bees buzzing around these flowers, luckily I don't think they were interested in me because they were too busy buzzing! The middle picture is of a necklace the I bought the other day and I thought the silhouette looked nice against my lamp.

I love the 1:1 frame! I might never need to think about buying polaroids or a Diana mini with this camera. There are almost too many features - I feel like I'll never learn them all. I'm probably going to buy a nice macro lens near xmas, I love macro too much to help myself. I've thought about buying an old Canon EOS film camera, or a Diana mini, Holga camera etc, but I think a pretty lens would be a savvier investment.

I other news, today is our anniversary - I've been with my beautiful, loving boyfriend Travis for 2 years now. Even when life is a bit skew-if, he is still my best friend.

Anyways, I don't want to get too mushy on you, that's not my style. I've been thinking that over the holidays I should sew a lot of clothes, and then shoot a sort of lookbook/collection to show them off - as well as being super-fun. I wouldn't sell anything though, I'm fairly amateur, and slow, and to make one dress takes me a day or more. I'm planning on buying alligator clips and making complementing hair accessories. Last night I compiled together all my ideas, so now it's a matter of sitting down and figuring out what I need to do.

The worst of my exams are over now, and I feel like I've done reasonably well, but I still have 4/8 to go *sigh*. This week is also expected to be the biggest wet season in Brisbane for quite a few years, so it's likely I'll be staying home all day in my pyjamas studying.

Shades of red

2010-09-28T17:15:00.000+10:00

Top: Taken on a day when my hair was behaving reasonably well. I didn't realise at the time that I was wearing a plethora of red. These are my favourite pyjama-type clothes, so much so I'm quite tempted to wear them to uni, but I feel that I might rethink the move half-way there. Any day my hair is good seems to be the day I tie it up to go to work, which totally ruins it because my hair is too fine to hold a curl after that.

Bottom: Today I had my last anatomy exam (hopefully ever)! I've been doing anatomy classes since mid-2008, and while there are times I love anatomy, after a while the technicalities of a highly variable topic become dragging. Afterwards I felt a little shopping was necessary. I've been looking for Rimmel's 'bordeaux' shade for a few weeks now, and I finally found it today. It's extremely deep red, almost black. I can't wait to use it, and I'm a little bit scared.

I'm sensing a pattern...

2010-09-25T14:05:00.000+10:00

Polyvore

Temt short (left), Valleygirl top (top), and Cotton On dress (right)

The other day when I went to buy much needed groceries I was not intending to buy a month's worth of clothes, but there was a sale sign in the window of every shop, so naturally I couldn't help myself. I ended up buying a dress, 3 pairs of boxers, jeans and a cat-print skirt for $55, total. After buying the dress above it suddenly clicked that I love dark florals at the moment. It's probably continuing on from my Elaine Benes obsession - 90's, grungy, but still feminine without being a big, pink, fluffy cloud. A few weeks ago I was thinking about the sort of clothes that I like, I mean really like, and I've decided that a sort of 90's grunge is the way to go. Khaki, maroon, tortoise shell and dark florals are on my shopping list now, along with some boots perhaps.

Hopefully I will be acquiring a nice white wall soon, as the massive, ugly couch in my room is going to be moved sometime in the next week, and I can't wait. It's been raining for a week, and I've been trapped indoors studying, so no outfit posts until next week at least.

Lilac

2010-09-17T19:49:00.000+10:00

ASOS dress, Agent 99 at General Pants Co. bag, Jimi loves Mimi clogs

Finally it was decent enough weather today to wear my ASOS dress, which I got in the mail literally months ago. When I first received it I thought it was more brown than lilac, but now I am convinced it is actually lilac. I think it will quickly become one of my favourite dresses, but I'll always wear lace boxers/shorts underneath as it is just a little short for my liking, eg when I was reaching in the top shelf of a supermarket today.
This afternoon I also got my baby in the mail, er, my Lumix G2. I'm waiting for the battery to charge, but it's super exciting. I'm also waiting for my curry to cook, which is exciting at the moment because I'm really hungry.
This weekend I'm going to attempt potato, feta and roast garlic pasties from The Dairy, which I bought earlier this year. I'm actually making the pastry myself, so that will be interesting. On the holidays I'm also planning on trying to cook some quail if I can still get it!
I still haven't decided what I should do with my hair, if anything. I love this lady's hair though! If I do go for the chop, I'm wondering if should get purple tips first for a while...

The cat's out of the bag!

2010-09-14T15:19:00.000+10:00

Well, I guess I'll have to say something now! Nuffnang were generous enough to make me the winner of their Panasonic Lumix G2 competition! I was extremely excited when I found out obviously, and I've been bouncing around my room ever since! A big thank-you to Nuffnang of course, you should totally check out their site if you're an Asia-Pacific blogger looking to rent out some advertising space. Panasonic, of course. And Daydream Lily for having a blog so wonderful that I follow, otherwise I would have never known about the competition.

It still feels surreal, and now I just have to wait for it to arrive in the post. Unfortunately I can't have a whole day playing with it until I finish my exams (darn it), but I might sneak a few hours in. I discovered Lumix camera a few months ago when I was trying to figure out what camera I should buy, and was convinced that was the brand I wanted, they obviously heard me!

Exams are approaching

2010-09-10T22:19:00.000+10:00

Although this isn't the greatest image quality, I wanted to share it because I was proud of the bokeh (pretty lights)!

Something I'm making for a friend, which should be ready as soon as she comes over for a fitting.

Cream of mushroom soup, with parmesan bread - very easy and totally delicious, even I was surprised.

Lately life has been a little hectic, there's so much to do this semester and not much time left before I'm thrown into a clinical situation again. I have been badly neglecting my uni work as of late, and exams start in only 2 weeks!
I used my new Remington shine therapy straightener yesterday, and it works particularly well, initially making my hair poker straight - unfortunately not even hairdressers can get it to stay that way, as it will bend at the tips. I left my toner-mousse in for extra long as well, which is why my hair looks so ash, but my regrowth will need to be done soon. I'm thinking that I like curls though, I look far too plain with entirely straight hair.
I've bought a few new clothes recently, three tops, pants and a jumpsuit that I am keen to turn in to a dress. The weather has been a little temperamental though, the worst being very muggy.
I got a very exciting email yesterday, but I don't want to reveal what it was about until I receive a certain package in the mail, just in case it takes a long time to arrive or otherwise. I've been bouncing around all day excitedly though!

Meow Miu

2010-09-06T18:35:00.001+10:00

Alice in the Eve Sophia cat print dress $89.95
from General Pants Co.

Above via Krisatomic

Yes, yes, we all know about the Miu Miu cat/swallow/nakedness prints, and to be honest when it came out I didn't know what all the fuss was about. However, I think after seeing it on half the blogs I follow I've slowly warmed to the designs, but especially the prints. I love prints, I can't help it. I drool over fabrics with pretty prints and therefore buy plain colours to sew with rarely. When I spotted this dress at General Pants Co. my brain imploded, and then once more when I saw the price. I've decided that until I get a car to drain my funds, I shouldn't be spending a registrations-worth of money on a dress. Another project I'm adding to my holiday-crafts-fun list will be printmaking with fabric paint. Prepared to be appropriate, cat print.

Spiked necklace from Lovisa

As much as I have been meaning to style this recent purchase, I didn't get a chance to take a photo last time I wore it, so here it is in unimaginative form. A new jewellery store, Lovisa, opened in the Queen St Mall a few weeks ago - and I love it. Totally quirky and different jewelery. Their blog is worth checking out as well. I have a feeling this will be my go-to store for jewellery and the like. They have a wonderful headband there with big beaded stars on it, but it too I might have to appropriate, as it is a little out of my headband price range.

Today was summer

2010-09-04T18:30:00.000+10:00

DIY headband, Cotton On wolf singlet, Valleygirl chambray skirt, chambray shoes, free mining tote

So, apparently Australia has skipped any kind of cool spring breezes and light showers and just gone straight to summer. Hello high 20's, don't even give me a chance to ease into the hot weather.Then on the second day of spring I get sick, again.
On another topic, this is what I wore today to go shopping - the headband is my draft of a headband that I made, but still hasn't turned out properly so I'll have to make yet another, so thankfully you can't see the naughty raw edges on this one. This was the most comfortable I've felt in a while, probably because of the headband which cures many a bad hair day.
The picture quality wasn't too good today, so I mucked around with them a little so they are not bleh.
The main purpose of my trip today was to buy a new hair straightener, which is probably long overdue. I've had my Remington slimline for at least 5 yrs now, and I've noticed the quality might be lacking i.e. the teflon is probably gone and it might be damaging my hair. So I bought a Remington Shine Therapy straightener to replace it. They used to be about $130, and I got mine for $50, so I'm hoping the quality will be good.
I particularly wanted to get a new straightener because I'm thinking of getting my hair cut short. I think I'll start with a forward sloping bob, and at least if I don't like it I can go for a regular crop-ish haircut. After today's hot weather I think it is fully justified now!

What is on your summer (or autumn) wishlist this season?

Phase

2010-08-31T17:16:00.001+10:00

Angles

2010-08-29T21:47:00.001+10:00

It has certainly been a busy weekend, I had a birthday party Friday night after work, a friend visiting from afar on Saturday, then work today, with an assignment supposedly in there somewhere. The chandelier picture is from the party and the rest from my tour of Brisbane for my friend on Saturday.
At the party I got a little over-excited when I spotted a work friend wearing a 'Save the clocktower' shirt (Back to the future - I shouldn't even have to tell you!), and shook him, not realising that he was holding a drink, which went everywhere, whoops!
On the weekend I bought a lovely long necklace with spikes and a jewel in the centre. I'm planning on wearing it with a black maxi dress which I will be buying. I've been hunting around for a maxi dress that is simple and not exceptionally expensive. I haven't found a colour I like other than black though, which I am unsure of going in to the summery months. I also bought two simple tops with lace and a pair of khaki shorts, therefore fulfilling my khaki trend urge. I still haven't had a chance to wear my new ASOS dress yet, despite being almost too hot for stockings on Saturday, surely yet again signalling the verge of spring.
I won't write much more tonight as I have a headache from worrying about my assignment all day. This week I'll try for another outfit post! I hope everyone's weekend was more relaxing than mine!

Elaine Benes

2010-08-24T17:57:00.001+10:00

Lately I have been watching a ridiculously large amount of Seinfeld. Those familiar with the show will have noticed the dreadful wardrobe by now, however I believe I am beginning to warm to it. I can't help this urge to dress similar to Elaine, with her long dresses and big clunky shoes. When I saw this dress I immediately though of Elaine, although she would never wear something with ruffles, I am sure. All I would need is a pair of cherry-red shoes and socks to complete the look. Since I bought this dress a week ago I've seen the (bow) pattern almost everywhere, including my inbox with Sportsgirl's playsuit today.

I'm really desperate to watch 3rd Rock from the Sun again. Another classic 90's sitcom with a twist. I'm all about the 90's movies and TV.

I've been listening to 30 Seconds to Mars' album from 2009 'This is War' and 'Beautiful Lie' from 2005 which I am re-listening to since then.

Can't wait for Frankie magazine tomorrow!

Bunting

2010-08-22T21:19:00.000+10:00

Yes! Bunting! All those who guessed (I could have made it harder!) it was indeedy bunting that I was making. It turned out quite different to how I expected. If I make more it will probably be along the red, white and blue vibe. I'm still a bit undecided as to where to put it, I'm not sure if I like it against the blue wall, so it might end up in my kitchen, because my kitchen is frightfully plain and ugly - there's lots of gap filler, holes and random nails. I'd fix it if I could, but of course I'm renting. You can't tell from these photos, but the blue flag has vertical blue and white stripes.
Tomorrow I might be wearing a new dress I bought that I'm quite excited about because it reminds me of one of my favourite TV show characters. However this will solely depend on the weather, which was perfect today. Naturally that means I spent all day inside studying for my exam on Tuesday. I suppose when I look back it will be worth it.
Today I got a phone call from my mother, and the most exciting news was that I might be getting her car only if everything falls in to place. It needs things fixed, but otherwise that would soooo awesome. If I save the money (I was going to buy a car) then I'll buy a brand new DSLR, and possibly a 35mm Canon EOS 3000 which I have been eyeing lately. Analogue film is so unique.
All weekend I've been having heated debates about politics, which I won't get into here. If someone doesn't win though, I will be mighty angry. You'll find out who after it's decided. I am liking the fact that independents may decide the government, as they are the ones who know politics and the general track records of the members and the parties.
Hope everyone has a less full-on week!

Preview

2010-08-20T11:10:00.003+10:00

Hmmm, can you guess what I am making? I'm probably going to finish it off today. I would take a finished picture rather than posting this, but it is raining today and there is very little good light, not to mention I've been feeling light headed today and last night. That means it might have to be a movie-heavy day, despite the stack of study I need to do. I bought Ross Noble's Australian Trip to watch again.

The other day when I went to Spotlight they had some clearance buttons so I just couldn't resist. The zip is for a skirt I am making for a friend, which you will see when it is finished.

This is a look at what I wore yesterday, ignore the stupid shoelace. I have already blogged about this dress, but the shoes are new. I have to wear closed-shoes for my lab sessions so I might as well colour-match. They remind me on Vans so I'm happy! I've been coveting some Vans lately, especially on Polyvore, but I've tried them on and found them extremely uncomfortable!

I also bought a Gorillapod yesterday. I always thought they were quite expensive, then I managed to pick this one up for just $20. I like it because I'll be able to carry it around when I go out, unlike a cumbersome tripod.

If you've bother to read this far I've got a random side story: Last night at work (I'm a cashier), I was doing as I normally do when this little girl who was probably about 4 or 5 climbs up on the part where the bags are and after a while I thought she was just about going to jump into where I was standing so I asked her to get down and she says, "I'm just gonna give you a hug", and she awkwardly hugs me on the shoulder for ages, with her head lying on my shoulder and everything. Obviously I was like "...ok then", and the mother told me that she just runs around the shopping centre hugging everyone! I swear, it was so... out there. Then again, I've seen and heard a lot of weird things over my 5 years of work.

Stars in the pitch black night

2010-08-17T09:52:00.000+10:00

So I haven't post anything on here in about a week - whoops, anyways doesn't matter. I've taken some outfit photos, but I just haven't thought they were anything worth boring you with. Just leggings and long tops. Here's something more exciting though. Last night my friend Lorena came over for a chat and I had been experimenting with my long exposure time on my camera and a light. I showed her and she let me do some with her. Pretty cool right? If I wanted to perfect these I should really wear a black mask and gloves too!

This one is my favourite, it looks like they are growing right out of my bed!

I tried to write 'Lorena' with the O surrounding her... it kind of turned out.

Lately uni has been a little hectic, I just feel like everything is catching up with me now. I'm actually supposed to be at uni right now, but Mondays really drain me, and I feel Tuesdays are better spent studying at home rather than wasting time on a bus and in the class gap. I also bought some watercolours the other day, so I'm going to try and learn that skill, perhaps over the holidays more than now. I'm getting excited for holidays and they're not even until mid-November.
I have been meaning to do outfits posts on here, but the problem is that most of my clothes are for summer, not winter. It's not exactly a long season in Australia so investing in winter clothes is rather pointless. Hopefully when it's summer I'll have more to entertain you. Thank-you to everyone who commented on my last post, I was overwhelmed!
Does anyone else do lighting experiments with their camera?

Lace everywhere

2010-08-10T14:28:00.000+10:00

Mystery origin peter-pan collar shirt, Temt lace tiered top, Supre leggings, Mimi loves Jimi clogs

I bought this lace top ages ago and haven't worn it, it's just been in my closet for 2 or 3 months. I had originally anticipated buying it in the actual store, but didn't, and then when I went to the clearance centre it was there. I bought a long chambray skirt with it, which I can't wait to wear when it gets warmer.

This was an outfit of firsts for me, as a general rule I never wear leggings by themself. I could get into a whole rant about how leggings aren't pants, but I won't. The point is that this was a long shirt so it's ok in my mind. I'm really over jeans at the moment I guess. Today it is raining and we're expected to get a wet week so I guess winter will keep creeping along yet. I'm also anticipating some sewing, due to the weather.

If you can't tell, I adore the lace on this shirt. It is nice, soft lace with a beautiful, intricate pattern. I'm not a big fan of the shape, which is another reason I haven't worn it yet, but the worse that can happen is I tear it up to decorate something, or turn it into a petticoat of sorts. I can't find this sort of lace in retailers which really annoys me. I'm sure it is on Etsy, but sometimes finding things can be a chore, not to mention fabric shopping is a tactile thing for me.

Ekka

2010-08-08T13:04:00.000+10:00

On Friday I went to the Brisbane Show, better known as The Ekka, with my boyfriend. I haven't been for years so it was nice to go this time without my baby sister and my mother, who both seem to tire quickly. I've edited most of these photos because some turned out a little blurry due to the low lighting. I must admit that the above photo is one of my favs, I mean a pineapple gateway? Awesome.

The Ekka is supposed to be where the country meets the city, and all the prize animals are judged here so you see lots of cows, horses, birds, fish and dogs as well as cakes, plants and other crafts. I don't go on rides at the Ekka because I get motion sick, and I don't buy the showbags because they are a rip-off. I like watching shows and seeing all the things people have made, most importantly the food. I tried some washed rind cheese, and it was quite strong. I wish I had tried more, but no matter. I know it's for little kids, but I really like the petting zoo because all the animals are sooo cute. I really need another day there because I didn't even see everything there was, despite staying there for at least 6 hours. Overall it was a nice day and I'll go back next year if I can.

All photos copyright of this blog.

*All the animals are real!

Lilac

2010-08-07T20:46:00.000+10:00

Girls with things in their hair

2010-08-06T08:39:00.000+10:00

This is a current work-in-progress, although having said that I am unsure if it will progress past this point as I usually stuff it up in some way, shape or form. Not to mention that I lost my beige pencil years ago.

This is the same picture that I drew the other day, only with colour. I don't like how it's turned out, but perhaps someone else will. I don't think that crayola are doing me any favours lately, so I might have to look at another coloured pencil brand.

Also, I've been a terrible blogger lately.I've been choosing quantity over quality and from now on I'm going to try to post decent, interesting posts, even if it means I only post once a week!

Food file clearance

2010-08-04T15:00:00.002+10:00

I figured that since I have faaaaar too many pictures of my cooking to put up individually, I would just do a whole bunch of them at once, just click through to continue reading.

The most adorable yellow zucchinis ever! They were a real bargain at a local market so I bought quite a few.

Since I finally remembered to buy cooking twine I made a sort of chicken wrap (also the first picture). Chicken breast rolled with baby spinach, cheese and garlic, topped with brie and a side of buttery steamed baby yellow zucchini - sounds fancy right?

Potato pizza. I've been wanting to make this for ages but have never quite gotten there. Put your pizza in the oven first with the potatoes on top, no cheese, to help dry/cook the potato for 10 mins. Then put the cheese on top and cook until desired. Oh, and you have to slice the potatoes really thin, which should be waxy potatoes btw.

Chicken with beans and yellow zucchini

I didn't make this, but it's my new obsession - Pfeffernuse. A soft ginger biscuit with icing, yum!

Last but not least, last night's dinner. Baby spinach and ricotta pastry with sauteed bacon, garlic and mushrooms.

Question to you: What is your signature dish? Or do you have a favourite that maybe someone else makes for you?

My favourite that my mum made all the time is "bacon and egg pie" which is a pretty bad description really. It's an open pie (no lid) with silverbeet, bacon and carrot in layers with egg throughout and cheese on top. I haven't made it lately, but perhaps I will.

Needing some warm weather

2010-08-04T14:43:00.000+10:00

Why? Mainly because I don't have enough warm clothes, which means I've been wearing almost identical outfits everyday. I need to buy a slip so I can wear stockings under dresses, but keep forgetting.

In the meantime here's a lovely outfit from a very old issue of Karen Magazine.

Copyright Jody Pachniuk

Everything in this photo is styled so well. I would definitely wear all of it, because I can't decide if I like the skirt or the delicate lace shirt better. From a construction standpoint, I'm loving the pattern of the skirt with the green buttons. You can see more of this shoot if you click the link.

Internet down!

2010-08-01T16:45:00.001+10:00

Ahhh I only have a gigabyte left until the tenth! Not of my own doing of course, I don't know what's going on but anyways. So I'll be posting from my boyfriend's and uni. The worst part is when I logged in to Bloglovin' there were 43 unread posts.

The other night ~~instead of studying like I should~~ I drew a picture and coloured it this morning. Of course the colour ruined it in my opinion. So instead I added some fancy graphics. The space picture is from the Hubble, but the flowers are mine.

You might also notice my new watermark? I thought it might be a good idea since people on the Interwebs like stealing pictures. I should also have some new outfit posts soon seeing as they have been lacking. My excuse is that it's been too cold in the morning to wear anything but jeans and jackets, and there's nothing new or interesting about that. Today has been a shockingly nice day though, no hint of winter at all. I just want to sit on my verandah and eat scones, but I don't have any.
The last three mornings have been crazy foggy though! I couldn't believe it when I got up the first day, and it then got steadily worse to the point where you couldn't see 50m in front of you. I took a photo on the first day, I love how the trees look. On the last day you wouldn't have been able to see the trees in the foreground!

Salt and vinegar potatoes

2010-07-27T14:01:00.000+10:00

The other night I tried something new - salt and vinegar potatoes. Basically, instead of boiling the potatoes in water I did it in white vinegar. I got the idea from a recipe on 101 Cookbooks. I did them with crumbed chicken tenderloins and some greens, and the vinegar was strong, and I mean strong. I love S&V chips, but woah. Next time I make them I will be doing a half water batch so they are not so over-powering, and possibly slice them a lot thicker. Also be warned that your house may smell of vinegar.

New books!

2010-07-26T23:02:00.001+10:00

The other day I said I had purchased some books as well as a camera, well here they are. Two cookbooks by Leanne Kitchen, The Butcher and The Dairy, and a book by Eric M. Wilcox called Clouds.

I haven't had the chance to read any of these books yet, but I just had to get this one. It was only $5 and it gives you a description on what each cloud is all about. It's features, hobbies etc. I always loved learning about the different cloud names in grade 7 so I thought I would get this book so I can annoy others with cloud identification and facts haha.

I really liked the recipes in these cookbooks. I hate buying cookbooks that have sandwiches, salads and THE EASIEST THINGS TO MAKE EVER - it really annoys me. I think I could figure out how to make a salad. I love how it has descriptions and information on each different food type at the beginning of the chapter. It's not enough to just follow a recipe, I need to know why I'm doing something that way, and why it's better. I'm not the biggest meat eater in the world, so my skills aren't quite honed, which is why I bought The Butcher. It has great recipes for other types of meat such as game (quail, venison) and offal, although I think I'll be cooking little of that. The Dairy, well, I could eat cheese everyday. I have a terrible tendency to add it to everything. So remind me why I bought this book as encouragement (oh, that's right, they were both $10).

On a style note, today I bought the cutest romper/playsuit ever, quite similar to Shirly's, but you'll find out more about that in another post. Also, I tried out my new camera today and these are the results. It's no DSLR but I think the colours are good and the amount of control I have is fair for a point and shoot.

Ribbons and bows

2010-07-25T08:55:00.000+10:00

Temt ribbons and bows dress, vintage jacket, Target tights, Jimi Loves Mimi clogs

The other day my bf and myself went for a little drive to one of my favourite shopping centres (although it has the worst carparking!). I wore this lovely dress I got the other day for a bargain, which is good because it's totally what I had been looking at lately. I've been watching the all-over bow pattern, however everything I had found was overpriced, synthetic (can't stand it!) or just a bad cut (like those assymetrical tops, they look terrible on me). I must admit I think the only reason this dress initially caught my eye was due to the price, but the pattern drew me in. It looked a bit... um... on the hanger but I think it works well on. I really like the red dot pattern on the bows, and the navy blue colour of course which is my sudden colour-of-the-moment in my mind.

While I was shopping I also bought a Canon IXUS 105, which I've been looking at for a while. They didn't have any other colour but silver, and I couldn't be bother stuffing around for a colour. Since playing with it I'm now relieved because I found the long exposure setting - 15 seconds - wow! My old camera was only 3 seconds, not surprising since I bought it in 2006 - and it's only 5 megapixels. Now I'll be able to carry my new camera everywhere and anywhere. I've really hated not having a little camera.

I'll write a post soon about the books I bought there too, I think you'll be as amused as I am about one book in particular.

Sugar and spice and everything nice

2010-07-23T16:38:00.002+10:00

A horse statue that I keep in my room. I thought the light was hitting it nicely at that time of day.

The other day I made pancakes for my bf and I. I had lemon and caster sugar on mine - it was delicious. I'm never paying for pancakes again.

Today I bought a new camera, it's a Canon IXUS 105. Just a little camera though to take with me to places like the Ekka (Brisbane Show - can't wait!). I think it's just about better than my current camera so that's cool. I bought it today because I had been looking around and finally there was a price drop of $50 so I thought what the hey, it's not like I'm short on money anyway. I've got tonnes of things to post, but I might spread it out over this week! I also need to sort out my tax because I think I've gone wrong somewhere - I want all my money back!

Whip it

2010-07-21T16:23:00.000+10:00

My screenshots from Whip It (2009)

I watched Whip It a while ago and it was a pretty good movie, definitely worth a watch. At least, I think it was good, because all I seem to remember is the main charcter's (Bliss - Ellen Page) awesome style. Not the clothes, but the pretty skirts and rock shirts. I love a shirt and skirt combo because it's a little bit feminine, a little bit rocker. Yeah, I like rock music, but I'm still a mighty fine woman.
So I put together a few 'Bliss-inspired' outfits.

Threadless tee, Miss Shop cardigan, tights, shoes, handmade skirt, Agent 99 bag

Sportsgirl shirt, Temt shorts, Kmart shoes

Led Zeppelin tee, handmade skirt, Dotti belt, Kmart shoes

Note: did anyone know how stylish Krysten Ritter is? I just discovered her here today when I was fact checking. I want her home and clothes.

Summer in winter

2010-07-16T17:08:00.002+10:00

Australian winters are pretty weak really. We all say how cold it is, and it's not even close to snowing!

Yesterday I bought some strawberries, which were delicious. I also made another pull-apart, this time with garlic, kalamata olives and cheese. I bought some clothes from ASOS yesterday, so hopefully they will be here soon! Buying online is always so nerve-wracking. I'm thinking of buying a Canon IXUS 105/130 because I'm sick of my massive camera!

I start uni on Monday so seeing as I'll be going somewhere I might have some more outfit posts :)

All photos are copyright of this blog

Neutron star collision

2010-07-14T22:04:00.000+10:00

Don't you love the never ending sparkling and swirling colours of galaxies and stars? I know I do!!
Plenty of bands are on to the awesomeness too - Angels and Airwaves basically live in space, Muse's latest hit in the title and Cosmic Love from Florence + the Machine.

Of course, one of my own pics with a galaxy mask from the Hubble.

Skirt finished!

2010-07-13T19:20:00.001+10:00

Finally! I got frustrated with my machine and decided to just hand sew the button holes on. There is a pocket on one side and buttons on other with a little lace trim. I should really sew a little tag on with my name - don't you think?

I sat outside for a little while to line the buttons up because it was too cold inside and I would still be able to catch the last little bit of sunlight.

I did some different buttons on this one, which I like because I don't have to rely on my sewing machine's button-hole sewer. It's not great because it's a multi-step process, whereas the newer machines just do it automatically. My boyfriend's mother has a nice machine like that, but lives almost 2000kms away, whereas my machine is second hand and about 16yrs old. It does the job and I love it, but I know that there's better out there.

I also invited a friend over for lemon sago today, which turned out well, and she brought some eclairs she had made. I told her I would make her a simple skirt so we went down to Spotlight, and gosh darn - everything was on sale!! So I bought material for my university ball in October and material for her skirt. Such a bargain.

I think I can finally see the end of my terrible cough - yay! Although I am fearing its return at the same time due to being in a smoky and dusty environment over the weekend.

Admiring lately

2010-07-11T22:15:00.000+10:00

This teapot and teacup from ModCloth are sooo tacky but kinda cool at the same time. I know, 70's decor is like death, but whatever - they were trying new things!

source

Maise collection from a looong time ago, SS08/09 I am led to believe. I really love this though, it has dissappeared from their official website though. The different shades of coral are great (even on a pale redhead, contrary to popular thought). The little florals are cute, and the leather scalloped shorts with the Mexican day of the dead tee I love. Shorts and shirts mark a firm spot in my wardrobe due to uni - you know, catching buses, sitting in those lecture seats and working in labs aren't really conducive to wearing a skirt sometimes.

I can't why I like this outfit so much despite all the other lovely posts by Erika A., maybe it's the similar tones or her amazing hair cut and colour.

source: wikipedia

I know, Eclipse, some people hate it, other's love it. I must say though, the soundtracks to Eclipse and New Moon are definitely worth a listen, and I'm pretty picky.

This quilt is amazing, and probably just as amazing Sharilyn's house and her blog!

Half Awake by Erin Tyner - need I say more?

Last but not least, I love this material and am thinking of attempting a simple quilt.

Please note that none of the images in this post belong to me, please follow the links for sources.

Wardrobe remix - the little white dress

2010-07-10T15:06:00.022+10:00

Today I had enough time and inclination to do a wardrobe remix - yay! I chose this little white dress because it is a good base. Anyone who lives in the top half of Australia will know that going outside in black is not a good option (unless you like attracting rays in the heat!), so I think that the LWD is more functional than black. After all, summer goes for at least 8 months of the year! I bought this little beauty for a steal at Kmart, that's right, sometimes you find the diamond in the rough. I love the A-line shape, lace detail and pockets.

A nautical look, but I didn't want to go too OTT! The nautical trend is nice, but I think that navy blue is even nicer.

Temt nautical bolero, Portmans keys necklace, Target navy tights, Mimi Loves Jimi clogs.

I like this look because it's a bit different. Not many people wear pins/badges anymore, but I love them because they don't get caught anywhere. The knee socks is a trend I love atm too.

Temt bowler hat, vintage vest/shirt, badges from Leeloo and A Skulk of Foxes, Dotti belt, Kmart socks, Rubi velvet heels.

I'm not into wearing too many colours at once, so often if I find some cheap shoes I buy them in a really bright colour. Cobalt blue really stands out, but in a lovely way, unlike fluro - which I hate. Bright shoes are one of the best accessories - feet aren't meant to just disappear into the floor all the time in black shoes and stockings! In winter I love black clothes with bright shoes, it's really unexpected.

Cobalt blue vest from unknown, Diva sequin flower pins, Kmart shoes.

If you like my wardrobe remix, you can vote for me in the TeenVOGUE wardrobe remix contest on Chictopia over here. Let's face it - who wouldn't like to be in TeenVOGUE?

Too much talk of cooking

2010-07-09T22:15:00.001+10:00

With all this talk of breakfast I just had to have poached eggs on toast for dinner. Since I have silverbeet I cooked it with a little feta to put between the toast and egg. This is my favourite bread which has pumpkin seeds, I always buy it when it's on special because it's totally worth it. Lancashire relish makes the best topping - it's sort of in the worcestershire sauce family but isn't quite as salty.

Tonight for dinner I made a fetta and silverbeet pull-apart from a recipe here. I am so shocked that it turned out well - last time I attempted a bread-based recipe it went really hard. Whether that was the recipe or me sometime it's hard to tell. My boyfriend really liked it and it went great with a little bit of butter. I could have put more silverbeet in, but next time I will know. Unfortunately some of the photos are a little poor, but oh well!

I've alse been trying to do a wardrobe remix but it seems to be forever overcast atm. Today I was preoccupied with my bf's toothache otherwise I may have done it. Priorities!

Antiquing

2010-07-07T19:08:00.000+10:00

Today my friend Lorena and I went along the main antiques and second-hand drag in our local suburbs. Unfortunately I didn't buy anything, mainly because most was quite pricey, and there were so many things! The sheer size of the main shop was overwhelming.

This is a bit of an image-heavy post, so click-through for more!

Such an old book!

I couldn't resit trying this dress on. The most amazing thing was that it fit me (although I wouldn't really be able to lift my arms too much!) You may also notice that I am now the proud owner of a pair of clogs. I love them so much because they are comfortable and makes me taller, which is always a plus.

A cute rocking horse

An old comic

I love lamp.

Yesterday I also got my hair done, so now it's blonder (the roots were starting to get a bit line-ish), also I have a bit more of a fringe. I think I went a bit crazy with the layers last time and pieces of hair were going off on their own tangent, so I'm not getting so many now.

Futurama! At a comic book store.

In the community bookshop I found this book from 1974, and I just had to take a photo of this kitchen. How 'futuristic'!

Lamp posts.

Chandelier (very vampire weekend isn't it?)

Some very cool eateries, I love the hanging plants.

We finished off the day with a Where's Wally puzzle at Lorena's house.

Heavy in your arms

2010-07-05T22:33:00.000+10:00

Today I went and saw Eclipse with my bf - which I was pretty excited about. I've never read the books, nor do I intend to, but the movies I like. I love the colours, the music, the general cinematography of it. However, there is an actor that is not quite up to scratch, which really annoys me. Apart from that, I enjoyed the new movie and I can't wait to see it again (I really need to see something twice before I feel I've properly watched it). There was a row of girls who would scream and clap at certain parts, that is, when Jacob first appeared and took his shirt off, then when Bella said yes.

I also went shopping and bought some coral-pink bows and heart-shaped earrings. Most importantly I bought COUGH MEDICINE! I'm absolutely dying, last night I woke up three times in a coughing fit.

Tonight we went to a local hotel for dinner and I has seafood linguine which was good. It had a creamy tomato sauce.

Tomorrow I'm cleaning!

Twinkle twinkle little invincibility star

2010-07-02T14:58:00.001+10:00

The other day I finally finshed making this invincibility star which I started quite a while ago for my bf. I've already made him a red mushroom and I haven't finished mine because I ran out of stuffing. I'm currently in the process of making a skirt with a pretty lace trim, yesterday I pressed the waistband so it will be easier to attach. When I am finished the skirt I wouold like to make a dress or quilt next. The quilt seems easier, although I could be mistaken. I would really like to make a quilt like this one.Yesterday I found the most perfect dress ever, but I am hesitant to pay $84 AUD to buy and ship a dress which may not even fit or look good! Perhaps I will just make a similar one, that way I know it will fit me.
Note: Florence + the Machine = awesome.

It's been rainy for days

2010-06-30T20:32:00.000+10:00

Moss Fairy by Hannah 1056

Sweet Lace Cardigan by Yuki**

Mesh Sheer Skirt

Heart Button Knee High Socks

Swedish hasbeens Covered Super High Covered Clog

Vivienne Westwood Frame Purse

Zoe & Morgan Love Bird Sterling Silver 24ct Gold Plated Mix Heart Studs

Ciccio Ghepards Sunglasses

The last two days have been rainy and overcast so I haven't been able to do any washing or go outside. Yesterday I did lots of cleaning although I've been sick. Today I went to the local shopping centre and helped my beau look for some new winter clothes. I must say that I was quite surprised - mens clothes are really expensive! Basically the same jackets and jumpers are double the price for men, and I have no idea why. Sure they might have a little more material, but other than that there's little tailoring and the quality is the same. Eventually we found something for him, but it wasn't easy! Now I'm happy to be a girl.

Since it's been rainy I made another Polyvore set - it's great, I can experiment with colours and cut and it's all free, what a great application! I really love the colour scheme of this one, it something a bit different again.

Next Tuesday I'm getting a haircut and foils - I can't wait my hair's feeling really overgrown!

In the navy

2010-06-29T20:20:00.002+10:00

University Chic by Hannah 1056

Color Spectrum Dress,

Second Semester Socks in Marshmallow,

30 Braided Sky High Black Shoes,

Vans 106 Vulcanized Shoe,

Prada Tessuto + Calf Tote,

Super Duper Strength,

Velour Charlie Navy Duffle Jacket,

I'm really into navy blue right now, it's such a fresh change from black. Let's face it, black has been done, to death.
This would be my perfect outfit at the moment for a university day. I included two types of shoes because sometimes I have to wear closed-in shoes in labs.

Tomato rice with a fried egg

2010-06-29T15:02:00.001+10:00

So what it is? Er, I don't really know. I made the sauce with canned tomatoes, lentils, cheese, mushroom and Moroccan spices. It was definitely different, the egg yolk mixed through was quite delectable.

Mini golfing!

2010-06-29T14:48:00.002+10:00

Yesterday I went mini golfing on the with my bf at King Tutt's Putt-putt on the Gold Coast. It was actually quite fun, apart from the fact that we had to wait for the family in front of us, and I'm sick this week. I got a shock in the final hole of the last course when I sank the ball because a water spout came out of the pond next to me and went all over me! I got quite a few hole-in-ones, which was awesome considering I've never really play golf or mini-golf.

I took some nice photos, but unfortunately my bf is not as practiced at photography and most of the ones he's taken are awkwardly angled, zoomed in or just a bit dodgy.

Above is one of my favourite shirts from Marnie Skillings, and you can see the picture here. Here are some photos of the little mushrooms set up at the Finders Keepers Markets that I mentioned in my last post. I took these photos on my mobile, so they're not great.

Finder Keepers Markets

2010-06-27T11:26:00.003+10:00

I went to the Brisbane Finders Keepers Markets on Saturday with a friend from high school. I bought a few things which are pictured below. There were many other things there that I would have liked, but unfortunately some of it was quite pricey, and at the moment I'm only a poor uni student. Not to mention I could sew most of those garment myself. Also, I saw Louise Bannister at the Frankie stand but was too shy to say hello. Of course I wish I had now, but no matter.

My friend teased me all day about my socks calling them 'schoolgirl socks' and asking me when class was back in - of course I didn't listen to her. She doesn't read Frankie so what would she know!

Here's what I bought that day:

Wolf badge from A Skulk of Foxes, earring from Pidgeonhole, some fabric buttons from Leeloo, and a purse by Only Midge.

I don't think I could pick a favourite from any of them though - they're all so adorable!

On Friday I went to a cocktail party and dressed with a nautical theme. I wasn't able to take a photo because I went straight from work, but I might recreate the outfit at a later date. On Saturday I also watched the new episodes of Futurama, and not going to lie, I was a little disappointed. Maybe I just need to watch them again, but they're just not the same as the classic. Having said that, I'll give it time to improve as it has been cancelled for several years now.

Cardiac rainbow

2010-06-23T20:29:00.003+10:00

This is a picture I drew and coloured quite a while ago.

Today was so strange, I felt like was wasting my time instead of doing study - but I'm on holidays!

Also, the new issue of Frankie magazine is out today! I've got mine and as always it's super-adorable. My favourite part is the reviews. where the writers review ridiculous things. Anything from toothpaste to hair products, from quick noodles, and this issue, canned soup. Non-biased and hilarious.

This weekend I'm going to a end-of-exam cocktail party and the Brisbane Finder's Keepers Markets, which I'm super excited about. More about that in another post.