List | Books

1. The Scrapbook Of Frankie Pratt - Caroline Preston
2. The Vintage Tea Party - Angel Adoree
3. How To Draw Classic Heads and Faces - Walter Foster Publishing
4. The Family Law - Benjamin Law
5. Patch - Cath Kidston
6. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? - Mindy Kaling
7. Keepsakes - Frances Hansen

These books are in the things-I-should-buy-myself-as-belated-Christmas-presents list.
What's on your book-wish-list at the moment? Anything you'd recommend?

Worn | Red Roses

+ dress: revival from dangerfield/myer, belt: thrifted, collar: romwe, shoes: vivienne westwood & melissa, tights: sussan, bow: diva, petticoat: vintage, lipstick: mac ruby woo, earrings: top shop (from messy carla).

C's parents took us for a drive to Hobart today (our second trip there in a week!) to visit the Taste Festival. C and I devoured some chocolate covered raspberries, then headed back into the city where we visited Love and Clutter, Ruby's Room, The Letterbox Emporium, Lush, JBHifi (C's favourite) and we didn't get to visit Hello Gorgeous (which was closed - I'll have to peruse the vintage goodies next time).

I bought this dress in the basement of Myer where all the lovely Dangerfield dresses hang out, in a great haste while C and his parents were waiting for me outside. There wasn't a version of this dress in my size but it had to be mine, so I just grabbed the size 10 (which is definitely not my usual size) and ran out the door, but fits really comfortably. I'd probably go up a size just for a bit more bust room, but I am 100% smitten (even if it did send me a little broke after my day of spending). I'd love one in yellow too. Pretty sure I'll have to go back to Hobart again soon to visit the dresses.

12 Photographs

This is sort of my round-up kind of post for 2011. I thought I'd choose a photo from each month of the year. One of my unofficial new years resolutions is to take lots more photographs, I love being able to look through them at the end of the year. I didn't pick necessarily meaningful pictures for each month, just something that stood out for me, some kind of memory attached to it. If you feel like doing the same I'd love to see. I hope you had a safe and happy day today whatever you were up to :)


+ January


+ February


+ March


+ April


+ May


+ June


+ July


+ August


+ September


+ October


+ November


+ December

Holiday Acquisitions

I entered my first Lush store today. Oh my. All four of the store people came up to me at different times and applied various delicious potions onto me. It was unfortunate that I visited the store on the last day of my holiday as I certainly could have spent a lot of coin there. I am very keen to read Marieke Hardy's book that I picked up at the markets and I adore my new backpack. Also, I really think that wearing an eye mask improves my sleep. This was me going on holiday with not very much money and I managed to spend a lot of my not-very-much-money (especially on food).

Some Hobart highlights:
+ Visiting the Museum of Old and New Art - one of the most incredibly wonderfully bizarre places I have ever been. I am still amazed that it exists in Tasmania and not in New York or London. Coins, sculptures and sarcophaguses from a several hundred years BCE juxtaposed with machines that make poo and a video installation of 30 German people on televisions singing Madonna songs, among other things. I'm still thinking about the things I saw. I don't want to share too much or I'll spoil it!
+ Riding a bike to the museum along the awesome innercity cycleway. I thought that being someone who cycles daily, I'd have no trouble on this rented bike. As soon as I got on it I backpedalled (my bike has hand-brakes) and smashed into it with great speed. I'm waiting for some pretty intense bruises to show.
+ Riding atop a ferry home from the museum along the river. Beautiful.
+ Visiting the Salamanca markets.
+ Buying my first Mac Ruby Woo lipstick.
+ Watching people dance at Rektango.
+ Attending the Gotye concert in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hobart with 5999 other people. It ruled.
+ Drinking a smoothie in a restaurant called Drifters, dedicated to Errol Flynn (they even have his real birth certificate on the wall).
+ Eating a superb lunch at a restaurant called Machine which is part laundromat part cafe (Miss Piggy does a great post about it here).
+ Staying with our lovely friend Mel.
+ Wandering a lot.
+ Getting caught in a huge flooding hail-storm on the way home (submerged cars!).

Happy to be home and I hope to return to Hobart in the next few months. I didn't even get to go vintage clothes shopping!

Monday List | To Watch

Have you seen anything lately you'd recommend? I intend to bunk in this Dec 25 and watch some movies on my to-watch list. My sister and brother are in NSW and my parents are in Japan and I've given most of my gifts already, so I'm going to chill out next weekend.

I've been on holidays for the last 5 days in Hobart. I have been a bad blogger, but I make no apologies as I had a grand old time away. I hope to do some kind of mini-post about it. I hope you're having a lovely festive season wherever you are. I will be working the next 5 days straight. Remember to be nice to people retail at this time of year! We're not machines! So many legs of ham! So many turkeys! So many Christmas puddings and pavlovas! So many badly glad-wrapped plastic plates of oysters that leak all over the conveyer belt! I actually really enjoy working in retail at this time of year. Guess I'm a masochist!

+ frame from mellowmint

Yours and Theirs

+ the view from my (kitchen) window.

A fun little project has popped up lately called Yours and Theirs. Each week on their Facebook page, you are given a prompt of something to photograph. Last week it was the view from a window in your house and this week it was a recent gift you've been given. You take a photo and email it to yoursandtheirs@gmail.com and at the end of the week all of the photos are uploaded to the Facebook and the blog to see. It is still in its early stages, but I think it is a promising and very fun project and I'm excited to be a part of it. I think it's a really nice way to notice and document little bits of normal everyday life. Feel free to join in :)

Here are some of the photos participants have sent in:

Week One: A View From A Window In Your House


Week Two: A Recent Gift You've Been Given



+ a recent gift I've been given (by C).

Worn | Yellow & Mauve

Today C and I are going for a little bike ride around town to look for some of those hard-to-buy-for Christmas gifts. We've been going for rides together a couple of times a week lately, which I really enjoy. I'm kind of obsessed with finding new places to ride to - places in Launceston we've not explored before. There are only so many places to explore on a bike because Launceston is surrounded by hills. We go house-watching (in the same vein as people-watching). I am in love with all of the one-of-a-kind round-edged art deco homes. I like to imagine what they would have been like when they were first built and the families who would have lived in them.

I bought the skirt and cardigan in these photos last week during Nanna's 50% sale. Yellow and mauve are my favourite colours at the moment.

I really enjoy the fact that C's cat Mesca hates my guts but is always trying to get in my photos (she doesn't have many poses does she?). My friend Sara patted her the other day and then when I tried to pat her she scratched me, then Sara patted her again and she was fine. She would rather be patted by a total stranger than be patted by me. Bitch. I guess we are both vying for the attention of the same man - and she had him first.

+ shirt: thrifted, stockings: sussan, shoes: vivienne westwood & melissa, belt: ebay, cardigan & skirt: nanna's.

List | To Learn

+ clip arty bits from pugly pixel.

Anything on your list of things to learn lately?

Worn | Burgundy & Polkadots

Today I tagged along with my friend Sara while she got her hair cut here. I haven't had a hair cut since high school (three years ago) - I've just kind of hacked at it myself over the years and nervously cut a fringe every now and then. So, I snuck into the appointment after her and had a lovely head massage and shampoo and after cutting it the girl asked excitedly if she could curl it and I (equally as excitedly) obliged. Sara got bright red extensions and a wicked front fringe cut. Maybe next time I'll be more adventurous. Having a hair cut is highly underrated. I wish I'd not been so afraid of going these past few years. I think I always put haircuts in the category of self indulgence, but today was a good day to indulge. Dooooo it.





+ dress: ebay, skirt: katies (thrifted), belt: stolen from another dress, shoes: vivienne westwood & melissa, bow: diva.

Haus | Lounge

When I first moved into my new house 3 months ago I posted a couple of pictures of the decor, though it seems to just keep evolving. My lounge room is my favourite room. My friend said that it is like a shrine to knick knacks and opshops. I suppose I'd agree! I like that it is in a state of organised clutter and that my (itty bitty) TV isn't the feature of the room. I think lounge rooms should be more than just a place to watch TV. It is only a small room and the decor is probably a bit overwhelming, but there's still lots of white space and the clutter is kind of nice to sit back and look at. I think I'm going to have to stop thrifting wall art!







A few weeks ago C and I went opshopping and found this huge framed world map and old man armchair. It took a few weeks for them to be delivered and I loved arranging them once they arrived.








My cats are very prominent lounge room features (and couch hogs).