Outside my comfort zone.

I’ve talked before about not being much of a dress wearer, but things seem to be changing.

I’ve been searching for more dresses. Trying different styles, different colours…

…we’re off op-shopping today, before Cam’s sister comes & raids my local haunts, & I’m wearing… pink.

Pink!

I got this cardi because it was EXACTLY the same colour as a pair of boots I ended up getting for my birthday instead of a bicycle (long story). Mind you, the boots need breaking in so I’m not wearing them for a long walk down the street.

I’ve never, ever been a “pink girl”, so this feels a bit weird but at the same time super girlie, I can pretty much guarantee I won’t be filling my wardrobe with pink things anytime soon, but it is nice for a change.

Do you ever vary from you self-prescribed fashion uniform & try new things?

Re-tweet, re-tweet!

For those of you not on twitter (sorry, “The Twitter” – there, Kate), I thought I’d post some of the funny tweets I felt worth re-tweeting & some that I have seen re-tweeted. I really do love “The Twitter” & am going to keep harping on about it because I think you’d like it too, if you gave it a chance. It took me three attempts before I “got it”, so if you’ve tried it & failed too… try, try again!

It’s not just for funny stuff either – although that’s one of my favourite parts. It’s for chatting with your peeps or even joining in conversations that interest you with people you don’t even know. It’s for getting & giving advice. It’s for sharing interesting things you’ve found, sales you can’t afford & issues that are important. It’s for keeping you entertained while the kettle boils, asking what to use instead of margarine in a cake recipe, getting the word out that you need a job or employee, promotion, keeping in touch while travelling & getting the latest news quicker than you can get it anywhere else… convinced?

The Dali Llama.

My particularly bad spelling in an email last night made me break out Photoshop. I Present to you the Dali (Salvador) LLAMA…

Vegan, begin again.

Two days ago I woke up & decided to be vegan. Does that sound rash, or absurd? It probably does, but it really isn’t, not to me.

I don’t doubt that the seed was planted after reading about Cath giving up sugar. I thought “Could I do that?” & decided that I probably couldn’t – or more accurately, I didn’t particularly want to. I probably do consume too much hidden sugar – I would suggest most of us do, but I don’t find it to be an issue for me. What I do find to be an issue is eating things that I wouldn’t eat if I had to go & get it myself. Like a cow. There is no way, no how, I would be able to go out in a field, kill a cow, do whatever needs to be done to it & butcher it. No way. I wouldn’t even be able to deal with watching it being done. Yet, for a while, I would happily dig in to a steak while blissfully “not thinking about it”.

That’s my simple reason for going vegan. It’s not a hugely ethical or moral decision like some people – I’m not doing it to save the world (although that’s a bonus); selfishly, I’m doing it to feel better about my own choices. I’ve always wished I was one of those vegans that can’t stand the sight, smell or taste of meat – wouldn’t that make things easier…! But alas, I am partial to a BBQ or a baked dinner (so don’t expect me to be one of those vegans that preaches at you, I’m just too lazy to be self righteous… & did I mention my Love is a butcher…?! His cutting up carcasses pays for my tofu. True.), so for me, it takes a little bit of extra willpower sometimes.

I think I’ve said before that I was vegan for 3 years before I was pregnant with The Punk, & veggo before that. With pregnancy came massive cravings for dairy – so bad that I gorged on cheese & milk before I even knew I was pregnant & felt incredibly guilty about it. When I did find out it was actually a relief & I gave myself permission to eat whatever I really wanted, thinking rightly or wrongly that if my body wanted it so much I must need it. I felt okay with that decision, telling myself that I’d “get back on the wagon” after she was born… but no.

Finally though I’m feeling it. I remember how I felt when I was vegan – it’s all starting to come back to me. Honestly I never felt better, mentally or physically. I wasn’t thin – there is some law against me being thing – but I felt GOOD. I was very rarely sick & would bounce around work while some other people were battling their third or fourth cold of the season. I had fun baking vegan things & forcing them upon people, waiting until they nodded approvingly with their mouths full before declaring “IT’S VEGAN!”, & finding new & weird vegan substitutes in Asian grocery stores.

Shopping yesterday brought it home that “We’re not in Sydney anymore, Toto”. I couldn’t find any of the things I used to use to veganise things, like faux sour cream or the mayo that still tastes like mayo & not just blended tofu. Seitan? Isn’t that like… the devil?

So, I’ll either have to travel further afield to find some ready-made staples or find some kick ass recipes to make them (it’s not like I don’t have enough cook books…), but I will, because the switch is flipped again. I’m vegan.

(all DELICIOUS LOOKING images except the last from hoveringdog on flickr)

Invasion.

I hoped to have something lovely to show for myself as a Creative Space post today, but instead I only have a mess I’m pretending didn’t happen. Ho hum.

What DID happen last night however was a quick trip to the coast for the first picnic dinner of the season, it was fun & funny – especially the part where we were invaded by rogue ducks & kamikaze cockatoos.

Obviously I am over my “should I or shouldn’t I?” kids on blogs dilemma, although Suspence might take offence at such public photos of him wearing a pink “Girls rule!” hat at some point later in his life…

Kids on blogs.

I don’t post a huge amount of kiddie photos here, but I am starting to wonder about the ones I do post; as in, should I be posting any at all? This is my blog, & I, as an adult, can post pictures of whatever I like, including myself (whether you like it or not!) in the full knowledge that these posts & these photos, once I hit “publish” will be “out there” in the cavernous space that is the internet for all time, but Punk & Suspence don’t have that choice, they just smile for the camera & I use the pictures here.

Granted I don’t use them to sell things or exploit them, I use them to share with my bloggy friends what’s going on with us, how my gorgeous offspring are growing, but I am thinking that I shouldn’t, that really, it’s not my choice to make for them; who knows what they’ll think when they’re older & virtually their entire lives have been curated on the internet.

What do you think? “Punky & Me” won’t make much sense without the “Punky” part, eh?

Scents & Sensibility.

Do you have a “signature scent”? I am currently perfume shopping, online & “blind” – that is, scent un-sniffed. That means I have only three things to go on, memory, online reviews &, probably the most unpredictable of clues, the perfume bottle.

I have no perfume at all at the moment. I was given “Red Door” for Christmas by the Mother in Law – she was under this misguided impression that I liked it & wanted to smell like a nursing home. I did try it, hoping perhaps that it would go through some sort of magnificent metamorphosis on my skin, but to no avail. I smelt just as I assumed I would smell, like I was on my way to bingo after stopping off at the Doctor to whinge about my latest ailment & how my grown up children never call me.

I used to have a signature scent – I guess simply be default of not having one since I could still claim it; Hypnotic Poison by Christian Dior. It was the first proper perfume I ever had, given to my for Valentines Day when my darling was still romantic. I cringed at the bottle – to me it’s not at all pretty, & was unsure of the strong heady smell upon opening, but on my skin… wow. I felt like a beautiful Disney Villain. An enchantress. It’s an amazing scent & I replaced that bottle many times before venturing over (probably due to economy or opportunity) to Anna Sui – apparently so forgettable that I couldn’t even venture a description for you now. Then, somehow, I wound up in the world of niche perfume oils by way of The Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.

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With scents inspired by Alice in Wonderland, Halloween & generally Gothic themes, BPAL is not your usual perfume. I was, as I am prone to get, obsessed for a while, with obtaining tiny little “imps” of oil – 1ml vials that could cost anywhere from $2 re-sold to… well, to prices I will not tell you I was willing to pay. Just when I was at my most BPAL obsessed, I became pregnant with Punk & with the change in hormones came either a change in my skin chemistry or the way I smelt the oils because suddenly I could barely stand any of it. In an impulsive fit, similar to the one that saw me get rid of my beloved collection of Frankie magazines, I sold off most of my BPAL & resigned myself to smelling of nothing but deodorant & baby puke for the rest of my days.

But now, I have a hankering from some pretty scents. I want something fun to wear out when I’m in Sydney with my besties for my Birthday dinner & I want something light for the days soon approaching when the sun is out & the air is warm & I certainly want some Hypnotic Poison, if I can find it cheap enough, so I am trawling online resources like basenotes.net for reviews of scents & decanters like The Perfumed Court & The Posh Peasant for samples of things that sound intriguing. I must have a sample of Bvlgari Black – I can simply not get my head around a scent involving rubber & still smelling good.

…& I *may* have already ordered something purely for the bottle. Even if it smells terrible – these are TOO cute to pass up.

Oh Joan.

If you’ve been anywhere near my Twitter feed in the last few weeks you’ll know that I am absolutely INFATUATED with Joan Holloway of Mad Men. Not the actress who plays her mind, although I’m sure Christina Hendricks is as lovely as she is beautiful, but, like I prefer Captain Jack Sparrow to Johnny Depp (…not that I’d say no!), I would rather chat to Joan by the photocopier than spy Christina hurrying out of Starbucks.

There is a lot to love about Joan; her impeccable style & charisma, her way with an piano accordion, her formidable undergarments… I think we all – especially those of us with “curves” (I am optimistically embracing “curves” in lieu of “lumps” or “bumps” – I can but wish I had “curves” like Joan…) – could benefit from a little Joan Holloway in our everyday lives.

60’s inspired gold-tone pen necklace from 1928.

The Joanie Dress from Pin Up Girl Clothing.

Vintage Sunburst brooch from Etsy.

Seamed stay-ups from Agent Provocateur.

I wonder what I’d look like with red hair…..?

Success!

Ignore the colour (& the tuckshop arms) that make this look like a canteen apron. This was a test run out of opped fabric… I think it may be more at home dressing a window than me.

Ignore the slightly wonky pockets.

Admire the as-perfect-as-I-am-ever-going-to-get bias binding.

Admire the bright fabric lining the wonky pockets, & …admire the first dress I have EVER made for myself.

Pattern; (I almost don’t want to tell you, to see if the lady herself pops by to say “Hey! That’s mine!”, but I’d probably forget to come back & update it) The Piece Of Cake Frock by Jody Pearl. Never has a pattern name been so correct. I know those big companies call half of their patterns “Sew Easy” or whatever, but look at this dress. Look at the things I normally make. Compare. I saw the tunic version made up on facebook using the bodice piece back-to-front so I did that. I also shortened the frock to my desired length.

Piece. Of. Cake (Forget about my first attempt at the tunic length that had the usual abhorrent bias binding & wound up entirely too short for my gargantuan self.)

I felt it needed pockets which is why it has them, & they don’t look quite right. I just drew them up randomly & had immense trouble getting them even on the skirt.

All in all though I declare this project a success & will, if I can ever wrangle enough time again, be making more.

More creative spaces here.

Made of WIN. (NSFW)

So yesterday I saw this on Regretsy; if you are a fan of Regretsy you’ll have to agree that that was pretty bloody awesome & I thought, hell, for $5 (or A$4.97 even…), I’d like Sam Cornwell to rant on about something for me, please.

I was expecting to wait two weeks for my rant, but lucky me, lucky you, lucky everyone, Sam is not only a genius but a FAST genius. There is swearing a-plenty, so you’ll probably want to send the kiddos out of the room, but you will love it; he has gone above & beyond.

(Sorry Cath about the “Chunky Cookie”…. at least nobody will know he was meant to mean you…!)

Fan-frikkin-tastic, non? Turns out Sam blogged about his life everyday last year as a 365 day project so it was a subject he could really warm to. I have actually got tears of laughter running down my cheeks, I hope you enjoyed it!

(If you want Sam to berate you good & proper, you’ll find him here. Do tip him when you’re done, he absolutely deserves it & I’ll be back as soon as I can think of a suitable occasion on which to deliver a charmingly accented foul mouthed tirade as a gift.)

Our Synchronised Travel Journeys…

If you decided to join in with a spot of Synchronised Travel around your neighbourhood, link the post with your photos up here so that we might go for a tour too. If you haven’t taken your pictures yet, you still have time, I won’t close the linky for a couple of days. I can’t wait to see everybody's pictures, & here are mine;

1. First stage is your starting point;

2.Walk in any direction for 50 or 100 paces, then turn 180 degrees;

3. Continue walking in that direction until you see something blue;

4. Make a left turn & walk 50 to 70 paces;

5. Walk in any direction until you see something that either is or looks like the number 7 or 11;

6. Take the first left & continue walking until you find somewhere to sit;

7. Choose any direction & walk for 25 or 50 paces;

8. Continue walking until you see an unusual colour, shape or texture. Turn 180 degrees;

9. Keep walking in any direction until you see an archway or an unusual architectural feature;

10. Head for home but continue looking for something that catches your eye. When you find something, take your photo with it (I couldn’t get myself in the photo with this thing; but Punk & Suspence loved it… I should take a picnic down, set it up in front of the car dealership & call it a day out.);

 

I was thinking…

…today, for a few reasons, about ending my blog. I was pretty sure I was going to do it too. Like, if I hadn’t had to go pick up Punk from Kindy I would have written a farewell post kind of sure.

Then I went to the oppy & I realised that if I did that, if I said “goodbye”, I would have nobody to share stuff like this with.

Nobody would “get it”.

So…. you’re stuck with me.

Ner ner.