La Pianiste


The Piano Teacher is a french movie about "a young man [who] romantically pursues his masochistic piano teacher." The character Erika is disturbing and I was a little squeamish during a lot of the parts (obviously since she's a masochist and it is a french movie), however I stuck through the movie for the music and especially when the antagonist is a handsome pianist. I have a thing for guys who can play the piano well. I'm not sure if that makes my view biased, I won't be specific as to ruin the movie, but overall I think they did a dandy good job. Such a fine job that I felt inspired to practice Rachmaninoff's Prelude Op.23 No.5 in G Minor. Some serious solid effort on the first 9 bars!

 
Rachmaninoff (played by Gilels) - Prelude Op.23 No.5

my my my


Ann Demeulemeester - Wrap over front shirt
Ann Demeulemeester Buckled Shorts
Diane von Fusternberg - April High Heels

I was perusing on the net and stumbled across the designer Ann Demeulemeester, and most likely she's been around for forever and a day but never have I once looked closely at her designs, I may have been intimidated by her last name and my inability to say it. I admire crisp white and black clothing with a twist, whether it be by draping or tying and in her case strapping? buckling? Despite what it is, the clothes are beautifully designed and pleasing to look at. 


 


18 days till...

Valentines Day! or better yet, Singles Awareness Day. Regardless of whether you're single or not, have an admirer or don't, it's such an opportunity to show people that you love them. I've made a list of Valentines Day gifts to make. These are teeny tiny love letters that I'll probably end up mass producing.

During high school I went to a christian convention called KYCK, where around 4000 kids would be chucked (note: the verbs I use are sometimes quite violent, but they aren't meant negatively even in the slightest) into a massive shed. It was tradition for people to bring pegs, perhaps write a little note or a bible verse on them and secretly peg someone without them noticing. I guess this is where I got the idea from.

What you'll need:
- Scissors
- Red Felt (sometimes you find them in the bargain bins at your local fabric shop!)
- Tiny Wooden Peg (or normal sized ones, buy them for cheap at your $2 shop)
- White Paper
- Pen
- PVA glue

Simple to make as per usual:
1. Cut out a heart from the red felt
2. Write what you want on the strip of paper (important: leave some room at the beginning to put glue and WRITE SMALL!)
3. If you want to be fancy, cut the end of the strip of paper to make it look like the end of a neat ribbon
4. On the side with writing, put a thin layer of glue at the beginning of the strip of paper and stick it to the heart
5. At the end of the peg, put a thin layer of glue and stick the heart to it

So make a couple or many, give say 2-3 people 5-10 each and tell them to start love pegging!

Enjoy the song, it's beautiful!
Switchfoot - Your love is a song

do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself



Happy Chinese New Year!
Honestly, my family hasn't had a break from festive eating - Christmas, New Years, Chinese New Years, and I can see the repercussions of it. From permanent food baby to the ever growing muffin top over my jeans (attractive i'll say!) In the top left hand corner is Aunts homemade fried ice cream and it's seriously good (note to self: get recipe!). Along with food comes red pockets, from work a fortune cookie, something that rarely is consumed by Chinese people might I say, and finally but not least, from the haunting past, the dreaded Chinese New Years Song that confusingly is fun to sing on repeat however annoys the living daylights out of you. 

On a final note, I enjoyed snacking on a couple of fortune cookies and particularly liked the fortune above - "No need to worry! You will always have everything you need." It made me think about a particular passage in the bible, part of Jesus' sermons on the mount. 

Do Not Worry

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
 
   28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


A good reminder that there is more to life than eating, drinking and clothes, and it's such a comfort to know that God knows what we need most which is grace (the gift of life from God that we don't deserve because we've wronged him and actually deserve death). And the best thing is, God has the gift neatly wrapped in his hand ready for us take because Jesus has died on the cross.

Reserved [/riˈzərvd/] adj. marked by self-restraint and reticence

 
kate moss alexa chung 

shoes clockwise from top left:
Dieppa Restrepo - Penny Patent Loafer
Repetto - Michael Patent Loafer
Alexander Wang - Karmen Patent Leather Loafer
Stella McCartney - Faux Patent Leather Moccasins
Robert Clergerie - Fano Patent Loafer

I'm on the search for a sleek pair of loafers since my current ones are too narrow for my fat flat feet. Doing my research i've found a couple of shoes however they're all patent and the non-patent shoes in the designers collection are out of my size. I have my reservations towards shiny leather, though it is growing on me. 

 
Bibio - Lover's Carvings

run through the moss in high heels



I went slightly book crazy during the last two months of 2011, there were quite a few ANY 6 BOOKS FOR $50 sales and the logical thing to do was make the most of it and go halves with a friend, ended up doing 2 rounds of halves in Newcastle and Melbourne.

Towards the end of November I was working full time in the city near The Galleries and would occasionally visit Kinokuniya (on the top floor next to Ichiban Bochi which is a great place for ramen). For a couple of weeks, every time I was at the book shop I would find myself reading From Here to There by Kris Harzinski which is a collection of maps from the Hand Drawn Map Association so after about the 4th visit I gave in and bought the book. I enjoy looking at the maps, it's inspiring to see the many different ways of expressing how to get from a to b. Especially the conceptual maps like the Emotional Map pictured above.

Whilst in Newcastle, I randomly bought the Stonefox magazine which happened to be only in its first issue. The paper feels amazing, the pictures are beautiful (like the one above of Dion Lee's sterling silver Crown of Thorns from A/W11) and the articles are interesting.


 
First Aid Kit - When I grow up

baggage


Nomia - Detached Shoulder Dress
Alexander Wang - Gabardine Cami Dress


To: my dearest friend

 How do two become one?
From where your standards are based,
they contradict like East to West
There's no unity set in place.



I wrote this poem whilst reflecting on the news of a friend entering into a relationship. They aren't easy things, relationships, the reality of the them is that at the crossroads the possible paths are either breakup or marriage and understanding the weight of the possible outcomes should play a heavy role in whether you choose to enter into it or not - Perhaps it is a good time to clarify that this discussion is purely on starting a relationship.

Some might think marriage as nothing too meaningful since the invention of divorce, likewise in their attitude towards breakups. I have no doubt that people have felt the sting/pain/hurt of a fallout with a friend of some sort and may have carried it for a long time. And with this, putting it into the topic of discussion, the suffering that results from a breakup is tenfold (probably a lot more for a divorce) because the person, is not just a friend but the bestest of friends where you share a connection deeper than all your other relationships. Every time you end a relationships, hurt is attached. Regardless of whether you think you feel hurt or not, the other person probably is.

You carry it with you, and it's burdensome. Into the next relationship, your baggage still exists and it hinders and builds up everytime you have a fall out.

We weren't put on earth to carelessly make and break relationships.

Sigur Rós - Hoppipolla

Predominantly Early January


There's a lot to say about the first half of the first month of 2012.
The task seems daunting and maybe a little bit more than overwhelming, however I want to save this spot for when I do end up writing about it and more importantly post the pictures up in the month they were experienced.

<words will be written here>

Not quite August yet...



So this movie, August Rush was recently on tv (by recently I mean...an hour ago) and the tv info blurb mentioned a cello so I was definantly hitting it up. It's a about an orphaned boy who uses his love for music to find his family. Usually there's a disappointment after a movie involving musical instruments because more often than not, the actors have never played them. But I was really impressed. The actor who plays the boy, Freddie Highmore (Charlie in Willy Wonka and Peter in Finding Neverland) must have done some serious practicing on the guitar to make it look legit and of course along with a good double.

And of course, a good old guitar slapping in a movie never hurt anyone.

centre of the universe

Since watching Julie and Julia, this one scene has been engraved into my brain, the scene where Julie and Eric argue about what she has become due to her cooking blog and I guess it poses the question on the very nature of writing a blog (especially fashion blogs). I think the movie pretty much nails it on the head, it can be a "me, me, me day after day" thing, and one can potentially turn into "a totally self-absorbed person who writes this stuff for a bunch of complete strangers". Clearly I don't think blogging is bad since i'm writing one write now, but I guess i'm more interested in the attitude towards it and whether it turns you into an egotistical monster and forces your relationships start to break down. 

And there are other things that i'm debating and mulling over in terms of blogging. Though I do enjoy reading fashion blogs and seeing the crazy extents to which people go to to take a good picture of them in clothes and makeup they took hours preparing and deciding, in the past when I have asked people to take a picture of me for blogging purposes, there's an ever so slight sense of vanity that creeps up and grows every time. I see it happen to people (not necessarily bloggers), however do you call it confidence or egocentricity? art for others or self worship? or has society completely allowed for the two words with different meanings to meld into one? consequently producing jobs that thrive on self obsession.

Lots to ponder on...

Duffy - Mercy

Old Love

 


Lots of sales going on and that means time to get cracking on making decisions on the things that have caught my eye over the year. I'm yet to try them the dress and shirt on, so who knows...they might look heinous on my body.

There's hype building up surrounding The Hobbit the movie and quite frankly, I'M EXCITED. Such a fan of The Lord of Rings, awesome film though i'll admit I never finished reading the book. I got my hands on the new pocket sized hardcover version of The Hobbit from Kinokuniya and just started knawing my teeth into it. I highly recommend it, it's great for anyone - read it as an on going bed time story to the kids, really easy to follow.

Whilst in Melbourne, I bought a book, Morning Poems by Robert Bly inspired by William Stafford who wrote every morning for 40 years. Although not as dedicated as Mr. Stafford himself, I did make a semi new years resolution (if that's even possible) to try and write a poem everyday - the keyword in the resolution is 'try'. So there's my poem written on the 1st of January, 2012 upon which I was at my very first Kid's Camp, a camp where kids from broken families and tough backgrounds ranging from kindergarten to year 12 come to relax and have fun. We show them God's love and tell them there's hope in something bigger despite ones circumstance and situation.

Lior - This Old Love

from: melbourne

Photobucket

Here are a few happy snaps from Melbourne.
There are many things I enjoy about the captial of Victoria, waiters have a genuine willingness to serve customers, compliments are given with no hidden meaning, beautiful doors and architecture, appreciation of aesthetics, ability to experiment with different materials, and the love of good food to say the least.

Thing to try at home: growing money trees in mini tins (baby food tins perhaps)

A Melbournian place worth mentioning: The Little Creatures Dining Hall on Brunswick st.
Grab the homemade chips with garlic aioli (+ an extra aioli) and an apple cider and you're pretty much set for a cruisy lunch with a friend.

Watch out for: little artistic gems found on the streets from shop front walls to doors to the light poles.

Feeling up for a cocktail: Cookies on Swanston st. 
Make sure you go to the cocktail bar where there are kids picture books around for your entertainment. Ask for the cocktail menu and take it from there!


Emma Louise - 1000 Sundowns