Country road trippers

I'm loving the photos The Beaufort 8 Group is putting on her Tumblr site from her road trip around country Victoria.

Light fantastic

Oh my.
 There's more. Click here if you can deal with the seriously worrying levels of envy this Greek house will no doubt induce. Sigh.

Buckle up and bead it!

This new piece took some time in the thinking before it got to the all-important making stage.
 I loved the coral plastic beads, but the vintage collection just ran short of a generous necklace full. So, I had to improvise. Importantly my improvisation material had to work (that's the hardest pat of this business - finding bits that work together).
The diamante circle was always in the mix, but the plastic turquoise buckle, the ivory bakelite buckle and the mini diamante ring were late entrants that made an outstanding play for inclusion.
With a twist, the necklace can now transform from a slightly casual colourful piece (plastic and bakelite buckles at the front), or all-out glam piece (with the big round sparkler front and centre). Genius!  I'm happy with the outcome.

Ashes to ashes

While it threw lots of people's travel plans into chaos, the Ash cloud made for some beautifully coloured night skies. These shots were captured as the sun rose and set over and around Burnie.

Click to switch & ditch the habit of a lifetime

With a library full of magazines piled up around my house, I've been forced to take another look at my periodical buying habit. And, with the full moon eclipse and end of Mercury retrograde signalling the start of a new period, it's out with the old, in with the new. If Beaufort 8 Group can chuck a heap of old mags, so can I. So, this is my new modus operandi: online magazines. Rue, Lonny et al. Thank you for inventing yourselves and helping me to declutter my life.
The first three images are of Rue art director and Designlovefest blogger Bri Emery's new loft (glad I'm not the only crazy person who has a colour-coordinated closet).

And I love this mid-century modern shoot from the "holiday" issue of Rue.

Get it India

I love the Wes Anderson film The Darjeeling Limited. The director's '70s-influenced photography style is charming and the romantic version of India the film presents is hypnotic.

Planet of attack

This post about the effects of Mercury retrograde (and this image) is from Gala Darling - I've referenced the New Zealander who now live in New York before. Anyhoo, I adhere to the belief that Mercury going backwards tends to stuff things up or more positively present another chance to have a go at something. I don't buy big items, expensive things, book unchangeable flights or sign contracts during Mercury retrograde. If I can't get out of doing any of the aforementioned, I anticipate things are going to change or break for a perfectly good reason.

Glasses not half cool

I have news specs after a looooong search. Not surprisingly they are secondhand (I imagine they belonged to some straight-up clerk-type gent from the '60s or '70s), and from Melbourne. I bought a cool pair of heavy-rimmed frames from the same store, The Melbourne Optical Centre, in the mid-late '90s. The Elizabeth St business has stocked vintage frames for a long time and has done quite a bit of business with me and my siblings over the years. My other new pair (also from Melbourne, but a different store), are great but they pinch my nose. I do like them so, though.

Nothing finer than Gills Diner

Gills Diner (here's a review from hip website and sometimes actual broadsheet Broadsheet), is tucked away in one of Melbourne's much-lauded laneways. The multi-level cafe/bakery/bistro was pretty busy the day The Beaufort 8 Group and I visited. It appears to have had a fairly minimal fit-out to transform the former warehouse into the sleek, minimally industrial space that it now is. I especially loved the tiles and steel-framed windows that created more spaces within the large, high-ceilinged space. The food was lovely (look at my nicoise salad's perfectly soft-boiled egg!), well priced and the service was excellent.

House of style

They don't come much better than this mid-century modern beauty. And right here in Tassie! This Devonport home was up for auction yesterday, but was passed in at the mid $400s. While I didn't intend to buy, I love this style of architecture and couldn't help but take a sneak peek. But more importantly, if I had a spare half million to spend, would I buy a house in Devonport? I don't think so. But if you do, its with Harcourts. I think...

Window dressing

Although I'd planned to hang sheer white drapes in my giant hallway window, I came across some lovely ivory taffetta that was as cheap as chips. As I needed 7 metres of the stuff I was sold!
Plus the ribbon I used to trim the edges was not cheap. I'm happy with the outcome, especially the two differnt lengths.
And the taffeta is nice and crinkly, plus it makes a lovely swooshy sound as the wind blows through the windows. I've trimmed both edges of the curtains with ribbon now.

Root of the matter...

I've only dyed my hair lighter off and on in more recent years. A couple of disasters in my formative years kept me away from peroxide.
But, when paid for and done by a professional, I still left the salon a bit bemused and not entirely happy. Two to three months later, as my dark blonde roots began to show through, I was happy with my 'do.
You see, I don't like my hair too done, too neat or too blonde near my face. I L O V E regrowth.
So, now, if I do anything at all, I get the balayage...as does everyone else it seems.
The Sartorialist has captured two of my favourite looks together: regrowth hair and racerback singlets - it's a look!

              Me with good regrowth and a singlet! With Beaufort 8 Group

These two images also courtesy of The Sartorialist.

Model home

The most recent Tale from Natalie Joos is simply divine.  Model Erin O'Connor invites the super stylist into her London pad and (as usual) we all get a sneak peek.  There are so many things I love about Erin's house - the girl sure has style, but I think I'm most envious of the tri-coloured '50s lamp. Divine. 

See the whole post, and plenty more from Ms Joos, here.

How gorgeous is this whimsical bedhead?

       If I had straight, black hair, this is exactly how I'd wear it.

Oooh, I love this lamp!