A home study

I work from home....in a hovel. It's not even a room, it's just a space that I share with my husband's tools, and some big shelves of miscellanea. It's dark, dusty and just plain horrid.
For those who have not followed from the get-go, we have renovated a two story house, and only the top half is finished. The bottom level is just a shell, one big room with a concrete floor......this is where my 'study' is and I use that word v. v. loosely.
Occasionally, while working on my computing I'll gaze through the dusty window, across my view of the garage and day dream about what will eventuate one day. I visualise the light-filled, colourful space that will one day be all mine, designed to delight and inspire. Until then, all I have are some ideas, which I'll now share.

One day...soonish.

Mod Cloth

Last night I met up with some girlfriends who I haven't seen in months. Originally, we all met at 'playgroup' when our children were babies. Most of us now have school age children and there's only a few left with babies who still meet regularly. It was so good to see them.
Claire was wearing the cutest frock. She got it from a US based website called Mod Cloth. Do yourself  a favour and click here to have a look.
It has some ridiculously adorable bits and pieces, and as if you needed another one, it's a great time-waster.
Why I just lost 30 minutes of my own life - just then!
They sell real vintage clothes like this jacket. It's called the Oh Snow Cozy Jacket, and had I been faster I could have bought it for $55. Thrift shopping in Australia can be less than exciting. A little known fact is that just because something is old-ish, it does not mean that it is desirable, nor valuable. I could have left a few notes around the place saying similar when I visited Woolloongabba Antiques on the weekend.

Back to Mod Cloth. Most of their things are new, but in a vintage style, if you're with me. You can also go into the samples section and vote for what items you want to go into production - very novel.
Here's a tiny sample of their wares. This is the Cartography Dress and it can be had for $140, although at the moment it's sold out. You can leave your name though and they'll let you know when it's back in stock.

The Made in the Shade dress will set you back a mere $109, and this is US$, so it will actually be a bit less.

Blogging Molly Dress below, $92.

Koi to the World Dress, $158.

And if you've just about had it up to here with the kitsch fabrics, The Evening Unfolds Dress is a little more classic, $130.

So there you have it. Very Anthropologie-like I think. I intend to pick myself up a little something.
Frugal February is not really working for us here. We have two birthdays in February for one thing, and now our television is on the blink and we've had to buy a new one. I'm hoping for a Meagre March or something along those lines.

Grandpa jokes

I love a good grandpa joke. Sorry in advance.

My neighbour knocked on my door at 2:30 this morning, can you believe that? 2:30am?
Luckily for him I was still up playing my Bagpipes.




Paddy says, "Mick, I'm thinking of buying a Labrador .
"Really," says Mick "have you seen how many of their owners go blind"


My girlfriend thinks that I'm a stalker. Well, she's not exactly my girlfriend yet.




Woke up last night to find the ghost of Gloria Gaynor standing at the foot of my bed.
At first I was afraid then I was petrified.




The wife has been missing a week now. Police said to prepare for the worst.
So I went to the charity shop and got all her clothes back.




Statistically, 6 out of 7 dwarves are not happy.


I was at an ATM yesterday when a little old lady asked if I could check her balance, so I pushed her over.

The icons of kitsch

In my long standing pursuit of kitsch I have identified certain icons which, like treasure maps, can lead me directly to what I'm searching for. This is particularly useful information if you are trawling on-line. If you're thrift shopping in the real world, well, it's in the lap of the gods what you might find.
Kitsch seems to inevitably find its inspiration in nature, particularly birds; swans, peacocks and kookaburras.
If there were one thing that defined classic kitsch, it would have to be the lawn flamingo, and rightly so, what's not to love about this?



When guests arrive to find a flamingo swizzle stick in their drink, they know they're at a swish do.

The other 'fancy bird' - my beloved peacocks.

Even better, plucked and turned into a handbag.

Swans are the height of kitsch of course. I have it on good authority that there's an old concrete swan planter down at New Farm Antiques, with a $250 price tag swinging round its neck. Get outta town!

Other than birds, when searching for A1 kitsch, keep your eyes peeled for lobsters.

Cherries (she's got it going on).

..and anything Hawaiian.

Lastly, when searching for items of high quality kitsch, or retro significance, try 'palm trees', 'watermelon' and 'shells'.

What a difference half a litre of cream makes

The cake was adequate to ok. Just as a good make-up primer can cover a multitude of creases and divets, so too can a thick layer of cream over a lumpy, less-than-perfect birthday cake.
Looking at the positives, I don't think anyone would have mistaken it for a professional job. It had obviously been made by a mother in the confines of the domestica galleria.

..and some layering to delight and surpise.

And in one of life's twisted ironies like Nigella marrying a man who's uninterested in food, I went to the doctor's on Wednesday, perfectly well, and now I have a bug!

Ai-Crumb-Ba!

Yes, it's that magical time of year again when I have to make a birthday cake. I'm going to reserve judgement until it's finished this afternoon, but to be honest, it's not looking great. This is the beast with just the 'crumb layer' done. For those ignorant of what a 'crumb layer' is, that is the layer of icing which serves to cement any crumbs to the actual cake, so the final layer of icing can go on without being compromised by wandering crumbs.
Let's not panic just yet. Let's wait til it's complete.

And again.

Recommendations

Can anyone recommend a caterer who works in Briz-vegas and does a good cocktail style event? I have been investigating them, and there's so many, and such a contrast in price that it's making me nervous. I think some referrals are the way to go here.
Thank god for Frugal February because it's going to be a Merry March! I'm going to need to hoard some cash.
Recommendations anyone?