Find creative ways to express yourself. A lot of times, depending on your life style - you may not have an outlet to talk or show how you feel about your style, culture... or just who you are. There are tons of ways to show what your feeling. Write a poem. Draw some art. Doodle. Paint. Write out a word collage (like the one above) with all the things you love or are proud off. Seek out like minded groups. Research and find out about classed in your area that talk and teach about what you love. For me - I love to sketch. But I want to take it to the next level. So for me, I plan to start taking an art class or two. Something to nurture that part of me. What ever it is that you like to do, or that gives you joy... make time to do it, talk about it or express it through art, performance, or other venues. It's what makes you... you. And what ever it is, deserves to be celebrated.
Celebrate your joy in life
Find creative ways to express yourself. A lot of times, depending on your life style - you may not have an outlet to talk or show how you feel about your style, culture... or just who you are. There are tons of ways to show what your feeling. Write a poem. Draw some art. Doodle. Paint. Write out a word collage (like the one above) with all the things you love or are proud off. Seek out like minded groups. Research and find out about classed in your area that talk and teach about what you love. For me - I love to sketch. But I want to take it to the next level. So for me, I plan to start taking an art class or two. Something to nurture that part of me. What ever it is that you like to do, or that gives you joy... make time to do it, talk about it or express it through art, performance, or other venues. It's what makes you... you. And what ever it is, deserves to be celebrated.
A Collar for Ned
I just came across these very cool Mascot dog collars and leads. I think I am going to have to order one in for Ned. Only problem will be trying to decide on which colour.....probably Navy.
A Beautiful Vignette
I am in-love with this beautiful vignette in the home of Melbourne based artist John Young which was featured in the July/August 2009 issue of Inside Out Magazine. I think the composition of the simple, natural tones of the objects with the divine, earthy coloured portrait is very beautiful.
Loving Ruffled Kitchen Skirts
I love the informality of ruffled kitchen skirts. I'm thinking from a budget conscious point of view this might be a fun option when we renovate our kitchen at our Stradbroke beach cottage. Are they a pain to use and keep clean?? I would love to hear from anyone who has had these before...
image 1 - mary ruffle, image 2 - skona hem
Natural Beauty Spotlight - Czelena
Czelena is my Naturally Beautiful Spotlight of the week. She is a lovely Singer from the Bay Area. To read more about her, go to Czelena.
Pretty Yellow Wattle
Whilst I have been out on my morning walks of late I have noticed the wattle trees in flower all over the place. When I went down to the park with Harry yesterday there was one large tree in flower. I picked a few branches and brought them home and then arranged them in an old crystal vase my grandmother gave me a couple of years ago. I just adore the vibrant yellow of the flowers against the grey-green of the leaves.
Saturday Vintage Shopping Trip
A friend asked me to go hunting for vintage pieces with her yesterday {Saturday}. I warned her before we left that sometimes it can be hard to find things and sometimes we can come home with no great finds. Well, didn't I eat my words. We had one of the most successful vintage hunts I have had in a long time. We filled the boot of the car and then filled the back seats with things too. We even have a few pieces which need delivering next week!! Now, that's what I call a successful day...
Multi-talented Andra from Seattle
Andra, from Seattle, Washington is a multi-talented Artist. She draws, paints, Crochets and more.
"Drawing. Painting. Creating. Meditation. Reiki. Massage. Reading. Connecting to my inner being. My vibrational being. Being Still. Anything positive." - Andra
Check her out on SolfortheSoul or at Gemini Sunshine.
Friday Flowers
I was very lucky to be given these pretty mottled roses from a friend today. I arranged them in a pretty yellow vase we have at Black & Spiro. I placed them next to our beautiful vintage lamp and shade {note the beautiful embroidery on the shade} on a table in the shop and then a very lucky young lady came into the shop with her mum and her sister and they took the lamp home for her bedroom. I am sad to see this beautiful one-off vintage lamp go but I know it will be loved and cherished by it's next owner...
Happy Weekend. See you next time.
xx
Anna
Black & Spiro Today
It's been a while since I posted some pictures of the shop so I thought I would post some today. We have some lovely new pieces in at the moment including some beautiful vintage/antique pieces.
Summer on the Otherside
One of the things I love about this time of year {Winter in Australia} when it comes to my magazine subscriptions is the beautiful Summer homes featured in my favourite American magazines. Even though we are a little lighter on this year without the likes of Domino to give us our hit, this month's issue of Elle Decor looks like it's a cracker!! Loving this house belonging to Scott Currie {Elie Tahari public relations} in Southampton, New York.
The Origins of Taste
I've been talking a little bit about my mother's style in comparison to my own this week and I happened to stumble across this article by Anne E. Collins the Executive Editor over at Point Click Home in which she talks briefly about the origins of taste. I think it's a good read and applicable to my posts here this week. I hope to talk more about this topic in the coming weeks on ABT.
Geraniums
My mother has always had lots of large pots of geraniums growing on her verandah. No family dinner or lunch is complete without some sort of flower arrangement on my mothers dining table and geraniums have often filled the void when other options aren't flowering in her garden. I thought I'd post a couple of her little geranium arrangements. You won't believe it when I tell you the last image is actually in her old bedroom at my grandmother's house. The black and white ticking wallpaper which you can see in the background has been on those walls for around 40 years! Mum chose the wallpaper for her room when she was a teenager. Now doesn't that spell timeless....
Le Coil - eye catching photos
"Whites Only"... WTF !?!
This weekend, while visiting a local park, my family and I were on a nice little stroll around a pond at Montclair Park. As we were walking my mom noticed something, and pulled me aside. On a fountain, someone wrote "Whites only - No Negro".
I was shocked! I felt like I was transported back in time to the 1960's, where "Whites Only" signs were every where. Could this be real. Could there really be an idiot out there, writing racial slurs, just filled with hate and completely uneducated. Like someone from back in the old days, when Martin Luther King had to March for our rights. Just a damn shame... After all this time, you think people would have better sense.
But, I have to say one thing - Montclair is a nice city. This one ignorant person, that wrote this, does not represent the city of Montclair. But damn, I guess every village has an idiot.
I was shocked! I felt like I was transported back in time to the 1960's, where "Whites Only" signs were every where. Could this be real. Could there really be an idiot out there, writing racial slurs, just filled with hate and completely uneducated. Like someone from back in the old days, when Martin Luther King had to March for our rights. Just a damn shame... After all this time, you think people would have better sense.
But, I have to say one thing - Montclair is a nice city. This one ignorant person, that wrote this, does not represent the city of Montclair. But damn, I guess every village has an idiot.
_____________________________________________
*Update! The park that I visited is located in Northern California. Montclair is a small town located within Oakland, California.
The Lint Fix - for Loc's!
Good morning! I am barely awake. But I wanted to put together this quick post before starting my day. One of the only unfortunate parts of having loc's/dreads, is that once in a while, we get lint stuck in our hair. This happens because we don't brush our hair daily (as far as I know this is the main reason. Feel free to let me know if there are any other reasons why this happens). Having lint in my loc's is very embarrassing. It has nothing to do with how clean your hair is. You can wash it every day, but the lint will find its way in there some how, from sweaters, towels, blankets... you name it. It's not often, but it happens. For me, its my biggest pet peeve, when it comes to my hair, because I am such a neat freak. I don't ever want to give the impression that I am not a clean person, because I am!
Most of you will already know this quick fix. If you are unable to get the link out, by using your fingers, or tweezers - please do not kill your loc's by breaking them apart, to get the lint out. If you are breaking open your loc's for this, you are weakening the loc and it will eventually fall off. If you are not able to get the lint out, simply use a sharpie marker to mask the color of the lint. All you have to do is quickly dab the small area where the lint is, and the marker ink will cover the color of the lint. And it will no longer be visible. I know leaving the lint in sounds gross, but if you can not get it out - its better to cover it with sharpie, than to kill your locs in the process.
Most of you will already know this quick fix. If you are unable to get the link out, by using your fingers, or tweezers - please do not kill your loc's by breaking them apart, to get the lint out. If you are breaking open your loc's for this, you are weakening the loc and it will eventually fall off. If you are not able to get the lint out, simply use a sharpie marker to mask the color of the lint. All you have to do is quickly dab the small area where the lint is, and the marker ink will cover the color of the lint. And it will no longer be visible. I know leaving the lint in sounds gross, but if you can not get it out - its better to cover it with sharpie, than to kill your locs in the process.
I use the brown marker. It works best for me because I have about three shades in my hair - black, brown and brownish red. So not matter where, the brown will do the trick for me. I don't have to use it often, but I try to carry this with me in case of any emergencies. To cut down on lint, always cover you hair when you sleep at night or when you are cleaning. And also try this brushing technique before washing your hair. It helps to get lint out of your loc's. If any one else knows of any great fix it tips, let us know by replying to this post...
or emailing me at naturalhairbeautfy@gmail.com.
Alice Temperley Cushions
I am in-love with the cushions Alice Temperley has designed for The Rug Company. I would love to add the one at the top to my mismatched cushion collection. I've noticed a few fashion designers dipping into the interiors side of things lately...
Image 1 - the rug company, Image 2 - via the city sage
Image 1 - the rug company, Image 2 - via the city sage
Late, but not forgotten...
Happy Fathers Day to all the Fathers out there. I spent the day with my family, celebrating my husband who is an amazing father, and we had a great time. I just want to say thank you to all the men out there that are really involved in their child's life. I hope that you were able to celebrate the day knowing how much you are loved and appreciated.
Elegant Tailored Style vs Eclectic Style
Following on from yesterday's post about a more simplistic, tailored, elegant look I thought these images Joni posted last week fitted right in. I know my mother loves reading Joni's blog and has probably already seen these beautiful images and saved them in her 'I love' files. I too saved them in my files as I thought they were divine.
After thinking some more about my discussion with mum yesterday I wonder whether as I grow older I will crave a more pared back classic look. I think I have developed my look of mixing styles because it is unique to me and maybe because it is a younger version of my mother's style. I certainly won't be changing my style anytime soon so don't worry but as I said yesterday I do question my look every now and then and it will be interesting to see it evolve over time. I think that's the great thing about having a blog in that it can be a record of one's personal style and it's evolution over time.
I'd be interested to know what style you love. Do you prefer an eclectic 'uniquely me' look or a more pared back elegant tailored classic look?
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