Flowers on the Roadside

I am often so tempted to pull-over the car and whip out the pair of scissors I keep in my glove box and cut flowers from bushes on the roadside. Today I did just that. I was driving over to pick up Harry from sailing and I saw these big bright beautiful pink flowers on a huge bush on the side of the road. I did a u-turn, stopped and cut a few. They have very prickly stems so I had to use the paper bag in the door pocket which was left-over from Harry's sausage roll this morning to handle them. Although they have dropped a little bit since arriving home, I do think they look pretty in the aqua vase I put them in on our fireplace mantel. It's amazing what beauty you can discover without even spending a cent.

Just Beautiful: Work of Art

Each and every one of these shots could be my wallpaper...

And I say that not necessarily as an exaggeration, but perhaps to better to put into perspective just how striking [read: breathtaking/awe-inspiring/amazing what have you] this level of photography truly is (at least in yours truly's humble opinion)...

Simply...

Surreal...

And would you believe it if I said I have absolutely not even the slightest as to who the model being portrayed in these phenomenal shots might be? It's true... I've actually never seen him before. And if I had to go off on the most vaguest of vague clues, I'd kinda/probably/maybe place him as Danish? (again, don't quote me on this)...

Be that as it may, regardless of where he might be from, I think it's safe to say we've achieved work of art status here. Like the type of photography you'd expect from say a David Vance or a Fred Goudon or a couple others... (although I'm about 99.99999% sure neither of those greats took these shots).

But yes, I'd say these are about as perfect a portrayal of a living work of art as you can get...

Just Beautiful...

Re-Decoration in Progress

I'd love to say I've got a few more clever ideas for re-decorating a somewhat dilapidated apartment (perhaps studio maybe?)... I really would...

Fact is though, I've got nothing... As in just sitting here off the top of my head, I really can't think of a better way to spruce up a somewhat aged apartment (shall we say, rough around the edges?) than perhaps parking a gorgeous... fit... wash-board adorned... questionably attired living ornament ... Let's just hope the guests won't mind .

For Better or for Worse

Should I or should I not...

A good $60 burning a hole in my pocket, and a game that for all intents and purposes looks like a lot of fun... but has been somewhat on the receiving end of wildly fluctuating review scores for the better part of a week since its US release...

A game hailed by its developer as the be all and end all of all RPGs, promising so much yet time and again coming woefully short. The third iteration no less in a series that I must admit I have enjoyed in the past in spite of the aforementioned disappointments and short-comings. A third iteration that I'm getting awfully close to purchasing perhaps this weekend... Hm, should I do it, or shouldn't I ?

Again, the game does look like a lot of fun... And would you believe it if I told you last weekends AP-sourced news rounds were awash tales of Fable-inspired marriages and adoptions? (read: same-sex marriages and adoptions in an RPG)... It's true, apparently the developers over at Lionhead Studios took it upon themselves to give an in-depth presentation (almost)...

They shied away from playing as two males, but I think an in-studio proposal is about as close as it gets for these guys . But yeah... love and marriage between gaming buddies, and all that for better or for worse stuff aside, I'm still kind of torn as to whether I should pick this one up. Mayhaps I should try it out and keep the receipt in case? Anybody else had a chance to try this game? It released on Tuesday here in the US and should be out in the UK today, so any thoughts/impressions so far?...

EW Assembles the First Avenger

And so it begins... The campaign promoting what might be/most likely will definitely be one of the biggest movies of 2011 kicks off (officially) for the November 5th issue of Entertainment Weekly... And things I must say are looking pretty much the antithesis of that early 90s debacle we'd all soon rather imagine never existed...

Fantastic stuff.. Already we've been treated to a super buff Chris (parading about in i'm assuming hobbit-like boots?)... So of course it's an added treat to get to delve a little deeper into the mind of the man behind the star-spangled shield... And perhaps get an idea of just how well he feels he's fitting into the role...

Assuming he can still fit in a decent shirt... wow ...

We've apparently come a long way from those early 2004 pre-smartphone shirtless days... Quite a longs way indeed.

Crew Boy

I can't exactly say for sure what's being assembled here... But I figure I might as well stick around and get to the bottom of this ...

Ah, I see, so there's a sound stage involved here... And apparently these yellow metal thingies over on the floor are meant for... I take it erecting some sort scaffolding or some other?.. Interesting, might as well lend a hand I guess ...

Ok, so from what I gather, this metal bar goes over (*boxers flash through mind*) t-h-e-r-e... Err, yeah, anyway (*catches cute grin*)...... Ok, where was I supposed to put this (*spots trailed natural abs*) a-g-a-i-n?

(*thoughts of be-cargoed hottie runs through mind*)... Ok... So yeah, I might as well step back and get out of everyone's way. Getting kind of hot anyway... I'll just watch from back here .

(*considers the view*)...

Ok, ok... I'll get back to helping out... Jeez ... Btw, did anyone ever tell you you had really nice arms ... Ok, sorry, yes, back to work.

Suzani Chair at Jenny's House

I love seeing where bits and pieces from our shop end up. Here's a picture above of one of our vintage French chairs, which we covered in a suzani, in the kitchen of a lovely customer and blogger, Jenny from My Pink Door...I think it looks great in her kitchen/dining area with the fantastic black and white floor and the other mismatched chairs.

Giveaway!!!! 32 CANDLES by Ernessa T. Carter

Let's end this month with a great giveaway! The winner of this contest will win the book -  32 CANDLES by Ernessa T. Carter. To read more about the book, go to 32 Candles or check out the video below.

For this contest, tell us about how something in your past changed your life forever. And how that event empowered your and if you use that experience to help you make better decisions today?

The winner will be chosen on November 20, 2010 at 10 pm. When the winner is announced, please check back to see if you have won and follow the instructions to have the prized shipped to you.  Thank you in advance for participating.


To learn more about Ernessa, check out the following links:

http://32candles.com/

http://fierceandnerdy.com/

Inspiration Photos - Sunday Omony

 

 Inspiration Photos from Sunday Omony. 

www.sundayomony.com

A New Window

Today we worked on a new display in our front window at Black & Spiro. We wanted it to be fresh and colourful and eye catching. This is our last window before our very exciting Christmas window which will be installed in a few weeks time. We wrapped bits of remnant fabric around birdcages and hung them in front of a gorgeous bright pink and white and black floral fabric. It always makes me feel so happy when we have installed a fresh new window at the shop...