Anyway, I came across: www.behidadolic.com’s shop on Etsy. They have these totally gorgeous 20’s inspired hats. I dream of owning one!

Then I found Plum Pretty Sugar loungerie, and was mesmerised by the patterns and prettiness.

And lastly but not leastly, Oxford Heaven, which is heaven in the form of an etsy shop. For those who are crazy about shoes, you’ll love these even more than I do!!

These cutie shops are making me consumerist! Or at least wannabe consumerist!!

And so I shall leave you with a quote….

What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies. ~ Aristotle

Image via Weheartit

Anyway, here’s a photo of my new hair cut, and in the next photo are Iona and Stef, two classmates of mine who have an amazing fashion sense. Iona—green hair? Only these two could putt it off I’m sure! They’re identical twins too but clearly they’re different in many ways.

Do you know what I’m obsessed with at the moment? Anne of Green Gables. This summer I discovered the (movie) sequel, and one of my friends down here had a DVD of it, so I’ve been watching it over and over. It’s not true to the books, but I actually like it more. After the first one, the rest weren’t good, and it felt like everything was rushed. There’s a 3^rd movie that’s apparently completely unlike the books, but I’m sure it’d be good anyway. The cast are a lot older in that one, yet still amazingly talented. If anything, that Jonathan Crombie guy is much better looking when he’s older.

Anyway, here’s the trailer of the first and second Anne o. G. G. movies! Nostalgia anyone?

Hopefully I’ll be back soon! Just waiting for internet at my flat!

Thanks for people’s feedback on my illustrations. Hopefully I’ll get some more stuff up shortly. Time is just the issue here.

But before I do go, I want to put a spotlight onto Canadian-Kiwi Anna Paquin. I like her fashion because it’s simple and elegant but not boring. My unwritten rule for fashion is that fashion isn’t about being different or crazy (unless you’re Lady Gaga), it’s about what works for you. and all these outfits work for Anna!

What is your unwritten rule for fashion?

Honestly, this book is amazing. I hope it sells enough to have it’s sequels published, because the first story is nothing compared… I think I’ll hush up now



Anyway, it’s the end of the week lovelies. Hope you are all feeling swell. Please feel free to leave feedback on my art… And I totally appreciate everyone who comes by my blog. You are all awesome!!

1. Slow Me Down by Emmy Rossum
   
2. Don’t Dream it’s Over by Crowded House
   
3. Book of Days by Enya
   
4. The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel (my funeral song baha)
   
5. Soon We’ll be Found by Sia
   

Here’s my day pass band, they used white ink on metallic material, [which happens to be quite expensive] and note the new Parachute logo rockin’ that Helvetica!

I’m loving the label design

Anyway, to design and fashion!

Here are some items of clothing I’m particularly liking at the moment [click thumbnail for larger image]:

Kelly Thompson

Catherine Campbell

Eveline Tarunadjaja

Jules Julien

and Kareena Zerefos

In other news, I just want to thank everyone who comes by my blog and leaves lovely comments. I read them all and I always return the kindness. I love to see what other blogs are out there!

And some random photographs I discovered. Pretty!

Source unknown. If you know it, please let me know!


Simply bloom photography


Clair Prenton on Flickr

I love the Oh, hello friend blog, but I must give a shout out to Nubby Twiglet, a graphic designer and fashionista who is totally my idol. Her blog is amazing.. extremely helpful and inspirational. Go check it out!

I’ve never seen mirrors used so artistically in a home interior!

Lately, the Pentagram “What type are you?” quiz has been popping up around design blogs. I got the typeface Plastica:

Plastica extrudes feeling and ambition. If you are someone less assertive but want to be seen or heard more than you are, this typeface is for you.

If you love typography, take it. It’s quite fun. Oh, and the password is character.
NOTE: Behind the questioner, is a hand figure.. notice it’s finger? Ha.

And for American political followers: Keep supporting Obama! Don’t let the Republicans, Media or large-corporation insurance and drug companies brainwash you into thinking Obama is doing the wrong thing or can’t do it. The health care reform bill is essential. Here in New Zealand we have free health care and I can’t imagine what life would be like without it. Show loyalty to your President!

I’ve been really inspired by illustrators as of late, and one I particularly liked was Courtney Brims, a Brisbane-based self-taught illustrator. Her work is so beautiful, I feel that they are inspired by Audrey Kawasaki’s work, which is innocent yet seductive. Courtney Brims work is very sweet, but it has these dark themes mixed in with it. And she uses pencil! There aren’t many artists these days who don’t use digital or even traditional paint. Anyway, I ordered a set of postcard prints from her website. Have a look at her work.. Here’s a few for a start:

My brothers (well, one of) and Dad are back from their African Safari trip. Unfortunately they landed only 2 hours after Prince William arrived in NZ… I’ll post some photos of their trip sometime. Lucky dogs, I haven’t been back to South Africa since we emigrated!

For Dragonball Z fanatics like me. I’m wondering if I’ll ever grow out of my childhood obsessions…

In New Zealand, the first to celebrate the new year

My best mate Kelly and I decided last minute to go out. There we bumped into some of our other friends by chance. Too bad the countdown was in a crappy nightclub instead of somewhere more beautiful.

The New Zealand Herald listed the top “in” and “out” things for the 2000’s:

What’s in

• Digital Music players (MP3s, iPods)
• Satellite Navigation systems in cars
• Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Bluetooth, internet-capable cellphones
• Flat-screen TVs
• DVDs, Blue-ray discs
• Reality TV
• Barack Obama
• Twenty20 Cricket
• Environmentalism
• Metrosexuality
• Tattoos

What’s out

• Walkmans, discmans
• Fax machines
• VCRs
• Box-shaped TVs
• Five-cent pieces
• George Bush
• Saddam Hussein
• Letterwriting

Frankly, our “in” list wasn’t that exciting, despite our “futuristic” achievements, and our “out” list was just as mediocre. I was a bit disappointed that letter-writing was on the out list. But really, 3 things the last decade predicted never turned out: No significant terror attack in the west, no killer pandemic and no economic depression. I suppose that’s a good thing, but it’s almost..well.. disappointing. Who’s really going to remember these years anyway? We’ll remember these years as the Years of paranoia.

Anyway, 100 years ago it was the 1910’s and 50 years ago the 1960’s. My nostalic-despite-never-having-experienced-them-years. So I’m assuming this decade will be the one for me. It’s my fourth decade, despite me being only 20. Then again, can you count the 3 months of the 80’s I “experienced”?

And what about the “celebrity” deaths this year? It was rather significant actually. Who were the memorable ones?:

• Michael Jackson
• Farrah Fawcett
• Patrick Swayze
• DJ AM
• Brittany Murphy
• Jade Goody
• Jett Travolta
• Ted Kennedy
• Natasha Richardson

I had to google this list. And these mentioned are only a small percentage. Celebrities.. we’ve got too many of them. Three on the list died from Cancer. Two from Heart Attacks (presumed drug-related). One age, one drugs, one a sporting accident and one an epileptic-induced accident (right?). Sad though. Life happens. Or happened, in their case. (maytheyrestinpeace ¬_¬)

So I’ve drifted off from a design related blog but I did want to share one thing. Most holiday bloggers are taking their time off so I haven’t spotted many interior and home designs online recently, apart from this one:

I’m currently reading The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy. It’s interesting, and I wonder where I’m heading with it.

And if anyone cares to know what else I am up to these days? Two words: Jobless and sunburnt. Bring it on 2010!

Have a browse, or continue reading this blog. I’m interested to know who visits, so please leave a comment (link at the end of this blog entry) telling me what you think (and who you are)!

Anyway, I hope everyone had a good Christmas. Mine was simple, nothing flash, but very nice all the same. I missed Michael, Stephen and my Dad though. On Christmas day they were driving through Zambia. Next year Michael, Nicholas and I will be in New York weather, so I can’t decide which would be better: extreme heat or extreme freeze? My friend Fran says that Xmas in NY is amazing, so I’m looking forward to it!

Now I want to specifically advertise one of my favourite websites of all time. I’ve been a regular surfer or Design*Sponge, and it’s a source of a lot of inspiration for me. I would love to run a blog site like that one day. One particular thing I love about D*S is their showcase of people’s homes. I love seeing other people’s workspaces and living rooms etc, I’d love to have such a beautiful home like the ones I see on D*S. Here are some I particularly like [click image to see more]:

Love it!

So here’s the photo. Doesn’t he look dashing. Never mind me.

In other news, I’m suffering Facebook withdrawal symptoms because my account was hacked and “temporarily” disabled, my summer job is my life atm, end of year at course was good, my grades weren’t too bad, and my dad and Stephen and Michael are in Africa until mid January so Christmas has passed (we had it before they left). Well, a small and simple dinner and present-opening session.

Summer is good, but I wish I wasn’t so absorbed with my job, because I’m just not getting things I want to do accomplished coz I’m just so tired when I get home and on my days off.

I’m going to attempt to make a new web layout soon, but planning it is taking fo’ evah because I just cant decide what I want to do. I’ll update more later. Please comment, dear readers, because I just don’t know who reads this site anymore!

Well I’m setting one.

I plan to meet John Key, with a little help from my online friends. I’ve set up a page on facebook (please join!) and a twitter page and I need all your support—hopefully if I generate enough attention, John Key might notice and want to meet me in support!

..When he’s free from all his impressive business overseas and cracking jokes on Letterman (how COOL is he? I mean, I always liked him, but after Letterman, I think it may just be love).

I created a TWITTER page for this project. a TWITTER PAGE! That is seriously a big deal, seeing as I promised never to join, so you can tell I really want to make this happen. Laugh now, but I plan to be laughing last!

And really, you can’t call it sad—its better than wanting to meet a Jonas Brother or something!

Posted on Mugglenet:

Potter meets real world: moving pictures in print!

We all know that there have been numerous attempts at a real life invisibility cloak in the Muggle world, but here’s a new one: in the next issue of Entertainment Weekly, CBS will be publishing video ads within the printed magazine itself! Daily Prophet and/or moving portraits much? From the Financial Times:

The cost of the full-motion video ad was not disclosed, but it will be far more expensive than traditional print ads, according to executives familiar with the technology, developed by a US company called Americhip.

The willingness to spend on such a promotion highlights the radical means marketers are employing to reach consumers at a time when a growing number of people are using new technologies such as digital video recorders to avoid ads.

“It’s part of the future—a way to engage consumers in new and surprising ways,” said George Schweitzer, president of CBS marketing group. “How do you sample a drink? You give them a taste.”

Unfortunately, the ads will only be issues delivered to New York and Los Angeles residents.

Paving the way for the future! Go fiction!

Now onto my personal life… Please don’t read on if you’re from my class! Haha

Scholastic had a look at the illustration I did for my brother’s novel, and they said it was brilliant, however they were already looking into members of their illustration crew and all that. They wanted a professional with industry experience. Which is fair enough, but why say they want to see some of my work? I mean, I guess they were being courteous to Michael, which was decent of them because Michael shouldn’t have asked (though yey, my brother rocks) but still it kinda wasted my time… Ah well. Michael liked the drawings so that’s fine.

I noticed I haven’t updated in a month. Why? Just imagine school work is like a piled up closet, and I open the door…

Yes.

That, and I haven’t been bothered blogging in a while. That scam thing was all sorted—I got me moneh back! Yey!

Oh I had the most bizarre dream last night (I hope it continues tonight). I had a dream that someone was meant to get married but it ended up it was MY marriage to some guy (perhaps the first couple canceled so we didn’t want to waste a good ceremony?). Now half of me was my dream self, where everything made perfect sense, the other half was my wake self, who was thinking “wait.. I’m only 19! Wait.. who IS this guy I’m marrying, I’m single!” So I was half freaking out and not wanting to go through with it and half thinking that this was all so so exciting.

Obviously in dreams it takes forever and a day to get to the wedding. Make up took forever to get on, I myself took until nightfall before I finally left the building (the wedding was outside) and I kept getting held up. I wasn’t even in a white dress (one of my nice dresses, but still) and my best friends weren’t there. Like two of my high school friends (WHO?? I can’t put a finger on it) were my bridesmaids and they weren’t even in matching dresses. Which made me think this really all WAS a sudden idea. My DAD even came into the building (when I was taking forever to get out) to tell me that I should go through with it…My DAD supporting me getting MARRIED at MY AGE! Yeah right!.. (In my dream everyone thought I was having cold feet, but I just kept getting held up). So eventually I got out and walked down the aisle. It was dark though. And I “saw” who it was I was getting married to, but not really. Some tall guy with brown hair who was a bit older than me—about 10 years? And I sensed he was good looking, although I couldn’t see the face. And I got a name too—although I don’t know anyone called that. So if I meet someone with that name I’ll completely freak! (Though I searched it up on google and it turned out to be some british actor—fitted the description too! Too bad he’s married haha).

I woke up feeling I had not slept a wink. And I went online to find out the interpretation and Dreammoods.com said this: “To dream that you are planning your own wedding to someone you never met, is a metaphor symbolizing the union of your masculine and feminine side. It represents a transitional phase where you are seeking some sort of balance between your aggressive side and emotional side. Two previously conflicting aspects are merging together as one.”

What aggressive side? I know I’m a man*, but really, the most aggressive I get is watching Dragonball Z politics.

Hmm. Well Kelly had a dream I gave this guy I used to think liked me a chance. So hey, I might marry this gorgeous guy but before I have to date this other boy I don’t even like. But we all know dreams don’t come true. If so, I would be pashing Ralph Fiennes any day now! (That was the raunchiest dream I’ve ever had. It was great! Hahahahaha..?)

*I say I’m a man coz I’m surrounded by too many guys and it’s probably affected my DNA in some way.

Seeing Morgan Freeman play South African ex-President, Nelson Mandela. I’m even more excited about Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, the South African Rugby Captain of the ‘95 world cup. I was only 6 at the time of the match, but boy, do I remember it. As I am South African, and my family are big SA rugby supporters, you can imagine how excited that time would’ve been (as for the 2007 WC).

Anyway, who would’ve thought Americans would’ve taken on something like this? Especially Rugby. It’s probably the first dramatic American sports movie that doesn’t involve super bowl, ice hockey, baseball etc (American versions of Rugby, field/turf hockey and cricket—and much less enjoyable than the British counterparts). And my brother’s first laughed at the idea of Matt Damon taking on the role. It’s like the idea of Paris Hilton playing Mother Teresa—except not nearly as crazy. Anyway. Here are some pics:

I love rugby. It’s great. I remember how I supported Jonny Wilkinson England in the 2003 WC and he they won, and South Africa (and JW) in the 2007 WC and they won (and England was in the final again.. go JW).

I think I love Jonny Wilkinson more than Rugby itself.

In other news..
My brother Michael met with his publishers (Scholastic) a few weeks ago, and during the full-on discussion of everything and anything, he slipped my name into the conversation about an illustrator (for the book jacket). Now, usually first time authors don’t get to choose who illustrates their book, but they said that I was welcome to show them a few concepts and illustrations—and if they like it, they may just use it!!!!

!!!!

!!!!

I could be an illustrator! My work… on a book!
Ok, I’m quite skeptical about it, I mean, I’m not a brilliant artist, and they most likely won’t choose it—I mean, Michael’s biased about my work probably, but heck, I’m taking it on! It’s a once in a lifetime experience for me, and this way Michael can also have a say in what goes on his cover design. So I have a month to get a few things done. Hoping for the best!!

I am pregnant

You may be wondering, how on earth I could have become pregnant, seeing as I’m single, and believe in abstinence. Well, all I can say is that either I had a drunken night, or it was immaculate conception.

I don’t drink so it must be…

Actually. This site says it all (check it out). I am, indeed, what appears to be the Alcoholic Mother (3^rd image down, main page).

Don’t worry guys, it’s just an assignment I (and a few others) are doing for Media Studies. All photoshop…
Please take a look and leave a comment if you can… The website is still in process and the t-shirts page will not be completed until tomorrow (the 10^th) so come back later as well.

The images on the main page [will be] posted around UCOL (and town) and tomorrow the group of us will be wearing our t-shirts at a mall in Wanganui and just.. sitting.. like an art installation for a while. We will be observing how people react to us and treat us. What’s shocking is the labels the t-shirts have:
Mine: HIV+

Shiona: Sex Worker (which is funny as she’s a lil asian girl)

Lily: Pedophile

Stef: Cannibal

Iona: Rapist

Goes to show that you can’t judge even a pretty book by it’s cover. Even white chicks like me could be HIV+. The irony is that those shirts were screenprinted on Supre t-shirts. Haha. Most writing on shirts say positive things. I think we could sell these negative ones and make it a trend to have bad labels. Mind y’all- we’re copyrighting our idea. So don’t steal, got it?

Jo took a photo of us for her magazine. I’m glad our idea is making an impact already, although we haven’t fully executed it. My goal was to do a project in which we made an impact on the community somewhat. My 15 minutes of fame could be me as a pregnant alcoholic or HIV+ chick, but heck, it was good fun!!

More photos are up on the site, check in the next few days, everything should be up and running. It’ll be good to get feedback from people overseas. What your assumptions were and all.