They Shoot Horses, Mr McQueen...

When I saw the pictures from Alexander McQueens S/S show in 2004 I almost died. I didn't know a thing about the inspiration for the show, the movie "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" but figured it was about a dance marathon as the models were in motion, with dance partners with numbers on their backs and the
I still haven't seen the movie but seeing a photo shoot with McQueen's S/S 2004 collection posted on Livejournal reminded me of how much I loved it. And this is why....




Details!

"They Shoot Horses, Don't They" Wikipedia page...beware, spoilers!
Alexander McQueen S/S 2004 Collection on Style.com

Oh Kale No!

Saturday was market day in my neighbourhood which was fantastically lucky as I had a housewarming party to go to. I wanted to buy flowers or a cookbook and quickly made decision when I saw the flower stand and these amazing looking flowers.

They're called Kale and they're a type of cabbage, a very pretty type of cabbage in fact. So obviously, they're edible. After staring at them all night we finally had a nibble and low and behold, they taste like cabbage. Astounding.
In Japan, Kale juice is known as 'aojiru' and is used as a supplement, I suppose similar to wheat grass juice or aloe juice. It contains all sorts of vitamins (the A's, the B's and the E's) and oh my god, there is a blog devoted to recipes featuring it, called (surprisingly) I Heart Kale.

Bye Bye Mothball Smell!

Whenever I go to an op shop/thrift store I head straight to the bag section because my perfect find will never be too big or too small and the price rarely exceeds $10. The only issue I have with op shop bags is the mothball smell, I'm far too young to have the smell of a well preserved 85 year old drifting around.
Luckily I've picked up a few tricks to remove the smell over time.
Spray and Wipe→ If the fabric is waterproof (pleather, leather, synthetic and shiny!) a roll of paper towels and kitchen spray will get rid of the smell and any stains on the outside.
Just Add Water→ Most bags have a lining that can be pulled out. Handwash the lining in a shallow basin with some Napisan or baking soda. Hang your bag out to dry in the sun.
Wake Up & Smell The Coffee→ This one can be done two ways. Put a plastic bag inside the bag like a lining and add a couple of tablespoons of ground coffee, not instant, it has to be ground beans. Believe me, it makes a big difference.
Put a couple of teaspoons of ground coffee into a zip lock bag and tuck it into a pocket. Close up your bag and leave it overnight, your bag might smell of coffee for a while but the old lady smell will be gone.

Bits and Pieces

Monster or Moggie?→ The combination of an African wild cat (the serval and the domestic cat resulted in the Savannah cat which is double the size of a domestic cat. The problem is a half wild/half domestic cat that weighs 20kg and is as big as a medium sized dog doesn't combine well with native fauna. Ever.
Snow White and The Seven Stages of Addiction→ While reading a post about the 9 most racist Disney characters (and wow, there are a lot of them!) and stumbled upon the urban legend that Walt Disney was a cocaine addict who created Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to represent cocaine and 7 of it's side effects. Turns out it's not true (since the brothers Grimm wrote Snow White a million and one years ago) but I love a good urban legend!
Prada SS 2008 Ads→ Sasha Pivovarova in ads shot by Steven Meisel. For Prada. The walls are covered in watercolours and the shoes are like teacups and tulips. Lovely.
New Everyday Minerals Website→ I adore Everyday Minerals, it's the best mineral makeup I've tried (I don't like liquid foundation, it's too heavy and makes my skin break out) and gives skin the most gorgeous glow. They have a new website up with better pictures of all their fantastic products and now my bank account is slightly emptier.

Inspire Foundation Necklaces→ Oh yes, there's nothing like a $5 necklace, especially if more than half the money goes to a good cause. In this case it's to help reduce the rates of youth suicide. I'm not a wild optimist so wearing it with the 'I am happy' showing makes me laugh every time I see it.
Watching "My 15 Year Old Is Trying To Get Pregnant Part 1, Part 2→ Like a British version of Maury, during high school I was addicted to these shows because the concept of having a child that young and being that vicious to my parents was so foreign. Plus, the hosts are always so fantastically patronising!

Thanks For The Memories!

My moleskine organiser, otherwise known as my centre of operations
I've always loved keeping diaries and journals. I can't help it, I have an overwhelming urge to record everything, every thought, every memory, every silly little thing that happens in my life. I only wish that I had started keeping diaries earlier in my life.
I've always hard to separate the very personal (the things I want to keep to myself and never, ever share) and the public (the journal I don't mind my friends or family flicking through). In high school I tried to keep one journal, with mementos and photos and uh oh, what was happening in my life, thinking that it would be fun to look back on with friends. The only problem is that exams and friendships and stress didn't exactly make for something I wanted to show ANYBODY, EVER! And so I learned that when it comes to journal's, you lead two lives.
Two Journals, One Life→ I think of my diaries as 'the private one' and 'the public one', one is just for me, to vent and moan and celebrate and record every ridiculous thought and the other one is more visual, more 'letter to your grandmother' content and a lot of fun to flick through.
The 'Private' One→ When you're starting out, it's best to use a spiral bound notebook, something with pages that can be ripped out. I say this because I'm rather pedantic about my handwriting and it took me a few entries to figure out whether I wanted to use my best, neatest handwriting (looks good) or just my casual scrawl (quicker and easier to get your thoughts down) and didn't want to have 4 pages of the same sort of entry in a variety of handwriting.
Always record the date. I love my date stamper, it gives an old school secretarial type look and makes sure I don't forget the when, not just the where and what.
Keep it well hidden! I see nothing wrong with keeping a small lock box if you have meddling siblings or nosy parents. I have a friends who's mother read her diary and discovered all sorts of things she probably wishes she had never found out, after that I kept my diary wedged in an old science textbook on my shelf despite having no reason to be concerned!


Photo by Grrlscrap
The 'Public' One→ I think of my 'Public' journal as my fun journal, it involves a lot of images, a glue stick, origami paper, mementos and all sorts of bits and pieces. Think of a scrapbook with a heart and a really great memory. A 'public' journal is all about the basics, photos and who's in them, train tickets and wrist bands from music festivals, notes passed in classes (I WISH I had kept some of the one's I amassed during high school!) and not too much '____ was being a pain in the arse' or anything that you think might cause future tension. Yes, I know this from experience. I find lists are a great way to record the best parts of life in your public journal, even if it's simply one word bullet points alongside the receipt for a book your read it will get your spidey senses tingling when you flick through the pages.
Some Links and Inspiration:
The Journals and Letters Pool
Organizers LJ Community
Tips on Keeping a Journal
Three Treasures To Leave Behind In Your Life
ScrapbookScrapbook
Grrlscrap on Flickr
Robotgirl on Flickr

Sex and the Eh....

I'm the kind of person that reads the first two chapters of a book, flicks to the end to find out what happens and then goes back to read the rest. I can't handle not knowing. So with the Sex and the City movie out I immediately wanted to know what happened, mostly because I'm still unsure as to whether I want to see it or not.
I love the TV show, I loved that the characters weren't polished, they were flawed, they were funny and silly and jealous and crazy. The clothes were great, but Carrie didn't wander around her apartment in Prada and sky high heels. Alright, once or twice.
From the screen caps I've seen, the trailer, the opinions and a very interesting article posted by Gala Darling on this weeks Carousel about the excessive amount of product placement makes me wonder whether the movie is anything but an exercise in making money.
I think I may be one of those people who simply pretends the movie doesn't exist, and sticks to watching the series over and over again.

Bits and Pieces

Hey America!→ Just when I start to really worry, just when I think you're filled with right-wing nut jobs and Real World contestants you do something wonderful. I love that Barack Obama has become the first African-American to run for President. Good work, US voters!!!

BB is Unkind→ Brigette Bardot is proof that the most externally beautiful people are not flawless. In fact, they can be quite awful. She was just fined for the 5th time for inciting hatred against Muslim's. She's campaigning to have animals slaughtered during Eid (a Islamic religious holiday) stunned before they're killed to lessen their pain, which is a noble cause, but why the racism, BB?!

The Tao of Mary-Kate→ Oh la la, little Miss Mary-Kate is in Elle this month promoting Influence, a coffee table book put together by MK and her sister dearest, filled with interviews with designers, artwork and photographs. The photoshoot is pretty fabulous too (minus the crazy furry halo!).

Bag Ladies→ No plastic bags, EVER!!!! The most fantastic alternative to plastic bags is the green bag and the alternative to the alternative is the "My Other Bags Are Prada" tote which is totes on my 'I Want!' list. I love nerdy word play! Bag Ladies make super duper affordable bags, I wish it were summer so I could have their "sandbag" bag swinging from my shoulder!

My Very Evil 'To Read' Pile→ Somewhere between The World's Most Evil Murderers, The World's Most Evil Dictators and Terror Attacks: The violent expression of desperation, I'm going to sandwich something a little less evil in particular Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn, After Dark by Haruki Murakami (I've only ever read his short stories so I'm interested to see what his novels are like) and The Poetry of Robert Frost which is gargantuan and only cost $8! There are now 4 bookshops and an op shop with an enormous amount of books within 5 minutes walking distance from my house, it's dangerous to my bank account.

Bits and Pieces

Buh Bye YSL→ The wonderful Yves Saint Laurent died yesterday from a brain tumour/prolonged illness at 71. He began his career with an award for a cocktail dress design which landed him the job as Haute Couture designer for Dior. After a stint in the French Army, YSL suffered a mental breakdown and was placed in a mental institution where he recieved electric shock therapy (it amazes me that he maintained such brilliance after something so horrific). He created the Le Smoking tuxedo suit, a streamlined suit for woman. Hilary Alexander wrote a great article about the Le Smoking suit that you can read here.
He also dressed Catherine Deneuve for Belle De Jour, Bianca Jagger, Lauren Bacall, Paloma Picasso and Talitha Getty of whom he said was "lying on a starlit terrace in Marrakesh, beautiful and damned and a whole generation assembled as if for eternity where the curtain of the past seemed to lift before an extraordinary future". I can't help but love him ever more for having such a way with words.

I Love You Sleep!→ I wish we had Urban Outfitters in Australia, these pillowcases are adorable! Joined together, they read 'I (heart) U'. I imagine that seeing the words 'I Love You' right before you climb into bed would be a very positive, warm thing.

Scared Straight! Part 1,Part 2,Part 3,Part 4, Part 5,Part 6→ A documentary filmed in 1978 about a group of juvenile delinquents who are sent to prison to meet a group of prisoners (meet in the sense that there is a lot of swearing, yelling and the prisoners take their shoes at one point). It's like a much more disturbing version of Maury's boot camps for wild teens. This version is hosted by Danny Glover, and after the majority of the footage from the original documentary they reinterview the older, wiser teens and criminals. Fascinating stuff, and lots of swearing! Read the comments in part 6 to find out what happened to one of the teens. Very worrying.


Buying Frames on Ebay→ Honestly, it's expensive being a geek. Having terrible vision comes with a ridiculous price tag, there's the disposable contacts for when you want to wear sunnies, the ever changing prescription lenses and then the ridiculously expensive frames. And then I discovered that $250 for the cheapest, ugliest frames in the entire optomotrist is daylight robbery (to quote my Grandmother!). A year ago I bought a pair of $10 frames on ebay, got my lenses put in and ta-daaaa, $150 glasses! The frames are cheap and I love change, the frames in the picture are on their precious little way to me as I write. Now I just have to decide whether I want to get my prescription in the black or the brown frames. Decisions decisions!