Tune Tuesday

I'm a little bit in love with Beach House at the moment. Serve this with a side of Best Coast and I am well on my way to embracing warmer weather, backyard barbecues, and summer dresses.
Listen to more of Beach House here.

Busy Bee

Uni assessments are a little on the insane side of things at the moment. I spent most of Sunday sulking at the unfairness of it all, as I was trapped inside working on projects while it was gloriously warm and sunny outside. Ridiculous.
Despite the mountain of work I'm yet to complete, I had to factor in some time for a special project.
I'll be sharing some photos of said project (hopefully) tomorrow, but in the meantime please forgive me if things are a little quiet around here this week.

Golden

After mentioning my love for Golden Books on the cheap, Joshua surprised me with a few fresh faces he'd picked up from a market visit - 2 of them being the very delightful Richard Scarry, I was somewhat elated. Richard Scarry has always been quite dear to me, to the point that if I ever have the opportunity to own an apple car (slash helicopter), I'll be trading in our Echo without a second thought. Brother Ben used to excitedly exclaim "Imagine Hat" every time we would watch 'The Busy World of Richard Scarry' when we were kids, a little catchphrase that has well and truly stuck in my vernacular.
Those of you unfamiliar with Busytown (shame on you) should go here.

Favourite Things

I've been tagged by Lauren at La Maison to share a few of my favourite things. My lists tend to be on the long winded side and change on the regular, but at this point in time some of my favourite things include:

• Mint Slice gelato compliments of Gelato Blue, Newtown. I think that having a slight crush on all of the staff members makes everything a whole lot tastier, but this ice cream still rocked my world.
• Men who feel liberated enough to describe what a rhinoceros orgasm would sound like, on a train, in the middle of the day. He called it a rhinorjasm. Never had I pondered such things.
• Busking boys that I see in a whole variety of locations - Central tunnel, my local supermarket, and playing evening sets at restaurants. Without being stereotypical here, think Snoop Dog crossed with Pharrel and then coupled with bongos. They're amazing.
• Cafe breakfasts. The safest meal to eat out for - it's cheaper, it always seems fun and I've never had a breakfast I didn't enjoy (except for when I've made rice bubbles at home with sour milk). I'm currently addicted to banana bread. I felt very Martha Stewart when I was able to offer Priscila a fresh slice of banana bread with ricotta and honey. I feel like this makes up for the nights when I have cereal for dinner.
• Ten cent Golden Books. My collection is growing, but mostly when I visit country op shops.
• The good folk. My favourite favourites. I had some sad news this week which has made me all the more appreciative of my friends and family. Favourites that never go out of style!

Thanks for the tag, Lauren!

x

In the Bag

Remember that camera I scored a little while ago from my aunty who knows my love for cast offs? She found me this little treasure last time I was home - a beaded clutch bag with amazing hand stitching. The hinged closure could have me opening and closing for hours on end. They just don't make them like they  used to hey?

Corky Saint Clair

A few months ago I entered a colouring competition. I'd all but forgotten about it until I had an email a few weeks back saying "You have come first in our colouring competition". I was elated, to say the least. The last time I won a colouring competition was a promotion for Lassie. The prize was a double pass to see the film, but by the time they sent me the tickets the movie wasn't on anymore. Pretty devastating. I've since been skeptical of most competitions. I can't say "I never win anything, I just "never really win anything very good". I did win a safari to Uluru a few months ago, which sounds exciting in theory, but their terms and conditions were less than fun. It was for one person only and no flights or accomodation were included. The prize was also non-transferrable and only valid for a short time, so I couldn't even pretend I had bought it for my uncle who is heading to NT later in the year.

Corky Saint Clair kept their word though - and this cheerful package was delivered to me this week. I now have a vampire bat necklace to call my own, and a hand written note saying "Dear Megan, you are the winner". They're super nice boys (I met Chris and Louis at Finders Keepers) and I'd highly recommend purchasing, or winning, things from them. You can buy things from here and read the blog here.

Thanks, Corky! x

Ming Makes Cupcakes

I dreamt about this website earlier in the week. I kid you not. It was a strange dream which involved scaling giant brick walls, being on a ship amidst a violent storm, and being the carer for a small child named Meredith. I was subconsciously thinking "Meredith? Really? Who names their kid that?" Amongst all these shenanigans, I found time to point out to my mum that I've found a website that has ingredients for amazing cupcakes and the way it's set out makes me want to stay home and bake every day. It was also around this time that I realised I'd forgotten about Meredith and she was now lost. Uh oh.

Ming Makes Cupcakes. So amazing. So great to look at. Evidently the stuff that dreams are made of.

Tune Tuesday

I've seen Boy & Bear three times already, and still feel excited when I hear them on the radio. I wish that I'd been friendlier when I met them before they were famous- never again will I not participate fully in dessert conversation with band members. They could well be the next big thing, or your boyfriend could be friends with their manager. You can just never tell.
Despite my conversation laziness that Sunday, I worked out soon after that they were pretty spectacular. They've recently announced their first solo tour, are on the lineup for Falls Festival and are all round nice guys. Listen to more of them here.

Simply Put

At uni, we've often been subjected to torture through simplifying things, you know, to their simplest form. Cutting out paper squares to express a feeling on Day 1 First year had me questioning whether or not I was enrolled in the right course. Day 1 of Semester 2 this year we were forced to do it again - this time I know I'm in the right course and try to embrace it - whilst surreptitiously bitching to Jake about university wasting my time. We also had to make a schema expressing emotion. I still don't know what a schema really is (Google images was no help), but I do know that these clever film posters give me flash backs to ideograms and simplifying imagery to the bare essentials.
See the rest of them here.

Bank On It

I saw this video a few days ago on Emily's blog and was mighty impressed. Maybe it's just because I'm a sucker for illustration and have a renewed respect for people who are good at animation. Whichever way you look at it, it's wonderfully made and it took me right until the end of the video to realise it was an ad for a bank. Saving has never looked so good.

Animal Print Shop

A self explanatory store name makes things so easy. The Animal Print Shop by Sharon Montrose is full of, well, you can work it out. I've been gazing at her images for quite a while, and had been wishing for someone I know to be expecting. Wouldn't one of these photos just be so lovely in a baby room? Lamenting the lack of babies being born in my life (solely for the purpose of gifting them a baby animal print) I had resigned myself to putting my idea on hold.
A few days ago I had a delightful message from a friend of mine telling me he and his wife are going to be parents. I'm not sure which part is more exciting - my friend being a dad, or an excuse to buy a print.
The supportive friend in me knows it should be the baby part - but I think we all know which way I'm really leaning.

Nursery

I often ponder the jobs where happiness seems to be part and parcel of working in such an environment. My friends and I have long discussed over the Summer times spent beach side that the boy who works at the nearby ice cream shop really should be happier. It's ice cream - how is that disheartening? There's no excuse for his glum face and negative vibes. I did spill ice cream on his floor once - but I then cleaned it up and apologised profusely. Hardly worth being so sad about.
After last weekends afternoon tea break at the nursery and cafe where Priscila works, I think we can add garden centre employees to the list of the mandatory cheerful occupations. How could you be miserable in a place as pretty as this?

Liberty

I've been looking for a travel bag for a while now - something that is small enough to actually travel with, but large enough to fit everything in. Of course, there's also the whole issue of aesthetics. I just can't get on board with the utilitarian black suitcase.
Then I see over on Twig and Thistle that I can get a Liberty Print Suitcase. My heart leaps with joy, only to crash moments later as I pay attention to the measurements. 40cm is pretty weeny for a suitcase.
Regardless, they're super sweet. You can see more of them here.

Aroma

There was a Coffee and Chocolate Festival happening when we were home over the weekend. It was a lot busier than I was expecting for my seemingly tiny hometown, but it was nice to unexpectedly bump into a few people I haven't seen for a long time. I fell in love with all of the colourful flags that went on forever. I pity the person who had to make them, but they did look amazing! We met a fancy dog named Serena and ate cake for lunch. I also scored a red lace evening dress from my favourite op shop for just $1.50. Good way to spend a Saturday? I think so.

Tune Tuesday

Chatting with Maddy at uni last week she mentioned feeling horribly uncomfortable being the (seemingly) only person in a club recently who couldn't shuffle. It's been a while since I've been to a nightclub and I'm terrible at dancing at the best of times. Watching Janelle Monae do her thing makes me glad that I'll never have to dance near her, and at the same time, a little jealous that my friends and I weren't given matching suits and dancing feet.

Covered

One of the perks of dating an IKEA employee is that we always happen to be there at the right time. I bought a bed a few months back on a whim, definitely one of my larger impulse purchases. I'm yet to buy a mattress for it and it's currently sitting in my garage in boxes. I still tell myself that it was a bargain and it will definitely prove it's worth as soon as I get a mattress... even if that ends up being another few months away. During the holidays I got all inspired and sewed a reversible quilt cover - pastel squares on one side, and a mix of vintage yellow fabrics on the other. It's just about ready to go - now all I need is the mattress to put it on!

Bookmarked

It's nice to work somewhere that supports my stationery addiction without feeding it too much. The lovely Japan Bookmark Stickers from Made590 have found a new home in my uni notebook, after I ummed and aahed for a few weeks over whether or not I should get them. I wrote some notes in the wrong section this week, and I knew it was time to act. Last semester I spent too much time manually cutting out triangular tabs between my subjects and colouring in the corresponding course. While I'm all for DIY, these little stickies made it a whole lot easier. And now I have forest friends peeking out at me every day. A little more fun to look at than Adobe After Effects.

Family Funday

We're heading to the country to see my family today - our first little road trip in our new car! I tried baking macarons for the occasion, but I'm still not hitting the mark. I'm hoping that gifting them to Julie Baby in the Hersheys tin she requested will disguise the fact that they're a little on the rubbish side. Their colour is all wrong, they're a little overcooked, and I can't see 'feet' anywhere. I'm determined to keep trying until I make at least one good batch, but it's rather tempting to retreat back to the safety that comes with baking cupcakes.

Cut Out Paper

While I don't feel the same awe for laser cut paper craft as I do for the artists who do it by hand, these cut outs are still fun.

Hand drawn in East London, Cut Out Paper have a whole swag of different paper cuts to hang on your wall.

Flag Sculptures

How lovely are these flags from Jordan Ferney? Her most recent article for Project Wedding involves flags and glue - finishing with sweet little sculptures! I'm pondering where in my house I need some flags. Or perhaps a bunting sculpture?
A pretty dress like in the first image wouldn't go astray either...

Tune Tuesday

I forgot how much I love a good support band. Melbourne band The Motifs supported The Drums at Oxford Art Factory last week and I was rather delighted that Joshua had made me arrive a little early despite my pleas for a quick nap. They were adorable, with their blue jumpers and xylophone playing. A little bit Crayon Fields, a little bit Camera Obscura, a little bit Lullatone. Altogether wonderful and super cute.
The dodgy Youtube videos I was finding really didn't do them justice. My suggestion would be to head to their Myspace or LastFM quick sticks and listen to their sweetness.

Face Lift

Lovelies! Welcome home!
The Ever Dazzling has had a bit of a freshen up to celebrate it's new address. What do you think? Now you can save yourself a few milliseconds by not typing in the 'blogspot' part of the address - I'm officially a 'dot.com'. Hooray!
You can also now find me on Tumblr, where I plan on sharing with you all sorts of wonderful pictures and links I find on my internet travels each day. Stay tuned - coming soon are all the projects I worked on in the holidays and forgot to show you.

Echo

After trading my car for a Macbook eighteen months ago, I've been making the most of public transport and leeching rides from my good natured friends and lovely boyfriend. Joshua and I finally bit the bullet last week and purchased our own little automobile. The dealer was rather inflexible with the pricing ("it's so cheap as it is, there's nothing in it for us...") but we did manage to wrangle some fresh new carpeting, a new battery and some bonus registration. Who said I couldn't haggle?
Mostly for the benefit of Julie Baby, here is a photo of it in all it's glory. Coming soon to a town near you!

How Much Hipster

Lol, Fair Trade.

Coralie Bickford-Smith Does it Again

After receiving mammoth amounts of attention and praise for her clothbound series, Coralie Bickford-Smith has done it again with her reworking of F.Scott Fitzgerald covers. I guess there's a reason she's the senior cover designer for Penguin Press. She's amazing. Her ability to communicate the time setting and themes that Fitzgerald was writing will have me impressed for days - wonderfully art deco without being an obvious representation. Surely, if these covers had been adorning the books a couple of years ago I would have liked The Great Gatsby a whole lot more.
You can see more Bickford-Smith here.