I have a bit of a confession to make...I am not in love Melbourne. Alex calls me ungrateful and she is right. I don't not like it but well, I don;t love it like I am supposed to. Maybe I have travelling fatigue as I have lived in so many different places and I am hopelessly in love with Cape Town and London and even Perth to an extent because it holds my two greatest loves being my family and an incredible coastline.
The truth is, I have never given Melbs a chance. I came here depressed and was depressed for the last two years. Yawn! I know! Another depressed creative right? I hate to be a cliche but not even I can escape being generalised. I enjoy it here and I have made some incredible friends and I don't even hate the weather so it's not that. I literally have not made the effort because there is no reason why I shouldn't love this incredible city. The rest of Australia adore it! It is like everyone's sweetheart. As far as music, art, food, fashion and architecture go, Melbourne is the one.
Lately, I have been watching a lot of Woody Allen flicks and I have been inspired by the weird little twerp. No, I don't want to move to New York...I'm not that predictable. What I do want to do though, is have a love affair with my city just like he does. So today, instead of using my car or getting the tram back from the city I decided to walk. There was method to my madness because I had a brownie for breakfast and I could do with the exercise.
Now that everyone has an iPhone and instagram everyone is also a photographer...including myself. And I will be using these tools to document this burgeoning love affair. I urge you to try and find the silver linings in your own city if you can't travel. Trust me, they're everywhere! You just have to pay attention.
Hello! As I type this I am suffering from the first hangover of 2013. I tried to lay off the booze for as long as I could but when you are having a great time with your buddies and things crop us I just figure life is too short to not throw caution to the wind from time to time. I'm not really suffering to be honest, I'm just a little tired and sluggish but I am happy and content, somewhat of a contradiction I know, but its the truth. I have also been keeping up with my Domestic Owl project and baked cookies for Australia Day, chocolate loaf for a dinner party and cupcakes for a friends baby shower. This baking lark makes you a bit popular and also a little tubby. There always has to be some thing hey?
I have been going out a lot, even when I don't really feel like it because I am feeling as though I may be missing out on opportunities if I don't. Not really a fear of missing out all together but more because I am trying to suck the most out of day like I do when I get to the end of a tube of toothpaste. I just want my moneys worth I guess.
Australia Day Cookies - Cookie cutters from MATCHBOX
Me in the nature! Warrandyte in Victoria to be precise
Goats Chevre from Meridian Dairy courtesy of the lovely Elesha
Peach Melba by the lovely Shantel
Victoria Street - Lunar Festival
Happy Chinese New Year! Year of the snake! sssssssssssssss
Sugar Cane Juice - pretty delicious but tooth achingly sweet
Salt and Pepper Shakers gifted to me by Evo Hair Products...thanks guys!
Nigella's chocolate loaf cake. So dense and fudgy and delicious
Mid week Jessie Ware gig
Two fresh new pairs of VANS
Roses from the top to the bottom
Dabs Myla Show at Metro Gallery running till 9 February
It's a real mini piney!
Beautiful furniture in Shantel's home
Beautiful eats in Shantel's home
Melbourne roses
Domestic Owl cupcakes for Jazzie's showering of the baby
Wait hold up, I need to put on some hand cream..................thats better! God my skin is dry as Hell. WHERE IS SUMMER!? Winter was cool and all but it played serious havoc with my skin. I hate to be one of those moaning people going on and on and on about how much they miss summer like 2 weeks into winter but we've paid our dues so it's time for that sun to show us who is boss and restore my hide to it's lustrous, tanned, non-dry self!
About 2 weeks ago we did have a particularly good weekend and I decided to haul ass to Bunnings and get some of that Jasmine that smells so wonderful. I also bought a yellow watering can that is pretty shit but it looks cool and thats what counts and yes that is a camo broom. It looks like I am spending money willy nilly but I assure you I am not! Broom = $2 from Victoria Street, Watering Can = $5 and Jasmine + $10 for two pots....great courtyard = priceless. I have put myself on a serious budget actually because I have decided to become a grown up and actually stay put for once and invest in furniture and maybe even a house....eek. Just typing that made me bust out into hives.
I have taken this budget to new heights by purchasing a box of wine. $14.00 for 4 litres yo! And it doesn't taste like balsamic one little bit! I am not going to sit here and pretend that I know my wine because I don't. I just know what tastes good and what doesn't and this tastes just fine for 15 bones. Plus how can you turn down the extremely sophisticated aesthetic of it perched on top of your fridge guarded by Posh Spice? I know, you can't.
This is my living room from the same weekend I copped the Jasmine. Yeah I know I went on about how shit the weather is but this weekend was a complete fluke! Eurgh, I've spoken about the weather for like 10 minutes now, where the fuck do I think I am? England?!
This was me today changing my sheets and pretending it was warm outside. How good are clean sheets? How boring is this post so far? How good is that skirt? I bought it in 2001 in Leicester, UK from the Indian markets and its still going strong! Look at Elvis peeking over my shoulder...oh hai boo!
This is my little monochrome collage I started in my living room. When I used to travel heaps I used to buy black and white postcards. I bought the John Lennon one in New York in 2002, the lady putting on her stockings is from Paris, the man on top of the Empire State Building from New York obvs, the weird black and white line thingo from Auckland Art Gallery in New Zealand only a few months ago and the bottom right is the bridge in Lisbon. In the middle is a photograph of my nan and her dad on her wedding day. I love black and white. I always dream of an all white errrthang house with lots of clean lines and a big white fluffy sofa and bed to match but then the little 'ol thing called my personality comes into play and bursts of colour make their way into everything.
Such as this outfit. Wait! That is actually predominately black and white...oh well, you know what I mean. The other day someone wrote about me on their blog and they called me 'visually bonkers' haha! Lord, I hope she was talking about my clothes and not my face. I have worn these low black chucks to death but Converse is the little black dress of the shoe world. Converse All Star till I die.
Look at this rose I saw two Sundays ago! It is so near perfection it doesn't even look real. It looks like it should be on top of a wedding cake. There is probably a tiny fairy sleeping inside it. Ah, I was in such a joyous mood when I took this photo. I think I have put all my emotional eggs in one persons basket lately. When that person is nice to me I am on top of the world like the queen of the castle! But when that person is not so nice, I feel like a bird did a poo on my head and then I slipped on a banana peel and everything loses its shine and I feel so heavy, you know? Do you guys get like that? It's not even the other persons fault that you care so much so there is nothing much you can do other than drink 4 litres of $14.99 wine and paint your toes neon pink.
Heres to the sun shining and not letting the buggers get us down! Have a good week Owlies...keep in touch x
The weather was so nice this evening that I decided to take a solo stroll around Melbourne City. I went in and out a few stores and then sat on a bench on Bourke Street and watched the world go by for a bit. A homeless man asked the person next to me for change and he was refused. He skipped me for some reason and asked the two Asian girls to my right if they had any, to be honest I was insulted. After the girls refused him as well he swore at nobody in particular, stumbled and then walked off down the street but not before he stopped at the public drinking fountain on the sidewalk and elegantly took a sip of water being careful not to get it down himself and went on his way. How about that? Perfectly good drinking water in the middle of the city for everybody to use and its free! About 10 minutes after him a lady stepped toward the drinking fountain dressed in an expensive looking black suit, sky scraper heels and more make-up than Boy George and took a sip. I wondered if she would have done that if she knew who had used the same fountain only moments before her. Thats when I realised I was thinking like a South African. How wonderful is this country with its classless society and it's free, drinkable water on every corner? My mind went on a tangent then and I thought about how homeless are you really when you live in a great climate with free healthcare and education and free drinking water in the middle of the city? A country with active human rights is not to be scoffed at.
This train of thought took me back to 6 years ago when I was in a similar situation in Cape Town CBD. I was waiting for a bus outside the Golden Acre and watched how a homeless street kid who couldn't have been more that 11 years old walked up to the trash can in front of the bus shelter and pulled out a bag of half eaten fries and began to munch on them. I winced a little...surprisingly not because they came out of the trash but because I knew they would be cold. He didn't finish the bag but instead of just throwing it back in, he carefully placed them on the inner lip of the steel bin, crossed the street and disappeared around the corner. Weird, I thought. About 5 minutes later another kid walked up to the bin, peered in and reached for the fries. He had a couple of mouthfuls and he did exactly the same thing. Wow. These kids were purposely leaving them in such a way so that when the next person came looking for something to eat it would be ready for them. The attitude of 'we're all in this together' was evitable.
It really is those small acts of thoughtfulness and kindess that can turn your average day into a great day, restores ones faith in humanity or in extreme cases, stop someone from ending it all. Maybe you have to really be at your lowest eb to notice how much good there is. Like when you're on a budget and you can't go out for dinner all the time and become amazed at what you are able to produce yourself through limited means. The big moments in life are wonderful but I so often think about how selfless those moments really are. Like when you buy something huge for someone or cook them their favourite meal, it's also about you getting the credit and feeling good about yourself. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on grand gestures I'm just making an observation.
When you think about things that have made a difference in your day they seem almost too insignificant to mention because the person doing it is not looking for praise because they are acting through their sub conscious. Like when you're trying to switch lanes on the freeway and someone lets you in, or when you're snowed under at work and someone gets the phone for you. Or sometimes my girlfriends will find something when they're shopping on the internet and send me a link with 'this is so you!' in the subject line...more often than not it is definitely NOT so me but I love that I am on their mind. Think about those days when a stranger holds the lift for you or opens the door for you when you're arms are full. It's those tiny, and almost immediately once they have happened overlooked things that show us that there really is good in everybody when we momentarily forget ourselves.
Sometimes those grand gestures, those feasts that cost loads of money will still leave you feeling peckish and wanting to stop in at KFC on the way home. But if we kept count of how many free drinking fountains we came across and how many packets of fries that are left perfectly hidden in the secret part of the trash for us to find, we might discover that we will almost always feel sated and quenched.
Hi! What's happening? Yeah I'm good thanks for asking. It's Friday night and I am blogging so things are going well. Actually, there is no where I'd rather be than home right now because it is raining like a cow pissing on a flat rock outside. The Heavens have opened and it dun look like they're closing any time soon. Well the weather dude says Monday but he's usually a liar. Right. My life. In 500 x 500 instagram pictures.
I'm not sure what landed on your desk at approximately 2pm on Thursday afternoon but I hope it was as sweet as the new NIKE FREE RUN +3's! Hot damn these are fresh. It's like you're not wearing anything except that you are! Similar to a g-string but for your feet. Kinda. And the colour! Oh my God THE COLOUR. About as subtle as a baseball bat to the face but hey, that is how we do round these parts. I have declined in my er, 'training' over the last week or so because I have been pretty work focused. And I've been reading more. And on Wednesday night I got drunk by myself on red wine in my underwear listening to Nick Cave, so you know, I've been busy. But if these aren't a nudge from the sneaker Gods that I need to get my Size 12 ass back on the treadmill then I don't know what is.
You looked past the Nike's and saw the kewpie dolls didn't you? Of course you did! Feeling nostalgic? Well, you to can decorate your workspace with these naked and borderline pedo cherubs if you take your pretty little fingers over to www.vintagenostalgia.com.au and go nuts. I literally spent 48 minutes on there it is so awesome. I bought 4 kewpie dolls and I luz them. Look! They hold pencils and everything! Don't be jealous, buy your own.
In other exciting news I got a pet. Her name is Neneh Cherry. At first it was Bob (original) but then I realized she was a girl based on the fact that she threw up her dinner on the second day I had her. It could have been because of the car ride from home to work but that is neither here nor there. She is probably bulimic. At least she will always look thin compared to Buddha right? That's a great tip actually...feeling fat? Hang out with someone fatter. Win! Anyway, there are sceptics that Neneh will survive under my care but they're just haters. Hopefully this will train me for the day that I inevitably become mother to a chihauhau.
Roses Roses Roses *sigh* I never get sick of them. I want a big fat rose garden one day. Anyway, boring. Next!
Look! It's a dog in a hat! Next...
Live in Melbourne? Like burgers? Hit up St Edmunds on Greville Street in Prahan on Thursday nights because they do this SWEET burger, fries, wine deal for 20 smackers. Lord knows it takes a deal like this to get me over to that side of town. That and my friends new store that just opened called LUNAR STORE. She doesn't have a website because she hates the internet but she loves amazing things and she sells them all in her store. I met her on Thursday and gobbled up the above. Yikes, I am SO taking those Free Run+3's for a test drive around the gym tomorrow. Oh and Jules store is on Greville as well. Near the record store. Tell her I sent ya.
Hey did I tell you I work for an online store now? www.notemaker.com.au - you all will find youself getting excited over stationery again just like you did in grade school. Some of you are already crazy about it AND I SHOULD KNOW. I have always been a journal girl and I've enjoyed my Moleskine's and Lamy pens as much as the next discerning (yes discerning) consumer but this website is like a stationery wonderland. I even used some of our marker pens to colour in my tattoo...the possibilities are endless! Also, I completely forgot how ridiculously good it feels to sharpen a pencil. PS - copy my tattoo and I will hunt you down and give you a Chinese burn.
Standard nail photo. Shorter, less hoochie, less art. Nail art is exploding huh? That's cool. I just like to go east when others go west. I almost ALMOST got rid of them last weekend. But after an hour with them off I was like, 'I want to have acrylic on me and I want it now!' I just could not do it guys. So they are here to stay and you will just have to carry on pretending to care whenever I've had them did.
For some reason I get a trillion emails asking me to do these O.OWL experience posts. What the heck is wrong with you people? Don't you follow me on instagram? Now I have to talk you through everything and shit? I guess it's 'cause my life is so interesting. Wish you could see me now in my dressing gown and a face mask...ROCK N ROLL TILL I DIE. Anyway, you asked for it and here it is. My experience.
These nails are long gone now but my goodness they were pretty. Purple and gold...so regal, so elegant...OK not elegant but they're my favourite claws I've had in a while. I was due some fresh acrylics so these didn't last long and a few broke and I also am meticulous about posting nail photos so these are old news, but I just wanted to look at them again. Miss you.
Yes yes more nails. See, I don't think of them as just the hard bits at the end of my fingers, I see them as 10 tiny little empty canvases screaming with possibility. And right now, all that is possible is one straight up colour because I am feeling restless of late and can't really sit down for more than half an hour these days. This pink colour lasted all but a week because I went to a mates 30th and it was 1930's themed AND WE ALL KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE FANCY DRESS! (I hate fancy dress) so I changed the colour to a plum...
Looks great in this photo right? In real life...not so much. I painted them myself. Ironically I am shit at doing nails. For those of you that think I have a riveting life, as you can see, all I do is have my nails done, take photos of them and then talk about it.
This is Asha, she turned 30. Such a cutie right? She's only like 5 ft tall and it's hilarious. Plus she can roll a cigarette with just one hand. I luz this tiny ball of trouble.
How fast did April swing round eh? We're mid way through now! Actually...I always kinda think that everyone says TIME IS JUST FLYING BY when I think it's going at a really normal and gratifying pace thank you very much.
This is my bedroom. My cave. My sanctuary. It's where I am sitting right now writing this jibberish and it's one of my most favourite places to be in the whole entire world. Wait one sec....a fucking candle has just melted all over my dressing table...BE RIGHT BACK!
OK I'm back! Jesus what a mess. Speaking of Jesus, it was Easter not too long ago and I am still going hard on the 'ol 'lifestyle change' so instead of chocolate, I bought myself some roses. I love roses. I know it's an unoriginal favourite flower but my care factor is zero because they are the bomb. Look at this one for instance, it looks like it's made of suede! (it's not) I thought it was so special that I gave it to someone special. Special 'tings for special folk. When I say 'special' I don't mean 'spastic' I mean 'nice person'. Just to clarify.
Another purchase made in the month of April was my WAH NAILS book. *sigh* I was so pleased when it came in the mail but it has made me so anxious about my own book that I am trying to write. The words are just not flowing! I think I've used them all up. Help. Anywayzzz, go to Amazon and cop the book. It's a winner.
Hi, I also live on celery now. And brown rice. THESE HIPS DON'T LIE.
Last Sunday me and my bitches went to Rooftop which is a bar on the um, roof in the middle of Melbourne city and we had a ball. a) I wore jeans for the first time in 1.5 years because I dropped 10kg, b) the sun was shining, c) my girls were all on top form and looking wonderous, d) we went to this rad little joint where they serve dim sum in the shape of dolphins. The end.
Like my new iPhone case? It's made of hardwood timber by a brand called A SKULK OF FOXES. I got it from a brand new store that just opened on Greville Street here in Melbourne called LUNAR STORE.
This is the owner, her name is Jules. OK YOU GOT ME, she is one of my nearest and dearest and I am so proud of her because she is a hard working little bunny. Actually not that little, she is tall as fuck. If you find yourself in the area, go in and say hi and tell her I sent ya! You won't get discount or anything but you know, just tell her I said hi.
In other news, who else thinks Barbie is dressed like an unsavoury sort these days? What a role model eh? Back in my day Barbie was way more demure and more 'girl next door' than 'girl in the gutter' Didn't stop me from making her have pretend sex with Ken though. Hmmmm, it appears my perversion began at an early age.
I GOT NEW STICKERZZZ! Get at me if you want some owl@obnoxiousowl.com - also, I just wanted to say that I apologize for not updating nearly as much as I used to. Thing is, I don't want to post just for the sake of posting you know? I want to be passionate and inspired and quite frankly, I respect ya'll too much to just pump out shit for the sake of it. Quality over quantity and all that jazz. But please keep your emails and messages coming as it definitely helps and who knows? You might end up in the book! God speedx
Hello everyone, how are 'tings? I'm alright thanks for asking. I still love Melbourne and have been going through a few adjustments of late. A few doors have closed on old wounds and a few exciting ones have opened. But that is life hey? Imagine there was a nerve connected between our brains and our emotions that could just be switched off!? If the nurses think they've got something to strike about now, then whoah imagine if that shit could go down. Haha, I kid though. Heart break and heart ache and making up and breaking up are character building and all part of life experiences. Like, how good does summer feel after a long winter? Exactly.
Metaphors aside and on to some real weather and me self indulgently talking you through my instagram pictorials.
We just woke up one morning and summer had done a runner in the night like a one night stand. 38 degrees on the Sunday and then rain like a cow pissing on a flat rock on the Monday morning and it's been here to stay like the last irritating friend at a party. But then again, this is Melbourne so tomorrow we could all be in our bikinis again. Well not me, but girls who can. FUCKING WEATHER, WHAT A CONVERSATION STARTER.
This was taken in the midst of summer. Australia Day to be exact. My homie Paul with his ginger book ends Dave and Nick. Nick is the bloke on the right who has just moved to Australia from London along with his missus Emily and they are also my new housemates. Australia Day was their induction haha. I think they're loving it thus far but they dun know too many people so be sure to say g'day if you see them about, Most likely to be found in sneaker joints.
This is Emily. She is a vision of pastels and blonde hair and a booty you can crack nuts on. Fashion designer, bike rider and cocktail umbrella wearer. I took this photo last night at The LuWow in Collingwood. Dolly Daydream here was in her element.
They're also really good at dinners. Look at this guy for instance. Yummo. All protein and nutrients up in there. Which is good 'cause I'm back on the protein horse. I had a FUCKED 2011, I really did and this gut I'm carrying around is not only physical, it's emotional so I joined the gym and I told bread to take a long walk off a short plank.
This dress for instance. I used to fit in it like it ain't no thang and now it's just a decoration in my bedroom. Well nah ah gurl fran, I am sorting this shit right out. Stay tuned for the purple dress self shot. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later. Can ya'll feel my determination? I drank soda water and lime all night last night for Gods sake.
So a few weeks back there was the GIRLS IN KICKS exhibition here in Melbourne and yours truly was amongst the girls in the portraits. New Balance sent me these babies to wear to the opening night. Now I have always been a loyal supporter of the swoosh (even though I have been pretty much glued to my Vans Authentic's of late) but you know what? I am feeling NB in a big way. Plus they're made in England and I love England AND they are comfy as fuck. I quite fancy a pair in green hmmmm
What would the OWL experience be without the nail pics? A more tasteful one no doubt haha. WHATEVER, ACRYLICS FOR LIFE. Those who have followed this blog for a while will know I rocked the long, square, hoochie claws for a minute, then I took them a bit rounder and now they are 10 little pointy triangles and I luz dem. These are last month's though...
These are the ones I have currently. Except I broke 2 and then just had them painted black. They did it for free because APPARENTLY I'm 'there all the time' . I wonder if I will ever grow out the nail phase hey? Probs not, it's been 7 years
Every year I buy a new wallet and a new diary. Now I'm involved with Moleskine distribution, they were a natural choice for my diary game and bloody Hell you can see why it's such an iconic brand. I am never looking back. I usually get bored of diaries around mid year and then get stuck in again as Christmas approaches but I would actually be lost without this little guy. Green leather wallet I copped from FAT 4 on Brunswick street, holler.
Notice my cushion covers? A reader from Queensland made them and sent them to me with this cute little card! How is it that a stranger knows me better than some of my own family? Girl, you should give them tips in December. Not even worried if Mum reads this 'cause she quit reading the OWL a looooong time ago. Follow 'erincq' on instagram, she's such a doll. And I'm not just saying that 'cause she gave me stuff, she really is.
Has anyone popped into the Converse store in Melbourne Central of late? I haven't been back in since last year when I copped some black low's but I've been meaning to go because I quite fancy some plain white high tops. How good are their carrier bags?
This is another little addition. It kinda makes my room look like a brothel but maybe that will bring me some action. Nah I've just always liked neon lights, found mainly amongst red light districts and strip clubs. Hmmm, no coincidence I swear but really, it says 'LOVE' for fucks sake, it's cute and innocent like moi
Speaking of love. This broad. I think everyone deserves that friend who will straight up tell you like it is and not what you want to hear, and I have found one in this barrel of laughs. My girl Alex has beauty and brains and can sink beers with the boys with finesse.
Lately...well not lately, I guess I/we have always known that with every action comes a reaction and reactions come with consequences. The chicken and the egg story..how did it all begin, where did it all start, whose fault is it, who can we blame, how do we handle things when we're hurt and confused. The truth is, while there are those that really do just like to fuck things up for people, I think that acting on our emotions are what make us human but what separates us from animals, is our ability to have a little self control. Today somebody told me happiness is letting go and moving on. I agree. Holding the happy memories is a lot easier to carry than the heavy weight of baggage. That reminds me, I need new eye cream.
