A Stella night

 

 

 

Happy Friday!
It has been a long week and I am so ready for the weekend and a bit of extra sleep, a leisurely drive and lunch in the country, and maybe a bit of sewing to try and cut down the ENORMOUS mending pile that mocks me every time I walk past my spare room.
Looking forward to a quiet but great weekend.
Now, last weekend was a little different. A little more rock and roll. A little more crazy.
My newly taken in frock, with the happy retro print, was taken out for a night of fabulous music at the iconic Espy pub. I did have grand plans of wearing this dress with lolly pink tights  and accessories but after a lunch out celebrating my dads birthday I somehow ran out of time (and energy!), so some  red had to do.
 

 How cute does the pussy bow look? Bloody cute, right!
 

 And there it is poking out of my lovely vintage caplet that really was quite inappropriate for the weather as the beautiful day turned to freezing, rainy night. But it looked good, so all of the shivering, goose pimples and blue lips were worth it.
As well as much vodka swilling, crap talking and general laughter, there was a whole lotta lady lovin' going on, with my friends, the husband and I, grooving to the delicious tones of Lisa from the BellRays. OK, so my husband didn't groove so much as sat. But he was upright and for his first night out after his back went to hell he did pretty well.
(Although apparently heavy pain medication and beers don't mix so well. Ooops!)
But, for me, the stand out of the night was the sultry Stella Angelico and the Switch.
Whew! That lady can sing and that lady can move!
She entered the stage in a breathtaking burst of feathers, high heels, tight pants and raw sex appeal and just when we thought it couldn't get any better, she whips off her pants to reveal teeny, tiny,
sparkly hot pants. Oh, and did I say that the lady can move? Holy moly!

Source

Stella is a sassy bad ass that I now have a huge lady crush on. Can't wait to catch her again but until then I will have to make do with playing this on repeat. If this song doesn't have you swinging those hips and swaggering around the house with attitude then something might be wrong with you.

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

 

Check out the extended version of "Mister" by Stella Angelico and the Switch on You Tube and be prepared to be blown away.

Just dreaming that I am Stella......

Bargains and beauties

 

 

To gain the attention of the op shopping deities I have found it is important to adorn oneself in

pre -loved, op shopped finery so that the gods may recognise you as a true disciple and reward you accordingly with more vintage and second hand treasures.

So, with my polyester plumage, new favourite pink hand bag, my fingers crossed and hope in my heart I set forth on a bargain hunting mission.

 

How could the op shop deities resist a pussy bow of such perfection?

 

With me on my mission I took bags of my unwanted threads as an offering to the gods.

And I shopped and worshipped at the altar of the charity shop and was rewarded with lots of beauties to love and covet and wear.

Hurrah and hallelujah!

 

I found this poor ripped 50's frock that I am hoping I can rescue. For $4 I am definitely going to try and bring her back from the dead. Its funny though, because I fell for the gorgeous autumnal tones and yet my hubby actually shuddered in revulsion and loudly exclaimed "that's hideous!"

Poor tasteless man!

 

You can never gave enough cropped black jackets, I reckon.

 

I spotted this fabric in amongst the boring beige and dived for its happy bright pattern, squealing in glee. It is just so fun! It was also very sack-like but a quick nip in at the sides did the trick.

And did you notice? More pussy bow action!

 

 

How fabulous are these vintage bathers? And in pristine condition, I just couldn't  resist despite the fact that I rarely go swimming. I might just have to make myself just for the sake of these lovelies.

 

I am always totally amazed by what others do not want and donate. One mans trash and all that. Like this brand new (still with tags on) Bettie Page bag. As much as I would adore to keep I,t I already have it in mind for a friends present. That's how much I love her!

 

And finally, this seriously stunning retro wall unit was spotted on my op shopping frenzy.

But lack of space meant I merely looked at it longingly, sighed and then walked away.

But I just couldn't stop thinking about it! It haunted me all night! So I shuffled some furniture and now this honey is mine. And I love, love, love her! What I don't love is trying to get sticky tape and price tag goo off. Any tips?

 

That's what a day of bargains and beauties will do to a girl!

What lovelies have you found lately?



Snippets

 

Life is made up of random moments. Snippets, that are like ill fitting puzzle pieces.

Snapshots of my life that don't seem to have any coherence and yet when seen as a whole, make up the big picture......

 

Experimenting in the kitchen again. Fattening, successful little mouthfuls of macaroon heaven with a chocolate and peanut butter filling. Delightful with a pot of tea. Or without a pot of tea. Anytime really.

 

 

Discovering something earth shattering. Pizza cones! Where have they been all my life? Are these a thing anywhere else in the world because I have not seen them before, and fear that my time with them will be all too fleeting. (Which is probably a good thing!)

 

Getting sick and tired of never being able to find my jewellery so hanging some in a rainbow hued display.

 

Little Miss has become obsessed with playing on my phone and as well as taping herself singing has been snapping some wonderful shots of blurry feet, blurry cushions, blurry TV and blurry me in a most flattering pose.

 

Finding some absolute vintage treasures in bags of donated goodies at work. If only I could take them home!

 

 

Revelling in the beauty of my bargain flowers that set me back a whopping $4 from the supermarket. They are probably harbouring some strange bug but who cares because they look so pretty and I love having fresh flowers on my dining table. Also revelling in the beauty of my op shopped pink handbag which appears to go with every outfit I wear at the moment.

 

Are we sensing a pizza theme here? I made my delicious home made pizza with the worlds easiest and most versatile dough. All you need is 2 cups of self raising flour, 1 cup of Greek yoghurt and a pinch of salt. That is it. Mix it all together and knead for a couple of minutes and then cover and let sit for about half an hour. Then roll out and whip up whatever concoction using the dough that you can imagine. We use it for pizza bases, gozlemes, pies......

 

.....and cal zones. It never fails and it always tastes amazing.

 

Discovering that we had an unwanted house guest. After much squealing, hyperventilating, trembling and swearing, the spider was coaxed to drop (it sounded like a kitten landing on the floor!) and my brave husband herded it out the door  while I kept screaming, "just kill it!" It doesn't look that big in the pictures but I swear it was as big as my outstretched hand. It did however, very kindly clean the large cobweb from the ceiling and take it with it into the wilds of the park outside.

In other news my husband is upright and able again! Hurrah! We only have a mild divot in the floor  he had languished on for so long and he should be ready to go back to work next week for some half days. I think he may even be looking forward to returning to work.

 

I was absolutely enthralled by this amazing beat boxer, Tom Thum, and the  noises that man can make. Puts my fart noises to shame.

I think that is all the bits and bobs of my life for now, but will leave you with one more image of the worlds most terrifying spider.

 



Showing off my pink in the city

 

 

 

 

 

 I have learnt a few things lately.

I have learnt that the universe is often perverse, and likes to play really nasty pranks. It can be a real bitch sometimes.

My lovely co-worker, who would have to be one of the worlds most cheerful and up beat people, has been hit hard with the universes whammy stick and has had to deal with ridiculously difficult issues .

And she was. She was coping. It was hard but she was doing it.

So then the universe gave an evil little chuckle and decided to pervert things a tad more.

My pal came home after an emotionally exhausting day to find her beloved dog had died.

Universe, you are not just a cranky hormonal bitch, you are seriously f@#$&d up!!!

So with all the crazy going on there was nothing for me to do but cover myself in pink glory and take to the city with some lovely ladies to cause my own mischief.

 

 

Behold! The glory of pink! I have also learnt that if you are dressed entirely in pink and very much look like a lady, people are quite baffled (and even morally offended) when you do something uncouth like burp or swear.

 

 

 

 We ran amok in St Kilda and sampled some of the best sugary goodness the cake shops had to offer.

We shopped, we admired, we were admired, we laughed, we drank. Oh how we drank! I had the worlds strongest cocktail, with my knees going a bit rubbery after only a few sips. Very dangerous!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We then decided to head back into the city and have a squiz at the amazing displays of theatrical and operatic costumes currently showing at the Art Centre. Now, after taking copious amounts of pix of all of the breathtaking works of frock art, I discovered that I was not actually meant to be taking photos of them. I have learnt that I often break the rules without even knowing. Oooops!

 

 

I have also learnt that when dressed entirely in pink you are a magnet for conversation, and random strangers like to come and admire and have a chat. Which is lovely if not a little disconcerting.

I even struck up a semi drunken conversation on the train home with a lovely chap who had fallen on hard times, because he admired my "hair thingies", as he so beautifully put it.

We discussed alternate universes, other planes of existence, dolphins, hats, Lady Ga Ga, life, the universe and everything. A good way to while away the boring and long trip home.

 

 

 

I am totally in love with this vintage dress and if I wasn't married already, would probably make some sort of undying love statement and elope with it. It was a Savers find that was a little torn and bedraggled but is now  a wardrobe staple. And when worn with my Drouin op shopped pink cardigan and bright pink bag I feel like a pink dream.

 

 

There are my "hair thingies" as they are now known. I just don't feel right without flowers in my hair!

 

 

Poor tired tootsies! I kicked off my heels and put the worn out fellas up to rest for the rest of the night.



One weekend, one dress - two ways

 

 

 

I am more than a little embarrassed to share this (but hey, that is what a blog is for!), but last weekend I donned the same dress for both days.

Le shock! Le horror!

(Are you okay now? Do you need to sit down or have a stiff drink or something?)

I'm sure I'm not the first to do it, am I?

 

 

On Saturday I took this gorgeous op shopped Leona Edmiston dress out with some black and white to keep her company. A combination I never would have dared a few years ago because back then I despised blue and thought that it was illegal to ever combine black and blue together.

And then I felt so comfy, and was enjoying the beautiful vibrant shade of cobalt so, and the amazing stretch fabric felt so lovely on, that I thought, "Sod it, I shall be a slovenly, but stylish wretch" and wore it again!

 

 

 

I just love this colour pairing, but then every colour goes with  a good dose of black and white.

 

 

My wee bee brooch matches like a dream!

 

 

And here we go for my Sunday spin on the dress!

I assure you I did not pong. And my dress had nary a wrinkle on her.

 How I adore these jewel like colours together!

 

 

 

Bugger the "blue and green should never be seen without a colour in between" rule!

Why would people have ever thought that these shades would not be friends? Just look at them together! Snuggling contentedly, and being so sociable. I practically had to tear them apart at the end of the day, they were getting along so well.

 

 

Yeah, that is a smug look that says " I'm wearing the same dress. What are you going to make of it?"

 

 

I'm not entirely sure what this look says? Are my seams straight? Have I soiled myself? Hmmmm.

 

 

The kids get so tired of me prancing about in front of the camera and so often are making silly faces to make me laugh so I turned the camera on them. They both love a chance to look adorable.

To add to our domestic woes at the moment (the poor hubby is still a decorative feature on our lounge floor!), the little Miss has tonsillitis and is full of the grumps and the coughs. Poor little mite!

Must fly as I am required to be a Florence Nightingale/Mother Theresa type and tend to my sick and disabled. Ta ta!



Bottom Drawer Antiques

 

 

The only thing better than a vintage adventure is an unexpected vintage adventure!

There you are, minding your business, when WHAM!

A gorgeous antique haven beckoning seductively from the side of the road. (Have I just made the shop sound like a hooker?)

And as silly as I often am, I ain't silly enough to keep driving by. No way!

 

 

For my unexpected retro rummage I wore my 60's geometric and rose dress with the collar and bow detail that makes my heart flutter. And red roses in my hair to keep company with the red roses blooming on my frock.

 

 

After a girl has gorged on vintage all afternoon she is often so hopped up that she feels like  a crazy backyard dance (much to the amusement of the little black dog!).

I have created some new moves to add to my ever growing dance repertoire.

There is the "I'm balancing on a tightrope", the "I have marionette arms",

the "have I got poo on my shoe?" and finally, the "who farted?"

All set to be classic moves coming to a dance floor near you!

So I stopped at the adorably named Bottom Drawer Antiques in Moorooduc and after squeeing and sighing and oohhhing and aahhhing, I managed to snap a few pics of some of my favourite pieces that are now on my Christmas wish list.

 

 

 

Unbelievably stylish and cool Bakelite entertaining pieces like ice bucket and cigarette holder with matching napkin rings. I would so be the hostess with the mostest if I had these at a party!

 

 

 

We actually have one of these hip little robot guys. His name is Scooter and he lives in my sons room but unlike ours this one is complete with his tray and remote. Could I convince my husband that we need another and we could use them as bed side tables? Hmmm, I'll work on that.

 

 

In this day and age of smart phones these fabulous phones are a breath of fresh air and so very cool.

 

 

I can totally think of five different places in my house that would benefit from this amazing vintage dentist drawers. And it is on sale!

 

 

Daddy, I want a pony!

 

 

 

So many pretty bottles! I used to collect antique torpedo and marble bottles in the early days of my vintage obsession.

 

 

Medical and scientific antiques are so fascinating.

 

 

 

 

And finally, oh my lawd, the Bakelite jewellery.

So, so divine. So, so pricey.

One day, my pretties, you will be mine!

I really could have spent days in there, and not only because it is a labyrinth like, rabbit warren of a  building that has you lost and yet happy to be lost.

The store is fit to bursting with stunning antiques, beautiful vintage and quirky odds and ends that could make a girl like me go gaga and send me to the poor house.

I did walk away with one beauty from my adventure, a lovely little straw hat from the fifties, but she will get her own post in the future!

Pop into Bottom Drawer Antiques if you are ever in the area or check them out on line.

(Blogger is being a wanker and not letting me add a link but look them up anyway.)