jemima & geraldine

a challenge for you!

2012-02-29T16:53:00.001+11:00

Here is a photo of me in one of my many wigs. I challenge you to come up with the best caption! My favourite so far:

"Excuse me? Oh, I was just picking up my fork from under the table..."

Eeeek!

lovely rain

2012-02-27T14:11:00.001+11:00

After a yukky, hot weekend, we finally have some rain and it hasn't stopped pouring down today! I had a great weekend; on Saturday I had a violin student (who continues to impress me with his dedication), then a late afternoon/evening gig with the gypsy band. It was so hot in the hall we were playing in, so in our break we went for a swim at the beach nearby! Well, I kind of waddled around awkwardly, holding my dress up...yesterday morning I worked, but then I had an ice cream date with my lovely lady, Carina, then dinner with my other homegirls Sally & Jessamy! A somewhat indulgent day. Photos below of my outfit, taken by Sally-doll....

*I still haven't worked out how to place photos throughout the text when using my iPhone- can anyone help?

I'm wearing:
Dress - the lovely Nelly
Polkadot flats - Salvos ops hop
Bow bag - Sally's garage sale

Happy day to to you all xox

bunny sunny

2012-02-26T08:14:00.001+11:00

A quick one before work...
My carpet bunny!

Xx

floral gypsy

2012-02-24T12:17:00.002+11:00

Hello my lovelies...today I am sad because my darling has driven to Sydney to live for at least 2 years (see my earlier post if you are confused!). I'm going to miss him so much. But we've had a wonderful time together the past few weeks and I will be visiting him up there in 2 weeks time! I'm very excited.

In other news, I finally gave in and got an iPhone. I love it so much and am writing this post on it! Let's see how it turns out. Edit: ok so I can't work out how to place the photos throughout the post so they will be at the bottom for now, sorry!

I went to the Wantirna Trash & Treasure market with lovely Sally on Sunday and found lots of beautiful things! I'll show you them over the next few posts. Now that I can blog straight from my phone, I'm hoping to become a better, more consistent blogger!

Here is a frock I purchased for $2. I think it might be from the 80s, going by the tag, but I'm really unsure! I love it all the same :)

Love to you all! Xx

summer wine

2012-02-17T13:55:00.000+11:00

Eraserhead blew my mind. I'm feeling disturbed and a bit down today, probably as a result of the film. Off to work shortly, bleggh...

A song to sing on a Friday. Xx

Meeeeow helga!

2012-02-16T20:02:00.003+11:00

Thank you for such lovely comments in response to my last post, they were so sweet and meant a lot :) I'm half-asleep at the moment, but am going to a late screening of Eraserhead tonight so I'd better get my act together!

Here are some photos of an outfit I wore a few weeks back. It was inspired by the one & only Helganessa! It was the pussy bow that did it, although I'm sure Helga would have worn killer heels with this outfit. I think I wore boots, from memory.

Perhaps I should have ironed this dress first...

Dress - A gift from the lovely Sally-doll
Pussy bow blouse - Wantirna Trash & Treasure market
Stripy Tights - a gift from the gorgeous Sarah
Pussy mask - A gift from my darling friend Prue, bought in Venice!
Big polkadot bow - Made by Helga's fine hands

And because I was feeling cheeky, this one is DEDICATED to Helga!

Reoooow! Whoops, pity you can see the screen in the back ground! We were watching Louis Theroux. What a cool fellow.

Helga is such an inspiring babe, I wish this could be us for a day...

Ciao my lovers, have a nice night! Xx Claire

re-united love

2012-02-15T20:17:00.001+11:00

Hello my pretties! Just some photos from breakfast with a lovely man yesterday...He might be familiar to those who have been reading my blog for some time. Hayden and I broke up quite calmly about 8 months ago...I was devestated but we just weren't working well together at the time. Anyway, I've kept it on the low-down up until now, but we've managed to sort things out and are madly in love again :) Can I hear a "Nawwwwww!!"? Unfortunately he is soon leaving for Sydney to study for 2 years and I'm gonna miss him like hell, but I'm trying not to think about it until the day he drives up.

Crochet flower clip made by my lovely friend Carina :)

I bought this frock from Camberwell market for $5 on a cold and frosty morning. I was there to busk with the gypsy band. By midday it was sweltering hot so I changed from my coat, warm dress, tights and boots into my new, sunny dress, and five minutes later was stopped by a really sweet street-style photographer from Meet Me on the Streets....follow the link to see the photo if you're interested in seeing my bruised legs and silly smile :)

Love to you all & thanks for the lovely comments about Chomby's bottom in the last post! He was very flattered...

Xx Claire

bunny booty

2012-02-12T15:30:00.000+11:00

There is nothing I enjoy more than perving on cute bottoms...

Hehe!

Xx Claire

lovely nelly

2012-01-31T19:17:00.000+11:00

I'm so sorry for the neglecting this poor blog! I've been incredibly busy and there have been some exciting things happening in my little world of late. For now, a quick outfit post and I must share with you the parcel of goodies I recieved from my favourite Nelly in the whole wide world.

First up, the outfit I wore a couple of days ago...It was HOT so polyester wasn't a good choice, but I hadn't even had a chance to try on this dress yet so I gave it a go!

Sorry for the awkward poses. I feel so silly!
Dress: I can't even remember where I bought this dress from! It must have been a market or it must have been cheap because I didn't get a chance to try it on before I bought it. I really haven't got a clue where it's from. Am I getting old?!
1960's Sunglasses: Camberwell market, $10
Belt: From my darling and talented friend, Sally
Pendant: Also from Sally's treasure trove!

I thought you might like to see the back of my dress too. Heeeeeeeyah!

I bought a set of beautiful orange salt and pepper shakers from Nelly in one of her sales before Christmas, and was delighted to recieve a parcel of gifts in the mail with them! Nelly, you cheeky lass! Here is what was inside....

Two beautiful dresses: I need to bring the gorgeous patterned one in a bit, but have been wearing the green maxi on hot days. So nice!

White lace gypsy skirt/petticoat: I'm not sure if this is intended as underwear or outwear, but I can't wait to frock up in it on stage with the gypsy band! It's amazing.

Delicate belly dance top: Oh my goodness! I'm smitten, Nelly, thank you so much! I have a navy coin belt that I found in an op-shop recently that would match the top beautifully!

Bunnikins cross-stitch: Eeek! Need I say more I've been wanting to try out cross stitch and can't think of a better place to start.

The kitty salt & pepper shakers! I'm in luuuuurve....purrrrr........

The incredible belly dance crop top...

Bunnikins! I have a collection of Bunnikins that I refuse to let go of, but I have them packed away for fear of dropping one. Now I can cross stitch a couple! Do you think Chomby would want to help? :)

Thank you so much, Nelly! And thank you to everyone who has stuck around while I've been off gallivanting elsewhere.

Xxx

braces gone!

2012-01-20T16:51:00.002+11:00

Hip Hip Hooray! Just a quick one today as I'm in between cake baking and getting dressed up for a partay...On Tuesday those little porceliene pieces of pain that adorned my teeth for two years came OFF! It was a long two years that went really quick and really slow at the same time. I now feel feel my age and can't stop smiling at people.

Here's the photo of my teef as soon as I left the orthadontist...

Here's the purposely unflattering 'before' pic...

Nice, huh?!

And the outfit I wore on the day...

Wrap Skirt - op-shop
Clogs - Rivers
Bag - Vinnies op-shop
60's sunnies - $10 Camberwell market (I'm in love with them!)

I'd best be going...hopefully tomorrow I can show you my party party frock frock and the goodies I recieved in a parcel from Nelly forever ago that I've been busting to show off!

Xxxx Love to you all!

hoppy holidays!

2011-12-25T08:27:00.002+11:00

Morning sweet peas, just a quick note to wish you a merry christmas! I've been flat-out over the past couple of weeks attending conferences, tieing up loose ends, preparing for my thesis fieldwork which will happen over the next few days and getting presents together for Christmas. Amongst all of the chaos I've managed to catch a cold, which is driving me mad! Last week I recieved a HUGE parcel of goodies from Nelly but I haven't photographed it yet so you will have to wait...She spoils me, that woman!

I took some pics of my outfit last night before I headed out for a sneaky late night picnic with some of my work family! It was so lovely...I'll show some photos from the picnic another time, but here's what I wore...

Dress - Savers op-shop
Bag - Vinnies op-shop years ago
Leather string around my waist-off another dress from an op-shop!

Chomby sends a kiss and out to all of his rabbit homegirls, and since I haven't managed a photo of him with a santa hat on, here is a clip of him opening his present last year...

I'd better keep getting dressed or I'll be late for lunch! Have a nice day everyone, whatever you're doing!

Xx Claire

sleepy sunday

2011-12-11T15:04:00.002+11:00

A rainy morning ruled out any busking or market fun this morning, so I slept in, dragged myself out of bed and drove to the shops without any make-up & messy hair (I hadn't even brushed my teeth-shhh!) to buy pancakes...I couldn't even be bothered making them from scratch. So I heated them up in the sandwhich press and made a pot of earl grey. It was quite lovely and very lazy.

I've been busy working my new job at a very cool sweets shop (lotsa lollies, chocolate, jams...), trying to organise field work for my thesis and having fun rehearsing with my uke sisters and gypsy band. Last week, Lark (the gypsy band) performed at Federation Square for Moral Fairground's Fair@Square festival. My friend Elliot took some great photos of us on stage...

I figure this constitutes to an outfit photo...
Indian wrap skirt: Op-shop, don't remember where or when!
Black top: op-shopped, " "
Boots (you can't see them, I'll show you soon!): camberwell market

Teddy, the other violinist/mandolin player in the band puts me to shame with his rock star moves!

Thanks for taking the photos, Elliot!

We had a great time and I think we played really well. It was also lovely to meet Fourth Daughter again. She is the queen of ethical fashion and helped organise the fashion show. It is Sunday, which means...

Bunnny!! Oh, I just love them all dearly. I want to fill my flat with them!

Have a lovely week xxx

belly dancing

2011-12-05T23:33:00.001+11:00

For weeks I have been hand sewing a pearl bra for the end-of year belly dancing concert...I've been collecting pearls and little creamy bits-and-pieces over the past few months in anticipation of this concert and it finally came together for the performance on Friday night.

We've been calling ourselves the Roses of Cairo and performed an Egyptian sword dance, 1940's hollywood style. Here are some photos from the night, I hope the girls don't mind me sharing their beautiful faces here! Enjoy...

I covered and decorated the bra with mostly second hand things...The harem pants and veil around out hips were made for the group. The little lace shirt that I tucked into my bra is a beautiful vintage japanese (I think!) piece. So pretty. It cost me $5 from St Andrews market and my friend Sally has one exactly the same, found many years before mine!

Yes, there is another cherry red-head in the group, Courtney. A lovely lass with excellent style, and hair :)

A close-up of the bra and earrings...

Unfortunately, by the time I got around to taking these photos, some of the pearls have fallen off the trim and the bra is looking a little worse for wear. It looked great on the night, though!

The single pearls on the silver chain hung across my belly...And the earrings, just 'cos I promised I'd show them off to Fourth Daugher from Style Wilderness, when I saw her at the Moral Fairground event, Fair @ Square, on Saturday...

Jingly clip-on's from Camberwell market for a dollar or two.

It was a really fun night and we managed to get through the routine without dropping our swords, which is lucky because they are quite heavy and pointy! Ouch. Hopefully I'll be able to share better photos and a video of the performance as they pop up over the next couple of days.

Xx Claire

bunny sunde' 27.11.11

2011-11-27T11:13:00.001+11:00

Hi everyone! Things have been slowing down around here and Chomby is gradually recovering (finally) from his operation. The swelling has mostly gone down and all that is left is a little round scab. Sorry I missed last Bunny Sunday, I was busy playing ukulele at our first gig! I can't tell you too much yet, but we have big plans :)

As promised, a cute bunny...this one is an Angora rabbit!

photograph by Sam Hood, 1930.

I will try to take some outfit photos to share with you this week, I do apologise for being so slack recently. I've lost a bit of motivation and while I've been op-shopping almost every day, I haven't had the time or energy to set up the tripod and share it with you. I'll be back into it again soon, I promise :)

Xoxox

PS. 99 followers?! Welcome to my new readers, thanks for thinking what I say and show you is worth subscribing to, and for hanging around while I take lots of naps :)

22

2011-11-16T19:56:00.001+11:00

Hip hip hooray! I am 22! The past week has involved cake (lumberjack on saturday and pineapple today!), tea, garden frolicking, presents and pretty clothes. Very low-key, I'm quite the grandma! Here are some photos of me when I frocked up for the weekend...

Dangerfield frock - a gift from my lovely uni friends for my birthday last year!
Flower head piece- made by moi
Boring black shoes- op-shopped

I am feeling rather loved, having received some seriously cool gifts (tickets to see Meow Meow? A beautiful semi-precious stones beaded necklace?! A 1950's pastel cups & saucers? Sew La Tea Do? ....and the rest!) It has been delightful!

Chomby was very thoughtful at 11pm last night, knowing my birthday was just around the corner. He suprised me by tearing his stitches out with his teeth! And he knows how much I love exciting late-night adventures, so we had to rush to the 24 hour emergency VET hospital half an hour away, where we calmly waited until 1am to be seen. He also knows how much I love an expensive night out, so when I finally got to bed at 3:30am, $190 poorer, I gave him a big kiss on his head and told him I would be up every hour to check on him. Thanks, Chomby!

But in all seriousness, he is OK - it's just lucky I caught him before he ripped the whole wound open. He is glued up and injected with antibiotics, so we will hopefully avoid infection!

Thank you for the lovely birthday wishes, everyone! Xoxo

...brains...sleeeep!

2011-11-14T19:33:00.003+11:00

I feel like a zombie after such a busy week and am looking forward to sleeping lots tonight. In my excitement about sharing my burlesque ball outfit with y'all yesterday I completely forgot about bunny sunde', so here are some photos of Chomby and a great vintage bun to make up for it...

Take care Xx

burlesque ball

2011-11-13T15:52:00.001+11:00

Hola pretty people, I do apologise for my absence over the past week-it has been a busy one! I finished all of my assignments for uni, Chomby was de-sexed (healing complications, but we're getting there!), there were some crazy storms, and finally....The Burlesque Ball

Oh, it was amazing! The theme of the show was 'exotic garden', so of course I had to dress up! I was inspired by queen Desiree's flower headbands and made one up the night before to match my dress, which of course you have seen before back here. These photos were taken by the gorgeous sally in the carpark after the show, so I was a little tired by this point, but here ye' go...

My hair was done by the dee-vine jessamy :) I bought some awesome diamante false eyelashes with green in them...can you see the sparkles?

Frock - The Silver Compact (think i've got the spelling wrong, sorry!) vintage store in Belgrave
Pumps - Rivers clearance outlet!
Glomesh Clutch - $3 from the Tecoma op-shop, a last minute browse for a bag that matched my dress better than a white one and it's pretty damn close!
Rose/Fish/Pineapple/odd necklace - Boronia Veterans Op-shop
Well, it was a burlesque ball so I thought I'd better show you my seams!

The gorgeous Sal, who had the most amazing hair with not just chopsticks, but pearls and a bow too (Helga, you wouldda loved it!) looked gorgeous and exotic garden-ready...

The shoes were off by this time of the night, but Sally wore some super high black heels - gorgeous!

Beautiful! I took some close-ups of the hair but they all came out blurry. I didn't manage to get photos of the delicious Jessamy and her boyfriend Mark, but rest assured they looked equally hot!

I'm feeling so inspired to have a go at Burlesque, the costumes are crazy beautiful and the ladies are stunning! It looks like fun.

I have sooo many op-shop finds (including a bag of wigs that I bought for $2 each today from the market) and lovely photos to catch you up on...we busked this morning and I wore a long blonde one with blue streaks the whole day :) Yesterday I celebrated my birthday (it isn't actually until Wednesday) and wore the flower headband I made again...didn't want to take it off! Thanks Desiree, I'm inspired to make 20 more!

Alright lovelies, I've got to leave for work soon. I'll be back in the next few days! I've got lots of blog reading to catch up on Xox

Xoxox

bunny sunde' 6.11.11

2011-11-06T17:37:00.001+11:00

Hiya! I had a really lovely day today playing music in the sun for a 10 year anniversary party at my work. It's normally my waitressing job, but my band was hired to play for the day, which was lots of fun! It was around 30 degrees outside today...very hot! It's cooling down now so I have the windows open and there's a lovely breeze drifting through. The essay I've been working on has 500 words to go and I'm confident that I can get it finished in the next couple of hours, so I'd better get on with it!

This weeks sunday bunnies......

Tomorrow is the day of chomby-chop-chop! After that I will stop talking about him so much because I seem to have made a joke of myself and I've turned into one of those people I avoid so I don't get stuck talking about their boring hobby for half an hour. And I don't want to be that person! Do not fear, though, there will be no shortage of chomby photos on my blog :) If you don't like bunnies, don't come to visit me!

Xox

frock i'm not wearing on this friday!

2011-11-04T14:36:00.004+11:00

Soo....I have been trying to do more work on my essay all day and have been procrastinating lots. So far I have eaten muesli with strawberries, liquorish, dark chocolate, an entire bag of microwave pop corn, an apple 2 cups of tea and a cup of coffee. I have played with chomby, replaced his litter tray, listened to 2 Beatles records (sgt pepper & abbey rd)....well I am writing an essay on the early recording industry in Australia, so records are kind study, right?

Then I thought I might look through some old photos on my phone which made me a bit nostalgic and miss my old house and having a boyfriend! But it's OK because there are also a tonne of photos of chomby and he is still with me :) So here are some photos of op-shopped things I snapped up just before I moved house that i didn't get to share with you at the time...

This green maxi didn't have a price tag at the Brotherhood of st Laurence, Knox City, and I think they gave it to me for $10 or something.

It's cute isn't it? I haven't worn it yet but it hangs on the wall in my flat.

Just for Vix, 'cos I know she loves this sort of stuff! A 1950's (or 60's?) Bakelite hairdryer, I think it was $5 from the Montrose church jumble sale

The back of the box shows you how it's done! This saddle bag was from the same jumble sale...

I think it was $2 or so? And here is an old photo taken on Chomby's first trip the the bunny vet when he ate cactus at the start of the year! Funnily enough I wore the same outfit last night...

He was so nervous that he woudn't get off my lap! It's so cute. Now when I take him there he tries to run around and be naughty. They know him too well, these days. On Monday he is getting de-sexed, and in about a month those braces on my teeth are coming off. Hooray!

Ok, that's enough procrastinating, I think I've got it out of my system now. Have a happy Friday!

Xoxox

tutankhamun

2011-11-01T10:08:00.004+11:00

Hello lovelies, just a quick one today because I have A LOT of uni work to get through...It's that time of the year, Eeek!

Yesterday was the concert for the African Drum and Dance class I did at uni. It was lots of fun! My class performed a piece called 'Gahu' from Ghana. It was thought to have been brought to Ghana by the Yoruba of Nigeria. I played a small drum, hit with long skinny sticks! I think either the drum, or the rhythm I was playing, is called Kaganu. My lovely friend Tony came to watch, then we went to the Tutankhamun exhibition at the Melbourne Mueseum. If you live in Melbourne and haven't been yet you simply MUST go! It's on until the 4th of December and is incredible. Lots of artifacts from king Tut's tomb and from his ancestors. It sent chills down my spine!

We got a passer-by to take a photo of us outside the gardens at the Museum 'cos I thought we looked pretty darn smart!

I was wearing...
Indian mirror-adorned top - Sally's Garage Sale! (I'll get a close-up for you soon, Fourth Daugher!)
Skirt - Ringwood Salvos years ago
Belt - Op-shopped somewhere years ago
Boots - Savers op-shop

Tony Wears...
Orange velvet jacket - A gift from Hayden and I years ago after it was given to Hayden and was too big!
Groovy flares - no idea!

I think I'll go to the exhibition again before it ends, it was amazing. Alright, back to my assignments. Happy Melbourne Cup Day if you celebrate yukky horse racing. I just like the public holiday!

Xx Claire

bunny sunde'

2011-10-30T10:13:00.000+11:00

I just found an amazing collection of old bunny photos on ye' old facebook. I have no idea where they came from, but they are so good that I thought I'd share one with you each sunday. How does that sound? To start us off...

I love bunnies so much. Most people think I'm crazy for it, but I think you understand! Chomby is the sweetest little thing. He is getting de-sexed next Monday, umaaaaah!!!

Here is a nice photo taken of me playing with Lark by Linda of Blue House Studio at the beautiful wedding of my friends Brent and CJ. We were so thrilled to have the chance to play at such an amazing occasion...

Like my coat?! I bought it from my friends garage sale. She was far too kind with her prices for me and I came home with lots of goodies...Thank you, Sally! xx

Ok, enough ramblings for today. Happy Bunny Sunde'!

Xoxox Claire

spectacular

2011-10-29T08:00:00.001+11:00

Hola lovelies! Thank you for your nice, comforting "there, there" comments on my sooky post! Here is something to look forward to...I'm looking at buying some vintage frames to assist with the Astigmatism in my right eye. I've worn glasses throughout my life and even a single contact lens at one point (hated it!). When I was a little girl I had the pirate look happening with a skin-coloured patch over my good eye, to strengthen the bad one. So the nerd thing has always come naturally to me!

Hopefully I will be getting my braces off in a month or two, so I'll be willing to hop back on the spectacle wagon without looking too much like Ugly Bettie (Who dresses fabulously, I must say!). I was excited to come across this etsy store, stocked up with lots of lovely 50's cat eye frames! Here are some of my favourites...

Which pair are your favourite? I love them all!

My main issue with buying a pair online is that you can't try them on first and it's a lot of money to part with if they don't suit. Does anyone know if online stores that allow you to return the glasses, or shops in Melbourne that stock vintage cat eye frames? I'd love some help!

Xx Claire

dull

2011-10-28T19:04:00.000+11:00

Yaaaaaawn. Feeling very dull today. It has been my final day of uni for the year, but I have so much work to do that there is no cause for celebration. Boo! I'm feeling a little dis-heartened by the whole thing.

Tonight I'm performing a lovely duet with a nice viola player at a Soire, so that should cheer me up a little. Hopefully there will be a supper afterwards so I can drown my grumpy feelings in sweets. Oh, and I am supposed to be on a no-chocolate diet for a month, but I've managed to consume chocolate of some sort (lamingtons, chocolate biscuits, chocolates won in a trivia quiz) each day since I 'commited' to it, so I give up! I'll just stop buying the stuff and let it come to me instead. Anyway, enough sooking. Here is a lazy 'frock-on-a-friday' photo for you...

Messy hair, a cup of Russian Caravan tea and the couch. My foot looks weird. Bleh...
Dress-bought from a nice lady at Camberwell Market last summer. A favourite! It has little pockets!

It was nice and warm outside today, but a storm has come along and is making an awful lot of noise. I don't feel like doing anything. At least Chomby is in a cuddly mood!

I'll be back in a few days when I'm feeling a bit better :)

Xx Claire

jumble sailing

2011-10-24T17:49:00.001+11:00

Yesterday I was up bright and early to go to one of the local Fire Brigade jumble sales. I got this bag and contents for a total of $10! I'm so close to broke right now, but I figured I could afford to spend a few dollars...

Sweet bag with cane handles (Nelly, eat your heart out!)

Ok, I lied, this carved wooden oversized coaster (I actually have no idea what it is!) was fifty cents extra.

Cuuuuute shoes! A little on the big side. I can stuff tissues in the toes though, right?!

Little saddle bag. Does anyone fancy it? Otherwise I think I'll put her on ebay :)

Lovely vintage bed coat, perfect for a costume I'm putting together!

All that for $10.50! A good haul :)

Happy Monday! Xx Claire

gifts

2011-10-23T22:18:00.003+11:00

I have been a spoiled little lass lately! This week I was very excited to find a parcel from the delicious Helga von Trollop waiting for me! I knew it must have been from her when I saw it had travelled all the way from New Zealand. Wowowowowie!

Inside the box...

Ohhh, a signature oversized Helga bow, yippee! In black and white polkadots (I have a perfectly matching pair of peep toe flats with big bows!) and...

A gorgeous little ring, a gold pendant, and a sweet blue purse... A groovy card with some of the lovliest words inside :)

A pretty flowing nightie made by Helga's own talented hands, the fabric feels so lovely on my skin! We should have a virtual sleep-over and dress up in sweet nightwear!

I was so excited so see a pile of bunting (also made by the lady - how clever!) in the bottom of the box, and as I pulled it out it just kept going, and going and going like Mary Poppins with her bottomless bag! Weeeeeee, Thanks Helga! I should be able to circle the whole perimetre of my flat at lease once with it :)

Oh! I am just so lucky. Other gifts...

My friend Carina had the privilidge of raiding a deceased estate last week. She found so many beautiful things! And even something for me! A 1960's (50's? 60's?) Lady Sunbeam electric shaver...

Arrgggh! Isn't it cute?

And then my mumma found this glomesh bag at a fete for $1! In it's original box! She bought it thinking one of us would use it, but I promptly claimed it all to myself, hehehe. I'll share if they want to burrow it!

A spoiled little brat I am. But a happy one! I've had to save my pennies over the last couple of weeks and am living on the bare minimum, so it's nice recieve a few treats! I did hit up a jumble sale and spend $10 (shock! horror!) today, which was a bit extravagant! I will show you what I found tomorrow.

Xxoxx

internets!

2011-10-18T23:10:00.000+11:00

Hello chickens, how are you? I have a few pieces of good news.

1.I has internets! Woohoo! I finally bought one of those usb modem thingies. It works well.
2.Chomby is doing much better this week! He is still rather, erm, 'frisky', but is eating lots and pooing lots! That's a good thing. I look at al of his poo's like the crazy pet-owner that I am. He also may have stopped eating because I bought a new bale of hay and he is a fussy little bitch. Could have been a number of reasons! But thank you for your support and winks and giggles :)
3. It is going to be REALLY sunny over the next couple of days! I will take my uni work outside and read in the sun. And I'll try to get some more outfit photos happening. No excuses now!

I think I would have posted this photo when it was taken, but it has been a while since I posted a cute Chomby photo, so here is a favourite for you...

Have a nice week! Xox

nurse claire

2011-10-08T17:02:00.003+11:00

Poor little Chomby has been sick again over the past few days. I don't want to embarrass him, but the bunny VET believes his lack of mating friend has lead to some sexual frustration! He hasn't been de-sexed, so I will have that done as soon as he recovers from his tummy problems, which are caused by the stress. It's a similar treatment to last time - I have to syringe-feed him special food and water every couple of hours, as well as the gut stimulant and pain relief. He seems to be in pretty good spirits, but still isn't eating much food which is very dangerous. Oh, little Chomby! You causes me such heart-ache! Such a typical male.

Anyway, I can nurse him with my eyes shut now and am trying not to let my worry for him rule my every thought, so here are some recent market finds from a week or two ago (I am so behind!)...

This rather stylish little pixie boy cost me 20 cents. Isn't he cute? I like his onesie.

I bought this lady for $2 with Misfit Sarah in mind but decided she looked so pretty in my flat that I have to hold on to her! Sorry Sarah :)

The little glass with white silhouette birdies on it to the right was 50 cents. I thought it would be good to store my crochet hooks and pens in.

This morning was a trip to St Andrews market with my Mumma. W had a lovely time with her and it only sprinkled with rain for a moment! I will show you the gorgeous lace shirt I bought soon.

Please keep Mr Chomby in your thoughts, he sure does love the attention! And the pain killers!.....the little rat!

Xx Claire

lark

2011-10-03T11:43:00.002+11:00

Hello lovelies! Yesterday my gypsy band, Lark, performed at a birthday party out in the country. It was such a beautiful afternoon that we decided an impromptu photo shoot was called for!

The divine Jessamy (who sings with Lark) and I have been working on a Ukulele burlesque duet, so we took some photos that might come in handy for promoting that...Notice that I wore the pretty purple dress I showed off back here....it's a very tight fit!

I got the boys to pose as through they were on the cover of a 1970's or 80's Sewing-for-Men pattern magazine...

My favourite shot of the day:

I think Jack wants to join the burlesque act...not sure if he'd look good in costume..?!

Then we tried to squish into this beautiful 1960's Fiat 500...it was an uncomfortable five minutes!

A lovely day with lovely music-making, lovely company and lovely food!

crochet time

2011-09-29T14:13:00.001+10:00

Remember a while ago I mentioned I had a crochet lesson from the lovely lady who lives upstairs (my landlord!)? Well I finally got around to making some granny squares with help from Pip Lincolne over at Meet me at Mikes. She has made a great series of videos covering the process of making granny squares and they are so easy to follow! My friend Carina and I sat down and did it together...we are both hooked now (did you see what I did there?!). You can view the videos and learn more about Pip over here .

So when it was sunny a few weeks ago (I hadn't had a chance to post these photos yet!), I skipped uni and went wool shopping with Carina. Oh the excitement! So many different colours! We each chose a few to add to our growing collection and headed back to the cubby house at Carinas place to crochet in the sun...

Wool! Wonderful Wool!
Carina-face sewing in her ends...

I see a lack of tension in that left hand...hmmm naughty naughty!

Brace face! It was getting pretty hot out in the sun.

I am really enjoying making pretty coloured squares. Let's see how long it takes to turn them into a blanket :) I'll try to do a Frock on a Friday tomorrow, if I can get to the library to use the internet uggghhh!!! I'm so sick of this!

Have a nice day Xox

i am not dead...

2011-09-27T15:37:00.001+10:00

my internet is just HOPELESS! I am sitting in the library catching up on everything. I will soon invest in some kind of usb-y, internetty thing so I can have reliable internet at home. Miss you all! Xxx

frock on a friday #1

2011-09-16T18:00:00.001+10:00

Yep, I've hopped on the Frock on a Friday boogie train, along with all the other glamorous babes in blogland! I wear frocks every day of the week anyway, but just for fun I'm going to try to pull an unusual one out every Friday!

I scored this baby for $6.50 (half price tag!) at the Nunawading Salvos op-shop on Tuesday and am quite smitten with it. At first I couldn't decide whether it was hideous or awesome, prompting my friend Soon-Tzu to come up withg the term "Horse-ome". What do you think?

Gotta say, I love the cut and it's beautifully made. I just don't know about the crazy horse-in-field print...the kind you might see made into a quilt cover for a child...I have decided that it's so hideous that it works. Who ever made this dress is fabulous! (the label on it is Bird in a Skirt, an independent designer from the US. Groovy!)

"I'm old greggggg!" Chanelling the divine Desiree with a slip (a gift from my good friend Rose, many years ago!) that clashes beautifully with the frock!
Dress - opshopped @ Salvos
Tights - Gift from Mumma, Dimmeys!
Boots - Savers, a few years back $13ish
Slip - Gift from Rose
Jewelry - Op-shops, markets and inherited

Thanks for visiting my first attempt at Frock on a Friday! Let's see if I can keep it up :)

Xox Claire

frock me!

2011-09-15T21:46:00.000+10:00

*First of all, thank you for your lovely, kind-hearted responses to my last post. It was so nice to hear the changes that you have made in your lives, your advice, your affirmations and thoughts. Thank you!*

With spring freshly arrived, I have been drawn towards pretty dresses and bright colours. It's sill not warm enough to go without tights, but I hear it's going to be 25 degrees on Saturday! Pity I'm working most of the day. I'll certainly have my window down as I drive around :)

I found this beautiful 1950's style frock in The Silver Compact in Belgrave a few days ago. Two lovely sisters run it and it is always packed full of amazing vintage and unusual clothing, jewelry and housey bits & pieces. It's a little like Nelly's treasure trove (go and droll!)! It set me back a little more than I'd usually spend, but they are very reasonably priced for a vintage store. I think this was $24 and when I get around to wearing it and sharing photos you will see why I couldn't resist...

Pretty! I think it may be 80's-does-50's...

When I was photographing the dress outside my flat, I noticed the flowers on the magnolia tree near my doorstep matched it quite well. Hooray for spring!

I'm going to try to do Frock on a Friday tomorrow as I have another freshly op-shopped dress to share. So much for what I was saying about saving my money...but you all know how much of a bargain hunter I am :) Tomorrows dress cost me $6.50...see you then!

Xx Claire

being better

2011-09-13T19:21:00.003+10:00

Warning: this post is even more "me, me, me!" than usual. It will probably be boring for some of you as it is pretty un-related to my usual blogging topics so feel free to skip it. But it's my blog and I use it to document my life, so I'd like to get these thoughts down. This year I have been trying to improve myself. Making a few small changes now-and-then seen seems to be the way to go...

Consumption...
It all started here, back in March, when I commited to being a vegetarian. I haven't looked back since and think it was one of the best decisions I ever made. There are a few reasons why I decided to do it. The first is that I adore animals and tend to get really attached to them...why would I want to eat something that could be my friend? That led me onto the thought that we farm these animals purely for our consumption. We breed them to eat them. That disgusts me...and don't get me started on the treatment of the animals. I don't care if they are given a 'spacious' pen, 'enough' feed and are killed 'painlessly' That is still not good enough for clever, beautiful creatures. So that was my first big change. Some people tease me about it, but others have been really supportive.

Along with my ethical reasons for refusing meat, I have also started buying products that are either not made from animal products, or are absolutely not tested on animals. If you live in Australia, a really great company to buy from is Natures Organics (you can find them in most supermarkets). I use their toiletries and washing detergent and it's awesome. The shampoo and conditioner are amazing...they smell delicious and even the packaging is made from plant products.

As you all know, I am a crazy op-shop addict. A lot of the time, I shop at op-shops for variety of unusual and vintage clothing available, but the price is another big reason. The amount of money that I save by buying second hand is huge, leaving me with more money to spend elsewhere on things such as rent and food. When you buy second hand, a lot of the time the money goes to charities which is also a nice feeling! This isn't something I have only just started doing...I have op-shopped with my mum since I started walking (thanks mum!), but I have recently taken to buying almost everything second hand, and only if I can't find it in an op-shop or market, will I enter a shopping centre and buy it new. Less landfill, less money spent, less support for the sweatshop industry=good!

Body & Mind...
I have been belly dancing for a few years now and absolutely love it. I really like the way the dance embraces the female body...it's enchanting. I have started practicing at home more, and focusing on the movement. I would recommend belly dance to everyone. A big part of its charm, to me, is the community of beautiful women involved. I am very lucky to have an amazing teacher who has a huuuuge knowledge of the dance and all of it's different styles. She has inspired me and taken my interest to the next level. I would like to start creating my own choreography's at home and now feel confident enough to do that.

Those of you that have been reading my blog for a while will recall that I broke up with my boyfriend of almost four years a few months ago. I was devastated, and still am sometimes. We were living together, so I had to find somewhere for me and my bunny, Chomby, to live. I was fortunate to find a flat under the house of a really lovely older couple who I have known for some years. Sometimes, I think I'm doing really well. I feel independent, happy, confident and a total goddess. Other times, I feel insecure, alone and upset. I am trying to maintain my independence, but occasionally it'd just be nice to have someone else around, to make me a cup of tea or give me a nice big hug after a bad day. I have found, since becoming 'single', that I do go out a lot more, I have made more friends and am taking on more opportunities, but it would just be nice to have someone around, y'know? I miss Hayden a heap (and I'm sorry if you read this hayden!), and although we are still good friends and catch up occasionally, I feel like a little bit of me is missing. I need to fill that bit up with more dancing, more female company and more music, I think! I would also really like to start doing yoga. That's what I will do, yes!

So I am trying to improve myself. My mind, my body, my ways of doing things. I need to read more, blog more, see more people, dance more, study more and love even more. If you got to this point, thank you for baring with me! I don't mind if you skipped it all, though. It's nice just to have your company! You are all wonderfully supportive and nice. Thanks for constantly inspiring me Xx

boho ball

2011-09-10T15:23:00.000+10:00

Last night was the night of the ball - The Final Masquerade Boho Ball! It was amaaaazing! I had so much fun. And I know you're all waiting to see how I styled my dress, so this will be a photo-heavy post...

Having being inspired by the canary-yellow colour of the dress, I thought I might make a birdie head-piece for the night. My interpretation of 'bohemain' was a bit 'anything-goes'; creative, burlesque-y, psychedelic and extravagant. I have been flat-out busy over the past week, so i found time at mid-night on Thursday to make this little bird head-piece...

I picked up the fascinator-base from spotlight a few days ago (there are heaps as it is coming up to Spring Racing season, which, for the record, i refuse to support) for around $6 along with the birds from a florist for about the same price. The fabric was given to me by my older sister, Kate, and I have been using bits and pieces for all sorts of projects. With some haphazard tacking with a needle and thread and some sewing pins, I put together my headpiece and admired my work all within the space of about half an hour!

I got home from Uni completely exhausted yesterday afternoon with absolutly no desire to go out. It was pouring with rain and windy outside...all I wanted to do was curl up on the couch and watch a movie! But I had paid for my ticket and planned my costume, so I had a cup of tea and started getting ready!

I had so much fun teasing my hair into a birds nest! Then i thought, since it was a Bohemian ball, I might as well put my Monroe (piercing above the lip) stud back in. Ohhh, instant regret! It hurt a little to push it through the hole, which has never properly healed up, and once I did have it in I realised how easily it caught on my braces! So out it came, and the left side of my lip was swollen and red!! Bad idea, Claire! So on went the false lashes and lime green eye shadow, hoping my eyes would serve as a distraction to anyone looking closely at my mouth...I think it worked!

I found the most amazing purple and white lace pettiecoat at the Tecoma op-shop on Thursday, for $2! So I popped that under my frock, put on my stripy stockings, lace-up boots, some long black gloves, the bird head-piece went on, a little lace choker around my neck and a velvet black jacket (not photographed, sadly!), grabbed my beaded bag that I scored at the market a couple of weeks ago, and kissed Chomby goodbye! I had asked my landlords if they would take a few photos of me, and their daughter who has been staying with them kindly took lots of me in their beautiful sitting room! Unfortunately, they are a but blurry, but you get the idea...

I look like such a polite young lass in that one!

Oooer! Then in the car before I went and queued up in the freezing cold, I thought another photo was neccessary (check out the hole above my lip! Still a little swollen but at least the redness had faded)...

I saw some great bands and very fine burlesque performers last night. I think my favorite act was Mojo Juju, this amazing woman with a stage presence that reminded me of Screaming Jay Hawkins and not just because they did a wicked cover of 'I put a spell on you'!

I had a few different groups of friends that I was hoping to catch up with, but they didn't arrive until almost midnight, so I just danced around with strangers and it was the best fun I've had in a long time. The ball was scheduled to go until 5am, but I bailed around 1am as I knew I had to get up at 8am to teach violin today! I still feel like death, though! I'm such a nanna, these late nights are killing me.

When I got home I still wasn't sure if I had any good photos of my hair, so I took a few more in my very sleepy state...

The clip-on wooden earrings also came from my older sister, I think they belonged to her grandmother (well we are actually half-sisters). Thank you, Katie!

I did warn you that there would be lots of photos!

Thank you for all of your costume suggestions, I had so much fun putting my outfit together and seeing what everyone else wore. The Royal Melbourne Hotel was packed with amazing people in amazing costumes...Most people went for a dark colours with lots of lace, velvet, etc. I'm glad I wore my canary yellow dress!

I must catch up on everyones blog posts, I'm so sorry I have fallen behind! As I said, I haven't stopped much over the past week...I will have a rest on Monday evening, but until then I'm busy busy busy!

Xoxox Claire

op-shop treasures

2011-09-07T16:48:00.001+10:00

Hello! Today has been much sunnier and spring-ful. I have been practicing violin all afternoon as I have a gig tonight with La Tin Shed Orquesta. Earlier today I took Chomby to the vet for a weigh-in and check up. All good...he could put on a few more grams but has recovered from his stasis very well! I also popped into spotlight to pick up some crafty bits for my Boho Ball Costume (look how link savvy I am getting!) and an op-shop with my friend Carina before getting stuck into boring violin practice.

Here are some op-shopped treasures of late...

Ohh, what have we here?!

Cute japanese kitten wall plate. So pretty, I couldn't resist! $2.99, Salvo's.

Waistband interfacing, 20 cents.:

1960's 'Book of Beauty', $2.99, Salvo's. It has everything from how to disguise your bowed legs, to what spectacle shape best suits your face and elocution (eg. did you know that a lady once met her husband over the phone after he was so charmed by her voice?)

1960's '100 Hair Style Ideas' magazine $8.99, Salvo's (3X the price of the Book of Beauty...the price really does vary from people who know the 'value' of old things to those that don't!)

Slightly boring in comparison, but hopefully useful...

'The Craft of Smocking' Ferntree Gully William Angliss Op-Shop, 50 cents

About 2 metres of floral cutrain fabric (to be made into a skirt with the interfacing above!) $3.50

I tried to take a cute photo of Chomby on the fabric for you, but all he wanted to do was dig in it! Look at him being all guilty-like...

"Who, me?!"

What is your favourite recent thrifting find?

Alright, back to violin practice! Xox

spring?

2011-09-06T16:47:00.000+10:00

Spring has finally arrived! Although today is rainy and grey. This perhaps explains my miserable face in the first outfit shot I have taken in a while...

Skirt, top, boots, belt: opshopped
Tights: Supermarket!

I'm not miserable - In fact, I'm very happy! Chomby is doing really well, I think he is more spritely than ever. He has just figured out how to 'binky' (a kind of jump/kick dance bunny's do when they are happy...

Cute!

Thank you all for your suggestions of what to wear to the Boho Ball. I think it might be masquarade, too, which is kind of annoying! I might draw my mask on with some pretty swirls so that I don't have to wear something on my face for the night. I can't wait to put the final outfit together!

Xox Claire

canary yellow

2011-08-31T11:56:00.001+10:00

Hello pretties!

I purchased this lovely frock from the ridiculously over-priced Savers Op Shop a few weeks ago. It cost me $25 because they know people will pay that much for vintage. It makes me so cross! I even tried to bargain it down because it was a bit grotty, but had no luck and bought it anyway. The stains came out in the first wash, luckily!

Isn't it lovely?

I have a question for you...I'm going to the Boho Ball next weekend and I want to wear this dress. I'm thinking of pairing it with the vertical black & white striped stockings that the lovely Sarah sent me (I wore them here), and perhaps some black lace-up boots. But I need your suggestions....How would you style this dress for a Bohemian Ball? I can't wait to hear your ideas!

I mentioned to some of you that Chomby, bless his little cheeky heart, ate more plastic on Friday....I know, I couldn't believe it! I was furious with myself for letting happen after the pain we went through last week. But I've been looking after him and inspecting all of his droppings and I think he is OK this time! Phew. I'm going to work on cutting plastic bags out of my life.

Have a lovely Wednesday!

Xx

music video!

2011-08-23T17:00:00.000+10:00

Evening friends,

For those of you who might have missed my earlier post today, Chomby seems to be a-ok! He is almost back to his happy self :)

Some of you might remember me posting photos of my outfit on this day, back in July. The gypsy band that I play with, Lark, busked at the opening of Mana Bar, a gaming bar in Melbourne. We have been learning lots of retro gaming music and arranging it to suit our gypsy sound, so we thought it'd be a good place to show it off to people who would appreciate it! Bruce Moyle of Joffre Street Productions was there filming a documentary of the event and had some time to kill, so he asked if we'd like to film an impromtu music video. Cool! We choose to play the theme from Tetris and Tetris Chill. Dig...

Tetris - Performed Live by Lark from Bruce Moyle on Vimeo.

How amazing does it look?! We look all professional and stuff.

Xx Claire

chombunny

2011-08-23T12:00:00.000+10:00

Hello lovelies, just a quick post to let you know that after staying with the Vet over the weekend, Chomby seems to be feeling much better and is almost back to his usual, cheeky self! Thank you all for your love, support and kind words Xoxo

a sick bunny

2011-08-18T19:50:00.001+10:00

Hi Everyone,

I have had an emotional two days. Chomby has been at the vet today and yesterday and we're still not 100% sure of what is wrong, but think his dehydration has made his tummy unable to digest food properly.

The explanation that I have been given is that Consuming a small bit of plastic bag on Monday = Damaged tummy and intestine lining = Loss of appetite = Dehydration = The food that he has been eating getting stuck on one side of his tummy = Bloating = More discomfort = Sad Chomby :(

I'm so worried about him. He had an X-ray today which almost ruled out the possibility of blockage caused by the plastic bag (although I'm still not convinced). He is eating and doing unusually small droppings, but he wont drink unless we force him to with a syringe and he's having to have fluid injected under the skin.

I will keep you all informed, but please send some happy, loving, healing thoughts our way and hopefully he will be on the mend soon. You all know how much I love Chomby and I would be so heartbroken if I lost him.

Xox

trash & treasure finds

2011-08-16T22:52:00.005+10:00

After a big sleep in on Sunday, I still had time to make it to the Wantirna Trash & Treasure market. It was a lovely sunny day, so off I went! I'm glad I still bothered to go. Here are some of my finds....

Squeak! The deer's leg was broken, so I glued it back on and used the weight of the ring (Which was my grandmothers) to hold it in place while it dried. Deer & Squirrel (A pretend salt shaker), $1 each.

Cute bow hair clips, $1 each.

Vintage beaded bag, $4. The chicken pen was $1 (I couldn't resist! I needed a pen in my handbag and this one was too cute), The strings of pearls were $1 each. I'm going to use them for a vintage-inspired belly dancing bra (Stay tuned!). The purple floral fabric underneath is a skirt that I need to bring in to fit me...it was $1, too!

Patent t-bar heels...$2. A perfect fit. I need some little lace socks to wear these with during spring.

And my favorite buy...

This wicked Silver/Glass ring cost me $10. I'd seen it a few weeks before and they were asking $18, so when I saw it again and was quoted $10 I couldn't leave it behind. Does anyone have any idea where it's from? My friend suggested Turkey...I really have no idea, but it's groovy!

Chomby says hello:

He had me so worried last night. Yesterday he chewed and swalled a 10cm strip of plastic bag from my fridge. He always tears at them because he knows the have vegies in them! But this time he swalled it. He seemed OK until last night, when he was stretching out really strangely and lying around on his tummy. Not in the happy-bunny way I picked him up and he was really floppy and didn't try to jump out of my hands when I held him just above the ground. He wasn't interested in his hay or anything. Luckily, I had some strawberries in the fridge (his favourite!) and I gave him a couple of strawberry tops. He nibbled at them and then quickly munched them all down! Then he ate some bok choy! And hay! And then he did some poo's. So I think he's alright now. Hopefully he was just uncomfortable while it moved through his system and it's come out the other end without me realising. Gotta keep a close eye on that bunny!

I hope you are all having a nice week :) Besides the Chomby incident, my week has been fun so far.

Take care, lovelies! Xox

are go!

2011-07-28T23:09:00.002+10:00

My darling landlords ( I don't like calling them that anymore, they're like nice old friends!****) have started re-setting the modem for me every day or two so I don't have to knock on their door every time it stops working! So tonight I came home to internet-happiness. I apologise for boring you with excuses everytime I blog, i just feel so out of the loop these days!

I figure I should make the most of this internet connection while it lasts, but of course I haven't been taking outfit photos....so I've pinched a few off ye' old facebook. Once again, I have a violin attached to me. I swear I haven't put the thing down for more than 10 minutes these last few months!

Dress & Sunglasses both found at the Wantirna Trash & Treasure Market, about a year apart! Dress was $5, I can't remember how much the glasses were. They wouldn't have been much more than $2! I have a feeling the dress might have been made for a plump child in the late 60's...it's sooo short! I definitely couldn't wear it without tights unless I had some saftey pants (Ask Misfit Sarah and Helga!)...

Behind me here is Teddy, only the most stylish, crazy violinist/mandolin/guitarist/composer/rockstar I know. Happy Birthday teddddy!

A big, sqeezey hug to all of you! Fingers crossed my internet is working in the morning and I can read your posts while I eat breakfast!

Lots & lots of love! Xox Claire

****Guess what?! I finally worked up the courage to ask Shirley, the sweet lady upstairs for a crochet lesson the other day! She sat patiently with me for an hour and a half teaching me the basics! I'm so excited and have been 'trebelling' (?! I don't remember) back-and-forth on an abandoned project of hers for the last couple of days. I can also do a mean chain stitch and am looking forward to making granny square blankets for everyone I know.

Ps. I just hit 80 followers! Thank you so much, beautiful people! I appreciate your support, especially since I'm not around that often. This calls for a give-away soon, me thinks! Xoxox

chomby-love

2011-07-25T17:12:00.000+10:00

Hello pretty friends!

As you have probably guessed, my internet is down again so I haven't been able to blog or read your blogs! Ohhhh, I miss you all! So I've hijacked Dad's computer to share some Chomby-cuteness with you all because it's been a while, huh?!

When rabbits are really happy, they roll around and lie stretched out on their tummy's or on their side. Don't worry, he isn't having a seizure! I had a sick bunny years ago who had seizures in my arms and it was horrible :( But Chomby is a happy, healthy bunny! Enjoy!

He even let me scratch his tummy :)

Sending my love out to all of you, and Helga I hope you're having fun building snowman with crazy hats and red capsicum lips!!

Xoxox Claire

tights!

2011-07-14T16:47:00.000+10:00

Some stocking-candy courtesy of Misfit Sarah for those of you who couldn't/didn't wanna watch the clip in my last post!

Thank you again Sarah :)

misfit sarah!

2011-07-13T22:58:00.000+10:00

First up, I must apologise for my absence of late...in my new flat I am using the wireless internet from my landlords in the house upstairs and it constantly disconnects. I feel bad knocking on the door and asking them to re-set the modem every day, so I try to leave it as long as possible before I bother them again! Sometimes it only lasts an hour before my computer refuses to re-connect! It is driving me flipping mad.

I have been waiting to show you a special package that the divine Misfit Sarah sent me as a house warming gift....How loved up I am feeling at the moment!! I love you all so much! You make my life a million times more joyful. If only my internet connection was able to keep up with your awesomeness.

As with the amazing parcel of goodies that Nelly sent me last month, I could barely wait until I was out the post office door to tear the postal pack open! Ohh Sarah, you treat me so good!

Chomby inspects his presents...

I'm such a lucky girl...Under chomby's round little butt is the best velvet blazer in my favourite maroon-purple colour that I have been obsessing over lately! Thank you, Sarah! I can't wait to rug up in it :) Will get some outfit shots soon!

A tube of foot scrub to pamper myself, some pretty vintage handkerchiefs, two very groovy scarfs, some serious neck bling (i LOVE the hearts! Can't wait to rock this once when it's warm enough to bare my neck!)

The most amazing tights which I think I have seen before and lusted over...I've already worn them twice with bright red mary janes (I will do a post DEDICATED to them soon! Best op-shop find!)

this ADORABLE toiletries bag...so pretty!

A very cool retro table cloth which actually matches the colours around my flat very nicely...I'm smitten!

And finally, this great vintage card playing set, complete with score cards and little pencils. I just need me some cheese, wine and a giggle friend for a night in!

Sarah, you are wonderful! Thank you for being so thoughtful :) Xoxox

If y'all would like to see the stripy tights in action, check out a clip here of my gypsy band, Lark, performing retro Nintendo music at a Computer Gamers Boot Camp over the weekend

I miss you all very much and will try to get down to the library to use the internet and keep up with you as much as possible. I have soooo many op-shop finds to share with you!!

Lots of love to Sarah, and Nelly and all of you who have been so amazing and supportive lately! I'm doing really well. I am. I'm very happy :)

Xoxox

maket day

2011-06-28T01:10:00.000+10:00

On Sunday, I had my first market stall ever at the North Melbourne Market. I must say, I had a lovely time! Not only did I make a little moolah and meet some lovely people, I also got to meet some local bloggers! Yippee!

My stall...

I ended up just stocking vintage clothes and shoes, as most of my homewares and ornaments that I might have put up for sale are in storage, due to tiny house! I also gave away jelly beans, so I made lots of friends :)

Lyndel of Vintage, Retro & Simply Cute Shopping and I worked out the night before that we were one stall part from each other, so it was lovely to meet her! She is even lovelier in real life than on her blog (go and have a look!)

Lyndel and her lovely stall. Nelly, this next one is for you because we know how much you like swimsuits!

See our saddle money bags? We were well prepared!

I also finally met Josie of Frances Baker, whose stall was next to Lyndel's. What a lovely lass!

She had just bought her duffle coat from me! Glad to see that it went to a good home. That was something I felt for all of the things that i sold on Sunday - it was painful to let them go, but they went to people who loved them.

Josie was sharing a stall with her beautiful sister, Katherine, who I've known for quite a long time and their friend Sarah. Katherine and Josie have recently created an amazing zine called Apple Cart and were giving away lots of copies along with mini cupcakes! So sweet! Go and check out their zine right now!

My neigbour, Anita, was very friendly and entertaining. She was selling prints,frocks, shoes textiles and some cute knitted toys. She was a lot of fun!

Hello Anita, if you read this! My red velvet cup cake lip balm is divinnnnne, thank you!

I still have lots of things to sell, so will probably be making an appearance at one of the many markets around Melbourne soon. What a fun day! On Sunday night I collapsed on the couch at my friend Carina's house for some Harry Potter watching, but I must have slept through half of it! I was exhausted!

Hope you all had a great weekend! Xx

north melbourne market

2011-06-25T22:27:00.000+10:00

Just a quick note to let those who live in Melbourne that I am having a store at the North Melbourne market tomorrow! Do come and say hello if you are around :)

10am-3pm @ the Lithuanian Club on Errol St, North Melbourne.

I'll be selling lots of vintage clothes, shoes and bags. Maybe a few knick-knacks, too!

(There will be jelly beans and smiles in abundance!)

Xx Claire

i'm free!

2011-06-20T23:59:00.000+10:00

Wowie Zowie, am I exhausted?!! I have been in an assignment-writing frenzy over the past few days and didn't get to bed until 5am this morning. I handed in my assignment around 4pm today, though, and boy does it feel good! I got a little carried away: the word limit was 4000 words and I hit around 11,580. Ridiculous, I know! But I couldn't leave any of it out. It has been a most stressful time, and just top it off, my internet connection has been playing up so I haven't been able to distract myself with ebay and blogs (Probably a blessing in disguise!)

Anyway, enough boring you with whinging, I am now free as a bird! It feels wonderful! No more uni for a month or two :)

I have been bursting to tell you all about a package that arrived in the mail for me last week from the wonderful Nelly over at My Friends Call me Nelly. What a generous, amazing lady she is! I won some Golden Hands magazines on her blog a few weeks ago, but the sneaky thing spoilt me rotten with this lot as well...

Can you imagine my surprise and excitement?! My first blog-lovey gift ever, I felt very special :)

Chomby wanted to taste the book (Nelly you must have noticed my love for vintage childrens books!) and I told him off, which made him frown a little...

Look at all of these goodies, a groovy patchwork bag, lots of jewellry including some pretty earrings, a cute owl ring (which I haven't taken off since I found him!) and a bicycle pendant which I think I will turn into a brooch!

A face/foot exfoliating washer (Check out the colors!), a little tea cup and saucer to add to my shelf, the most gorgeous scarf which i also haven't taken off, it's so warm and I love the flowers...

The sweet hand-held mirror is perfect as I dropped my previous one a few months ago, smashing the glass to pieces and have been on the lookout for another! And of course the magazines, check out that crochet masterpiece...I am going to start teaching myself to crochet now that I have some time off!

The Golden Hands magazines are full of crafty goodness...check out these groovy 70's skirt ideas:

I love their hair! Nelly also sent me a couple of Notebook magazines which will be perfect with my morning cups of tea! One of them has an article on Pip Lincoln, who is my crafty-crush....what a lady!

Thank you so much Nelly, you cheered me up immensely and I feel very spoilt! Thank you again to all of you who have sent me love and hugs these past few weeks, you're the best :)

Xox Claire

little house!

2011-06-15T09:47:00.001+10:00

Chomby would like to take a moment to introduce you to our new little home...

"Hello lovely people who read Claire's blog. She probably has you under the impression that she did all of the decorating around here, but it's me that has the final say,"

"This be my favourite possie, I really like to just sit here and contemplate life and its strange, unpredictable ways....Oh, how wise I am, dear humans."

"What's that?! You want to see some photos of the flat? Oh, alright....."

Apologies for the bad lighting, there isn't much natural light in this place. It's sweet, I really do love it! And it is much more cosy with chomby around. He is enjoying exploring!

I have the tiniest kitchen that I've ever seen...I'm having to rely on a microwave, electric frypan, rice cooker and a slow cooker to make my meals as there is no oven/stove top. I'm doing fine though, the only scary thing is not being able to bake. But I can do that at other peoples house!

A photo of the living area...

Please excuse the mess, I'm still finding places for everything! The couch is a sofa bed, which I am getting quick at setting up.

Ok lovlies, I'd better go and have a brownie & earl grey tea for breakfast before getting stuck into my giant uni assignment (3800 words and I'm no-where near done!)!!!!

Thanks again for your support, it really cheers me up Xoxo

new flat

2011-06-10T23:27:00.002+10:00

Hello special friends,

Thank you so much for your kind words and virtual hugs in response to my last post. I apologise for not keeping you updated! I'm moving into a new flat at the moment and am desperate to show you some photos but I haven't had my camera on me! Poor excuse. I also haven't been up to being cheerful some days, but I'm doing OK right now. It's all very up-and-down, this break-up buisness. Emptying and cleaning the house has been the biggest drag, but setting up the new places is exciting! It's super claire-y.

Hayden is being so nice and kind and it's really not making it easy for me to move on. I'm heartbroken, but just have to keep thinking it's for the best. Pulling apart the house we made together hurts so much, but starting out fresh is super exciting and is a good distraction.

I will have photos for you soon!

Xx Claire

tearful

2011-05-23T09:06:00.001+10:00

Darling blog friends, I'm going through a difficult time having just broken up with Hayden. I still love him so much, but we want very different things at this point in our lives, aswell as in the future, so have decided to go our seperate ways.

I do have some wonderful op-shopped things to share, but if it's alright with you i'll put it off until I'm feeling a bit more cheerful.

xx Claire

leibster blog award

2011-05-11T15:28:00.003+10:00

Hello lovely friends! It has been a while, hasn't it? Today is very chilly and we've even had snow up in the hills, allthough our house is closer to the base of the hill so we didn't experience any :( I've been feeling a little miserable but have been trying to keep a smile on my face and push on....what use is there moping around when there's yummy meals to cook, a cute bunny to cuddle and a cosy heater to sit in front of, huh?!

This outfit was a bit inspired by Sarah Misfit...If only I had a green square scarf to tie around my neck and some rockin' cat eye sunnies!

Cuddles with the bunny

(blatantly ignoring the no black-with-navy rule...)

Wrap Skirt - Op-shopped a long time ago
Top - Op-shopped...
Scarf - I think I found it somewhere! I've had it for a long time!
Teal tights - on sale at Myer
70's riding boots - Savers $13.99

Oh, and the gorgeous Soapy Mermaid has me blushing again after awarding me with the Liebster Blog Award!

Thank you Soapy! Between that and asking me to tag my 10 favourite things (I will get onto that in my next post, perhaps!), you've made me feel very special!

I would like to award the Liebster Blog award to...
1. Lyndel - Vintage, Retro & Simply Cute Shopping
2. Becky - A Very Becky Blog
3. Nelly - My Friends Call Me Nelly

Each of you share your charming, fascinating lives with us and I want to thank you for that. Feel free to pass the award onto some of the sweet blogs that you love to read too!

my dears!

2011-05-07T10:20:00.002+10:00

I haven't been reading, commenting, posting or anything over the past week. I'm so sorry! I have been flat-out rehearsing, practising violin for the rehearsals, teaching violin, going to uni, re-learning ukulele (yes! Perhaps a video soon!) and trying to keep my life in order.

I hope to catch up on everyones posts soon and be back with you once I get through this crazy-busy time.

Xx Claire

PS. The incredibly beautiful Soapy Mermaid tagged me to list 10 things that I love...I'll get onto it soon! In the meantime, check out her blog for some seriously stunning mama-daughter outfits....you wont regret it! I am in love with her photos!

PPS. Those of you who were puzzled by the crazy tool I used to cut the lawn in the last post, it's called a 'whipper snipper' or 'brushcutter', and probably some other weird terms. I used a push lawn-mower first, then brushcut the steep parts that the lawnmowere couldn't get to. Thanks for all of your comments, they made me laugh!

lawn

2011-04-29T12:50:00.002+10:00

Hello everyone!

As promised yesterday (or was it the day before? I think it was, sorry!) Here are the rest of my op-shop finds from my trip to Savers...

Groovy knitted cardigan/jacket thing...I love those little pockets!

Belt $3.99

Cute bow shoes $7.99

I needed some navy shoes, so these will be good.

Yesterday I mowed AND brushcut our front lawn. It was the first time I'd done it, so was damn proud. And I wore jeans. That never happens!

Don't mess with me! Sorry about the blurry photo, it was taken with Haydens phone camera.

For your amusement, Hayden filmed me trying to start the brushcutter. I couldn't work it out!

Apologies for dropping the f-bomb with in the first 5 seconds. I'm a lady, really! I sound like a parrot because I couldn't stop giggling!

train tracks

2011-04-27T17:41:00.000+10:00

I took my little sister to the Savers op-shop in Dandenong today and we had a lovely time! She found a sweet dress and I found quite a few things! For the record, I busked for half an hour yesterday just so I could afford to go op-shopping today, haha! I made $25 in half an hour, which isn't bad at all!

I will have to take some photos of the bits & pieces I bought tomorrow, but as soon as I got home I changed clothes and put on the skirt that I bought. It was $7.99.

I think I've gone a bit overboard with the smiles now....I'm still getting used this whole 'posey' for the picture thing. It's fun though! Doing these outfit photo's is helping me get out of my dress-cycle rutt.
A close up of the necklace & brooch...

Skirt - Op-shopped from Savers $7.99
Cardi - Op-shopped from somewhere....I've forgotten where!
Bow tights - Kmart
Winklepicker shoes - Rivers
Bag - ebay
Brooch - A gift from the lovely Zoe
Necklace - Pendant came from Camberwell market. It's a very old violin mute. Cool, huh?!

I went to Ringwood with Hayden as he needed to buy some electrical components or something. So in return for accompanying him to such a boring shop, he took these photos near the Ringwood train tracks. Classy.

I hope anyone else who satisfied their thrift-withdrawals after the holiday break today did well too!

Xx Claire

plum

2011-04-25T14:28:00.000+10:00

I do love a juicy plum! I also love alll shades of pink and purple, perhaps bit too much for a grown up girl. Who said dressing like a kid is a bad thing anyway? Little girls have the cutest stripy tights and groovy little boots.

Any excuse to wear my love-heart platforms...

Skirt - $1 from the Croydon church op-shop
Top - handed onto me from Haydens mum, amongst a heap of samples and old clothes
Tights - a few dollars on sale at Myer
Shoes - $7 Croydon brotherhood of St Laurence

Today, we commemorate those who lost their lives fighting for our countrys freedom...

"Those heroes that shed their blood
and lost their lives;
You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country.
Therefore rest in peace.
There is no difference between the Johnnies
and the Mehemets to us where they lie side by side
here in this country of ours.
You, the mothers,
who sent their sons from far away countries,
wipe away your tears;
your sons are now lying in our bosom
and are at peace.
After having lost their lives on this land they have
become our sons as well."

Ataturk, 1934

Xx Claire

hoppy easter

2011-04-24T22:16:00.001+10:00

Today is Easter Sunday. It was a little bit cold, so chomby wore my beret. He enjoyed discovering different ways of wearing it...

The favourite....

"I like this way best!" he squeaked, "I look like an easter egg! Hehe!"
"Ohhh, look how cute you are," Hayden and I swooned....
"You should totes put this on your blog!" his muffled voice squeaked back.

He really did like it, I promise he wasn't distressed at all by this! He tucked his legs under, as he does when he's settling in for a good pat.

Happy Chocolate Day!

Xx

st andrews

2011-04-23T15:31:00.003+10:00

After a lovely sleep-in this morning, brownies for breakfast along with an unsuaully large mug of turkish coffee for Hayden and a peppermint tea for me, we drove to St Andrews market in the beautiful bush near King Lake (you will probably recognise that name as one of the towns hit by the shocking bush fires a few years ago).

We strolled around, ate lunch, had a cup of very gingery chai, enjoyed the buskers and browsed the stalls. There is a combination of 2nd hand stuff, hand made jewellry, produce, clothing, art, plants and other goodies. It was very busy today, being the Easter weekend I guess!

I found this dress hidden amongst some others on my clothing rack last night and had completely forgotten that I owned it! I think it came from the Savers in Frankston last year. I love finding things that I had forgotten :)

Serious face.

That is a little bit better!

Dress - Savers
Belt - Garage Sale
Scarf - Don't remember!
Tights - from Mumma
Tooled leather bag - ebay, a few years ago
Winklepicker boots - $29 Rivers

Oh my GOSH, I know I've probably mentioned this before, but Rivers (as in boring, 'useful' clothing store 'Rivers) have the best shoes! Lots of really sweet vintage-looking heels, hippy sandles, cute riding boots, etc...I buy a lot of shoes from their clearence stores. I was very excited to find this sweet buckle-up Winklepickers and visited 3 clearence outlets before I found them in my size. They are really comfortable and I feel like a well-dressed mouse wearing them**.

Hayden wears...
Levi flares - Op-shopped
Cardigan - Op-shopped
Shirt - No idea! He's had it longer than he has known me!
Florsheim woven leather shoes - Op-shopped from Vinnies, $20

Besides food, this was all I bought. A very old badge, $2

Does anyone know who she is?

We had a a beautiful morning/afternoon, and now that I'm home I am going to have a go at making hommus from scratch, cleaning the house a bit and playing with the chombunny.

Happy Easter lovelies!

**Do you ever imagine what type of animal would wear the clothes you find? Hayden calls some of my things 'teddy bear clothes', and I often picture little mice, rabbits or kittens wearing clothes that I'm attracted to! Haha!

Xx Claire

gypsy dreams

2011-04-22T23:57:00.000+10:00

Many dear friends have traveled up to ConFest in NSW for the weekend, and I was also delighted to see that the gorgeous Sophie over at Her Library Adventures will have packed her bags full of beautiful bohemian clothes and ventured there herself. Oh, how I wish I was there too! As I mentioned a few posts back, ConFest is one of my favourite places in the world and I really wish that I could live there all year long!

In an attempt to bring a little ConFest magic to my home instead, while feeling inspired by Nelly's post on Gypsy Interiors, I did a little re-decorating for the long weekend! First up was my recently op-shopped, freshly washed doona cover...it's so beautiful and bright!

Doona Cover: $9 from Salvos, Mountain gate

I also added a few cushions. The yellow embroided cushion covers were also from the Mountain Gate salvos, bought the very next day...

$2 each...
The birdy cushion was a gift, and I think the pink one was op-shopped agggges ago...

Candles were essential, so I moved some pretty jars that I recently decorated with a friend (following this tutorial) onto our bedside tables for some pretty colored light...

I also hung a beautiful sarong over a big paper lantern to soften the light a little...

And just like that, I had my own cosy little gypsy room to remind me of beautiful festivals gone and those still to come...

I hope everyone at the festival is having an amazing time drinking lots of tea, eating big shared meals, singing, dancing, drumming, discussing, meditating, swimming, sharing, learning and bonding...

I am SO there with you in spirit, playing gypsy tunes on my fiddle and enjoying a big cup of iced chai!

wedding dress

2011-04-19T20:49:00.001+10:00

I often dream about weddings and hope that I'll one day get to be a bride....Hayden is not into marriage at all, but that wont stop me from picturing the type of dress I'd where, the ceremony, the party....! I've always imagined myself in a 1940's tea length frock, or late 1960's maxi....todays find came close to that! I think it's either early 70's or late 60's. Any ideas?

I know I'm not getting married or anything, but for $1 I definitely couldn't leave it behind!

(please ignore my desperate-for-a-dye hair!)
Chomby really wanted to be in the photos, he was hanging around my feet and hiding my shoes, so up he came...

...and up higher again!

I trimmed my fringe today and went a litttttle bit too short. I don't mind it much, but my face feel so exposed! I like to hide behind my fringe, although I had Bettie Page bangs for years so I should be used to it!

I hope that everyone is enjoying, or looking forward to, a relaxing break over Easter. Love to you all!

Xx

blogger award!

2011-04-14T11:46:00.001+10:00

Wowie Zowie! Nelly over at My Friends Call me Nelly has awarded me a Kreativ Blogger award!

Thanks Nelly :) So I have to tell you 10 things about myself...

1. Apparently I sleep talk occasionally. This was the first thing that came to mind for this list because it happened last night! Hayden told me that I said "It isn't near the fireplace at the beach" -pause- "but it's a nice little house song (though?!)" -pause- "Chomby likes it and that's the most important thing"
haha!

2. I live in dresses. I hate wearing pants because I have wide hips and a round butt, and they seem to highlight that. Don't get me wrong - I love my curves and they happen to be perfect for dressing in vintage styles! The only time I wear pants is at my waitressing job and when I exercise.

3. I teach Violin and work at a wedding reception center to pay the bills. My dream job is to be working as an Ethnomusicologist, travelling the world, working with communities and learning about their music and culture. I probably wont be able to make a living out of this so will continue teaching violin as I go along. If all of that fails, chances are I'll open a vintage store :)

4. I am a sugar FIEND! I like everything sweet: Pastries, Chocolate, Cake, Slices, Muffins, Lollies, Ice cream....I especially love these if I've made them myself.

(photo from my 21st birthday picnic!)

5. I looooove to cook! Curries, Pizzas, Pastas, Stirfrys, Risottos, Slow Cooking, Fast Cooking....I do it all. I often use jars of curry paste (I've made thai pastes myself before and they took AGES!), but almost everything else I do from scratch. It's a lot more fun, is often cheaper and isn't full of preservatives.

6. I play in serveral musical groups: A gypsy band previously called 'The Vertical Smiles' (We are now name-less since we can't agree on a good one!), a chamber group called 'La Tin Shed Orquesta', playing lots of contemporary Latin American music, a spin-off string ensemble from that group, also playing Latin American music and I help out the local community orchestra. They have made me the Concert Master which is a bit of an honour, but puts pressure on me to be there every week. Oh well! I have lots of fun playing violin and have enjoyed playing other styles besides classical.

7. There is a festival that happens twice a year in New South Wales that Hayden & I love to go to. It's a big hippy gathering called 'ConFest' and it's where all of the beautiful people get together to create a week of art, music, love and community. I have missed the last New Year gathering and will be missing the Easter one this year. It makes me so sad....I think about ConFest all of the time.

(playing music at the confest fashion parade 2010)

8.I am very lazy. I start lots of things and don't get around to finishing them. I'd rather hold on 'til i'm about to pee myself if I'm particularly cosy in bed, instead of making the cold trek to the loo in the middle of the night. I have been getting colds constantly over the last year and have done nothing about it. It took until my car brakes were about to fail for me to do something about it. Hmm! I must do something to change this habit!

9. I am doing African Drum & Dance at uni this semester. It's so much fun! But I have to admit, due to my laziness yesterday (It was cold, and raining, and my hair got ruined while rummaging through hard rubbish!), I skipped class. Oops. I'm also learning Shakuhachi, the Japanese bamboo flute. It is extremely difficult to get the hang of! I can make sounds out of it, but am struggling to control my breathing.

10. We once had a 3-legged staffy called 'Quincy'. He was such a fun dog. He lost his leg when it shattered while chasing a possum and it had to be amputated. Quincy coped very well with 3 legs and was often seen swimming in the beach, sprinting around with the other dogs and jumping up onto the couch. He lived a good life!

Thanks Nelly, that was fun to do! I would like to award the Kreativ Blogger award to Fourth Daughter over at Style Wilderness because she IS the most creative blogger I know! She is the queen when it comes to making something beautiful out of something plain.

Hope I didn't bore you all too much :)

Xx

cape

2011-04-13T15:10:00.000+10:00

"So, do you like my cape? It didn't last long before...someone....ate it. They don't make 'em like they used to".

hard rubbish haul

2011-04-13T15:05:00.000+10:00

This morning, the lovely Carina and I went Hard Rubbish Rummaging through the back streets of Belgrave. It's been pouring with rain over the past few days and rained lightly while we drove/walked around. It was SO worth it though, look what I found...!

A 1960's starburst wall clock! Yippee!! It isn't the best one that I've seen, but hey...for a side-of-the-road score, I cannot complain! No idea if it works, but it looks great. Did you notice that one of the 'rays' is wonky? Aw.

We were pretty hands on, opening up suitcases, boxes and bags to see if there were any magical treasures waiting inside. It wasn't until I opened up a box to find a 'His Masters Voice' record player in it's origional packaging and box that we had some luck! Thankfully it was wrapped in plastic, as the box was pretty soaked by the rain.

I'm sorry that the photo quality isn't great. I can't be bothered taking more and loading them onto the computer! Lazy girl...

I already have a record player, but don't have an amp for it. This baby is an all-in-one thing. It's fancy! Hayden is jealous! I am satisfied.

I also have to report on this exciting find that I made in the Sprinvale rd Salvos last week. I popped in on Friday and bought a cute pair of shorts (I will show you them soon), and as I was paying I spotted a groovy yellow 1960's lava lamp that is exactly the same as the blue one that Hayden bought off ebay a few years ago. In an attempt to be sensible and save my money (while I was buying shorts that I really didn't need...), I thought "Well, we already have ONE...why need a second?"

I regretted it as soon as I'd left. It was $14 and if we owned two we'd have a pair. Plus, they are very rare to come across! So on Saturday after a rehearsal, I rushed back to the shop just as they were closing and asked all of the staff if it had sold. They had no idea. It wasn't on the shelf with the other (new & tacky) lava lamps & electricals....I was devestated. But wait! Taking one last quick look around the shop, I spotted it on a bedside table. I just about squealed with excitement. The staff seemed to understand.

So now it is mine, and we have two, and I can put mine where ever I want! So it has taken pride place in our front sitting room...

I'd only just turned it on, so the wax hadn't melted yet.

Here is the other one that we have, hidden in Haydens 'Speaker Room'/'Car Parts Storage Room'/'Wasted Space'...

He wont let me put it any where else in the house. I don't mind anymore :)

I have no idea how much they are worth, but I'm thrilled to own two!

Phew! Long post. Well done if you got through it, and thanks for keeping up with my ridiculous collecting adventures!

Xx

florals

2011-04-07T18:20:00.003+10:00

"You like to wear florals, don't you miss?" one of my year 7 boys asked today. "How kind of you to notice!" was my reply, while the rest of his violin group teased him for noticing. What a sweetie. I'm not a huge fan of florals, but my "appropriate for work" wardrobe does seem to include a few floral frocks and tops!!

Here is a recently op-shopped dress ($4 from the Vinnies in Warbuton) that I hemmed up in record-time (see how wonky it is!) before heading into the city to meet a friend and uni yesterday; I wore it again today because I love it so much! It was a mid 90's (?) Jacqui E maxi, but post-hemmed looks a little 40's to me...

oh wow! I just realised how tanned my 'drivers side' arm is!

(I'm not as sad as I look in this picture!)

chomb!
Dress - Vinnies $4
Leather waist tie - Came on another dress
Acorn necklace - a gift made by a gorgeous lass called zoe
Violin mute pendant - Camberwell market
Mollino platforms - FRESHLY op-shopped this afternoon....Brotherhood of St Laurence (croydon) $7. You want a close-up, don't you (I know Helga does!)

Once I had tried them on, I couldn't believe I'd thought twice about them!

If you missed my earlier post of chomb-bunny photos, go and have a look now!

Xox

chomby-love

2011-04-07T18:02:00.000+10:00

Today, while I was taking the first outfit photos that I've taken in a long while, Chomby did the most adorable yawn...his bunny teeth and skinny jaw was on display for me to 'Naaaaaw!' at for a whole 2 seconds. Luckily I had my camera out and was able to capture him as he settled into his napping position....

Make a gif

Totally adorable!! I then disturbed him a little by taking some close-ups...How could I not?!

He is so wise.

lotsa frocksa!

2011-03-22T21:10:00.001+11:00

I have had a lot of luck with groovy dresses lately! It's been very exciting, but very bad for my purse :( I need to start saving money for a car service, new tyres, a bike helmet and a new set of strings for my violin; but what am I supposed to do when I come across a gem of a dress that I simply cannot leave in the op-shop? Hmmm?

I am starting to think that I may have an addiction...Who am I to deny the op-shop fairies when they shower me with treasures?!

I found this beauty in Savers a couple of weeks ago. I think once upon a time it may have been a maxi, but at some point the skirt was replaced with this stretchy black fabric. Perhaps it isn't as glorious as might have been in the past, but I still love it!

Those long sleeves will be perfect for winter!

I dropped into the Salvos near the intersection of Springvale rd and Maroonday HWY on Friday and almost walked out with nothing. It was only because I thought it might be worthwhile checking out the 50% off rack that I found these babies...

bubblegum princess!

This one was really stained, but it fit so well that I was willing to risk not being able to get the stains out. Luckily, a magical laundry potion and a wash made it good as new!

THIS one made me super excited. I'm not usually one to wear fluro, but the fabric is just so beautiful that I couldn't pass it up...

Wowie Zowie! It's a little big, so I have to wear a belt with it for now. I'll get around to taking it in soon!

I might as well treat that as an outfit post, so here are the details:

Dress: op-shopped from the Salvos $6 (when half price)
Shoes: op-shopped from the strange little op-shop/never open storage space with windows shop near the station in Ringwood for something like $1
Belt: op-shopped, but I don't remember where from!

They're sweet, aren't they?

I hope you are all having a nice evening. I've got the house to myself for once as Hayden is away for the night. I enjoyed a tasty curry and some wine all to myself; and I get the 'good' pillow tonight....Score!!

Xoxox

animal farm

2011-03-21T10:29:00.002+11:00

Over the last couple of weeks, I have managed to aquire a few new animals to add to my ever-growing collection of 60's and 70's childrens ornaments.

At the Savers 50% off sale I found this sweet pair of bunnies...

$3 for the pair

A trip to the laundromat in FTG had me squealing with delight when I found not only this happy young calf...

$1.50

...but this creepy little lamb, too!

$1

The lamb is similar to this puppy/lamb/unknown creature who lives in my sewing room...

And they were all very excited to find the big family of kittens that live on a glass shelf...

And we mustn't forget the cute little dear who guards the strangely shaped vase...

They are all watched over by this pair of christmas nymphs who like to fly around at night and keep the animals in order!

Where will she stop? No-body knows...

*I am also pleased to announce that my trial as a vegatarian has turned into a permanent commitment. This makes me pleased and proud and perhaps has something to do with my strange collection of cute animals...*

steam fest

2011-03-14T17:27:00.000+11:00

You heard right ladies and gents, today I went to a 'Steam Fest'! A big display of over 400 engines. It was thrilling, really!

I wanted to take Hayden because I knew how excited he would be by the big machines, but it turned out to be kind of fun! Look how excited I was by this steam-powered organ...

It had little windows which displayed a glockenspiel, a little symbol and a drum, which were played along with the organ. All on it's ownsome. I was so excited!

The crowd were mostly made up of older folk and young parents with their toddlers and little kids. My gosh, I saw THE CUTEST toddler wearing a pair of workers over-alls. I squealed and pointed him out to Hayden and the kids Dad gave me a funny look....hmmmm! He was so adorable.

Despite engines being rather boring to me, there were some cool details to see...

"dead slow"

Look how well behaved and interested I appeared to be...

There was also a shed full of collectables and things for sale...I admired these antique and vintage radios for a little while and had to go back to ask if I could take a few photos to share with you!

I love the rounded blue one!

One man was selling miniture oil lamps for 20 cents each, or $5 for the lot! I quite fancied this one and gave him 50 cents for it...

I hope those of you also enjoying a long weekend had a nice day :)

Xx Claire

yellow t-bars

2011-03-13T12:22:00.001+11:00

Happy Sunday morning, lovelies! I hope you are all well rested and spritely!

Just an outfit for you today, though I do have some bits and pieces that I bought at Savers at their 50% off sale to share with you soon. The dress that I wore yesterday was one of them!

(my hair needs to be coloured again soon!)

Dress - $3 at Savers Op-shop 50% day!
Leopard print waist tie - off an old dress
Yellow Sandles - $8 from Vinnies Op-shop in Mitcham

Both the dress and shoes were found in the past week, so i added a link to the list of weekly thrift finds over at the Her Library Adventures blog. Go and have a look if you love to check out everyone elses 'Flea market finds'!

Hayden took these photos for me late yesterday afternoon, so I was looking a little exhausted at the end of the day. But rest assured - I felt like a glamour-babe in that outfit!

Love to you all Xoxox

manly monday

2011-02-28T22:06:00.004+11:00

Hayden and little Chomby...

Hayden wears:
Flared jeans - Levis (Old stock. Purchased from 'The Mill' in Ballarat)
Vintage Shirt - American Rag

Chomby wears:
Luxury fur coat - Models own.

Xx Claire

an outfit, deery!

2011-02-28T13:17:00.005+11:00

Oh golly.

I have been a terrible blogger lately, I'm so sorry. I am very excited to have reacher 50+ followers, though! Welcome to my new followers, it's lovely to meet you all and I really appreciate your nice comments.

It's been a hectic few weeks, getting back into the swing of violin teaching and trying to work out my uni commitments for this semester. It looks as though the one & only subject that I am taking will consist of six 2-hour seminars through-out the whole semester. That's nothing! So I will have plenty of time to pursue some other interests and practise violin a bit more.

You know what it also means? More time for blogging! And on that note, I present to you todays outfit:

My first attempt at the tights-with-shorts look...

(I was going for a bit of a Bettie Page frown in the last one, but I just look silly!)
Cardi - Op-shopped
Shorts - Op-shopped (Salvos, Boronia)
Tights - Gift from mumma
90's T-bar shoes - Op-shopped
Red Hat - Op-shopped (Mitcham -church?- Op-shop)

I got up early on Saturday to go to a car boot sale in Montrose before a rehearsal. There was one lady selling lots of nice retro kitchen ware, books and some decorative bits-and-bobs. I bought a few things off her but had to resist purchasing the whole lot!

My favourite: This little deer vase/thing. What on earth is this? A napkin holder or something?

This book, which I know will make Fourth Daughter and Rosee sqeal with excitement...

Aaand the 'Australian Wonder Book of Knowledge' Volume 1:

It answers questions such as 'Why are golf balls dimpled' and explores 'The Romance of the Fungi world'....Cool!

Stay posted for a 'Manly Monday' photo later on today :)

Xox Claire

sweet hearts

2011-02-14T17:20:00.003+11:00

Yeah, yeah...It's Valentines Day today. Sending a hug out to all of my friends in blog-land. You have no idea how much you have inspired me, cheered me up, introduced me to cool things and made each day a lot more exciting! Love to you all!

Hayden and I had a little 'valentines date' on Saturday night, but really it was just an excuse to get dressed up and go out, since we usually prefer to just hang at home with the chombmiester-bunny and each other...

We packed a picnic dinner consisting of some seriously-garlicy-guacamole (I put 3 cloves in. That's not that much, right?!), brie cheese, a garden salad and some roast potatos. Oh, and some tasty left over wine from work, of the 'Lucios Fruity White' variety - I still can't get over the name! It sounds like the name of a trashy porn star.

Anyway, we caught the train into the city and made our way to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, an outdoor ampitheatre type venue in the Botanical Gardens. We managed to find a pretty good spot to camp out, but the place was packed! The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performed four works, including Beethovens 5th symphony, which I've never heard live before. It was great, but I was dissapointed that a lot of the was coming from the speakers rather than the orchestra itself.

Here are some photos!

I know you vintage ladies wanna see my frock! Unfortunately this was all that I could get-I was too afraid to stand up and pose amongst the thousands of people sitting on the lawn, haha! Not a flattering position, but the dress - the dress!

...A 1960's chiffon beauty that buttons all the way up the front, with a pleated skirt. Op-shopped from Vinnies, Mornington, for less than $10 (Can't remember the exact price!)

Some of the snacks...We sat on a towel printed with none less than the gorgeous Audrey Hepburn. Sorry Audrey! It was a gift from Haydens folks for christmas.

I like my wine in a mug. The wine didn't last long, and we'd finished all of the cheese and wine before the concert had even began!

The beautiful sunset...

Afterwards we went to the Pancake Parlour with a 2-for-1 docket in hand. I used to work at one of the Pancake Parlours and was a little put off going back there for a while, but I couldn't deny tasty late night pancakes at a discount! No photos, I'm afraid, but we did see a funny pair of pants on a young guy dining there. Picture this: a regular pair of jeans sitting where they should on the hips, with ANOTHER pair seemingly hanging off the back, as though he was wearing another pair really low over the top. So it looked like 2 pairs of jeans, but only from the back. So weird.

So it was a lovely evening, with good music, cheap porno-sounding wine, garlicy-guacamole and a rather sweet boy.

Xx Love to you all today Xx

goodies

2011-02-11T13:07:00.004+11:00

I have been super dooper busy of late, but not doing a whole lot! Know the feeling? Lots of violin playing, teaching, cleaning, working...sleeping! And exercising, Hurrah! I was beginning to feel slobbish, so I decided to do something about it. I have also pledged to my family and friends that I am going vegetarian for a month, and if all goes well, permanently.

One of my lovely friends from uni, Mel, had a 1940's themed 21st last weekend! I was so looking forward to it because I love a good picnic and it was supposed to be at an old mansion with beautiful gardens! Unfortunately there was crazy flooding all over Melbourne the night before, so the party was held at a friends house instead. I couldn't stay too long as I was wary of the road blocks popping up due to the flooding and had to get to work, but it was lovely! I played a game of croque and ate some yummy snacks. I do love a game of croque!
I tried to follow this tutorial for my hairstyle, but ended up with a very loose version. It was still pretty though, I think! Here's how it turned out...

Besides all of that, I have managed to do some op-shopping. Naughty girl! I don't have much money! But almost all of my finds have been in the $1-$3 range, so I don't feel too bad :)

Here are a few recent finds...

'The Girl', a late 1940's book for young girls about how to be a good girl. It involves advice on good posture, eating well, which skirt shape, sleeve style, etc, suits your figure, and so on. I'm getting a good little collection of these old childrens books!

A book on the making of 'Lassie'. I'm not sure how old this one is (60's?), but I couldn't resist the cute illustration on the front!

Another Tala icing set to add to my collection! Hey, what if I had 3 different colors going at once? You can never have enough :) Here is the other set that I already had, given to me by my older sisters mother, Barb...

I feel like making cup-cakes!!

I also found this great brown velvet blazer. It's not vintage, but I couldn't resist it. I'll make it look very 1970's with some riding boots in winter :)

Can you see the sweet floral lining?

I'm having cravings for avocado toast so I will bid you farewell for today! I will leave you with a photo of my favourite spot to hang out at the moment, though. I promised you a photo of our re-arranged room FOREVER ago, so here it is...

I love fairy lights :)

xx

sailor

2011-01-27T20:45:00.007+11:00

Over the past couple of days I have spent a few hours here and there working on my first unsupervised attempt at making a dress! You might remember the dress that I made a few months ago for a belly dancing concert, with the help of Haydens lovely mother? This one is actually from a pattern of hers, but I'm trying to do it all on my ownsome!

So far, so good...ish!!! I've made lots of little mistakes, even using the wrong side of the fabric (I tried so hard to make sure this didn't happen!!)! But I'm going with the flow...the wrong side really isn't that different to the right side - perhaps not as vibrant - I don't really mind!

Here are a few photos of where I'm up to:

(Please excuse the bra straps and make-up-less face. I have a crappy cold at the moment and don't need to dress up for no-one! And the pins! There are pins holding it together)

The pattern pieces for the back of the dress were missing, so I tried to make up my own. I'll fix them up when I put in the zipper.

The only thing that concerns me so far is that the collar doesn't quite reach the center of the bust. I may be able to adjust it before I stitch it in. If not, I'm not too fussed!

...and for the sake of an outfit shot:

I look angry, I'm really not. Perhaps just a little hungry?!

What do you think of my efforts so far? I am super proud of myself!

xx Claire

t-bars

2011-01-22T12:21:00.004+11:00

These babies don't get out enough. I admire them every day though!
(Platform cut-out clogs - Ebaaaay, Socks - $1 on sale from rubi shoes)

I'm really starting to look forward to autumn and going back to uni. Tights in lovely colours under pretty dresses, coats, cardis, big scarves, boots, berets and steaming cups of tea. It upsets me when I'm too hot to drink tea!

...Cosy nights at home, cuddles in bed, slow-cooked meals, grey skies and crunchy leaves. It's true, I can't wait til the weather cools down...

yes-ter-day

2011-01-21T12:31:00.003+11:00

Yesss, sometimes i find it tricky to come up with titles for my blog posts.

This is what I wore yesterday, as shown in the reflection of my mirror that came straight off the side of the road on Monday night. Sweeeeet....

I do like a good side-of-the-road score!

The fellow had just put it out and was still outside when i performed some dangerous manouvers, quickly pulling a u-turn and parking badly on the side of the highway. Hayden was really embarrassed, but I was so excited! Woohoo! I'd been hunting for a full length mirror for ages! The man even came over and helped us pull it apart so we could fit it in my little car.

At the moment it's sitting in out messy 'front room'. Here is a close up of my tights and cloggidies...

Dress - Op-shopped
Tights - Gift from mumma...I think she bought them from dimmeys?
Cardi - Can't remember
Clogs - Novo

I wore the same outfit with flat boots a few days ago and was rather smitten with it. It's a bit different to my usual styling, but I really wanted to get some use out of the dress and those tights look great with it.

Also from yesterday, my lunch:

Roquette, Roast Chicken & Sweet Chilli Sauce. It would have been even better with avocado!

xx

chilly

2011-01-19T08:37:00.002+11:00

Just a quick one today as I'm in a bit of a hurry! I have some really good photos and some crappy quality photos for you, so here goes...

I tried dragon fruit for the first time on Monday. It was delicious! Kind of like a kiwi fruit, but lesss tangy. How brightly coloured is that flesh?!

I couldn't find a good spot for lighting when I tried to take photos of my outfit yesterday, so this is all you get. I was feeling a bit 70's...

Dress - Op-shopped
Sportsgirl Cardi - Wantirna Trash & Treasure market
1970's stacked heel Boots - Savers Op-shop Dandenong
Leather Belt - Op-shopped
Socks - Pinched off Hayden

I guess I could say that I was going for a fairyland type atmosphere in these photos? Fairyland with broken honda preludes everywhere (We have 3 of them. Haydens favourite car!)...

xx have a good day, what ever you are doing!

polaroid

2011-01-15T09:43:00.003+11:00

How are you my little cucarachas?! I have finished my fortnight of summer school tutoring and am exhausted! Today was my first sleep-in in a long time. The closing ceremony was fantastic, my little primary aged kids sang so well. And I even learnt to sing 'kookaburra sits in the old gumtree' in Sgaw Karen (The language)! I am rather proud of myself :)

Here are some shots of my outfit from yesterday. I took them with my new tripod (More on that later!), which was an interesting experience. I felt a bit silly posing by myself on the veranda...bet I gave out neighbours a good laugh!

Dress-Op shop...not sure how old this one is. It's some kind of thin polyester. I'm thinking early 80's? No idea, but I like the colours and the cut a lot!
Belt-Off another dress that my half sisters mother, barb, handed down to me! Thanks barb :)
Clogs-from Novo. I know, i know...not an op-shop. But I did manage to get them down to $30(ish), and they are leather. Not too bad!

Also, i managed to pull out my nose stud that had been in for about a year. It was one of those straight bars with the ball on the end, that are incredibly painful to get in and out. After some serious eye-watering I got it out and slipped my ring in. Hurrah! It's a welcome change.

Can you see it? Can you also see my wonky fringe?

I'm thinking of tweaking my blog a little so that I can put up bigger, clearer photos. At the moment, I compress them so that they don't get too cut off by the info down the right side of the page. And I seem to be cutting out a lot of detail. I'll have a play with the dimensions this week...

Which brings me to the exciting op-shop finds! I finally did some shifts at work and got paid, so I didn't feel to guilty wandering into the Salvos in Ferntree Gully the other day. Whenever I go to the laundromat, i always visit the Vinnies and Salvos. I never seem to find anything in the Salvos, but this must have been my lucky day :)

They were having 50% of everything! I notices two sweet little christmas candle holders in a cabinet amongst lots of little childrens ornaments...

Look at their little faces! So sweet, So 60's!

And then......!

I always look at the cameras in op-shops, but usually they're just an assortment of 90's film cameras. This haul, however, had two polaroid camers! Holy smokes! For $2 each! But it was 50% off...so ONE DOLLAR each!

"Oh golly, oh gosh!" I thought! I've always wanted a polaroid camera, but couldn't justify buying one off ebay for $70 with the possibility of coming across one in an op-shop (Story of my life). I double checked with the man at the counter and he confirmed that yes indeed they were $1 each, and that the whole box had only just gone out. He told one of the other men volunteering that they were already selling the cameras, who then offered me a 1960's tri-pod to go with them! For free! (allthough I don't think they screw onto tripods! But my digital camera does!) I gave them a dollar for it, but I really should have given $10.

Very exciting. I much prefer the boxy 80's camera to the newer one, but at least the new one will definitely work. I'll let you know how I go when I can afford to buy some film and test them out!

x

floods

2011-01-14T15:08:00.003+11:00

It has been a devestating week. The floods in Queensland have taken at least fifteen lives, with dozens of people still missing. Most of the state has been affected by the flooding, and as the clean up begins, families are having to face the devestation that remains. It's so hard to comprehend the scale of the whole disaster and I can't even begin to imagine what these people must be going through.

There are a few ways that we can help...

Corrie over at Retro Mummy is organising quilts to give to those affected by the floods, to keep them warm and brighten their lives during this difficult time. You can make some blocks, or make a whole quilt to donate.

Toni is auctioning off goodies through her blog Make it Perfect. All profits are going straight to the flood releif. You can bid yourself, or choose to auction off some of your own creations.

Fourth Daughter mentioned that Alice Euphemia are having a big Garage Sale (And we all like those, don't we!?) on January the 29th and are hoping to raise $3000 for the people and animals affected by the floods. You can veiw the deatails here

If you'd simply like to donate some money, head over to the Queensland Government website.

Sending all of my love to those affected by the flood, aswell as anyone who has family or friends in Queensland. You're all in my thoughts xoxox

manly monday

2011-01-10T21:52:00.005+11:00

I did play with the idea of 'manly mondays' a little while ago, but never got around to going through it! Here is the manliest photo i own of hayden:

Huh.

Flares and vintage shirts will feature in future 'manly mondays', with the possibility of the other man of the house making an appearence...

x

karen

2011-01-09T14:02:00.002+11:00

It has been crazy busy week!

This week I've been working with some Karen kids in the city, and in the coming week will be teaching younger kids and adults out in Werribee at the Karen English Summer School. The Karen are an ethnic minority group from Burma who, along with several other minority groups also striving for independence, have been violently forced to flee their homeland by the Burmese government. After spending many years in the refugee camps along the border, many people apply to re-settle in other countries. There are a few communities settled around Victoria.

I'm focusing on the Karen for my honours thesis this year, which is why I'm trying to get involved in the community as much as possible. I really enjoyed looking after the high school students last week and am looking forward to teaching music out in Werribee this week! I have also been to two Karen New Year celebrations in the past week...I'm feeling prettty exhausted.

I've been so flat-out that not much else has happened, besides working and sleeping...and eating!

Here is a photo of some youths performing the 'Don Dance' in Werribee yesterday:

And because I've been so lazy with poting photos of outfits, a photo of what I wore to that celebration...

Dress - Op Shop
Belt - Op Shop
Woven Bag - Christmas gift from dad in '09...purchased from the The Soda Tree
Flats (not pictured) - Ye old rivers.

I'd run out of money, so went busking today with some band buddies. It was good! I had a quick demonstration of how the real gypsies play violin by a romanian violinist, and had my violin inspected by a man who repairs and restores string instruments. He was critical of it, but probably just trying to make a sale!

I hope you are all well!

xox

a new year

2011-01-01T23:05:00.003+11:00

Ahh, January 1st! An exciting year lies ahead, I hope.

I have promised myself that I wont hold myself back with fear of failure, and embrace exciting opportunities as they arrive! If I do fail, well at least I tried. And I am going to try and be super active and get things done without leaving them to the last minute. Another resolution is staying nice and healthy, and forming good eating & exercise habits that will last a lifetime! I'm going to continue belly dancing (hopefully go to a few classes a week!), take up yoga, go for lots of runs and keep fit! And then I will have a nice clean and healthy brain to help me get through the day.

So those are some of my hopes for this year! Thankyou, lovely bloggy friends who comforted me after my last post, for your kind words and wisdom. I felt a lot better after getting it all out of my head, and it was nice to get some advice. I am excited to make improvements on my lifestyle, and have come to the realisation that hayden and I don't have to think the same thing and want the same thing all of the time. Our personalities compliment each other because of our differences. I adore him and he adores me, and as long as it stays that way, I'm very lucky.

Now! Some photos from last night! We had a little BBQ at a friends house just around the corner, and wandered home around 3am. It was a nice night, allthough we all got a bit silly! The boys played some music, we ate lots of chocolate, chatted and just hung out. It was a very chilled night! I got cold and found a bike riding vest on the couch which didn't cover my arms at all but was sort of warm. I looked pretty dorky.

I took way too many photos of hayden while he was drumming, which resulted in this...

Karl enjoying the music...

Bonita Carina! She taught me to say a few things in Spanish! I've forgotten it all though.

As you've probably figured, I discovered the black & white option on my camera and played with it all night. But there is one coloured one that I know you want to see...

A good look, don't you think?! Please don't judge me...I was a wee bit jolly!!

Happy new year!

Xox

swing of things

2010-12-29T20:39:00.007+11:00

Christmas was a fun day!

My sister, mum and I took the ferry from Sorrento to Queenscliff, had a picnic lunch and a play on the crazy playground, and caught the ferry back. It was lovely! Then I had to drive just over an hour back to Haydens folks house for Christmas dinner which was also nice, only almost spoiled by the scary junkie woman who abused me whilst hanging out the passanger window for around 10-15 minutes on the drive home. They were swerving into me and cutting me off too! Seriously uncalled for. It was incredibly scary and I was a nervous wreck for the remainder of the trip. But, after a big cup of tea and a little rest I was ready for a big dinner! When we got home we opened out presents. Here is Chomby trying to open up his present from Hayden...

Can you guess what it was?! Sorry about the creepy loud breathing, haha! On Monday I had a Christmas lunch at Dads, which was also tasty! In summary, i consumed far too much cream and chocolate over the weekend and have gained about 3 kilos. Hmmm...

I'm now feeling a little drained, though. I'm pretty up-and-down emotionally and going through a bit of a "where is my life going? What type of life-style do I want to lead? Is this what I want? Am I as happy as I think I am?" type phase. It's probably something that a lot of people my age go through. I'm just uncomfortable with life at the moment and there are some positive changes that I'd like to make (such as making a vegie garden, always cooking from scratch...). Today I asked Hayden if we could sign some kind of pact that would involve no use of the internet between 9-5, or something like that. He sort of reluctantly agreed, and we both had a reasonably productive day as a result. I just feel that both of us (but hayden in particular) spend far too much time at opposite ends of the house glued to the computer. And it's not healthy for our relationship, let alone our individual well being. I feel like we have different goals in life, and different ideas of what type of people we aim to be. Which upsets me. Alot.

Ok, sorry for the rant! I usually try to keep this sort of stuff out of my blog, but perhaps you can all send me a virtual hug because I really need one!

On a lighter note, we did go to Savers in Dandenong yesterday and I had some excellent finds.

This GORGEOUS coat (It pays to look in the coat section in the middle of summer) reminds me of this coat that Gertie made. It cost me $20, but I think it was well worth it!

(Please excuse the strange looks on my face!)
And this very sweet 50's style dress. I might have a go at copying it in a heavier fabric...

And the wedges, which look a bit 1940's to me and are super comfortable!

That is all that I have for today. A lot of whinging, yes...I'm sorry! I do finally have my little space set up to sew, and bought a quilt cover set for the bedroom which inspired me to re-decorate a little, so I will share some photos as soon as I can.

Much love xox

merry days!

2010-12-24T11:15:00.004+11:00

Ah, Christmas eve. This might be my least stressed one yet! We put up our tree a couple of weeks ago and I've been meaning to share some photos, but I wanted to wait until we had our new curtains up! I finally got around to making them yesterday and we put them up last night...

I've still got to hem the right one as it was little bit longer than the left...oops! So it's pinned in these photos.

A closer veiw of the Christmas tree...

And I can't leave this one out:

I made the felt decorations last year and the rest of them were picked up at op-shops and 2 dollar shops. There are some really sweet ones! The fairy lights also came from an op-shop, and fabric around the pot was a gift brought back from Bali by mumma.

I've tried to make lots of presents this year, which has been fun!

Here are a couple of recent op shop goodies...

Sweet vintage suitcase (sorry about the slight blurriness) from the Veteran op-shop in Boronia

Teacup pin-cushion from the Salvos in Lilydale. Isn't it adorable? I STILL have not found a good desk for my sewing room. When I do get one, the pin-cushion will sit on it nicely!

A little snippet of my outfit today...

Dress-Op Shop
Cardi-Op Shop
Pendant necklace-One of Mums old boyfriends gave this to her in the 70's!
Acorn neclace-a birthday gift made by the beautiful Zoe

I hope that you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. Thank you so much for reading my blog, and to those that have their own blogs, for sharing your world with me! I have learnt so much from all of you and am inspired by your creativity and passion every day.

Xox Claire

beach & gingerbread

2010-12-15T11:43:00.004+11:00

Yesterday, whilst staying with my little sister at my mummas house in Rye, we went to one of the back beaches swam in the rock pools! It was a lovely 29 degree day, but the water was ice cold! We were brave though and swam around for a little while! It was so nice. Hannah had her new bikini to try out, a super cute frilled two piece with polka dots! Ahh!! So cute. And i had my 1970's highwaisted pair, so we took some silly pin-up shots before hand, hehe!

Featuring Floyd, who just wanted to play with the ball!

I wore my hair in piggy tails to the beach, and afterwards when we were drying off in the sun a lady walked past and told me she loved my style! How sweet! I thought that I looked a right dork :)

Last week I made gingerbread with my sisters! These were the photos that I wanted to show the other day but couldn't find my USB cord, so here they are...

The one on the right is Adam/Eve...! They would have been nice to wrap up and give to people for Christmas, but I'd eaten it all within a couple of days. Oops!

I was hoping to do a huge load of washing at the laundromat today, but it's just started raining and I wanted to hang it all out on the line rather than chucking it through the dryer. Might just have to, as we're running out of towels fast!

xx Claire

la-azy

2010-12-12T22:00:00.002+11:00

I'm sorrrrryy! I have been a terrible blogger and now I can't find the USB cord for my camera and, and, I might just cry. But let me try and update you on what I've been doing these past two weeks or so!

I had my belly dancing concert! That was fun! Haydens ma Rosie helped me make my first dress-Ever! And it turned out beautifully. The dance that we did was a Egyptian folk dance called Saidi, using canes. The male version is a martial art with lots of threats and frowns, but the female version is a girly jive at the boys!

Here are some photos of me in my costume before the concert...

(Helga, I've got a pornstar chair, too!)

We balanced our canes on our hipscarf knots and heads! My friend Carina came along and took some photos but you can't really see any details in them due to the lighting...Take my word for it, I didn't drop my cane or hit anyone!!

What else has happened? The latin ensemble I've been playing with have released our first CD! It's called Sombras, the music of Astor Piazzolla. Here is a photo of us lookin' all argentine ganster:

Photo credit goes to Adrian Close, taken with a B&W film camera. Adrian, I hope you don't mind me putting this photo here :)

The CD, as the name suggests, is made up of arrangements of Piazzolla ensemble and solo pieces, performed by La Tin Shed Orquesta. Head over here if you're interested in purchasing a copy!

In other news, I got my results back from uni and was very happy. I did work really, really hard this semester (you guys had to hear about my endless assignments!), so I think I deserve them!

Today I went to the Fair@Square fair trade festival at Federation Square, and performed with my other group, the Vertical Smiles. We played a few songs before the rain got crazy heavy and we went over time. It was a little sad as we watched our crowd run for cover instead of dancing with us, but a few stuck around. Namely my mumma, who showed up as a suprise! Thanks mum :) I also got to meet the lovely Fourth Daughter (in fact, she was the one that got us the gig!), who ran, and had some designs in the fashion parade! I was left feeling all inspired to sew lots of frocks and go op-shopping. And, of course, make informed decisions about what I do buy new. The rain eventually cleared and the sun shined for the rest of the afternoon.

Tonight has been spent exhausted on the couch eating chicken curry and playing with Chomby, who has gotten a bit over-confident with his tigger-like springing abilities, jumping from couch-to-couch and trampling over my laptop keyboard. Apologies for the super-long post. Consider yourself claired-out. I will take a few days to locate my USB cord and be back with regular updates soon!

Xox Claire

burlesque

2010-12-10T17:38:00.002+11:00

I have so many exciting things to catch you up on, but not very much energy right now, so I will share this incredibly sweet burlesque/belly dance clip with you...one of my favourites! These girls a too cute. You must watch!

I think only of the girls is a proper belly dancer, but they are so gorgeous that it doesn't matter!

And just quickly, on Sunday I will be performing at the Fair@Square festival with my gypsy band 'The Vertical Smiles'. The lovely Fourth Daughter over at Style Wilderness helped us get the gig and I'm SOO excited! She has organised the fashion show, so everyone should hop along to the festival and enjoy lots of fair-trade goodness and fun music!

We're on from 12.30-1pm on Sunday and the fashion shows will be happening at 2:45 on both days. See you there!

I promise a nice big post tomorrow :)

xx Claire

...oops?

2010-12-03T16:51:00.002+11:00

Can you blame me for walking away with these babies? Can a girl have too many shoes? Not when they look like this:

The little part inside of me that adores rockabilly and lolita fashions squealed when i saw these at the Mountain Gate Salvos yesterday...I couldn't resist!

And kittens! There was a huge collection of cats (they must have been donated by the children of a crazy cat lady after her death...so many cats) at the Vinnies store in Croydon a while ago. I took these ones home because they were so sweet and 60's looking. Never mind that i have four of the same type...

meow!

super-chomb

2010-11-27T11:19:00.004+11:00

Forgive me for going on and on about dear chomby but I am just so smitten with him at the moment!

I wasn't home when this happened last night, it's such a cute story that I had to share it! Hayden had chomby playing in our front room and watched as he put his little front paws up on the coffee table to reach a leaf from a vase of flowers. Chomby got it in his mouth and tried to pull the leaf off, but pulled the whole vase over and got soaked by the water! Haha!! Silly little thing.

Anyway, here are some photos of him being a super bunny the other day...excuse my dorky brace-face, I couldn't stop laughing!

Super-chomb!!!!!!!

savers

2010-11-24T09:59:00.003+11:00

On Monday I made the trip out to Dandenong Savers. I didn't think I was doing well at all, there was nothing that I was interested in (allthough I did find a pair of velvet hotpants and handed them onto a couple of gorgeous girls who could pull them off - intimidating, but I think they bought them!)...But I kept looking through the racks and found some real gems. It pays to persevere!!

This one was $13...quite a bit for an op-shop, but it was so gorgeous that I couldn't leave it behind! I wore it out yesterday to see the final artwork by my beautiful friend Rose in the graduate exhibition at the VCA. It was such a hot day.

And a windy one, as you can probably tell!

Photo credits go to the lovely Carina :)

This was my most exciting find of the day! The 1970's poppy maxi dress! It reminds me of something that Helga would look faulous in!

The poppies are slightly more orange than they appear in the photo.

This cute littls girls cardigan that fits me in a cropped sort of way...totally adorable with little elephant buttons!

I also found these sweet old childrens books. The illustrations in this one, as well as the ad on the back (Cord tyres came about in 1915, so if they're still boasting about it when this was published, it can't have been too much later), have me thinking that it might be from the late 20's to early 40's? I can't work it out, and can't find a year on the inside cover.

Thank you again to savers for spoiling beautiful book covers. I don't dare peel the sticker off! Fourth Daughter at Style Wilderness blogged about this happening to pattern packets a while ago...

I also found this book that looks like it might be from the early 50's...

hehe, romping times!

And some nice fabric with which I will attempt to make a dress!

All in all a good day!

x

birthday times

2010-11-22T16:34:00.005+11:00

What a week!

On Tuesday, I turned 21! I had such a nice day and felt very special. The week flew by and I handed up my last assignment for the year on Friday. It's so amazing to have uni out of the way!

Yesterday was the day of my birthday picnic! I was afraid that people wouldn't show up, but there was quite a turn out :) I baked lots of cupcakes, an orange cake and chocolate chip biscuits.

As promised, a photo of me in my frock for the day...

I did look like I could be turning 5, not 21! such a pretty picnic. I pegged nice retro fabric to the clothesline for shade and put cushions and chairs around. We had a big bowl of punch too!

I was very lucky to recieve many generous gifts! Thankyou lovelies! Some of my friends from uni put in to buy me this pretty frock! Isn't it so cute? I had to change into it right that instant, of course :)

Chomby also came out for a few plays and seemed to enjoy the attention! He is so sweet.

Over the past week I've felt very special and happy. Thankyou to everyone who put in the effort to make it so nice :)

xx Claire

housewife

2010-11-14T21:55:00.002+11:00

This morning I did a HEAP of weeding. Which was well over-due, our garden is turning into a jungle! But it's starting to look pretty again.

I did my hair and put on heels to make dinner tonight (Thai red vegetable curry!) in an attempt to get Haydento come and keep me company by washing the dishes while I cooked. It didn't work at first, so I took some photos with the self-timer so that my effort didn't go to waste! He did come in eventually. All is forgiven!

As if I'd go with any other pose than that of the domestic goddess...

My hair is still red! Not back to brown, as it looks in the photo

Perhaps I should have ironed my apron.

And something that I don't think I've showed you before, my little tattoo!

"So that I have music in my ear where ever I go!"
(GAH! Look at the job that I did of dying my hair...Lucky I don't usually wear it up!

Music is the absolute center of my life (Besides pretty dresses, ha!), so it is very special. I've had this tattoo since the day of my 18th birthday. As the story goes, I was accompanying my lovely friend Rose to get her tattoo done that day. I had my monroe pierced in the morning (which i have since taken out), and we made our way into the city for Roses tatt. We joked with one of the other tattooists about the possibility of a free tattoo for my birthday! He agreed that I could have a little one for $20, which was a bargain since the base rate was something like $75. I had always wanted a trebel clef, and behind the ear seemed a sweet place as it wouldn't sag with time and I can always hide it with my hair.

I still loooove it :)

PS. Helga is in the process of getting the most beautiful back piece...pop over and have a look if you like tattoos!

frock

2010-11-13T16:19:00.003+11:00

It is my 21st birthday on Tuesday, and next Sunday I will be having a picnic with some lovely friends to celebrate! I wanted to buy myself a present, and a new (but vintage!) party frock seemed like a good idea!

I don't want to give it away before I can get a photo of me wearing on the day, so here is a sneak-peek for you...

I'm excited!

A dress that I op-shopped the other day...

I'll definitely take the hem up to around my knees. It'll just be so lovely for summer!

Finally, i bought these beads from a Vinnies op-shop months ago, but forgot to take photos. They remind me of lemon pie filling...yum!

Unfortunately out brief burst of 30 degree weather is over and the rain has returned :( Fingers crossed the sun is back in time for my picnic!

x

red!

2010-11-09T16:29:00.003+11:00

I have been procrastinating again. I'm supposed to be writing this essay on the representations of Cuba in I Love Lucy, but i'm exhausted after handing up the other assignment last night! I don't want to work on another! But it's due tomorrow, so I'd better get my act together.

Anyway, last night I put a 'prelightening' dye in my hair to get rid of the brown dye that I'd been using. It did the trick, and I slept with blondey/orange hair. This morning I put the cherry red in, and it's come out SOOO bright! Yukky bright. Hopefully-it-will-fade bright...

Have a look and tell me what you think. It's come out a bit more orangey than in these photos than it really is. I had to take them myself, so excuse the awkward face. And if you think my lips look odd, it's because I have braces behind them! :)

And I guess I haven't shown you lovelies my braces before, so here you go...

The top row are porceline, so they blend in with my teeth a little. I hate them! But they will be off in a year or so and I will have awesome teeth.

Have a happy tuesday!

xox Claire

bob fossil

2010-11-07T23:33:00.004+11:00

I am busy writing an essay today (never-ending, I tell you!), so here is a photo of hayden dressed up as Bob Fossil from the Mighty Boosh for Halloween a couple of years ago.

If you haven't seen the show, or even if you have, enjoy with me some classic Bob Fossil...

...And that's why I don't like cricket.

skirts

2010-11-03T14:41:00.003+11:00

Well, I got my giant assignment in on time, and while there were a few panicky moments it wasn't too bad! It ended up reaching about 5,500 words, which was a bit insane. But it's in and I'm happy!

We spent a few solid hours cleaning out bathroom and kitchen yesterday, and today I'm going to attempt to clean our bedroom floor which is COVERED in clothes...messy!!

Here are a few skirts that I bought from the Croydon Vinnies last week...

This next one is a beautiful paisely pattern, but I'm not so keen on the elastic that sort of hangs on my hips. It might be OK for belly dancing, but I think I'll make a waistband that will sit on my waist and put a zip in.

I must get going now. Hopefully I can get through the pigstye that is our bedroom and have some time to start my nest essay!

xx Claire

sir chombalot.

2010-10-30T12:47:00.004+11:00

I am swamped with assignments at the moment, so I'll use that as an excuse for neglecting this little blog for the past week! I'm sorry!

(Skip the next paragraph if assignments bore you)

I really have been busy with uni, it's getting ridiculous. But I'm slowly making progress, so I shouldn't complain. At the moment I'm comparing the musical contexts and issues of the Kaluli of Mt Bosavi in Papua New Guinea, the Suya of Mato Grosso in Brazil, the Mbuti of the Zaire rainforest in the Congo, and the Temiar of Malaysia! Soooo much!! And I'm flicking between them all as I come up with different pieces of information, so it is quite confusing.

Anyway, as you will have figured, I don't have a lot of time on my hands, I'll just show you a few photos of Sir Chombalot!

Having a little sleep on my lap after a big day!

Hayden put one of my hair bows on his little head, but I couldn't get him to sit still! Anyway, here's a cute one...

Ha,Poor thing! We'll be painting his nails pink next!

Back to work for me, I hope the rest of you are enjoying your day :)

xx

laptop & scavenger hunt

2010-10-24T10:44:00.006+11:00

I did end up buying a new laptop! It was very difficult for me to part with so much money, but I'm thinking of it as an early 21st birthday present to myself! It's very shiny and pretty, so I wanted to find a good case for it. Nothing that I came across in shops would do...They were either too expensive or too boring. So I made my own!

I bought half a metre of quilted canvas, some velcro and some crochet trim (If only I knew how to crochet myself!), and used some fabric from my collection.

Here is a photo of the process...

I stiched it all together as a pouch with a little flap, hot-glue-gunned the velcro on, stitched around it to secure it a bit more, and hand stitched the trim to the edge. And voila!

A laptop case much better looking than anything I've seen in the shops, and made by myself so I'm proud to carry it around!

Helga tagged me to do a scavenger hunt, so here goes!!

Favourite You Tube vid:

Jonathan Richman & Modern Lovers - Egyptian Reggae
I cannot get enough of this clip! It's so hilarious...the camel, the snake, the girls! And it's an awesome song, too. Got to admit, I watch this several times a week!

Post a picture of something geeky:

I'll make no secret of it...I love X-Files! All of the conspiracies, the government plots...it's thrilling to watch!

Find a picture of something that makes you go awwwwwwwwwwww:

How cute are tea cup piggies? My friend Carina baby-sat a piglet a few weeks ago. She was so cute and sucked my arm! Awwwww!!

Find a funny T-shirt:

I typed in 'funny t-shirt', 'amusing t-shirt', etc, into google, but came up with nothing that I found funny! Excpet the one that said 'Your Mum was here'. And that's only because I like to make inappropriate 'Ya Mum' jokes to annoy Hayden. So I'll pass on this one!

Post a still from my favourite film:

Helga nominated Cabaret as one of her very favourites, and I think i have to agree!!

Money money money, money money money!

A blog I have recently discovered:
Vintage Suburbia-This lovely lass rocks the 40's and 50's looks on a daily basis-she is amazing!

Something from my wish list:

I still haven't found the right desk for my sewing room! I need a nice, big, old one.

Weehoo!! Thanks Helga!

I tag (If they'd like to do it!):

Georgia Rose
Jen Storer
Fourth Daughter

Have a lovely week everyone xx

feeling thrift-ful!

2010-10-20T22:53:00.004+11:00

Hello my little seedlings! How are you all? Well, I hope!!

Not too much has been happening around here, besides uni and hunting for a new laptop! My current one is on her very last leg.

This morning I went to my beautiful little sisters final year 12 Assembly for school. Gosh I was teary! I am so proud of her. And Tonight at Belly Dancing we did a really fun style of Indian dance called 'Bhangra'. It was lots of fun and very exhausting so we only did it for a few minutes....Phew!

Ok, that's all that I have to report on, besides some 2nd hand goodies!

This is the vintage polka dot dress that I mentioned I scored at Wantirna Trash & Treasure for $3. I think it's late 60's/Early 70's. The lady also gave me this woolen vest for free as it fit me nicely!

Will be lovely when Autumn swings around next year. So will this pinafore that I found at Savers yesterday...

Ohh! Yes! Will look so incredibly cute and 60's with a groovey long sleeved shirt underneath and white tights.

And here is the originally unknown object that I suspected to be, and did turn out to be, a very old violin mute! How cool is it? I think my very clever friend Brent will enjoy this piece! If you live in Melbourne, you might have heard of Brent's jewelry pieces, Depths of the Never Never...If you haven't, go and check out his work right now!

xx Claire

hard rubbish

2010-10-18T22:15:00.003+11:00

On Sunday afternoon I played at an orchestra concert with a community orchestra. I'd only been to one rehearsal with them and didn't get to look at any of the music, so I pretty much sight-read the whole thing! Which might have been OK had they not put me as the leader of the 1st violins. Gah! I made it through though and hopefully any mistakes weren't TOO noticeable!

I was hoping that Savers would be open 'til 7pm on Sundays and was looking forward to a bit of op-shopping afterwards, but when I got home and checked the website, I found that it closed at 5pm. However, I had spotted some hard rubbish popping up close to my home, so I went on a hunt for furniture on the side of the road instead!

There were SO MANY amazing things that wouldn't have fit in the back of my car. I came across an awesome 2-seater cane chair, almost too new for my liking, but great condition! Alas, it would not fit. Next I came across a 3-piece 1970's lounge suite. I could only fit one arm chair in my little hatch-back, so that's all I took. Wish I'd gone back for the rest.

Anyway, here's a picture of me modeling my new armchair...

I'm sorry about the flash-heavy night time shot. Here's who you really want to see modeling it...

Chomby!

Hayden has been making up songs about Chomby. "Super Chomby!! Super Chomby!! Friendly bunny by day, SUPER HERO BY NIGHT, Super Chomby!" I'm thinking of sewing him a cape and making little videos of him running around being cute.

Last weekend, I got up super early to go to good old Wantirna Trash & Treasure. It never disapoints, except on cold rainy days when stall-holders don't bother going!

I bought an almost-new pair of Doc Martins for $15! I also came across a lovely lady who saw me looking at a nice old polka-dot dress of hers and offered for me to look through the back of her car. I found a gorgeous little vest that she gave to me for free, and the dress was $3! I will share soon. I also got a Ukelele for $3, and these sweet 50's pieces:

There were two of these bobby-pin sets. Why didn't I get both!?!!

And there were heaps of these! Oh, I have no sense on a Sunday morning. I should have bought the lot of them.

Sorry for the slightly scattered post, it's been a long day!