Topsy Turvy - continued...

Just thought I should share with you one of my favourite purchases of yesterday. They were so lovely and only ten dollars! (You may need to click to get a better look, on my computer this view seems very pixelated)

And yes, my grass is very very brown. Its the fault of the heatwave. And Melbourne's water restrictions. Except we never look after the lawn anyway, so they didnt really make any difference.

I've also been working super super hard these holidays at making all kinds of beautiful things for my first collection, She said she'd drain my heart. Today I decided to share some of them with the world. Each piece is made of upcycled bits and pieces designed to breathe life into forgotten objects in a new context. Each also has a little (often dark) story behind it. So, soon they should be available on etsy! Here's a little peek at some of them (sorry about the poor photo quality). I hope you like! Promise you wont tell?

Topsy Turvy

Originally from here

I had the loveliest day today, filled with so much magical shopping wonderful-ness I thought I should share it with all of your before hopping off to bed.

Even though there were things to taint it (ie, my friend completely cancelling on me in favour of sleep, and the incredibly annoying couple on the train who kept giggling and pinching each others faces (I dont get it either...)) today was on the whole filled with so much good luck I simply had to spend all my savings to keep it.

In need of some retail therapy today, my friend and I found a hidden garage sale tucked into a laneway, which was a veritable treasure trove of vintage and retro clothes. And all so cheap it was a steal! Everything there was under ten dollars, those people must have been crazy. I bought so much my shopping bags broke on the way home!

We hit another sale before that too, so all up I bought two pairs of jeans, a lovely black jacket, a top, a dress and a fantastic pair of shoes for $120 all up!

Plus, I finished my Frankie and hoarded the latest issues of Attitude and Vice, which I had not seen such a long time.

Crazy!

I may even need some photos to show you the awesomeness. But for now, I'm going to bed. Maybe tomorrow...

I hope you all had as lovely a day as I did.

xS

Here we go again

, originally uploaded by crunchylashes.

Burnt silver brushed lavender offspring
Sprung from me when first we kissed
You held me quietly a rush purged me of my past
Opened a desert of diamonds vast
Glinting and a tiny chorus of swallows
Swing open the door freed the caged bees and wallows
Swarm geometric patterns on the sun
Eclipse new moon
And tell my werewolf not to run
I tell my werewolf not to run
- Cocorosie, Promise

I start uni next week (like a lot of you Aussies) and I'm absolutely dreading getting back into routine after three months of socialising, reading, crafting and continuous midday coffee catch-ups. I'm so behind, I haven't even bought the absolute truckload of books on my booklist this year.

I think a 7am wake-up might just kill me.

In other news, I am absolutely taken by this lovely sparrow necklace by etsy seller MDsparks. What a beautiful idea!

I want one for my own so terribly!

xS

Heloise and Abelard; the power of letters

“…we are much fonder of the pictures of those we love when they are at a great distance than when they are near us. It seems to me as if the farther they are removed their pictures grow the more finished, and acquire a greater resemblance; or least our imagination, which perpetually figures them to us by the desire we have of seeing them again, makes us think so.


… If a picture, which is but a mute representation of an object, can give such pleasure, what cannot letters inspire?

They have souls;


They can speak


they have in them all that force which expresses the transports of the heart;

they have all the fire of our passions, they can raise them as much as if the person themselves were present;

they have all the tenderness and the delicacy of speech,

and sometimes even a boldness of expression beyond it."

As promised.

Photos are from here, here, here and here. I am so enamoured with all of these photographers. My flickr favourites are filled with them.

I love the art of letter writing with a passion, and I miss it the romance and artistry of constructing something so beautiful out of the written word. This weekend my best friend and I explored a beautiful forgotten little stationary shop in a laneway in the city, and I almost blew my weeks pay buying supplies. There is something so fullfilling in writing a letter; in paper and ink and envelopes stuffed with secrets.

You can read more of H&A's love letters here.

xS

firefly

firefly, originally uploaded by mariehochhaus.

'My tears, which I could not refrain, have blotted half your letter; I wish they had effaced the whole, and that I had returned it to you in that condition; I should then have been satisfied with the little time I kept it; but it was demanded of me too soon.'
- Heloise

My best friend is angry at me and I don't know why. We haven't spoken in three days, which may not seem like an incredible amount of time, but for us it is.

I don't fight with people. So I don't know what to do. I can never manage to be angry at anyone for very long. Grudges are beyond me.

Everytime I think about it I feel like taking some kind of action to end the rift, but as I've done nothing I don't know how I can. I can only wait until he perceives his own absurdity.

The quote is from one of the letters between the famous lovers, Heloise and Abelard, whose tragic romance has always inspired me. Their story has a place in the hearts of many others, including, I beleive, Charlie Kaufman, who has included references to the pair in his screenplays to both 'Being John Malkovich' and 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' (the name itself taken from the Alexander Pope poem 'Eloisa to Abelard', about the tragedy of their seperation).

Heloise's letters are beautiful, and I think that, to keep me busy, my next post will be inspired by them.

xS

Stella Loves: Wuthering Heights

Your Routine Smells Stale, originally uploaded by Chrissie White.

I've been working so much lately I've scarcely had the time to sit down, let alone immerse myself in a classic novel. So I was skeptical when I started Wuthering Heights, and worried that I wouldn't be able to give myself the time I really needed to let the beautiful story draw me into its pages.

How wrong I was.

Wuthering Heights is my favourite read this year. And considering this year's kind of young, probably most of last year as well. I always have a book on the go, but I haven't enjoyed a novel this much in a long time.

Cathy and Heathcliff's destructive romance is captivating. What a perfect, if slightly unnerving, novel to finish the night before Valentine's.

Speaking of Valentine's, if you want something lovely to do with your special someone, or just want a major distraction from all the sickening lovey-dovey-ness and over-priced tacky gifts (as I always do), there are some events in Melbourne city perfect to fill your day.

Today, in the Degraves subway, is the INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE CONSPIRACY WEEK!!! How cool is that? Its been going on all week, filled with ziney creative types, and lots of lovely readable, inspirational things. Yay!!!!

ALICE EUPHEMIA is also ending their fanstamagorical three day sale today, if you need some retail therapy after enduring all the day's couples. And with the likes of David Bowie on their sale signs, why wouldn't you want to go?

As for now, I'm going back to my novel. My current read is 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' by Robert M Pirsig.

Lovely...

Photos by: sneeze frost

I came across this beautiful and sadly obsolete word today:

Apricity: The warmth of the sun in winter

Sometimes I wonder if my perception of life would be different if my vocabulary was different, if I had more specific words to apply to different sets of feelings, emotions and occurrences. Would the subtleties I experience pass unnoticed if I could not assign specific words to each?

Perhaps each language you learn adds another layer to your perception of reality.

Sorry for the dime-store philosophy. Its usually one of my biggest pet peeves.

I also came across these lovely photographs on Flickr. sneeze frost's abandoned buildings are so haunting I felt they in some way reflected my mood (which is basically the result of listening to CocoRosie all day) and I love the way he captures light. There are so many beautiful things on his photostream I couldn't show you all my favourites.

xS

We Are the Image Makers

weAREtheIMAGEmakers issue 18 is now out, featuring Ainslie Fletcher, Justin Williams, Ears, Regan Tamanui (aka HAHA) and Twenty Eleven.

You can view it here.

I'm ultra busy at the moment, so I can only spare a few lines, but you should definately check out Ainslie's work. She's such a ball of happy energy.

xS