faux bois strikes again

uh oh.. faux bois strikes again! i found these cards while down the rabbit hole at the curiosity shoppe, which, btw i like to pronounce "shoppy". anyways, as if it wasn't enough that these cards featured a little wood grain, but they are also stackable, eames house-of-cards style. if i was going to buy the cards, i think i would have to add the little rocking bird too. it's by palo samko and it's lovely.

pattern + shadow

i really quite like the humble patterned concrete block. i think they have a bad name because they are always used in the wrong application.. you often see a few of them stuck somewhere inappropriate on a little pre-war brick house with a tiled roof, instead of being used en masse to make up a screen wall on a modern house... just imagine how good they would look somewhere fabulous like a case study house. i think the next modern monster i design will have to incorporate a concrete patterned block wall.. perhaps at the western end of an outdoor living area and incorporated in with the landscaping. the harsh west sun belting against the blocks would make the most glorious sharp shadows.

update: jacq from uber stylish utz sanby architects tells me they are called breeze blocks.. i knew there was a name for them, but sometimes my brain does not recall.


update: check out studio g for their take on the humble block. 

new look captain

i spotted this dress (the one on the left) from bleubird vintage over at seesaw designs and i love, love, love it. actually, i love the whole look. totally perfect for cafe-ing and book shopping along somewhere like gertrude street. alas, it's already sold. probably a good thing because i doubt it would look so lovely and loose fitting on me. i like little miss stripes on the right too, but think it needs the boots, not the heels and i would ditch the red hat for a chunky bangle. but that's just me.

from the garden y'all

i'm loving having a garden. i did love my little succulent garden that i had on the balcony of our old apartment, but there's nothing like having an actual garden to mess about in. joy.

suburban skies

you know that song.. "blue skies.. nothing but blue skies..." reminds me that even ordinary days like today are good days. sunshine.

mummy shoes

these are my new mummy shoes. flat sole. good for walking in. practical, but still stylish yes? those who know me well will be impressed that they feature a closed toe. i am notorious for wearing open toe sandals all year round, which i have discovered seems to greatly upset some people. go figure.

hello cowboy

well, i guess it's more hello cowgirl. apparently when i was little i announced that i wanted to be a doctor or a cowgirl. neither of which has come true, but, perhaps i can walk a mile in a cowgirl's boots for now. i came across this image, which i love btw, when i was down the rabbit hole at bliss. (original story from the real weddings section on once wed).. anyways, so i've had the idea of cowgirl boots floating around in my mind and what do i find while down another rabbit hole? yep, i now know where i can get myself some custom made boots in melbourne.. and if they're good enough for the strokes, then they're good enough for the captain.

happy

shelley over at galerie montmartre tagged me back in late may with an awe-summm award and it's taken me this long to do it. so i have to list 7 things that make me awesome and 7 blogs i think are awesome.. here goes..

1. i'm a good mummy. mirka is a very happy little girl and so easy to enjoy time with.

2. i'm a good half of kk5t. right husband??

3. i'm good at what i do. i love being an architect, designing and getting to know my clients.

4. i'm good at finding interesting things.

5. i'm good at writing hand written letters. or the occassional telegram.

6. i'm copying one of shelley's answers here and nominating myself as a good decision maker. knowing what i want. decision made. done. move on.

7. last but not least, i'm good at laughing. especially laughing at myself or at light hearted, awkward and misfortunate events involving kingsley. i'm smiling right now thinking about some of them! ..and my own jokes.. so good i tell you!

now for seven blogs i love? well just pick any seven from my list of favourites on the right.

as a side note, i received this gorgeous card by brown & sticky from kingsley for my birthday. i love the bright graphic and it's actually fabric on the front. they're made in sydney (go australian design) and they're awesome too.

it's a laundromat life

while i may have been blogging about my past nyc trip, it seems my present life is somewhat less glamourous. i'm leading more of a laundromat lifestyle these days, but me no complain. strangely enough, i'm always surprised how design is everywhere. i suppose it's just that good old stylist's trick of repetition, but still, it made me that little bit happier to spend my time at the laundromat. waiting.

house keeping

notice anything different? after trying out a few different backgrounds and a new title image, i've come back to my original title, but with a soft grey background and no more etsy favourites. what do you think?? my blog needs some graphic design love, but my html skills are limited.

new york city rocks.. take 4

ok this is my final nyc inspired post. thought i'd go out with some zing.. a little colour, or a little pepper as kingsley would say. reminds me of when we played botanical golf in perth and kingsley's advice to my hopeless efforts was to give it a little pepper. this advice was good for a couple of holes, up until the loop the loop when a little bit of pepper was a little too much. let's just say that the people enjoying a nice devonshire tea next door got quite a shock when a golf ball ricocheted off their tea set!

new york city rocks.. take 3

if i had a lazy sunday afternoon to spend in nyc.. or if someone asked me where to get married in nyc.. this is the spot. just look at that terrace in the top photo.. see i told you i like a good terrace. add some garden candles or lanterns.. maybe some strung overhead, a jazz band, great food and wine and 100 guests dressed up to the nines and voila! magic.

new york city rocks.. take 2

so like i said, my trip to nyc was back in 2006 and yes, i know everyone and their dog has been to magnolia bakery and cupcakes are so yesterday, but let me just say those little treats are good. real good. anyways.. one of the best things about getting ourselves over to the bakery was discovering the west village.. this is where the captain would choose to live if i was a new york city girl. was i tempted by the marc jacobs store across the road from the bakery? yes, yes i was.. and contrary to what the husband might say, it was so much more affordable than if i had bought it in australia. not that you could get my super stylish blue bag in australia. oo-la-la. women and their handbags. you know.

new york city rocks

i am feeling totally inspired by all the posts over the last week coming from new york city by the lovely lucy of the design files fame. new york is an amazing city.. so cinematic with all the steam coming up from the subways.. or was that just because we were walking around at night in the middle of winter?? but with only 3 days there, we had to make the most of our time and as it was we ran out of time to see anything other than manhattan. i am loving reading about lucy's great finds outside of manhattan.. maybe next time for me. anyway, i thought i'd post some photos from my trip back in 2006 over the next few days. most of the photos are by the ever talented kingsley.

this post: beautiful + moody chrysler building (taken around midnight in freezing temperature), frankie's wonderful guggenheim, mies' perfectly detailed seagram building and the calder mobile out the front.

50's flair

love this house. love it. it's a bad photo (taken from the car and on the move), but i think you can see what a gem it is.. or could be. what you can't see is the external spiral steel stair on the left that would take the lucky punter up to the roof terrace. oh to have a house with a roof terrace. i'm forever writing 'terrace' on my sketch plans and one of my favourite clients even made fun of me once saying "oh yes, let's go out to the north terrace" .. i think this house would make the perfect holiday house.. just needs a private front fence with a pool and some great outdoor furniture behind it. sunny.

olivetti love

+

how cool is this typewriter? it's the olivetti ms 25 premier plus and you can get yourself one from urban outfitters. oh the lovely notes i could punch out on this baby. tap tap tap. i love the sight and sound of the key arms smashing into the paper. mesmerising.

it's my birthday

1985. what a cake. what a fringe! i'm having a very low key birthday this year. the weather is too miserable to do anything, so i've had a lovely day at home with mirka. maybe the husband will bring home a cake tonight. hint hint.

road trip surprises

i always dread a long road trip, but at the same time, i love when you're driving along and then out of nowhere an amazing sight hits you. we had been driving for hours and just when i really needed a pick me up, this amazing green paddock, black sky, double rainbow and changing light greeted us... and if that wasn't enough, 15 minutes later the temperature gauge in the car plummeted and we were caught in a hail storm. bizarre.

t towels + timber telegrams

these are the last of the goodies to arrive in my post box for a while.. well maybe.. wink face. i love my new t towel by spin spin handmade.. now i just have to iron it and do my best to keep it free from baby food. i know that there will be some of you out there who suspect i've lost it when you see the lovely woodcards i bought (hello husband), but i like the combination of the timber and printing.. looks a bit like a timber telegram me thinks and i know it will put a smile on the peops' faces i send them to.

zig-zag temptation

i know, i know.. only a few days ago i 'fessed up that i'm on a self imposed online buying ban... the thing is, it's my birthday soon and i'm soooo tempted to give myself a little gift.. i've had my eye on this notepad from linda & harriett for ages, years even maybe. of course mine would say captain kk and not georgia harrington. zig-zag.

mirka + maxwell make nice

i have been taking regular photos of mirka in the eames rocker and after reading nicole's post over at making it lovely, i'm inspired to share the latest ones with you. the softie getting squished is maxwell the mi5 agent.. notice how he is dressed in a tux with bow tie, james bond style??

j'adore la pinafore

my french is not so good.. well, non-existent truthfully. is it j'adore la pinafore or le pinafore?? anyone? anyone? (i'm sure you've all seen the ferris bueller house for sale doing the rounds at the moment). i know how to apologise for not speaking any french and ask if you can speak english in italian, but that doesn't really help either. anyways, i do love this dress and think it would be perfect for mirka's first birthday. only problem is that i've put myself on a little online shopping ban for the moment. especially hard now that the aussie dollar is up. saving.

art finds

'please don't go'

'words are never enough'

'thought this would be easier'

after my last post i thought some more artworks by michele maule were worth a mention. i bought the 2nd print titled 'words are never enough' last year and i love it. i think the first one would look fantastic on a wall amongst lots of other artworks, big and small. alternatively, i also think it would look good on my desk. i love the last one too.. i once had some sneakers just like these, but i left them in rome because i needed to make space in my bag. red.