Two toned cushion cover

Slightly hippie on its own (and also cos its complete mismatched to my couch).

Made to replace my old ikea cushion - ripped out the zip and copied the size of the old cover. Also made to try out my new Ofla rotary cutter - it's friggin' awesome. Bought it from Midnight Crafts on Etsy (yvettelim) and got the straight and pinking blades. As my boss at work predicted, I ended up nicking my thumb (boooo....) so gotta be careful with blades girls and boys.

Deenie

Left Brain Right Brain...

I love this ad. I think it says it all about my brain vs. my boy's brain. Guess who's who?

Happy Friday!

-charli

Monique Lhuillier 2012 Inspiration

There are so many weddings this year and finding the appropriate clothing is always wrought with danger. Don't look like the bride. Don't outdo the bride. (Seen that one before..."Who's wedding is it?) Don't look like the bridesmaid (Seen that one before too...Terribly awkward questions ensued with "oh, are you part of the bridal party?" "....no..." awkward silence...) My tip is to try find out what colour the bridesmaids are wearing. It's just safer.

So I looked to Monique Lhuillier Resort 2012 for some eye candy inspiration. 

Sweet for the day ceremony. Maybe toned down with a nice cardigan or trench coat.

 A couple of elegant evening dresses for the dinner reception.

And below, two perfect glittery glamourous ideas for an outfit change for the bride. 

-charli

She does this with a TYPEWRITER?

Amazing discovery via Design Milk of incredible artist Kiera Rathbone. She actually creates these beautiful images using a vintage typewriter.

It's such a labour of love with each piece of art formed by layers and layers of letters and numbers. Wow.



Kay

Its one or the other - or maybe its both

(Nadinoo - AW10)

(Jak and Jil - Colour Blocked)

(Jil Sander - SS11 Spring)

Some people I know seem to have some hard choices to make. Are you also asking, Should I stay or should I go? Can you choose a path that has both?

Deenie

NYC - a whirlwind tour!

I thought I'd share some pics from our trip to NYC!


Our rental apartment was in Midtown - just 2 blocks down from Time Square. Wonderful location. Perfect weather too. People were sitting outside on the steps enjoying the fresh air.





The ubiquitous yellow taxi.



Central Park in the Spring is beautiful.



Locals enjoying the sunshine next to Union Square




Modern art for sale at Christie's NY


BUT i wish i took photos like this guy!


kay

NYC - Purchases on display!

Part of the fun of returning home from a holiday is seeing some of your purchases on display!

When you read as many US blogs as I do, certain brand names pop up frequently so I was really excited to visit Crate and Barrel in NYC Soho. It was just as I imagined it and filled with so many great homeware items I would have bundled together and taken home with me if luggage space permitted. We did manage to find some small lovely vases that displayed some beautiful blooms on the dining table - ah! so fresh and uplifting. Love love love little vases and fresh flowers!

And having coming home I just jumped onto the website to write this post and YES! they ship to Australia. I'm not sure what I would order yet but stay tuned folks! I just might make a purchase of some Marimekko bedlinen that I regret not buying when we were there!

The second purchase was our token souvenir item for display on the 'pool room' shelves (reference to 'the Castle'!). These cute little wooden NYC cityscape blocks are from Muji.

I wish we had a Muji in Australia!

The blocks are really quite fun! We keep moving them around and re-arranging the cityscape.



kay

Any bag for me

I got an Ona Bags 'Any Bag' from Photojojo!

I thought, I like making bags and this camera bag is designed to fit into any bag - it's meant to be.

It's actually smaller than I thought it would be. But it's sturdy, the velcro partition thingy is pleasingly sticky and secure, and it fits the tote I made. I'm a happy camper.

Deenie

Cocobutter your look

Hello if you didn't know this is "Deenie's" face and torso... :)

My little sister Ming has a neat little e-boutique stocking stylish, layered and affordable looks. Above mini-photoshoot shows two of my fave tops from earlier this year. I call the blue one my "paint" top.

You'll love her statement pieces, simple lines and effortless style - so easy to put together. I have about 10 different pieces and they all merged into my wardrobe the minute I unpacked my bags. She'll solve your 'in-between' fashion moments - not too dressy or too casual.

And those black leggings that you liked on Sunday, Kay? Got 'em from Ming @ www.cocobutter.com.au.

Deenie

St Ives Green Tea Cleanser & Scrub

When I found out the awesome people at St. Ives where giving me their new Green Tea range (cleanser and scrub) of products to trial and review, I was very exciting! I am a big fan of green tea, especially japanese green tea and I know all the great benefits of drinking it...Green tea is a rich source of vitamins C and E, it's known to soothe your skin and have major antioxidant powers

So what a great idea to turn it into a cleanser.

So what does it claim to do?

"Helps clear breakouts and soothes skin. A Blemish-fighting solution with 100% Natural Green Tea
Product Description
This dermatologist-tested scrub can actually help to clear and soothe your skin as well as help reduce redness. An active blemish-fighting ingredient fights the flare-ups, while 100% natural exfoliants encourage healthier, clearer skin."

My Opinion?

PROS: It actually works! Skin felt refreshing and smooth without that over-drying problem. The cleanser was great for removing makeup even and I definitely felt nice and clean afterwards. I loved the scrub - it wasn't too gentle or too harsh. It felt like it was doing it's done and I didn't get any breakouts or redness issues too.

CONS: I thought St. Ives were really all natural ingredients but I really hated the smell of the range. It should not have had such a sickly sweet smell (of what I think is candy watermelon.) It was really disappointing and a unnecessary addition.

OVERALL: Great...pity i couldn't stand the smell...

-charli

Pastel Hair

I'm really toying with the idea of pastel pink hair.

Not the whole head (though I love the photo below. How soft and milky does it look?)

But these amazing pastel colours are so soft looking, yet punky. Actually, they remind me of playing with My Little Pony as a kid...Is that a whimsical or creepy idea to relive my childhood of combing my pony's pink hair via dying my own hair?

-charli