prints and prints

I still have a few blank walls left in my house that are just begging for some art love – mainly my two large walls in my living room. Right now they are both facing each other in equal blankness.

I think what has left these two walls blank for so long is their size – they are at least 4m wide and I just didn’t have anything to fill the space.

I have pondered it a while and I think I may have my solutions. On one of the walls I’d like to purchase two or three of Sharon Montrose’s animal prints – I am thinking this combination:

   

or this:

  

or:

  

The deciding is going to be tricky.

On the other – on which the couch backs onto – I am going to attempt to create a grouped wall of art. Now I say attempt – as I haven’t had much success in the past at grasping the eclectic look of things – but it seems a great, and inexpensive, way to showcase a lot of art, and it can grow and change with you. I am going to be using these as inspiration:

For what will be included in my print gathering – I am currently loving the below prints/artwork:

clockwise from top left; melbourne print by studiokmo, Jamais trop tard by evajuliet, Flaming Lips. Do You Realize. by 2142stuart, Watercolour Blobs by MadeByEmilyGreen, The Cool Tiger in Sunglasses by Lucius Art, Rabbit Watercolor PRINT by WaterInMyPaint, Cat Watercolor PRINT by WaterInMyPaint, Rain by Aneesh Vini, Wander Art Print by Wesley Bird, Ocean Blue by Leah Flores, Mac Cat by Florever, Deluge by Marc Allante.

So some thinking will have to be done – and some saving of money to afford these all.

Also – just apologies for the sporadic posting – I just started a new job and it has hindered my time to focus. Hopefully once I am in the swing it will get back more to normal.

25 before 25

Today I turn 24! In amongst my small celebrations, it also marks the beginning of my 25 before 25 list. Some items have carried through from my previous list (some have been left behind), and some are all new challenges. I am still stuck on what to put for number 25 (it was going to be finish a crossword, but I completed that one too early) – let me know if you have any thoughts on what I should add.

1. Run a half marathon. I am starting off with a massive challenge. To be honest I think this is going to be really difficult to achieve, but if I aim for the Melbourne Marathon in October next year, I have almost a year to get prepared for it. I used to run cross-country in high school, so I know I can run long distances, but a half marathon is something I haven’t even attempted before, with my longest run ever being 12kms.  About half way through my year I should endeavour to compete in a 10-15k run to build up to the half marathon, but this date is yet to be decided.
2. Read two books a month (in total 24 books). Now this proved an issue challenge in my 24 before 24, so I have upped the game this time round – two books a month. I am not going to be too strict on whether I get the exact two books in each month – but as long as it is 24 before the year is over I will be happy.
3. Cook at least two recipes from every cookbook I own (and blog about them). I think anyone who loves food will confess to having quite a few cookbooks that they haven’t even opened (let alone cooked from), and I am no different. This challenge will get me looking through those cookbooks that haven’t been opened and years, and actually try some of the recipes inside – who knows what wonders I will discover.
4. Host a miniature dinner party. Those around me know I have a slight obsession with all miniature sized food. So, to celebrate this fact, I would like to host a dinner party at my house where all the food is in miniature. (miniature burgers will definitely make an appearance on the menu)
5. Completely revamp my work wardrobe. As with my previous posts on the work capsule wardrobe, I would like to pursue this and get my wardrobe to a stage where I am not perplexed what to wear every morning.
6. Start a dedicated cooking/eating blog. I haven’t thought about what exactly yet, but I have been getting back into food in a big way and would like to chronicle this journey somehow. I hope to also improve my skills at food photography through this process.
7. Fill all the walls in my house with art that I love. I am pretty close to achieving this one, but I still think it is important. I do still have a few tricky walls in my house that need some art love – I have some plans in the works but I’d like to get this ticked off.
8. Make beautifully decorated cupcakes. This is another rollover from my 24 before 24 – I would love to attempt to make cupcakes that could mirror what you see in beautiful bakery windows. Nothing as fancy as miniature figurines on the top of them – but just beautifully iced and presented. Bonus points awarded if they are miniature.
9. Pay off all my credit cards, and get in a comfortable financial position. Due to some unfortunate instances with roommates etc, I have been put in the red in regards to my finances. I would like to not only have no debt (other than my mortgage and HECS) but also have a safety pool of money for those unforseen events that have a habit of popping up.
10. and to help with the above Keep to a budget. In my 24 before 24 I completed half of a budget by inputting all my incomes and expenses, but I didn’t get as far as creating a budget which I was to stick month to month. I’d like to set a budget which will hopefully get me to a better position sooner, and stop unnecessary spending.
11. Go in for a professional bra fitting. I have ashamedly never done so and I’d love to be properly fitted for a bra. Bra shopping in general is something I usually loathe, so maybe taking the guessing out of it and getting professional help will make this a more pleasant experience.
12. Become a market regular. The Preston markets near me have a fantastic range of fruit, vegies, meat, and deli items, and the prices are a lot better than your local supermarket, so I really have no excuse not to make this a regular part of my weekly food shop. Out of convenience I have always just done a one-stop-shop at Woolworths, but as I am getting more into my cooking and food I need to make the effort to get fresher produce to make those meals extra tasty.
13. Eat at a hatted restaurant. The Age Good Food Guide rates Melbourne restaurants, and the very best receive ‘hats’. The hats range from one to three, and only four Melbourne Restaurants have gained the three chef hats. In order to expand my food experiences outside of my Cheap Eats, I’d like to once eat at a hatted restaurant. Whether it be one hat or three it should be tasty either way.
14. Make gnocchi and ravioli from scratch. Both are dishes that I love, and I have heard that the home-made versions are infinitely better – so it is on the list to conquer. Also, both can be frozen, so I can make them in bulk and enjoy them for months to come.
15. Play a board game – or even better have a games night. Where have all the board games gone? I can’t remember the last time I played one, and it makes me quiet sad that the kids these days (wow I sound old!) don’t really play board games. My preferred games would have to be Monopoly or Pictionary, but I will also accept Cluedo (did someone say Colonel Mustard, dibs!), Game of Life or Balderdash for this challenge.  Now just to find someone who wants to play with me…
16. Create edible gifts for my colleagues and friends for Christmas.  I have always had a vision of having beautifully packaged edible gifts to hand out for Christmas, see here for inspiration. I won’t have long to get cracking on this one (can’t believe Christmas is in just over a month) but fingers crossed I can get it done.
17. Plan an overseas holiday. This was also on my 24 before 24 list, and I crossed it off (Thailand holiday in Jan – yay!) however I am an avid traveller and I think this should be a constant requirement each year. Not sure what will be next on the agenda (there is still so much left to see) but my initial thoughts are maybe the US, or Africa…
18. Speaking of Africa – Visit Weribee open range zoo: I love zoos, mostly because I love animals and our zoos in Australia have them in very good habitats. I am yet to visit the open range zoo though, and from their website it looks like they have an amazing array of animals and adventures you can get up to there, the Slumber Safari in particular looks awesome!
19. Start a stock portfolio. I get the Barefoot Investors email updates every week, and often he talks about the advantages of having a stock portfolio, especially over other forms of investment.  Even if the total value of the portfolio is less than 1k I think it will be a good starting point for me.
20.  Visit the drive in theatre. Strangely enough I live very close to a drive in theatre, and have done for over two years, and I still haven’t gone. I have never been to a movie through a drive in so it seems like a good opportunity to go back into the past just for one night. (I think they have a retro diner on site also…)
21. Grow my hair to my waist. My hair currently sits just at my bra strap, given a year of growing (and refraining from cutting) I should get the longest parts of my hair to my waist.
22. See more of Victoria. I have now lived in Melbourne for just under 3 years and I haven’t seen much past the city.  I have been to the Dandenong’s and on half of Great Ocean Road – but I’d like to cross off Daylesford, Mornington Peninsula and Phillip Island.
23. Organise something for my 25 birthday. A quarter of a century, it seems like a long time but it has gone like a flash (so far anyway). To continue on with this years birthday celebrations I want to make sure my birthday is celebrated again next year.
24. Dine alone. When I was backpacking across Europe often I would be left without travelling partners for a night or so, not wanting to eat only supermarket food for the night I would venture out and end up dining alone. It certainly was a new experience, but in a foreign country it wasn’t as intimidating as I have now found it being back in Australia. I think I just need to get over myself and take the opportunity now and then to go out a meal alone, whether it be a brunch, lunch or dinner, take a book and enjoy some amazing food on my own.
25. ???

Phew – I am tired just reading over them all! But at least this time around I will have the full year to complete them and  I promise to update you on any of the above as I try to make my way through them – fingers crossed I can get close to the full 25.

Have you created a life list? What is included on yours? Any thoughts on what I should put for number 25?

UPDATED: I have decided on my #25 – Begin studying for a new degree. I have been in my field now for just on three years and I am not convinced that it is for me – so to give myself more options in the future I would like to get a few more qualifications under my belt. It is likely going to be studying a degree via distance education, which will require a lot of discipline on my end, but I think I can do.

diy prints

Although my house is getting closer to completion, I still have a few bare walls which need some colour, namely the walls in my living room. These happen to be some largest wall spaces I have in one area, and thus have been quite tricky to decide on a plan to fill them.

After buying some beautiful lillies the other day an idea struck me on how to fill one of those walls – and on a budget to! It took a few weeks to execute, but I think I now have the makings of some great diy art.  Now you will have to imagine these prints individually framed and evenly spaced on a large wall:

Now I can’t decide between using the above versions, which have been ‘boosted’ colour wise, or the below versions which are more true to life:

I still have some fine-tuning to do to the pictures, to make them more uniform but I like where they are heading. In order to photography the lillies I kept them in the same space and tried to take the photo at the same time of day each day. If I can’t get the consistency I am looking for with these shots (in terms of having them the same size, similar shadows etc) I may try the experiment again – but this time set up my camera on a tripod and don’t move it for the entirety of the flowers life. The problem with this however is I won’t be able to use my camera for anything else.

Either way hopefully soon I will have at least one problem wall filled some with art – and as you will see in a just under a month – it will be one of my 25 before 25 items to fill all my walls in my home with art I love.  Stay tuned for the final product – hopefully it won’t be far off.

 

etsy treasure hunting

So it seems the more I am not spending money, the more I am looking shops.  Occasionally I pop onto Etsy, but more often than not I leave feeling too disheartened at the mammoth task of searching through all that is available. Sometimes – like today – I stay a bit longer and peruse deeper, and you certainly can find some cute and interesting things…

mcqueen print by sandrasuy

Absolutely beautiful print! Would buy it in a heartbeat, if only it wasn’t $65

(totally worth that btw, the artist is amazing, just funds aren’t allowing such purchases )

action mole with mint mittens by corduroy

No idea what I’d do with this – but it’s just so cute – a miniature mole with mittens? why not?

ne sois pas triste mug by corduroy

By the same seller as the above miniature mole comes this cute mug. It says ‘Do not be sad’ – what a perfect sentiment for morning coffees or teas (and sounds so much better in French)

vintage pedestal apothecary jar by primitivepincushion

I would love a jar like this on my hallway entrance table, and possibly fill it with colourful lollies!

vintage handmade blue stripes canvas satchel by hazelnutzhen

What a cute day bag, and it’s handmade in Melbourne!

Casablanca poster by claudiavarosio

This seller has a whole range of prints of based off her original illustrations of all sorts of cult movies.

Once again I have a full list of etsy favourites saved, will I end up purchasing anything – probably not – but when I have a bit extra to spend I will definitely be checking into etsy again and seeing what things I can cross of my list.

All images from the respective etsy stores.

 

picture posters

So it seems to be that time of year where you receive a million and one emails from online stores with different sales and offers. Most of mine are deleted (the christmas presents are already bought – so no more spending for me!) however a recent snapfish.com.au email took my fancy when they were offering 40% some of their best sellers – which included posters.  You could blow up one of your existing photographs up to 50x75cm (if you’re mega pixels will allow) for $24, and anything smaller was even cheaper. So, despite my self-imposed spending ban, I purchased 5 posters. Below are the photos of the posters I bought – I am not sure quite where they will fit into my house yet, but I’ll be sure to take photos when they have arrived and they are hanging in the house.

the gondolas from my trip to Venice

a view of the trees in the dandenongs

the fushimi inari shrine in Kyoto

a small church in Santorini

one of my favourite photos, the paper cranes from a Japanese temple .

The cranes photo I ordered in 50x75cm, the biggest you could get. All the others were 50x60cm. I am hoping this assortment of bright colours can add some ‘pop’ to my home. Most of these images were adjusted slightly in picnik.com – mostly just adding a boost of colour to all of them to improve the brightness. Hopefully the posters arrive before I head home for Christmas! Or else I will be waiting until I head back to work in the middle of January next year.

weekend happenings

This weekend has been full of bits and pieces – nothing too much to note, but a few mini adventures along the way.

On Saturday morning Phil and I headed to breakfast at Minimo on Sydney Road in Brunswick. We both had eggs with hollandaise – however mine with prosciutto and his with smoked salmon.

Yum!

I also managed to frame the four pieces of japanese paper I bought on my trip at the beginning of the year. They are now hanging in my hallway at the top of the stairs.

new home addition

This weekend has brought a new addition to my home:

the aboriginal art I received for my birthday is stretched and hung!

aboriginal art

Still obsessing over art for my house I remembered loving the piece of aboriginal art I saw on ish and chi’s blog a few weeks/months back. It was unlike most aboriginal art I had seen before. So I shot onto ebay and did a quick search of aboriginal art, and I was surprised to find so many beautiful pieces that I would love to welcome into my home.

Bush Yarn by Rosemary Pitjara

Yam Leaves by Jeannie Petyarre

Medicine leaves by Rosemary Petyarre

all images from ebay.com.au

All the pieces are well over the $150 mark – but I think it should be something to save for. The uniqueness of a piece would bring something very special into my home – not to mention the injection of colour.

penguin book cover art

Following up on yesterday’s post on art pieces I made a purchase for a DIY art piece. After spying this post on apartment therapy about framing penguin book covers I loved the idea of framed covers for my guest room. Currently my guest room has my bookshelf, as well as a guest bed/day bed which is perfect for a lounging read – so it seems like a perfect fit.

image from apartmenttherapy.com

I then did a bit more research and discovered the ‘Postcards from Penguin’ on my favourite book site – the book depository for AUD$17. A hop and a click later the set is on my way and all I have to do while I wait is find a suitable frame for the project.

Postcards from Penguin – image from the book depository

etsy art

I’ve been perusing etsy lately to try and find some art pieces to add to my home and I’ve come up with a few favourites:

passing storm by bundanART

love birds by onceuponapaper

helsinki afternoon by inaluxe

down my street by lauraamiss

I am noticing a pattern of trees here, so here is just a few more different looking pieces:

psycho kitty by hughillustration

untitled by kloveart

I have found etsy to be such a great place for affordable art -I need narrow down what spaces require what size art and begin purchasing!