Paper Animation.

I stumbled across such an amazing website this morning that I needed to share. It's the website of Mandy Smith who is insanely talented. She's a sculptural artist who predominately works with paper as her choice of medium.

Her work is seriously amazing. How someone can make these tiny sculptures from bits of paper is beyond me, but I'm glad she can. She also puts together the sweetest videos, comprising of only paper sets (my favourite short film is shared below). She's worked on a few ads as well - so some of you might recognise her work.


As mentioned, this movie is my favourite. It's based on a moving scenario in Amsterdam. Super cute.

I also came across a cool collaboration with her and Lucy McRae (a 'body architect'). It's a short film that was shown during Amsterdam Fashion Week depicting 'an experiment between colour, movement, absorption and the body'. I thought this was amazing, and particularly loved the yellow/red/orange number and would seriously wear that as a skirt (before it got the green thrown over it). Also love the film is paired with one of my favourite songs - 'When I Grow Up by Fever Ray'. Hawt.

Hope you enjoy as much as I did.



Quote and videos courtesy mandysmithwork.com

Interiors.

I'm absolutely obsessed with interior design. I buy a lot of home/architecture magazines, constantly have on the lifestyle/home channel and am always scrawling through architecture and design blogs. I literally spent about three hours earlier looking through about five different internet tabs full of said blogs and websites.

I'm pretty sure it's my mum's doing that I have this fascination. I know she too loves to look at real estate/architecture websites. It's also great to see design websites focus on fashion designers workspaces/apartments/holiday homes etc as I get two of my favourite things combined.

The thing is, I can't choose a particular style to pinpoint as my favourite. I love very minimalistic rooms which are fairly clutter free and quite monochromatic with a touch of colour. In saying that though, I have hundreds of saved photos of some of the craziest interiors imaginable.

I worry that when I finally get my own place (I suppose I better find a job first...) it is going to be a hot mess. Minus the hot. I just can't decide on a particular style. Maybe I will have a continually evolving aesthetic and update furniture regularly.

Luckily I have some friends who do interior design so at least they know they will have a lot of business through me....

Images via architectureblog.tumblr.com

Makeup on the go.

I've only really been into makeup in the past couple of years. I never really 'got' it. I mean, I love what wonders it can do for you - but I just wasn't that fascinated by it.

I never really put much time into it (it probably showed... yikes) and didn't really buy such great products. Something shifted along the way though and now I have quite an enormous collection. I don't really favour any brands - although I suppose I do have a lot of Dior, MAC, Chanel and Benefit. I really do mix and match brands though - I've never really got the whole one brand for the entire face thing....

I do buy luxe brands to use for foundation, concealer, mascaras etc but for the more frivolous items like eyebrow colour etc I buy cheaper options.

Also - I don't know if anyone is with me on this, but I wear different makeup for different things. I don't mean different techniques... but actual different brands. Does anyone else do this? Is this normal? I didn't consciously decide to do this, I only noticed when I was packing for my trip that I have to different makeup bags for events vs daily routine.

Anyway - this time around I've attached photos of what I wear on a daily basis. 

Highlighting - Benefit High Beam

Blush - Benefit Posie Tint (interchangeable with Benefit Benetint)

Foundation - Laura Mercier in beige ivory (I sometimes find this colour a bit dark for my pale skin, so I mix it in with either my primer or moisturiser)

Lipstick - MAC morange (this can be a bit full on for day, so I interchange this with Laura Mercier lipstick shown here)

Nail polish - O.P.I in My Chihuahua Bites!

Concealer - Estee Lauder in light (a little bit goes a long way with this so although quite expensive it's well worth it)

Eyeshadow - Dior 5 colour palette (I normally use a brown for work)

Eyeliner - MAC Fluidline eye liner gel 

Also - I just realised I forgot to photograph my mascara. I use either Lancome or Estee Lauder. I've been told by a couple of different makeup artists to NEVER EVER use waterproof mascara as it is terrible for your lashes. And that Lancome is meant to be the best mascara! Interesting.....

Also - I am so lucky to have a little while back been gifted the entire MAC makeup brush collection which works a TREAT. It literally has every brush you could ever think of (come to think of it, I probably only use about 50% of them as I don't even know what half of them are for).

The first image is MAC for Proenza Schouler at New York Fashion Week Fall 2011
1st image - beautylish.com

Grateful in April.

Grateful in April was drawn to my attention last year by my sister, founder of The Little Sage. It's a global campaign created by social entrepreneur and m.a.d.woman founder, Melina Schamroth.

The basis of Grateful in April is for individuals to focus on the positive aspects of their lives, rather than grumbling about the negatives. The main gist is that by focusing on the good already abundant in your life, this grateful feeling will in turn generate more of the same.

Last year I dabbled in the Grateful in April initiative, however this year I have made a promise to myself to tweet, journal and say aloud what exactly I am grateful for each day. As readers of my blog posts for The Little Sage (and friends alike will know) I have recently been through a massive upheaval in my life. Literally - my life as I have known it for six solid years changed dramatically. Although I generally view this as a positive step in a new chapter of my life, I am human and of course have my down days - particularly as I am finding it hard to find work. Because of this situation, I do find myself often slipping into a negative state of mind. What I love about Grateful in April is that is has forced a shift in my thinking. Rather than mulling over 'why haven't I heard back from XXX?' (NO - I am not signing up to be a phone sex operator) I am actually realising how grateful I am to be in the position of choice. I am grateful that the world is literally my oyster.

This is an initiative that lifts your spirits and truly makes you stop and smell the roses. What I have also been loving is following the #gratefulinapril hashtag on Twitter and genuinely smiling at other people's positivity.

My past Grateful in April tweets include:

I'm grateful my best friend arrives home this week for a week of fun. Yaay!

I'm grateful for seeing my niece with my 95 (almost) year old gran.

I'm grateful for the empty canvas that is currently my life. So many exciting things to come to fruition!

I'm grateful to be able to have a relaxing day - shopping, sushi and magazine reading. Bliss!

I'm grateful for $5 wine. Kinda... maybe not tomorrow.

I'm grateful for the sax solo in Bruce Springsteen's 'Born to Run'. (I guess that $5 wine kicked in around here)

Today: I am grateful for my neighbour's 5-day long bender/the LOUDEST party in existence. Now I won't feel so bad when I throw a 6-day bender.

So ok... maybe that last one came from a bad place... but you'd be annoyed too if your neighbours SANG KARAOKE TERRIBLY FOR FIVE DAYS STRAIGHT. NOT EVEN A BREAK FROM MORNING TO NIGHT. LITERALLY ALLLLL DAAAAYYYYYY LONNGGGGGG.

Anywayyyy. I digress.

What are you grateful for this April? I am going to ingrain this practice into my daily life (not just April) as it brings such a sense of happiness and gives me the wake up call I need that actually, I've got a pretty great life.

Image - tvtropes.org

Recent snaps.

Anyone who knows me knows I love taking photos (I am by no means good - I just love capturing moments) and therefore am OBSESSED with Instagram. Here are a few of my favourite photos from my account.

My best friend and I on a sailing boat
Watermelon cocktails
Gold Coast
Cocktails in ice glass in Japan
Black Bear Lodge
DIY decorations
My drawing of a Tim Burton classic
Me with curls
Homemade chai latte and macadamia/chocolate muffin
My outfit to run errands/have lunch
Small collection of books
Last minute shopping on Bleecker St
Homemade birthday cake
Pho from my favourite restaurant in West End

Running errands.

Is it just me, or have you noticed the days getting a little cooler now that Autumn has arrived?

I love the simplicity of this outfit and will be wearing this look to run errands/have morning tea with friends this Autumn.

Bananas for banana bread.

So. Since I've been home from New York I seem to have been struck down by some mystery deadly virus (actually, I'm pretty sure it's just a bug) but I am getting really dramatic about it. Stabbing pains in my stomach. Vomiting every 15 minutes. Fainting about twice a day. Sore throat. Today was the climax of my illness and I was literally doubled over in pain. Somewhere during this... situation... I decided what would really cure me would be nice, sweet, homemade banana bread.

I had a quick shower to wash off that slimy feeling and started to prep for my recipe. This was really bittersweet. I would smell all of my favourite ingredients and dry wretch at the same time. I hope this doesn't trick my brain into hating these ingredients now. Because I actually live for chocolate and sugar.

It's kind of weird that I am prefacing this recipe by a kinda gross story... but I am jet lagged and want some sympathy. Also, speaking of jet lagged, I was in some kind of funk - and although normally a neat freak in the kitchen today I had a little situation. A sitch in the kitch if you will... I burnt my hand. I dropped half the mixture on the floor. I needed two (TWO!) shirt changes due to spilling things down my front. I got electrocuted by the electric mixer (it's been doing this for years, but who can be bothered buying a new one). And finally... I *almost* dropped the mixing bowl as it is so damn heavy holding it up in my left hand!

Anyway, I'm not really selling this recipe - but let me tell you - asides from the drama and sickness, this was the best tasting banana bread I've ever sampled (and that is a lot). Srsly. I wish computers had a smell-o-tron feature just so you could smell the goodness of this bread.

I have a weak spot for banana bread and this recipe is no exception. This is one of my favourite things to cook and it is exceptionally easy.

The best thing about this recipe is that you can add different ingredients - I add whatever is in the pantry or needs to be used before it's expiry. This recipe is actually a combination of a few recipes, but I've pulled what I think gives the best results.

Instead of the nuts, chocolate and spices I used you can easily add in any of the following (or whatever else takes your fancy):
Orange zest, 30mL coffee, sultanas, walnuts, rum, kahlua.... the list goes on.

I have struck gold though with what I added this time and I am sticking to it:

Banana bread
Makes one loaf.
1/3 cup (80mL) milk
3 browning bananas (about 250g or 1 cup) mashed with fork
250g softened butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 eggs
1 and 1/2 cup self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
30g finely chopped macadamias
30g slithered almonds
30g white choc chips
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon
You'll also need a long cake tin...

1. Preheat fan-forced oven to 180 degrees

2. Heat the milk in a saucepan over a low heat. Add the mashed banana and cook (while intermittently
    stirring) for about five minutes. Cool well.

3. Cream the butter with the sugar and vanilla until the mixture is pale and fluffy (I use an electric mixer
    on low speed).

4. Beat in the eggs one at a time (electric mixer).

5. Mix in sifted flour and baking powder (electric mixer).
6. Add in macadamias, almonds, choc chips, nutmeg and cinnamon and fold in with a spatula.

7. Gently add the banana and milk mix and fold in.

8. Pour into cake tin and bake for approximately one hour. When a skewer comes out hot and clean the
    cake is ready.

9. Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack for approximately ten minutes in the tin and then remove from
    tin to cool for remainder of time.

Also, a hot tip - make sure the bananas you use are starting to brown. The will look a bit funky (not in a good way) but I assure you this is the tip to getting perfect banana bread. Ripened bananas will give a soapier taste, while brown bananas are what adds that sugary taste. Yum.

I heart New York.

My last post was some time ago, but I have a good excuse. I've been in New York for three amazing weeks.

I have been to New York before, about 12 years ago, and even back then I felt that energy that everyone says New York has. But having gone back as an adult it really was that much better. You can feel the energy as soon as you leave the airport and hit the fresh air. 

I was lucky enough to stay with a new friend in Brooklyn, so I got to explore both Manhattan and Brooklyn, which are both great places to live. I quite liked Brooklyn though as it has a very hipster crowd and it wasn't as insane as Manhattan.

The middle week I was away, I got to spend up in the Adirondacks, which is about five hours north of Manhattan, and two hours south of Montreal (which I also went to as well). The mountains were certainly the antithesis of New York City... I was surrounded by beautiful scenery and got to catch my breath after the hustle and bustle.

My final week I was back in Manhattan (I'm definitely a city girl) and did a LOT of shopping (which I will post about). The shopping was amazing to say the least. My favourite store was by far Anthropologie, but a close second is Opening Ceremony.

The weather gods actually put on the perfect show for me... I got to experience a few really cold days in New York, snow (for a couple of days) in the Adirondacks, freezing weather in Montreal and once back in New York spring had definitely sprung and was really warm. It was perfect.

If I were to move to New York, I would find myself in either Brooklyn (Williamsburg or Park Slope) or Chelsea or Soho. Of course, all of the places that would be out of my price range... but they had something over me!

This is the first time I have travelled by myself. Although I did have some apprehensions, I have to say it is so liberating to do things by yourself. This came at particularly good timing for me and I've learnt some very interesting lessons from this trip!