GIRL CRUSH: LORDE

one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight

I have the biggest girl crush on Miss Ella Yelich-O'Connor. Since 'Royals' hit the Triple J airwaves a couple of years ago, I've been partial to her haunting voice and seriously smart lyrics. I have only seen her perform live once - at Splendour a couple of years ago - but her stage presence made it a performance that has stayed with me. Following her rise to global mainstream success has been lovely to watch and it is brilliant to have yet another intelligent, young, female voice making waves around the world.

Lorde's bewitching style - both onstage and offstage - is fresh and unique, and her glorious curls and penchant for dark, dark lipsticks are a beauty look I've been known to emulate - Chi Chi Viva La Diva in Lady Bump is a matte dark purple that's inexpensive and long-wearing.

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INSPIRE: FLORAL

  

The above images were found on Tumblr

There's something marvelous about the way flowers magically pop up come springtime in England. A luscious array of varieties and colours carpet the ground in a way that just never happens in Australia. Honestly, one of the most striking difference between living in England and living at home in the stark contrast in seasons, not so much the temperatures, but in the way the country looks. After the wet and windy winter with it's bare trees and barren landscapes, it's been wonderful to witness the transformation as the greenery and colour emerges. 

Since these blooms made their first appearance and piqued my interest, I've had a grand old time trawling through the internet for creative endeavors where art meets floristry. I love these gorgeous 'floral beards' by Sarah Winward, and  'Overgrowth', a stunning collaboration between Parker Fitzgerald and Riley Messina. The suspended floral installation works of Rebecca Louise Law are mind blowing. 

'floral beards'

'floral beards'

'overgrowth'

suspended floral installation

suspended floral installation

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GIRL CRUSH: JENNY CAVILLERI

 

one, two, three, four, five, six

Aside from 'love means never having to say you're sorry' being one of the least true affirmations on love from a film, I unapologetically adore Love Story. It's one of the easiest films to get swept up in and I'm not sure if there is anything better than wailing over Jenny and Ollie under the doona with a hot cocoa in the middle of winter. 

It goes virtually without saying that the character of Jenny Cavilleri is one of the best part of the movie. Brought to life by the beautiful Ali MacGraw, Jenny is one of my favourite heroines of all time. Intelligent, hilarious and sassy, Jenny carries herself through life with a sense of fearlessness I can only dream of.

"Listen, I need that goddamn book."

"Wouldja please watch your profanity, Preppie?"

"What makes you so sure I went to prep school?"

"You look stupid and rich."

"You're wrong, I'm actually smart and poor."

"Oh, no, Preppie.  I'm smart and poor."

"What the hell makes you so smart?"

"I wouldn't go for coffee with you."

"Listen, I wouldn't ask you."

"That, is what makes you stupid."

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INSPIRE: SEA STRANGERS

I'm feelin' pretty sleepy and worn out today so I decided it was a good day to benefit from the creativity of others share the love. Instagram is the social media channel of choice today as I've become a wee bit of an obsessive - a year or so late but c'est la vie. These lovely profiles continually light up my feed!

Claire - the gypsy hart - provides my daily dose of wanderlust and tranquility with a side of pretty food.

Hollie's blog, Ditzy and Whimzy makes me so jealous due to my lack of grooviness and her abundance of it but I follow her on Instagram anyway.

The lovely Jaymie blogs at By Jaymie and sells her beautiful illustrated wears at Jewellery by Jaymie.

Kathy blogs at half agony and she Instagrams (is that a verb?) an array of yummy food, good reads and pretty clothes.

Russh is unequivocally my favourite magazine and everything they post is hip and rad and swell and all manner of positive adjectives.

Please share your favourite Instagrams and your own. Mine is @elizabuzacott!

I'm continuing with the relaxation by heading to the movies this afternoon. I haven't managed to see the Great Gatsby yet but that will change in a couple of hours. I've heard very good things and very bad things, but at least if all else fails I know the costuming and soundtrack will be superb. 

The amazing Ball Park Music are the reason for my lack of sleep, kicking off their Thank Ewes tour last night in Brisbane. It was seriously such a rockin' show, I went by myself and I'm almost glad I did because I got right up the front where I could dance the night away alongside all the other eager beavers. Support came courtesy of Eagle and the Worm and Jeremy Neale. I am a little obsessed with Jeremy Neale's music so it was wonderful to see him live again, and I found that I actually knew a bunch of Eagle and the Worm songs without realising it. Definitely one of the best gigs I've been to in a while!

Hopping on the Bloglovin' bandwagon, you can follow me here if you'd like to keep up with my updates (I've only got 44 followers there at the moment - sad face!). There is also an option to import all of your followers but I'm not quite sure how I did it... so, uh, maybe Google it?

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Song of the Day: Sea Strangers (I Don't Really Know You) by Ball Park Music (They're playing this song for the LAST TIME EVER LIVE on this tour)

INSPIRE: DO I WANNA KNOW?

Holla pals!

It's been a while, hasn't it? I took a few weeks off so I could concentrate on uni towards the end of the semester with the intention of hopping right back on the blogging bandwagon when I finished. I ended up working pretty much all of last week though, and I'm in Melbourne at the moment for the week so I haven't had much internet access. You can follow my Melbourne adventures on my Instagram here, and I'll get a photo post up when I get home, I promise.

I guess this post is more of an 'I-still-exist-and-I-haven't-left-for-good' sort of thing but it's been a while since I put up an 'inspiration post' (doesn't that just sound like the most pretentious thing ever?) so here's a bunch of the latest right-click-save photos from (here comes the shameless plug) my tumblr.

~if you've got sources for these let me know please~

Thank you for not deserting me, my sweet little cherry pies. I love you all.

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Song of the Day: Do I Wanna Know? by Arctic Monkeys

~Arctic Monkeys have new music *screams*~

INSPIRE: TATTOOS

When I was younger, I was so opposed to the idea of tattoos. The way they 'wrinkle' and 'fade' as you age and the pure permanence of them turned me right off. But recently I've begun to see the appeal. The rest of our body gets wrinkled and faded too. There is something quite powerful about carrying a tattoo that holds personal importance with your through your entire life. And on a superficial level (because, let's face it, there is generally some level of superficiality in the decision to get a tattoo), I think they can be very beautiful.

images from the sartorialist

 A couple of weeks ago, The Sartorialist posted a number of photos from a pool party and a vintage car show at Viva Las Vegas. Almost all of the women had tattoos. It fitted the vibe so well. I love the way woman's dress and tattoo in the bottom photo almost blend to one. Her tattoo is part of her outfit.

I would love your opinion on tattoos, because they seem to be a very contentious thing. If I were ever to get a tattoo, I think it would be discreet and personal. What do you think?

On another note, I was lucky enough to go see Midnight Juggernauts on Friday night. You can read my write-up of the gig on The Dwarf here!

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INSPIRE: STACKS OF WORDS

My magazine obsession has been well documented on this blog, so it's probably no surprise when I say that I have a difficult time storing my collection. My parents get really annoyed at my refusal to throw out any of my magazines, but I honestly couldn't. I love the feeling of the pages between my fingers. I love going back and reading old issues. I love how magazines record a time and feeling and I love recapturing that spark of inspiration each time I revisit. It's said that print is dying, but I think they'll always be a market for it because there is just something about holding and carrying and reading your very own copy of your favourite magazine.

I like to keep (some of) my magazines where I can see them, and that translates to their being stacked up on top of my bookshelf, spines out, with a couple of select trinkets perched on top. Russh is the biggest contributor to this pile, as the 'cool' magazine that's been with me the longest, as well as being a particular favourite (Fun Fact: I took my Russh with me to grade eight camp and people in my class laughed at me because it had 'naked people' in it. It's called fashun). But Lula, Oyster, Yen and INDIE have become regular-ish purchases, alongside sneaky finds that creep into my collection when I've got a bit of spare cash.

I like keeping some of my coffee table books stacked as well. I don't really have room to put them out, but they're so pretty that it would be a shame to not show them off.

How do you store magazines? I have plenty more where these come from so ideas will make me a happy gal indeed!

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PLACE: NEW YORK, NEW YORK

I don't buy INDIE magazine terribly often because it can be a bit expensive and tricky to find in Brisbane, but when I saw this issue - the 'New York City' issue with Marky Ramone on the cover - I couldn't say no. It was a good decision, this is one of those issues that I know I'm going to read over and over again.

I loved the theme. New York is such an iconic place. In literature and films, most settings are simply places, but New York often becomes a character herself, so big and bold is she.

It is no secret that I love travel. I love to talk about far away places and examine photos and books about the treasures that foreign cities and countries have to offer. I love New York, because every time I talk to someone about their ideas and experiences about the city, you get a totally fresh perspective. It's different for everyone. I love hearing about what people did or saw or ate or thought while they were in New York, or if they haven't been, I love to hear about what they think it's like based on the books, movies, television shows and songs they know.

Just Kids by Patti Smith is possibly my favourite 'New-York-based' book, but there are dozens more that I adore: Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote, The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. New York is such an integral part of all of these books, and they definitely influenced my perception of the city prior to visiting it (except for Wharton and Salinger, I only read them recently).

Breakfast at Tiffany's, again, and Annie Hall are my ultimate New York movies, and I'm (not) ashamed to admit that Gossip Girl was basically my guiding light in where to go and what to see when I visited.

What about you? What are your 'experiences' with New York City?

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STYLE CRUSH: LEA SEYDOUX

(sources: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight)

I saw Farewell, My Queen, starring Lea Seydoux and Diane Kruger, on the weekend at the French Film Festival in Brisbane. The story follows the last few days of Marie Antoinette's (Kruger) life, told through the eyes of her reader (Seydoux). I really enjoyed it, it was a very different take on what can tend to be an overplayed story. Not to mention the incredible costumes and the beauty and decadence of Versailles.

I've seen Seydoux in a few other movies, Midnight in Paris (one of my favourites), and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (I fell asleep during the movie but Lea was good!). You might have recently caught her as the face of Prada Candy L'Eau, in the series of short films by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola.

Like every French woman ever, she also has impeccable style and I've been going nutty over her ability to throw together quirky looks on- and off-duty (brb going to find my old denim vest and pair it with a white shirt and jeans).

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