Archive for the 'Cool stuff' Category

Curiouser and curiouser….

Elizabeth July 3rd, 2009

Publicity images have finally emerged from the much anticipated Alice in Wonderland. I can’t even begin to explain how much I am looking forward to seeing what Tim Burton will do with this!

I didn’t think it was possible, but the images have probably doubled my excitement about this movie.

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We already know that Burton, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter and Danny Elfman are the perfect team, but they’re also perfectly cast for this movie. I guess when you’re Tim Burton, you go looking for a movie that will work with your assets, rather than the other way around.

There are more images at USA Today. Go get excited for March 5, 2010!

Balloon cards

Elizabeth July 1st, 2009

How sweet are these paper hot air balloon cards? Write your message on the inside, and once read it becomes a room decoration.

I look forward to getting one of these someday, preferably with a voucher for a hot air balloon ride! (Hey Tim, it’s only nine months until my 30th…)

Check out Notemaker for lots of other pretty things to buy.

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Quote of the day

Elizabeth June 25th, 2009

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By Gina at Dreamland

If you’re going to be able to look back at something and laugh about it, you might as well laugh about it now.

- Marie Osmond

I am such a fan of this quote. I can think of a bunch of situations where this advice would have been really handy!

Quick links

Elizabeth June 21st, 2009

polyvore

  • Polyvore is my new favourite way to waste time. You can use their editor to pull together images and create a ’style board’ of stuff you love. It’s strangely addictive, and I imagine it would be awesome inspiration for a special event like a wedding.
  • Polyvore is a free, easy-to-use web-based application for mixing and matching images from anywhere on the web. It is also a vibrant community of creative and stylish people.

    Polyvore lets you create sets composed of individual images using an easy to use, drag and drop editor. After you have created a set, you can publish and share it with your friends and the Polyvore community.

  • Danny Katz explains how Masterchef is ruining peoples’ lives
  • See what you’ve done to me, Masterchef? I’m watching your show every night of the week and now all I think about is food preparation and food design and food names. I’ve been walking around the house mumbling “tarte tatin” over and over again since Episode 13. I haven’t been so obsessed with a food name since Geoff Jansz whipped out a cock-a-leekie on What’s Cooking. And stuff you, Masterchef, for making me flabby: all the weight I lost earlier this year watching The Biggest Loser in the same time slot I’ve put back on again chewing blocks of butter washed down with a pail of olive oil because that’s all anyone cooks with on this show. In Episode 11, George poured olive oil into a chocolate mousse then topped it with pouring cream.

  • In other food related news, here are five things you didn’t know you could eat (or four, in my case!)
  • An important new initiative has just kicked off, as many Australians will already know. Operation Kerplonk is targeting households with crap wine, and aims to replace them with a bottle of Fifth Leg. On 7/7/09, Australians will be required to dump their crap wine at designated drop zones. There are also rewards for dobbing in offenders.

    You can read more about Operation Kerplonk at their website, including a very informative video and details of dropzones in your area. Penalties apply for missing the date!
  • kerplonk
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Melbourne Design Market

Elizabeth June 15th, 2009

The last couple of weeks have been really busy. Work seems to have picked up suddenly, the days are getting short as Winter sets in, and there just seems to be less time to do the important stuff. It’s been taking its toll a little bit, and this weekend Tim and I decided that we really needed some relaxation time.

I’m not ashamed to admit that Tim and I are basically just tall children, so our idea of relaxation time may not match yours. Our healing came in the form of delivered pizza, Buzz on the Playstation, and 18 hours inside the rejuvenating walls of a fort on our living room floor. It was sort of perfect, especially since it was freezing cold and there was little incentive to crawl out from under our doonas. Our pup was pretty pleased to be curling up next to us as well, and he did his best to share his warmth pretty evenly between the two of us.

However, by about midday on Saturday we began to feel a little bit disgusted with ourselves. We moved all our furniture back into place, threw all the bedding in the laundry and made the most of our afternoon. I made the spontaneous purchase of a new desk chair (my back LOVES me for it), shopped up and down Glenferrie Rd, and filled up on to-die-for Vietnamese food. The night was spent on a long boardgame and then sleep with no limit. Bliss.

Today we found a new breakfast place on Bridge Rd, and took our time getting on with the day. I’ve been trying to get to the Melbourne Design Market for about a year now, but always seem to find out about it just a little too late. This time I was determined, so we started off there.

The market was incredible, for many reasons. There were some truly brilliant designs on display – both artistic and functional – and I found myself wanting to explore almost every booth. Unfortunately the crowds made this impossible, so I really had to pick my battles. There were some stalls that I couldn’t have made it to had I not used my elbows. It was insane.

I admit I was a little disappointed with the experience, but only because the event has the potential to be so much greater. A bigger venue would have been more worthwhile for the designers trying to showcase their work, and for the crowds of people who wanted to soak it all in. It was telling that the “food court” was the place to get away from the people and noise. The people who showed up were clearly there for the merchandise.

Having said that, I was patient about getting to the stalls that really grabbed me. I was lucky enough to find some great stuff, and to finally see Lara Cameron and her friends from Ink & Spindle in person!

Ink & Spindle is a small, independent screen-printing and design business. I’ve bought a print from them in the past, but until today have mostly drooled over their beautiful things via their blog. I find their designs to be consistently top-notch, although it bothers me a little to watch other people living my dream!

The best part of their creations is seeing the way that other people use them. Those of us lucky enough to live in Melbourne already know the strong and beautiful bags by mattt, as he and his work seem to be a fixture at every major market. Today I was able to see first-hand the way that Pepperberry and Shonah have put the Ink & Spindle designs to use. Pepperberry’s things turned out to be my favourites today.

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Another favourite was KeepCup

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The people at KeepCup have thought of everything. Dissatisfied with alternatives for disposable coffee cups, they have designed a reusable cup that significantly reduces the average coffee-drinker’s impact on the planet. You can even use their calculator to see how much of a difference you can make. In my case, assuming that I drink 5 cups of coffee each week (and remember to take my KeepCup each time), this is what I can expect to achieve in a year:

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They’ve thought up solutions to problems that I hadn’t even considered. How’s this for thoughtful design?

  • Made from recyclable, food-grade plastic
  • Dishwasher, microwave and freeze-safe
  • Matches standard industry coffee sizes
  • Fits underneath group heads of espresso machines
  • Fits in car cup holders
  • Can be individualised with replaceable bands, which can also be used to mark your coffee preferences
  • The lid is fitted with a swivel plug, that snugly locks the sip hole
  • The challenge will be remembering to keep it with me, and to gather the nerve to hand it over to my snarky morning coffee guy. I figure if it’s good for the Earth, I can handle the eye-rolling!

    Lastly, I picked up a couple of pretty brass bookmarks – one to keep, and one to put with a present for Tim’s mum. Picture from www.ras.es.

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    By this stage we were pretty much over the heat, the people, and humanity in general. We escaped to the great outdoors and made our way to the comparatively serene riverside Sunday Markets, where I proceeded to stock up on miniature cacti. Because apparently my fridge door wasn’t complete?

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    So that was my weekend. I’m not kidding when I say that it feels like I’ve had a week’s holiday. I’m also completely aware that this sensation will disappear in an instant when I walk back into the office tomorrow, but I’m happy to enjoy it for now!

    WARNING: This post is dangerously schmoopy

    Elizabeth May 31st, 2009

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    This was secretly tucked into my purse last week, beside my tram ticket.

    I don’t normally smile all the way to work, but I did that day! ♥

    Best wedding ever!

    Elizabeth May 21st, 2009

    Brian & Eileen’s Wedding Music Video. from LOCKDOWN projects on Vimeo.

    Now that I have watched this twice I am experiencing some localised aches – possibly recurrant singstarsepticemia. It’s a nasty condition that can only be alleviated with a red or blue microphone.

    Excuse me.

    Note to self: Join the “Cult of Done”

    Elizabeth May 20th, 2009

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    1. There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion.
    2. Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done.
    3. There is no editing stage.
    4. Pretending you know what you’re doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you’re doing even if you don’t and do it.
    5. Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.
    6. The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.
    7. Once you’re done you can throw it away.
    8. Laugh at perfection. It’s boring and keeps you from being done.
    9. People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.
    10. Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.
    11. Destruction is a variant of done.
    12. If you have an idea and publish it on the internet, that counts as a ghost of done.
    13. Done is the engine of more.

    Bre Pettis in collaboration with Kio Stark written in 20 minutes because they only had 20 minutes to get it done.

    (Thank you, Katie Chatfield!)

    And another quote I read at work yesterday, which seems to be attributed to Mark Twain: Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.

    This should be my new mantra.

    Our new wheels

    Elizabeth May 2nd, 2009

    I can’t believe it’s taken me almost a month to upload the photos!

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    Our little car drove us all over the Yarra Valley last weekend, blasting brilliant covers from Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and shielding us from the cold and rain.

    We’re loving it, and its new-car smell.

    Many, many more weekend adventures to come ♥

    Tiny Concept

    Elizabeth March 24th, 2009

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    I came across the cutest site tonight, and couldn’t keep it to myself!

    Tiny Concept is the creation of Kristina Snerling, a Brisbane-based dollmaker with a former career in fashion design. I discovered her beautiful work via Blossom Creations, which is another inspiring crafty blog that I follow.

    In particular, I completely fell in love with the “Mermaid” line of dolls that Kristina creates. Some of them are literally mermaid-shaped, tails and all, but it’s the leggy ones that grabbed me! The basic shape of the dolls is very pretty, right down to the feet. I really appreciate the attention to detail.

    Here are a few of my favourites:

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    Kristina also makes babushkas, policemen and soldiers. They all have such happy little faces!

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    Visit Tiny Concept to continue exploring, and don’t forget to bookmark the blog!

    Almost forgot…

    Elizabeth March 22nd, 2009

    I had a birthday!

    Thalassotherapy, along with a pony, are among the many things that I did not get for my birthday. However, I did get three bouquets – one of them chocolate!

    The gorgeous Crumpler camera bag that I’ve been lusting after for about 2 years, from Tim:

    A shiny jewellery tree from Mum & Dad (plus some Pandora beads!):

    And – from the “you know me so well” files…

    A vintage book from Sally, re-bound with lots of blank pages to use as a journal or sketchbook. Every so often there’s an illustration or page from the original novel – it’s really beautiful. Created by Aunty Art Studios, check them out!

    Thanks to everyone who got in touch on the day – turning 29 was pretty grand.

    Two dogs.

    Elizabeth March 22nd, 2009

    Another lightweight post, but at least it will make you laugh!

    Found this brilliant Frontline ad at Idle Musings. Spotted in an Indonesian shopping centre.

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    And I know that most of you will have seen this by now, but I’m posting it here in case anybody has missed it. But be warned – this will probably make you want to go out immediately and buy a dog…

    I could watch this video every day for the rest of my life and never get tired of it.

    Baby Got Back (The Latin version)

    Elizabeth March 21st, 2009

    Nothing makes me happier than discovering new forms of full frontal nerdity. Please enjoy this elegant piece of translation from quislibet.

    De clunibus magnis amandis oratio
    Mixaloti equitis

    mehercle!
    (By Hercules!)
    Rebecca, ecce! tantae clunes isti sunt!
    (Rebecca, behold! Such large buttocks she has!)

    amica esse videtur istorum hominum rhythmicorum.
    (She appears to be a girlfriend of one of those rhythmic-oration people.)
    sed, ut scis,
    (But, as you know)
    quis homines huiusmodi intellegere potest?
    (Who can understand persons of this sort?)
    colloquuntur equidem cum ista eo tantum, quod scortum perfectum esse videtur.
    (Verily, they converse with her for this reason only, namely, that she appears to be a complete whore.)
    clunes, aio, maiores esse!
    (Her buttocks, I say, are rather large!)
    nec possum credere quam rotondae sint.
    (Nor am I able to believe how round they are.)
    en! quam exstant! nonne piget te earum?
    (Lo! How they stand forth! Do they not disgust you?)
    ecce mulier Aethiops!
    (Behold the black woman!)

    magnae clunes mihi placent, nec possum de hac re mentiri.
    (Large buttocks are pleasing to me, nor am I able to lie concerning this matter.)
    quis enim, consortes mei, non fateatur,
    (For who, colleagues, would not admit,)
    cum puella incedit minore medio corpore
    (Whenever a girl comes by with a rather small middle part of the body)
    sub quo manifestus globus, inflammare animos
    (Beneath which is an obvious spherical mass, that it inflames the spirits)
    virtute praestare ut velitis, notantes bracas eius
    (So that you want to be conspicuous for manly virtue, noticing her breeches)
    clunibus profunde fartas(*1) esse
    (Have been deeply stuffed with buttock?)
    a! captus sum, nec desinere intueri possum.
    (Alas! I am captured, nor am I able to desist from gazing.)
    o dominola mea, volo tecum congredi
    (My dear lady, I want to come together with you)
    pingereque picturam tui.
    (And make a picture of you.)
    familiares mei me monebant
    (My companions were trying to warn me)
    sed clunes istae libidinem in me concitant.
    (But those buttocks of yours arouse lust in me.)
    o! cutis rugosa glabraque! (*2)
    (O skin wrinkled and smooth!)
    dixistine te in meum vehiculum intrare velle?
    (Did you say you wish to enter my vehicle?)
    in arbitrio tuo totus veni
    (I am entirely at your disposal)
    quia non es mediocris adsecula.
    (Because you are not an average hanger-on.)
    vidi illam saltantem.(*3)
    (I have seen her dancing.)
    obliviscere igitur blanditiarum! (*3a)
    (Forget, therefore, about blandishments!)
    tantus sudor! tantus umor!
    (Such sweat! Such moisture!)
    vehor quasi in curru quadrigarum! (*4)
    (I am borne along as if by a four-horse chariot!)
    taedet me in diurnis legendi
    (I am tired of reading in the gazettes)
    planas clunes gratiores iudicari.
    (That flat buttocks are judged more pleasing.)
    rogate quoslibet Aethiopes: responsum erit
    (Ask any black men you wish: the answer will be)
    se libentius expletiores (*5) anteponere.
    (Rather that they prefer fuller ones.)
    o consortes (quid est?) o consortes (quid est?)
    (O colleagues [What is it?] O colleagues [What is it?])
    habent amicae vestrae magnas clunes? (certe habent!)
    (Do your girlfriends have large buttocks? [They certainly have!])
    hortamini igitur ut eas quatiant (ut quatiant!)
    (Encourage them therefore to shake them! [To shake them!])
    ut quatiant! (ut quatiant!)
    (To shake them! [To shake them!)
    ut quatiant illas clunes sanas!
    (To shake those healthy buttocks!)
    domina mea exstat a tergo! (*6)
    (My mistress stands out behind!)

    Read the commentary and notes from the original source – it’s worth reading! I particularly enjoyed one commenter’s idea of adding magnae clunes mihi placent, nec possum de hac re mentiri to his company email signature!

    7 sleeps!

    Elizabeth March 10th, 2009

    It’s one week until my birthday, and all I want is a pink dolphin.

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    NO, you’re not seeing the world through rose-coloured glasses: This albino dolphin is pink.

    The unique bottlenose – first spotted in Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary in Louisiana, by boat captain Erik Rue, 42, in 2007 – has surfaced again.

    And comments from heavy-hitters including the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society suggest it’s real.

    Is that really too much to ask? I have a really big bathtub, so everything’s ready to go…

    Chocolate & Hazelnut Cake in a Mug

    Elizabeth March 6th, 2009

    STOP PRESS: I made this again tonight, adding a mashed up overripe banana and substituting walnuts for the hazelnuts. BEST CAKE EVER! This time I cooked it in a dessert bowl because of the extra volume, and gave it an extra 30 seconds in the microwave. Try it!

    It’s been a really long time since I’ve posted anything here, so I thought I’d come back with a gift for my readers!

    The 5-minute “cake in a mug” isn’t new, as a google search will quickly prove. I’ve noticed that the recipes out there vary a lot (and so does reader feedback!) so I thought I’d experiment a little myself. This is my own little contribution to the obesity epidemic – the Chocolate & Hazelnut Cake in a Mug.

    WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

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    4 Tablespoons of Self Raising flour
    4 Tablespoons of sugar
    2 Tablespoons of cocoa
    1 egg
    3 Tablespoons of milk
    3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil

    1 mug
    1 Tablespoon

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    I added a small handful of hazelnuts and cooking chocolate, which added a much-needed dose of class to the recipe! I only used about half of the quantity in the picture.

    Throw in whatever chocolate you have handy, as it can be a bit dry otherwise.

    STEP ONE:

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    Combine the flour and sugar, and add the egg.

    STEP TWO:

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    Add the cocoa, and mix all the ingredients well with a spoon.

    STEP THREE:

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    Add the oil and milk, mix well.

    STEP FOUR:

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    Add a small handful of chopped hazelnuts and chocolate.

    STEP FIVE:

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    Mix it through, and it should look a little like this.

    STEP SIX:

    (Here’s somebody else’s mug-of-cake. Mute your speakers if you don’t enjoy the screams of an excited small child.)

    Cook the mixture in your microwave for 3 minutes, on high. A perfect cake will rise well above the top of the mug without falling apart, but don’t worry too much if some spills over the side during cooking. This is a tasty cake, not a beautiful one!

    Otherwise, do this part in a bowl. Crybaby.

    STEP SEVEN:

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    Here it is! Allow it to rest a little before transferring it to a plate. The cake looks best if you slice it in half down the middle. And besides, it serves at least two people – don’t be a pig!

    STEP EIGHT:

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    Be a total show-off, and serve the cake with icecream and berries. And if you add Haighs Raspberry Sauce you will not only quadruple the cost of each serving, but you will possibly see God.

    STEP NINE:

    Eat it, quick, before the icecream melts! This cake is absolutely designed to be eaten warm.

    Anyway, by now you’ll know that it smells too good to put aside for later.

    STEP TEN:

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    Seek the support of a trusted friend or family member, and promise them that you will not make this cake every day for the next week. For the sake of your arteries it is very important that you be accountable to another person.

    Preferably a boring, skinny person.

    That’s it! Sadly, cake of any other type will be completely uninteresting to you from this point on.

    Next time I want to try a banana & walnut version – just to see if it works. Try this out and tell me how yours was!

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