I can’t stop staring at this beautiful idea, discovered at Design Fetish.

This staircase was designed by Imagination Metals, based in Tampa FL. It’s such an interesting idea, although I understand why the commenters at Design Fetish had some issues with its safety.

I’m such a sucker for all things trees and birds…

• Art , Cool stuff
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The very fancy Natalie Perkins of www.definatalie.com is illustrating a zine on body image, and she invites us to share our feelings about our bodies using 10 words or less.

Natalie writes: “Lots of people have contributed their statements already! Some of them are sad, some are funny, but all of them speak to me of honesty and struggle.”

Natalie will be turning her illustrations into an A5 sized zine, and also intends to make it available online for free. If you’d like to contribute, read all about it at www.definatalie.com or submit your statement right here.

Good luck Natalie, I think this is an excellent project!

www.definatalie.com
www.natalieperkins.com

• Art , Cool stuff
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If I was Whitney Houston, and looking for a replacement for my crack addiction, I’d choose washi tape.

Today I received a delivery from kozo tape, and it makes a beautiful addition to the order that happy tape sent me two weeks ago.

Don’t they look beautiful?

My challenge is to actually use this stuff, and not just sigh wistfully at its potential every time I pass the shelf! If this was the year 2020 you’d be able to reach into my website and touch it to see how beautiful the texture is, and how lovely it is to tear and write on. Until then you’ll just have to take my word for it.

Perhaps I have no right to make fun of Whitney. Don’t judge me!

• Art , Cool stuff
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That dog pulls out every trick in the book at bathtime. But guess who always wins?

• Harry
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Anyone who has seen my house knows that I love growing plants in vessels of water. It doesn’t matter if they’re vases or repurposed objects like wine bottles, there’s just something cool about being able to see the root systems as the plant develops.

So when I saw this nifty idea over at That’s Noice!, it practically leaped off the screen and into my heart. Isn’t this awesome?

US-based craftyperson Star Redesigns sells these lightbulb vases from her etsy shop for US$10. If you’re prepared to don some protective eyewear, she even tells you how to do it yourself.

• Cool stuff
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This weekend Melbourne was hammered with violent hailstorms. The city centre flooded, shopping centres were evacuated and the roof of Southern Cross Station caved in under the weight of the ice. It was pretty serious stuff, and although my suburb was targeted I managed to miss the whole thing.

I was shopping. Oops!

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When Tim called with the news he sounded pretty freaked out. He told me that he kept waiting for our windows to smash, as the hail was golf ball sized and coming in sideways.   He couldn’t open the back door because of the amount of ice piled up against it, and anyway he had his hands full with what was happening inside.

For a while the ceilings held up okay, but at some stage the hail smashed up enough roof tiles that water poured into the laundry and toilet. Tim managed to save the suits, coats and dresses that I had hanging in the laundry but everything else was covered in filthy ceiling water.

Let me tell you – nothing makes you appreciate the little pleasures in life more than wet toilet paper when you really need to go.

I didn’t get home for another couple of hours, and was amazed to see that there were still huge piles of ice on the ground.  It’s incredible that the ice in this picture lasted 2 hours on such a hot day.

We also discovered that the ice had punched about 40 baseball-sized holes into the roofing of our covered outdoor area – an area that we sort of depend on to be covered and rain proof.

Sunday was spent emptying our laundry and cleaning it from top to bottom – not an easy task, considering that it’s the size of a small bedroom!  I treated it as an opportunity to throw out some stuff and get it into better order.  When that was done I cleaned up the post-cyclonic state of our garden, and after 3 hours managed to restore it to its former glory.  More or less.

It was a strange experience to miss the storm entirely, but walk back into a disaster zone.  All my pot plants had the leaves stripped from them, a couple of pots were smashed and I saw lots of plastic-covered windows on the houses of my neighbours.  I’m really pleased that I had the car far away from the area, because although we have a covered carport I’m pretty sure that the hail would have bounced up and dented the car all over.

But of course the Universe works in very mysterious ways.  I may have lost my Sunday (and 60% of my back’s functionality) as a result of the storm, but she sent me the Labour Day holiday as a small thank you for my efforts.  That extra day off helped me to tackle some other little projects around the house that I hadn’t been able to get to, and now our beautiful new home really does feel like it’s ours.

Tomorrow morning (along with thousands of others, no doubt) I’ll call the real estate agent and try to get our roof sorted out.  I feel incredibly lucky that we dodged really serious damage.

• Life , Melbourne
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Please, don’t thank me. Thank Lis.

• Funny Stuff , Videos , WTF?
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A beautiful little video, spotted at Reuben Miller.

• Art , Cool stuff , Videos
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Ah, fresh starts. Aren’t they great?

Here are a few little habits I’d like to improve upon in the month of March.

01. Make the bed every morning
02. Put away my clothes once a day
03. Walk the dog 5 days/week
04. Stop eating as though it’s still Christmas
05. Go for a run twice/week
06. Write something in my journal every day
07. Focus on one room of my house at a time, and completely unpack it
08. Take some photos of my pretty new home
09. Make a nice, big dent in my 101 list
10. By the end of this month, cease being in my twenties

That last one isn’t exactly negotiable, but the others may take a little bit of concentration!

I must say, life is treating me well right now. Our new house is finally starting to feel like home, and we’re gradually finding solutions to all its little problems “quirks”. Like the fact that it has no pantry, and no cabinet in the bathroom, and…

… it turns out that it’s all fine, and nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a bit of clever shelving. Our new home has got so much style and charm, and although it has one less bedroom than the last place it manages to look very spacious. We have incredible sunset views every afternoon, a constant breeze and brand new paint and carpet. As much as I loved our previous house, it’s nice to not have cracks in the ceiling that actually let through sunlight!

On top of all of that, several people have answered my call for butt-kicking me into finishing my 101 Thing in 1001 Days list! My friend Sally deserves extra credit for planning a 10-day visit in which we’ll visit the Great Ocean Rd, do the Neighbours tour, see fairy penguins at Philip Island and maybe even fit in a ghost tour. She’s already orchestrated the Yarra river cruise and taught me sign language, and I owe her a great deal of credit for encouraging me throughout my silly self-imposed challenge.

And later this month I’ll be waving goodbye to my twenties. The big Three-Oh seems to big a big deal for some people, but for some reason I’m not all that excited about it! I’m not dreading it either, I guess I just don’t see it as much of a landmark occasion. My new “chapter” began when I moved to Melbourne I think, perhaps it’s just too soon for another one.

Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind about this during the next two weeks. My family has begun to make a bit of a fuss of me, so perhaps it will rub off!

So, there’s lots to look forward to in March, and beyond. My favourite seasons are approaching, my favourite boy is close enough to snuggle, and work has been very rewarding. Life feels so much better when you’re in the driver’s seat, zipping through the traffic and singing along to the radio!

Have a lovely March. I know I will!

• 101 in 1001 , Friends , Health & Fitness , Life
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We seem to have run out of Fionas for the time being, so this week’s Smiley Sunday is brought to you by the girl half of JarodandLiz.com!

Liz and Jarod met in Sydney, after discovering each others work on Flickr. Now they’re engaged, and blogging daily about snippets of their lives in the inner west. Liz has another project at friendly miaows, taking beautiful photographs of the street cats she comes across.

SMILEY SUNDAY WITH LIZ, FROM JARODANDLIZ.COM

Seven things that make me smile;

1. Jarod.
2. Cats and their associated parts. Especially paws and whiskers.
3. Successfully baking something.
4. Lazy weekend mornings.
5. Lion masks.
6. Cuddles.
7. Hearing the neighbours cat run around the front of our place. (The ‘jingle jingle jingle’ of her bell makes our cat go crazy, but still).

A memory I keep on file;

My first year attending the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2006. Discovering my independence, seeing so many shows and wandering around at night in a city I totally fell in love with. There’s something about the atmosphere at comedy festival time in Melbourne (especially around the town hall) that I’ve not seen elsewhere.

Three blogs that never go out of style;

http://www.sarahwilson.com.au/
http://www.mythreeringcircus.com/
http://foreverfoster.blogspot.com/

A piece of advice I’ve found worthwhile.

Never be afraid to change your mind.

Thanks for sending in your answers Liz. It’s been nice to spend some time today reading about you both, and catching up on your archives! This Smiley Sunday thing has been very good for my Google Reader, and I’m glad to have you on it.

If you would like to be featured in the next installment of Smiley Sunday, send me an email (elizabeth@this domain) with your name, URL and the answers to the questions above. Each Sunday I’ll post a new set of answers.

• Smiley Sunday
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Beautiful photograph discovered via weheartit.com

I’m feeling incredibly inspired after signing up for Polkadot Robot’s Quiet Nights Art Journal class, and it hasn’t even started yet! I’ve organised all of my scrapbooking supplies (which are plentiful, despite not being a scrapbooker) and scoured the web for pretty images like the one above that will get the creative juices flowing. It’s been fun.

Other members of the class have begun to discuss their tools-of-the-trade, and after hearing so much praise about washi tape I decided to find out what all the buzz was about. A Melbourne-based online store called Notemaker had lots of different tapes in stock, so I placed an order a few days ago.

There were some lovely little touches in the package that arrived, including a cloth drawstring bag with a pretty pear tree design. Most importantly, the tapes are gorgeous and delivery was swift (and free!).

If you’re reading this from the Northern Hemisphere, you might like to check out Happy Tape for a huge selection. I recognise some of my own designs in there too, so they must be sourced from the same place.

People seem to be using this Japanese tape for all sorts of projects – everything from floristry to cardmaking and wedding table settings. I love the way that this Dallas cupcake bakery (Citizen Sweet) uses it for its distinctive packaging.

In the past 24 hours I have accidentally come across heaps of references to washi tape, but my favourite was a link to this tape dispenser from Tinted Mint, made from reclaimed wood.

Isn’t it beautiful?

I’m looking forward to putting pen to paper in March, with the help of some journal prompts and like-minded people. Tomorrow’s project is to clean up my study a little so that my desk is clear enough for me to work at – we’re still very much in unpacking mode here!

Do you write in a paper journal? Have some tips about using Japanese tape? I want to hear all about it…

• Art , Cool stuff
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Dear Harry,

Today is your 8th birthday. I can’t believe we’ve managed to keep you out of trouble for all this time!

We love you, little fella.

Good dog!

xxx

• Harry
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Uh oh!

I’ve just realised that I have a little more than seven months in which to complete my 101 Things in 1001 Days list. Time to get serious.

Here are the things that I will cross off in March:

005: Learn 15 new vegetarian recipes (12/15)
- only three to go! I am so slack.

008: Learn to cook a recipe from 30 different countries (12/30)
- I’m going to learn 5 recipes next month.

011: Walk my dog 5 days/week for 1 month (0/20)
- I need to do this before the days get shorter again, so March it is!

012: Go for three 2-hour bike rides (2/3)
- one to go!

016: Write a budget; and
017: Set a savings target, meet it, and maintain it for 6 months.
- I was making progress, but then moving house came along and ruined everything…

020: See 25 movies of Tim’s choosing (18/25)
- NOTE TO TIM: March is Boy Movie Month. I need to see at least 4 of his movies in March.

023: Build a time capsule
- Another task that is almost done, just need to throw in the last few things

024: Read the dictionary from beginning to end (Now Reading: “M”)
- I’ll read up to “U” next month

038: Visit 10 local art galleries (4/10)
- Rather than just going to the same galleries, I’m going to 2 new ones next month.

040: Read 10 novels by Melbourne authors (7/10)
- March is the month that I will finish the crappy novel I’ve been stuck on for weeks on end. The final 2 books are sitting on my bookshelf, waiting for me!

043: Go on a ghost tour
- Tiiiiiii-iiiiiiim, c’moooon. For me?

084: Participate in 100 Snapshots (62/100)
I’m sort of loving this task. I have a bunch more photos to take, but I love it.

In reality, I think I have accepted that I won’t finish all 101 Things on my list by September 28. In fact, there are two items on my list that I can’t possibly complete in the time that I have left, if I am to be faithful to the criteria that I set for myself. I’m reluctant to re-write the requirements just to get that magical “101″, when I haven’t truly achieved it.

So instead I am looking at it this way: by the time September rolls around I’ll have definitely done 80+ things on my list. 90+ is extremely possible. I might even reach 99 Things! That’s not too bad, right? I consider each of those tasks as things that I may not have gotten around to doing without my trusty list, so there’s still plenty to be proud of.

Even if I stopped today with 60 items complete I’ve achieved so much. I love my little so much that I’ve already jotted down some ideas for my next one.

Can I have some volunteers to kick my butt through March and make all this happen?

• 101 in 1001
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W class tram cushions by Mrs Beckinsale. How amazing is this? I think I’ll be in touch with her next pay-day for a custom order that features my tram line. She also has a blog with lots of other Melbourne and London-inspired goodies at www.mrsbeckinsale.com

I’m completely in lust with this cute coffee cup cozy from Polkadot Robot. Pictures like this have started to make me really excited for the beginning of Winter. It’s definitely my season, and I’m sorry that it seems to make everybody else miserable!

I was lucky enough to sign up for Polkadot Robot’s Quiet Nights online art journal class before it sold out. It begins at the beginning of March, and I’m itching to get started. My poor journals haven’t seen daylight in some time, and I think a little prodding is all I needed to get drawing again.

Lifehacker has all the info you need to create your own string lamp shade. It’s easy and looks like fun to make! Does anyone know where I can buy those beautiful big, round balloons?

• Cool stuff
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The month of February is brought to you by the number 2 and the letter “F”! Our second Fiona of the month has answered the call, and left us with an extra-specially Smiley Sunday.

Fiona lives in Cairns in Far North Queensland, which is where I grew up as a teenager. Last year she took a photo of herself every day of the year, which made for a very impressive flickr archive!

SMILEY SUNDAY WITH FIONA, FROM FIFIKINS

Seven things that make me smile;

1. Fresh linen on my bed
2. Catching Cane Toads
3. Sitting on the deck in the pouring rain
4. Cooking a yummy meal or baking a cake
5. Seeing my kids achieve, no matter how small or large an achievement
6. Our two beautiful ragdoll kittens, Leo and Max
7. The gorgeous Man In My Life (MIML™!)

A memory I keep on file;

I have been looking through photos and there are so many that evoke times past. The photos that evoke memories for me though are my memories and relate to situations that were meaningful, sometimes at the time, often still now! Let me just say that photos of the kids as newborns, and growing up and smiles and places and pets and things that didn’t turn out the way they would have liked make me the person I am. This reflection has also emphasised that I need to get all my old photos scanned asap!

Three blogs that never go out of style;

http://vipantrywedonthaveablogblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.mediamum.net/
http://zucchinibikini.blogspot.com/

Can I give honourary mentions though to http://notitallatall.blogspot.com/ and of course http://magnetoboldtoo.com/ please???

Sure can!

A piece of advice I’ve found worthwhile.

Even along the darkest path one can find the most beautiful flowers.

Thanks for playing! For the record, I liked your email signature just as much: “The bubbling brook would lose its song if you removed the rocks.”

If you would like to be featured in the next installment of Smiley Sunday, send me an email (elizabeth@this domain) with your name, URL and the answers to the questions above. Each Sunday I’ll post a new set of answers.

And hey – spread the word, ok? The internet doesn’t need yet another “nobody loves me” post!

• Smiley Sunday
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