24/03: early-autumn garden
been out in the garden lately and it is looking lovely with all the late blooms from flowers everywhere
i've never really been that into photography. actually, scrap that, i've never been into it at all. photography was just something that you did that helped preserve memories. with film cameras in the 80's and 90's, it was especially a case of hoping that pictures would come out more than anything, not that they were particularly good, in focus, not too dark etc.
it was only when i was around someone who was into photography and when i was taught to use a digital slr properly that i found it a bit more interesting. it is then really hard not to be drawn into the world of other types of cameras, lenses, film cameras and so on.
i was loaned a minolta xd5 - my friend bought a box of old cameras and stuff from ebay and it was in this box, along with some film. so we decided to go somewhere to try it out! we drove about 3 hours to canberra when floriade (the annual flower festival) was on. unfortunately, it was an old film and therefore only 4 pictures came out, which was a bit sad. but i am not going to give up - i'm so pleased with the ones that did come out (they have such personality and distinct characteristics that you don't get with digital) that i will buy some new film and try it again!
that, unfortunately, is it. but it will not be the last of me using the xd5!
it was only when i was around someone who was into photography and when i was taught to use a digital slr properly that i found it a bit more interesting. it is then really hard not to be drawn into the world of other types of cameras, lenses, film cameras and so on.
i was loaned a minolta xd5 - my friend bought a box of old cameras and stuff from ebay and it was in this box, along with some film. so we decided to go somewhere to try it out! we drove about 3 hours to canberra when floriade (the annual flower festival) was on. unfortunately, it was an old film and therefore only 4 pictures came out, which was a bit sad. but i am not going to give up - i'm so pleased with the ones that did come out (they have such personality and distinct characteristics that you don't get with digital) that i will buy some new film and try it again!
that, unfortunately, is it. but it will not be the last of me using the xd5!
31/10: 30 - a good vintage: final
so this is the final chapter of this - sorry it has taken so long! but here we go.... this one is going to be image-heavy, be warned, and i shall try my best not to be too verbose.... already being too verbose you say?? :)
my lovely and very talented cake-making friend prue dropped off my cake in the morning, then i went to get my hair all pretty, came home to a gorgeous flower arrangement that my mum had had delivered, then it was go-go-go time! so... here we go! a whole half year of preparations and this is it!
the "tablecloth" out of book pages took a good few books and well over an hour to make - though never fear, i only used reader's digest abridged versions of classics, which i didn't feel too bad about ripping apart (since, you know, it wasn't like a REAL classic). while everything was set up, i was putting on my makeup - i had this amaaaaazing costume glitter from america for eyeshadow, and these awesome falsies! then i was running around organising food...
in hindsight that came just after i had put my dress on, laying food out on the table was not the best idea in my finery. but too late now! i was already running a little late!
ok i'm just going to put the rest after the jump - please keep going, i promise i'll stop talking!
my lovely and very talented cake-making friend prue dropped off my cake in the morning, then i went to get my hair all pretty, came home to a gorgeous flower arrangement that my mum had had delivered, then it was go-go-go time! so... here we go! a whole half year of preparations and this is it!
the "tablecloth" out of book pages took a good few books and well over an hour to make - though never fear, i only used reader's digest abridged versions of classics, which i didn't feel too bad about ripping apart (since, you know, it wasn't like a REAL classic). while everything was set up, i was putting on my makeup - i had this amaaaaazing costume glitter from america for eyeshadow, and these awesome falsies! then i was running around organising food...
in hindsight that came just after i had put my dress on, laying food out on the table was not the best idea in my finery. but too late now! i was already running a little late!
ok i'm just going to put the rest after the jump - please keep going, i promise i'll stop talking!
as with most of my parties, there is an emphasis on desserts. i do have a sweet tooth yes, and it does tend to go down nicely with bubbly hehe. and as with all years, i catered all the food myself.
this was no mean feat - i took time off work and cooked relentlessly until my back was aching. not being one to do things by halves, i had a menu of 9 things i wanted to make. i did fall short of this by one, but it wasn't for lack of trying - the one i missed was macarons, which sadly did not make it off the baking tray... quite literally! they got stuck!!
i had printed out the recipes and set out a time schedule. first up: meringues! i love making meringues - they are easy, tasty and last for ages. they are also so pretty-looking!
these were actually the best meringues i have made... from a laduree recipe and soooooo gooey and delicious in the middle.
next up was cheesecake brownies. these are a favourite of my brother's so i had to hide them from him until the day or they would have started "disappearing". luckily, you can freeze them and the freezer was a great place to hide them!
third on the menu was orange and passionfruit yo-yos... one of my favourites. oh the combination of orange and passionfruit in a sweet little treat is just so delectable!!
i will understand if this is making you too hungry to continue... but please, do read more!
this was no mean feat - i took time off work and cooked relentlessly until my back was aching. not being one to do things by halves, i had a menu of 9 things i wanted to make. i did fall short of this by one, but it wasn't for lack of trying - the one i missed was macarons, which sadly did not make it off the baking tray... quite literally! they got stuck!!
i had printed out the recipes and set out a time schedule. first up: meringues! i love making meringues - they are easy, tasty and last for ages. they are also so pretty-looking!
these were actually the best meringues i have made... from a laduree recipe and soooooo gooey and delicious in the middle.
next up was cheesecake brownies. these are a favourite of my brother's so i had to hide them from him until the day or they would have started "disappearing". luckily, you can freeze them and the freezer was a great place to hide them!
third on the menu was orange and passionfruit yo-yos... one of my favourites. oh the combination of orange and passionfruit in a sweet little treat is just so delectable!!
i will understand if this is making you too hungry to continue... but please, do read more!
deciding on a theme and invites was only the first step in this process... along with it came deciding on a singular "look" for the decorations. being a crafty person, i love going nuts with the decorations, but bringing it back to one "look" is always tricky. deciding on colours usually helps, and i went with pink, gold and white with the addition of old book pages.
the first thing that i chose to make was a giant "30" pinata. I originally wanted to hang it out the front of the house but after all the work that went into it, it was far too valuable to risk someone pinching it! i must apologise for the dodgy phone photos - i'm not very good at remembering to take progress photos... the first step was to make a cardboard 3D 3 and 0
no pictures of the 0 (again, forgetful), but it seemed a lot harder than the 3 to make out of card (winding a long piece of card between two 0 shapes was not as easy as i had anticipated). after that, i papier mache'd the joins together to make sure they stayed, then i gave the whole thing a coat of undercoat, just in case any of the newspaper used in the papier mache showed through. then began the very long process of cutting... i used a fabric paper - it was a lot tougher than tissue paper, not as annoying as crepe paper. so i cut out these long strips, folded them in half and proceeded to snip them. it took a very long time... i cannot begin to explain how looooong it took! i watched movies, tv shows, got through most of the hunger games trilogy on audio book while still cutting. then came the gluing process. at first i started at the top, then realised that that was a rookie mistake - it is easier to lay the strips on top than it is to push them up underneath. so i changed my process and it was much faster.
all the way around the 3, and then a final trim and i was done!
and, of course, the final product:
i would suggest if anyone is wanting to do something like this, maybe get a group of friends to help with the snipping, or just allow extra time for snipping and fiddling around. yes they look awesome, but it was work. luckily next year i only need to add a 1!! much easier!!
i then had an idea in my mind that i wanted to have a main central table, with other little tables and chairs dotted around. this required getting extra tables from ikea, and i got 4 of the lack tables because they are cheap and useful. not the easiest to paint, however, as i found out after another long and fairly painful process. first step, choosing an amazing colour! ohhhh which hot pink to choose?! in the end, i went with 'cheeky'
i figured a good sanding, using some good undercoat, 3 coats of paint and two coats of polyurethane would make a tough painted surface. oh, was i wrong! i went through so much paint having to fix up scrapes - the tiniest touch to the paint and it would come off. but in the end, all was right. i added little caps in gold paint to the end of the legs (next time, i think i'd paint them all gold, it was so much easier to use!!)
keep on reading for more! (things get easier, i promise!)
the first thing that i chose to make was a giant "30" pinata. I originally wanted to hang it out the front of the house but after all the work that went into it, it was far too valuable to risk someone pinching it! i must apologise for the dodgy phone photos - i'm not very good at remembering to take progress photos... the first step was to make a cardboard 3D 3 and 0
no pictures of the 0 (again, forgetful), but it seemed a lot harder than the 3 to make out of card (winding a long piece of card between two 0 shapes was not as easy as i had anticipated). after that, i papier mache'd the joins together to make sure they stayed, then i gave the whole thing a coat of undercoat, just in case any of the newspaper used in the papier mache showed through. then began the very long process of cutting... i used a fabric paper - it was a lot tougher than tissue paper, not as annoying as crepe paper. so i cut out these long strips, folded them in half and proceeded to snip them. it took a very long time... i cannot begin to explain how looooong it took! i watched movies, tv shows, got through most of the hunger games trilogy on audio book while still cutting. then came the gluing process. at first i started at the top, then realised that that was a rookie mistake - it is easier to lay the strips on top than it is to push them up underneath. so i changed my process and it was much faster.
all the way around the 3, and then a final trim and i was done!
and, of course, the final product:
i would suggest if anyone is wanting to do something like this, maybe get a group of friends to help with the snipping, or just allow extra time for snipping and fiddling around. yes they look awesome, but it was work. luckily next year i only need to add a 1!! much easier!!
i then had an idea in my mind that i wanted to have a main central table, with other little tables and chairs dotted around. this required getting extra tables from ikea, and i got 4 of the lack tables because they are cheap and useful. not the easiest to paint, however, as i found out after another long and fairly painful process. first step, choosing an amazing colour! ohhhh which hot pink to choose?! in the end, i went with 'cheeky'
i figured a good sanding, using some good undercoat, 3 coats of paint and two coats of polyurethane would make a tough painted surface. oh, was i wrong! i went through so much paint having to fix up scrapes - the tiniest touch to the paint and it would come off. but in the end, all was right. i added little caps in gold paint to the end of the legs (next time, i think i'd paint them all gold, it was so much easier to use!!)
keep on reading for more! (things get easier, i promise!)
13/09: 30 - a good vintage
hello!
i am aware that i have not updated my blog in ages. to be honest, the reasons are so boring (not enough time, nothing to tell, etc).
however... all this is about to change. it was my 30th birthday this year and, like previous years, it was time to throw a bash, get crafty (and cook-y) and basically go crazy on a concoction of glue, sugar and wine!
i had seriously been planning this since january - deciding on a theme (and trying to limit myself to just one!), decorations, working out the food, guest list, my own attire, the invitations, the music and so on and on.
i would normally say "first, the invitations". but i had decided my theme (mostly) around january, and had kind of worked out what i needed in terms of furniture, some decorations and so on. i decided some trips to second hand shops and ikea were needed, as well as some (... a lot of) online purchasing. i think the postman is probably sick of delivering parcels to my house now, i ordered so much stuff! (more on this in the next post)
so with a theme finally set, and envelopes and paper having arrived from around the world, it was time to start on invitations.
the theme i ended up with was 30: a good vintage. i thought that was very fitting for my love of vintage, my desire to wear a beautiful 50s dress at least once in my life, and also the feeling of getting better as i get older. as for the invitations, i originally decided that i wanted to hand-letter the actual invite in ink, but the result was not what i was after - it was not clean enough and there were a few areas i didn't like. so i drew the same thing out in illustrator, added a few bits and pieces, and it turned out so much better.
in the frame, i combined some art deco and nouveau elements, and used a multitude of fonts in the invite itself (including one of my own) to create something a bit whimsical.
the whole invite package also came with a dress code and rsvp card which was all bundled up using a strip of vintage wallpaper
read on for the rest of the details!
i am aware that i have not updated my blog in ages. to be honest, the reasons are so boring (not enough time, nothing to tell, etc).
however... all this is about to change. it was my 30th birthday this year and, like previous years, it was time to throw a bash, get crafty (and cook-y) and basically go crazy on a concoction of glue, sugar and wine!
i had seriously been planning this since january - deciding on a theme (and trying to limit myself to just one!), decorations, working out the food, guest list, my own attire, the invitations, the music and so on and on.
i would normally say "first, the invitations". but i had decided my theme (mostly) around january, and had kind of worked out what i needed in terms of furniture, some decorations and so on. i decided some trips to second hand shops and ikea were needed, as well as some (... a lot of) online purchasing. i think the postman is probably sick of delivering parcels to my house now, i ordered so much stuff! (more on this in the next post)
so with a theme finally set, and envelopes and paper having arrived from around the world, it was time to start on invitations.
the theme i ended up with was 30: a good vintage. i thought that was very fitting for my love of vintage, my desire to wear a beautiful 50s dress at least once in my life, and also the feeling of getting better as i get older. as for the invitations, i originally decided that i wanted to hand-letter the actual invite in ink, but the result was not what i was after - it was not clean enough and there were a few areas i didn't like. so i drew the same thing out in illustrator, added a few bits and pieces, and it turned out so much better.
in the frame, i combined some art deco and nouveau elements, and used a multitude of fonts in the invite itself (including one of my own) to create something a bit whimsical.
the whole invite package also came with a dress code and rsvp card which was all bundled up using a strip of vintage wallpaper
read on for the rest of the details!
23/10: french birthday
this year, inspired by my recent trip and my intense love of france, i decided to have a french-themed birthday!
i sent out invites featuring the eiffel tour, made lots of yummy french food, decorated in red, white and blue, and we listened to french music. and yes, i even donned a beret, though no photos exist of that (you'll just have to take my word for it!).
so first things first - i had to design an invite! i'd seen a cardboard eiffel tower on a website and it gave me an idea. i thought a replica of the tower could be constructed from four pieces of board by slotting them together. because of the thickness of the board i used, it was impossible for me to print directly onto it, so i wrapped it in paper printed with the invite details... anyway, more will make sense below!
this is how the invites were packed into the envelope
invite put together - instructions side
read on for more details and photos of the invite and of the party itself!
i sent out invites featuring the eiffel tour, made lots of yummy french food, decorated in red, white and blue, and we listened to french music. and yes, i even donned a beret, though no photos exist of that (you'll just have to take my word for it!).
so first things first - i had to design an invite! i'd seen a cardboard eiffel tower on a website and it gave me an idea. i thought a replica of the tower could be constructed from four pieces of board by slotting them together. because of the thickness of the board i used, it was impossible for me to print directly onto it, so i wrapped it in paper printed with the invite details... anyway, more will make sense below!
this is how the invites were packed into the envelope
invite put together - instructions side
read on for more details and photos of the invite and of the party itself!
09/05: europe
so, i'm off to europe in...yikes! two days time!
i'm going to wales to spend some time with the family, then to manchester to spend some time with some lovely friends... then london, to explore and catch up with people... then finally paris, to once again fall in love with the city...
i am a mixed bag of excitement and anxiety - the excitement part is easy to explain... the anxiety is due to a very strong dislike of flying, plus a travelling time there of 30+ hours, plus a fear of forgetting things. argh!
so i won't be writing any blog posts for the next three weeks, but after that, i am sure you can expect to see a whole heap of photos. i'll try not to bombard you though!
here's an old shot of the view from my grandparents house - that mountain is the graig. hopefully it won't be quite as cold this time as it was that time...
see you in 3 weeks!!
ali xx
i'm going to wales to spend some time with the family, then to manchester to spend some time with some lovely friends... then london, to explore and catch up with people... then finally paris, to once again fall in love with the city...
i am a mixed bag of excitement and anxiety - the excitement part is easy to explain... the anxiety is due to a very strong dislike of flying, plus a travelling time there of 30+ hours, plus a fear of forgetting things. argh!
so i won't be writing any blog posts for the next three weeks, but after that, i am sure you can expect to see a whole heap of photos. i'll try not to bombard you though!
here's an old shot of the view from my grandparents house - that mountain is the graig. hopefully it won't be quite as cold this time as it was that time...
see you in 3 weeks!!
ali xx
19/04: new website - april 2011
i have finally put up a new website!
after years of having the same, hard-to-update website, i finally outgrew it and decided i needed a whole new look.
so i started again from scratch. i wanted a two-part navigation system - top and side - and large images. and so I came up with this!
it all validates nicely too in HTML strict, so i am a little bit proud of that :)
hope you like it - let me know what you think!
after years of having the same, hard-to-update website, i finally outgrew it and decided i needed a whole new look.
so i started again from scratch. i wanted a two-part navigation system - top and side - and large images. and so I came up with this!
it all validates nicely too in HTML strict, so i am a little bit proud of that :)
hope you like it - let me know what you think!
09/01: albums of 2010
i'm just going to say it - i really love my music.
i like finding new bands to love and loving new albums from favourite bands.
this year was a bit of both...
it wasn't a particularly ground-breaking year music-wise for me. i mean, there was a lot of new stuff that i liked, but i spent a lot of the year listening to older music! i guess some albums that are always on high rotation can't be beaten!
in spite of this, there were some albums that did stand out and move me, and these make up my top albums of 2010.
the first of these has the be the national's new album high violet
while i don't think it is as good as their previous albums, there were some really stand out songs - sorrow, lemonworld and conversation 16 are my favourites. they just didn't seem to hit the same intensity as the songs on earlier albums such as sad songs for dirty lovers and boxer. but hey, i still love 'em!
secondly was midlake's new album the courage of others
actually, this one is tied with the national if i think about it. what puts it up there is that i went and saw midlake in concert last year and they were just simply unbelievable - it was one of my best concerts. they are so very talented! and were so humble and down-to-earth and came out after the gig to hang out with us plebs. my favourite songs on the album are core of nature and rulers, ruling all things. this is simply because of how amazing these songs were in concert. yeah i love midlake haha.
i like finding new bands to love and loving new albums from favourite bands.
this year was a bit of both...
it wasn't a particularly ground-breaking year music-wise for me. i mean, there was a lot of new stuff that i liked, but i spent a lot of the year listening to older music! i guess some albums that are always on high rotation can't be beaten!
in spite of this, there were some albums that did stand out and move me, and these make up my top albums of 2010.
the first of these has the be the national's new album high violet
while i don't think it is as good as their previous albums, there were some really stand out songs - sorrow, lemonworld and conversation 16 are my favourites. they just didn't seem to hit the same intensity as the songs on earlier albums such as sad songs for dirty lovers and boxer. but hey, i still love 'em!
secondly was midlake's new album the courage of others
actually, this one is tied with the national if i think about it. what puts it up there is that i went and saw midlake in concert last year and they were just simply unbelievable - it was one of my best concerts. they are so very talented! and were so humble and down-to-earth and came out after the gig to hang out with us plebs. my favourite songs on the album are core of nature and rulers, ruling all things. this is simply because of how amazing these songs were in concert. yeah i love midlake haha.
subscribe to RSS feed