Casual Wear

Lovin' casual wear this Autumn.
Particularly: ripped denim, large scarves, striped, slip-on shoes, blanket/jacket things and leather jackets.
And what's up with exciting winter hats?!

All pictures taken from my Pinterest.

Thoughts

Beth Moon photography

"Some periods of our growth are so confusing that we don’t even recognize that growth is happening. We may feel hostile or angry or weepy and hysterical, or we may feel depressed. It would never occur to us, unless we stumbled on a book or a person who explained to us, that we were in fact in the process of change, of actually becoming larger, spiritually, than we were before. Whenever we grow, we tend to feel it, as a young seed must feel the weight and inertia of the earth as it seeks to break out of its shell on its way to becoming a plant. Often the feeling is anything but pleasant. But what is most unpleasant is the not knowing what is happening. Those long periods when something inside ourselves seems to be waiting, holding its breath, unsure about what the next step should be, eventually become the periods we wait for, for it is in those periods that we realize that we are being prepared for the next phase of our life and that, in all probability, a new level of the personality is about to be revealed."

                                                                                                              - Alice Walker: Living by the Word. 

DIY: Mid-Century Cabinet

This is one of my first real furniture do-ups, and I couldn't be prouder! 
A few months ago, I was perusing my favourite shop, The Dump Shop (yes they do get claim most of their items from the dump next door - gutted I didn't think of that first), I came across the find of the year, nay the find of the century. As I rounded a dusty corner, I bumped into a wooden, not veneer, mid-century drawer-set. Ah, I said to myself, this'll be spensie. It's wooden and everything. To my surprise, and extreme pleasure, the price tag indicated in was only $20. Twenty dollars. This seems to be unheard of in NZ, where many a good kiwi loves to up-cycle second gems. Needless to say, I made a beeline for the counter and brought it as quick as could be. 
A few weeks later, and with the help of my amazing "other-half", we now have a modern, yet classic TV cabinet. And we only spent about $70 total. That surely is one helluva bargain, if I do say so myself!

What do you think about: Mid-Century Furniture?

All images from pinterest

DIY: dip-dyed stool

This year has been an interesting one. Not the good kind of interesting, either. It's been the kind of year that people say is character building. So, to fight the daily grind, I have been experimenting with furniture DIY-ing. Not only does it satiate my desire to buy things for cheap, but it's also helped to take my mind of difficult situations. The other day I found a cute wooden stool at my local op-shop for $15, which inspired a long weekend project. Good times.

You will need:

1 wooden stool

White paint

Sandpaper

Masking tape

Danish oil, or any stain of your choice.

Decide how high you want your paint to go and measure carefully. Tape it carefully with masking tape, creating a clean line. I wound the tape up the leg, because I was scared of slipping and getting paint where I didn't want it.

Paint the lower legs of your stool carefully. I chose white paint and did about three coats. Once it's dried (I left it over night), peel back the masking tape and revel in those clean, white lines!

The next step is to stain the top part of the stool. I chose danish oil because it's not overly shiny and it easier to touch up if you need to fix a scratch or blemish. 

Voila! You have a cute stool to enjoy!

What do you think about?

These dip-dyed stools? I have just purchased a stool from a thrift shop, and I'm am planning to revive it by making it look like one of these. What do you think?

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A Spotlight On...

Maiko Nagao. Seriously, that girl has some genius washi tape ideas. Get amongst it here.

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