These are my new favourite songs

There are so many new albums coming up that I can't wait to get my grubby little mitts on, it's insane. Also, please note, my hands aren't actually grubby - they are quite clean and well manicured today, thanks to Georgia and her awesome manicuring skills.

My first new favourite song is from Paramore. "Still Into You" is the second single from their upcoming self-titled album, and it's a corker. The album is the first they have recorded as a trio, since brothers (and two of the founding members) Josh and Zac Farro left the band in 2010. I saw the band live a few months before the split and it was painfully obvious that the Farros did NOT want to be there. While the three current band members were bursting with energy, Josh and Zac literally stood behind their instruments and did not move. It was still a great show, but I felt pretty bad for Hayley, Jeremy and Taylor, having to work with that kind of attitude. I really dig this song and have been listening to it on repeat for the last few days. It kind of has an eighties punk sort of feel, and makes me think of Siouxie and the Banshees and Blondie. Not because it sounds particularly like either of those bands, but more like Paramore were listening to them a lot when writing and recording, and little things have seeped in...Unfortunately, I can't embed the video directly on to the blog, but check it out on YouTube here.

City and Colour have a new album out soon, and one of the tracks "of space and time" is now up on Soundcloud here, for your listening pleasure. I will never get tired of Dallas Green's voice, it is just so beautiful. For those of you not familiar, City and Color is the solo side project of Green, who is also the singer for Alexis on Fire. If you're interested, I highly recommend checking out other songs, such as The Grand Optimist.

Last but not least, Laura Marling has a new album coming out in May. The first song to hit the interwebs is called Where Can I Go? and it is beautiful. It reminds of all the great female singers from around the 1970s - EmmyLou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Rita Coolidge. Check it out on Soundcloud here. I love Laura Marling and could wax poetically about her all day long, she nails what so many others are trying to do and who always seem to fall slightly short of the mark they are aiming for. Go out and listen to everything Marling has done ever. Right now.

5 Things I Love: Veronica Mars

I know, I know. The movie hasn't been made yet. It hasn't even started filming. But with all the excitement this week, I thought it was definitely appropriate to do a 5 things post. Finding out that they reached their Kickstarter goal of two million dollars - in one day! - and that the movie will actually happen, was right up there with getting third row tickets to see Bruce Springsteen in my "greatest moments of my life" list. It's just one of those warm and fuzzy examples of what people can actually achieve, and using the interwebs for good and not evil. And nerdpower, of course. It's kind of like girl power, but far more inclusive.

1. A strong female heroine

As a girl who went through my teenage years in the nineties, I consider myself pretty lucky to have had a few strong female role models on my television screen (speaking of girl power). I don't really feel like I can say the same about the last decade or so. In the last year or two things things seem to have been looking up a little, but not quite enough for my liking. There are still better roles for women on television than there are in film, but it feels like there always has to be some kind of caveat. Claire Danes does an amazing job as Carrie Mathieson on Homeland, but Carrie's intelligence and strength is inextricably linked with her struggles with bipolar. Lena Dunham is starting some serious conversations with Girls yet people still just seem concerned with how often she is naked (and the fact that as someone who is not a size two, she probably "shouldn't" be naked on our screens. Our eyes! Our valuable eyes! Her thighs touch! How will we ever be the same again!) as opposed to the stories Dunham is telling, the comments she is making and questions she is asking about being a young woman and that particular journey towards independence, self-worth and self-awareness (hopefully). I'm not even going to touch on all the great female comedians there are gracing our television screens at the moment, but I just get this overwhelming sense that these characters aren't allowed to be intelligent, successful and strong without being slightly unhinged, or worse, obsessed with their dating lives. There's a little too much laughing at, and not enough laughing with sometimes. Cue, wacky camera angles and those awkward moments that make me cover my eyes and just try to ride it out until the scene is over. I mean, Geena Davis started the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media for a reason. If you haven't figured out what that reason is yet, I'm not sure I can help you...

Anyway, I could stand on this soapbox all day, but for the sake of my blood pressure I won't. My point is, that in the last ten years, Veronica Mars has been one of the best examples of a strong female character. Like Buffy (you didn't think I'd get through this post without mentioning Buffy did you?) she's strong, not just because of her internal resources, but because of her friends and mentors. Strong female characters don't need to be lone wolves, but they do need to be interesting, independent, layered and diverse. When Veronica displays vulnerability that's exactly how it's portrayed, rather than as weakness, when the two are too often mistaken for one another. Sometimes she's overconfident and falls down, needing someone to help her up again. Mostly however,  she is three (or four or five) steps in front of everyone else. She stands up for those who are downtrodden and harassed, and for what she believes in. All in a completely realistic wardrobe for a teenage girl, and with a good helping of snarkiness, of course.

Oh yeah, and Kristen Bell is amazing. Seriously.

2. I just love a good noir

For the unfamiliar, Veronica Mars is a story about a high school girl who is also a private investigator, in the fictional California town of Neptune. Veronica investigates the death of her best friend Lily, while assisting her P.I. father (who used to be the town sheriff), and solving mysteries for her school classmates - for a fee, of course. Being noir, the show has a darker side of course. In the pilot episode, Veronica describes how she was drugged and raped at a party, and how she is still looking for answers in regards to that particular investigation. The show also addresses the class divide in Neptune, with the town being divided between the ridiculously rich, and the people who work for them.

It sounds like a lot of Very Important Issues for one TV show, but it's all handled intelligently and with grace and humour. So much humour. There are so many quotable one liners, your head will spin trying to remember it all. One of my personal favourites:

But remember, it's noir, so don't go expecting too many happy endings, okay?


3. What's that song?

Choosing songs to appear in episodes of TV shows is a big deal, with most series' having their own soundtracks, and it can be an amazing platform for unknown artists to be heard. It's certainly one of the ways I sometimes find out about new music, and the Veronica Mars team were particularly good at finding great songs to appear in the show. Plus, they got We Used to be Friends by The Dandy Warhols for the theme song. I don't think it gets any more perfect, you know? So if you like shows that not only have smart and clever scripts and casting, but smart and clever music choices as well, this is the show for you.

4. The supporting cast, featuring Enrico Colantoni, i.e. the best TV Dad ever

I could write a whole blog post about each of the supporting characters in turn, and I kind of want to. Who knows, maybe I will? My favourite though, is Enrico Colantoni who plays Veronica's father, Keith Mars.

I touched on this a little in my 5 things post about The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I get really tired of dysfunctional families being overused as part of the narrative arc in films and television. The relationship that Veronica has with her (single) Dad, played by Colantoni, is a delight. The chemistry between Colantoni and Bell is undeniable, and together they have some of the best scenes in the show.

It's full of humour and care, and the difficult father/teenage daughter moments are navigated with a light touch rather than that baseball bat that I swear some screenwriters keep beside their desks with "use liberally" painted on the side. Plus, Colantoni is just awesome. And for those of use who love it when things get "meta", there's a storyline in which he dates a woman played by Laura San Giacomo from Just Shoot Me. I know, right?

5. You adorable marshmallows, you.

Fans of Veronica Mars are referred to as "marshmallows" and as I write this, contributions from the marshmallows to Kickstarter to fund the film are standing at almost 3.5 million dollars. Not only is this an amazing show of passion about a show that was only on for three seasons and left the air six years ago, it's opening up a whole new way of getting things made that people want to be made but the big studios won't give the green light to. Firefly, anyone?

Travelling bugs

I'm on the downhill run to my next overseas trip - in 8 weeks and 2 days I will be on my way to London, and I won't be home again for just over four weeks. It's been 5 years since I've been away (I don't count a week in Bali) - not that I'm counting the days or anything. It will be my second time in London, I went to Europe way back in 2005. It was my very first overseas trip and London was my very first stop. I was jet-lagged and a bit shell-shocked and I also arrived in the middle of a heatwave, so I'm probably the only person in the world who associates London with uncomfortable, muggy, sweaty heat. Ever since then, my feelings towards London have been pretty lukewarm. It wasn't the greatest experience of my life, and I'm so looking forward to going back and getting a "do-over." It's my chance to put all those lessons I learned last time into practice - and really, how often in life do we get to do that? (Don't answer that. I realise it's probably a lot. Just let it be rhetorical, okay?) 

1. Some details are really important.

Now, I'm all for not over-scheduling or over-planning before going away. However, because it was my first big trip, I didn't really have any idea what I was doing. I didn't bother to find out important information, like what time I could check into my hostel.  Cut to me landing at Heathrow at some hour of the morning that I'm not even going to mention, because it doesn't exist in real life, and then arriving at my hostel only to realise I had oh, about 7 hours to go before I could check in. Combine all those things with jetlag, exhaustion, and a heavy dose of first-time-out-of-the-country stress and what do you get? Tears. I'm not going to lie. I sobbed. I managed not to lose it in front of the check-in guy, but I the first phone call I ever made from one of those red telephone booths was to my mum. Which leads on to my next lesson...

Education on the tube (c) Four Letter Birds

2. Don't call your mum (or dad) in tears.

I want to make something clear here: my mum will disagree with this lesson, because she is loving and supportive and hates to think of any of her family being in distress and feeling like they can't talk to her about it. However, although a phone call home will make you feel better in the short term it is in fact, spectacularly unproductive. When you hang up the phone, you will still have a problem that needs solving, and not only that, you now have a parent who is probably at home fretting and worrying and wishing they could be there to fix whatever the problem is. Plus, you will probably feel kind of guilty about making them worry. I know I always did. So my advice here is to figure out your own catastrophe scale, and only call your parents when things are becoming dire. I mean, definitely CALL them, but don't deviate past "Everything is super great, yeah I'm a bit tired and man, hostels are noisy but I'm having SO MUCH FUN" unless you really have to. Find other ways to solve your problems like...

3. When travelling, fixing problems by throwing money at them often works.

Photo courtesy of Vogue China

This little gem was handed to me by my sister-in-law, and it's a travel-code that I live by. In this particular situation, I had a friend also in London (actually it was Emma!)  and my solution was to jump in a cab and go and spend the day with her until I could check in. I probably spent about $200 on cab fares that day (at least), and I'm certainly not sitting here now, eight years later, reprimanding myself for being so extravagant. I was upset. I was alone. I sought out a friend. At that time in my life, it was the right thing to do. Just remember there are problems and there are "problems." Wanting to buy all the clothes ever, is not a problem. It's definitely a "problem." I'm looking at you, me. 




4. Be better at making friends.

This might come as a surprise, but I was not always the charming, erudite, social butterfly you see before you now. One of my biggest regrets (yes, I believe in regrets) is that I wasn't more open to meeting new people in my travels as a younger me. To be honest, I was always slightly suspicious of people who tried to strike up a conversation with me. I'm sure suspicion was the appropriate emotion in some instances - after all I was a young woman travelling alone much of the time - but I wish I had been more confident and loosened up just a little. Because travelling is about people. When I tell people about my time in Dublin, I always tell the story about the friendly guy on Grafton street, who was signing people up to make monthly donations to Greenpeace. Once he figured out I didn't have an Irish bank account, he proceeded to spend twenty minutes chatting to me about Australia, my travels, and what I should do in Ireland. And the lovely woman who ran the hostel I stayed in near Waterford, who emailed me a photo of her two adorable kids after I left a positive review of the hostel on a website. People are, on the whole, inherently good. 

Dublin and the river Liffy... (c) Four Letter Birds

I'm not doing so much travelling alone this time, although I hope I squeeze some in as it has become one of my favourite things, ever. One of my main motivations for this trip is to visit some very beloved friends in London, and I am looking forward to seeing the city through a local's eyes. I don't know if I'll ever be able to shake that "I'm doing it all wrong" feeling, but who knows? Maybe London and I will get a second chance at love...

5 Things I Loved: Father John Misty

I've blogged about Father John Misty before, and on Tuesday night I was lucky enough to catch his/their show at The Metro theatre in Sydney. Now, when I go out on a school night I expect my efforts and lack of sleep to be rewarded appropriately. Thankfully, I wasn't disappointed! Let's get started kids.

1. Everyone loves a frontman

When I watched a few live videos of Joshua Tillman on the YouTubes I found that he came across as more of an oddball than a classic frontman. Boy, was I wrong. Or maybe he's special brand of charisma just doesn't translate over the internet. The man was dropping charm bombs left, right and centre. Chimney sweep jokes, just the right amount of amusing self deprecation about his amazing dance moves and also - what is pretty much my favourite thing in any person ever - he cracked up at his own jokes more than anyone else did. I know that may sound like a weird quality to appreciate in a person, but I just love it when someone gets that glint in their eye and starts laughing before they even get the words out. It's not obnoxious. It's delightful.

Plus, he was wearing a suit. Extra points. The singer from the support band "Oh Mercy" was wearing a sleeveless denim vest that said "Cold Chisel" on the back. While that was awesome in its own way, a suit is always better.

2. Be good at what you do.

I love a tight, professional performance. I get tired of watching half-hearted sets by musicians who don't even really know how to play their instruments all that well. It's like there's a certain school of thought that says as long as an artist is "truthful" (or whatever), or just tries really hard, they don't actually have to be good. Um, no. That's not so. Learning your craft is still important for any kind of artist.

3. Let's all be weird together.

FJM's bass player was like a rock and roll wizard. Or a Russell Brand character. Or both. Actually, Russell Brand should make a movie about a rock and roll wizard. Let's all just think on that for a while.

...

Anyway. The guy had sparkly face paint, floral trousers, threw his arms in the air when he got excited and delivered some pretty mean backup vocals. The lesson that we should learn here, is that we should all march to the beat of our own drummer and let our freak flags fly. Because it's awesome.

4. Dancing magic dance.

Oh how he danced. GOOD LORD, how he danced. Danced the night away. Fantastic dance moves involving the flailing of arms, flinging of limbs, and often the use of his mic stand as a prop. He even brought a lady out from backstage at one point to join him in an impassioned dance solo. It didn't come across as forced or insincere - it was kind of like that cheesy phrase that gets printed on fridge magnets "Dance like no one is watching" being brought to life, the way it was intended to. Except we were all watching. Because we paid to be there.

5. Not all songs are serious.

So, country inspired music is a thing at the moment. And it's so nice to see it done well. However, when they came on for their encore, Tillman started talking about a song they had written while taking a drunken visit to the Sydney Opera House after a gig. They played some of this song for us (it apparently has 27 verses). It's called "Sexwalk." It sounded like something Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake would have written - and I mean that in the best possible way. This is not "Sexwalk" but you should definitely watch it anyway.

xx

Saturday Reads

A Beautiful Mess did a great post last week on how to approach flea market shopping - or I guess what we would call op-shopping here in Oz. I really enjoyed this, and frankly, I think a lot of it can apply to shopping in general so it's worth a read even if heading out to Vinnies or the local car boot sale isn't really your thing.

Read this post from the New York times about new love late in life - it's so beautiful! You won't regret it!

I devoured all 5 seasons of Friday Night Lights with obsessive glee...but it probably would have helped if I'd read this beginners guide to American football before hand. It really cleared things up for me (being literal, not sarcastic here). Hey, it was Superbowl week, I wanted to know the rules once and for all.

Judith Ann Braun takes finger painting to a whole new level.

I want these for my flat! So clean and cool! Although, as someone who has killed a succulent, I'm not sure if I should invest, or just accept that my thumb is really, really not green.

This article from Cracked.com on how to simplify your life is funny, well-written and choc full of good advice. I particularly like #3 "If you're jealous, you have to be jealous of everything - i.e. if you're going to be jealous of someone's career success, you also have to be jealous of the hours of study and unpaid overtime they put in to get there.

A different kind of fashion blog...

xx

These are my new favourite songs

I've been listening to these on repeat for a while now, so I thought I should probably share them with you - they are not brand spanking new, but they are pretty new. I'm particularly in love with the Solange song, and the video clip! Who is Solange? Solange is the younger sister of Beyonce Knowles - just as talented but with a very different style.

I stumbled across Flume because the album was the iTunes $9.99 album of the week. What can I say? Sometimes I feel like $16.99 is far too much to pay for a download, but I strongly believe in paying for my music - does anyone else agree? Anyway, I really, really enjoy this album and this is one of my favourite tracks. I don't often get into electro/dance music but when I do, this is the kind that gets played over and over. I feel like it's the sort of music that would get played at a cool house party in a movie (because those kinds of house parties don't actually happen in real life). And yes, for those wondering, the name is in reference to the Bon Iver song.

 

xx

Saturday Reads

So, Saturday mornings are generally when I find somewhere comfy to park myself with my laptop and a coffee and I catch up on all my favourite blogs and links that I've bookmarked or emailed to myself over the week. I guess it's my version of sitting down with the weekend papers. I thought I would start sharing some of these as a regular Saturday feature on the blog...we'll see! 

Over at Welcome to Ladyville, Kerry is talking about Jeff Goldblum. I mean really, who doesn't want to talk about Jeff Goldblum? The man is a delight.

US Vogue's latest cover lady is Rooney Mara, who I have to say, I find fairly fascinating. I think it's the eyebrows. I miss her super short fringe though - or bangs, as the northern Americans say. Plus, I find Hamish Bowles' features in Vogue a good deal less annoying than much of their stable of pet writers. 

Picture (c) Vogue.com

The Disney short Paperman is nominated for best short film at this year's Oscars and can be viewed on the inter webs for those who didn't manage to catch it before a screening of Wreck it Ralph. It is so lovely. And also, our leading man is like a 2D Jim Halpert - in other words, adorably charming. A pretty mean feat for a black and white cartoon dude who doesn't speak.

Lonely Island have a new song! "YOLO" (You only live once) is pretty much safe for work and under 18s, which is probably a first for them. Is it embarrassing that I didn't even know what YOLO meant until I watched a parody based on it? Probably. Oh well. It also features Adam Levine. I think that's pertinent information.

I recently bought a mud mask from Maeve Botanicals and I think I'm in love. It's only $14! Winning! Plus, they are 100% natural, and 100% ethical and 100% cruelty free. I like it. 

There is potentially going to be a movie of one of my favourite John Green novels, "The Fault in Our Stars." Hoorah!

Wondering how to write a good professional thank you note? Adulting has you covered.

This article about the cover image chosen for a recent reissue of The Bell Jar got me thinking about how books are marketed to women, especially young women. I know if I see a book cover with involving lipstick or shoes I don't even bother picking it up.

If I hadn't already cut my hair, I'd be going for the Karlie Kloss bob for sure.

30 Rock finishes up this week! This is a pretty good summary of the awesomeness of Tina Fey. 

xx

Life with Bird A/W 2013

We're all still hanging around in shorts and t-shirts in front of the fan and it's hard to imagine it ever being cold enough to wear winter clothes again. It always surprises me how early designers and labels start to advertise and see their winter collections - I'm just not that much of a planner when it comes to shopping (to my detriment, probably). That said, I did enjoy looking through Life With Bird's A/W 2013 collection online, and have included some favourites below. I'm really pleased to see that gorgeous, digital floral prints are sticking around - breaks up those winter blacks and greys!

For any keen beens, pre-orders open Feb 25 at www.lifewithbird.com

xx

Five things I loved: Silver Linings Playbook

I went to see this on Sunday night with a couple of my ladyfriends - yep, one word, I'm making that call - and it was one of those rare occasions where a movie lived up to my expectations. I try not to buy into hype about movies - the only thing about the Oscars that interests me is the dresses - but it's been pretty hard to ignore all the fuss about Silver Linings Playbook. Thankfully, I was not disappointed. Here are the reasons why:

1. Bradley Cooper doesn't look quite so much like a dinosaur anymore.

I understand that many, many ladies out there find B. Coops one sexy fellow. He was even declared People Magazine's sexiest man of the year recently (apparently this caused small groups of Ryan Gosling fans to protest...like, hold literal protests), but I've just never been on that particular band wagon. One of my friends commented a while ago that he reminds her of a velociraptor, and since that moment whenever I saw him in anything, that was all I could think about. The resemblance is striking, no?

Also, I think the first movie I ever saw him in was that terrible He's Just Not That Into You movie and it was not really a good introduction. However, good news! As he ages, he looks less a velociraptor. Hence, I did not spend most of the film thinking about Jurassic Park.

See? Totally not prehistoric.

 2. Happy, but sad, but happy.

If you're not familiar with the storyline of Silver Linings Playbook, I'll give you a very brief rundown. Pat (B.Coops) has just finished an 8 month court ordered stint in a mental health facility, after beating up his wife's lover and being diagnosed as bipolar. He returns to his parents' house to try to rebuild his life and his marriage and meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a young widow with her own set of problems, and things get complicated/funny/interesting. 

The film deals with some pretty heavy subject matter, but it's all addressed with just the right tone, at the right time. It wasn't always funny, but at points the whole cinema was cracking up. It wasn't always bittersweet, but there was more than one moment when I felt teary. It was the perfect level of emotional manipulation. And really, isn't that life? Sometimes funny, sometimes sad. Don't those two emotions go together like coffee and chocolate anyway?

3. Dance magic dance.

I am a sucker for a dance scene in a movie. SURPRISE! You would never have guessed, right? I'm not going to say too much because I don't want to spoil it for you, but the dance scene in this movie is pretty amazing. It's going to knock your socks off. As it should - both the actors and the characters worked very hard towards this goal.

4. Jennifer Lawrence. 

I just think she's the best. I've said it before, and I'm pretty sure I'll say it again. It helps that every time I see or read an interview with her she comes across as completely genuine and hilarious. And frankly, anyone who says that their holiday to Belize was "unbelizeable" is my kind of person. For a pretty good ode to Jen, check out this article on HelloGiggles.

Also, I think she's a stone fox and she looks really good with dark hair. Just putting that out there.

5. We are all stardust

There's a scene in the Ethan Hawke/Julie Delpy movie Before Sunrise, where Julie Delpy gets her palm read by a lady in a charming little town square somewhere in Vienna. As the palm reader walks away she reminds them both that we are all made from stardust. Silver Linings Playbook made me think of that scene because it's so accepting of every character's imperfections - not just accepting, because that can be a really passive word - it loved each character for exactly who they were. If you believe the palm reader, we are all made of stardust, all of us are special and none of us are perfect. 

xx

Enough of that funny business young lady, and get back to work.

Sometimes, you just need a laugh. Maybe you're having one of those days when you've got your cranky pants on, but you're self aware enough to know that you just need to change your focus, and you can turn your day around. It's times like these I turn to YouTube. I have a couple of favourite videos that I go back to again and again that I thought I'd share. These videos still make me laugh so hard I cry, or if I'm watching at work and trying not to be too obvious, do that silent laughing that has the potential to make water come out my nose (I know, right? Subtle).

I'm putting these up on a Tuesday because, in my opinion, Tuesday is the worst day of the week. Monday is okay because you're all refreshed from the weekend, Wednesday is hump day, Thursday is the day before Friday, and Friday is well, Friday. Tuesday is nothing. It's the a#$ end of the week (pardon my language...somewhere my Dad is shaking is head and making comments about "13 years of high school...seven years of university...") So hopefully, these will make your Tuesday a little more entertaining. Today is the day after a public holiday here in Australia - going back to work is just that much more painful after a three day weekend!

 

It's the laughing in the background in this one - gets me every time!

xx

(not Codfish Joe).

Five things I loved: Band of Horses

I went to see Band of Horses at the Enmore Theatre here in Sydney on Tuesday night. It's the third or fourth time I've seen them, and if possible, I think I love them even more now. It was an amazing show, absolutely worth staying out on a school night for.

1. The band members just love each other SO MUCH.

There are few things better than watching a band play, who just really freakin' love playing music with each other. Band of Horses have had a changing lineup over the years, with frontman Ben Bridwell remaining the beating heart of the group, however they've been pretty stable recently. It seems like they've found their rhythm as a little musical family. Ben hugged his fellow band members multiple times - really spontaneous "I just really love you man" type hugs. 

2. Amusing lyrical substitution.

"Marry Song" from their sophomore album (and my personal favourite) Cease to Begin opens (usually) with the line "I'll marry my lover, in a place to admire." However, on Tuesday night Bridwell took it upon himself to sing the song as an ode to his impressively* bearded guitarist Tyler Ramsey - "I'll marry my Tyler." LOLs. 

3. We know you have favourite songs - don't worry, we'll play them.

I like it when bands recognise the songs that helped build their audience and find success without resentment. Even if you don't know Band of Horses, odds are you've heard "The Funeral" before in a TV show or film - I think it's even been in a video game. They introduced it with a good natured nod to the audience, playing it as beautifully as ever. The setlist was a perfect combination of material from their four albums, leaving out none of the crowd favourites. 

4. Ben Bridwell's voice.

It's kind of different. Unusual. A bit nasal, frankly. But it's beautiful and emotive. The man has a gift.

I also highly recommend checking out this interview and video on Pure Volume - Bridwell is an interesting guy, and behind all the beard and tattoos is widely known to be one of the happiest and most courteous performers out there. The video following the article is a live, acoustic version of one of my favourite tracks on Mirage Rock (their latest album) "Slow Cruel Hands of Time." Seriously worth watching, especially with the snow-capped Wyoming mountains in the background.

5. Ben Bridwell looks like a Muppet.

He just does. And to me, there is no greater compliment. Who doesn't want to be a Muppet?

xx

* that was a sarcastic "impressively." I have no time for this hirsute trend of bushranger beards and wish it would go away.

Sunday Somethings

This is the first Sunday Somethings of 2013, no? I'm simultaneously surprised that we are halfway through January and also that we are ONLY halfway through January, if that makes sense. Christmas and the new year seem so long ago. I guess that's what happens, holidays finish, we go back to work and our routines continue. As a Taurus, I don't really think that's such a bad thing. Routine! Stability! These things make me feel pretty comfortable and I go about my life with lower stress levels if I can count on them.

1. Browsing arts

I would like to purchase some art for my flat sometime this year. As I know very little about art, I feel like this is going to be a purchase that I will spend a fair amount of time researching and planning before I outlay any cash. Not that I'm planning to spend heaps of money or anything, but it will hang in my home so I want it to be a considered purchase. At the moment I'm surprising myself by my own interest in abstract painting. 

Painting by Elizabeth Chapman. Check out her etsy store here and her website here.

2. Shoes

I don't buy shoes unless I have to. Any other kind of clothing I happily purchase on a want not need basis, but shoes are definitely a needs based thing. I just find so many of them ugly and uncomfortable - I'm not into the clompy platform heels that won't seem to go away, and a good pair of flats is hard to find. I'm kind of stealing this from Georgia, but she recently ordered some shoes from The Horse, and I am having shoe jealousy. They are having a sale. Could this be love?

3. The Staves

I just did a quick search, and I'm surprised I haven't mentioned this band on the blog before as there was a few weeks there when was listening to them non stop. They are three sisters from the UK who sing folk music. Their music is gentle and lovely, sometimes just what I need to ease me into the day on my commute to work.

    

Their album is not yet available on Australian iTunes which is a bit annoying, but they have a few EPs that I highly recommend! 

 4. Stickygram

I recently used Stickygram to order two sheets of magnets with photos from my Instagram feed printed on them. One sheet for me, and the other for Mum as part of her birthday present. It was so quick and easy! At $14.95 a sheet and with free postage I thought it was a pretty good deal as well. The pictures I chose for mum are mostly from her garden - one of my favourite places to photograph!

xx

Missing Children

I've mentioned before that blogging is fun because I get to write about the stuff that I like, with no reason required other than "because I can." If anyone was thinking of arguing with me about this, I will closely follow that with a "you're not the boss of me" and then a "you don't know my life." You've been warned.

One of the things I like about life is the wonderful and talented friends I've been fortunate enough to meet along the journey so far. The sole purpose of this particular post is to introduce you to some of them too.

Today we have the delightful Missing Children. It's been fun watching these guys grow over the last couple of years that I've known them as a band, both literally and figuratively. I mean, they are all adults so no one is getting any taller, but they have certainly grown in number. When my friend joined as cellist a couple of years ago they were an ensemble of three - guitar, vocals and cello - and have since added drums, bass, more guitars to create a more layered, intricate sound. I'm very terrible at accurately pinpointing genres and influences so I'm just going to say have a listen instead. 

   

You can purchase "Papertrail" on iTunes here and find them on Facebook here to find about upcoming gigs around Sydney. 

Enjoy!

xx

Insert "polka dots" pun here.

No, I didn't forget to write a title for this post. I just couldn't bring myself to call it something like "going dotty for polka dots", so I decided to let your own clever brains think of something better. Good move, am I right?

Anyway. ANYWAY. I like polka dots. I like printed pants. I like that the two have joined forces. I originally fell in love with with them after stumbling across the below picture on Atlantic-Pacific.

Picture courtesy of atlantic-pacific.blogspot.com.au

I'm still searching for a mustard or yellow pair, so let me know if you find them somewhere! However, I've found some other good options below, that I am tempted to investigate further. And by investigate, I mean purchase. I love the idea of styling them with stripes. I think they key would be to make sure the stripes are really thick, to prevent things looking too busy.

Spots and stripes by carolinelt featuring ankle length pants

xx

Beauty tips that I actually found helpful. No really.

Every now and then it becomes glaringly apparent to me, that just because someone is employed in a particular occupation doesn't mean that they are any good at it. I'm sure you've all experienced this in some form or another, or maybe you've even been that person? I know I sure have been. I was once told by a restaurant manager that I wasn't "a natural waitress." It was a comment that was probably unfair at the time, given it was my first time waitressing. Thankfully however, I saw the humour in it and never spent any time berating myself for my lack of success in that arena. 

The start of the new year always finds the internet flooded with new-year themed articles from beauty and style writers. I recently clicked on one titled "Top Beauty Tips for 2013." Cool, I thought to myself - I'm stuck in a bit of a makeup rut and maybe this will provide some ideas about new things to try. I was so disappointed...so, so, disappointed. I'm not exaggerating here - some of these "Top Trends" included "wearing sunscreen" and "washing your face." Now, I'm not saying that these aren't good things to do on a daily basis, they absolutely are, but I would tend to categorise these under the heading of "common sense" or maybe "personal hygiene" rather than "top tips."

So, as a lot of us do when we are in a situation like this, I thought to myself "They got paid for that? I can do better than that!" And hopefully I have - here are some tips that I've come across that I have actually found helpful -  I hope you do too.

1. Keep your eyeliner pencil in the freezer.

I know, right? It sounds whack. But it actually makes perfect sense - eyeliner pencils are always soft and smudgy, and sometimes this makes it really hard to draw a precise line. Storing your eyeliner in the freezer will harden the pencil and help you create a look that is sharp and clean - perfect for work, when you're probably not going for the smokey, smudgy look. Probably. I mean, I don't know your life.

2. Do your eye makeup first.

I was a bit of a late bloomer when it came to makeup, and never really had anyone show me what to do or how to do it. There were certainly no YouTube tutorials to help me out. I just bought some makeup and off I went. I'm sure this contributed to some odd looks and odd habits over the years. I always, always used to start with foundation and then go from there - I mean, it makes sense semantically - the foundation always goes first. BUT, when you do your eyes first, you can then clean up any smudges or mistakes without the hassle of redoing your foundation. Totally sensical. 

3. All you need to exfoliate is olive oil and sugar.

In the past, I have spent crazy amounts of money on facial scrubs and body scrubs. I've never found a cheap one that actually did the job, and the expensive ones well, they're expensive. When someone told me how easy it was to make your own at home, I was completely won over. All you need is a jar, some olive oil and some raw sugar. I say raw sugar, because white or brown sugar are too soft and you won't get that really scrubby texture that gets rid of the dead skin cells. Added bonus, you can play with the ratio of oil to sugar until you get the texture that you prefer!

xx