Diversions

Back home

2012-05-30T08:00:00.000+01:00

As you can see the weather was glorious on my Austrian weekend.
I booked the flight on short notice to visit my grandma (Oma that is) in hospital. Luckily she is recovering well. I expect she will be back home doting on her cat soon, so that put a really positive note on my brief visit.

My parents claimed the little remaining time to treat me to some shopping. Who am I to argue? We went back to the H. Moser outlet (where I got my other Dirndls) just outside of Salzburg (in Eugendorf, in case you ever find yourself in the region). Every time I go there I forget that they size everything down and get all mopey about all the pretty dresses not my size. That is until I finally realise they totally are my size after all! Such a lucky bastard, me. So I got this pretty pink number and a spare apron and blouse too. I won't run out of different ways to wear this in a hurry.

While it was only a brief visit, I still found time to saunter up the local hill together with my Dad and his camera.
How lucky a kid was I to have this as my stomping ground?

Falling over: A sure sign of too much posing for the darn camera :D

I was a little shocked to find that most of the dairy farms around the area had shut down and while many families still keep some horses and a couple of cows, there is no way to make farming pay for itself unless you turn your stables into a milk or meat factory. As a friend of mine put it: "The farmers that are left don't even know how many cows they have in their stables". The interwebs tells me that since I left the country over a decade ago, the number of dairy farms in Austria has halved. I guess I've been gone a long time.

Check it out: Before it turned into a shed this was my play house, built especially by my Dad :) Pretty luxurious, huh?

My parents are crazy into their gorgeous garden and have lots of sculptures scattered throughout the luscious greenery :)

I can't wait to go over there again. Especially as soon as this visit was so family orientated and while that's awesome, I am itching to catch up with friends too :)

There are more (non-outfit) photos from my trip on my brand spanking new instagram account. You can find me under "wonkystef" or via my followgram.

dress: present (h moser)
ring: market stall
flats: primark

Hazy Daze: Diesig

2012-05-28T08:00:00.000+01:00

So, as soon as I'll be on a flying visit to Austria as this post goes live, I figured I'd feature a token bit of German in the title.

A number of my colleagues are based in Germany, but regularly join us in our English office. So when one of them commented on how "diesig" it was out, I realised I'd forgotten all about the German word for "hazy". It's been lodged in my mind ever since. Whatever else I am thinking about, it'll randomly pop into my mind: Die-sig. (dee-sig) I guess I like the sound of it :)

In Cambridge the rain finally stopped and has been replaced by a heavy heat. Well, it's pretty diesig. You could cut yourself a slice of air. No complaints here though, I absolutely love it. Here's hoping it's also nice and warm where I am going (or I guess.. where I already am and am about to return from today ;))

dress & pistachio tights: eBay
cardi: asda
ring & earrings: present
brooch & bangle: etsy
clogs: moheda

Automatic

2012-05-26T08:00:00.000+01:00

I always feel a bit of a skank standing around in public striking the above pose, but what can you do? It's a compulsion: When I am wearing a crop sweater I just have to ;)

Nothing much else to report.
If I haven't found time to swap out this text I must be pretty busy over in Austria. I am on a real brief visit to family over there. Not that any of you guys saw this coming, the way I've been harping on about the place recently ;)

Diversions will be running on automatic until Wednesday, hope you have a fab time until then :)
So long!

sweater: h&m
skirt: etsy
shoes: office

Accidental holiday

2012-05-24T17:44:00.000+01:00

It would appear summer has landed around here :)
Meanwhile I am off to pack for some unplanned travel

I know it is probably a little bit early for this, but: Have a most excellent weekend you-all!

hat & brooch: h&m
cardi: h&m donkeys years back
dress: etsy
tights: primark
boots: eBay

Filing cabinets

2012-05-22T17:23:00.002+01:00

Me, I speak before I think. When I first meet people I am all quiet introvert. I am a listener who can keep a secret and gives away little about herself. But then, eventually, when I finally feel like I got the measure of you: The other shoe drops and like Dr. J. transforming into Mr. H., without warning, I turn into a loud mouth. Sometimes I really wish I could get myself to stick with a more measured approach: You know, that fabled golden middle.

When I was growing up I was forever reinventing myself. If there was a trait I disliked about myself I'd pretend I was some other little girl who did not possess this unwanted attribute. I did this with such gusto, sometimes I felt like I was my very own science project.

I've been reminiscing a lot just lately. Thinking back to my childhood. I've always been real good at looking forward not back. Don't get me wrong, my future has never looked rosier, but they're a funny thing, memories. They fluctuate, they warp like old wood left out in the rain. Like a magician's rabbit they disappear only to re-emerge when you least expect them to. And here I am thinking to myself: "How'd I forget all that stuff and never even realise something was missing back here, in my internal filing cabinets?"

But then I know this is the same for almost everybody. No total recall for me :) Just colourful little tableaus, moments like faded Polaroids, and not a clue which order they go in.

Memories have always fascinated me. The way they come and go, their unreliability, subjectivity. How they can go from faded to VIVID! and then merge into the background all over again.

Our minds are pretty rad like that, no?

dress: heartbreakers
scarf: tie rack
pins: etsy
ring: DIY
bracelets: etsy & market stall
sweater: h&m
flats: primark

More weather

2012-05-20T19:21:00.000+01:00

I had some more fun with the nail guides Kaylah recommended.

Sunshine still eludes us around here, although the rain has transformed from ferocious downpours to tedious drizzle. So guess what: I've been spending even more time on youtube. Some new favourites are embedded below :)

Happy Sunday :)

jacket: tulle via modcloth
blouse: h&m years ago
sweater: asda a couple of years ago
brooch: etsy
earrings: accessorize looong ago
skirt: next via eBay (dyed)
flats: primark

If I were a superhero I'd be the procrastinator

2012-05-18T08:00:00.000+01:00

When it comes to keeping in touch with friends.. I am a real flake. Abominable actually. It's not that I don't think of them and wonder how they are doing, it's the actual keeping in touch part I am nightmarishly bad at.

Over the past couple of weeks I finally sent a slew of long overdue emails. Apologising profusely for my radio silence and updating old friends on what's been happening in my life over the past year.. or two.

Once I actually stop worrying about it and just get in contact already! it's absolutely awesome to find out what everybody has been up to. Catching up rules.. It's easy once you get a round tuit.

Anyway, I feel just a little smug about my current lack of interpersonal procrastination*. Hell, since getting a smart phone I've even been answering text messages (yes, I have a history of shying away from phones too).

In fact, that smart phone has made all the difference: Take it from me, it's an invaluable tool for the socially inapt. I mean, I actually check my emails numerous times a day now, back when I had a "phone-phone" I'd leave my inbox to fester for weeks or months at a time (just like my facebook account). I am sure the socially capable can appreciate smart phones too, but I wouldn't know about that ;D

So, does keeping in touch with other humanoids come easy to you, or do you have to give your own arm a sharp twist like I do?

*okay, okay - there are still a couple more emails to write

sweater & brooch: etsy
jacket: topshop years ago
skirt: present - A most lovely colleague of mine had a wardrobe clear out the other day and brought in a bag of goodies for the rest of us. I scored this awesome skirt :)
tights: eBay

Feeling beige

2012-05-16T08:00:00.000+01:00

Usually putting together an outfit is a quick thing for me: I'll put on a pair of tights, a skirt or a dress and then go from there adding matching bits until I am dressed. Not on Saturday just gone though. Oh no.

I picked out a dress, belt and scarf, only to realised I'd neglected my hand laundry to the point where I had no tights that fitted the bill. So I started over. I put on another dress and.. fell short again. Flummoxed, I decided I was having a beige day. Albeit a dotty one.

Dot-wise I reckon I still qualify as a children's book illustration, despite the lack of colour :D

And just so you know: I bit the hand laundry bullet. My bathroom is now chock full of drip drying tights.

denim jacket: eBay
blouse & skirt: h&m years and years and years ago
tights: present (h&m)
clogs: torpa toffeln

Buffalo

2012-05-14T08:00:00.000+01:00

I waited a good long while to wear this dress.
I bought it last winter (the vast majority of my summer dresses were bought on dreary winter days) and have been waiting for the return of sunshine and my summer waistline. Saturday just gone I finally got to take it for a spin :)

I got some nail guides on Kaylah's recommendation. When it comes to painting your nails I always take her word for it, so it didn't come as a surprise when I found these to be all kinds of awesome.

And as soon as I have little else to tell you guys, I'll just leave you with some music.
The Buffalo Analog is a recent find for me:

Some of their songs (especially these) kinda remind me of
Austrian band Sofa Surfers:

Have a great start to the week!

dress & camera ring: eBay
scarf: present
cardi: new look
earrings: DIY (buttons)

Fashion: An assignment

2012-05-12T07:55:00.000+01:00

Avy of My Mother Fucked Mick Jagger dared all us bloggers to write about what fashion means to us. You can read what she has to say on the subject here.

When I was a kindergartener my favourite dress was made from thick blue denim. I can feel it on my skin just thinking about it. Of course at three I did not care about my looks, but there was a certain comfort to that particular garment that just made me a little bit happier just for wearing it.

Later I went through a period of trying my damnedest to blend in. Let me give you a taste of just how futile an endeavour this was: I was cross eyed for one (still am), I was freakishly taller than my peers, clumsy, talked to myself A LOT (still do) and to boot I sounded like a foreigner (my parents brought me up to speak standard German rather than the local dialect). I stuck out like a sore thumb, even in blue jeans and grey t-shirts.
Mediocrity. Oh, how I longed for you!

The thing is, when you wrap yourself in blandness you attract bland people. You still meet amazing people too of course, regardless of what you're wearing. But, when I finally found the guts to wear what I like, I soon realised that wearing colourful, bold garments actually makes people who are petrified of everything out of the ordinary recoil. Keep their distance.
If I hid myself in plain clothes they'd spend weeks or even months getting to know me before realising I offend their sensibilities to the very core (And on that note: Offence is not something that is given, people just take it). What a lot of precious time I am saving both them and me!

So these days I wear my otherness on my sleeve (in reds and greens and blues and purples, in novelty prints and dead old lady's dresses). And sometimes random strangers smile at me, because I am a pop of colour on a cold, grey day. And isn't that just the best?

When I got my nesting doll tattoo touched up a couple of months after I'd had it done, the tattoo artist (Alex) asked me whether I'd gotten used to it yet. Whether it felt like part of me yet.
To be honest, as soon as I had decided on the design, the spot where it would be started to feel peculiar: Like there was a birth mark missing I knew ought to be there. But I didn't say that.
I told her that we don't get to choose our bodies. With the exclusion of the lines that appear on our faces over time; Our bodies, they say nothing about our personality. But we get to choose little adornments such as tattoos, so we can make our flesh say a tiny little bit about us after all. So this skin we're in looks like home.

I feel the same way about clothing. It's not just to keep me covered and warm. It's so I get to recognise myself in the mirror. That girl looking like she's just walked out of a children's picture book, that's me: Hello! I am bold and colourful. I am a dreamer and an escapist. I am playful and just a little bit strange.

What does fashion mean to you?

Drill bit

2012-05-10T08:00:00.000+01:00

Sick of flat rainy day images? Boy, am I ever!
I know the soil can really do with the downpours we've been having but my disposition is starting to match the low light.

Meh. I got these nail transfers on etsy. While they are easy to apply and I love the motifs I am not so sure how I feel about the way the edges show. I'll use them all for sure, but I don't think I'll go back for more.

Also, I applied them selfishly: They're right side up to me, but upside down to anyone else looking.
Self absorbed? Me? Why, never!

Mind you, there is an upside to awful weather:
Time to trawl grooveshark and youtube for new to me music.

Here is a chirpy track:

I have really gotten into Gold Panda something chronic. Now, most of the tunes are really, really laid back. This one isn't quite as much and also very repetitive, but it's my favourite:

Now, a word of warning to the melodically inclined:
Lately I've been in the mood for music reminiscent of somebody drilling your skull. If you also wish to have your skull drilled, Crystal Castles are for you:

What music have you been into recently?

beret & fairy pink tights: eBay
scarf: present
dress: h&m years ago
coat & mittens: primark
jelly heels: melissa via eBay

Österreicherin

2012-05-08T08:00:00.000+01:00

Servas you all!

I rarely get a chance to wear my choker - or as they call it in Austria: goitre necklace. I went into Austria overload with this outfit: Complete with flag nails and a Schilling (currency prior to the Euro) ring.

The flower on the coin is Edelweiss (Leontopodium Alpinum), Austria's national flower.

This is exactly the kind of thing I would so not wear in Austria :D
Feeling comfortable in this get up requires the sort of national pride only a decade's absence could inspire in me.

That said, I never once considered giving up my nationality, eventhough I don't intend to return for more than the occasional holiday.

Years and years ago one of my teachers, originally from France, was outraged when we asked her if she'd thought of becoming Austrian. She'd lived in the country all her adult life. I was baffled at the time. It just didn't seem to make sense to hold on to your nationality when you've chosen not to live in your home country. But, I guess I get it now. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. And that's all there really is to it.

Baba and pfiat euch until next time :)

hat: present when I was a toddler
dirndl dress: Moser outlet
denim jacket: eBay
choker: present
ring: DIY
clogs: Moheda

No, not my Mom

2012-05-06T08:00:00.000+01:00

[..] someone asked me "have you ever had a dream so real you were sure you were awake". I wanted to say how I wish life felt as real as my dreams do, but I didn't want to be reminded
from My Mother Fucked Mick Jagger | Dreams

Not so long ago I received a lovely comment telling me my outfit was adorable, followed by a blog link: How could I have not click the words "My Mother Fucked Mick Jagger"?

My Mother Fucked Mick Jagger is one young woman's diary (think Bret Easton Ellis in bite sized instalments) and I am totally hooked.

If, like me, you enjoy Avy's writing, you really ought to start at the beginning and read your way towards the present. Some blogs, like mine, you can dip in and out of. But doing that here would be like opening random pages of a novel and fooling yourself that you've read the whole book.

[..] I turn to him and say "you don't make her happy, so why are you here?" Smiling, he calmly answers "all happy families are alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way".
from My Mother Fucked Mick Jagger | Confusion

In a lot of ways it reminded me of my own diary. Not this one. The other, the secret one. More polished, sure. Entirely different circumstances too. But the emotion (and absences) that I recognise. As I was reading I kept feeling tempted to send this blogger an excerpt of my own private thoughts. A payment in kind for the reading pleasure. An odd sort of "You showed me yours, so I'll show you mine" gesture. See, I am back to the old snowflake theory all over again!

It must be quite something to share your innermost thoughts online. As much as I feel drawn to doing just that, the lack of control inherent in this openness makes me shiver. Definitely not something I'd have the guts for.

So, as soon as I am not about to let you guys take a peek at my uncensored Self (not sugar and spice, that's for sure), I figured I'd at least point you in Avy's direction.
You're in for a real treat :)

beret: accessorize (a long time ago)
top: h&m (even looonger)
skirt: etsy
trainers: eBay

Red marks on my nose left by my spectacles edited with clone stamp.
I left the bags under my eyes for you though.

Stef Likes This

2012-05-04T08:04:00.000+01:00

After days and days of rain these jelly heels really came into their own. Stomp through muddy woods and wipe clean in seconds: Genius.

After years of sneering at facebook, logging into my account only once every three or four months and periodically deactivating it, I appear to be getting hooked after all.

It's nice to be able to keep up with old friends in Austria or, at least sneak a peek at what's going on in their lifes these days :) So really I guess I am just a snoopy bastard!

Nearly the weekend you all - make it a good one :)

beret & camera ring: eBay
coat: tesco
scarf: asda
sweater & tights: h&m
dress: knitted dove via modcloth
brooch: ark cambridge
jelly heels: melissa via eBay

Furniture: My grown up life so far

2012-05-02T08:00:00.000+01:00

I am putting together an About Me section, so the other day I asked you guys if there was anything in particular you'd like to know. A couple of the things you asked about didn't have a straight forward answer, so rather than turn the "About Me" into a long and sprawling digest of my adult life so far, I figured I'd do that to this post instead :D

Here goes: How I came to be an Austrian in England, how I met my husband and more..

After a decade of being teacher's pet my mood and marks had slipped into oblivion in my mid teens.

I was attending business college and in my third year of five I found it impossible to pass all thirteen courses.
Let me explain: In Austria you pick between different types of schools at age fourteen: Business, hospitality, trade school, etc. Each comes with a rigid set of compulsory subjects pertaining to that field.
Unfortunately, if you fail one you retake them all. French was my Achilles heel.

French, and the mind numbing cocktail of psychotropics I was prescribed on account of my overwhelming teenage ANGST!

Well, when things started to look up regarding my nihilist teenage nightmare, I decided to switch to business school (business college light) which I could complete that same year. Au revoir Francais!

Business school left me with a slew of certificates, none of which qualified me to apply to university. So, with my parents' support I headed for England to study, and study the subjects of my choice only! But from the start I knew I would probably stay after leaving full time education. It only seemed natural.

Shortly before turning nineteen I boarded a one way flight to England and checked into a Cambridge youth hostel, which I called my home until I found more permanent accommodation. I worked as a cleaner in the very same over the course of that summer and became fast friends with the other staff. I'll have you know, nobody makes one hundred bunk beds quicker than me. ;)

Even after I moved out of the dormitories and swapped my cleaning job for full-time education that autumn (sixth-form college: the final two school years before university) I remained a permanent fixture at the house the youth hostel staff shared. I only left to sleep and go to college. See, what with a house full of shift workers it was always somebody's weekend, which led to a year round party. Somebody leaving for work meant it was home time for someone else. I wasn't the only permanent house guest either: There were others like me who didn't live there, but the neighbours probably thought we did.

One day a new face answered the door for me. I pushed past unceremoniously, explaining "I am furniture" as I disappeared down the hallway. The new guy, David, and I soon became close friends, initial rudeness on my part aside.

As for college: I was going to study two computing related subjects, 20th century American History and Mixed Media Art, but one of my two IT courses was overbooked so I signed up for Photography on a whim. Told you, chance is a beauty.

During school holidays I'd return to work at the youth hostel reception and after getting my A-Levels I took a year out working there full time.

Around this time David and I appeared to run out of things to talk about. Two years after I'd given him the furniture treatment, two years of constant chatter, and there we were, dumbstruck. Loooooooong silences.
One day I waved to him from the first floor window as he was leaving for work. In one swift movement I knocked my glasses right off my nose. My specs fell out that window, bounced once and were no more. I was stuck in a blurry, distorted world that day. No spare pair you ask? Well, I did have one, but I had recently broken those when knocking myself over the head with a hoover. That evening David took me out in a feat to distract me from half blind gloom. We'd spent most evenings together for the past two years, but this time it was a date. And that was that.

The following year we moved up North together, where I studied for my BA (Hons) in Photography and Digital Imaging. After graduation we returned to Cambridge and got hitched. At the Youth Hostel of course. :D

After uni I returned to work at the hostel one final time and over the course of a year I took hundreds of portraits of the tourists and migrants passing through. Check them out here. Once I had completed my project I took a job in Drug Safety and that's where I am still to be found from nine to five.

I chose not to make photography my bread and butter as I was worried I wouldn't find the energy to create personal work if I were already spending all day on assignment. Now that I'll soon have space to break out my studio gear once again, I am stoked to get back into the swing of it.

It's hard to believe I've been in this country for over a decade already. That also means I have been "officially all grown up" for just as long. I expect it'll never stop feeling like I am only pretending to be an adult. I sure wouldn't want that. Growing up is for kids.

dress & cardi clips:etsy
belt: h&m
cardi: asda
scarf: primark
clogs: torpatoffeln

Nailed it

2012-04-30T10:00:00.000+01:00

As soon as the rain hasn't let up just yet I figured I'd ~~regurgitate~~ collect a few of my favourite nail dos from the past year :)

I've spent the dreary weekend watching images flicker across the TV with my headphones on. Sooo relaxing. I listened to Beach Fossils, The Black Keys, The National and new to me Zola Jesus and I Break Horses. (a video for each is embedded below)

Zola Jesus is becoming a fast favourite.
There are few things quite as uplifiting as finding new music :D

Have a great start to the week! :)

Heavy showers

2012-04-29T10:00:00.000+01:00

I managed to snap a couple of photos between downpours just before my appointment at the tattoo parlour last Thursday. I am a stickler for varying backdrops, but on this occasion I think I'll give myself a free pass :)

I swear I get outfit photo withdrawal when the weather keeps me indoors. Of course I can't write that without smiling to myself about the prospect of owning a ~~garage~~ studio. I am one lucky blogger :)

On a non weather or house related note:
I am in the process of putting together a little "about me" page. Anything in particular you'd like to know? Give me a shout and I'll be sure to include the answer(s) :)

hat: eBay
coat: tesco
blouse: tara starlet
cardi & mittens: primark
litho pins, ring & skirt: etsy
tights: h&m
clogs: torpatoffeln

Touch up

2012-04-27T10:00:00.000+01:00

The other day I took a half day holiday to get my new tattoo touched up :D

I had a look through some magazines while waiting for my appointment. The suit wearing tree really caught my eye :)

Any Ren & Stimpy fans amongst you? The Log tat rather tickled me. BLAMMO!

Alex at work :)

The design for my nesting dolls is by Mara Murphy and Anna Branning of Dutch Door Press and it was tattooed by Alex Hugianu. I'll be posting some more about my nesting dolls once they are healed (again!).

I think it's time to amputate a juicy arm from my aloe right about now. The perfect remedy for burns and as it turns out, not at all bad for helping along healing tattoos either..

Happy Friday :)
Have a stonking great weekend!

Subject to weather conditions

2012-04-26T15:25:00.000+01:00

The lighting was a little changeable last Thursday, hey?
We've been having plenty of April showers. For the past week sunny intervals have been few and far between heavy downpours and consta-drizzle. It better let up soon or I'll have to have a photo-shortage induced blog holiday :D

On the other hand, I do love watching fast moving clouds. See, Cambridge is flat as a pancake, so the sky is wide open. The full length windows at my office are perfect for watching storms gather. Quite the treat (as long as my mind doesn't skip ahead to the bike ride home) .

Farewell for now, weather permitting I'll see you all on Saturday!

beret & skirt (dyed): eBay
cardi: asda
blouse: etsy (clever nettle)
flats: primark

Those tights..

2012-04-24T14:00:00.000+01:00

These wrinkly tights, they are going in the bin. No mercy.

After about a year of (near as) constant wear, my H&M Hasbeens are falling to pieces.

I was indignant when I found the same clogs (unused) on eBay at four times the original retail price. It was always going to happen but I got all ruffled anyway. I'd briefly considered buying a few extra pairs when I ordered my H&M Swedish Hasbeens collaboration clogs last year. As a little investment. I don't know, the whole idea made me feel kinda sleazy. Cut-me-own-throat-Dibbler eat your heart out. Still, it would have been prudent.

Short story l o n g , those H&Ms Have been, long live my Torpatoffeln.

In other news, I'll be getting my tattoo touched up this week! By the time that's healed it should be warm enough to leave off tights now and then :)

dress: h&m (a few years)
scarf: present
dala horse brooch: etsy
jumper: asda
clogs: torpatoffeln (via lotta)

Roll

2012-04-23T08:00:00.000+01:00

We're still blissed out over the prospect of moving house. Not that we dislike our shoebox, but a little extra space will go a long way :) Space for a freezer and a microwave for instance, neither of which we could fit in our current home. Little extra amenities. Enough floor space to do a large collage. No more contracts prohibiting anything be hung on the walls, no more inspections.. Simply dizzying.

Friday night, while I was watching a lame game show called pointless:

I got Rick rolled by the BBC
Thought I'd spread the love around :D

Have a great start to the week!

Casual Friday

2012-04-21T13:15:00.000+01:00

I rarely feel casual on Fridays, but last week I did.
Totally casual Velcro trainers (which never came out of my bag at Glasto but got a little mud on them anyway :D) Still over a year to go until next time. Not that I am counting down..

Well, the house hunt appears to be over. Subject to contract. And there is a garage! Where we live now there is no space to unpack my portable studio kit. It's been resting in it's body bag for a good five years. Time to wake up :)

Happy weekend!

t-shirt & coat: some supermarket
cardi: modcloth
skirt (dyed) & trainers: ebay

Sounds legit

2012-04-18T17:43:00.002+01:00

I've been daydreaming my head off lately. While carrying out repetitive tasks (CTRL+C CTRL+V), when I am editing images or cycling into town, I am always making up little stories to entertain myself.

There's a core set of characters I've put through various hardships over the years. Three generations of them. Occasionally they get to watch morning light filter through dusty net curtains while sipping at gloriously fragrant cups of black coffee, but most days into battle they go. Guerrilla style. Don’t throw them a pity party yet though, more often than not I bestow handy superpowers upon them. As much a curse as a blessing for some. *cue over dramatic musical score*
As you can see, my mind is about as literary as B-movie formula.

Once I tire of a storyline I reset my miniature universe. Changes in the political situation and infrastructure, a new origin story for a couple of characters. I don’t make their imaginary lives easy but still, I am oddly protective of the lot of them.

Is that a strange pastime? Probably not. My Tumblr stream insists we're all chock-full of secret imaginary worlds.
Sounds legit. :D

Of course I am also daydreaming about garages turned photographic studio, but that’s a whole nother story.

hat, scarf & cardi: h&m
brooch: self assembly :D
dress: eBay (thefrippe)
flats: primark

Weekends

2012-04-16T20:08:00.000+01:00

Now that we are motorised once more we've been catching up on some long outstanding visits (though there are plenty more friends around the country we are yet to descend upon)

Not so long ago we visited friends in Birmingham and last week we invaded a Mancunian home overrun with Daleks.

Clent Hill: I really enjoyed hopping and tripping across the root work of these trees. The bottom third is barely in shot in the image with tiny blob me.

It’s been years since I set foot in a brick and mortar bead shop :) So many goodies ready for assembly.

Easter bunny surprise :) Rocket... ~~man~~ insect?. All the other creatures in the series seem to be insects. A ladybug, a fly, bee and even a grasshopper. All quite identifiable. But not this one. What is he? Well, in any case he's got a rocket!

I would recommend Uncle Joe's Balls. Not least because it just sounds so wrong. The Winter Nips too.

Nine Volt

2012-04-14T18:26:00.000+01:00

We spent last weekend in Manchester and Birmingham and returned home on Monday to see Orbital at the corn exchange. Tuesday I was back at work but it's been a lazy week other than that :)

I finally bought a nine volt battery to power the little house. A few lamps here and there will certainly give it a more lived in feel in photos :)

I also got a couple of brooches to assemble after an encounter with a brick and mortar bead shop. There used to be one in town but not for a long while. It was Candyland.

Well, I'll lodge myself back into that sofa with a cup of tea right about now. And try not to obsess about houses (little or large). Have a most excellent weekend!

beret: eBay
dress: tara starlet (altered)
cardi: asda
tights: welovecolors
clogs: h&m hasbeens