Dear 2009

Love,

Kit

50 Weekend Reads

I quite enjoyed putting together a little weekend reading list for you the other week, but since I've been without internet for FAR too long (almost 2 weeks, gasp!) my Google Reader is literally bursting at the seams.

Luckily for us all however, the marvellous Lynne Robinson of Tea For Joy compiled an amazing list of 50 of the World's Best Design Blogs for Times Online. The list is full of so many familiar names, including Aussies Daydream Lily, Pia Jane Bijkerk, The Style Files, and the half Australian/half Canadian powerhouse of Desire to Inspire, so go check it out and add some more loveliness to your weekend!

Meanwhile, if anyone wants me I'll be in my apartment, still surrounded by half unpacked boxes, but pretending I'm actually in that gorgeous netted set as styled by the remarkable Faye Toogood!

Here's a little more for good measure...

...and if thats not quite enough, add a lengthy visit to her portfolios (yes, multiple folios of abundant talent!) to your To Do list - her work is mindblowing!

[Found via Zinke]

Tis the Season

I've been a little silent on the festive season front this December, but I promise you I'm not a Scrooge! I've been starring away lovely slices of Christmas cheer the whole time, but sans internet and immune system, I haven't been able to share them all with you. So I'm going to begin now, a little late, but with conviction!

How amazing are these baubles by Brooklyn-based Land-Rich? I found these little guys on Daydream Lily and I can't stop marvelling at them. I'm making a mental note to attempt to DIY something like this next Christmas....(yes, one of my new year's resolutions is to improve my memory - ha!)

Loving the reclaimed look in this image from Tine K via The Style Files. As much as I love my baubles and my little plastic Christmas tree, I do quite like decorations that can be used all year round too! I'd happily have this setting in my home.

I love this whole setting via erin.ever.after & Lovely Little Things. It's a little bit rustic, a little bit glamourous, and a whole lot of pretty! The oversized frame is the perfect final detail...I'm adding this to my 2010 To Purchase list (which is growing exponentially by the day!)

This beautiful image by Chris Everard (via Bits of Beauty) is just all-out, delightfully impractical decadence. It's clearly an exercise in styling and photography as opposed to interiors, but just to be clear, don't try this at home!

And now the inevitable onslaught of white goodness begins! I'm swooning over this image from the society inc. - my new obsession thanks to {this is glamorous} (the store is just around the corner from me...hello impending debt!) One day I'm going to live in a house with a turret, timber floorboards, and a fireplace. And that fireplace is going to look like this.

Or I might alternate my mantlepiece to look a little like this image by Sarah Hogan via Delight by Design. I love the idea of recycling paperbacks into simple but stunning decorations. It's the perfect way to finally put my copy of He's Just Not That Into You to good use! Wait, should I even admit that I own that book? Okay, forget that last bit. This never happened.

Meanwhile, the textures in this wrapping from Grey Likes Weddings is just to die for. I want to touch it. I want to hold it. I want to hug it. Much like I want to hug Grey Likes Weddings. I know it's a little strange to want a hold an intangible piece of the interwebs, but I do. Even if you're not a closet wedding obsessee like yours truly, you should go over and check it out, but be prepared to stay a while!

Last but not least, white on white (on cream on white) via Country Living & Verdigris Vie. I love how bright and fresh these images are, but I ponder how clumsy I am and how I could never keep so many light surfaces clean...and then I look at my brand new white couch cover sitting next to me, still in the plastic, and wonder what the jeepers I was thinking.

So people, you're coming on a journey with me. The journey of a red wine drinker with a white couch. Buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

White vs White

My white obsession continues! I'm pining over these two bedrooms, even though they both have very different feels. I'd love to be able to pretty up my home with soft florals and various girly touches, but Mr. Unreliable simply wouldn't allow it. For someone who often goes on the record as saying "That's your thing, do what you want", he has some very strong opinions on decorating!

As a result, the first image would be a happy compromise, don't you think? The greenery in the bookshelf is the perfect finishing touch. I happen to think indoor plants are highly underrated, though I know it's not for everyone!

Tell-tale plants aside, I still did a double-take when AT mentioned that these lovely images are in fact from our flat-packed Swedish friends, IKEA. I'm not sure if it's cool to like IKEA or not these days, but these lovely settings make me swoon regardless. We seem to have a slightly limited range here in Australia (and the prices seemed to have recently hiked up too!), but where there's a will, there's a way...just ask my credit card!

Where the Heart Is

Mid pleasures and palaces
though we may roam,

Be it ever so humble,

there's no place like home.

- John Howard Payne (1791 - 1852)

Hello lovely readers! I've finally moved into my shiny new apartment but I'm sadly without internet until the end of the week at least - ahh! I'm surviving on a strict diet of Twitter thanks to my little phone, but emails and blogging are falling by the wayside like never before.

In the meantime, here are some delicious photos of Olivier Dupon's digs here in Sydney, as featured on Design*Sponge a little while ago (locals may know Olivier as the creator of recently closed lola et moi - sad face!) The reason I love this home so very much (aside from the obvious loveliness) is plain and simple - Olivier is a renter, yet his home reflects his style through and through. If that's not inspiration for us renter types, I don't know what is!

Head in the Clouds

It's all systems are go in my corner these last few days, what with moving house (yay!) and getting another year older (boo!), not to mention That Unreliable Girl's 1st birthday too! (Okay, I missed that last one by a few weeks, but don't tell anyone!)

So in the spirit of celebration and progress, you may have noticed That Unreliable Girl has a shiny new look (if you’re viewing this in a reader or via email, click on through – you know you want to!) There are still a few kinks to iron out and bits and bobs to be added, so please bear with me while I make those final touches. Any suggestions and comments are more than welcome, I’d love to know what you think!

In keeping with the new cloud-themed look, here’s a little billowy Etsy love to brighten up your Tuesday.

[Helium Eternal Balloons by Clémentine Henrion]

[Mademoiselle Under the Rain Print by Blanca Gomez]

[Summer Mobile by leptitpapillon]

After all, every cloud has a silver lining!

Dream Seeker

Love these collages from recent University of Brighton Illustration graduate Eleanor Wood. I wish my dreams were this pretty!

Oh how I wish I was still in bed, dreaming away! Happy Monday - how was everyone's weekend?

[via this is love forever]

Wood I Ever?!

Would I like these under my Christmas tree this year? Why yes, yes I would.

[ Wooden Mouse by Alest Rukov via Yanko Design ]

[ Vers Wooden iPhone Cases
via Black Eiffel and design is mine ]

[ Wooden Tape Dispensers via Oh Joy! ]

The Wooden Mice are a tiny bit out of my price range at the moment (prices vary and are listed on Alest's site - make sure you're sitting down first!), but fortunately the phone cases and tape dispensers are a little more within my budget. The Vers cases are US$40, whilst the Tape Dispensers are US$35 - - for once, the Australian dollar is doing well at Christmas time, so I might just treat myself to a present or two!

And just for a little extra Christmas cheer, Vers have partnered up with The Arbor Day Foundation and the US Forestry Service, and for every tree used in their products, they'll replant another 100. Tis the season!

Are you in Holiday mode yet? I haven't even started Christmas shopping - eek!

Sights of Summer

I love seeing images of this time of year from all around the world, especially the cosy festive feel of my northern hemisphere friends. Christmas time in this corner of the world however is all about embracing Summer, whether it be BBQs at the beach, or just doing whatever you can within your power to escape the heat (and the mosquitoes!)

[People with swimming pools are my best friends]

[Necessary summer staples]

[Bubbles, swimmers, and memories of days
spent in the sprinkler (pre-water restrictions!)]

[Good magazines, icy cold drinks. Ahhhh bliss]

[Summer storms and refreshing rainbows]

[Hiding from mosquitoes is a fine art]

[Mmm fresh fruit, nom nom nom]

[Lazy afternoons spent napping at the beach]

I love Summer!

[Please click on images for original sources]

White Wash

Hello everyone, happy December! I've been a very neglectful blogger of late (moving house is more stressful than I remember!) but I'm here to make amends. It appears that I've finally convinced Mr. Unreliable that white interiors are the way of the future, so be prepared for plenty of White Washing.

First step to White Town is a new couch cover, and I can't stop drooling over this lovely image (thank you ivy style33!) for a soft, inviting way to dress up white without going over the top. My sewing machine and I might just have a little work to do (if I can still remember how to sew, that is!)

The big news I promised you last week, aka Step Two of White Washing, will commence shortly...in about 20 cardboard boxes time. Watch this space (and take one last look around!)

From the Darkness, Into the Light

I can't stop staring at these two vastly different editorials by two incredibly talented photographers. I'm drawn in by both the dark, industrial feel of Elisabeth Toll's shoot for French Elle, and the squeaky clean light hues of Della Bass' shoot of catwalk darling Hannah Holman.

And that basically sums up my perfect wardrobe. I'm loving Elisabeth Toll's personal site too! If it were a real book, I'd want it on my shelves this very minute!

Meanwhile, thank heavens it's Friday! What do you have planned for the weekend? I'm going to begin the joyful task of moving house! Mmm, cardboard boxes, packing tape and paper cuts - can't wait!

P.S. Big news next week...stay tuned!