About Face

I suspect the photography of Maria Przybysz has been haunting me in my sleep, because it's been at the back of my mind since I spotted it on Design Scene back in March. I thought I'd keep today's post short and sweet, but suddenly I was reminded of the eerily beautiful illustrations of Bec Winnell (one recently featured on the cover of Peppermint Mag!) and next thing you know I'm digging through Solve Sundsbo's impressive (and vast!) portfolio to find a few of my favourites there too. So much for an early night!

All three have an uncanny ability to capture the beauty of female faces in new, unexpected ways...and considering we're constantly bombarded with billboards and advertisements showing us what beauty should (apparently!) look like, it's almost a relief to see a few alternative perspectives.

This weekend I'm going in search of the latest Numéro just so I can hold Solve Sundsbo's stunning cover (NSFW) in my own little hands. That is of course once I've caught up on emails and comments and the growing pile of work on my desk. Eek!

[Please click on images for original sources]

Wednesday Wisdom - Light the Way

I will love the light
for it shows me the way,
yet I will endure the darkness
for it shows me the stars.

- Og Mandino (1923 - 1996)

I never saw an ugly thing in my life:
for let the form of an object be what it may
- light, shade, and perspective
will always make it beautiful.

- John Constable (1776 - 1837)

Man is his own star
and the soul that can render
an honest and perfect man
commands all light,
all influence, all fate.

- John Fletcher (1579 - 1625)

If you have knowledge,
let others light their candles at it.

- Margaret Fuller (1810 - 1850)

In the right light,
at the right time,
everything is extraordinary.

- Aaron Rose

And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.

- Marianne Williamson, "A Return to Love," 1992

Find out more about the lighting featured here at my little writeup over at 2Modern.

P.S. If anyone has a few hundred spare Euros just laying around, I really, really like the little red 'K', the little white 'd' and the big green '8'. Just sayin'.

To Paint Or Not To Paint...

That is the question...and you have the answer! Now that I've buttered you up with beautiful illustrations, your expertise is required! So the back story...I've been searching for the perfect bookshelf/room divider since I moved into this little white box of open planned non-privacy, but I have yet to find anything I like under the $800 dollar mark. Seriously, how can it be so hard to find a simple, rectilinear timber bookcase that is slightly longer than it is tall. Even IKEA failed me - not even a faux-timber bookshelf to my liking!

But BEHOLD! My latest eBay haul! It's so far from what I had in mind, but for some reason this little guy appealed to me (perhaps the $50 price tag had something to do with that!) I had grand plans for him - namely to paint him white and stock him up with my colossal magazine collection and tidy boxes full of miscellaneous computer paraphernalia (but take photos of him with 3 vases, 2 candles and a variety of beautiful first editions that I don't currently own, all artfully placed so it looks like I actually have the luxury of space - ha!)


Sounds reasonable, right? But no! Mr. Unreliable seems to have taken personal offense at the prospect of a white bookshelf. What?! How is that possible? Men are a strange, strange species.

So I need your advice. What oh what should I do with my disturbingly Brady-Bunch-Bannister-esque bookshelf?! (Sadly, the Brady Bunch stairs are significantly cooler than this bookshelf. Mike Brady was a mid-century Modernist architect after all!)

poll by twiigs.com

Be honest. Brutally, painfully honest. I can take it! (I think!)

P.S. Our box (aka apartment) features gloriously bland beige carpet (as pictured), Boring McBoring white walls, and mostly dark brown furniture with white, cream and red accents (with the odd splash of navy too, I can't stick to one colour scheme!)

Let Your Hair Down

As someone who is in desperate need of a haircut, I find myself drawn to all sorts of images of hair, wondering if it's time for a pixie cut or a return to brunette-dom at the very least. As tends to be the case however, it's when you've stopped looking that you find an unexpected spark of inspiration. Spotted at Where The Lovely Things Are, I'm absolutely loving these delicate illustrations - and better yet, they're all available at nosideup's Etsy store!

I think I'll keep my hair long for the time being. Now just to master something a little more elaborate than a stock-standard pony tail!

Giveaway Goodness Goes To...

Happy Monday everyone! I can happily report that my computer is making a slow but sure recovery, so I'm no longer resorting to a mouseless prehistoric laptop. Joy! So although I'm ridiculously behind with emails and comments, I can now at least catch up at a reasonable pace (in theory at least!)

This Monday is twice as exciting as usual because we have twice as many winners for the latest Giveaway Goodness! A huge thank you to everyone for entering, and a ginormous thank you to Kristin of organiK Revolution for kindly sharing her gorgeous designs with us all!

I haven't had enough caffeine to string together an adequately suspenseful buildup just yet, so without further ado...

One smokin' hot Maddesin dress for you! Congratulations Sara!

Annnnnd......

Hoorah! Congratulations Poet, one toasty warm Veronica Wrap for you! You'll both receive an email shortly to confirm you win!

Needless to say I'm super jealous of this week's two lucky winners, and I can't wait to see how Kristin goes on "The Fashion Show" - for US readers, don't forget to tune into the premiere on Bravo this Thursday, 7th May!

I'm still catching up and slowly getting back on top of everything so the next Giveaway Goodness will start a little later than usual - watch this space!

Holy Cupcakes, It's Friday!!!

I've had one of those weeks that, quite frankly, I'm glad to put behind me. All due to one naive little computer and what I assume are a bunch of teenage hackers who are now high-fiving over cans of Red Bull and Mountain Dew because they successfully incapacitated the PC of some random girl in Australia. Well bravo boys, my computer is still in quarantine and may not make it out. I hope you're happy, I really do.

On the bright side however, thank you to the delightful Jana of Rooted In Style, I had tasty, tasty cupcakes to see me through the dark hours, and let's be honest, nothing goes with a HAZMAT suit and a medical grade face mask better than delicious cupcakes. Of course all the wonderful photos of said delicious cupcakes are also in quarantine (and I can't take any more photos because I've already eaten all 6 cupcakes in record time...what?! It's been a tough week!) so here are some photos the internet prepared earlier.

[Left, Right]

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you have a fabulous (and virus free) weekend! Don't forget to enter this week's Giveaway Goodness - you have until 11:59pm AEST tomorrow (Saturday evening) to enter! Go go go!