definatalie.com

It’s hard to escape some of the more cringe-inducing messages in the lead up to Valentine’s Day in the western world. It’s a day that was created to fete early Christian martyrs (yes, plural – Valentine was a popular name for martyrs!) for things that people forgot about long ago, and for reasons of sacrifice rather than actual kissy-kissy romance. Early Pagans held a fertility celebration called Lupercalia in February and it’s thought that the creation of the Valentine holiday was an attempt to Christianise Pagan celebrations (remind you of Christmas?) As time went on the myths and practices surrounding Valentine’s Day became more romantic and were intended to celebrate the romantic love between a man and a woman. People exchanged cards with ribbon and lace, and eventually some entrepreneurial sort came up with the idea of mass manufacturing these trinkets. And you know the rest.

There’s a lot to disagree with when it comes to Valentine’s Day. It’s a Christian tradition celebrating hetero-normative love bastardised from Pagan celebration, basically. For years I was a single girl wondering about love and Valentine’s was always a day that mocked my inability to find a partner. To find a little joy I would make cards for my friends, drawing and gluing to show my appreciation and love for the people around me. Some years I would take time out to spoil myself, with home-made facials and manicures. When I started going out with Nick it didn’t really seem important that he shower me with gifts, so we never really made a big deal out of the day and preferred to spend it with friends. I really appreciate this new tradition we’ve created and feel like it’s a lot more enriching than selfishly squirreling our love away (though if you’re a parent it’s probably a good time to score some time to yourselves!)

SOME LOVELY THINGS TO DO
For yourself and others

❥ Paint your nails a crazy colour. Or red. Or any colour, really. (Photo by lauren the zebra)
❥ Give yourself a face mask and put used tea bags on your eyes (I have no idea if it reduces puffy eyes effectively, but it feels nice!)
❥ Make cupcakes for your friends.
❥ Have a picnic in the park and nap in the sun (good if you’re Australian, maybe not so good if it’s still frosty in your part of the world!)

❥ Nibble your jam sandwich into the shape of a heart (I used to do this all the time) or you could buy a proper cutter (they don’t sell the above one anymore though!)
❥ Book a date with a new friend.
❥ Doodle sweet things on cards and give them to your family and friends.
❥ Take a grandparent out to the movies.

❥ Stand in front of the mirror and practice cute poses. Do not leave until you have smiled at yourself.
❥ Write yourself a Valentine and put it in a book (so you or someone else can find it years later).
❥ THROW OUT YOUR SCALES.
❥ If you live with someone and their scales are in the bathroom, blu-tac a positive message over the display.
❥ Do absolutely nothing all day.

If you’ve got any body-positive all-inclusive plans for Valentine’s Day let me know in the comments!

I came across naKIMuli via the fabulously talented Nikki of Decadent Industries. NaKIMuli’s designer Tennille is a wonderful bright spark, designing crazy awesome clothing for people who don’t mind showing off their bodies in fabulous body con garments. The most refreshing part? She does a plus size line as well! HORAH!

I’m expecting big things from this label, so make sure you keep an eye out.

I know I do, but I have long been thwarted by the junior plus size offerings from Pinup Girl. Amazingly, the clothing store want to offer a broader collection of sizes, and they want to hear from you! Laura from PUG posted an open thread on their facebook page for people to offer feedback, and an overwhelming amount of people requested larger sizes.

It looks like Pinup Girl will be moving to a Torrid-style sizing system, and Laura has asked plus size shoppers to email her with their Torrid size so she can get a proper survey on the demand. I requested sizes 4 and 5, and she responded:

If you wear a size 3 or up, please contact Laura on Laura at pinupgirlclothing.com and request it!

Today is my Dad’s birthday! I’m not sure I’ve posted photos from when I was a little girl, but today is probably the best day to do this because my Dad’s moustache was hilarious and there’s no better day to make fun of your father than his birthday!

The day I was born. Look at that mo!

Dawwww. And taken with a proper Polaroid camera, none of this Poladroid business!

A photo from more recent years to show his fashion sense (and facial hair) situation has improved! That’s my Mum behind him, I guess I get a lot of my ~~unique~~ personality from them.

Happy birthday Boonge!

Today I bought two bunches of lovely dahlias at the markets. I have long loved them but have never seen them to buy them and bring them home and gaze at their loveliness!

When I was unwrapping them and snipping the ends off to put them in a vase I discovered that they drop their petals way too easily. I ended up with a lot of bald flowers. A little googling tells me that the flowers that lose their petals are old flowers that are beyond usefulness.

Though as I was cleaning up, I noticed the petals had a very peppery scent. You must be able to eat them! I checked the wikipedia page and it says

The Aztecs gathered and cultivated the dahlia for food, ceremonies, as well as decorative purposes, and the long woody stem of one variety was used for small pipes.

What a handy little flower

Nick never understands how I can call shoes pretty. He thinks that they are functional objects that are designed to act as a barrier between your feet and the earth, objects that should be comfortable but rarely ever are. I think shoes can be pretty. They can also be magnificent, ridiculous, fantastic, even drab… but I do agree that they’re rarely as comfortable as they ought to be! Always having had a wide foot, my relationship with shoes is difficult. I love them, they can help you punctuate an outfit and describe exactly how you feel (or want to feel!) but so many wider fitting shoes are rarely fashionable. In recent years I have promised myself that I will only wear properly fitting, comfortable shoes that don’t contribute to grumpy moods and crippling calf aches that wake you up in the middle of the night. But I can look.

Recently I was turned on to Jeffrey Campbell shoes by Christina and Hayley, and I am pretty much so in love that I am willing to jeopardise my foot well-being. I think I will start off with a flatter shoe like the fuchsia Roller 2 or the taupe Warrier but I also adore the 99!

When I have enough dollary-doos saved up, I will contemplate this more seriously, but until then I will gaze at this incredible footwear and daydream.

The Queensland State Library has a flickr account that they constantly update with more and more vintage photographs of life in Queensland. I am fascinated by it, and loved this particular photograph. A commenter pointed out that the photo was entirely staged as none of the fruit are mature enough to pick and the woman is dressed far too fancy to be getting her hands dirty in the red soil!

I’ve just finished watching the last of the Life TV series by David Attenborough, and was taken by the underwater cinematography. Coral is fascinating and wonderful to look at but also a very necessary and living part of the ecosystem along the Great Barrier Reef. It makes me sad that it’s under threat because of bleaching caused by climate change.

Rita Moreno’s character Anita was my favourite in West Side Story. I loved how full of life and strength she was and the scene where she and Maria are singing A Boy Like That/ I Have a Love always makes me tear up!

Gosh I love Anita in this scene!

And to leave you on a less sentimental note… the kick-arse Leslie Hall from Leslie and the Ly’s. Whenever I think about the Genesis of Fance, I have to credit Leslie. I remember seeing her amazing gem sweaters and listening to her hilarious songs on myspace ages ago. I think she is pretty much one of the Godmothers of Fance.

Last night I went out with the fabulous Sonya to dine and sip fancy cocktails at Byblos within the recently enfancened Portside district. The food menu is based on pretty classic Mediterranean dishes but the cocktail and drinks list is the real stunner.

But first, what I wore:
Nick took this when I came home, so that’s why I look all tipsy and sassy!

Tshirt (under dress) – Yours Clothing
Dress – Evans
Leggings – Kmart
Boots – Torrid
Bag – Satchi (Myer)
Necklace – Bourjois disco ball with lip gloss inside

Next – the food. I ordered the Rekakat and Sonya ordered The Mixed Platter. I found the Rekakat to be lovely and not too oily despite being fried, but it really missed something acidic. The menu says it’s paired with tomato but mine came with undressed lettuce leaves and shredded carrot, and in my opinion the tomato would have paired much better with such a salty cheese filled parcel. Sonya loved the mixed platter but it was huge and filling! We probably could have shared it and been well satiated.

1. Macadamia Colada, 2. Byblos Citrus Punch and The Violet Martini, 3. Cherry Julep and The Phoenician Sunset, 4. Singapore Sling

But the best part – cocktails! Byblos do some fantastic cocktails, and while I’m not an expert and I can’t tell you if everything was as it’s supposed to taste and served as it’s supposed to be served, I can tell you that I loved them all very much. My favourite was the Cherry Julep, seriously yummy but rather potent!

The other best part was the interior fit out. Coming from an architectural/ marketing background I really appreciate when venues take care with their interiors. We sat in the lounge area and it was pretty dimly lit, hence the poor food and drink photos, but it was a very comfy place to chat for a few hours.

Nick and I are planning to take a trip to Melbourne in a few week’s time, so if you’ve got any wining, dining or accommodation suggestions please let me know in the comments!

I think I was in a picnic mood while designing February’s desktop. Maybe I’ll make all my friends drive up to Mt Nebo where we can eat cupcakes, look out to the bay and pretend we live in the mountains and not in the city.

Go download a desktop before February disappears into March!
1920×1200
1680×1050
1600×1200
Wallpaper for iPhone (320×480)
Wallpaper for other phones (240×320)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
You may not upload this desktop to other websites, nor may you use it for any other purpose than to wallpaper your desktop. This also means it’s uncool to alter it and reupload it somewhere as your own work.

My friend Zoe held a clothes swap today for a handful of friends and I was totally unprepared and didn’t bring anything to swap, but gladly took a chance to spend the afternoon with friends. So while I look a bit pouty in this photo, I’d perked up considerably by the afternoon!

I wasn’t really in the mood to wear tailored or tight clothing, so I opted for the baggiest garments I own. Sometimes it’s nice to reclaim shapelessness and forget about pursuing a “womanly” silhouette (which is usually code for an hourglass shape that only a percentage of us actually have!) I used two pieces from the Ezibuy Wardrobe Challenge, threw a baggy tunic top over it all and was super comfy all day.

What I wore:
T-shirt – Sara
Tunic – Big W
Pants – Sara
Sandals – Evans
Sunglasses – Valley market vendor
Necklace – Lola & Bailey

I still recommend clothing swaps as a way of getting rid of clothes that no longer fit, and claiming garments that actually do!! Go organise one with your friends, family and workmates