definatalie.com

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

The last few times we’ve been to the markets I forgot to pick up flowers, but today Nick helped me pick out the blooms! I actually saw the green chrysanthemums and grabbed them but didn’t know what to pair them with. Nick thought they’d go well with some white oriental lilies, and what do you know? They look very pretty! We are indeed a budding floral design couple.

I’m still in love with the Hipstamatic app. This is taken with the Kaimal Mark II lens and Ina’s 1969 film.

Taken with the John S lens and Blanko film. Life is simpler through the Hipstamatic’s viewfinder!

It’s so bright and sunny and hot today! We’ll probably be going for another swim at the local pool later.

Things are changing this year, and I’ve got to tell you… I always struggle with change. Nick is on long service leave but is still working hard at home with his freelance business. I’m trying to come up with concepts for a few projects but floundering, or errr, still developing them

This weekend we decided we would focus only on pleasurable things because we have been so busy lately. The ingredients for a happy weekend include: no work, minimal housework, friends, outside, nourishing food and time together. It’s nice to pause and spend time together – because we’ve discovered that working from home together doesn’t necessarily mean we are spending time together!

Yesterday we went to the markets with some friends and the boys held the first ever SAUSAGE CUP, which is exactly what it sounds like. Sausages in a cup. I counted nine of them in one cup! Shaun’s photo above should give you some indication of how vast the sausage selection is at the “Wurst House” at the markets.

Then Nick and I decided to go for a drive to the mountains in the afternoon. There is something about being in the mountains that puts me at peace, and we’re very lucky to have a smorgasbord of lovely mountain places around Brisbane to flee to whenever we get the desire. We went to Mt Glorious and Mt Nebo, and spent a couple of hours dreaming about living up there.

One day I will have a studio in the mountains, and I will never come down! Today we are having a lazy day that will be capped off by a picnic in the park with our friends.

I definitely recommend you get some pleasurable weekend in your life soon!

I bought these lovely velvety, brainy-looking Celosia from the markets because they are such fascinating looking flowers! The stems are green but have threads of the red through them and they reminded me so much of rhubarb that I wasn’t surprised to read on the wikipedia page you can eat some variants of these flowers.

Brains! Also velvet.

And then I dyed my hair Red Corvette, for a lark!

Today I went to the Brisbane Finders Keepers markets on a whim, despite being apprehensive about being amongst such talent and gorgeous knick knackery. I got this vintage dress in the mail last week, so I decided to seize the day (and the overcast weather) and wear it out before it gets really really hot. “Nana chic” really appeals to me so I am very glad to have another dress that I can wear with my pewter patent “Nana shoes” (even though they give me blisters!) I’m squinting in the photo because I thought my sunglasses completely wrong for the outfit, thus you get this furrowed brow!

Dress – beesipea on etsy
Shoes – Roberto Figini
Belt – Yours Clothing
Bag – Satchi

You might notice I look slightly shorn on one side… After agonising over this hairstyle for a month or so I decided to go ahead with it. Most of my friends know I care approximately naught for what other people think about what I do with my body and I’m pretty sure it’s a hairstyle that divides opinion, but I’m really enjoying it so far!

My favourite stalls from the Finders Keepers Brisbane markets included:

• Kim Wallace of Udessi – lovely ceramics pressed with doilies and pieces of lace.
• Cherrymorris – an accessory label featuring these fantastic cast pewter pieces.
• Miss Amy Lane – very whimsical millinery that I was completely drooling over. Had I the money, I would commission a top hat for my husband because it would look so awesome on him!
• Lola & Bailey – jewellery designers who have created pieces I have lusted after for years! I actually bought a Dial D necklace today, and I’m already planning outfits around it!

My new Lola & Bailey necklace! ♥

I also went past the Leeloo stall but I was too shy to go up and say hello. I’m such a fool! I could have let Angela know that my Once Upon piece might be a day late, as I posted it on Friday. Nick thinks I’m totally silly for not introducing myself!

I’m glad I went to the markets, but I do feel like I ought to be stepping my game up a bit – to use an oft abused phrase! I have so many ideas but I just don’t know how to even begin to start manufacturing things… so I end up making a huge amount of prototypes and then store them away somewhere, or give them away to my loved ones. I keep thinking “if only I had enough money to do x” or “if I had enough capital I could set up a store” and I always trip myself up over details and get so overwhelmed that I keep my plans on a shelf. Next year I am going to start creating as much as possible, and putting those things up for sale straight away without worrying about creating a whole stable of products first. The most important thing is to at least start selling things in order to build up a bunch of money I can do even more fabulous things with. It’s exciting and scary, and I’ll probably need your moral support!

We went to the markets this morning and I bought some more mystery flowers! Remember the mystery flowers from last Saturday? Amongst the suggested species: sweet pea, snapdragon and ranunculus; but the closest suggestion was from ozjoe who said they could be Stock flowers. The photo on the wikipedia page wasn’t convincing but after browsing Google image search I’m beginning to think they could indeed be a variety of them!

Now I implore you to continue the greenening of my opposable digit! What are these flowers? They have a very sturdy flower head with stiff, card-like petals. I remember these from my childhood as being the scratchy things that would rudely brush past us whenever we would trample people’s gardens.

I could ask the flower sellers at the markets… but that’d take the fun out of the game and deny you the opportunity of being a smart arse

I was in a shocking mood this morning but we went to the markets and bought loads of beautiful fruit and veges (and flowers!) so now I’m feeling a lot better. Included in our market booty: pomegranates to make pommie cupcakes, and besan flour to make delicious vegetable kofta balls. I took some photos of my haul to further enhance my cheering and then I whimsyfscked them (ie: put a bunch of colour layers over the image to make it look hip and vintage).

Nick enjoyed his wurst and sauerkraut immensely!

Now while I go bake a zebra cake for my friend’s birthday party tomorrow, you must tell me what these flowers are!