market stall !!

So exciting news folks, Maymarket is officially back as of today!

The main reason being that I am now fully organised and motivated and have actually booked a stall at which to sell my wares THIS SUNDAY at Rozelle Markets.

So come along and take a peek, there is so much stuff it might not even all fit in the 3x3m space! There are heaps of pretty vintage frocks ranging from $10-20 (mostly 15 and below), heaps of cute satchel-style and glomesh bags for $15 each and a a whole bunch of other exciting items ranging from the massive $5 basket to some more special and expensive items (e.g. a beautiful faux fur coat for $70)

So if you live anywhere near Rozelle please come down to the public school on Sunday and have a look ;)

xx Elly

comfort

Hello there,

As I was saying in one of my previous posts, it is very cold at the moment by Sydney standards. This has led to me, like most people I assume, craving comfort foods and sitting around inside like a blob.. so last night I made one of my favourite warm, winter comfort foods ever: lentils!

I don't know how enthusiastic about lentils other people are, but I got the idea about a week ago after browsing 101 cookbooks and coming across a lovely-looking recipe for lentil soup.


Delicious lentils with yoghurt..

Of course I made my own alterations to the recipe, namely using green/brown lentils because my dad couldn't find the right ones and adding heaps of Worcestershire sauce (I had to look that up to spell it properly..) because I always remember my mum making lentils with Worcestershire sauce when I was little, which adds to the comfort-factor.


I also made an exciting discovery in my bookshelf a few days ago, a set of three rather large folders filled with information on sewing. Apart from the hilarious eighties-style pictures, it looks amazingly helpful as it includes different stitching types and when to use them, how to sew with different fabrics, attaching zippers and buttons, as well as many far more complicated tips that go way over my less-than-basic sewing knowledge. For instance, one folder is filled entirely with tips on how to get the perfect fit from your garment, and when they say perfect they mean perfect. In fact the fit in some of those photos looks so extremely perfect that it is probably not at all comfortable, and the people were probably sewn into the garments and couldn't sit down..

There are tips on how to fit for every single not-exactly-average measurement that your body might have, including a wide back (who knows how big their back is?) and narrow thighs (sorry, but if I had narrow thighs I don't think I would be worrying very much about "disguising the problem" !!)


a similar eighties-style sewing pattern (showing off the crazy-close fit) from vintagegifts4sale on etsy


Anyway, having flipped through these folders I have been inspired to try harder to make some actual clothes and expand my sewing experience, starting with a black velvet skirt because I have wanted one for months yet can't find one that is the right length because I am too tall.. (I have a couple of skirts that I hardly ever wear because I am constantly paranoid about them flying up an inch or to and revealing far more than it necessary to the general public! 6 ft is not a height you should ever aspire to..)  


So I guess that's all the exciting reporting I have for today, I have a post about my Newcastle trip lined up but I need to take a couple of photos of my exciting loot first..


xx Elly

something else..

Finally the time has come and I am actually on holidays, rather than ignoring my work and pretending that I am. Hooray!

Now I have only one long-winded and possibly uninteresting story to tell today (now I bet you are dying to continue reading..!)

For ages and ages I have had an obsession with Something Else by Natalie Wood. I swear, every single thing made by that brand I want so much it hurts. So while doing my random e-shop browsing I stumbled upon this beatiful collar (you may know I am obsessed with collars from previous posts..)


pic via idontlikemondays

And you can just guess who made it. Yep. Bloody Something Else. Trying to get me to spend all my hard-earned money already, and I only got it two days ago.. I swear whoever is designing these things has the ability to read my mind.

I do have a brilliant story about my gorgeous Something Else dress, which is white with black speckles and is practically weightless, the most beautiful thing to wear. Ever. I bought it from David Jones at the beginning of the year as I had been given a $100 gift voucher for christmas (thanks dad!) But that is not the amazing part. The dress was originally $260 (crazy-expensive for me..), but had been marked down on the label to $90. Only one of the dresses had been marked at this price and the rest were twice as expensive.. so I decided to get that one just to be on the safe side. When I got to the counter, the woman was confused because when she scanned the barcode it said $180.

Apparently, someone had marked the price wrong, as the $90 price was supposed to be for the tops of the same print. I'm glad they did though, because the woman called her supervisor and ended up letting me have it anyway! The sweetest thing about it is that only a couple of weeks ago I saw that they still had one left and it had been marked down to $120, so my price was still lower and that was half a year ago..

And that my friends is why they call me bargain shopper extraordinaire :)
(that and my three dollar vinnie's finds..)

xx Elly

urban

Hey there again,

My life is getting back to normal now that I have uni, and by that of course I mean that my routine of looking at blogs and various online shops is sometimes punctuated by actual work. Oh the humanity!

One shop that I am currently stalking is urban outfitters. I really envy American girls who can shop at these stores in real life whenever they please! But then again, I think maybe if everyone had access to these goods I would probably find them a bit common for my tastes.. I know, I know, but I hate seeing other people wearing the same thing as me, that's why I love op shopping!

The point is, I have heard that they are offering free shipping to us australians for the limited time of this merry month of may, with the one catch that you have to spend over $100. All you have to do is enter promo code 'shipaus3' at checkout time.

Now given that I am an extremely poor uni student living at home without a job, I don't think i'll be able to scrape up that much money before the 31st, but here how I would spend one hundred smackaroonies at their lovely shop...



most beautiful scalloped shorts in black - $14.99
mostly because I love rocking the fancy tights and shorts look in the cooler months, and also because they are scalloped. I love.
[I actually bought some great high-waisted black shorts on sale for $20 at sportgirl the other day which are exactly what I wanted and I died of happiness, incidentally..]


sweet beaded pearl collar - $34
Okay so there is no way in real life I would probably be able to justify spending $24 on something like this [I don't really know why, I think it falls to close to DIY-able territory] That being said, it is so beautiful and I love that it hangs a bit lower so people like me who feel like t-shirts are trying to strangle them will be able to cope with it. I don't really know what I could wear it with.. but I don't care because I have an obsession with collars!


cute glockenspiel with case - $32
you have no idea how long I have wanted to be in a band with me as the glockenspiel-playing person that everyone dislikes because they are pointless and talentless. But I won't care and will totally rock that glockenspiel. Glockenspiel is hardcore.



my perfect ideal matte grey nail polish - $19
You cannot possibly comprehend how much I want this. At the beginning of the year I decided to stop biting my nails once and for all, and so far with the help of keeping my nails more or less beautifully [self] manicured at all times I have kept them long. Now, ever since I heard about matte nail polishes I having been constantly pining over them yet being unable to find any except OPI, which would be great, except that in my matte nail polish dreams the only colour that will pass the test is my all time favourite: GREY!

But alas! I am only on $99.99, so just to make sure i'm OVER $100...

totally neccessary owl money bank - $8

Well it is only eight dollars, and it's for my owl collection!

--

Anyways, apart from all my dream shopping, I have a song for you as a parting gift. It's a cover of LCD Soundsystem's All My Friends, which is a good song in it's own right but not exactly one of my favourites. It's been covered by Franz Ferdinand, who although talented aren't exactly my favourite band either, but this song is surprisingly really good and has been stuck in my head for dayss.



That's all folks!

xx Elly

buns

Hello all,

Since my last post my motivational ideas seem to have diminished somewhat. However, I have upped my consumption of Swedish culture, mostly of their food! My grandfather lives in Finland (he is not Finnish, he is English, but that's another story..) and I remember when I visited about ten years ago we ate these really nice sweet buns that were flavoured with some sort of spice. Yum!

Anyways, so while researching Swedish food to get we into the swedish-learning mood (yes I am a poet..) I found these Swedish Cardamom and Cinnamon buns, cousins to the Finnish buns which are called Pulla. I have actually tried to make the Pulla before but it failed miserably so I was a bit scared to try it!

So I had a bit of a one-person baking party a few days ago and made them, with the yeast and everything! It was very exciting because I have never cooked using yeast before.. But it was so good! I felt like a real proper baker because there was actually a chance that things could go wrong, unlike with my normal biscuits and cakes where pretty much the only that can go wrong is that they have too much/not enough sugar..

I did actually take heaps of nice photos, which also showed off my sweeeet new dessert stand that I got from the Salvo's the other week, but you will have to wait a couple of days for them as I am a bit lazy with the uploading at the moment.

But because of my laziness what you do get is a couple of photobooth pics of my recent purchases (because I know you care!): my super-duper yellow tights and some new additions to my owl collection, which now looks quite sizable and needs a bit more shelf space I think!


Banana legs!
In a way they just make my legs look a little bit diseased but I like them anyway!


So many owls...

In more shop-related news I have actually added a few new items including a beautiful vintage typewriter and a spotless glomesh bag (which I really love but really I think four glomesh bags is enough for my personal collection!)

So I hope you have learnt something about Swedish cooking or maybe more about my laziness here today!

xx Elly

P.S. While researching Swedish food I found this picture of a Swedish Crayfish Party!
How crazy !! (Plus aren't lobsters kind of expensive?? Swedish people must have too much money..)

sickly

Oh dearrr,
Being the sickly girl that I always have been, for the past week or so I have felt even worse and as such have been completely unproductive and unmotivated to do anything.

As such, all useful activities have fallen by the wayside in favour of falling asleep under snuggly blankets, drinking hot chocolates and crying to ease the pain (literal pain not emo pain, for once..)

One of the main problems with this is that this week and next week are the two weeks before my uni break and are the two weeks in which a bunchload of my work is due. ISSUES ARISE.

Anyway, apart from my many woes, if you are feeling a bit down lately like me I have a sure-fire cure for you, and that cure is baking. Baking solves everything (except obesity I hear..) Try out this amazing chocolate torte from design sponge, trust me it is easy as pie (ha?)

Seriously though, a certain silly friend once grilled my mix instead of baking it and it still came out delicious, though I think it might be hard to go wrong with a melting pot of chocolate and butter.

(photo from design sponge, my one wasn't quite as beautiful!)

Take care,

xx Elly

daily dresses

I have a somewhat inspiring tale today. Marisa in the U S of A has set herself a mission this year: 365 days, 365 dollars, 365 outfits. And every one of her outfits this year will be centred around an item of second hand clothing. I might not style some of the items quite how she did, but it is really amazing what she can do with a piece of clothing that many might think were far beyond style salvation, and even more amazing that she can find so many clothes out there for one dollar each! 
Here's an example of how she uses a few snips and stitches to make an incredible transformation:



If only I were brave enough to embark on such an epic quest..
Vintage clothes are far more environmentally friendly as they remove the need to constantly create new garments, as well as being generally better made than those of today. Add the extremely low price and unique fashion styles into the equation and I think you have a recipe for success!

Oh well, there is always next year!

xx Elly

first photos!

At last I have some good news for you!
Photos! Lots of photos!

So here are a few of the selections on offer:

So as you can see we have been quite busy!

Heaps of love to our gorgeous model Maya for helping out xxxxx
[Without you the clothes would have had to be photographed in a heap on the floor!]






Now I just have to organise a market stall to sell these things..

xx Elly


[edit: silly me moved the photobucket links so i had to do the whole thing again!]

the future

Hello again!

Today I have two things to say, both of them are future-related.

Number one is kind of not very good in that photography of the first installment of maymarket goodness has been somewhat stalled, but have no fear! We will come through with the goods ASAP.. (in the near future)

To give you some idea of the current selection; there are plenty of pretty patterned dresses, some darker 90's items, a totally cute manual typewriter, some ladylike blouses and plenty more.

To tide you over I have another musical distraction for you, this time in the form of little kiddies singing sweeeet music. As everybody knows children are our future so, if these guys are any indication, the future is going to be pretty rockin' I think..

They have the thumbs up of many music big-wigs such as Beyonce and Lady Gaga (whose songs they have covered) and are basically amazing in a way that only little kiddies can be.

Without further ado, I give you PS22 singing "Pictures of You" by The Cure



They have also covered Phoenix's "Lisztomania" in an equally lovely and charming manner, but pretty much everything loses out to my intense love of the Cure. Sorry guys!

Sweet Tunes

Hey there lovely peeps,

Just popping in to let you know that I went on another vintage-hunt yesterday and managed to bag quite a few goodies. Just got to wait a couple of days until I can get one of my pretty friends to model them for you...

On a slightly related note, while I was in the car driving from place to place I was listening to fbi radio and heard this sweet song that I thought you might enjoy..



The song is "Girls FM" by Happy Birthday [one of those impossible-to-google bands]. I think this song perfectly mixes that cutesy indie-pop sound with something a bit more grungy that makes it a bit more interesting. Plus i've been loving the hell out of my classic 1990's indie-pop tunes [e.g. Tullycraft, Heavenly] so I thought this fits in quite nicely.

Anyway, that's all for the moment, stay tuned for some photos hopefully by next week!

xx Elly