moar typez

Checking in today to give you a bit of typography lovin' because god do I love type. I really do. If only I was any good at it! Although this semester I ended up with a credit average rather than just a pass for my typography subject but now I'm going off the topic.

First of all is one that has been doing the design-blog rounds recently, the big caption. Basically, people take photographs from the Chicago Tribune’s The Big Photo  and add some pretty words for hilarity/serious-point-makingness. I think it is pretty cool.

Example of a couple I like:




Second typography related linky is I'm Comic Sans, Asshole., a short monologue by Mike Lacher. Now as a student  studying graphic design I am often exposed to a lot of Comic Sans hate, and I can't really say I disagree with it having disliked the font since primary school.. But apparently Comic Sans is totally rad and hardcore so who am I to judge?


some hot comic sans action going on here to finish off..

That's all folks!

xx Elly

warm

As I may have mentioned in some of my previous posts, it is actually quite wintery in Sydney at the moment. Well, it has been getting warmer for the past few days (but still cool enough to wear a jacket if you aren't running about in the sun) and it is still freezing at night. Not actually freezing obviously, but in my bedroom it really does feel like it sometimes.

As such, I have compiled another list (yes, I am one of those list-loving people..) this time it is a list of Elly's winter essentials..

HOT WATER BOTTLES
Hot water bottles! I don't think I have had one since I was about eight but they are absolute heaven! This might just be because I am used to getting into bed in my ice cave of a bedroom and shivering for about an hour before my body works up enough heat to get me warm again.. but nevertheless, hot water bottles are an amazingly genius invention! You can also get little soft covers if you are worried about accidentally burning yourself.. like this super-cute owlie version from saracarr on etsy!




HOT CHOCOLATE
I'm one of those freaky people who doesn't like coffee at all, so almost every morning I wake up and make myself a nice cup of Cadbury's drinking chocolate. Of course there is always tea which I also love but hot chocolate appeals to my ravenous sweet tooth. My ultimate hot chocolate method is to add two large teaspoons of the Cadbury's powder to your mug and fill it with milk, then microwave for approximately 45 seconds (this will probably differ greatly between microwaves, but if you leave a bit of space at the top you can add a splash of cold milk afterwards to cool it..) And if you want to go really crazy, add a little bit of Baileys Irish Cream which makes it even more delicious, but probably not suitable for weekdays..

HEATERS
Well this is a bit of a stupidly obvious one but it had to be said. Almost all of my time spent at home is spent sitting on a small wooden stool in front of the heater. I am a little bit worried that this will have some adverse health effects but my desire for warmth overrides my health worries. Sitting on the little stool with no back support gives me better posture anyway!

BAKING
Now I love baking at any time of the year, but there is no time like winter to give your oven a workout. This is for two simple reasons: a) your oven will warm up your house and b) you will get to eat yummy and warm treats at the end of it. Plus, it is totally okay to stuff yourself with treats during winter because a bit of extra pudge will help you keep warm..? Perhaps you could go for a wintery theme with a snowflake cookie cutter from kitchen crafts.



CUP-A-SOUP
Okay, so I know you probably get the whole "put-warm-consumables-in-your-body" idea by now but think about it, you can have nice warm soup in your hands within minutes; any time, any place! I have only gotten back into them recently because they are actually on sale (a two-pack for a dollar!) at the moment and I couldn't resist them, but I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner. My favourite flavours are laksa, chicken noodle and one that I can't remember the name of which is something like italian minestrone..

COATS
For a very long time (I'm talking years here..) I have wanted a coat for winter, but always thought that buying one would be a ridiculously large expense for something I would only be able to wear for a maximum of about one month per year. Luckily, this year I actually remembered that practically all op-shops have plenty of coats in all shapes and sizes for around ten dollars, so when it came time for the 50% of everything sale I was ready and bagged myself a gorgeous grey coat for four dollars! So now my beautiful coat has been keeping me warm pretty much every day because I get too lazy to change outfits in the winter.. So go out and buy a coat! Even if it isn't four dollars it will be worth it to allow you to leave a one-metre radius from the heater!

Although I have already got a perfect coat of my own, I love this beautiful mustard-y coat and can't help but dream of teaming it with my mustard-y tights.. from vintage etc.


Anyway, that's all the exciting list action for now. I have actually been vaguely productive in my first week of holidays, crafting and cleaning, so hopefully this will continue!

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

cooking.

I have decided that as it is extremely cold (in Sydney terms) at the moment, to warm you up i've compiled some of my favourite sites on the theme of: cooking!
number one : whatthefuckshouldimakefordinner

So basically this is a site that will help indecisive people like me decide what they want to cook themselves for dinner. There is also a helpful vegetarian-only option for the herbivores/vegetarian fakers (that is just being mean to my eating-only-chicken-and-fish self, no offence intended!) among us. Just don't hand this site on over to your granny, unless she likes the work "fuck" a lot..

number two : eggwatchers

This site is one of my all-time favourites as it taught me how long to boil an egg for. Sad I know, but I do actually learn everything I know from the internet. Plus, this fancy gadget will not only tell you how long to cook your eggs for varying different sizes, temperatures, and outcomes but entertain you with fun youtube videos while you wait! So no more pacing around wondering why six minutes suddenly seems like years.. Some good ones i've seen have been crazy claymation zombie killing and a star wars dance-off. Awesome.

number three : recipelook

Oh my good, words cannot describe how much I love this site. Seriously. A combination of two of my most favourite things: cute illustrations and cooking. Heaps of yummy recipes have been hand-illustrated, creating a very long list of images that are both beautiful and useful. Here are a couple of my picks from the site:


short and sweet nutella tortillas by Emilie Boudet


roasted potato wedges by Rachel Rauch

number four : taste.com.au

Okay, so this one is a bit more boring than the others, but this is really my first point of reference when I want to find a recipe. They have pretty much everything I have ever looked for, although sometimes the search tool is a bit unhelpful and you might have to try a few different ways of wording what you want. Other than that, love it forever <3

And a one last thing for those who can't be bothered to cook:

Who doesn't love nineties one hit wonders..?

xx Elly

lazyy.

Two days ago on Tuesday I finally handed in my last assignment for uni, magazine layouts and mockup (which turned out surprisingly well) thus ending my real work for this semester. Except now all I can do is think about how little I will actually have to do in the many many uni-less weeks that follow..!

I do have some ideas though.. mostly involving learning fancy new craft-like skills such as book binding and beading. I will of course also be baking, despite my ever-expanding waistline! Another exciting activity on the cards is also job-hunting, the ever-present and impossible task that haunts my life.

Which is an awful shame because I just happened upon these beautiful boots by Andrea & Joen..

And apparently they come in size 41 which might fit on my giant man-feet (being abnormally tall means I have giant feet to keep me balanced.. size 11 anyone?) Plus they are australian-made so no extortionate shipping rates!

Anyway, I haven't got a slick segue lined up for this song, I just heard it at uni today and remembered how catchy it is. Plus anything french gets an instant +10 cool points right?

It's "Ce Plane Pour Moi" by Plastic Bertrand..



Au Revoir!

xx Elly

vivid

This month seems to be filled of exciting events for Sydney-siders, or at least in my humble opinion. Last weekend it was the Finders Keepers Markets, which was lovely to visit even if I couldn't afford to buy anything.. and I got to visit two of my friends Matt of Faking Handmade and Megan of the Ever Dazzling at their stall, making me feel all jealous and super under-productive!

Next weekend I am totally pumped for the MCA Zine Fair!! Ever since doing a zine-making assignment for uni last year (which I loveddd, not mention earned good marks in for once!)  I have been interested in zines. I went to the fair last year and ever since then I have been thinking of making another one, but never real feel like I have the time or a solid concept to base it on. Nevertheless, I will be heading to the MCA next sunday with hopes of scoring some cheap and cheerful zines, which will hopefully inspire me into actual action this year..

The event I am actually most excited about this month is the beginning of the Vivid Sydney Festival which runs from the 27th of May to the 21st of June. The festival includes a plethora of different events ranging from art installations to musical performances all revolving around the theme of light. What I'm really interested in seeing is the creative sydney block party (supported by fbi,) the rocks fire water preformance and if I had any money I would go and see holly miranda. In fact I might even go crazy and splurge $35 dollars on it.

In any case, May is shaping up to be a great month in Sydney!

xx Elly

p.s. In case you are wondering about Holly Miranda, here is a video of her singing her beautiful song "joints" whilst walking around some mysterious places..

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