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

post

Hello there,

Shockingly I have actually been doing some things in the last two weeks, not to mention that the 29th of June was my nineteenth (weird looking word..) birthday

My birthday was actually quite uneventful, but I got to see a close friend I haven't seen in ages and she even made me a really delicious pear and almond cake. I didn't ask for much in the way of gifts either, but I did get a few nice things:

my gorgeous glockenspiel <3

- a cute angel glockenspiel from urban outfitters, fulfilling a small part of my earlier wishes. I have no idea what I will actually do with it, but so far I have learnt to play Don't Stop Believin' by Journey, which is clearly a good enough reason to own it. 

- a new sims 3 expansion pack, ambitions. luckily I am now on break and have time to play!

- some money from my mother, aunty and grandmother, so now I feel slightly less like a poor hobo

- fancy nail polishes, which are my new obsession. I got a nice dark grey, light minty green, baby blue, the most beautiful lilac and two botttles of china glaze "matte magic" which is a topcoat that will give any colour an amazing matte finish. I am so in love with this right now, I can't stop looking at my fingers.

-----


The glockenspiel and nail polishes were especially exciting because they came through the post, which are a great novelty to me. I think getting something in a package makes it a bit more special though, because you have to wait for it. Even if it is a surprise, it is nice to think that the objects contained come from someplace far away.

I also received another package this week. A few months ago I mentioned and eventually signed up for the package project, which is a project organised by cupcake couture. People all over the world have emailed a few of their details (myself included), and have been paired up with another person and each pair must then send a package full of little treats to one another!

Now I sent my package off a couple of weeks ago, and I actually wish I had taken some photos of it because I went a bit crazy with it and made little labels and everything (what I get for being a bored designer..) My package arrived a few days ago, and I recieved a few lovely things including a pretty vintage red silk scarf, little pouch featuring Blythe (a great coincidence as I own two) and a mix C.D. featuring some of her songs as she is a singer/songwriter (and a talented one at that!).

As for the rest of my holidays, I have hardly any plans. One thing I do really want to get around to is a trip to Newcastle to visit some op shops that are far beyond my usual circuit and find some amazing bargains.

xx Elly

pretty

Another random link today as I am feeling really uninspired, and now depressed because I have been watching this video of the lovely Julia Pott in full illustrator/animator action...



Anyway so now I feel like I have been wasting all my time and should be spending it making some sort of amazing animations/artwork. The main problem I always find is that I have no inspiration to start with, and this is quite a problem because most animations need some sort of a story. Very unfortunate.

Also, how is it fair that she is so pretty and makes such pretty things?
Consider me extremelyyy jealous.

xx Elly

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