Random photos #1: Italia.

I've been doing a bit of a clear-out of the photos on my mobile phone and on my computer, and I found a bunch of photos that haven't yet made it online.

This first lot are leftover pictures from my time in Italy.


This is the view from my third-floor hotel room in Rome, taken on my very first night in Italy. Nice, eh?

Another view that people generally don't get to see - Italian backyards, as seen from the train to Prato.





Don't be fooled! This isn't a real bird. There was this clear glass? Perspex? thingo that ran along next to the trainline, with birds in flight printed on it.

Shopping in Zara - these are Holly's feet:


..and my feet.

(I loved those shoes. They were only €20 but it was nearing the end of my time in Italy and I'd run out of money. *cries*)

Un cioccolato caldo. I wish I'd drunk more of these. A. Maze. Ing.


This graffito was on a Milanese Metro platform. Wow! It really perked me up.


Our last day in Venice. It started off foggy, as you can see, but by the afternoon the fog had lifted and it became a glorious sunny (albeit FREEZING COLD) day. Magic.



Basilica di S. Marco.



The beautiful Riccardo and I. We met in a shop in Prato and it was love at first sight.


Construction work out the back of the Uffizi in Florence.



xox Liz

Go panda go!

Not much interesting has been happening lately. Sorry for the lack of blogging! I really wanted to be able to post every day, but I didn't want this thing to become an "I did this and then I did this" type of blog - boring!

So instead, here is a roly-poly panda:


(isn't he cute! Apologies to Miss A. H. Cayley for stealing her idea..)

Ooh, so in attempt to spice up this post, I just went around the house and took some photos of things I like. Maybe you'll find something you like too!

#1: yellow tights.

This is what I'm wearing today. The pink shirt is a Love Of Diagrams tee, and the shoes are Docs that I'm trying to break in. They're beating me so far, but I am determined!

#2: silk scarves.

One of the easiest ways to add a splash of colour to your Melbourne black is with one of these babies knotted casually around your neck. Mine are all from various op shops and vintage stores, except for the skinny arlecchino one, which is from Gorman.

#3: my window menagerie, plus teapot.

Some little things I've collected over the years. Here there are in more detail:


My friend Preethi gave me this cat money-box as a housewarming gift when I moved into my last house, in Thornbury. I've never put any money in it, though.


A pig from Vanuatu, and Three Wise Monkeys from Botswana, both gifts from my parents from various overseas trips. Take note, potential suitors - this pig is my dowry, as is traditional in Vanuatu. Form an orderly queue, now.


Half a tiki, from New Zealand. My dad brought this back years ago - it used to scare me a bit.


An elephant from South Africa, and a teapot from Savers in Greensborough. Isn't it funny how teapots and elephants are similarly-shaped?

#4: vanilla tea.

My very wonderful and talented friend Pip sent this to me from Tasmania. Aren't I lucky!

(also note my baby-blue kettle!)

(psst.. Pip! I've nearly run out!)

#5: dictionary.

This Chambers dictionary was a 21st birthday gift from my grandmother, who thinks every home should have one. It's definitely one of the most useful gifts I've ever received - it gets used on an almost-daily basis. Ask me a word - any word - and I bet you $10 it's in there.

#5: organised clutter.

This is a recurrent theme throughout my house. My mother will scoff when she reads this ("Ha! There's no such thing as 'organised clutter'!"), but I swear I know where everything is, except when someone else has moved it. In this example, you will see (from left to right):

A Vancouver moose, brought back from Canada by my mother, my film camera, Bear (who was a gift from my first love), my zoom lens, a mint-green clock from an antique store in Hamilton, a robot birthday card which I was supposed to send to my father for his birthday almost a month ago, a Butch Vig drumstick, a Glomesh purse that belonged to my grandmother, and a couple of candles brought back from Malaysia by my father.

Phew!

Night cats.

One of the things I love about my suburb is that at night, all the neighbourhood cats come out to play.



I encounted this one just before on my way home from the tram stop - it didn't want to sit still to pose for the camera!



Like my shiny golden shoes?

A day in town.

1. Gripe for the day #1: Australia Post.
Get this! It now costs 55 cents to send a letter through the post! I went in to the post office today to send off a bunch of CDs that I'd sold on eBay, and I'm now out 10 cents per CD because I didn't know that postage had gone up.

2. Gripe for the day #2: Muffins that stick to the paper.
Is it unladylike to scrape muffin off the paper with my teeth? I'm unsure. However, it was a pretty good muffin (poppyseed, cinnamon and apple) and I didn't want any of it to go to waste!

3. A day in town.
My mother and I met in the city yesterday for a day of shopping and gossip. I don't get to see her very often as my parents live 4 hours west of Melbourne, so it's lovely to get the chance to catch up with her!

Our shopping was mostly of the window variety, but we still indulged in an orgy of trying-on! Mum spent a good 45 minutes trying on gorgeous outfits from Veronika Maine, but we left without buying anything - I feel so sorry for the poor sales assistant!

I now have a brand new camera! It's my birthday present from my parents and grandfather. My birthday's not til the 24th, but I'm allowed to use it now. It's very exciting - I've not had a digital camera before! I'm going to go crazy documenting everything from now on. Look out!

We did both buy some new shoes - Mum bought a pair of Ecco gladiator-style sandals from David Jones, and she and I are now co-owners of a pair of vintage Dr Marten t-bar shoes, bought from Retro Star Vintage. We each paid half, and the deal is that I get to take them to Italy, and then she gets them when I get back. We're thinking we'll swap every four months or so. It's nice having a mother who shares my taste and my shoe size!



What do you think?

And here is my gorgeous mother, enjoying tea and cake in the GPO:



4. Shoe-and-baglust.

I found so many things I wished I had the funds to buy - where's my mysterious benefactor when I need him?? Number one on my list is this Mimco bag:


(image from Fashion Review Australia)

It's beautiful, and practical, and it's exactly what I need in a bag. It's not hideously expensive at $450, but I don't really have that sort of cash to throw around right now. I am thinking of going back and putting it on lay-by, though.

Number two is this pair of DKNY platforms:


(image from Zappos)

These are pretty stunning! I tried them on in DJs, and even though they were $400 off the original price, I don't need them and I certainly can't afford such a luxury. Still... I want to go back to the shop and try them on again!

What's your latest lust, chickies?

Black goes with everything.

1. Gripe for the day.
The title of this post was my first boyfriend's motto, almost. And it's one I'd agree with, as black garments make up the bulk of my wardrobe. Black is great, because it's slimming and emo and very Melbourne, and it really DOES go with everything, but it's also very annoying when you're late for work and you can't find your black work cardigan in amongst all the other black in the bureau. I think a palette change is in order.

2. Dogs don't make great lunch dates.
I met my favourite lady friend, Preethi, for burgers on my lunch break today, and she brought her canine companion along. That was all fine, but Bill is a somewhat emotional dog, and he didn't take kindly to being tied up to a post and ABANDONED while we selfishly sat in splendour and comfort to eat our lunch. So, we tried tying him up next to the window so he could see us and know we were safe, but no dice. In the end, Pre stood outside on the footpath, with Bill's leash in one hand and her burger in the other, while I, on the inside of the cafe, popped chips into hers and Bill's mouths at regular intervals. It made for some funny looks from passers-by, let me tell you!









3. Roomy patch pockets on skirts: not just for show!
I went to a housewarming/Grand Final party down the street on Saturday night (I wore a blue and white spotted silk scarf as a subtle show of solidarity with my Geelong bros), and I didn't want to drink much, as I had to work at 6am the next day. So, instead of taking along a shopping bag with my six-pack of beer, I lightened my load by popping a can in each pocket, and a couple of cans in my purse, as illustrated below:


My ruby-red slippers got their first outing on Saturday night, too. If I was to count on my fingers the number of people who said, "Hey, Dorothy! Where's Toto?" to me, I'd have to take my socks off!

Viva Italia!

There may be a couple of people left in the world who don't know that I'll be travelling to Italy (and the UK) this November. I'll be taking a group of teenagers around the peninsula for the first part of my trip, acting as chaperone, tour guide, translator, mum, big sister and general looker-afterer. Then I'm off to London to spend Christmas with my beloved little brother. Come the New Year, I'll be backtracking to Prato (near Florence) to study Renaissance Italy for a month.

It's under two months now until I zoom off, and I'm veryvery excited. I've never been overseas before (unless you count New Zealand, which, let's face it, nobody ever does) and the thought of a 14-hour flight daunts me a little. I hope the ratbags I'm travelling with will be able to settle down so I can sleep! Maybe I should spike their drinks with valerian or something similar to keep them calm?

Anyway, the main point of my post was - can anyone point me in the direction of some Italian fashion blogs/websites? I have a stack of French, Swedish and Finnish blogs in my feed, but nothing from Italy. If they're Florentine blogs, all the better!

Anyone been to Italy? Where are the best places to shop? Do you have a favourite out-of-the-way Roman vintage store?

I'm supposed to be on a very strict budget while I save for my trip, but I saw these little Prada-esque beauties in Kmart and couldn't resist!


What do you think?

These are a few of my favourite things...

In the absence of a REAL blog post, here are some of the things I've been enjoying lately.

Favourite thing #1: Melbourne bands.
In particular, Spider Vomit, Zond, and, as always, Love Of Diagrams. You've unfortunately missed out on seeing Love Of Diagrams for the forseeable future, as they're heading off to the US to record their new album (!!!!!1!!111!!!) and won't be back until November. I have to say, I'm not sure how I feel about the wah in their new songs, but I'm sure I'll get used to it - after all, a couple of years ago I was talking about how I wasn't sure about the vocals in their (then) new songs, and now I love it!

Fact: Spider Vomit are infinitely cooler than you or me. Here is some photographic evidence.


(Photo by Adalita)


(Photo by Ali McCann)


(Photo by Ben Butcher - all photos from Spider Vomit's Myspace)

Zond are playing at Pony on the 3rd of October - make sure you get along! I've been assured that Sober Marney will be in attendance this time (she was woefully absent last time I saw Zond play..)!

Favourite thing #2: Aldi's Oat Temptations.
These are fantastic. Little single-serve sachets of flavoured porridge. Sure, they're probably bad for me and they're definitely full of loads of artificial colours and flavours, but they're the best thing to chuck in my bag and take to work with me for my second breakfast!

Favourite thing #3: Rubi flats from Cotton On.
Thank you, Robyn! I'd been searching for a replacement pair of red flats for almost a year now, and these were the exact shade of red I was looking for. Plus.. you can get two pairs for $20 (baaaaaargain!), and they come in all colours of the rainbow.

Favourite thing #4: my friends.
They know why. Thanks to Tom, Ben, Lisa, Simone, Roxanne, Martin, Kate, Henry, Rach, Dean, Pip, Lisa, and countless others for loving me, making me laugh, mopping up my tears, buying me beers and hot chocolates, showing me shiny things on the internet, keeping me occupied and distracted, writing me songs, having me over for dinner (even though I had to cook AND wash up..), holding my hand while crossing the road, and generally being awesome. Much luff to you all.

(all together now.. awwwwww!)