Headline: my wallet dilemma has been solved…

(embarrassing to be wearing an un-ironed skirt as a stylist but i must confess i rarely iron at home as i do so much of it at work. baaaaaad confession.)

I received ‘the chosen one’ in the mail yesterday and threw my old milk stained one right into the bin (perhaps the milk will help it disintegrate quicker!). After heavy etsy searching and looking at everyone’s suggestions (thank you all!), I chose to go local with a little brand some of you will already be well acquainted with. So, let me introduce you to the new member of my handmade accessories collection…

This is a beautiful wallet from the very talented Megan Hoffman of Frank and Gertrude. The attention to detail is sublime, and her fabric combination I just love. This one doubles as a clutch purse so I do not have to carry a handbag everywhere. However, now that I have my first piece of Frank and Gertrude, I am very keen to buy one of their beautiful handbags, check out their store right here.

Also in the headlines: yesterday I received a ‘You Make My Day’ award from the lovely Mary-Laure at Aurea and it certainly brought a smile to my face! Thank you Mary-Laure, it means alot to know that I make your day as you do mine.

image by Jen at Simply Photos via Marie at Là

The rule is that I pass this award onto 5 blogs that make me smile so I will be passing it on back to Mary-Laure as she does indeed make my day! and will also pass it on to:

Josyln at Simply Lovely (and she is sick at the moment so she deserves a big pick me up so go and say hi), Jen at A girl and Her Polaroid, Liivian Talossa and Jo at A cup of Jo (and it is her birthday so how could I resist! but i just found out she is a year younger than me goddamnit)(and has a twin sister. lucky thang.)

As Marie at Là so succinctly wrote, the ‘you make my day award’ works like this…

1. write a post with links to 5 blogs that make me think and/or make my day
2. acknowledge the post of the award giver
3. tell the award winners that they have won by commenting on their blogs with the news.

Coming up soon: my heart wanders update!

Side Note: this post is best read with KT Tunstall’s Black Horse and The Cherry Tree in the background. Go on, try it, works for me!

I hope you are not too upset that I left you.
I didn’t mean to, I didn’t know I’d be gone so long.
But I will come back for you I promise.
If you wait, I will return.
And when I do, I will dance for you.

Just for you.

Ode to my beloved 1920’s knitted dress.

Dress modeled and styled by Pia Jane Bijkerk.
Photograph by Michelle Young.

While I was cleaning up the guest quarters getting the space ready for my next guest, I found this little beauty accidentally left behind…

It is from the story of the converted church hall by Michelle Young and I. If you look closely, you can see the reflection of the original stain-glassed windows in the little black glass vase. I found the vase (well, ’70’s tumbler more like it) in an op shop in Sydney somewhere. This is actually my favourite shot from the series - I am a sucker for reflections, and anyone who works with me will no doubt have heard me say way too many times, ‘what if we try shooting it through this mirror?’. Again with the rolling eyes.

I find this title,’hunter gatherer pia’ pretty funny, I have no idea why but there must be a large part of me that is one of those bizarro-world nerds that finds humour in unfunny things. Speaking of bizarro, I don’t recommend seeing ‘The Golden Compass’ at the cinema which we did yesterday, maybe rent it out on dvd but the adaption just doesn’t work, of course with incredible effects, but that is it - all these special effects are leaving children’s imaginations stale, I’m sure of it. Nicole’s role is not strong or believable, rather disappointing. The best part about it is the animal ‘deamons’, that concept is awesome and very inspiring.

But onward and upward, let’s go gathering! Here are a couple of my favourite recent shots…

Shot by Chris Chen for Home Basics.

I am a great fan of the found object as you are probably well aware by now. The beautiful antique saw is from Garden St Bazaar (I will be taking you on a guided tour of this treasure trove trés soon). The little yellow plant tags I found in a brocante in Paris, the keys are also from my Paris apartment. The little water spray vessel is something I found at Ikea years ago. The glass pouring jug is from Bodum.

another one…

The ruler I found in my parents tool drawer in their garage (I am known to raid my parents, aunts, cousins and grandmother’s house in the late hours of the night before a shoot to look out for any ‘wow’ objects I may have forgotten about! I do return all their items I promise!). The ribbons I gathered along my travels – whenever I come across ribbon I like I buy a few metres of it, regardless of whether I have a use for it at the present moment or not as it always comes in handy for shoots, gift wrapping and also for colour-combination inspiration. The antique string I also found at a Paris brocante and the scissors I bought years ago when I had my store, I think they are from Acorn Trading. Oh and another old tool from Gary at Garden St Bazaar . And the copper pot, I have no idea where I found that but it was amongst my prop collection in Sydney. I love that pot, it is one of my all time favourite finds. Oh yeah that’s right, I used it for a Delia Smith Christmas magazine shoot a couple of years ago.

I love the colour combination with the yellow - teaming it with these rusty blues and reds makes it warm and rich and brings all the objects out and off the wall. It makes me want to pick up each item and study it’s beauty.