Happy August

It's the first of August today, so I'm over halfway through what has been the toughest year of my life. I'm hoping things will start to get easier from now on, though I've come to realise that life is always going to be hard once you have a baby. Hopefully it'll be the good kind of hard though.

Here's some awesome Amy Poehler, who always makes me feel better. During some of my darkest times in the hospital watching 5 or 6 episodes of Parks and Recreation in a row always made things better. Leslie Knope is the best!

Get a look

Collage for Rookie by Minna Gilligan

"When I was young there were beatniks. Hippies. Punks. Gangsters. Now you're a hacktivist. Which I would probably be if I was 20. Shuttin' down MasterCard. But there's no look to that lifestyle! Besides just wearing a bad outfit with bad posture. Has WikiLeaks caused a look? No! I'm mad about that. If your kid comes out of the bedroom and says he just shut down the government, it seems to me he should at least have an outfit for that. Get a look!"

– John Waters: Subversive Success

RIP MCA

This was given quite a few spins during the weekend. Hearing the sad news about Adam Yauch brought back so many memories from my teenage years. I remember when I first started going out and meeting exciting new people, and making friends with people that didn't go to my high school, the Beastie Boys were playing a lot during that time. I thought it was the coolest music ever, and I'll always associate them with that time.

Keith Haring

He would have turned 54 today. Thanks google for the nice reminder.

William's Crystal Corner

Love this video!! When I was at my parents place last month I found an old amethyst rock that I used to carry round. I bought it back with me, then saw this video a few days ago, like some sort of cosmic coincidence.

Local Ladies

Three clever Melbourne-based ladies who have caught my eye this week. All the Melbourne ladies (put your hands up).

After reading this post I had to find out more about sweet label Frances Baker. These photographs from their summer lookbook were shot around Brunswick and Coburg - pretty near my own neck of the woods! So nostalgic and familiar, designer Josephine Frances and photographer Hannah Kelly have totally nailed the feeling of a hot summer in the suburbs.

'Broga' is a new venture undertaken by my pal pikkujen. After training in Thailand last year she returned to Melbourne full of yogic energy, and started her blog aswell as giving private lessons. Aimed at the dudes, but ladies are welcome, which means I've partaken in a class or two. Afterwards I feel relaxed, clearheaded and have the best sleeps ever - so important. Her enthusiasm for yoga is contagious and her blog is hilarious. You heard right - it may be about yoga, but it is an hilarious and entertaining read. It always has me LOL-ing it up! Bromaste Bishes!

Another Melbourne lady doing amazing things is Kristy Barber, with her label Kuwaii. These behind the scenes stills shot by Lizzie Hollins are from their upcoming film which is screening at the No Home Film Festival, as part of the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival.

"Our director Tim White captured a feeling of a haziness; something’s not quite right. There’s a notion of just off-ness which perfectly embodies our clothing and footwear, and portrays the Kuwaii woman as having a tough and irreverent femininity."

I'm bummed that I'll be out of town when the film is being screened, but  I'll be keeping an eye out for any news of it popping up online. If you are based in Melbourne you can find out more about the screenings here.

A bit of Alex James

Seen via Miss Moss, I am loving these photos of Alex James from the Aubin & Wills spring lookbook. I'm a little bit infatuated with Mr James after reading his autobiography A Bit of a Blur. I love music biographies and his is one of the best I have read. It's such a great read, and quite surprising following his life from rock star playboy to married country gentleman and cheese monger.

I've also been swooning over this behind the scenes video of Alex and Irina Lazareanu, larking about in London and the country side and stuff.

Tonight…

… I am going to see this legendary lady.

{all images from Dolly Parton, Queen of the Universe}

Amy Poehler Girl Crush

These are quite terrifying and hilarious, and make me really love Amy Poehler. Polaroid test shots taken during the taping of the Upright Citizens Brigade 1998 television series. Seen via Got A Girl Crush, with more info here.

Lost + Found

This past weekend I ventured out to the new Lost + Found Market in Brunswick. The Smith Street, Collingwood branch of Lost + Found is a well established haven of vintage amazingness, so I had been itching to go and explore their new premises.

I was very happy to come home with this copy of Marianne Faithfull's first biography. I read this years ago after getting it from the library and I've wanted my own copy ever since!

Dazed Bjork

I saw an airfreighted copy of this mag yesterday but it was a bit pricey for me. I'll definitely be buying it once it comes out here at a normal price. I'm frugal like that :)

Bjork's new album Biophilia is out next month. Have you seen the video for the first single Crystalline? Have a look here.

Seventies Paparazzo

Debbie Harry (1977) // Duran Duran (1981) // David Bowie (1975)
// Joan Jett (1978) // Rod Stewart (1976)

Photographer Brad Elterman began his career as a teenager in the seventies, taking photos of all the biggest celebs and the most decadent parties in Los Angeles. If you click through the links above you can read his stories about each photo - I really recommend this, I've just spent half the morning reading about Elterman's adventures. Things were certainly different for photographers back then. I especially love this story, about his photo of Rod Stewart (above): 

"If you were in-crowd or involved in the music industry around 1976 you knew that Rod Stewart played soccer every Saturday at the Coldwater Canyon park in Beverly Hills. He was nuts about his game.

I showed up every weekend with a long lens and I shot away. Rod never seemed to care. I would dash off to the color lab; then the next day on to the post office to mail my color slides to the teen publications in London. They purchased them all and demanded more.

Photos of Rod kicking a ball can get a bit mundane after while; but if you wanted to make the real dough, you needed to get Rod with a girl. This photo is just what the London Daily Mirror wanted. Not only did they love the chick in the photo, but the icing on the cake was Rod with his pint of beer in hand! That is what made this photo!

During these magical days at the Coldwater Canyon park, not once did anyone say No Photos nor did another photographer ever appear. Today, it would be total bedlam to photograph a star of Rod’s magnitude in a public park. The last time I drove by the park the soccer field was gone and the Department Of Water & Power had taken over the property. I will always have these wonderful memories of Rod, the soccer field, and that chick with the endless legs!"

House Love

The Auckland home of Karen Inderbitzen-Waller and Delphine Avril Planqueel is now up on the Selby, and it's possibly the greatest house I've ever seen! I love the clutter, the backyard, the wallpaper, their pet bunny, the miles of Crown Lynn crockery, and the bedding made from vintage underwear - I love it all!

Market Prizes

I came home with quite a few prized items after my visit to the Camberwell Sunday Markets…

…including the Times Square soundtrack - I haven't seen this film, but I'm desperate to after giving this a few spins. Unfortunately a well informed friend tells me that it's impossible to find a copy here in Melbourne :(

I love autobiographies, so I couldn't go past this one of Mia Farrow's. I'm particularly interested in reading about her time spent studying under the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India. The group of 60's hipsters she was with included the Beatles, who wrote the song Dear Prudence about Farrow's sister who was so fanatical that she spent the whole trip holed up in her room meditating.

The Treasury of Good Food Ideas, or more like: the treasury of food that haz cheez in it.