Pinkerton Manor

A few nights ago I started my first freehand embroidery. It’s an owl for my Nanna, but I didn’t have time to finish it before I saw her. I’m going to finish it off when I get chance in the next few days and post it. I also need to decide whether to make it into a brooch or make a little frame for it. I’m thinking I would really like to do some more sketchy freehand embroidery too.

Speaking of sketches, I found this while cleaning out the spare room. It’s hard to believe that it’s actually eight years old. I remember doing it and everything. I was so annoyed that we didn’t get more male models. Drawing women is great, but variety is the spice of life. As soon as I have some kind of reliable income sorted out I’m going to go to life drawing classes. Drawing from photographic references just isn’t the same.

Also, I made cupcakes! Vanilla rose cupcakes. I added rose nectar as the liquid in vanilla cupcake batter. The rose flavour was very subtle and I really want to experiment more with it. But everyone seems to have liked them anyway. Next I think I will make chilli chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting or maybe Ming‘s beetroot cupcakes. Hoorah for cupcakes!

So, I have a few posts drafted that I haven’t been entirely happy with and I’m making it my goal to have at least one of them finished over the weekend. I’m writing a sticky note to remind myself and everything!

So, my AS has been flaring up like a mofo lately. Last week we traveled to the Sunshine Coast for a few days to see family. Three and a half hours on public transport to get there, two nights on a lumpy futon and two and a half hours on public transport to get back. My spine hates me. But we had a good time. Had afternoon tea with my grandma (who sent us home with some lemon curd – yum!), hung with Matt’s sister, saw my sister and my dad and even fit in a little thrifting sojourn.

And on Saturday we had a little bbq gathering for Matt’s birthday which was lovely. I’ve been taking photos with my ten year old Pentax 35mm camera lately and snapped a few at the bbq too. Can’t wait to get them developed.  Sunday was all day in bed with horrible, horrible back pain and Monday was mostly filled with gentle movement, Nigella and gingerbread cookies. Tuesday was much the same and then today I ventured out into the world for sushi with Matt.

Oh, and did I mention I started a tumblr blog? No? Well, I did! It’s called Pinkerton Manor(ish) and I’ve  been posting all kinds of random thoughts, inspiration and exciting and amusing things. Ch-check it out!  It does carry a NSFW warning though (I occasionally post nakedness and related things).

Next post I will show you the awesome belt that I thrifted for a dollar and how it is totally perfect for my nautical top.  And some other stuff.  Yay!

Ok, so, there’s not really anything naughty about it.  I just like the way those two words sound together.  But I made a top, people!  I’ve really been digging the nautical stripes I’ve been seeing around lately, but not enough to pay $60 for a pretty straight forward top (Sportsgirl, I’m looking at you!).  Plus there’s my whole second hand/handmade thing to consider too.  I couldn’t really be bothered trawling op shops for nautical striped tops and as much as I would love to support an independent, I just don’t have the money.  So, when I saw mens stripy tees on clearance at Big W I thought to myself, ‘Amie, you’re a smart kid, you could just buy one of those and make it into something awesome’.  And I totally did.

I started with a mens size L tshirt (I tried on different sizes in store to find the perfect amount of slouch) and added elastic at the waist (just zigzagged inside), rolled the sleeves up and tacked them in place and added some cute buttons.  I wanted silver buttons with anchors on them, but stuffed if I was going to pay $2+ per button for plastic buttons just because they were silver!  So, I got these little white ones with a kind of overlappy pattern thing on them instead.  I looked at some others with rope patterns too and I don’t even remember why I didn’t buy them, but I’m sure I had a reason.  I think the ones I got were about 30 cents each.

I think I might add some crochet belt loops at either side of the waist and get some rope style cord to wear as a belt.  Other than that I’m pretty pleased with the outcome.  And even though it was just a small refashion, it was nice to be sewing again.  It’s gotten me excited about all the other projects I’d been thinking about, but not really acting on.  And it was kind of nice to have something new to wear too.  I really don’t know why I don’t sew things more often.

I haven’t really been posting much lately and I would love to be able to say it’s because I’ve been busy, but actually the opposite is true.  I haven’t really been doing (or wearing) anything worth posting about.  I’ve been unemployed for four months and ran out out of money (which I saved in Canberra) a little while back.  My days at the moment are filled with job hunting, household chores and trying to figure out my university applications.  And a bit of moping for good measure.  So, I’ve kind of been in a bit of a funk about the whole lack of job/lack of money thing.

I’ve been to a couple of interviews so far, but no dice.  It seems to have been small things that have been the problem.  The last interview I went to was going really well until they asked if I was a student.  The position was for a casual retail assistant, 12-15 hours per week, but they wanted someone with ‘full availability’.  So, my applying for university was a problem for them.  It made me glad that they didn’t go ahead and offer me the position anyway because it probably would have been a bunch of 3 hour lunch cover shifts and the expectation that I would drop everything to fill shifts at a moments notice.  But I have another interview tomorrow (following on from a phone interview yesterday), so it’s not all bad.  And at the very least, the other interviews have been good practice.

I would have posted my interview outfits on here, but I usually change into them just before leaving the house so I don’t spill things on them.  And then I’m usually so keen to change into something more casual when I get home that it doesn’t even cross my mind to take a photo.  I will try to remember tomorrow though because I managed to dig out a plaid skirt I thrifted years ago and it is awesome.  I was actually planning on cutting it up, but now I’m really glad I didn’t because god knows what I was thinking!

Anyway, outfit post tomorrow (hopefully) and I’ve also drafted a post about my experience with the contraceptive implant.  When I started this blog it was meant to be my craft blog and then I got really interested in fashion blogging and I changed tack, but now I’ve kind of realised that for me to remain interested and enthusiastic it needs to reflect who I am as a person.  So, in the future I’ll be posting more about issues that are important to me.  And I’m totally going to make a new header image soon too.

I’ve also been playing with Poladroid a fair bit too haha.

So, I thought I would share a few things from my art folio from high school.  These would be about eight years old now.

I like to think that my skills have improved since high school, but the truth is that I’m sorely out of practice.  Although, I’ve not had a chance to work with inks since high school and they were always my favourite.  I love watercolour too, but we never did any in school.  I asked about it one day and the teacher said they were “wishy-washy.”  Lame.

I really want to do some life drawing again.  I tried a bit of drawing from photos a while ago, but it’s just not the same as with a model.  If I had more money (or any money really) I would be spending some at The Art Shed.  I want some nice new pencils and inks and watercolours and good quality paper.  I left my watercolours and and graphite pencils in Canberra for Louie to use.  I really miss making art with Louie.

These are only about a third of my folio.  There are also some still life and portraits, but they are basically garbage.  Plus none of them are ink, so who cares.  Oh, and I just remembered that the top one is done with a twig.

I so need to get some inks.

This is what the sky looks like here at the moment.  It’s been raining on and off since early this morning, but it’s still bright and sunny at times.  Weather like this always makes me want to make the most of things.  I really feel like getting out and take some photos.  Last night we headed out to watch a roller derby match with a friend, so I dug out my Pentax 35mm (I haven’t used it in eight years!) and loaded some film into it.  Unfortunately, it was standing room only by the time we got in and there were way too many people so we could barely see a thing.  I took maybe 4 or 5 photos, but I’m really not confident they’ll be any good.  We ended up leaving at half time.

I’ve been itching to share this skirt with the world ever since I started blogging, but it just never eventuated.  It is utterly amazing.  It’s home sewn patchwork and fully lined.  I thrifted it for $5 years ago, but I don’t often wear it.  I think I might actually be afraid of somehow wrecking it.  I’m going to try to get some more wear out of it this winter though.

Singlet – Best & Less, flower brooch – gift, skirt – thrifted, sandals – Big W, chunky plastic ring – gift.

You would think that with my newfound healthy eating habits I would be feeling on top of the world, but unfortunately I’ve been sneezing non-stop for the last few hours.  I’m really hoping it’s just hay fever or something, but I have had a sore throat on and off for the past week or so.  My fingers are firmly crossed that it just goes away.

Todays outfit is once again utilising leggings to extend the wear of some summer clothing.  I really, really love leggings.  I desperately want some colours other than black though and I never seem to find them (or when I do they just don’t suit me – like the electric blue ones I fell in love with last year).  So, if the clothing gods are reading this, I’d like some brown and/or grey leggings that suit me please.

The details.  Top – eBay, cardigan – thrifted, shorts – Target, leggings – Big W, scarf as belt – some boutique that was closing down, shoes – Big W.

And if you thought the post title was just about how I was feeling under the weather, get ready for some pun action…

Oh yeah, there are seeds on my muffins!  Pepitas and sunflower seeds sprinkled over vegemite on English muffins.  With a side of pear.  Apparently if you eat seeds with fruit it slows the release of sugars.  Plus bonus protein.  Oh, and it also tasted really good too.

Dinner last night looked like this.  Originally I was going to make a vegetable curry with rice, but I changed my mind at the last minute and it became ‘Italian’ vegetable stew.

In it was sweet potato (a ‘superfood’), potato, carrot, red lentils, spinach (another ‘superfood’), tomato, mixed beans, ‘chicken’ stock, dried herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary and parsley), garlic and tomato paste.  Slow cooked for two hours.

And a side of brown rice with added barley, split peas and yellow lentils.  The combination of beans, lentils and grains means all this contains whole protein.  Delicious and healthy.

Lately I’ve been thinking and reading a lot about eating healthier.  I’ve lost muscle mass, put on weight and my arthritis has flared up since I moved back to Brisbane and I think it has a lot to do with changes in my eating habits.  I’ve been a vegetarian for over ten years, but I’ve never really put much thought into a healthy vegetarian diet – I just replaced meat with meat alternatives and that was about it.

Lately though, I’ve been thinking more and more about what I should (and shouldn’t) be eating.  The most helpful resource I’ve found so far is The Vegetarian Society’s V-Healthy website.  I’ve also been reading up a little on ‘super foods’ and I’m finding that a lot of them are foods that I love and eat a fair bit anyway.  Yay me!

So, today for lunch I had wholemeal toast with hommus (which I now know is a whole protein) and tomato (high in lycopene) and a handful of dried apricots (an excellent source of Vitamin A).  Right now I’m enjoying a cup of tea with honey to stave off my sweet tooth cravings.  And dinner will be a vegetable and bean curry with brown rice (to which I’m adding a little barley and lentil mix).

And my outfit kind of matched my lunch!

Cardigan – Colorado, dress – Ice, leggings – Big W, scarf – thrifted, espadrilles - Target.

Left to right:

Wool A line 60s cut hooded Jacket Coat from DawnSharp

Eiffel Tower black tunic dress from PrettyRaccoon

Tree of Life Earrings from redwhisper

Five Nesting Lotus Bowls from whitneysmith

Pink Clover Shamrock Necklace from meekssandygirl

Lovely Leaf Ring from SeasideStudio

Tiny (I mean tiny) rose earrings from Nataliaraya