If I Were to Wed...

...it would have to look something like this. Vintage. A little quirky. A lot whimsical, and a whole lot beautiful.

Stunning, right? It's from OC Prop Girl owner Renee Delsigne, check out the story of the shoot here. The photographs were taken by Jessica Claire.

All Images via StyleMePretty

I know, I'm a bad blogger

Things have been stressful! I'm working on it.

Anyway, to lift your (and my) spirits, here is an amazing villa for rent on the island of Koh Samui as pointed out by my roommate Ms R. She has plans to visit there this time next year (and didn't invite me!) and I'm trying to talk the boy into a visit with his mates. You'll understand why when you see the photos, I promise!

Villa Facilities:

Sleeps 10, 3 master bedrooms with ensuite Jacuzzis, 2 double rooms with ensuite bathrooms.

78 meter long double loop Slide from the top balcony to the Swimming pool built by Pool&Spa (www.poolspa.co.th), Amusement park standard as seen at water park projects: Ayuthaya water-park, Castle-hill water-park amongst others.

Fully fitted functional kitchen

Laundry room with Washer & dryer

Digital safe in master bedroom suite.

Remote control air conditioning in all rooms.

Large screen satellite TV and DVD player in living area with the most comfortable U shape Sofa you will ever experience!

An Office room with computer & printer / scanner. Internet Wifi access through out the Villa.

A playroom with an 8’’ Pool Table & a Fuss ball Table as well as many board games.

Ping-pong table.

Barbecue.

Jacuzzi

Our holiday retreat is 600 square meters (6460 Square feet) of luxury living-space set in a 3045m2 (7.5 acres) landscaped property in a tropical forest just south of the northwestern tip of Koh Samui. Beautiful local beaches, golf course, restaurants and shopping are a few minutes away by car.

It has five elegantly appointed bedrooms that can sleep up to 10 peoples, each with its own bathroom. Three of these bathrooms have large Jacuzzis and picture windows to enjoy the gorgeous sunsets. The ultra comfortable living area contains an enormous u-shaped sofa, 52” LCD TV, with surround sound system and the True Vision satellite service. The adjacent dining room sits up to 14 persons. The games room contains an 8ft. pool table, fussball table, and a variety of other popular games. There is also an outdoor ping-pong table. For those who wish to stay connected, we provide a fully equipped office and ADSL wifi access.
The villa is fully air-conditioned throughout.

The stunning 92 square meter infinity pool and Jacuzzi is complemented by an amazing 78 meter long double loop slide plunging directly from the top-floor balcony to the pool. The poolside terrace is fully furnished for outdoor dining and lounging.

Cooking (breakfast included), cleaning and maintenance are provided by our permanent staff.

The tropical forest setting enhances one's sense of peace and tranquility for a calm, stress free, and truly unforgettable vacation.

~From the website

Amazing, right?! How great would a week spent with 9 of your nearest and dearest be?
Rates are from $US700 per night in the low season, up to $US1200 a night during peak season. That's between $70 and $120 per person per night!
Oh how I dream...

~Images via luluholidays

The Swing of Things

Stunning! Inspired by the falling leaves of Autumn, MutDesign's Leaf Swing is a beautiful mix of adult and child, innocence and fragility and steel. It's made from a laminated material, and is now also available in a hammock and self standing swing version.

 Beautiful.

Images via MutDesign

Art = Life

I have two very favourtie artists - Audrey Kawasaki and Courtney Brims. I'm secretly proud of the fact that I can recognise their work wherever I see it, much like most people can recignise one of the greats, like Munch or Di Vinci. My mum gave me a Courtney Brims print for Christmas last year and said that she was absolutely lovely to deal with, and I've seen photos of Audrey signing tattoos of her work for fans.


First up - Audrey Kawasaki.

The themes in Audrey Kawasaki's work are contradictions within themselves. Her work is both innocent and erotic. Each subject is attractive yet disturbing. Audrey's precise technical style is at once influenced by both manga comics and Art Nouveau. Her sharp graphic imagery is combined with the natural grain of the wood panels she paints on, bringing an unexpected warmth to enigmatic subject matter.


The figures she paints are seductive and contain an air of melancholy. They exist in their own sensually esoteric realm, yet at the same time present a sense of accessibility that draws the observer to them. These mysterious young women captivate with the direct stare of their bedroom eyes.

~from her website


I find her work captivating - at first glance it's ethereal (I use that word a lot apparently) and sweet, and it's not until you've moved on that you realise there was something slightly disturbing, something not quite sitting right, and I love that.

     

  

And then there is Courney Brims. I discovered her on a very recent trip to the Entrance with the boy - she had done a collaboration with clothing label Element, and I happened upon one of her singlets while looking for a pair of thongs for said boy. I was instantly enamoured and have been ever since.

Courtney Brims is a self-taught artist based in Brisbane, Australia. She loves all things unusual and is inspired by fairytales, Victorian illustration, memories and dreams.

~From her website

Courtney's work is just as fantastical as Audrey's, but with a little more focus on the sweet and less on the slightly disturbing. Her work is amazingly soft yet realistic, inspired by fairytales and looking every bit like one in itself. I have The Little Mermaid print (the one with red hair and incidently the one I first saw for Element) and I adore it.
  

Makes me wish I could paint or even draw with any kind of talent, alas all my art is much too surreal to be this good.

All Images via Audrey Kawasaki and Courtney Brims

Smile and Let Go

I am not really having a good week this week, little bit down. But these are making me smile a little:

Images via Oso Polo Flickr, Inmost Light Flickr, 79 Images

Absent

I know, I've been absent for a little while, and probably will be for a little longer yet.
Along with wanting to give Jane a chance to mark my Manifesto before I went posting more here, the boy is also gearing up to move to New Zealand for 12 months in a months time, so I'm helping him get everything organised.

I promise, I'll have some more inspiring and beautiful things for you soon!

Inspiration Board

I built this inspiration board a year or so ago, just to keep all the little bits and pieces that we seem to accumulate that we love. The top right hand corner is a Lavazza ad (featured in the previous post too) that I tore out of a magzine during my first year at Tafe because I loved the colours - the lime nails and yellow corset (and I collect corsetry, so that didn't hurt either). There are photos of my friends and pets, little hand made gift tags that I picked up at Pepe Paperie in Bondi Junction, a bookmark I was given for xmas, mini embroideries I did years ago while working the phones in a call centre, and some street art I picked up in Ultimo and Newtown.

I think it's important to have an inspiration board, or just a place to keep the little things that catch your eye of a day. Mine was easy to make - it was just a piece of plywood with some foam on one side, stretch some fabric over the foam and staple the fabric down on the other side of the plywood, then criss cross some elastic over the fabric, again stapling down on the other side. Ta da! instant inspiration board.