It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...Part 2

Home is where the heart is.  That's how the saying goes.  And for house and home is where I find myself wanting to buy all sorts of wonderful things.  Does anyone else have this obsession over homewares?  I don't know exactly what it is, but I've always loved all types of homewares and from years ago would find myself buying things that I'd keep for some point in the future.  I even find myself trawling eBay or Gumtree and finding these beautiful vintage or recycled pieces and think "yep, I'm gonna buy that" and then I realize, I don't have space for bookshelf that is many metres long and high complete with a ladder.  Nor do I have the means to transport this oversized bookshelf to my house.  That's the magnetic pull of homewares.  It's almost as bad shoes.  Almost.

It would be pretty easy to have a separate Christmas wishlist filled entirely of delightful little things that would be at home in the house of my dreams - you know, the one that looks like it could grace the pages of Modern Home magazine.  Until that time comes, I do still have a wishlist.  

Photo taken from www.moroccanpouffe.com.au

Moroccan pouffes!  I have loved these leather pouffes for some time, which are essentially like a much more stylish version of the good old beanbag.  Upholstered in leather and coming in various colours, they are undeniably more stylish than the beanbag of your childhood.  These pouffes are by Mykela Rose and are the real deal from Morocco.  Priced at $189 each, they come in a range of beautiful colours as well as metallics, so you'll definitely find one that you love and fits your home perfectly.  The stitch pattern on top of the pouffes is beautiful and with some of the pouffes, is done in a contrasting colour.

 

Photos taken from www.patriciafernandes.com.au

These ceramics handmade by Patricia Fernandes are pretty and functional!  Double whammy!  I own the Meek Beakers (the first photo) but I'd also like to have a couple of the platters.  This may make me sound very stupid, but I had no idea I could actually bake in the dishes.  So essentially, almost every piece can be baked in, limited only by your culinary imagination.  The colour choices range from the neutral to the bright, I like the blue hues myself.  They all work well together which means you can mix and match your pieces as well.

Photos taken from www.iseenoise.com

  

I like having all sorts of art and prints.  In fact, I have way too much and more than I can actually all display at the one time.  My tastes are pretty eclectic - vintage prints, graffiti, photography and almost everything in between.  I like pretty and feminine stuff, such as the prints above from I See Noise and something a little bit different and special such as below by So Fresh Peche, which is the exact one I personally own.  I love the heart shaped fingerprint 'balloon'. 

I think art is something that should be accessible to all and some of my favourite pieces are those that cost me the least - in fact, sometimes the framing costs more!  But if you love it, and it speaks to you, it doesn't matter how much or little it costs.  What does matter is that you smile every time you pass it on your wall.

At the moment, I See Noise is having a sale with all remaining stock discounted by 50% in preparation for the new cardstock to be released in December.  I could not see the print I own on the So Fresh Peche website, but I'm sure you could enquire directly of its availability. 

 

Photo taken from www.bombardierdesigns.com.au

Scented soy candles are a must for me.  I only like to burn soy.  I'm not a fan of paraffin wax candles and in my experience, have always found that soy candles burn much nicer than those made of paraffin wax.  I actually have been burning a paraffin wax candle that I received as a gift and in comparison to my soy candles, it has burnt and melt so messily and this has always been my experience with paraffin wax.  

The design of the candles by Bombardier Designs is simple, yet stylish, with its monochromatic and unfussy labels.  You can even have them made custom for you to suit your next special occasion!  Now that's one party favour or wedding bomboniere I wouldn't mind receiving.  You can't go wrong with French Pear or French Vanilla (these two scents are on constant rotation at my house) but there's plenty other gorgeous scents to choose from.

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Blow (Dry) and Go

Hello, hello, how's it been going?

Firstly, who has attended a Beyoncé concert while she's been touring Australia?! I saw her on Friday night after I was able to secure some last minute tickets. I was pretty cut when I was unable to purchase them when the first Perth show was announced, and then during the time the second show was announced I was in the Kimberley and cut off from the rest of the world. I was sure that I had missed out entirely until this week when some further tickets were released on Ticketek. To be honest, how does that even happen? I'm not complaining though. Beyoncé did what she does best and put on a great show although I do admit that the concert during her 2009 tour was better than this one.

Regardless, watching Mrs Carter perform for an hour or two is time well spent.  The last time she performed in Perth I had tickets that got me to the front of the stage but this time I was in the gold seated section in the upper level.  One thing I don't understand are those people who attend concerts and dislike others who choose to stand up and dance.  Hellooooo...it is a concert?!  A group a few seats away from us were yelled at to sit down when they danced during some of her songs. Beyoncé herself didn't dance that much, not to the extent of her other performances, I wonder if that is an indicator of a little somethin' somethin' going on?  Hmmm.

Well known for her trademark long blonde locks, she was cropped short again that night.  I actually loved that sleek short bob she sported for a short time and I would love to do that with my own hair but my naturally curly hair follicles tell me it's not going to happen.  At least not with my natural hair.  The upkeep on that 'do is more than I'm prepared to give.  However, I'm sure if I had an army of people as she does I could probably pull it off.

Until the day that I do possess a Beyoncé-worthy army of hair stylists, I have to settle for the temporary sleekness achieved from a great blow dry.  Being absolutely useless with my own hair, this only ever happens when I make the visit to my hairdresser for a bit of heated styling action.  Although I am very happy with my regular hairdresser, it's not always easy to get to her on the odd occasions when I want to have my hair styled being that I work in the city and her salon is out in the burbs.  

Enter Blow Dry Bar.

What a ridiculously smart and cool concept!  Sometimes all you want is for your hair to be blow dried or styled.  You don't always want the works, sometimes you just want your hair to look nice for dinner that night or a weekend out and what better than an express salon where you can get your hair blow dried within the space of half an hour and at a reasonable price?  

In Perth there is only one BDB so far, located in the city in the Raine Square complex.  This works well for me.  It's five minutes to walk from my office to the salon, which means I can get my hair did during my lunch break or after work.  I went for the first time this week and had my hair blow dried and tonged by Jessi to the perfectly sleek and straight look that I so love and long for.  

The blow dry is $40, which includes the shampooing and head massage and you can have your hair blow dried straight or curly.  They do other styling as well, such as up-dos, and your general salon services such as cutting and colouring.  I would definitely be interested in trying them out for a cut and colour, even though I am loyal to my hairdresser, but just for research purposes of course!

The super convenient city location means that I can easily get my straight locks for a night out.  It would be great if in the near future more locations opened in Perth, but for now, check out their Raine Square location especially if you work in the CBD.  

 

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