Fruit and Flowers

Look what I found at my local chemist. A chemist for you Americans is our version of a drugstore. Is it just plastic fruit and flowers???

You can flip open the tops for lip balm.

They are by an Australian cosmetics company Miki. Check out their very cute website: http://www.mikicosmetics.com/main.html .

Sunday Safe Nail Polish

While all of the Northern Hemisphere is cozying up to the dark and ruby colored nail polishes, here in Australia the summer colors are revving up. I call this OPI Butterflies nail polish, Sunday safe because it won't shock the grey hair ladies on Sunday.

A Rosy Future

You love the roses - so do I. I wish
The sky would rain down roses, as they rain
From off the shaken bush. Why will it not?
Then all the valley would be pink and white
And soft to tread on. They would fall as light
As feathers, smelling sweet; and it would be
Like sleeping and like waking, all at once!
                               - George Eliot

When I was 14, I visited the Rose Gardens at the Huntington Gardens and Museum in southern California. I was enchanted with the gardens, but especially with the roses and their exotic and sometimes outrageous names. These days I find items within my home that are inspired by my passion for roses. Even though Australia is in its winter right now, I find that I can have the different shades of roses without waiting for the Spring.

I collect a pattern of china named “ Dimity Rose” by Royal Albert. I hunt for these pieces on ebay and budget for a teacup at a time.
I will never run out of rose inspired stationary. Now I just need to use it!

Rose inspired costume jewelry.
My favorite rose scents are Satin by Victoria Secret and Evelyn Rose by Crabtree and Evelyn.
Rosy nails are a must for me. This is only a sampling of the various shades I own. From L to R, Essie’s Shop till you Drop, Butter’s Pink Ribbon, Essies’s Forget Me Nots, and Orly’s Rose Colored Glasses.
Rose lips can be created with Tiramisu (Estee Lauder, Berry Rose (L’Oreal) A Rose Romance (MAC) Rose Hollywood, (Christian Dior) Ripe Rose (ELF)Swatches of the lipsticks from the Top to Bottom:
ELF, Christian Dior, MAC, L’Oreal, and Estee Lauder.

Never a Ballerina....

That very night, I dreamed that I was a ballerina, and spent my whole life dancing like a butterfly, to the sounds of Tchaikovsky’s lovely music. – Anna Pavlova

When I was four years old, I had a few ballet lessons and then it ended when my family moved to Italy. I admired ballet dancers from afar. Also, with seven children in the family, money didn’t stretch far enough for lessons. I would daydream about wearing the shoes and the costumes from the Nutcracker. I saw my first professional ballet a few years ago. It was Romeo and Juliet at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. One day I hope that I have a little girl, who might have an interest in ballet, but for now I am content with wrestling with my two year old son.
Enjoy the photo montage inspired by the ballet.

Here is a Mineralize Skinfish with the name Petticoat and a perfect pink lipstick names Rose Divine by Christian Dior. The eyeshadow is by Guerlain and gives the softest colors to your eyelids.


These are two pretty nail polishes by Essie: Adore A Ball and Pinking up the Pieces.


I love my ballet dancer pendant and my oversized butterfly ring. What can I say? I love bling.


I heart this tank top.


My little sister took this purse with her when she saw a performance at the Danish Ballet at the time she visited me in Copenhagen.

The perfume is by Michael Kors, called Very Hollywood. It smells like Spring, and I wear it all year round.

Seasonally Challenged

There's a certain slant of light,
On winter afternoons,
That oppresses, like the weight

Of cathedral tunes. - Emily Dickinson

I read in the Canberra Times a short while ago, that indicated that we are halfway thru the winter. Being new to Australia, I find myself at a bit confused by the seasons. Back home in Utah it is, in the 100's, gardens are blooming, and everyone is wearing the light weight clothing. It makes me a bit sad to look outside and see the dull, cold, wet, and gray day. I found that I needed to surround myself with the items that made me feel warm and cozy back in Utah, Denmark and Russia. The first thing I pulled out was a December issue of a Victoria Magazine and enjoyed the view of the following pictures.



My next action was to put one of my favorite movies on the television. It is based on a Thomas Hardy novel called, "Under the Greenwood Tree". It stars Keeley Haws, of "Wives and Daughters" movie fame. She plays a teacher will many romantic possibilities in a small English village. Throughout the movie, a greenwood tree is shown in different parts of nature's seasons. Unlike most Thomas Hardy novels, this story has a happy ending. It is a movie which will make you sigh. Now I must adorn myself to finish off the feel of winter in August. Here is my red mod style coat that I love probably a little too much.


Dark jewelry made with marcasite is something I collect.
I love the holiday packaging of cosmetics, there is my Chanel smoky eye compact and the nail polish is Rouge Noir. I must be channeling the 1920's with these colors.