Trivial | Mumbai, Crazy India.

"The eye-catching swimming pool in Mumbai, India, has been built to raise awareness about the threat of sea level rises as a result of global warming.

It was constructed by attaching a giant aerial photograph of the New York City skyline to the floor of the pool.

The idea was conceived by advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather, who were commissioned by banking giant HSBC to promote its £50million project tackling climate change.

The Ogilvy team came up with an innovative way to show the adverse impact of global climate change. They glued an aerial view of a city to the base of a swimming pool.
When the pool was filled with water, it gave a shocking effect akin to a city submerged in water. The visual of a sunken city shocked swimmers and onlookers, driving home the impact of global warming, and how it could destroy our world someday."

Fashion/Inspiration | Hubert Duprat and the Caddis Fly

 Text and photograph via Tumblr

"Caddis fly larvae are known to incorporate bits of whatever they can find into their cocoons, be it fish bone or bits of leaves. Hubert Duprat gave them gold, turquoise, gems and pearls."

So...... Amazing. Beautiful. Alluring.

 I just love this so much! I love the random order that the Caddis fly places the different materials. No designer could create something as random/unpredictable/truly beautiful as these wee guys. Subtle manipulation of nature can create such exquisite things.

Beauty | Neon Nails

(Rose bracelet - Lovisa, Nail colour - Lava Lamp by the Color Club)

I LOVE THIS NEON NAIL POLISH. the photo's really don't do it justice. It is more pink than red as shown in the photographs.  Now that I have that out of my system. I was given this lovely shade of 'Lava Lamp' orange by the Color Club by my two very beautiful and handsome friends, Lydia and George as a 'Get Well' present after an operation that I had earlier on in the year. I have fallen in love with this electric and almost blinding colour.

I am going to be rocking this colour in winter to brighten up those drab and dreary winter days.

By the way, does anyone know how hard it is to take photographs of your hand? Near impossible!! And it didn't help that I wanted to photograph my right hand, when my camera is suppose to be operated by my right hand! And I know what you are saying, 'Just photograph your left hand Catherine!' Alas, I am left handed so my poor wee left hand is all battered and bruised and slightly odd looking. What I do for you people.

Photography | Flower Project

I have been working on these for a reasonable amount of time. I am still not 100% happy with them, so I am going to keep playing around with them. But here they are! I don't really know where I got the idea from. I just started playing around and I got myself to where I am with the photographs.

I was also using pretty primitive editing tools to do this so I am pretty stoked with how they have turned out. Some of the finer details didn't come out that clear on the black and white pictures because they are too small. I maty try to convince my parents to buy me Photoshop for my birthday... Mum I know you are reading this! Consider it!! Think of all the amazing photographs! Think Mum, think!!

There was another one, but I had trouble uploading it.... What a silly little photograph.

Life | Loves of my Life.

While going through my older SD card I found photos of my lovely little putty tat, Madge.

Her name was originally Tabitha, but that didn't really suit her personality; she hates everyone, apart from me and ALWAYS gets what she wants, even if she has to use force. So her name just morphed into Madge.

 She is so beautiful! As you can she is really impressed that I am taking photos of her. She has such an androgynous look. She would make it far as a fashion model right at this moment.

I also found some pictures of my mums little West-highland Terrier, (or my 'little sister' as my mother keeps telling me) Maggie!

What a scruffy little puppy! She grows hair instead of fur so mum has to pay lots and lots of money, much to my dads dismay, to have her groomed quite often. Also since she has hair not fur she doesn't malt and she doesn't smell like dog! She does roll in really bad smelling stuff though, and since she is while she has to get showered. She HATES it. She just stands there looking like a drowned rat and being all sorry for herself. So funny.

I wish I had photos of Mr Piggles, my mums cat. (His real name is Greg.) I think I have some somewhere, but as a typical boy he is constantly out adventuring and only comes home for dinner so it virtually impossible to get a photo of the little rat bag!!

Life | Civic Carousel

Yesterday I went in to Canberra's civic to take some photographs of the carousel because I am doing a project on it for my Cultural Heritage class.
The merry-go-round started life in St Kilda Esplanade, Melbourne in 1914. The fifty two hand carved wooden horses and two elephants were specially imported from Germany. The twisted brass upright poles came from Scotland. It was bought for $40,000 at a public auction for the people of Canberra  in 1973 and after extensive restoration work, the merry-go-round began operating in Canberra`s Petrie Plaza on March the 13th 1974.

It really is the most amazing piece of heritage EVER and my quick snapshots that I took for my project really don't do it justice.

Fashion | Derek Lam Autumn/Winter 2012

While keeping my eye on NY Fashion Week I came across Derek Lam, and it is fair to say I have found my new favourite designer of all time.

So lets descuss why I LOVE this collection so much, shall we?

• The tailoring of the more fitted pieces look so clean-cut and sharp, giving such a fresh 1950's/60's feel.
• In the recent months I have fallen in love with light and flowing fabrics, but I had yet to see a collection in which the art of placing fabric perfectly was nailed right on the head so that the fabric fell so naturally and care free, but still holding structure until I stumbled across this collection right here. The last 4 photographs really capture the dream-like way that the fabric moves.
• The patterns on the tailored pieces, personally, are what give the collection the real 1960's feel; the large fern life pattern on the dress in the second photo that is juxtaposed against the bright floral collar is just to die for.
• I am a sucker for big knit jumpers and the ones from this collection remind me of home, out in the county. This heavy knit feel is juxtaposed against the delicate sophistication of the flowing skirts is just simply AMAZING.
• WIDE-LEG PLEATED SEQUIN PANTS. Oh my dear Lord and all that is Cat Lady. They are AMAZING/TO DIE FOR. The wide-leg pants are seen again in this collection but made out of different materials, such as leather and a tweed looking fabric, but the sequins are 100% my favourite. Usually when I see sequins either on the catwalk or out on the streets, I can't help but cringe as, for some unknown reason, I find them rather tacky 99% of the time. BUT Derek you have nailed it right on the head. and paired with the very crisp and clean cut leather shirt is just, UGH DROOL. Which leads me on to my next point....
• MIXED. TEXTURES. Yes, yes I know that mixing textures is not a new invention, but, I don't know how, Derek has created a whole new meaning to the concept. Precisely tailored leather with bellowing sequins, Heavy knit with delicate chiffon, Fur with tailored fabric and leather. It all seems to carefully planned and thought out and comes together some how effortlessly.
• Caped shoes have been floating around the fashion world for quite a while now, and I have had my doubts about them. I have always wanted to love them because it remind me of my grandfather wearing steel capped work boots on the farm, but they are some thing that you have to either love or hate.  But damn it, I LOVE these ones. I think that if I was to see them just on their own I would probably walk straight past them, but put with the rest of the ensemble, they are DELICIOUS. They complement the rest of the outfit; the 1950's masculine style oxford's matched with the clean cut and precise skirt suit create a very classic silhouette. I also love the fact that it is gold capped. So far the only style that I have seen is either silver or white. I love the warmer tone.
• The juxtaposition of Modern against Classic, Feminine against Masculine, Heavy against Delicate, Sleek against Shabby creates a the feeling that you are watching a gothic-eque classic Back and White film. Truly exquisite.
• And lastly, the hair. OH THE HAIR! It is truly amazing. Usually I am not one to really go all fan-girl over the hair in a collection, but OH MY DAYS, the hair was the element that caught my attention! It is so sleek but casual and shabby at the same time. It is also what puts across the 1950's/60's feel of the whole collection. It complements against the sleekness and clean cut look of the collection. My next project is to make my hair like this.

I don't think I have EVER felt so strongly about a collection ever in my life.

All Imaged Via Marcio Madeira for VOGUE

Sound | Florence Welch

 Florence + the Machine, No Light, No Light on Later Live with Jools Holland.

Quick post.
This is AMAZING.
Florence Welch is simply breathtaking. She is one of very few artist who are truly more amazing live.
How does she do it? I will never know.
All I do know is that I am in tears after watching this performance.

Fitness | This is going to be.....

I have been thinking about back when I was rowing. Granted I had no social life, but I was FIT! And the feeling of being fit is amazing and I would be lying if I said that I didn't want to feel that way again.

So starting from tomorrow, or really today, because I am up far too late (naughty naughty!) I am going to concentrate on becoming fitter and healthier, and yes, you lovely people get the pleasure of having a running commentary.

This is going to be..... PAINFUL.

Life | 6 Little Things....

It is 12:10am AEDT and I can't sleep. So I started thinking, what are the thing that I haven't been able to live with out since I have moved to Australia??And so I found 6 Little Things.

1| Cupcake Timer. This baby has been AMAZING to have around! Because University is very independent with you having to study in your own time, I have been using this timer to time how long I spend on each unit/how long I have fluffing around my room doing pointless things. Plus it serves as a really cute ornament!

2| 'Forever Alone' Teapot-teacup set. When everything has been getting crazy and hectic between social life and organising my uni studies it has been a gift from heaven to sit down and have a nice hot cup of peppermint tea. Also it has been nice to snuggle up into my bed with a steaming cup of tea on the occasional cold Canberra day.

My very loving parents bought this for me knowing how much I LOOOOVE my tea. I also have this on display in my room because 1. It is too damn cute to store away and 2. It makes my room look more homely and girly and less Dungeon-esque.

3| My Handy-Dandy Diary. Having a diary once you hit University is a must if you want to stay on top of everything! Also, unlike high school, University classes can be moved, changed, switched rooms or be canceled meaning every week is different and you can't really stick to a particular timetable or schedule. I never go anywhere with out this baby.

4| My Teddies. Yes, I do know that there are 3 things in this but, deal with it. But going from left to right:

1. My very first teddy EVER, bought from the hospital shop. Personally I think it is in pretty darn good condition seeing as it is going on 18 years.

2. JENNY BEAR! This teddy bear was bought for me by my favourite Grandma EVER, Grandma Wendy, when I was born. I even have a birth certificate and everything. I have also had this teddy for forever and a day.

3. Bo. Yes Bo. He is very special. My mum bought this bear for me when I was going off to boarding school at the tender age of 9 and she put a picture of me and my cat in the little pocket. 8 years later and we have both grown so much! Love my Madge.

This photo has two-in-one. BUT!

5| My St. Andrew's College Leavers ring. This ring is really important to me because, at a risk of sounding corny/cliche and all that marshmellowy stuff, this keeps all my friend back in New Zealand close to my heart so I haven't felt so alone and lost while trying to get my bearings in this very foreign  country.

6| Gold Heart Locket Bracelet. I was given this bracelet by my parents, so just like the ring, it is keeping my family close as they are now a couple of thousand kilometres away, oppose to only an hour and a half when I was at boarding school.

I have been feeling a little homesick every now and then when I think about what everyone else is doing, and when I realise that it is going to be a very long time until I see everyone again, but wearing these two very small pieces of jewelry keep me from having a metal breakdown in front of my Chemistry 1A lecture of 500 people. Thinking about every one also makes me SUPER-DUPER excited for when I will next see them and all the things that I have stored up in my little brain to tell them!!

To there they were, the '6 Little Things' that I wouldn't have been able to survive with out over the past couple of weeks in Australia.

Until next time.

(just had to add a photo of the sexy white brick wall that was my backdrop for this post. Love uni halls. Such class, such elegance!!)

Sound | Radioactive

Marina and The Diamonds (Marina Lambrini Diamandis) strike again with Radioactive. 

I have been playing this song on repeat for 3 months and I haven't gotten sick of it yet.

I don't know how Marina manages to do it, but she still has the strength and depth in her voice that she showed in her debut album, 'The Family Jewels', but she has DEFINITELY put herself out there more with her style, and being more experimental with her sound.

I will never get enough of this lady.

Inspiration | Giuseppe Randazzo, Stone Fields

"“Stone Fields” is a series of algorithmic works by Italian designer Giuseppe Randazzo. He uses algorithms to create the structure of the stones and to sort them by size according to an underlying pattern. The series is inspired by British artist Richard Long, who made his international reputation during the 1970s with sculptures made as the result of epic walks, during which he marks the ground or adjusts the natural features of a place by up-ending stones. Read more about Randazzo’s work after the jump."

Seeing this I really want to create my own. It would take INCREDIBLE patience to create something like this and it seems like the perfect project for the cooler days where I don't want to venture out of my room.

Via Here

Life | Life as a Poor Uni Student

I haven't updated in so long..... But I do have a legitimate reason! I have been moving to Australia. More specifically, Canberra!
It has been an insane whirl wind of crazyness.
I arrived on the 21st and I had a chemistry workshop on the 23rd and 24th. It was so crazy! I then spent from the 25th to the 29th with my parents trying to get my bearings! It is amazing being in a place where there is SHOPPING!
So on the 29th I moved into the halls and then I had 'O Week'. It was a crazy wirlwind of parties, fun times, meeting new people and general crazy fun times!

So since I have moved in and set myself up I am going to be updating my blogspot so much more!

This year is going to be great.