Sunday, February 28, 2010

parlez vous francai?


What better to cheer me up on a rainy day than a present from Paris ... (yes I hear you a trip to Paris would be much more cheer-worthy, but this is the next best thing). Whilst on her journey, a lovely lady thought of me when she saw this beautiful silk green scarf. It has truly brightened my day and, I imagine, the day of those whom I commute with; a mix of red, green, pink blue and yellow among the shades of black and grey on the peak-hour bus. I'm sure I looked totally Parisian as I strolled along this morning ... if only people knew that this is the extent of my Frenchie training.



cactus

x

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The world is lazy



The perfect three minute pop song that's not too bubblegum (not that I don't like bubblegum)
It's three minutes of predictable phrases with an undercurrent of something a little more sombre the outro lyrics droning 'I hate sleeping alone'
The unsuitably retro and choreographed film clip takes the edge of what could have been a hip singles anthem casting depressing shots of girl band playing low slung instruments in an uber cool warehouse somewhere in downtown L.A.
Nice work Best Coast. I think you're gonna be my new best band.

cactus
x

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Tutti Frutti



The lovely Miss Holly J'aDoll, darling doll face of modern burlesque (pictured above) has created a night for virgin performers. How sweet of her to make their first time so memorable!

The night is called The Peel and will feature a whole bunch of burlesque newbies as well as some songstresses and samba-dancers in amidst a roaring Carmen Miranda-type MC.

Tonight is opening night and if you dress Frutti you get in for five bucks!

So get out those cherry accessories (I know you all still have them hidden away in the bottom draw with your mid-nineties fashion shame) and get yourself to Name that Bar tonight.

In the meantime make sure you stop by Miss J'aDoll's facebook page and check out her general fabulousness.
You won't be disappointed: http://www.facebook.com/holly.jadoll

See you there kittens.

cactus-fruit

x

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Meow!




She's clever, she's lovely and she's a Kitten!

If the Aristocats taught me anything it was that everybody wants to be a cat. And who wouldn't want to be Kitty Collects just a little bit? Check out her range of Goddess purses. They're so Gramorous, the perfect combination of grandma and glamorous: gramorous.

www.madeit.com.au/kittycollects

If I carry a clutch can I be part of the Kitty Club. Please?

cactus.

x

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

good morning sunshine


I think I've found the perfect way to start the day: pier-side sitting, coffee and a fresh Frankie; my bible, my sanctuary my silver lining on a cloudy day.
I feel totally calm, a little inspired ( after all I have only had my first quick flick through the pages - which seem to be on a recycled stock now? Nice one) and guilt-free after having my dose of vitamin D.

My day can only get better from here, right?

cactus

x

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

新年好!


On fbi's to-DIY-for segment yesterday they were talking about luck and how to bring a little bit of it to yourself each day.
I have something to add on the how-to list.

As we all know it's Chinese New Year time, chinatown is full of lanterns and dragons and actors dressed as emperors.
Last night I was on the way to meet a dear friend for dinner. I was just wandering, not really paying attention to where I was going until something drew my eyes down. A beautiful little red piece of paper with a hella cute chinese girl on it. I almost kept walking. I have a tendency to pick things up off the ground, which my boyfriend thinks is a dirty habit and I could hear his voice in the back of my mind 'that's gross darlin', just leave it.' And the last time I picked something off the ground it was a mini tarot card. I thought it was a premonition or a sign, so I went straight to my nan who's kinda psychic and asked her what the card meant: 'That card is not for you! That's the lonely wanderer, with a broken heart, you shouldn't have picked that up!'
But this paper was so cute, how could it be dirty, or harmful? Whatever, I thought, this will look so sweet in my scrapbook.
So I picked up this little piece of paper, only to turn it over and find that it was a little sealed envelope.
A chinese whisper perhaps?
I carefully peeled the sticky paper back and peeked inside and look! Ten dollars! All for me!
I immediately called my nan to tell her my story. She was so excited and told me that this envelope was meant for me, nobody else and not to let that ten dollars dwindle away, to buy something that I could keep forever with it.
I figure this month's Frankie is as good as any eternal possession. So that's what I'm going to spend my good luck money on.Yup. Issue 34. Yaysies.
I think I'll keep thinking that someone is putting these little red lucky envelopes all over the city rather than some cute little girl has lost her week's banking money.

Finders keepers rule applies here though, right?
Happy Chinese New Year and Frankie day!

cactus.
x

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Hugh Ford




Hugh, meaning: being way cooler and/or better than any one else, ever.

i.e. It's not Hugh's fault he's better than everyone, he just is.


When did you know that you were an artist?
I’ve always drawn and I’ve done a bit of illustrating work as part of my job, but I really only started with putting work on canvas a few years ago. I’d just given them away as presents, to friends and family and I still do that, but I guess I felt like an artist when I organised an exhibition and someone asked to buy my first piece. When someone you don’t know buys some thing you’ve done it’s a very satisfying feeling because you know that they’re buying it for the picture itself, not any emotional attachment to me.


Why paint?
I work as a designer for a living so I think it's important to me, to get away from the computer and get a bit messy every now and then. I like to just make some textures, paint some lines and see what happens. I don't have a great attention span, so the style in which I paint, works for me.


How would you describe your work?
I’ve found it really hard to classify my work. I paint in acrylics and I guess they are figurative paintings. I build up layers and then use black lines, filling in bits here and there. My paintings create a story, but because of the missing or abstract elements, I’ve left it to the viewer to make up the rest.


What do you want people think about when they see one of your pieces?
Seeing as I don’t paint faces, I’ve found that it really leaves the meaning to the individual. I like that you can make up you own story that goes with it. I've had some great responses to a few pieces that I certainly didn't expect or mean.

Do you have a favourite piece of your own?
My favourite piece would have to be "Magic Cowboy". It was the first real attempt I made at painting on canvas. I'd shown it in my first exhibition a few years back, and I remember thinking that if it doesn’t sell then I’m going to keep it. It’s probably the ambiguous name that really appeals to me, as you're not quite sure what’s magic about him, or even if he's a cowboy. It works for me anyway...


What’s been the highlight of your painting career so far?
My solo show last year was a petty big highlight for me. It was my second solo show and I certainly didn’t expect the response that I got. I think it was the first time that all the work I sold went to people I don't know. That a huge compliment for me, and will no doubt encourage me to put myself out there more.

Want more?
www.hughford.net

So get on down to see Hugh's exhibition at the Ian Dawson Gallery in Paddington, from 16-27 February. Unless you want to be way uncool that is.

cactus.
x

Friday, February 12, 2010

Friday night is Pizza night





Cowabunga dude. I guess in one way I'm living out my childhood fantasies. Donatello from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was my first boy-girl thing. Where I realised that one day I wanted to live with and love a turtle, er, man. When they came to the big screen (the original one, 1990 stylings) I thought it was on. He was so intelligent, the kind of guy I thought I'd meet at uni and we'd discuss important issues intelligently. I really think he was what bought on the Geek-sheik thing back. You know, hot nerds, ITis2DIY4, that sorta thing.

Part of me can't help but feel I ended up with Michelangelo, the less serious, more pizza-loving of the turtles but still, how can a girl complain when she's feeling like April on a Friday night?

Heroes in a half shell.
cactus

x

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Little Miss Scatterbrain


I used to love the Little Miss and Mr Men series when I was a kid. Especially Little Miss Scatterbrain. She was always forgetting things, wrapping up something non-food and leaving it in the oven, from what I can remember she was downright crazy and hysterical!

What's not so hysterical is that this childhood love is now beginning to become more a part of my life than what I would like it to be. I'm that person that runs around in a flap crying 'I've lost my glasses' to which dear friends of mine usually pull them off my head where they've been sitting for the entire time I have been running around like a mad woman. The other day I thought I'd lost my phone, I had people searching for it (it is a very important item on a Friday afternoon) and it was of course, at my desk, hiding under a few sheets of paper which I'd sworn I'd looked under. I now need to avoid the receptionist downstairs who started asking around for me, I'd rather her think I have no phone than 'that girl who's losing her mind.'

It's moments like these, that yes, I need twisties, and also have the ask the questions: is this only going to get worse with age? Do I really have oncoming dementia at 24?

I never used to understand why people tied string around their finger to help them remember something. These days, a ball of string is in my necessary handbag items. I've had times where I've gotten to work, only to turn around again and do the round trip home thinking I'd forgotten to turn off the straightener (which is always switched off when I get there) I've ruined entire days thinking I've left the bathroom window open, had to excuse myself from friendly coffees when I remember I made eggs for brekkie and can't recall turning the stove knobs back to zero. I find speaking to myself helps. 'Iron off.', 'window shut.' but doesn't help me feel less crazy.

A friend of mine used to work for docs and when I expressed my fear of my deteriorating brain when it came to remembering whether I'd shut the windows and locked the doors, he told me this story about this lady who could never get past her front lawn because she was always worried something electrical was left on and she was going to burn her house down. Then this great idea came to her. She put all of her appliances in plastic tubs and leave them on her front porch so when she turned back to look at her house, she could see all of her appliances and know that nothing was going to be left on. She really thought this idea would take off and she could even start a business from it and make her millions.

Is this where I'm headed?

love from a fearful, possibly scatterbrain-Little Miss Cactus

x

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

A little trip down that lane





I know I'm not the only one who loves a good b+w pic. I wonder why I get so nostalgic over something that I wasn't even alive to witness. Is it that lingering moment of a bygone era? Or maybe just the beauty of these tattered photos. My nan sent some pics to me recently (yep, she's a whizz on the netty and scanner) and they are so full of old world charm I thought I should share a little of the magic that has been lost over time; thanks to things like the digital camera, and the novelty of happy-snapping your friends at their most trashiest rather than in the dapper like fashion that was only acceptable back then.

I wonder what our style would have been like if we were around back then?

cactus

x

Do you ever


feel like this?










I do sometimes. Apologies for lack of blogs dear readers. Will be back on track soon.
Promise.

cactus.
x