Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr plays the banjo?

Steve Martin, yes that's right, Steve Martin, has released a bluegrass album, 'Rare Bird Alert' with The Steep Canyon Rangers. He is quite the banjo-playing virtuoso.

The song above features Dixie Chicks and is quite lovely.

Not normally my kind of music (although I do like a bit of banjo), but that won't stop me...

Masochistic musicals numbers are more my style.

Another reason for Moominlove

The latest Moomin film, which has been revamped using old animation from the Polish television series made in the late 1970s, stars Alexander Skarsgard as the voice of Moomintroll.

How perfect!!

The film, Moomins and the Comet Chase, also stars my future father-in-law, Stellan Skarsgard, and Bjork has written a song:



Even more perfect.

Those kooky northern types...

Is this being released in Australia?

Mantelpiece Monday on a Tuesday

We've all been a bit sick and this is the current state of the mantelpiece. A bit over-stylised?

Snotty tissues (SOOO much snot), coldsore cream (me - so depressing), Moogoo (can't recommend this line of products enough!), paracetamol, jus d'orange and bubbles to cheer up a little miserable girl. They cheer me up too. Booblays.

Playing along (tardily) with Estelle at Fortune Favours.

Stylin'

image via

I went along to the Life Instyle tradeshow last night with a friend. It was fun. We drank champagne and I pretended I was going to buy up every stall.

There was some lovely stuff, there was some stuff that has had its time (garlands are the new bunting?) and then there was some excellent stuff. (Actually the amount of stuff was a little overwhelming. You really had to be peddling quite unique wares to stand out.)

We liked these city panorama borders:

image via

The Design Dispensary is well worth a visit.

A Doll's House - Act 2

The doll's house 'makeover' (yes, I'm calling it a 'makeover') has had me laughing away to myself at my shameful slap-dashed approach. 

I barely washed it (unlike the fastidious and slightly uptight Max who has sugar soaped her doll's house, sugar soaped!, and well, probably most other normal people). No primer. Sandpaper? Tee hee, cackle, ha HAH! 

After tearing up the carpet and vinyl and hacking away at some trim I'd had enough really. And felt suitably handymanned out.

I think I may have painted a tiny spider onto the ceiling (I'm viewing that as a design feature) and there may be a few dust bunnies squished into corners. What fun for the future residents to ponder the 'story' behind the strange bulges behind the paint. 

I can safely say I'll never make it on one of those renovation shows. 

I'm still not quite sure of the colours. They're a bit lighter than they appear in the photo. I wanted to avoid pink. I didn't want a pink doll's house. I know. 

My original palette choice was teal and beige but then the bargain bin at Bunnings called and pretty much determined the colours. So we have a slightly pink-tinged white and mushroom. I'm still not quite happy with it. I'm thinking a little duck egg blue somewhere. 

Await the next act.

*Intermission*

And, yes, I'm contributing this to Our Creative Spaces. The gall!

From little things

Look! I growed a Saskia (Saskis Abigailis)!

Culpeper suggests it to lift the spirits and fight melancholy.

I'm going to turn her into a little tussie-mussie.

And yes, that is a cashmere cardigan. We don't care. We are relaxed. And Desiderated.

Vintage swap

I participated in my first swap recently, kindly organised by Lakota at Faith Hope and Charity Shopping.

Look what arrived, beautifully wrapped (although we were too excited unwrapping to remember to photograph the gorgeous packaging effort) from the lovely Kylie at Lucy Violet Vintage.

Such a thoughtful bundle of sweet things. Old postcards, vintage Ladybirds, a vintage game of dominoes I had mentioned to Kylie I'd own as a child (see? thoughtful), an Avon swan perfume bottle and of course the requisite vintage tea towel and other gorgeousnesses.

Our favourite is this teak bottle opener. His head comes off to reveal a can opener, and his stand is a corkscrew. He reminds me of the Spy vs Spy birds from Mad magazine.

This booty of lovely things brought a lot of much appreciated joy. Thank you so much, Kylie.

Now I just need to get organised and send your package off.