Unpacking Winter ... Aaaaaaaaachoooo!

Year in, year out, it happens.
Time for some layers, so out come the lovely woolies, then the sneezes.

It's allergy time!

A few handfuls of cotton balls soaked in lavender oil popped in with the clothes at the end of the season, help keep my allergies at bay.

Yet the first time I slip on my tail coat each year, a bit of sneezing is inevitable, but I feel it's worth it.

In other riveting news, we had a bit of a scare when The Phoenix was taken to hospital with collapsed veins and dehydration.

Not ideal conditions for a severe type A haemophiliac with a strict regimen of regular Factor VIII injections.

Oh yes and I had a broken molar extracted this week ... cheaper than a root canal, so it was the only option.

I got a dollar from the wee tooth fairy - heheee.

Yeah so I reeeeeeeally resisted the temptation to dress in a shroud to sort out more medical shite today, but dressing as what The Stylist described as a magician, was worth it.

It made us both have a giggle and raise a few smiles out and about.

1920s tailcoat - eBay

Gold lurex blouse - from that hot wench, Helga

1960s pink bikini pants - Etsy

Leggings - Black Milk

VW Melissa Mary Janes - sample sale

1960s beauty case, earrings, ring, angel brooch, rose clip, blue headband - thrifted and markets

Pink star necklace - made by lovely Krista

Frida necklace - made by divoooon Tamera

Cameo-style brooch - gift from my sister

I'm happy to see the last of May, it's been a horror.

Bring on the weekend, markets and a new month.

What are you looking forward to in June?

Baci,

Desiree xo

You Are Now Entering The Human Heart

The moment I spied my reflection this morning, I saw Janet Frame staring back at me.
It's been so long since I've read the works of my favourite New Zealand author, I dashed to the library to feed my appetite.
I've never seen her books in op shops, hardly surprising, but it means I don't own any of the glorious works I discovered at age 16.

Janet Frame was born in Dunedin in 1924 and bears a remarkable resemblance to women in my mother's family, while Mum was born around the same year in nearby Invercargill.

When I read her first autobiography, To The Is-Land, I felt I was taking a peek into the lives of my kin, who also scratched their way through the Depression, just two hours away.

As a child and young woman, Janet struggled with self-acceptance, loathed her signature red bushy hair, the hardships of farm life and the clothing which branded her family as poverty-stricken.

See???  The hair!  The hair!

Jane Campion directed An Angel At My Table, the story of Janet's journey to adulthood, her misdiagnosis of schizophrenia, years of pain and horror spent in asylums, her narrow escape from  an involuntary lobotomy and the early days of what would become a victorious literary career.
Yes.
I am a Janet Frame fanatic.

“Quick, where is the Red Cross God with the ointment and plaster the needle and thread and the clean linen bandages to mummify our festering dreams?”

“It would be nice to travel if you knew where you were going and where you would live at the end or do we ever know, do we ever live where we live, we’re always in other places, lost, like sheep.”

I imagine Janet with pink hair would look like something like this while collecting eggs, shirking human contact to read in secret and dream in the shade. 1930s silk slip, and 1950s beaded cardigan - Etsy 1940s skirt (part of a suit) - eBay Silk scarf - gift from divoooon Tamera Earrings and necklace - craft markets VW Melissa gumboots - Melissa sample sale The Stylist took these pics, isn't she clever? Baci, Desiree xo

Somewhere

I found the perfect home.

It has everything I require.

Quiet spots to sit statue-like in silence, admire the view, spy on the neighbours.

A warm spot to contemplate my verdant garden, wee fireplace to warm my tootsies and enjoy a cuppa, even a daybed for drowsy kips.

Every imaginable comfort is at hand and in tip-top shape, ready for entertaining hoards of phantasmic guests.

You're invited.

If you like that sort of thing.

Let's have a peek upstairs then shall we?

Morning light pours through the bedroom windows.
Greet the day with a stroll in the garden, or enjoy breakfast in bed.
Of course, every modern convenience is ready and waiting.

Pics courtesy of artists published on Abandoned Asylums

My search for paradise took me to Everywhere, a place in which I found Somewhere.
I've been so far away for the past week, I'm lucky I didn't get lost.
I've almost made it back.

Earring - fashioned from a craft project by The Stylist

1980s teddy - hand-dyed and gifted by turquoise-haired beauty, Clare

Fox fur cape - gifted by our beautiful Kitty

White leather horse brooch - gifted by darling Vintage Sweetheart

Laura Palmer brooch - Etsy

1980s Studibaker Hawk dress, cat-ear headband, sparkle sunnies, silver granny beads, star necklace, silk flowers and other brooches - all thrifted

Shoes, green skull necklace, rings - craft markets

Fishnet top - dunno

I've been far, far away from Bloglandia.
I'm clawing my way back and looking forward to visiting you again.
Baci,
Desiree xoxoxo