It's So Easy ... Sometimes

Wonderful, drenching rain means tea, crusty old movies, hot scones and sewing.
Thankfully we've had plenty of it all here so I'm feeling rather smug and happy.
And bloated.

This is one of the three-skirt bargains I picked up from the Red Cross op-shop last week where I bought three skirts for $10.
The waistband on this one was too small so I unpicked it, added some fabric to the waistband, re-did the gathering to fit my waist, then sewed it back on.
The next day I got a blood-bomb and my waist shrunk a couple of inches. 
WTF is that about?
So I unpicked the sodding thing, re-made the waistband, re-gathered the skirt and sewed the fucker back together.
This skirt is lucky I love it, despite it reminding me of the 80s when I didn't have a pre-menstrual waistline like saggy elastic.

These two don't have to worry about such news-dominating issues.

1970s Coffey movie t-shirt - Creative Markets
1950s tapestry handbag - gift from my beautiful sister, Merilyn

Fishnet t-shirt - online sale

Skirt - Red Cross

Shoes - vintage market

Jewellery - Camberwell Market and op shops

Tights - both from Sock Dreams

Getting as much wear out of this wee dear until my waistline explodes again.

Some skirts are kinder than others and there's really nothing more comfortable than a Franken-Skirt.

It's a t-shirt in a skirt and if you need to rustle one up in a flash, here's how:

Grab a guy's t-shirt (bloke's t-shirts are WAY cooler than chick's ones).

Cut the sleeves off.

Slice the top off.

Sew up what's left of the armholes.

Grab some stretch fabric and cut a rectangle that will fit around your waist and stretch over your hips.

Sew the ends together to make a circle.

Fold the circle in two, wrong sides together.

Zig-zag the waistband to the top of the t-shirt, stretching the band to fit the skirt.

Put the skirt on.

Do a dance.

Here's some music.

Sequin top, Marvel t-shirt - op shops

Gold lion necklace - gift from lovely Miss Ada

Boots - second hand from local boot maker

Leggings - Black Milk

You're welcome.

Love Desiree xox

Linking to Patti's Visible Monday.

Dressing Blind

You're forgiven for thinking I've been sewing in the dark, or at least choosing my colours while blindfolded.
In the case of this little number, surprisingly neither is the case.
It's my Franken-top, made of leftover cotton fabrics from other projects, using a pattern I op-shopped for 50 cents.
I'm so pleased with it and it's so comfortable, I've been wearing it every other day.

If only I paid as much attention to my roots as my sewing projects eh?

The Stylist and I went to see Maleficent just over a week ago, well before we needed to pile on lovely warm layers.
It's school holidays now, so we can operate at a slightly slower pace for the next fortnight.
After the screening at Southbank I took the lassie for a wander over the Brisbane River to have a sticky beak at Brisbane's heritage-listed Treasury Building.
It now operates as a casino and we couldn't go inside to check out the beautiful interior together because of age restrictions.
So we snapped off some pics and made a bee-line for the nearest stationery shop to top up our stocks, then escape the people-herding confines of the CBD.

If you're here in Oz, I hope you're enjoying the cold snap.
Welcome winter!
Linking up to Patti's Visible Monday.
Love, D x

Get A Different Disease

I nearly caused an accident today.
Well, maybe I didn't.  Maybe the driver was blinded by a reflection.
Yep, it was a near thing at the roundabout next to the bus stop this morning.
Actually it happened about four times.
Luckily the bus arrived, coz it could have been nasty.

Men's vintage top hat - from a fabulous, yet stupidly-expensive vintage shop in Melbourne, now closed.

Frida necklace - made and gifted by dearest heart Tamera

Custom made "FREEKY" necklace and slave bracelet - Phussy

Leggings - Black Milk

1930s-formerly-underwear-now-top - DIY

1950s blue beads, watch - Etsy

Bag, pink ring - op shops

The near-carnage continued for several hours until I got home.

Probably the best place to be eh?

I think I'll stay in tomorrow and get something done with this pattern.

I've cut out the pieces for the top in View 4 and yes, I will be using all the fabrics.

It will be a Franken-Top!

Careful how you go, there are freeks everywhere.

Can't Sleep, Bed's on Fire

"You start a conversation you can't even finish it
You're talking a lot, but you're not even saying anything
When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed.
Say something once, why say it again?"
- Psycho Killer, Talking Heads.

Cardigan - Camberwell Market, Melbourne

Tshirt - Invercargill, NZ

1930s-used-to-be-baggy-knickers-but-I-turned-them-into-a-skirt - DIY

Black Milk leggings - gift from Miss Danni LongLegs

Shoes - market

Blue spike bracelet - gift from gorgeous Vix

Amy Winehouse rosary - Etsy

all other jewellery and scarf - op shops

Baci,

Desiree x

"No Dawdling Please"

I probably only have one or two school excursions left in me.
The kids are growing up, The Stylist is off to high school next year and school day trips where parents round up strays and tie droopy shoe laces while filthy dishes congeal in the sink at home, will drop off.
So I jumped at the chance to take in a bit of local history with The Stylist's class.

The front entrance of Queensland Parliament House, a magnificent building nestled between the Botanic Gardens and the Brisbane River.  The House was occupied from 1864, yet construction wasn't finished until 1889.
We're lucky this beautiful part of Brisbane's heritage is still standing.  During the 1980s, the scandal-ridden state government of the day decided to pull it down after the discovery of a serious West Indian termite infestation.
Heritage groups kicked up a fuss and five years of work to treat the building and restore its interior saved it for us to enjoy today.

Back of the House, the wee nippers are getting ready to go in for a tour of the grand staircase and the Upper House before taking our seats in the Lower House public gallery, just in time for some playground hijinks by the politicians.
The kids thought their behaviour rather amusing.

"Watching the Grass Grow" - seriously.

Prince Albert died while this magnificent 4.5-metre stained glass piece was being commissioned.  Thereafter, Queen Victoria was never officially portrayed wearing anything other than black and white, so this was the last piece of her wearing colour.

Even though these two stained glass portraits of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of Denmark stand over two metres high, they are rather conservative in size and colour compared to the magnificent piece of Edward's mother, Victoria.
It must have been extremely challenging for Edward and his siblings to live in the shadow of their powerful mother.

I could barely snap a clear pic of this enormous crystal chandelier, it was so big.
It was wonderful to watch the children's faces as they enjoyed some of Brisbane's most magnificent architecture.
They were damned well behaved too, not that I expect kids to be seen and not heard, far from it in fact.

Fuchsia and orange carpet in the Upper House and original tiles in the foyer.  That's style!

Then it was down to the Botanic Gardens for lunch and hi-jinks.  This is a peepul tree and I would have needed to stand about 70 metres back to get it all in the frame.
The gardens have been there since around 1864 and are home to rare and valuable flora.  We suffered a 10-year drought starting in 2001 and it was terrible to see the suffering of such a beautiful park and gardens. 
So many of the plants which thrived in our sub-tropical climate had to be removed and replaced with drought-tolerant species.
To me, the Gardens are valiantly recovering, but I can see evidence of the past stress.
Still very beautiful and peaceful though.

That's a water dragon.  They're everywhere and they love to bask on the rocks then dive into the ponds for a feast.

This, I don't know what it is and it's vaguely disturbing.
The council have created a beautiful new playground and there were six of these strange pods at different angles. Eeeek!

I didn't wear this outfit on the excursion, these pics were taken a couple of days later when I *gasp* wore my Franken-Frock two days in a row.
I've given up hope of getting any winter this year so I'll stop moaning and get on with enjoying my light frocks.
I wore vertical striped leggings the previous day, I so enjoyed extending the Franken-Frock theme to my legs for two days in a row.

 Frock and bag - handmade by me

Necklace - gift from Helgalicious

Shoes - Melissa

Leggings - Black Milk

Zip hair clip - gift from Erica 

Earrings - Bones Couture

I hope you've all enjoyed a wonderful weekend.
D x