what i wore: diner date

so i finally worked up the courage to jump on the 'what i wore' bandwagon, yay! deep breath. just don't tease me about my wonky tooth or my freckles, ok? anyway, the reason i finally got the courage to do one of these posts is because the other week i got all cuted up to go out on a weekday date with my boy. aww! we flinted about town and giggled and had a lovely sunny day together before settling down for an afternoon refreshment at melbourne's kitschiest establishment: the soda rock diner. i'm guessing this is australia's revenge for those outback steakhouses in america. check out the fine fare we dined on:

mmm-mmmm! can't you just hear the star spangled banner playing in the distance? just an aside, does the smell of 'root beer' remind anyone else of those lick-n-stick sticker books from childhood? mmm delicious adhesive.

i wore:

green cardigan - thrifted

blue tee shirt (under cardigan) - american apparel

polka dot scarf - thrifted

toadstool fabric covered button brooch - etsy seller fluffington

toadstool & toad skirt - vintage from frocks & slacks st kilda

red tights - the sock shop

red button shoes - rubi shoes

red apple hair bobbles - kinky gerlinki chapel street

vintage children's book: pirouettes

today's vintage children's book is another one of mine, reclaimed from a library and loved within an inch of its life. up until recently it was hanging together by threads: now its completely fallen apart (which i admit made it easier to scan.) i think i might have to put on my book doctor hat this afternoon and get to work with some tape to preserve it for just another 20+ years. if cats have nine lives, books must have about 15 in some homes. i have a lot of inherited cookbooks that are possibly up to their 18th life!

pirouettes is a book of nonsense poems, adapted from the original text by raymond lichette, illustrated by colette de gaillarbois. published by chambers in 1974. please click the images below to see a larger version - its really worth it!

the whale

john is a purple young whale

and a friend of the small golden fish

each evening he reads the a fairy tale

while they eat onions out of a dish

the brave owl

arthur owl is never afriad

he's the bravest bird

that ever was made

he wears plastic beads

with a watch on a chain

and his toes always tingle if there's going to be rain

the angry dragon

under the stove where it is hot

lives a stripey dragon.

his nose is in a funny knot

his whiskers are undone.

prickly peacock wings

seem to stick straight out,

when great aunt jasmine said hello

he answered me with a shout.

she said 'my goodness me!'

and 'dragons are such a bore!'

the dragon said nothing

but he gave an awful roar.

penguins

the penguins at the south pole

like to listen to rock and roll.

every night they meet their friends

and dance until the music ends.

sometimes they start to feel the heat

and then there comes a special treat.

cooler than jumping into a stream

a cone of pink

fish-flavoured ice-cream.

grunge the lion

grunge is the smallest lion

you've ever seen,

his hair is yellow

and his eyes are green.

with a pussycat smile

and curls in his hair,

he sometimes yawns fiercely

and gives you a scare.

the hedgehog

the gardener is angry

the gardener is cross,

for a hedgehog steals his flowers

and puts them in his sauce.

roses and violets

delphiniums as well,

when the hedgehog is cooking

there's a beautiful flowery smell.

the hedgehog is happy

eating lilac-pansy roast,

and every night for supper

there's rose petals on toast.

vintage graphis: '71 fiat poppy field ad

hello lovlies! i am back! i've been knocked about by a bit of a virus this week, but never fear: i prevailed. normal programming has resumed.

amazing animation: carmen d'avino

take some time today to watch these clips and really enjoy the colors, and patterns. the clips really speak for themselves, but if you want to learn more about carmen d'avino click le link!

peter max: strobelightedflashingkaleidoscopiclightshows

peter max. even if you don't know the name you'll likely recognize his far out psychedelic posters. i have a book of his posters which is everything you are after in seizure inducing design. its really very, very, groovy. here is a portion of the foreword, i've tried copy it exactly, but there is a point where you lose count of how many !!!!!! are being used... (and yes, i realize that i am guilty of over exclamating, but people, please!!! this is one of the few posts not about me)

ZAAAAAAAAP!!!!!!!!! it's 1965! the year the earth turned... on. BANG! flower power. love, peace, strobelightedflashingkaleidoscopiclightshowsACIDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!! music. great music. the beatles, stones, airplane, joplin, and ... this man is wild..... COUNTRY JOE McDonald and the FISH. Sgt. Pepper... GREAT THINGS FROM ROCK... ROCK IS RAISED TO A HIGH ART... ROCK... comes out of the cultural cave!!!!!! how to advertise this new rock... this new music. how do you advertise something new and different... the... POSTER! the fillmore and avalon use the poster... a new type of poster... a... psychedelic poster...... aposterwithwordsalljumbledtogetherlikethis. 1967. fantastic vibrations and cosmiclightandx-rays bombarding the earth. sound exploding on the west coast. and on the east coast, a young man in a room 15 by 15 in new york. SLEEPING ON THE FLOOR I TELL YOU, SLEEPING ON THE FLOOR, SHAAAAAAAAAAAAZAM! Zap! PETER MAX!

- don pierce, 1970

the book doesn't explain who don pierce is, and my googling turned up a variety of don pierces, so i'm going to assume it was written by the part cyborg X-men supervillan (though more likely he was a musician or something at least partially based in reality). but enough semantics. ladies and gentlemen, don your protective eyewear and enjoy the work of peter max.

where you can get your own peter max poster book!

as seen on etsy: rhymes with orange

brown floral scarf ✽ mushroom pedestal mugs ✽ tiger candle

owl glass ✽ floral photo album ✽ patchwork milkglass canister

toadstool towel ✽ 'dude' typeface mug ✽ crewel wall hanging

with halloween just passed i've got orange and browns on the brain. is it the mellow colors of autumn or have i just seen too much pumpkin and chocolate? either way etsy has a dearth of vintage treasures in those rusty tones.

autumn colors remind me of my mum. she had beautiful red hair and green eyes. do you remember when there was that trend of 'getting your colors done'? you would be assigned a season based on skin, hair and eye color. unsurprisingly mum was told she was an 'autumn' and her reference was a booklet of business card sized fabric swatches of colors that would suit her. i spent a lot of time playing with the swatches, in waiting rooms, restaurants, queues, and so i have a fond attraction to those colors...and also a fond attraction for pinking sheared scraps of fabric!

how cute is that patchwork canister. eek! patchwork: swoon!

vintage graphis: '71 heinz ketchup ad

heinz ketchup

photographer: alan boyde

art director: john crewe

agency: young and rubicam, london