The sunday session 28 & 29 - the joy of tea-bagging

wow, what a busy couple of weeks.  I've had the absolute joy of having my little sister and her boys visit.  it's been a year since i have been able to be the worlds best aunty and also get to hang out with these guys and get to do some exploring around my new city with them.  And was it great...HELL YEAH!

speaking of exploring, when i moved to melbourne - nearly a year ago - i ran into my friend Beck.  In fact, i have managed to run into Beck at least 4 times in the city on random occasions. it's such a great feeling when that kind of universal collision happens.

she recently invited me to join her and her colleague Ramona at a natural dying workshop as part of their craft companion journey, i jumped at the chance.  check their book out.  it's totally cred.

these ladies are handmade life and have a gorgeous studio at the Queen Victoria Markets on Victoria Street, and even walking past and looking through the windows is enough to inspire even the least crafty person to get a bit excited about doing some simple fun projects.

on their link they have a variety of short workshops that you can do in an afternoon, while enjoying a fabulous afternoon tea, great company and laugh after laugh.  well worth checking it out.

at the session i went to, we were using products that we may have readily available to dye silk fabric and to learn about how you can also dye wool, should you wish to be a little more adventurous. knowing that you can take simple household products, such as turmeric, tea, berries and even onion skin and be so creative was right up my alley.

after learning about many of the techniques available, it was time for us to have a crack.

and we were introduced to the joy of this fantastic DIY.

we then got to prep our own dying project.

i decided to use magnets to bring mine together, but of course, there's soooo many possibilities.

 

my dyeing was done with turmeric - so impressive and yet so easy and voila - i have a gorgeous scarf. the yellow was an unusual choice for me, but i was drawn to the effect of the turmeric.

this is what you also get... hand made deliciousness..

so why have i titled this post the joy of tea-bagging, well, it's not what you think....but i really want to explore the simplicity of using the one thing that most people have in their kitchen to create an amazing natural colour palette. the tea bag. for me it evokes a colour reminiscent of the 20's and 30's glamour.

i love the feeling of this era and would like to put my own twist on it using teabag dyeing on silk and then creating some looks. bring on summer!

so let's step right into full colour and check out what i have been wearing.

on week 28, i was all about the snow queen look.  the white on cream on cream dream.  i was wearing a thrifted white linen skirt, cream jumper from uniqlo, cream vest thingy from lee cooper, brown boots from spurr and my fave cream fur hat that i op shopped sooooo long ago. i can't even explain how much i loved this look and i can't even explain it's simplistic elegance, but the word's simple and elegance probably don't belong int he same sentence if i am involved.  yet it just all worked.

for week 29, i am crushing on the double quilted ensemble.

firstly, it's double quilting.  that's what most people seem to have on their beds at present, but not me, i have taken it to the streets.

i picked up the skirt at uniqlo last week, and teamed it with a uniqlo turtle neck, my quilted vest i got in india way way way back in 2007, my men's shoes from tarocash and those hot pink tights. dang i felt good, with my big fancy hair and my dark sunnies, until the weather changed and then i kinda froze my tits off...we took my nephews ice skating - i didn't dress for this so sat it out, but after sitting for an hour at the outside ice skating rink watching my nephews and my sisters enjoy themselves in the absolute coldest and rainiest afternoon of the year, i eventually used my smarts and decided to fuck off home. where warmth and wine was the winning combination.

 

well, i am hoping i will be back on track with my weekly words, after what has been a few hectic weeks.  i'm off to go in search of silk, so i can make my tea-bagging dream a reality. 

thank you ladies of handmade life, i look forward to sharing this project and joining you for some other sessions. x

the sunday session 26 and 27 - love makes the world go round

i have this love hate relationship with online dating...you all know that right!

I hate it because i honestly didn't feel that i would find myself in a place whereby i had tap into this wild way of meeting potential dates and eventually maybe find myself in a new loving relationship. i hate it because some of the men out there don't know how to be kind or nice, or even gentlemanly. i hate it because i wonder if love is just becoming a string of transactional encounters with no substance at all. 

i love it because it provides an endless string of laughs that just keep me entertained no end but you do have to have a bit of a tough shell, so as not to take anything too personally. 

there are some lovely genuine men out there, who i have some great conversations with and who i have met and i can assure them, that i would never kiss and tell out of pure respect for our privacy.

i am all about witty banter and not being too serious. i don't want to go for long walks on the beach, or drives in the country, i want to make friends (of both sexes), go for some drinks, have fun conversation, be a bit silly have a dance and be in the moment and i think my online profile below kind of sums me up.  here's what it says. 

I'm looking to make genuine connections and get out and meet some new people and have a drink, chat, dance and laugh till we burst.

I'm vegetarian. genuine. iq + eq. smiling. coffee. salsa daggy & disco dancer. pool. fun. funny. fashion. happy. laughter. creative. free spirit. healthy. youthful. in the now. kind and super nice.

i dont do hook ups so don't even ask.

170cm non smoker

so that's it...... simple and to the point......unlike me!

what i want to share today is a string of messages i got from a guy a while back.  there is nothing here to give away his details, but this and a few messages from others was part of the reason i wrote about being the wife who left.  and wow, and that was probably the most freeing moment in my journey.

so, here's what happened.  I received an absolutley lovely message from the guy early one morning.  i replied with an equally lovely message and back and forth we went a few times. i eventually decided to give him my number and told him i wasn't really into sitting at home all day waiting for online messages in my inbox and he understood that. so the day went on.  i eventually texted him in the evening - a lovely simple message and left it at that. 

i awoke to a barrage of messages all of which floored me but also made me gut laugh till i cried and i decided that this deserves to be framed and put up on my wall and of course shared with my friends and also with any dates, as we discuss our online dating fails.   enjoy. 

Message 1

Hey... You... See your still up... ? I'm not on here alot like you... ?... But I Must say.... Your very interesting... In a good way... So let's get past all this... ? And how about you just call me !!@@ or are you To scared or to up tight to call me... I'm just waiting for you to surprise me.. ?

Message 2

Waiting on you Sexy lady ????

Message 3

P.s. it was nice to see that we both engaged in the norm as far as getting to understand each other... But I know you will puss me in ways that I've never been before... And I love it ??? I just want to jump into you... Your so yummy... And I just want to take a big bite out of you ?.... In all the right places... !

Message 4

Now you're going to say what an ass hole... And you would be write ?... But I've had afew drinks... So I hope you will forgive for the spelling and the .... Real thing that I would like to express to you ?.... Witch is.... I want to make love to you in so many ways.... And I think you really have a amazing body Jan....

Message 5

What a cave man ??? ... Geeze ?

Message 6

If you never want to text me back ,??? I will so understand.... After reading what I've tried to express ?... It didn't come out the right way ?

message 7

Over 5. O emoji, emoji, emoji

I read all of these and couldn't help but to piss myself laughing. i responded to this guy and told him i was floored speechless and i hope that when he woke up he had a hangover so bad that it killed all of these cave man style brain cells and then went about my business.

he texted me later (cause he had my number didn't he) and couldn't apologise enough.  he was embarrassed and said he would never like to think his daughter or anyone else would think he was like this..... i said apology accepted and we swapped a few more messages and i then cut him off when it because more obvious then the messages above that he was as needy as fuck..

speaking of needy, lets move on to some fashion.

i've had a busy couple of weeks, so am combining my last 2 weeks of looks.

hot look of the week was my leopard and stripy combo with the brown boots.

the faux pearl necklaces are eons old and to add some more spunk to the look, i clipped on a couple of flower hair accessories. bingo - spunky as fuck.

and last week my fave look was my jeans and chinese top combo.  i picked up this beautiful top in chinatown new york back in the year 2000.  i remember the day.  i paid 42 dollars for it (it seemed like a fortune for a cheapskate like me) but have never regretted it for a second.  

anyway that is it for the week - i got to get on with my day......  

i've nearly been in melbourne a year - can you believe that and i have to say, things are really starting to take off in so many way.....i love it and cant wait to share more as i seek out adventures and opportunities to fulfill my sweet life.  after all, i am the only one who can make things happen.

the sunday session 25 - being bad-ass

one of my friends in brisbane who i used to work with put me on to this site - mind body green - and of course i am into all things mind body and green, so i signed up to have their commentary come through my email feed and i've been enjoying this for the past couple of years.

i have taken a lot away from this site. but i'm a gleaner - i like to skim through articles and take pieces that i can instantly apply to my life in order to enhance it.

one of the recent articles i read was about being a warrior - being a bad-ass - about being fierce about change and not living on autopilot, and to me that means not living routine - ritual is great - it can be special, but routine is same thing, day in day out. we deserve more than that in our life. are you breaking routine? are you out of your comfort zone? are you being lit up....are you questioning the "what if" moments and reaching for the things you see just out of reach and really want to grasp?  i see those things. i feel those things and wonder over and over again how i can hold them in my hand. i have so many things that i want to do to fulfill my passion.  do you feel the same way?

i've had moments in the past where i have sided with others to make them happy, to try and bring to life the moments that i thought were the right ones, but deep down i knew that there was a path that i knew was right for me..

but when do you break away and search out your own destiny. and i guess the bigger question is how do you do it?

i did this last year when i stepped into the unknown and threw caution to the wind and followed a dream.  a dream to live in a city that i felt would be an amazing experience. i got my warrior on and got my bad-ass on. i went fuck it, let's see what's on the other side.  it will either work out or it wont...phew, so glad it did?

Now from this article i gleaned a couple of things.....as i do..about how to be bad-ass
1. With any kind of change you need to expect that it will be uncomfortable.  We need to break away from the comfort.  take a new path. turn right instead of left, look up instead of down.  be mindful that there will be moments that you just want to slip back into that comfy packet of tim tams like existence, but don't.
2. go on an adventure, seek out opportunities and don't be afraid of failure. Cause there is no such thing, because life is about learning.
3. accept that your life will change as you step out of the comfort zone and those around you may think you are crazy. Live to keep you happy, not others.  i know for me, some relationships have sadly changed, but that has been a consequence of forging ahead with my life. and would i change things? No.
4. stay off autopilot. get uncomfortable. autopilot is not for bad-ass warriors. try this next time you get in the shower.  Step in with the other foot, wash your body differently.  see how routine things are.
5. feel no fear and be trusting that what you really want deep down may be closer than you think, if you have the courage to step out of the comfort zone.

i feel like i made magic happen, when i closed so many doors behind me.

well now that we are all on the road to being bad-ass, how about some fashion! and speaking of bad-ass, i just snuck in a pic of my ass in the hello kitty PJ's..... cause i could.

so my hot fave this week was the thrifted brown dress, i picked up for 12 dollars in the city. it's an 80's original and homemade to boot. It's such a classic style and instantly transported me back to those hilarious years.

i teamed this outfit with just the most simple of accessories, including my cream hat and brown boots. i really kind of summed up the winter vibe.

So i know i'm past the week where this should have been posted (see, being bad-ass), but stuff can just take you off routine.

So, here's a bad-ass story......Last night i was walking over to the IGA and when i came out a girl stopped me and asked if i was Jan.  Yes i said.  She introduced herself as Emma and said that she was a follower of mine on instagram.  She had seen me a couple of times walk by and decided last night to stop and say hello. She said she wasn't sure if she should, but decided to anyway.  Wow, i was so pleased she did. i gave her a big hug. That one moment was a human exchange that sometimes we just choose not to do. She lives just around the corner and i suggested we go and have a coffee or a wine.

So way to go Emma.  I think that just shows that if we tackle a fear, it's no longer something that should continue to hold us back, cause who know where it will lead us.

the sunday session 24 - jani jam drop

winter is well and truly here and i am loving the clothing challenge but i'm still pretty sure i am going to need some more layering staples to keep me going so my trips to the op shop will only increase till i've got all my bases covered.  the 5 minute walk to work is great, but once i get there it's so hot inside, that i just feel like stripping off till i reach a more reasonable temperature.  of course that would get me fired, so for preservation of my pay packet, i shan't do that!

i feel like i have so much to share today but before i get to my favourite outfit, i want to share how easy it was to make the fringed look in my middle bottom photo.  i bought the fringing from darn cheap fabrics at port melbourne (they have a great online store). I got enough fringing to go around my hips and secured it with 2 safety pins to hold it on.  easy and effective and can be worn over a variety of options.  as my love of salsa dancing heats up, having outfits that are floaty and twirly is also going to be on my radar and this one was fun, fun fun.

my favourite outfit of the week was this gorgeous two piece floral one that i made. i got this fabric a long time back and it survived the hail storm in brissy, thank goodness. i still still still can't believe i am finding glass and debris in some of my sewing stuff.  this fabric has has been very patient just waiting to be bought to life.  it's a stretch sateen from spotlight and i never realised how truly gorgeous the fabric was till it was made into an outfit.

i had quite a lot of it, so decided to make an a-line skit and an open sided tunic.  i figured that this style of top would be far more user friendly in both winter and summer. it's open from under the sleeve to the waist. I sewed a small seam at the waist and left it open again till the bottom.

there is even enough fabric to make an additional piece, so im thinking either a pair of gouchos (so 70's) or another pair of culottes with an elastic hem.  who knows!

I styled this look with a blue top from target, my black jo mercer boots and a vintage woven belt found at an opshop in Prahran.

As i was getting ready, i decided that this look had so much good stuff happening that to make it even better, i would style my hair with the beaded bobby pins i made which made me look as though i was wearing a floral headband.  these were made for a show in Fiji and they are super simple to make but so cute.  you only need some fine wire - from a craft shop, and various seed beads. grab a pair of craft pliers and start twisting. 

so i hope that has inspired you to get crafty.  if not, then i hope this can inspire you to get cooking.

jam drops - or as i love to call then.....JAN Drops!

these are super simple and super yum and here's the recipe.

Jam Drops

2 cups self raising flour
1 cup coconut
1 cup sugar
200g butter - melted
1/2 cup milk
Jam - your choice of flavour or use a combo of flavours.
oven to be moderate - 180 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well

Mix in melted butter and milk.  

You want it to be a little crumbly, but not too dry. Use a little extra milk if the batter is too dry. Somethings were never meant to be dry - okay maybe a martini...

Roll small balls from the mixture.  i used tablespoon size, but even a little smaller would be good. Oh god, imagine if you made a giant ball and made a massive Jam Drop....i might try that next time. the communal jam drop.

use the end of your wooden spoon to put a hole in the top of the ball.  this will squash them a bit.

put some jam in the hole.  when it comes to jam, i like to over jam, instead of under jam.
these do spread, so don't squash them together on the tray.

bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. and then cool on a rack and store.

enjoy the delicious that is the jan-drop.  these are a slightly chewy one, but they were a massive hit in the office with a number of people asking for the recipe.

share the love and the jan-drop i say.