Five Things

Goodness gracious! I haven't done one of these for a while.





1. I went to Harvest Festival over the weekend. As well as lots of good music (Mercury Rev, The National, Bright Eyes, Flaming Lips, Portishead... lucky me!), it reminded me of the need to dress theatrically during the day-to-day. Funny shapes, patterns, clashing colours, unexpected accessories.... I hope I can keep channelling that fun, festival energy!





2. Perhaps as a way of dealing with the craziness that is November, I've been reading lots. The focus lately has been France (quelle surprise!) I highly recommend The Secret Life of France by Lucy Wadham. I'm not sure how I feel about Paris Metro Tales, despite being half-way through. Finally, I finally finished (re-reading) Candide by Voltaire. I'm not sure what exactly my aversion to it was. I guess after a hard day's work I was less than thrilled by the idée of bedtime reading in French.





3. Finally adopting Instagram on my phone. It's slow, but nice to take snapshots of extraordinary things in everyday life.





4. I went to the dentist last week (after missing my initial appointment-oops!) and ever since, my way of brushing has been completely revolutionised. Now there's a lot more foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog but those pearlies are sure looking shiny.





5. I'm not the biggest Woody Allen fan (I lie, I really can't stand him) but this new film was enough to entertain and made me whistful for Paris. Can you see the French theme that's been going on lately?!


Five things for you? Dotpoints are fine!

Domino

Domino: The Book of Decorating. Thoughts?

Frocktober, week three.

How behind am I in my Daily Outfits?! I'm hoping you'll forgive me because they're so quality. Here's Week Two, in case you need refreshing!



Saturday solo adventures.


My friend had her end-of-year fashion show on Saturday night. We drank champagne and toasted her fabulousity. She won some major prizes!


We keep a mostly tidy kitchen.


Dinner with the in-laws.


I think sequin leggings are totally work appropriate.


Dressing up at work.


Free tickets to see Def Leppard? Hellz yeah I dressed "Rock n' Roll"!








Mid-week calls for a floral frock to brighten things up.


Totally overdoing it yet again for MEATLOAF!


Ooh. Bags under eyes.


Finally it's Friday! Bit cold and overcast. Survived another week...



How are you enjoying this (belated) recounting of Frocktober? Week one and week two and week four to come!

A food post

I've been thinking about what my summer goals are lately (what, you don't do this too?!) and have discovered most of them are food-related!


I would like to:

• Make bread from scratch, sans bread machine


• Make my own cheese!


• Sing!


• Compile my happiness handbook, for real

Obviously it's still a work in progress, but... cheese! bread! Wouldn't that be brilliant?

To finish it off, here are some (mediocre) snaps of dishes I've cooked up lately.

Looks gross but surprisingly tasty!

Homemade pizza is a regular at our house.

Sunny Sundays are made for cheese and wine.

My first ever quiche!

I made the crust too.

Have you started your summer planning? What are you hoping to achieve?

Frocktober, week two.

Did you have a swell month? I talked about week one back here. Let's get on with the outfits!



Look at that blue sky! Celebrating the joys of our city at the Adelaide Festival of Ideas.



Sunday lunch with the folks at the Greek on Halifax.



Thai and an overdue screening of Norweigan Wood with a dear friend.



Lastly? An outfit from some sort of date night.


Why aren't there seven dresses? Well my friends, this week had been rather busy with gigs galore so when I wasn't in my band uniform, I was decompressing at home (in dresses, I assure you) but not very photo-worthy. Forgive.


Stay tuned for the next installment!

Cruise

I really like this dress from Marni's 2012 resort collection.

style.com

Colourful fun!

Tickling my fancy

How is life treating you? It's been a funny old couple of weeks chez Sequin Cat but we are surely accelerating to the finish line! Have you started making goals for next year?


Just a few little tidbits on what's tickling my fancy as of this minute. Thanks, Cleo Magazine for the idea!


television
I don't know that we can even get the regular channels on our TV! I do know that I've been watching old Scrubs DVDs when reality has been a bit too much lately.

travel
I'm dreaming about France again but have booked a holiday slightly closer to home. Right after Christmas we're spending three weeks exploring Vietnam!

fashion
It's been a dress-frenzy for the month of Frocktober! We are now back to normal programming and I've been wearing skirts during this awkward spring mood swing season. I bought some red cropped pants the other day and am still not sure.

beauty
The occasional smokey eye and the usual bright coral lipstick. I've been known to bust out some bright green eyeshadow on the odd occasion too!

accessories
I'm trying to wear more than just my normal red heart ring. Unfortunately, a plastic skeleton brooch isn't the most appropriate for school. I bought a glue gun the other day in the hope of making a floral crown à la Rookie.

Rookiemag.

apps
Reflecting at the end of a long day is making me consider how much good I have in my life. I like it. Gratitude journal. I'm also enjoying RunKeeper as it keeps track of my running stats.

music
I should make more of an effort to listen to new material. On the way to school it's often Band of Horses or the National (who I get to see twice this month!)

blogs
I feel like I've just discovered lots of great new ones (but am lacking the time to appreciate them!) ShimmerLikeGold is still a fave, as is WhatKatieWore. A Beautiful Mess can be hit or miss and sometimes too DIY for my tastes but worth a peep. Do you have any I'm severely missing out on? Perhaps your own?

drinks
I'm hoping this summer will be one of mojitos. At the moment we're drinking a lot of beer and peach iced tea.

eating out
I'm always keen for new places to try. The last few occasions have been a little disappointing (I'm looking at you, Rob Roy Hotel and Parade Thai). We love going to Wah Hing on Gouger.

bars
I'm not the authority on going-out scene at all! Lately I've been entertaining at home rather than hot-footing it.

cooking
Definitely making use of the nearby Central Markets in cooking up Chinese deliciousness!



books
My bedside table is stacked with books on France that I'm dipping in and out of. I recently started The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood. October was pretty mad, reading wise (8 books!)

hobbies
I'm trying some painting to stay creative. Still playing music and riding my bicycle. Trying to think up other projects to entertain myself.

events
This is such a busy month for me! One highlight will be the Harvest Festival - I'm going to the Brisbane show.



Write your tickle list in the comments below!

Happy (belated) Frocktober!

Picture modified by me; original source here

Back in September, I set myself the challenge of wearing a dress every day for the month of October. Lots of bloggers did this to raise money and awareness for ovarian cancer; I was behind the times a bit and instead just did it for myself as a clothing challenge.


Having come out the other end of it (I wore a skirt today!) I have to say how much I enjoyed the challenge, and found it relatively easy getting dressed - no thoughts about matching colours/patterns/shapes, just a dress and I was... dressed.


Enjoy Week 1 of Frocktober, 2011!

Blue and white for the football Grand Final

Dumplings with friends


French conversation date


Running errands


School holiday fun times


I.... don't even know. But I like it.



Drinks with friends; dressed as a cartoon character

Stay tuned for Week Two of Frocktober!

Some thoughts on France

Lately I've been thinking about France a lot.

Montmartre, photo by moi.

I'm reading this great book at the moment written from the perspective of an English woman who not only married a Frenchie but raised their children there for a few decades before divorcing. Her take on French culture and society is sophisticated and refreshing and I often find myself shaking my head in agreement!

Le Louvre, photo by moi.

I've also discovered a new blog about an American woman recovering from heartbreak in Paris (sounds more cliché than it is!) and I'm really enjoying her stories of discovering Paris from an outsider's point of view. It reminds me a lot of my own experiences living there and the difficulties (and joys!) I faced.

Paris street art, photo by moi.

I'm hoping it'll be less than a year before I'm back there again. I need to top-up my language, and the manfriend is working on his in preparation. I keep talking to myself in French (most often when I'm upset?) and finding scribbled notes, hurried thoughts written in a foreign tongue that sometimes makes more sense to me than my own.

Fontainebleau, photo by moi.

I miss the cheeses. Australian wine is comparable to French, but the cheeses are what I miss. Oh, and the excellent bread. And the tartes à la fraise. There's a lot, I guess.

Versailles, photo by....moi.

Just yesterday I got an email from DisneylandParis, confirming that my CV was about to be removed from their servers. Even though there's no reason to it, I kind of wish they'd keep a record of it, just in case, one day...
I had such a great time working there. The most magical Paris experience.

Shoes from EuroDisney, photo by moi.

I guess that's it. I hope my French friends know how much I think of them, and am looking forward to creating more happy memories together soon. Même si les Français m'énervent...