Week Two

Sunday
Craig had a BBQ and I was distracted by the light and the fuchsia.



Monday
Geodetic Mark: Overlooking the curving, winding Rimutaka hill road.



Tuesday
The End: On the last day of vacation, I braved the Mall.



Wednesday
My first day blues were assuaged by my City of Lower Hutt necklace.



Thursday
I like the contrasting pastels of the posters. Also, I caught the little girl on the right mid-jump!



Friday
I prefer Charming and Thorough to Anal and Creepy. Also, it was a slow week.



Saturday
Buying a Hula Hoop! It is pink and junior sized and fluoro pink.


&

Dear Skin, I hate you. XOXO Sarah-Rose

Itchitchitch.

It took 12 hours but eventually I succumbed to my nickel allergy and took off my darling new Georgina Baker necklace.



It's hard to tell, but the space formerly occupied by the shield is all (well, a little) red and angry.
My allergy manifests in gradual itching which gets slightly worse with each subsequent wear of the item, like my skin is yelling DON'T WANT! UNCLEAN UNCLEAN at me. Stupid skin.

I'd already spent ... some time this morning watching a show about Celebrity Near Death Experiences (seriously. It was on E!) and Dr-Frankenstein-ing the chain.


Bubbles! You can see them more clearly in the larger version, naturellement

And then this evening came PHASE TWO of saving my darling new necklace:


Clear nailpolish

Dear Skin,
I'm Kidding! I love you really. But please oh please quit being so damn high maintenance.
xoxo, Sarah-Rose

It's Wednesday Already??

Georgina Baker!



(I know, I know, this was meant to be about finding things that OTHERS could buy but honestly? I completely forgot about this nouveau project until the following objet d'art et bijou (schoolgirl french for Piece of Art & Jewellery) was in my teeny little hand. Oops! Next week I promise!)

Georgina Baker (voted Best Kiwiana Jewellery by Metro Magazine in 2007) is an Auckland based Jeweller who is most famous for her quirky, mainly one-off, necklaces & brooches made out of souvenir teaspoons*!
I came across her work first in an article (not in Metro Magazine) about the new-wave of crafting in New Zealand, people like City Down (NZ Cupcake Queen!) and sites like Toggle (a New Zealand based site similar to Etsy).
I've checked back at her Toggle-icious wares from time to time, just to see what was kicking about. When I saw the necklace I ended up purchasing, I knew I had to buy it!

The Souvenir Teaspoon used? Is from my little, nowhere-ville, just-outside-the-capital hometowncity.



City of Lower Hutt NZ



I love it so much.

I do, perhaps, wish that I'd read the site a little better though.
The necklace is essentially nickel (electroplated nickel silver charms with nickel chain) and I HAVE A NICKEL ALLERGY (the most common metal allergy in the world). See also AM AN IDIOT. This means I'll only be able to wear it for a couple of hours at a time. Or be a horrible, hateful, jewellery Doctor Frankenstein and replace the fat nickel chain with a silver one. And paint the skin-touching parts of the charms with clear nailpolish. I HATE when I am so monumentally stupid.


Anyway. I'm rambling. The necklace is clearly perfect, and those with regular-person skin should scurry on over to toggle (or one of her many Stockists) and see if your town is available!
Or, you know, one of her necklaces simply made from beautiful ornate cutlery (I'm coveting this too).


* I've always wanted to amass a small collection of souvenir teaspoons, from where-ever, depicting whatever, and mix them in with my regular teaspoons. This is when my dream house is an eclectic cottage of course.

The last night of any holiday ...

I sent this twitter as I was closing down safari:

ohdarling: Going to head to bed and have myself a little pity party.
Ugh. The last night of a holiday is always pout-y.

When I had finally convinced it to close, I saw that this photo had become my desktop picture:

It's set to change every 5 minutes.


It's better when it's bigger*

And, I don't know. But the clouds (they're my favourite kind. Where you can see the different layers of atmosphere like we live in an actual bubble!) and the soft hues and and and the light on Sacré Couer? It made me feel very calm.
Bedfordshire will be a little less pouty tonight.


* That's what she said! I'm SO SORRY. I HAD to do it. For Craig! I swear.

Itchy Feet

I had to get out of the Hutt Valley today.
So Craig and I drove to Greytown.







Craig is a strange strange man.



He's lucky he's cute.


*























*


I picked my scarf up at a little souvenir store near the Sacré-Coeur. Not near the Eiffel Tower at all.
Because that makes sense.

Week One

Thursday
Bohemian Rhapsody was the first song I heard in 2009.
I think it's a good omen.



Friday
Walking along the waterfront on a greygrey day.



Saturday
Making a Mountain out of my Moleskines.

P.s. A shortshort week this week. Let's see if I can do this again next week!

Ringing in the New Year ...

It's not NYE without dancing to horrible awesome terrible hilarious music







Or a little air guitar.









Or someone falling over



(besides me of course)

The rest of the NYE photos (including the damage I did to my leg) are HERE!


P.s. It's only the second day of 2009 and I already have to break one of my resolutions.
Writing my rehearsal schedule into my newnew moleskine diary (terrifying!) and it turns out that on the 14th January I not only have work all day but rehearsal all night.
Looks like the 3rd Wedding Anniversary Celebrations (Leather! Crystal! Glass! or Tattoos) will have to be a little delayed.

Two Thousand and Nine ...

A new year, a new leaf.

2008 was not the best year for my little Darling family.
It involved dreams put on hold, disappointments, far too much materialism, moving back to New Zealand, and, for me at least, a constant struggle to stay afloat.

But truly? I am blessed. Craig and I are stronger than ever. I have found a city where the daily walk to work can make me grin like a lunatic. I have goals to work for, personally and professionally. I see inspiration more clearly and I am excited for the year(s!) to come.

2009 is the year of words and photographs, tattoos and travel. Applying for visas and living with our fingers crossed. Backpacking around Europe, Christmas in London, New Years (one year from today) in Edinburgh. Perhaps trips to Tokyo or Hong Kong, Bruges, and Iceland.

In 2009 I am excited about planning for 2010.
Sitting in a cafe with Sir C and discussing our life in London. Our trips for 2009 and how to achieve our goals for 2010. Olympics and intense round-the-world travel. Celebrating a decade of S&C the relationship with a luxury trip to Hawaii, and a family reunion at Christmas-time.

The future is a wonderful thing.

BUT! Capital letters, exclamation point. 2009 will be our year, the beginning, I can feel it in the wind.



My Darling Resolutions

x Project 365 lives anew!
In 2008 I kept it up until about September (I know!) but barely ever posted the photos. In 2009 I will post My Week In Photos every Sunday evening.
x Project 52, take 2, electric boogaloo.
I will try and include a self-portrait in each Sunday-Summation.
x Hmm. Name to be decided!
Every Wednesday (or Monday, I haven't decided!) I will profile an online store or an online item that I lovelovelove but cannot purchase. This will be torture but Mummy-Darling has been wanting me to fill her in on how I can shop so much online. Through this medium I shall introduce her to the wonder of Etsy,

And finally, personally, my own little darling resolutions

x Celebrate my wedding anniversary. In 2008 it was spent in LAX which was simply depressing.
x Acquire at least two new tattoos before June 15th 2009 and hopefully 3 by December 31st 2009.
x PhotoBooks! In 2008 I did print photos, and the photo mobile in the upstairs lounge is one of my treasures but I want photo books of our travels.
x Christmas 2009 will be spent in London. WILL.
x Dress up more! I am already over-dressed for the Hutt Valley but who cares?
x Quality over quantity. 2009 will be the year where I try to curb my expenditure. If Craig and I are hoping to BOTH move back to London AND spend a month backpacking (ish) around Europe then we need to save a serious amount of money.
x (as always ...) Try to be happier.


P.s. I did take the moustaches and they were a big hit.