the doll diaries

I don't know too many people who keep diaries, or maybe I do know them I just don't know they keep diaries, hmm. Myself, I'm no Brigid Jones but I do like to have a notebook at my disposal. They're handy for writing lists of things to do, snippits of information for which scraps of paper would probably suffice but would inherently be impossible to find at the time when they're needed, or recounting stories or yeah rambling out thoughts and ideas and hopes and dreams. I also tend to turn mine into mini-scrap books, pritt-sticking in bits and bobs that I find interesting, which when accumulated sometimes lead to inspiration.... and see me sewing the afternoon away into a Russian Doll.

kate by corinne

the wonders of a wander

IT WASN'T RAINING TODAY! To celebrate I went for a walk and brought my camera:

pop goes the weasel

I don't believe I've even mentioned Tavi Gevinson here before and I shall refrain from doing so again today. I will however point all my fingers at this magnificent jumper^^^featured on the cover of POP magazine. It's more fun than a clown making balloon animals; it's like a colourful science project of the solar system; it's Ashish 2009.

Unfortunately I find all designs (with the exception of aforementioned awesome jumper) to be horribly hideous, but I took inspiration from these pompoms and two of my favourite things - raw vegetables and knitting. Between which there is a perfectly logical connection, right?

It began with beetroot-stained fingertips and ended with digging out a ball of bright pink wool from my box that I bought about two weeks ago after thinking I liked the colour pink after this issue of ID magazine. So anyway I started knitting and then I had some soup and a new hat. The end.

Narelle Dore

the year ends devoid of delicious beauty

gold, frankincense and mur

Getting presents is lovely but so too is giving them. Especially when you know the recipient will really like them (one hopes)... What's that good feeling called? Not necessarily because you're making somebody else happy but more how you're making yourself happy in the knowing that you've done a good thing by making that other person happy. Follow? Well now if I were a learned sort of person I might start discussing the concept of good will, refer to Kant and ask some questions on morality in order to develop my argument. Unfortunately I'm more pleb than I am philosopher so instead I'll merely call on the old fail-safe mention of "the episode of Friends where..." Phoebe tries to prove to Joey that there is such a thing as a selfless act. She lets a bee sting her so the bee can look cool in front of his bee friends then donates money to a fundraising drive on television for an organisation she really dislikes. Alas in killing the bee and getting Joey attention on camera she ruins her attempted altruism, proving that at the end of the day benevolence is never entirely disinterested.

fit for a king

With gingerbread on the brain we got an idea (from goodness knows where) to build a gingerbread house. No not a house... a CASTLE yes from small acorns big oaks grow and our humble vision for an edible house saw us with an octagonal chateau complete with towers, turrets, drawbridge and a rooftop adorned with an army of angels.

We were all hands on deck in the prepping and baking and making and decorating.

A group effort of imaginations run wild let to an intriguing yet beautiful aesthetic

And the final result? A sweet, sweet chateau which stood proud as a work of art for almost an entire day before being brutally demolished and gobbled down by our savage selves...