Not that long ago I was hating yellow. A reaction of having loved it throughout the 90s and covered my entire hallway in it. But now it's back. And being the sad old slave to fashion that I am I love it again. This time it's slightly neon. And that reminds me of the 1950s. And that's a good thing. (This chair is on ebay at the moment and way out of my league. But I can dream).
Even the local St Vinnies is getting in on the act. I drove by last week and was drawn back by the window dressing. They are getting so canny these days at Vinnies. And not just the window dressing. Remember when no one there had any inkling what something was worth? Nothing was ever over $10. Now they totally know the value of vintage. This dress for example (though not strictly vintage) was priced at $35.
While away last week I read Christos Tsolkias novel 'The Slap', the first book I've read since finishing the Twilight saga a few weeks ago. Much like the Twilight saga I could hardly put 'The Slap' down. Unlike the Twilight saga it was not an overly enjoyable read. In fact at times reading 'The Slap' felt like a receiving a big hard slap. Told from the perspective of eight different characters, who are present at a barbecue where one of them slaps a child who is not his own, this is a really ambitious novel. And not least for confronting a multitude of complex issues present, yet not always discussed, in contemporary Australian life. Not everyone thinks Christos Tsolkias manages to pull this off but personally, for the most part, I do. I think good on him for confronting all those sensitive issues like private school vs. public school, compromised relationships, casual drug use amongst the middle class, the realities of parenting etc etc. If I had only one criticism to make of this book it would be the unconvincing letter Connie's father wrote before he died and also that there were no handsome vampire characters to lighten things up a bit.
A tent made of lounge cushions for Archie.
Extraction of a loose tooth with rusty barbeque tongs by Ruby.
Having to make an annoying unscheduled visit to the bank in civic last Friday (to fix up mistake THEY made) was sweetened by the discovery of a new cup cake cafe opened up a couple of door down from the bank. It's called the Jazz Apple Cafe and quite simply the cup cakes are INCREDIBLE. The kids chose Jaffa but I know somehow we will find a way to try them all - particularly keen to try the Jersey caramel and Lemon merangue. So rich Archie couldn't finnish his so I had to step in and do the job for him even though I knew the chocolate would give me a headache. The verdict: it was worth it.
Amazing what you can find at the Salvos on a lucky day. Today these adorable vintage shoes for $5 (yes, I know - $5!!!). Black patent leather, a narrow square toe, grossgrain trim and cute bow. Plus with a chunky - yet somehow elegant - low square heel they are exactly what I was looking for. I could cry then that they secretly pinch my toes blue. 