The Song - "Skinny Love"

So the other day a good friend of mine was around, and after hearing an hour's worth of music from my iPod, she told me I should look up some of Birdy’s songs. So after she left, I promptly looked Birdy up on iTunes. I have to say, her song “Skinny Love” has been playing on my iPod ever since.

Birdy is the stage name of Jasmine van den Bogaerde. She is 16 years old and has already had a hit song in the top 20 charts in the UK and other European countries. In other word,s this girl is talented with a capital T.  “Skinny Love” is actually a cover of the American folk band Bon Iver (didn’t know that). 

Anyway, back to Birdy. So in 2008 she won the music competition Open Mic UK at the age of 12 against 10,000 competitors. See what I mean? I was not winning national music awards at the age of 12. She started writing her own music at the age of 8.  

Anyway, have a listen and see what you think. 

 

 

Until next time :)

The Inspiration - The Vintage Garden

Time for another "inspiration" blog, I think. This time we're looking at pretty things in the great outdoors. I've never really had much of a green thumb myself, but since we'll soon be moving into our house, I thought maybe looking at a few picturesque gardens might inspire me. Hopefully it will inspire you too.

How much do you just want to sit down here and read a book with some homemade lemonade?

Picturesque.

Note to self: must buy old-fashioned wagon and fill it with flowers.

The perfect hideaway.

Note to self: Must buy watering can and fill it with flowers too. So cute!

Love all the details here: the wicker baskets, the life saver, the apples. 

Hooray for eclectic chairs!

How cute are those white bird cages? Such a sweet idea. Could you have them around but not put birds in them? Do you think the kind of house thing with the lattice in the background is supposed to be a human birdcage?

Understated yet effective.

Note to self: Must also buy old bicycle and fill basket with flowers. Seriously loving this.

More birdcages. And look - no bird. 

Chairs can also be covered in flowers - but what I really loved about this was the cat. Look, it's wearing a bow tie!

Now this is bliss. Maybe I'll add a hammock to the list. Wait, I don't think we have any trees to hang it from. Hang on a second - our place came with a porch swing, and you know a porch swing always trumps a hammock. Okay, I totally just made that up.

Proving that the wagon flower idea is awesome.

Hope you enjoyed that. Which one was your favourite? What did you like?

Until next time :)

The Review - The Thin Man

One of the benefits of getting married is that you not only gain a husband or wife but also their family. I was very blessed with Luke’s family, who are awesome. In fact, after meeting them for the first time following our engagement, I remarked to him that I would have married him for his family alone. Even better, my in-laws also have a killer DVD collection, and in the past two years I have been introduced to quite a number of amazing films that I probably never would have had the pleasure of watching if it weren't for them.

One set of especially good movies is The Thin Man series. The first film was made in 1934, based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. It's an American comedy-mystery starring William Powell as retired detective Nick Charles and Myrna Loy as his wife Nora Charles. There are 6 films in all and they are absolutely delightful.

 

Nick is a retired private detective who enjoys a drink or two and his wife Nora is a wealthy heiress. They also own a cute pooch called Asta.

The original film shot in only about two weeks and was at first labelled a "B" picture, which is why everyone was surprised at its success. In 1934 it was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

Funnily enough, the film is not named after Nick Charles but rather his friend Clyde Wynant, whose mysterious disappearance gets Nick out of retirement. Despite this, when the film was released the critics and audience kept referring to Nick Charles as the "Thin Man", so the subsequent movies used variations of this original title.

I think what makes these movies such a delight to watch is the dialogue. It is just so witty! You almost can’t keep up with it. And the chemistry between Nick and Nora is the real highlight.

Actually, the The Thin Man might surge in popularity again, as there is supposedly a remake in the works with Johnny Depp to play the part of Nick Charles. 

 

 Reporter: Say listen, is he working on a case?
Nora: Yes, he is.
Reporter : What case?
Nora: A case of scotch. Pitch in and help him.

 Lieutenant John Guild: You got a pistol permit?
Nick: No.
Lieutenant John Guild: Ever heard of the Sullivan Act?
Nick: Oh, that's all right, we're married.

 Nora: How many drinks have you had?
Nick: This will make six Martinis.
Nora: [to the waiter] All right. Will you bring me five more Martinis, Leo? Line them right up here.

 Nick: I'm a hero. I was shot twice in the Tribune.
Nora: I read you were shot 5 times in the tabloids.
Nick: It's not true. He didn't come anywhere near my tabloids.

 Marion: I don't like crooks. And if I did like 'em, I wouldn't like crooks that are stool pigeons. And if I did like crooks that are stool pigeons, I still wouldn't like you.

The trailer for your viewing enjoyment:

Until next time :)

The Outing - Halloween Party at Little House

So on Saturday, Luke and I went to a Halloween Party hosted by a friend from church and her flatmates. It was such a wonderful night, full of great Halloween-themed treats - and oh my goodness, the level of detail in the decorations was awe-inspiring. Not to mention everyone dressed in costumes is always a great ice-breaker for making new friends. :)

Luke and I decided to opt for cute costumes rather than scary, as Mickey and Minnie. The really funny thing is that I would totally wear this outfit on the weekend, minus the ears. Luke makes a very cute Mickey, don't you think? And look at the fabulous decorations!

Finger shorbread

 Our food contribution: gingerbread mummies.

 The most amazing Halloween Castle Cake I have ever encountered.

 Monster cupcakes! So cute!

 And of course every party needs some punch! In fact, I don't think any drink says "party" more than punch, am I right?

 More drinks. :)

 Mummy fingers

 Mini pumpkin pies... nom nom!

 How cute are they? Dressed as Sam and Suzy from Moonrise Kingdom. Such an awesome costume idea.

Until next time :)

The Verse - Ecclesiastes 12:13

 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

(Ecclesiastes 12:13)

So as you know, I am slowly making my way through a plan for reading the Bible chronologically in a year. The other week I read the book of Ecclesiastes, and I thought I would share a few pieces of its wisdom with you.

Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon, David's son, and is autobiographical in matter. God loved Solomon, because he was David's son and followed God's commandments. When Solomon was a young man, God said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.” Solomon replied, "Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” (I Kings 3:4,9)

So God gave Solomon a "wise and discerning mind" - in fact, God said that he was to be the wisest man in all of history. So I guess my point is that when reading Ecclesiastes we have to try and keep in mind that this book was penned by the wisest man in history (of course, all Scripture is God-breathed and comes from God through the Holy Spirit, but since this book is personal to Solomon it is still important to bear this in mind).

Most scholars agree that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes when he was old, since much of it seems to be a reflection on his life. What never ceases to amaze me is that despite Solomon's immense wisdom, which is reported to have attracted "all the kings of the earth" to him (1 Kings 4:32), this does not necessarily mean he lived a life in obedience to God, even though he would have been able to discern that this was the wisest thing to do. This is essentially what Ecclesiastes is all about: true wisdom means following God.

In the end, everything apart from God is vanity. Solomon uses the word "vanity" 38 times in the Book of Ecclesiastes, and it has 3 different meanings, depending on the context: 1) "fleeting", as in a vapour; 2) "futile" or "meaningless", which refers to the curse that humanity is now under due to sin; 3) "incomprehensible" or "enigmatic", which refers to life's unanswerable questions.

Solomon forsook a life of obedience to God and instead completely embraced the world and all its pleasures, intending to glorify himself instead of God. After all, he was the richest man alive, so he could experience the world along with all its temptations and carnal delights to the absolute max. And after living like this, what did he conclude? Throughout Ecclesiastes he repeatedly says everything under the sun is nothing but "chasing after the wind".

Makes you think, doesn't it? That was Solomon's experience with the effects of the curse and rejection of God's ways: that when someone pursues any worldly goal or ambition as their ultimate end, it is vanity, and life is meaningless. Why? Because it is God who created us and it is only in Him that we can find life, and life to the full. As Jesus says in John 10:10: "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

We were made to glorify God, not ourselves. This, of course, doesn't mean that we can't enjoy life. The fact is that we enjoy life the most when we are living in obedience to God. Sounds like a paradox, doesn't it? But it's true! Who knows what's best for us but our Creator, the very God who designed us and knows us even more intimately than we could ever possibly know ourselves, even if we lived for a thousand years?

Life only becomes meaningful with God in it because each day is a gift from God - not merely a gift of existence, but for us to live and to labour, to experience God's love and grace, and to go out into His world and share that love and grace with the world. 

There is a proper balance of enjoying life, but it must be remembered that some day in the future we will also be held accountable and answerable to God for what we did with our lives. Did we use them to glorify ourselves or to glorify God? 

But, it may be asked, how can we glorify God? Through repenting of our disobedience and acknowledging that in our own strength we could never be acceptable to God - that we need the saving grace of His Son Jesus Christ. Unlike us, Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience to God, and lived and died on the cross for God's glory, so that He could take our punishment and set us free from sin and death. We can receive this gift of forgiveness by repenting of our sin and trusting in Jesus to save us.

The last words of Ecclesiastes are probably some of the most sobering in the Bible and show that Solomon at the end of his life understood the eternal importance of obedience:

For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

(Ecclesiastes 12:14)

The Dress - Black & Cream

So as you can see, I've been very good at not buying clothes recently. It's amazing how many "outfits" you can create just by mixing and matching, adding a few different accessories, and ta-da!!! A new outfit and you didn't even buy anything. Black and cream is a colour combination I've ever really experimented with, but I think it works quite well.

Dress: Club Coco

I've worn this dress on here before. Paired with a navy cardigan, it's also the dress I wore to the 1920s Ball that I attended. So as you can see it gets a lot of wear. It's also extra special because it was a hand-me-down from a friend in Taiwan. Getting clothes off friends is the best.

Cardigan: Mango

What can I say - it goes with everything! And seeing as I got it in 2010 and wear it all the time, it's lasting pretty well.

Belt: David Lawrence

I bought this belt recently, and seeing as it was a "tiny" bit expensive for a belt, I'm determined to prove that it was a worthwhile investment. I really love the contrast between the black and cream.

Stockings: Step Out

Okay, I almost couldn't believe this when I heard it, but they are now selling seamed stockings at the supermarket! I kid you not. Well, at New World any way. The brand is called "Step Out" and they have some wonderfully inspired seamed stockings. Did I mention that they sell them at the supermarket! These cost around NZ$16, and you can also get sheer with a black seam. I am so excited and plan to buy more. After all, if a company is willing to sell vintage-inspired stockings at the supermarket (!) I totally want to support them in that. These ones are 15 denier and seem to be reasonably good value for money. 

Shoes: Top Shop

These shoes are now solely reserved for black stockings, as they keep staining my skin-coloured stockings (argh!). Does anyone else have this problem?

Bonus photo! 

Until next time :)

 

The Song - The Harlem Congeroos

 It's the weekend, time to celebrate!

This clip comes from the movie Hellzapoppin', which came out in 1941 and is now mostly famous for its amazing dance scenes. Just so you know, when Luke and I do swing dancing it doesn't look anything like this!

Until next time :)