Shopping

Today Molly stayed at my mothers house, so we had the day all to ourselves. Usually that means doing things around the house, but we needed some time off. We just relaxed, and had fun. Looked at wallpapers for Molly´s room, and the guest room, and did some shopping.

I just got some basics that I needed, like some gray merino blend tights from Falke, which are so comfortable and soft. I got a t-shirt bra and matching briefs from Calvin Klein, and a scented candle from Voluspa. Usually I get the Saijo Persimmon, but this time I chose the Santiago Huckleberry and the scent is lovely. Very subtle, which I like. Molly got a small gift, a Moomin mug, with a picture of the Snork Maiden. She is going through a chest of jewels, which I thought will suit Molly since she evidently adores such things and the Moomin trolls. Every day she is covered in necklaces and bracelets, not something she got from me though since I use that type of things sparsely.

I also got some things for the house, and Madonna´s new greatest hits-album. I have been a fan since childhood, so it is a must-have. Although, when I was a child I was more “fan” as in fanatic than I am now. I do like her, but the walls are not covered with pictures of her anymore.

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Magazine frenzy

Well, not a frenzy exactly. This week I got the September issue of Pop magazine and the latest issue of AnOther magazine.

Before I used to get a lot of magazines all of the time, because it is one of my habits, but now I am more selective. I don´t know where to keep all of my old issues, so this is why I have to be more careful, and the money spent on magazines can be spent of clothes or something more useful. But I just love, love, love glossy magazines. Anyway, Pop interested me because it featured Ed Ruscha, Juergen Teller and Tavi amongst other things. When I first read Tavi´s blog, I did not know she was that famous. I found it by a chance, and thought she was very talented and inspirational, but I soon realised that she has a lot of followers and I was late to the party. AnOther magazine I had to have, and it included lots of nice photos of people I like, and interesting articles. Though I have not read it yet, just skimmed through it.

When I took a first look, I noticed a photo of Sofia Coppola, whom I adore. Great, I though, let´s scan it and post it to I heart Sofia, and the Sofia thread at TFS. Ofcourse it was posted already, which I realised way too late. Since I took the trouble to do the scanning, I might as well post it here because it is a lovely photo of her, in my opinion of course.

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“I’d rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck”

I really love fresh cut flowers, and one day I hope I will have a garden full of flowers to pick. It will take some time, because our garden was not properly taken care of by the previous owner. For my birthday I got three peonie bushes, in a deep, deep pink colour. Similar to the picture below. Mine might have been darker, as I recall.

 

It might even be called red, but I´m not sure though. Next spring I will hopefully plant some white and soft pink as well. I want masses of them, blooming all summer through. They remind me of my grandmother and her garden, which was filled with all sorts of peonies and roses. As a little girl I loved to bury my nose into those soft, but yet compact flowers and hold the buds gently in my hands. I still do.

At the moment I have a tiny blue hydrangea, which looks like it is sick. I do hope it survives the winter. I wonder if it will stay blue, or change into some other colour. I planted some seeds next to it, some lupins and some poppies, but it didn´t turn out like I wanted it to. The lupin seeds must have been flushed by rain, so all of them ended up at the same spot, and only a few have blossomed. The poppied were tiny and only a few grew. Next spring I will have to redo it.

Sometimes I buy cut flowers, but since I live in a small town there is not much to choose from. Every spring there are tulips everywhere. Even though I like them, one can have enough of them. It is rather expensive as well, so whenever I go to Gothenburg, I try to buy some nice flowers. I have a favourite shop where they have a nice selection, good prices and the owners are nice people. There is another one as well, which I visit frequently.

But for now, I have to settle for what is available. I bought some cream coloured roses today, and picked the three lupins in my garden, that still has the flowers left. The lupins unfortunately brought in some unwelcome guests, some earwigs (how I loathe them!!!) and a really disgusting bug. But I guess that is the price one has to pay for some flowers on the table.

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Desperately seeking Susan

Everything in fashion comes back, well almost everything, sooner or later. Lately it feels like things come back season after season, or perhaps, every other season. This is why, it is good to save the things that are treasured, and invest in good quality that will last. If one wants to follow trends, it is a smart way to save money instead of buying the same thing over and over again. And if following trends isn´t what you are opting for, just wearing whatever one might like whatever is in style, this certainly is something to do as well. That money will be better spent on some other dream outfit. Lately there has been an 80´s revival, and the 90´s are making more of a comeback.

Here is a good example of how designers recycle old styles, or just copy. These crystal studded boots that Madonna wore in “Desperately Seeking Susan” in 1985 has been copied several times. The first picture shows Jimmy Choo´s Gillian vintage suede ankle boot, from f/w  -09, and the second is Christian Louboutin´s Ariella studded boot from f/w -07. I have seen other brands do them as well. That is another thing that I have thought about, the way so many designers are inspired by the same things, the same season. One takes a look at the new collections, and seven different designers are inspired by German peasants from the 1850´s (just an example). Now why is that? And why do some things come back season after season, like it is something new? Why do we fall for this and let them dictate what we ought to dress in? These are just a few of the questions that I have, and want to have answered, but in the meantime I should probably put on a movie and steal some inspiration.

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Blank

It is so frustrating, to have no inspiration whatsoever. I do not know what to write about, or if I do, I just can´t develop the thought   into words. Or an idea forms, and I begin writing, and after two or three sentences there´s nothing. Nothing. I think I perhaps need a change of scenery. I do want to travel somewhere, I love travelling. One positive thing at the moment, is that I have begun to change my lifestyle a bit. More exercising and healthier food. I have been slacking off for too long now, and this change is long overdue. Hopefully this will improve the mind as well, and thoughts will be put into words.

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“I loathe narcissism, but I approve of vanity”

It was the time to get some new skincare-products, and as always, I did my research. The plan was to get good products, but for a reasonable price. There is absolutely no need to spend ridiculous amounts, when there is products that are affordable but works just as good – or sometimes better – than the more upscale brands. And this is coming from a total skincare junkie, who is very gullible when it comes to such things. Even though I should know better, all reason seems to dissapear when I look at, or read about skincare and cosmetics. So, I wanted to try something new, and a new approach. This time I read up on the best beauty-buys, and thankfully many of them came with a very nice price tag. I could locate most of the items on the internet, so I felt confident. BUT, there is always a “but”, it wasn´t going to be this easy.

I was discouraged when the site I was going to buy from had the worst shipping fees ever. I do not care for a shipping fee that is two times higher than the total amount of the items I was going to buy. Also, some of the products I wanted was quite hard to get by. Either this particular brand wasn´t available for international shipping, or the store didn´t have the items I wanted. This became more of a quest, than an easy task.  Thankfully, I do not give up that easy. Even though I would have saved a lot of time, and effort, if I just went and got something else. Needless to say; I can be quite stubborn at times. I did get the moisturizers I wanted, and the cleanser, but when it came to the toner and the exfoliator, I just had to find something else.

I bought the Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser, for all skin types. It is cheap, and supposedly very good if you have sensitive skin. For an exfoliant, I chose Clinique´s gentle exfoliator, because it is gentle. I have used Clinique before, but I do not care for the 3-step skin care system. I do not like the moisturizer, and their toners are too harsh because of the alcohol. The toner I chose was Murad´s hydrating toner. I have used Murad, but it was ages ago, so I do not know if this was a good buy. I wanted another brand, but either it was sold out, or just not available. This is a mist, which I prefer.

The moisturizers are from La Roche-Posay, and they were my first choice. For day, I got the Anthelios  SX day moisturizing cream with SPF 15, and for night the Nutritic cream. The Anthelios SX cream, is supposed to be the best SPF because it provides a broad spectrum with high coverage across UVA spectrum. So, after all this searching, I just hope I will be satisfied with those products.

One item that I am very satisfied with, is Mario Badescu´s Drying lotion. I bought it a while ago, and it is worth every penny! Even if I have a dry skin and it was some years since I was a teenager, I do get breakouts now and then, and it isn´t exactly a joy. Now I just dip a cotton swab into this bottle, apply a dab of it on the pimple/whitehead before bedtime, and then rinse off in the morning. And Voilà !  Works like magic.

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And we were never being boring

I always seem to complaint that there is nothing to do – and mostly there isn´t- BUT the Röhsska design museum in Gothenburg is currently having a Coco Chanel exhibition, which I must, must, go and see. Usually all the fun exhibitions seem to be in Stockholm, so I cannot miss this. Then there is “The September issue”. My feelings towards Anna Wintour and US Vogue are a bit mixed, but I did read every issue of the magazine when I was in high-school and got interested in the fashion world.

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She’s been building up a castle in L.A

This has become my favourite song from the “Wolfgang Amadeus” album. Everytime I am driving, I always put it on. Or in the kitchen while I am preparing dinner. Or any other time.

I have been listening to the “Lost In Translation” soundtrack a lot lately, and I really love the songs by Kevin Shields and Brian Reitzell. Perfect for creating a mood. I love the way I feel when I listen to them.

I found this on YouTube, “50 floors up” by Brian Reitzell and Roger J. Manning Jr. Apparently it was a bonus track on the Japanese version of the soundtrack.

And because I am in that mood:

Ever since I saw “Marie Antoinette”, the last song makes me think of the movie, and how I felt when it ended. It was a perfectly sad moment, beautiful and haunting all at once.

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The autumn comes just like other years

These last few days I have been staying away from the internet, just reading a few books, entertaining, trying to focus and figure out some things. It feels like my mind is somehow blocked, because I am not getting anywhere with my thoughts. This is getting slightly annoying, but somehow I am managing to keep somewhat calm. If I could just move forwards, atleast one step, that would be perfect.

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