Wishing and Hoping

Hey,

Well this was going to be a thoroughly miserable, pour-your-heart-out kinda post, due to having a rather emotional time of it this weekend; but you’ll be thankful that I’ve thought better of it though, and have instead decided to share with you my wishlist!  I’m forever scouring the internet for treats and lovely things and have a wealth of beauties to show you.  It’s true to say that from this little lot, my tastes are somewhat eclectic – show me anyone else who pairs vintage-style headbands with harajuku dolls?!

THIS YEARS GIRL - "Merry Go Round" Print

SEONNA HONG - "All Others" Print

PORTOBELLO - Karma Bird Lariat

KITSCHTIQUE - Bow Brooch

TOVICORRE - ipod Case PLAY - Dexter Bobblehead

AMAZON - Tick Tock Gwen Doll

MISSMACAU - Korean Amy Card Case

BOOK DEPOSITORY - Alice in Wonderland

DOLLYDAGGER - Highschool Hellcats Tee

PLASTICLAND - Birdcage Letter & Photo Holder

Amazon - Who Killed Amanda Palmer Book

TOTALLY FUNKY - Apple Handbag

 Amy at WB x

Gimme Five

Hey,

I’ve been a bit blog-lite of late so I must apologise (I know you’re all rooted by your screens to read my latest banal offering – so here it is!)  I think I’ve been too busy reading other peoples and generally looking at the joy that is on the interweb – I blame Claira, I really do – she’s all about the lovely links that are designed to distract!  Also, Wonderland Boutique seems to have kicked up a gear as I’ve been asked by a fellow Etsian to make the Clutches for her bridesmaids at her upcoming wedding!  I’m so excited, not to mention honoured and a little bit terrified (huge gulp) but it’s been lots of fun working closely with someone else picking out fabrics and deciding on trim colours together – even though the time difference on Etsy can result in what I am now calling ‘convo-tennis’.  I shall let you know how it all goes, and post some lovely pictures when these lovely bags are all ready to wing their way to some special nuptials.

Oooh, and a quick pat on the proverbial back for the wonder that is exercise.  If you’ve ever had the (mis)fortune to stumble upon my Twitter updates, then I’m sure you would see that I tweet mostly about gnomes, food, gnomes – and the horrific notion of exercise.  Before, during and after undertaking it, I usually think I will die, am dying, have died.  It does not come easily to me – I’ve never been a runner (I’d rather miss the bus than shame myself by legging after it) or someone who buys trainers to train in, so when I decided to try the possible lowest of the exercise low (home workout dvds) I never thought I’d stick at it.  Any regular followers of this blog will know, that over the past year I’ve lost a lot of weight due to some rather huge and poo-shaped emotional upheaval.  A hellish way to go about it, but a silver-lining none-the-less.  I was determined to lose more though and to keep the weight off (a good tip for doing this, is to get rid – either via Ebay or charity shops – all the clothes that are too big for you!) so exercise dvds were my answer.  With their help, and the boring inevitability of healthy(ish) eating, I’ve gone down 4 dress sizes and am now on my way to 5.  This is a huge achievement for me and it’s been a real incentive to get through the rougher, darker times.  So exercise, my love – I shall never complain about you again!

Anyway, on to the actual point of this post (yes, I do have them sometimes!)  One of my recent internet-shaped discoveries seems to be the appearance of lists.  It’s all about naming your top 5 this, or your 5 least favourite that.  It’s inspired me to compile a few 5-flavoured lists of my own.  So here’s my five – gimme yours….

 

5 FAVOURITE FILMS:

* Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

* Pan’s Labyrinth

* Some Like it Hot

* Tale of Two Sisters

* The Hauting (the original one – no room for CZJ in my lists!)

 

5 FAVOURITE BOOKS:

* Wise Children

* Alice in Wonderland

* Fragile Things

* London Fields

* Mrs Dalloway

 

5 FAVOURITE MUSICIANS:

* The Killers

* No Doubt

* Volbeat

* Bat For Lashes

* Ladytron

 

5 FAVOURITE ARTISTS:

* Seonna Hong

* Tara McPherson

* Jason

* Yoshitomo Nara

* Roy Lichtenstein

 

5 POINT PLAN FOR MY FUTURE:

* Move out into my own wonderful place

* Find work in a field I really feel I belong in

* Get  Wonderland Boutique stocked in an actual boutique

* Be appreciative of the people I do have 

* Make a difference and be different

 

Amy at WB x

Picture This

Hey,

Due to the horrorshow that was pretty much the whole of last year, I seem to have almost no photographic evidence that the last few years have transpired.  Totally my stuff, as I find it really difficult to hold on to things that feature people who are no longer in my life, so it was away to the bin with a mass of photos (among many other trinkets, most of which saw me a pretty penny on Ebay!)  Thankfully though, things seem to have really picked up for me, and I find myself surrouned again my a group of really great people – so dutifully I have become annoying camera girl, snapping here, there and everywhere.  Documenting every moment (not quite every moment, but not far off) perhaps to fill that gap left by the events that tore my world apart, perhaps subconsciously it’s also a way of trying to hang on in case this life, this new one I’ve created for myself, goes the way of the last and falls from underneath me.  Whatever the reason, I am all about photos of late, and I want to surround myself with them again – I’m happy and more confident in my own skin than I can ever remember, and want to celebrate it.

So I am on a trawl for photo frames - the quirkier, the more unusual, the vintage and the ornate are all on my wishlist – and as usual, it is Etsy that calls my name the loudest.  If  only I could find some UK sellers of such beauties, so that the shipping rates wouldn’t be so astronomical.  I especially adore vintage frames, I always imagine what images they’ve held before, what stories of lives lived well and how I can be a part of the object’s tale by adding my interpretation of art and life to them.  I think I should start hunting in my local second hand shops and see if I can track down any hidden gems like these:

In other, totally unrelated news, I cannot stop listening to the new song by Bat For Lashes.  Apparently it’s inspired by Daniel from the Karate Kid (I was always more of a Marty McFly gal myself) - so here’s to him, me and all you other children of the ’80’s:

Amy at WB x 

Learning To Love You More

Hey,

I just want to share with you this wonderful communal art project that I came across a few weeks ago.  I don’t remember how the hell I found it (one of those bizarre google-shaped searches where you go round in circles time and again, I expect) but I am so glad I did.

Established by Miranda July who is an incredibly indie artist/writer/film maker (and who’s film Me and You and Everyone We Know, is one of my favourite films, and is an absolute must for anyone who loves anything a bit quirky and left-field) and Harrell Fletcher, Learning to Love You More is both a  website and series of non-web presentations comprised of work made by the general public in response to assignments given by July and Fletcher.  Participants accept an assignment (as few or as many as they like, and in whatever order they desire), complete it by following the simple but specific instructions, send in the required report (photograph, text, video, etc), and see their work posted on-line.  Since Learning To Love You More is also an ever-changing series of exhibitions, screenings and radio broadcasts presented all over the world, participant’s documentation is also their submission for possible inclusion in one of these presentations. Past presentations have taken place at venues all around the world, and at last count – since it’s inception in 2002, over 8000 people have participated in the project.  Like a recipe, meditation practice, or familiar song, the prescriptive nature of these assignments is intended to guide people towards their own experience.

I have always considered myself a creative soul, a frustrated writer and sometime designer and I didn’t realise just how much I missed being involved in art until I came across this project.  After a hellish time through the latter half of last year, where I genuinely lost sight of what was important and ultimately I lost sight of myself, I have been craving some sort of output for getting my creative side to sing again.  Wonderland Boutique has been an incredibly release for this so far, but I felt I needed more, something more personal and pure.  I think that Learning to Love You More fits the bill perfectly, and have decided to take part.  At the moment there are 70 assignments (though more are added as and when the founders choose to do so) and I hope to attempt around 1 per week, though I can already envision myself falling short of this.  I guess that’s not the point though – the project is fluid and organic, so if it takes me a lifetime then that’s what is meant to be.

Once an assignment is completed, it is posted on the website under whatever name (real or pseudonym) you choose, so in essence as public as your work is, it is also anonymous.  So I’m choosing to post my submissions here as well, as I want to document my own journey with this project and chart my progress in putting the past behind me and with that, hopefully learning to love myself more.

 

ASSIGNMENT 70 – Say Goodbye

Sometimes it’s hard to say goodbye.  It just feels easier to keep holding on, but in the long run it’s usually a good idea to let go, it;s the daring thing to do.  It allows room for new things, for transformation and maybe the goodbye isn’t even forever, but you can’t know until you really say goodbye and mean it.  In some cases, goodbye really is the end, and good riddance!

For this assignment, say goodbye to all the things you need to let go of: bad habits, dead people, alive people, ex-boyfriends and girlfriends, self-destructive feelings and behaviours, jobs, projects, re-occurring thoughts etc.

Write it as a simple list – it can be as long or as short as you like, and most importantly, take a moment with each one to really say goodbye.  This isn’t a catalogue of your fears and faults, this is a ceremony to bid them farewell.

Goodbye to him.
Goodbye to thinking I would never breathe again.
Goodbye to comparing myself to everyone else.
Goodbye to feeling inadequate.
Goodbye to revelations on Park Street.
Goodbye to caring what any of you thought.
Goodbye to procrastination.
Goodbye to January 17th, April 11th, April 21st and Christmas Eve.
Goodbye to excuses.
Goodbye to missing you.
Goodbye to every moment of pain you made me feel.
Goodbye to never letting go.
Goodbye to living without flours
Goodbye to me.

http://www.learningtoloveyoumore.com/reports/70/amy.php 

 

 

ASSIGNMENT 63 – Make An Encouraging Banner

Think of something encouraging you often tell yourself.  For example: Everything will be ok.  Or: Don’t listen to them.  Or: It’ll blow over.  Now make a banner, making sure to follow these instructions:

1. Draw each letter of the sentence on a large piece of coloured construction paper or big squares of fabric.  One letter per piece.  Draw them blocky so you can cut them out.

2. Cut them out.

3. Glue each one onto a piece of construction paper or fabric that is a contrasting colour.

4. Then glue the edges of all the pieces of paper or fabric together to make a banner.

5. Hang the banner in a place where you or someone else might need some encouragement, for example, across your bathroom.  Or between two trees so that you and your neighbours can receive encouragement from it.  Or in a gas station.

http://www.learningtoloveyoumore.com/reports/63/amy.php

Amy at WB x