Blog award! Excitement plus! Chocolate time!

The lovely Nicola (awesome name) at Concrete and Honey just tagged me for a blog award! Imagine a mini celebratory champagne party happening in the rubyandjoy studio now, if you will. Or me sitting at my computer with a lone party popper. Either or. Anyhoodle, now I get to thrill you with a few interesting (depending on how dull your day has been) facts about myself. Woo!

1. I enjoy singing loudly in the van. If you see me doing this around Sydney, I'm not yelling at you in a road rage-y manner, just enjoying the Twilight soundtrack
2. I'm really bad at computer stuff. I was really excited just now when I figured out how you make a word a link. Yes. It took me that long (I also can't make the numbers of this list the right font, but we'll tackle that another day)
3. I'm a chocolate fiend
4. I love being at the beach on a rainy day, or lost in the bush on a sunny day. There is no peace or awe like it
5. I have my own business. rubyandjoy. It's awesome
6. I'm real good at being subtle
7. I've never been kissed
8. I've wanted to be a florist since I was a wee bairn. The passion keeps growing (like a flower...HA! I rock at jokes too...) and blooming (double ha!) and I don't see it ending for a good long while
9. I secretly would love to have a column in a magazine/blog somewhere
10. I fall down a lot

Part two! Lovely pretty cheery blogs (my goodness it's a handy title!) that bring me cheer when I visit.

1. Little Jane St my first online friend, and a clever one at that. Beautiful pics and lovely treats to buy
2. Where the Lovely Things Are title says it all really...
3. Max Wanger yes, everyone has probably seen it, but MAN he takes incredible pictures!
4. Bits of Beauty the lovely Jenn with some gorgeous finds
5. Wedding Style Guide when a beautiful magazine skips into online...loveliness!
6. SevenEight paper prettiness and inspiration
7. My Polaroid Blog some uber pretty polaroids (another self explanatory title)...
8. Amour Amour more beautiful wedding themed inspiration
9. EmmyRoseER, Letter Bird Lane, Huetopia...not blogs, but some of the best stationery in Sydney, with some of the loveliest people in Sydney (EmmyRose site is coming soon, get excited!)
10. And a pinch more wedding fun Portobello Style, Polka Dot Bride, and Alannah Rose.

Sorry if I've forgotten anyone that is quite spectacular and clearly deserved a spot here...you can blame it on my foggy mind. Seriously. It's like a sieve. And yes, I cheated a little with the addition of non blogs and extra mentions, but my goodess. There's just. So. Many! And I'm living on the edge.

Let me know if you know any lovely bloggy treats, and extra special thanks to Concrete and Honey for my first blog award! I think I just found another party popper...

Fun finds!

Some lovely pretty cheery things, from the delightful Georgie Love. Visit her. Be nice. And maybe take some cookies.

xx

http://www.georgielove.com/

Friday (because it's almost the weekend) beauty spot!

Carolina Herrera Spring '09

Happy Friday my lovely blog readers! Although I'm trapped inside doing accounts (blech), I can see the sun is shining and being all enticing like, and I hope you have at least a little toe enjoying the glowy warmth it provides. As we're quickly approaching shiny face season (woo!), and I know nothing about how to stop shiny face from appearing (nuts!), I'm not going to write about it. Except to tell you I am a new convert to Primer (I'm told it helps), and am considering, after a lengthy and detailed discussion last night over pizza (the good kind), to make the switcheroo to mineral foundation. I'll let you know how this life changing decision affects my day to day routine when it happens (excitement PLUS), but for now, will type freely about Heidi braids. Interestingly, in all the pictures I could find, Heidi did not have braids. The deceit begins to unravel...

Picture from www.marieclaire.co.uk

Now clearly, if you were a model, and getting ready for a show, and had minions running around and primping you within an inch of your life (never understood that expression. It's like 'keep your eyes peeled' which only leads to disturbing mental images. Grosso), you would look rather pretty. However, I have been told this kind of hair is something I as a pleb am able to pull of quite convincingly, mainly because as a pleb, my hair is already a bit mussed up and ready to go! Weeee! Picture the Princess Bride, if you will. Less dirt and pigs, more fresh water and hygiene.

Picture from www.bellasugar.com

Go nutso with the texturising paste (got a grand one free at the RSFF last week from Redken, I've no idea what it's called, but I'm thinking it's something along the lines of 'texturising paste'. Clever.), the hairspray and the teasing. Calm it back down with a paddle brush, and PLAIT my friends, PLAIT! As with the first pic, you can go all demure and pretty and groomed, you can go 'I've been rolling in a haystack and still manage to look hot' as per picture 2, or you can do more a bun style 'I'm a little bit high fashion, a little bit nonchalant' like pic three. You could do heapso more than these, I'm just sticking to my pictures ike a good blogger. Gold star to moi! Although it's never quite the same when self administered, is it.

And what's this?! Celebrities to enforce my plaiting is fun theme! It's like it was planned! Jen on left there is my fav, but then I'm pretty sure she could do no wrong. And yes. We're on a first name basis. Practically besties. AWESOME eyebrows. Kirsten's makeup is lovely, all dewy and fresh. What I strive to look like but generally end up resembling an overzealous 5 year old after her mums touche eclat and rosie blush has all but run out. Practice makes perfect, eh?! And in the meantime, there's always more helpful blogs than mine.

I'm off to plait. And eat. But that's fairly common...

Roses

You love the roses - so do I. I wish

The sky would rain down roses, as they rain

From off the shaken bush. Why will it not?

Then all the valley would be pink and white

And soft to tread on. They would fall as light

As feathers, smelling sweet; and it would be

Like sleeping and like waking, all at once!

George Eliot

Real Weddings | Meagan and Jon | May 2009

I love that they are stopping to smell the flowers. I love that dandelions are everywhere in wedding photography. I love that little kid. I love the feet shots. I love the colours. I love the dappled sunlight. I love the look on her face as she's walking down the aisle. I love the fact I'm so computer dumb I've only just realised there's a hover thingy on the Dad's bow tie, and I'm not going to fix it. I love that the bridesmaids hair is all different and all beautiful. I love the ink blue dresses and fresh green flowers. I love the detail on her dress and the full skirt. I love that someone's on crutches. I love weddings.

You might be picking up on this...

http://www.chennergy.com/

RSFF Friday night review

It is that time of day where I have a few spare moments, and the memory of a sieve, and if I don't write anything right now about my fun Friday night it will vanish clear from my mind never to be heard of again. Which in all honesty, could be a good thing, as I'm about to bore you pantless (please keep your pants on) with my incredibly non knowledgable take on the Rosemount Sydney Fashion Festival (Friday night). And a wee disclaimer - as I was incredibly unorganised, these pics are not from the actual show, everything was a bit of a blur, and if I'm being all open and honest, I'm not even sure this outfit from Ellery (above) was trotted out on the catwalk (good blogging eh?!). BUT! Most importantly, the rest were, and if you could wear bronze leggings well, would you not?!


SO! Ellery...we start with them, as it has been decided they were my favourite of the night. All neutrals and golds and light blues and creams. I'm a neutrals girl through and through and absolutely loved the little party frocks with detailed stitching, and the cream blazers. Also? Their collection is called 'Je Suis a Vous' and as I'm a little French mad (more in a stripes and bicycles way and less in a croissant hat wearing way), well, they had me at hello. Or if my Babel yahoo translation is correct, they had me at 'I am has you'. Right.

My favourite dress of the evening! Deserving in an exclamation mark as it was one of those moments where you get ridiculously excited over a frock and all manner of sensible things float out of your mind in a puff of smoke (not literally. That would be alarming) never to be thought of again. You KNOW?! From the footloose and fancy free duo at The Cassette Society, we like!

Favourite dress number two from the evening! Now, clearly this is not a dress I could wear. I, like, eat. BUT! The colour of the fabric is gorgeous and all the ruching and the sleeves and shoulders...it's so feminine but clean cut. Somewhat like a cucumber sandwich. But not. Therese Rawsthorne is one clever muffin!

The heels of death. Now, for some reason unbeknownst to me, I can only put 5 pics per post. I would have loved to have put a couple more on here from Bec&Bridge, like their tasseled mini skirt, rust harem pants and textured crops, but I feel I should share with you some hero worship to the models that managed to not only stay alive while trotting down the catwalk, but look insanely hot while doing so. Bravo, dear models. Bravo.

And the shoes! The shoes are covered in flowers! Now, I'm very anti toward artificial flowers, so it may seem nonsensical for me to love these shoes. And it may also seem nonsensical for someone to actually COVER shoes in flowers, make a dress out of giant pom poms and knit an octopus hat, tentacles and all. Hello Romance Was Born! The colours were beautiful, the textures incredible, and the sea creature hats very weird.

Brief summary...

People watching is awesome. Orange tights, socks with heels, ruffles on dresses, heels galore, body suits and womens tuxedos. Bewildered looking tradies. A security guard who knew what a blouse was. No one falling down...how DO they do it?! Perrier to start (took one for funsies as I never turn down a freebie, secretly, I hate sparkling water), sat nice and close to the designers and some folk that were a little *cough* high, watched the standing room girls shift their weight as their heels started to ache, goodie bags of fun, and a McFlurry drive through on the way home. Favourite part? One of my besties El and her comments. Girls nights out are fun.

http://elleryland.com/

http://www.thecassettesociety.com.au/

http://www.thereserawsthorne.com.au/

http://www.becandbridge.com.au/

http://www.romancewasborn.com/

Kate Spade

I love Kate Spade. Well. Not so much Kate Spade. As much as I'm sure she's a lovely person, I may withhold judgement until I've met her. Which, as an aside, is not happening anytime soon. Unless she is a secret reader of this blog, which, depending on how you look at it, is either very likely, or not likely at all. All about your point of view I guess. I'm choosing to believe she is, and gets up early every morning, not to create and design and be generally quite fabulous, but to read lovelyprettycheerythings. Yessir. So. This cute little case is brilliant just as is, but it also has lovely little treats inside in the form of pencils, an eraser and a sharpener! I'm always one of those folk that when is given a bag or purse, waits a couple seconds (to be polite), then digs in to see if the present continues in side. Pathetic, I know. But no need here! I already KNOW there's stuff inside! Good one, Kate. Also, this would be a super cool gift if you had a friend called Kate.





Notecards. Now Kate, as you read along here, and no doubt pick up on the mistakes gaLORE I've made about your product (my researcher is me, not so reliable), I assume you'll remember we like note cards here, and have posted on them a couple times. Don't be offended, I do not discriminate when it comes to notecards. The more the better I say! And yours are pretty cool. I like the 'for no particular reason' one. I believe more gifts and notes should be given for no particular reason, so it really fits in well with my beliefs. I love it when stuff comes together like this.

This is here, mainly because if I had dated the love of my life, married him in an old cathedral followed with a gorgeous outdoor marquee reception featuring FORESTS of flowers, lived happily together while we both worked hard and passionately at our careers, came to the point where we wanted to have children (I would want 3, he would want 4), planned the babies room, dealt with being a fatty and knowing it had nothing to do with the 7 chocolate biscuits I'd eaten that day, gone through labour (probably not the quiet kind), become the best mum ever (*cough*), decided after the youngest was 5 that it'd be nice to have a date night, well, it'd be kind of cool to have this to leave for the babysitter. And also? I love the green. Kate Spade green it is. Lucky that.

Canvas Becca Pencil Case

Idiom Notecards

Babysitter Message Pad

All from Kate Spade New York at http://www.katespade.com/

Bec&Bridge plus my delay for a day....

The very talented and rather good looking chickies of Bec&Bridge

Being the writer of this blog and all, I've decided to let my hair down and write about my RSFF experience tomorrow. Crazy, I know. But here's a little insight for you. I managed not to fall down. How, you ask? I wore flats.
See what you're in for tomorrow?! Excitement plus...

Dolce and Gabbana Fall Winter 08/09

Beautiful dresses. Angry running. Very angry running. Don't think I'd be so angry if I had such a beautiful dress on. Maybe they were just dumped. Simultaneously. But then if they were wearing these dresses during said dumping, think the guy would feel like a bit of a doosh for dumping the beautiful women in the beautiful frocks. Perhaps he realised and changed his mind mid-breakup. That would make me angry. Might even make me run. In an angry fashion. Of course.


ps - Will post about my fabulous RSFF experience from last night on Monday. Quote of the night in regards to designer Romance Was Born, "It's like Grandma went to the lolly shop, under the sea!"

Friday (because it's almost the weekend) beauty spot!

Because I've been to the markets this morning and have not fully recovered to full brain worker-ing levels, um, I will just tell you the things I like about the gorgeous Seafolly makeup from the Rosemount Sydney Fashion Festival (by Model Co). It's going to be exciting. You may need to sit down.

WE LIKE!

- Dark eyebrows. Need to get mine waxed. MAJOR conundrum. Do I squeeze one in before the show tomorrow night and try to cover the glare-y blind-y red patches with slap? Or do I act all nonchalant and if anyone questions my eyebrow bushiness (likely) simply say, 'Dahhhling! This is how it's DONE!' and look at them with a delicate mixture of superiority and pity? Tricky.

- Glossy wavy 'I haven't tried at ALL!' hair. Love it. Tried to do it. Can't.

- Colour. Colour, colour, colour. Wore a bright coral watermelon-y colour on my eyes to a wedding a few weeks back, just on the outer of my lids. Got lots of compliments. Freshened my face. Relief, really, because it could have gone horribly wrong. But I LOVE this! And I always love at shows how they have colour underneath the eye. When I try that I tend to look like I've been punched in the face. Or like I have pink eye. Ha!

- Flawless skin/foundation. Not really sure you can get one without the other. In fact, if you went down to the park, they'd probably be the two wanting to get on the swings, but not wanting to let go of the other's hand cos they're besties. Obviously this wouldn't happen, we're talking about skin and makeup. But thought a visual might help.

And the best bit? With what could be considered quite scary makeup...she looks hot. And makes me want to go a little nutso with the pink eyeshadow. And also, once more, figure out how to do those DAMN CURLS!

Picture from http://www.chicreport.com.au/

One helluva flower...

The Gymea lily. Also known as Doryanthes excelsa. King of the flower world. Lets just say if Dory were to walk into a bar full of chickies, he'd get all the attention. Specially from the snapdragons. And they're pretty picky. But what am I talking about. We all know Gymea's can't walk.

Delicious delights

Organic Palm Kernal Lee Matthews Orange Flower candle



Penhaligons London Lily and Spice EDP

Lothantique Le Jardin De Florette EDT

Some delightful er, delights, discovered during my tweeting initiation (whaddya know, it actually works!), were these absolutely lovely perfumes. They have a brilliant selection of some of the most gorgeous scents that are not only lovely to spray about you in an asthma inducing cloud, but will make a special friend very happy. Deliriously happy. Especially if I were that friend. The Lee Matthews candle would also make someone you know (*cough* me *cough*) exceptionally joyous, and perhaps a little bit pyromanical. If that is a word. I'm deciding it is.

http://www.scent.net.au/

Oh so pretty...

There is something to be said about a pretty, feminine, beautiful dress. That something might be, 'why don't you have one, you weirdo'. It could be 'nothing will make you feel as lovely as wearing a dress that has gorgeous fabric and an incredible cut'. Or it could even be 'stop wearing pants loser*, and enjoy the fun and frivolity that comes with wearing a beautiful dress that floats in the breeze on a sunny whimsical afternoon'. Just guessing though.

Sarah at sarahseven (not sure what that stands for, will ask), handmakes all of these incredible dresses to order. Every ruffle, every fold, every beautiful pleat. And the best bit? A percentage of her sales go to Compassion and IJM. Fashion with heart. We like. So swing by her shop at http://www.sarahseven.etsy.com and have a peek at the amazing Ruffle Shirt, the Tea and Crumpets Bustier and the Tulip dress. And all of the other pretty things of course. Maybe even send her a message saying how clever she is. She'd like that.

*People who wear pants are by no means losers. Pants are cool also.
Top pic - Powdered Sugar

Bottom pic - With All My Love

Frea. king. out.

Ok. So at the time, I thought it'd be a grand idea to pop along to the Rosemount Sydney Fashion Festival. Girls night out, enjoy a complimentary blow dry, some champers. The one thing, the most important thing, that didn't even rate a glimmer on my periphery, was that at a fashion show, PEOPLE WILL CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE WEARING. Caps lock on and everything. And now, as the festival gears up to open tonight (I'm not going tonight, not important enough, will be skulking in the back on Friday), it has hit me like a mac truck screaming towards me in a dream sequence, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR! Again, caps lock. Now, this could be easily rectified, I hear you thinking as you roll your eyes in an exasperated fashion, except I have no time to shop between now and then. And you can guarantee, if I did find some time to saunter along Oxford Street, I would end up purchasing something that I thought was cutting edge and flattering, which in actual fact looked like I'd fallen down, got caught in the shower curtain, run out of time and decided to work with that. I will also have been up since 3.30am that morning, and as I will be slightly less than coherent, it is necessary this is planned otherwise it could eventuate in me ACTUALLY wearing the shower curtain and thinking it's a swell idea.


Gosh. Disaster ahead.

On another note, I posted about tulle headpieces a while back and how I simply LOVE them but everyone seems to think that by uttering 'tulle', 'headpieces' and 'love' in the same sentence I'm certifiably mad. I'd post a link here but I'm a bit computer dumb. ANYhoodle...this pic is from last year at the Rosemount Fashion Festival (Loveable)...and WHATS THIS???! Tulle headpieces! It makes me happy.

This is the house that Jack built...

Or more accurately, thelittlereddoor. Which, by itself is possibly the sweetest name ever, but combine it with these lovely little houses of love and I do believe you have one of the coolest brands of our time. Yes. I exaggerate. Makes a good story. And in some cases (hint - here), it's actually TRUE!



So happy Monday and all that (or flippity flip! HOW did that weekend fly past in a blur of 'I really need to sleep but have too many things to do and now it's Monday morning and I didn't sleep but didn't seem to get much done either and ate waaay too much icecream and wasn't it supposed to be warm my GOSH?!'). And if you'd like to claim one of the cutest mini love houses ever to be seen, pop into littlereds etsy shop at http://thelittlereddoor.etsy.com/, smile nicely, and proceed to make the decision of coconut lemon or watermelon. When colours sound this good, I would recommend getting both. Just saying...

Current Issue

Because you really ARE beautiful, just the way you are x

Friday (because it's almost the weekend) beauty spot

Hello there! Today, we will look at how an incredibly good looking woman can be so versatile! Imagine David Attenborough, if you will. Except replace the wildlife with beauty talk, and the knowledgable er, wildlife man, with a twentysomething who doesn't even know if her skin tone is pink or yellow. What if it's BOTH DAMMIT?!


If you direct your eyes upwards (tricky, but stay with me) to the poor quality photo I found on google images, you'll find a piccy of Sienna Miller. Why? Because she's what I'm posting about! Weeeee! Now. To begin, I like the beehive. It's that whole 'bedhead/volume without being frizzy' thing. I can get volume, however it is always, without a doubt, partnered with frizz. I can get sleek and straight, however, it will always be flat and stringy. I've stared long and hard at my hairdresser while she blow dries, and I've yet to learn her secret. I should probably stop though, I think I'm freaking her out. I also like the smudgy eye makeup. Smudgy is good.

Pretty daytime Sienna! Hair is blonder, less smudgy eye time, and pretty pink lips. I'm also having a bit of a crush on all things navy at the moment, it looks AMAYYZING next to peaches and pinks. Like here! Woo! I also believe she may be growing out her fringe...something I am going through at the mo. It's ok though, I have a support group.

Covergirl Sienna! And not the makeup 'Covergirl', just to clarify (*phew*), but one of the many many covers she's been on. I like it. It's very similar to the previous pic (my bad), but just goes to show she seems to be able to pull of just about any kind of blonde. What would you call this colour? Wheat? Honey? Caramel? How the hell are there so many words for blonde. Maybe this post should have been on hair colour. Damn. Fail.

Bendy Sienna! Now, I'm not really sure what is going on here. Perhaps the art director had a moment of brilliance and rapturously whispered, 'what if we try...wait for it! Bending. Over. Backwards. HEY??!?!'. I looove the makeup here though, so flawless, especially if you look at it upside down on a slight angle so that she's actually upright and your forehead is grazing the edge of your desk. It just looks amazing. And you do too.

And movie Sienna! When the Edge of Love came out with these two lovely muffins in it, I was so excited to see it! I still haven't. But! This picture has kept me somewhat enthralled. Is it just me, or are Kiera and Sienna (totes on a first name basis) making what my grandma wears look hot? That peach pleated skirt, I swear she has one just like it. I'm also a fan as I would very much like to bring back wellies into everyday wear. Comfy AND functional! Anyway, this post definately should have been about hair, because I think the thing I like the most here is their crazy curly locks. Must be the Irish countryside that does it naturally. Or is it Scottish? I MUST go and see it.

SO! To sum up, Sienna Miller is ridiculously good looking. I also like her clothes. And if you've just read all that, I fear I may have wasted your time...

Happy weekend!

A (rather lovely) wedding I once worked on...

There is NOTHING more exciting* to me then when I meet with a bride who wants to create something amazing and a little bit different for her wedding. Whether it's classic with an edge, romantic with a twist, when it's made clear that they want something spectacular for their day, my excitement levels go a little nuts. So when I first met with the lovely Kate and her mum Fiona, I was thrilled when they showed me the gorgeous bridesmaids dresses, and the incredible wedding gown from Alex Perry. All brides tend to find something they love and plan from there, and this dress was no exception. Romantic, vintage, and still classic, we decided on long stemmed roses and David Austen roses, the bridal bouquet in creams and the bridemaids all slightly different pinks to work with their dresses. The tables were laden with vases of pink blooms and small vintage birdcages, and the table settings each had a giant soft pink dahlia. The seating arrangements were pinned onto a board with antique brooches, and an heirloom brooch was pinned on Kate's bouquet. Two finches chirped happily from the welcome table, and little bird's nests with sweet almonds were lovely little treats for each guest.

I could go on and on about the detail that went into this wedding, and how beautiful it was...but I won't, because I have deliveries to do! Woo! But if you'd like more detail, I'm very proud to say this wedding was featured in the Cosmo Bride Best Real Weddings Issue 2009, and if you ask real nice, your local newsagent may still have one.


*There are a few things...

Photography by Global Sanctuary Photography at http://www.globalsanctuary.biz/

http://www.cosmopolitan.com.au/cosmo-bride.htm/

What rubyandjoy would be like. If we sold paper treats instead of flower treats.

The reason this post is so long in coming (I wanted it to be one of my first...seriously, a beYOOteful store) may have something to do with the fact that I wanted to create a little square of photos, instead of posting them individually, but am somewhat computer dumb so can't. And it may not. BUT! I couldn't wait any longer because a few minutes standing in Paper Couture and chatting to the truly lovely Jo inspires me more than I can say, and I wouldn't be a very nice friend if I didn't pass it on now, would I!?

I recently used one of her incredible paper chandeliers in a shoot, and just between you and me, I'm considering skipping the country with it. Yes, that is weird. But have you SEEN them?! Incredible!

Not only are there all kinds of lovely little treats for the stationery lover in store, but Jo also creates amazing sewn invitations, along with anything else your wily mind can conjur up needing for your next soiree. So feel free to pop in at 284 South Dowling Street, Paddington, give her a call on 02 9357 6855, or try and shoot a paper aeroplane through the door from the opposite side of the street with a haiku on it.

Photos taken from Paper Couture Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/paperjo/

Real Weddings | Em-Renke and Istvan | July 2008

I absolutely LOVE this wedding! It makes me want to buy rolls of vintage lace and put flowers in my hair. Which just by the by, is something I've been wanting to do for a while, but I tend to look more 'fell into a rose bush and hurt myself' and less 'fresh bloom was tucked in hair by Gerard Butler look-alike whilst looking all minxy/pretty (me, not him. Although I'm sure Gerry could look minxy)'. Anyhoodle...

All the details, the different pinks, and textures, and the vintage touches make for such a beautiful day...it's just so pretty!

And just to add a bit of extra loveliness to this post...I do believe Em-Renke and Istvan are expecting their first wee bairn in just a few weeks. Congratulations!

Fabulous photography by the equally fabulous Nikki Meyer at http://www.nikkimeyer.co.za/