Cardigans by wrongdecade (I don’t own any of these ones, by the way)

Is there such a thing as too many cardigans anyway? I ask because earlier today while browsing the mall I had a thought:

Gee, I could use another cardigan.

I didn’t buy one though. I bought jeans and a belt instead, which is a different story and too traumatic to write about at this point.

Just before I was putting my laundry away and had to rearrange some cubbies in my wardrobe because my cardigan collection was exploding out of their alotted space. This was when I decided that perhaps it would be a good idea to count how many of these knit and buttoned items I actually own.

The total comes to twelve. Is that normal? I have:

• 2 solid black.
• 1 3/4 sleeve black with pink trim and pearl buttons.
• 1 leopard print.
• 1 purple.
• 1 turquoise.
• 1 beigey-pink.
• 3 gray; 2 dark, 1 light.
• 1 3/4 sleeve white.
• 1 hand-knitted chunky white from my eldest sister’s mother-in-law, all the way from Iran.
• 1 cream that is button-less but used to have a tie and now doesn’t but it still awesome.

What else could I possibly need in the land of cardigans? Nothing, really. I have something for virtually every outfit, except maybe a  grandpa cardi. I don’t really have any slouchy and grandpa-esque that screams newspapers, spectacles and Antiques Roadshow.

The only other items of clothing I have more of are dresses and undies. I am exceptionally brilliant at buying both of those. I actually need to buy more knickers because almost all of the pairs I have which are not too small (ahem, weight gain) are heading toward the thread-bare department which isn’t very useful.

Do you have an abundance of a particular clothing item? Do they leap out at you when you open drawers/closets?

I first heard of Santigold (formerly known as Santogold) in early 2009 when she featured in the N.A.S.A song Gifted, which also featured Lykke Li and Kanye West. Anyway, I thought her voice was awesome so I got her debut album Santogold and listened to it on repeat for months (it’s still one of my faves, especially in summer).

This song is off that album and is one of my most-listened-to songs ever, according to my media player stats.

15. Anne by Santogold

Image made using some pretty downloads from PuglyPixel.

Another week over already? Honestly, the past seven days have flown by so fast it’s crazy. That always happens when you’re busy, and I have no doubt this next week will sail on by just as quickly. Now, on to the recap…

Through the past three weeks I have been overhauling my bedroom and last week’s scheduled top-to-bottom clean and layout reconfiguration was successful. Well, successful minus the crick I now have in my neck from moving heavy furniture on my own… Photos to come eventually (er, of my room, not my neck).

I also wanted to really sort through my shoe collection and actually give away some pairs for real. I was very strict with myself and gave away or donated three pairs, and threw out my pretty-much-dead flip flops.

The third goal I had last week was to actually take the old things I set aside for donation to a charity shop. I filled a black rubbish sack with stuff and took it to the local SPCA second-hand store on Wednesday.

This week I’m back at university for semester two and while it’ll be a slow one since there are no tutorials, it’s still going to be busy. In the spirit of getting myself nice and organised for this semester my goals for this week are entirely school-related.

1. Create and print a study timetable. A realistic one. I have a habit of making ridiculous schedules that not even superwoman could stick to.
2. Get all my textbooks/readers, and some stationery supplies (notebook + white-out tape refill).
3. Use my time wisely during the day. When I feel tired, I want to either push past that feeling or take a 10 minute power-nap/rest to recharge so I can study more during the day.

New habits have to start somewhere! And even three weeks of holiday seems to be enough to break some (like getting up early).

Have a super Monday everyone and I hope your week is wonderful! x

Ahh, Saturday. I hope you are all enjoying your weekend as you should be, or are about to depending on your timezone. Right about now I’m enjoying mine with my mister and recharging my batteries before classes start on Monday.

Anywho, on to the lustful interiors for the week.

1. I love the collections of things in this space; via Whimsical World of Laura Bird.

2. I know industrial accents are having a ‘thing’ at the moment in design, but I’ve always had a soft-spot for ‘em, especially lighting. Via The Designer Pad.

3. I had serious envy when looking through the photos of this home in Nova Scotia (I still do – sigh) via Apartment Therapy. Pst, full article and photo gallery at New York Times.

4. Gotta love fresh flowers by the bed, via Design*Sponge.

5. Light and airy home in Cape Town, South Africa (also views to swoon over); via Simple Blueprint.

6. This is my dream kitchen. It makes me feel like using a kitchen, which is something of a rare occurrence for me these days. Would it be weird to send a valentine to this kitchen? Drat, that’s what I thought. Via Seesaw Designs.

7. I don’t think she knows it, but Hilda Grahnat and I have a lot in common: vintage furniture, old books and cameras, maps, deer, clocks, and yellow lamps. Via Other Peoples’ Houses.

8. When I can’t sleep, I imagine walking through my dream home and in it there is always a library which is often located in an attic. When I saw this photo it immediately reminded me of my countless library visions. Via Apartment Therapy.

9. While I may not necessarily want to live with this gorgeous rustic barn door, I can share it with you, if only for the benefit of my boyfriend who would probably be all over that thing like a bad case of borer. It’s got a Medieval vibe to it, you see Via The Stir.

10. This is the interior of a teeny tiny house built by Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. You see, you don’t need loads of space to have style. Via Shoebox Dwelling.

Now, go out and play. xo

Happy Thursday, enjoy

1. Pretty Amanda Seyfried doesn’t need makeup (you see? still gorgeous), but red lips sure are nice anyway; via Pinterest.

2. Pretty colourful knitted chevron Afghan, via Reckless Glue.

3. Pretty gorgeous colour combination via Creature Comforts.

(Pst, for more blue + yellow inspired photos, check out Sally Cooper’s colour inspiration – northern lights Pinterest board. I lost my shit several times over when her pins to this board popped up on my feed. I could live in (on?) it.)

4. Pretty yellow flowers in pretty glass bottles – I am swooning – via Elizabeth Anne Designs.

5. While I’m not much of a green thumb (I kill cacti), I would love something pretty like this in my future garden; via Downsize My Space.

6. This pretty Edward Juan card is right up my alley. I am forever trying to find unique, lovely cards with more character than your average Hallmark. Via Design*Sponge.

7. Pretty fantastic outfits from Scotch & Soda are taunting me; via Miss Moss.

8. Orla Kiely has decided to be even more amazing and create pretty childrens’ books about numbers and colours. Bloody hell, I need a baby so I can buy these. Via print & pattern.

9. Pretty bowed birdies (of Australia) illustration by Amy Borrel of Cake With Giants is going on my Christmas wishlist, thank you very much. Via Creature Comforts.

10. Pretty Travelteq messenger bag via Design*Sponge.

xo

I know I’ve already shared a song by Lykke Li and that last week I did a Bon Iver one, but when I found this video I practically peed myself and knew it had to be blogged in this feature ASAP. Yes indeedy.

So, here you have it: Pee-inducing song, everyone (yes, I did just say pee-inducing – it’s like a running tap or waterfall only way more awesome and less obvious).

14. Dance, Dance, Dance by Lykke Li featuring music performance by Bon Iver. In a park!

Image made using some pretty downloads from PuglyPixel.

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are ready to kick ass this week. I sort of am Anywho, let’s get to it -

I planned on eating one serving of fruit a day. I almost ate one serving of fruit each day. On Saturday I didn’t and I don’t think strawberry cheesecake counts, haha.

I also wanted to find some yarn for kids moccasins, which I did on Friday, amongst my very own yarn supply no less. Over the weekend I crocheted my very first pair of kids shoes! I’ve already done a pair of adult slippers, if you remember.

Lastly, I wanted to organize my arts and crafts properly, which I did. Now I know where everything is and it’s all in an easy-to-access location. Hooray for organization! Now I’ll be tackling my bedroom…

My goals for this week (my last week of break from university, no less) are:

1. Clean and organize my bedroom, and move furniture around for a fresh layout. My room has been driving me nuts for a few months now.
2. Contemplate selling (or donating) some of my shoes. While the first time I had this goal I decided not to sell any, I am reconsidering that decision. It would be great to create a bit more space in my shoe storage and rid myself of hardly-worn items.
3. Take the things I have for donation to a couple of different locations. One of them is a charity shop whose proceeds go towards helping girls and women, the other is a charity shop for the SPCA. One of things I find myself often doing is boxing up items to donate, which then sit in a corner for ages being forgotten. Not exactly helping those in need, is it?

So, those are my three things for this week. Do you have any goals for the week ahead?
x

After compiling Pretty Things posts on a semi-regular basis for a long time I have come to the conclusion that photos of interiors need their own feature. When writing Pretty Things I always struggle to edit the interiors down to one or two; I give up!

Here are the interiors that I’ve been lusting after this week. Enjoy!

1. Small Paris apartment via The Designer Pad

2. Modernised 1930s hunting lodge via The Designer Pad

3. Paper lanterns add colour to a white space via Martha Stewart Living (links to the DIY)

4. Blue textured bathroom via This Is Glamorous

5. Gorgeous white and gray via Home Dsgn

6. Stencilled floor via 221vision

7. One of the rooms at the Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island in Australia, via Urban Safari Photography

8. I really like this kitchen, especially the colourful chairs next to the mostly-white everything else, via Casa de Valentina

9. The incredibly gorgeous home of photographer Anita Calero via The Charlotte

10. Love this, especially the blue window frame, via Apartment Therapy

Hope you enjoyed this new feature; I certainly had a lot of fun putting it together! x

While looking for an appropriate video for this post I listened to this song on YouTube so many times. But I never tire of it. Since 2009 it is been one of my absolute all-time favourites and every single time it plays I have to sing along, and be in the moment with the song.

Some songs take you on a journey, they’re not just great to listen to, they intertwine themselves with your mind, carrying you away to a different time and setting. Sometimes the journey is different every time you listen to the song, other times it is the same or similar. Skinny Love takes me on a similar journey every time, but I can’t really explain what that journey is. I wish I could put into words what I feel and see in my mind, but whenever I try to I just fail miserably. I guess this is one journey that is not meant to be shared. Maybe you have to figure out your own song-journey with Skinny Love.

I went with this video because I love the intimacy of the performance and how you can see the audience enjoying ev-er-y second. They are so incredibly lucky to be a part of such a small gig and I am completely and totally envious! Emerald green with it, in fact, busting our all over the place with bright greenness and blinding people all over the world.

I’m not exaggerating.

13. Skinny Love by Bon Iver

FYI, Birdy does a great cover of this song.
FYIA (for your information also), Justin Vernon, Bon Iver frontman, shares my birthday! You see, the epicness of his music and my love for it is fate, because obviously he’s awesome if we share the same birthday. Everything makes sense now. No, I do not have a celebricrush on him (I am probably fibbing right now).