Smaggle

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Lady loves…

* Hot chocolate

* My callous covered hands. I like to think they tell little stories about the pretty jewellery they helped to make.

* Gilmore Girls. It is truly spectacular. I particularly love Rory’s commitment to the late nineties sartorial palette of brown paired with pastels and the over rehearsed banter between her and Lorelai. It’s genius.

* Chilly evening swims with friends, paddling up and down the lanes catching up on the days events.

* People who go out of their way to help you.

* The yearly Ikea catalogue. Swoon.

* Young men on bikes. Wearing trousers and lace up shoes.

* Chandeliers.

* Dressing in beige, cream, and pale pink.

* That this is my 800th post on Smaggle! If only I had some champagne…

Lady loathes…

* Having twelve jobs because that equals twelve group certificates which equals a total disaster at tax time. Grumble.

* That it’s too cold to sleep.

* My recent addiction to Vegemite. I was a fierce Promite activist for years until I started living with Vegemite eaters and I slowly changed my preference through utter laziness. I feel so disloyal and utterly powerless to stop this Vegemite invasion. This is only exacerbated by the fact that I think Vegemite is delicious.

* When my GPS sends me from Fairfield to Footscray via ST KILDA!!! I know that only Melbourne readers will get this but seriously – Is GPS ‘Karen’ on acid?*

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

* Equivalent for non-Melbourne readers – it was like going from the North of your city to the North West via the South. Yeah. I need to get back to basics and get a map…

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Why don’t you…?

* Make a pact with your living companions? To take turns making a gourmet dinner every say, Tuesday evening? Research beautiful wines to accompanying the meal? Light candles? Buy exotic ingredients? Plan the meal as if you were cooking for aristocrats?

* Go to a cafe alone? No book, no magazine? Order a decadent iced coffee with whipped cream and a cherry? Sit on a bar stool and watch the beautiful people go by?

* Make all your important calls sitting at your desk? Wearing a pencil skirt? Striking items off your yellow legal pad list with an eraser topped pencil? Punching in the phone numbers with fire hydrant red glossed nails? Make like a secretary in Mad Men?

* Start your morning with wordless music? Get a musical minded mate to make you a compilation playlist of their favourite tunes? Jazz? Classical? Make your toast and coffee, barefoot and carefree in the kitchen with a perfect lyric-less soundtrack?

* Buy a large tray to keep your cosmetics on? A vintage drinks tray? A modern Japanese flat dish? Display your daily staples? Lotions? Lipsticks? Keep your bathroom looking like a beauty salon?

* Have a signature blue? Cyan? Persian? Tiffany? Sapphire? Have personalised stationary made in your blue? A leather monogrammed satchel? Coffee mugs? A streak in your hair?

* Collect beautiful glass jars and display them empty on a shelf? Sparkly clean and perfect?

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

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Last weekend I found myself all frocked up for a friends birthday extravaganza – heels, lipstick – the whole shebang. We spent obscene amounts of money on sunset coloured cocktails and air-kissed our way through out the bar. Later in the evening, after my disappointingly sober man had politely excused himself and escaped into the loving arms of his Macbook, I found myself deep in conversation with a dapper young professional. He noticed my glass was empty and offered to get me a drink. I immediately declined and started making excuses but he stopped me in my tracks and said ‘It’s cool. I know you have a boyfriend, let me buy you a drink…’. How charming.

Despite the fact that this little interlude was completely innocent and that the young professional in question was genuinely being a gentleman, I think this scenario begs a pretty interesting question.

Is it okay to accept a drink from a person that you have no interest in?

I’m not suggesting an obligatory BJ for any guy that throws a vodka red bull at you, but on a basic level the offer of a drink represents a certain level of interest and the acceptance of the drink represents a reciprocation of that interest right?

What do you think? Is it okay to accept drinks if you’re off the market? Should this fact be stated before you accept the drink? Is it just a free for all when drinks are concerned regardless of your marital status? What about my man readers? How do you feel about buying drinks for taken women? Or women buying drinks for taken men?

And please let me know what country you are from. I know Americans are a lot more relaxed about dating than Australians and I’m curious to see what my international readers have to say about this.

Love Lady Smaggle
xxx

Spent the day sewing tiny leather ruffles for my latest jewellery collection. Have you ever hand-sewn leather for six hours straight? My fingers really, really hurt.

* Dress from Tree of Life (I’ve really been feeling the 80′s side knot thing recently but in a more Botticelli kind of way…)
* Skirt from Cotton On
* Cardigan from Dotti
* Tights from my ballet days
* Shoes, Doc Martens from Melbourne DFO
* Scarf from markets in Paris
* Earrings from Diva

Have a beautiful day my lovely ones!

Love Lady

xxx

I’ve had countless readers ask me to photograph my jewellery that’s made by Roomy Smaggle. This talented spark has just launched her website and online shop so fans of her work need fret no more  - Tae Schmeisser.

Wheelie Bin Necklace. Seen here. Here. And here.

Matchstick necklace. I have the earrings of this series and they have fast become my daily staple.

Unspoken necklace. This piece is beautiful. You unroll the parchment and write a secret message inside.

Tae is offering my readers a 30% discount on her pieces. Just head over to the shop and type ‘smaggle‘ as the code word. Discount available until 31st July 2010.

Her work is stunning. The design process is beyond painful (for me I mean, I spend months every year drowning in Moleskines), and her hand skills are meticulous. Get your piece of the Tae Pie while you can… she’s smokin’.

Love Lady

xxx

I’ve been coveting a slashy scarf for a few seasons now and I finally got up off my backside and decided to make one. Here’s a how-to…

What you need -

* 1 metre of deliciously soft, fine jersey stretch fabric
* Needle and thread or sewing machine
* Sharp scissors

Step One

Fold the fabric in half and sew the two ends together. Scarf should look like a big circle of fabric

Step Two

Using tailors chalk, mark out a cutting guide. You can have long or short tassels depending on your preference.

Step Three

Using sharp scissors, cut through both layers of the scarf at 1cm intervals. Repeat for both sides.

Loop around your neck like a circle scarf! These also look great unslashed.

Love Lady

xxx

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Does anyone else feel totally cheated when decent blogs go to the dark side and turn into weird commercial worlds where they pimp contact lenses, weird medical supplies and lame electrical goods by companies that you’ve never heard of? As a regular blog reader it makes me question the credibility of the writer. It also cheapens otherwise well executed blogs.

I’ve been offered books about business, phones that fell of a boat from Bangkok and even a hammer but I’ve chosen not to accept these ‘gifts’ because they are completely inappropriate to the content of my blog. I’ve also been offered chocolates, accessories, clothing items and beauty products that I HAVE accepted because they are a) appropriate and b) I like them. I have also disclosed if I have been sent the product by the company and have given an honest review.

Does this make me any better though? Where do you draw the line? The editor of blogs that do or have accepted endorsements that seem strange to me may find them appropriate, may have received money for the advertisement or may actually believe in the product they are endorsing. So why does my opinion count?

Because I stop reading blogs that turn into advertising machines that’s why and there are millions of readers out there just like me who feel the same way… but lets go back to the proverbial question… where DO you draw the line?

Blogging is tough and there are little to no fiscal rewards. Increasing readership, increasing followers and getting regular commenters are marvellous. Unfortunately lovely emails and devoted fans don’t pay the bills but neither do lip gloss and handbags. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that people ‘save’ my blog for their lunch break and most of the time this keeps me tapping away at my keyboard every evening but occasionally it’s nice to get something in return. Something I can hold. Something I can use. Something I can wear. I have given hours of my time every week for three years, for free. I feel no shame in accepting the odd necklace or pair of tights.

My policy is that if I receive an item I disclose it on the blog. I will not accept an item that is not appropriate. I will not automatically give an item a positive review. I’m not in the habit of accepting too many items and most of the products that are featured on my blog are there simply because I think they are rad. Personally, I have never been offered money to advertise a product but I think that’s an entirely different ball game and, I believe, a more legitimate one.

What do you think? Do you have a blog? Do you accept free items? Do you have a level of acceptability of advertising on your favourite blogs? Do you think bloggers deserve to be ‘gifted’ items for advertisement? Does the actual item matter or is all unofficial ‘gifting’ advertising questionable? Does a monetary payment make the advertisement more legitimate?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this! Also please state whether you are a reader, blogger or both. It will make for a rather interesting discussion I think…

Love Lady

xxx

P.S Note to corporate hounds – It’s really starting to give me the right royal shits that companies think that if they throw free product at bloggers it gives them the right to dictate the terms of the advertisement. If you want in-post links, prime position on the site and a minimum amount of days in the spotlight I have four words for you. SHOW ME THE MONEY. Otherwise it’s a mutually beneficial and very casual exchange. At the discretion of the blogger. Word.

Why don’t you?

* Have a glass of red wine every Sunday afternoon? As a tribute to a beautiful week?

* Wear a designer scarf every day? Wrapped around your head? Tied to your bag? As a belt? Make it your signature piece?

* Consider the beautiful combination of pear and blue cheese at your next dinner party?

* Wear lip stain? With a tousled ponytail? Look like you’ve spent the afternoon rolling around in fields eating fresh raspberries?

* Make pancakes? Open the windows? Play French music? Drink coffee on a sun-drenched morning?

* Wrap all your gifts in white? Crepe paper? Cotton? Bleached calico? Tie them up with creamy raw silk ribbons?

* Use terms of affection? Beautiful? Handsome? Gorgeous? Delicious?

* Read a novel? A good old-fashioned fiction? From a second hand bookstore? With that distinctive second hand bookstore smell?

Love Lady

Xxx