Etsy

Lady loves…

* Asking a five year old how old she thinks I am and having her reply ‘Well… you’d have to be AT LEAST fourteen.’ Word to the wise… I’m getting pretty close to twice that. Golden.

* Easter egg foil. I always have.

* Spending the weekend with the extended Smaggle clan and getting all silly with my cousins.

* Being given three gorgeous dresses by a similarly sized friend. Bonza!

* Soup. I’m a fundamentally lazy person and not chewing is rather pleasurable.

* Words with Friends. It’s an iPhone application that Roomy Smaggle made me get that’s based on a popular board game where the players are given 7 letter tiles and have to arrange them to form words on a board. It’s heavily copyrighted hence why it’s called Words with Friends. We are hoping the afore hinted at game developers won’t shut it down like Scrabulous on Facebook. I’m really not sure I could cope.

* Having bought a magazine three days ago and not having had the time to read it. It’s 7.55pm and as soon as I post this I’m heading to bed.

* My super gorgeous talented Roomy Smaggle’s new website. Look at it. Covet the prettiness. I own a Wheelie Bin Necklace, Propeller Earrings, a Jelly Baby Necklace and Mr Smaggle has a Telegraph Pole brooch. She’s so urban and gritty. Grrrr!

* My delicious Mr Smaggle’s Yoink being in The New York Times online today. I’m being crushed by all the talent surrounding me.

* Hearing that people ’save’ my site for their lunch break or as their treat for cleaning the house. I got some gorgeous emails this week and I’m so blushy. It’s like I’m Postsecret!*

Lady loathes…

* Coming home after being away for five days and finding that my ginger has gone all furry. I’m very into my vegetable juice and it was with tightly pursed lips that I drank it sans ginger in the wee small hours of this morning. I feel like the health benefits were halfed.

* DVDs. They scratch and skip ALL THE TIME. I want my bloody VHS back!

* This general feeling of average that’s going around. It’s not just me, it’s like there’s something in the water that’s making life just a teeny bit irritating right now. Is anyone else feeling that? Nothing major just a little sigh inducing you know?

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

* With way less purpose and way less readers.

P.S The response to Can I get a Consensus? was HUGE! Thank you! If you have a question you’d like a consensus on please email me at lady(at)smagglestyle.com.

I’ve heard mixed reviews about my dear Whitney Housten and her Australian tour but the concert couldn’t be anywhere near as bad as the day I’ve had. I’m off to the concert to sing my blues away!

* Dress from Maxine’s on Brunswick St
* Tights from Coles (they are currently selling 120 denier! Get in quick before winter!)
* Vivienne Westwood for Melissa shoes
* Ring Smaggle Made
* Necklace from Roomy Smaggle
* Thrifted obi belt

Have a great night!

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

Why don’t you…

* Drink something different? Vodka and dry ginger ale? Merlot? Whisky on the rocks? Have a fabulous signature drink unlike anyone else?

* Buy you and your best lady matching jewels? Go to the markets and buy two matching wooden bangles? Two woven leather bracelets? Two jade rings? Take this quaint playground tradition and put an adult spin on it?

* Give things away? Those gorgeous sandals that you never wear because they make your feet hurt? That beautiful necklace that you bought but never wear because it’s just not quite right? That hat that doesn’t go with anything? Let go of the sentimental value and pass them on to someone who will love it AND wear it?

* Get regular haircuts? Every six weeks? Not only when you really need one?

* Allow yourself to buy anything that you desire but only if it is utterly perfect? A beautifully fitting cream dress? A deliciously slouchy grey wool hat? The ultimate chunky black wedges? Don’t settle for anything less than amazing?

* Wear a delicate charm on a very fine chain?

* Have a ridiculous amount of pillows on your bed? All different shapes and sizes? Put them in a pile, curl up like a cat and read a divine book?

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

Roomy Smaggle had a bad weekend. She has a friend, lets call her Tina who invited Roomy out to be her wing woman*. The object of Tina’s affection accidently fell for Roomy and told Tina so. Ouch. Poor Tina. Or so we thought…

A few evenings later Roomy and Tina went out for a debrief in which Tina literally tore Roomy to shreds. Obviously she couldn’t attack her for stealing the affections of her intended. It was an accident. With the wounds still raw and no logical reason to hate Roomy she attacked her in every other way. She launched this tirade of negativity about Roomy’s life, job, integrity, friendships, career aspirations and relationships. Roomy took it all in, didn’t make a fuss and then came home to me in search of an explanation.

I know exactly what happened. Roomy is spectacular. She is a physically gorgeous German/Japanese mix, with the fastest metabolism I’ve witnessed on a living person. She looks like she spends the better half of everyday doing squats and eating brocolli and I can assure you she does neither. She is also an incredibly talented designer, jeweller and glass artist with enviable knowledge of the history of art. She has amazing dress sense and is literally sex on the dance floor. She has long dark hair, beautiful eyes and skin. She is also the most generous, loving, energetic, positive and life affirming person I’ve ever met. I’m sure Tina felt the same way until the object of her affection jumped on the Celebration of Roomy bandwagon. Then all hell broke loose. Which, unfortunately is not an uncommon response.

In my opinion we should crave extraordinary people in our lives. Surround ourselves with excellence, intelligence and talent so that we are constantly inspired and our souls are fed. This all sounds great in theory but it’s human nature to want what others have that we ourselves are lacking. I find the jealously plague is particularly strong amongst us humans when it comes to natural gifts like physical appearance, talents and inherited wealth. It can create obstacles in the strongest of friendships.

The question is… are you man enough to handle it? Can you be truly, deeply amazingly good friends with spectacular people? I won’t lie to you. It’s not easy getting up at 6am to go to the gym and have Roomy wander into the lounge room in tiny shorts sporting perfectly firm thighs and devouring her standard breakfast of Tim Tams and Doritos. Want to know what I do? I tell her to shove it. The sore spot is out in the open and there is never an opportunity for my jealously to become mis-directed and turn into something it’s not. Hating her for something that is out of her control is not okay. Telling her is what makes it all better so the jealousy doesn’t bubble away inside me and come out in the form of ‘Actually that guy is out of your league… I think it’s because your hair sucks’.

I have a friend at school who has a really average boyfriend. Like Aldi kind of average. She is incredible so I don’t really understand the connection… but I can’t help but think that she dates people like this on purpose. So she is always the amazing one in the relationship. The thought of that terrifies me. Imagine marrying someone dull simply because you need to win the popularity contest all the time? The same applies to friendships. Why would you surround yourself with average people because spectacular people make you feel inferior?

And that’s what I said to Roomy. I told her it’s hard work being friends with her because she is so into life all the time she makes other people feel lazy, dull or uninspiring. I told her that people need to be man enough to be friends with her and those are the only people she needs to care about. If Tina had just said that she was sad that her guy liked Roomy everything would have been fine and I guarantee she would have walked away from the situation feeling much better than she did. Instead she chose to go to the dark side leaving them both feeling like crap**.

Basically, if someone has a myriad of natural talents, beauty and perfect comic timing bestowed upon them it’s not their fault. You can be uber lame and cut them out of your life and spend time with people who collect rocks***. Or you can man up… and party with the A team****.

Are you man enough?

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

* This was a really, really dumb idea. NEVER employ a hot Asian wing woman. The girl is clearly an idiot.

** All is well again with Roomy and Tina. Apologies were made and were graciously accepted. I told you Roomy is awesome.

*** No offense to people who collect rocks. I was merely using the term as a flowery throw away line.

**** Unless they are total knobs in which case you’re better off with the rock collector.

Winners are Dee and Megan!

I’ll email you details of how to claim your prize. Thanks to all those who entered!

Love Lady Smaggle

P.S The date today is 09/02/10… 90210! Hells yeah.

Photo

I’m a bad SATC fan. Until three days ago I hadn’t seen the movie since the DVD release. SJP forgive me for I have sinned. I have to say it was spectacular. With no offence to any of the brilliant actors in the movie it has to be said that… erm… they really belong on the smaller screen. I had a touch too much time on my hands on the weekend so I actually watched the directors commentary on the DVD. I’m a total SATC Geek. It was awesome. Here is what I learned.

1. The tie dye maxi dress that Carrie wears in the lounge room scene with Mr Big when they are discussing the wedding was accidently sent early to a photo shoot in Mexico before they finished filming the scene. So they sent an assistant to Mexico to wait at the photo shoot, literally snatched the dress off the model and flew it back to New York. Apparently she had time for one cocktail in Mexico before her flight back.

2. The little red haired boy that plays Brady is actually the baby Brady from the series all grown up! The director called him back in for the movie and nearly cried because he still looked like Steve and Miranda.

3. The director always had African American women approaching him, saying how much they loved the series but kept asking – Where are the sisters? So he made the decision to cast Jennifer Hudson as Louis so there would be an African American representative in the film that was lacking in the series.

4. The clock that was beside Carrie’s bed for the whole series was actually RENTED from a guy who owned a collectables store. When they called to rent it again for the movie the clock owner tried to cash in on the big bucks so the producers told him to shove it and they found the exact same one on Ebay for $40.

5. Steve was really loved by audiences and when plans for the movie were discussed the director had heaps of mail requesting that nothing bad happen to Steve. So he had Steve do something bad instead.

6. It was a conscious decision to have Carrie in dark clothes for the middle ‘mourning’ part of the movie to allow for the gorgeous unveiling of the blue dress at Charlotte’s baby shower where Carrie really recovers from being jilted. Also when SJP dyes her locks dark… it’s actually a wig!

7. Aside from the fact that it was bloody good fun the reason behind the ‘wedding dress montage’ was purely people pleasing. The director knew that everyone would have a perfect Carrie Bride in their head because they had invested so much in the series and in Carrie as a character and he felt that everyone needed to see their ‘own’ Carrie Bride represented. I think it was an excellent choice.

8. When the Vivienne Westwood dress arrives at Carrie’s house as a gift from the designer… the hand writing is actually that of the gorgeous Ms Westwood. Fabulous.

9. When Carrie and Miranda have the fight and then they talk about it out the front of Carrie’s house in the cab in the rain, the Indian cab driver nodding along silently is the same cab driver that was used in series two when they had the ‘Up the butt’ conversation in the cab. Awesome.

10. Charlotte goes jogging in Chanel earmuffs.

11. The hat that Carrie wears in Mexico is by Hermes and was, for some unknown reason really valuable, so it arrived on the set with a personal guard and was whisked away seconds after they wrapped the scene. Weird.

12. When Patricia Field wanted to symbolise the unity of the girls she dressed them all in similar colours at the same time. Like at the fashion show when they are all happy and they have their lives together. They are all dressed in greys, blacks and whites.

13. When they were shooting the ‘I curse the day you were born!’ scene with Charlotte’s water breaking out the front of the resturant there was a fire drill across the road at the catholic girls school and all these wool kilted teenagers came screaming out of the building saying ‘We love you Mr Big! We love you Mr Big!’. So Chris Noth turned around and said ‘Shouldn’t you be in school?’ and one of the girls replied ‘Abso-fuckin-lutely!’. Gold.

14. Patricia Field had a pink tie and a blue tie all ready for Harry to wear depending on whether the baby was a girl or boy. She only found out it was a girl a few minutes before the scene.

15. The song playing at the end of the film was sung was Jennifer Hudson.

I highly recommend watching the director’s commentary. It’s going to be my new eccentric habit!

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

Typical. The second I leave Canberra I get offered tickets to a burlesque show. As sad as I was to say no to such a fabulous evening the publicist contacted me and offered the tickets as a giveaway to my readers. So yay… I’m thrilled for you. Bastards. Here is all the info…

The Burlesque Hour… She’s Back!

Canberra, get out your fishnets and go glam!  Provocative, alluring, unmissable… The Burlesque Hour… She’s Back kicks off the Street Theatre’s 2010 season with a revved up mix of gobsmacking new acts, hot new stars, and spectacular requests.  Genre-busting, intriguing, provocative, totally unique - and beloved by audiences around the world, Finucane & Smith’s The Burlesque Hour has defined burlesque for the 21^stcentury.

FINUCANE & SMITH’S

THE BURLESQUE HOUR… SHE’S BACK!

VENUE The Street Theatre, Childers St Canberra City West

DATES OPENING NIGHT Thursday 11 February 8pm

SEASON Thursday 11 through Saturday 20 February

SHOWS Thurs 11 – Sat 13 & Tues 16 – Thurs 18 @ 8pm

Fri 19 & Sat 20 Feb @ 7pm & 9.30pm

VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL Sunday February 14 @ 6pm

TICKETS Standard: $37 Concession $33 Group +6 $30

Catwalk Tix: Only $10 more!

Valentine’s:  $43 Twilight Show w/ Cocktails all night!

BOOKINGS 6247 1223 or www.thestreet.org.au

The Street Theatre is delighted to offer 2 lucky Smaggle readers one double pass each to opening night, February 11, of The Burlesque Hour… She’s Back! To win, tell Smaggle a secret… what’s the most provocative thing you’ve done?

Anyone can comment but you must be in Canberra and available on Thursday 11th February to go into the draw. Please spread it around…. how often is there a Canberra exclusive competition? Entries close at 5pm on Monday 8th February. Oh and do let us know if you’re a Canberra dweller when you comment otherwise we won’t know!

So tell us… what IS the most provocative thing you’ve done???

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

I’m a self proclaimed summer hater and despite my irritation at people who state the obvious I’m allowed to indulged because a) I’m pretty and b) heat hurts me more than anyone else so here goes – It’s so bloody hot!!! I’ve spent the last week settling back into my Melbourne routine which includes Monday night swim/sauna/spa/gossip sessions with Roomy and Co-Dependant, lots of tea drinking, cooking and cleaning. I even spent a glorious Saturday evening drinking vodka on a gorgeous balcony in the city. Melbourne is treating me well this time around…

* Dress from Sportsgirl
* Shoes thrifted in Canberra
* Necklace from Roomy Smaggle from Greece

Spending the afternoon cleaning, going to the gym, doing some research for work and some sketches for school.

What are you up to tonight?

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

P.S Melbourne and Canberra ladies be sure to check out Yoink in the Brunswick area in Melbourne. I just cleaned out my cupboard! If you’re from Canberra and want something just yoink it and let me know and I’ll bring it to Canberra at Easter.

Etsy

Here are a few things I’ve noticed this week…

* Whenever someone in a movie calls someone on their mobile they always dial the number. When was the last time you dialed a number on your phone? Off the top of your head? It annoys me.

* It’s really easy to overdose on curry powder in any recipe. And I do it every time. I just get all Nigella and start tossing spices around and it just leads to disaster.

* No matter how much washing you do you will always have something in your washing basket.

* Those squishy bottles of herbs are awesome. I mix basil and garlic with a low fat dressing to put on my salads. Tres’ gourmet.

* Every time I’m expecting a parcel I will get the notice in the post just after I’ve come back from the post office. Every time.

* Engaging in conversation with a male in a public pool sauna is never a good idea.

What about you pie? Any discoveries you’d like to share?

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

Etsy

Why don’t you…

* Take photos everyday? Of you and your housemate eating cereal in your pajamas? Of your boyfriend cooking you dinner? Of you and girlfriends drinking tea and watching Sex and The City? Have photographic evidence of your everyday pleasure?

* Burn fragrant oil in your house? Rose? Strawberry? Frangipani? Let your house smell like a florist?

* Start everyday with a list? Write things like ‘Drink two cups of chamomile tea’? And ‘Rub yummy lotion into your hands after lunch’? Or ‘Text one of your friends to say that you love them’?

* Buy yourself expensive mineral water like lemon Perrier and take it to parties instead of wine? Be sober in style?

* Plant your own herbs? Have a delicious collection of mis-matched jars with bunches of green leaves growing in them? Basil? Mint? Lemongrass?

* Wear a brooch?

* Get up early and do a yoga class? Pretend to be a zen and centered person until the behavior becomes a habit?

* Play music in the kitchen in the morning? Rock out while you make your toast? Sing a love ballad as you cut up your salad for lunch?

* Go to bed early? Turn off the television and your laptop and read a book? Flick through fashion magazines? Leaf through those beautiful photography books you have collecting dust on a shelf?

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx