Refreshments.

Looks refreshing, yes? Mmmm.. lovely for a summer wedding like ours, but will we really be able to use five or six of these after the wedding? Probably not. These, on the other hand will look just as nice and have many more options for re-use. Perhaps we will get some and pair them with stainless steel ladels for serving iced-tea, lemonade and rum punch.

Today is Tuesday

Listening to: United by Pheonix

Reading: The Doors of Perception By Aldous Huxley

Cooking: Apple Cobbler for breakfast (yummy!)

Leigh took a day off yesterday. We went into town and looked at various rings. It was nice. I love getting to try on all these amazing, sparkly jewels. Even the ones we could never afford. I think it's the fancy dress fan in me, because there are lots that I wouldn't actually like to wear every day either. One woman let me walk right out of the shop to look at this huge stone in the sunlight. Lucky I have an honest face, eh.

We're pretty certain that we want to go with Metal Urges because we really appreciate Chris's approach to his craft. He travels around and collects stones himself and he loves being challenged to create new and different designs. I also love how keen he is to have an ongoing relationship with his clients. The website is: http://www.metalurges.com.au/about/

Absolutely worth checking out if you are local to my area.

The image at the top is some of Ernst Haeckel's beautiful work. He has been very inspiring to me, both as an artist and as a scientist. I'd like to use this kind of imagery in the form for my wedding ring. I'll post more on him later. For now, I have work to do.

Paper Computing

Today I am Excited about...

...Laurie Anderson.

...picking up my tutu and my library books tomorrow.

...this very nice blog: http://thatshappy.blogspot.com/.

...the fact that I have not one, but two costume parties to attend this weekend.

...the idea of calling a celebrant tomorrow. A friend has passed on the phone number of a lady that she thinks we will like.

...getting to try out my new cake decorating tools tonight.

...my latest project. I think I am actually getting somewhere with it.

Signs

I nabbed this video off Bridechka at: http://bridechka.blogspot.com/

It is completely lovely. Her blog is too, so go check that out when you're done watching this:

Venue Blues

We always said that we'd like to sort out our wedding venue before planning too many other details because so many of the details depend on the venue. We never realised, however, that finding a relaxed, outdoor setting would be so hard. We didn't want to get married in a winery or at an estate but, if it was possible, we would like some basic form of a kitchen to store and prepare food in. Another thing that we were keen on was being able to do the ceremony and the party in the same place. I know that I said that our wedding is an extravagance, but I really don't see the need to travel between two venues. So, I guess by being relatively specific we did cut down our options a bit, but I still wouldn't have anticipated it being this hard.



I keep having dreams that we go out for a drive and discover the most amazing house with a lovely big garden. We get out of the car to have perve on the flowers and see that it's for sale. In the dream we then realise that this is one of those meant to be kind of moments, so we stroll up to the front door and knock. This little lady in lilac opens up the door and invites us in for cups of tea and a chat. By the end of the dream we're all the best of friends and she's agreed for us to buy the place under the proviso that we have our wedding there. Quite honestly, we assure her that we wouldn't want to have it anywhere else. I love that dream but, since there is a fair chance it isn't coming true, we've continued to search around. No luck so far, but I'm sure we'll find somewhere.

The Marie Antoinette Colour Palette

As I type this I'm watching the Sofia Coppola film Marie Antoinette. I've fallen in love with the colours! The fashion and the decadance is soaked in these vibrant pastel colours, like an exploded candy store. Everthing in the film is intensly decorated and over the top. It is not a serious historical study, but it is still a very interesting portrait of a young woman thrown way out of her depth.

I've heard people criticise this film for its lack of historical accuracy. People cringe that these american actors don't even put on a french acccent as they frolic around 18th century France. These people need to lighten up a bit. The film is Copolla's personal vision of Marie Antoinette. Yes, it is girly and lavish and over the top, but isn't that fitting for a film that describes a royal shopaholic? It's a romp and it's fun. It's not realism, it's a romantic impression - like an Adam Ant film clip.

By ignoring the usual constraints of period drama, Copolla has brought the 18th century to life. She knows that her audience is modern and sees with a modern eye, therefore she has adjusted various elements to suit. The colours are exciting, the lighting pops, the music is an ecletic combination of pop, punk and alternative rock. At the same time she has paid real attention to other historical details, such as the food and the locations. The resulting film is a beautiful desert and I cannot help but be drawn to it.

For a more indepth and richly written look at the fashion in this film head to: http://www.bandelle.com/blog/page/2/
I poached the image from her blog as well.

In other Copolla news...
Leigh and I watched the new Francis Copolla film, Youth without Youth, the other night. It's brilliant and gorgeous. Tim Roth is fantasic in it and the cinematography is spot on. Worth a watch for sure!