tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22503362937135430162024-03-14T14:22:47.867+10:00ArtdecadenceShowcasing artists and writers with etsy focus. Mixed media art and independent writing from international artists and writers and hosted by Christine McConnell artdecadence.etsy.com Australia. Free monthly giveaways.Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.comBlogger234125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-24549128657442061092019-09-18T08:40:00.003+10:002019-09-18T08:40:48.896+10:00Frida Kahlo Inspired Wedding<iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/45272855" width="640"></iframe><br />
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Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-46372068897619382312018-06-19T14:38:00.000+10:002018-06-19T14:39:21.325+10:00Winter<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0fYL_qiDYf0" width="560"></iframe><br />
<span style="color: #f4cccc; font-size: large;">Over here in Australia it's winter. The sun is still shining but it's cold. I hope you are staying warm in heart as well as in body.</span>Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-13188300539954591952018-05-12T11:00:00.001+10:002019-09-18T08:46:29.481+10:00Instagram<div style="text-align: center;">
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Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-5984588635843368022017-06-01T14:54:00.000+10:002017-09-15T14:25:27.752+10:00Learning From Frida<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;">
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<em style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">“Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?” ~ Frida Kahlo</span></em></div>
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Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter, who is best known for her self-portraits.</span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">The ones who personally knew her, described her as “one of history’s grand divas, a tequila heavy drinker, dirty joke-telling smoker, a bohemian who threw festive dinner parties for the likes of Leon Trotsky, poet Pablo Neruda and her husband, muralist Diego Rivera.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">If I were to introduce her, I would say she is an icon of strength, a victim of love and a genius in art. Frida Kahlo changed the standards of beauty with her unibrow, her right leg—that was thinner than the left one and her indigenous Tehuana dresses.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Being my great inspiration in life, I regard Frida Kahlo as a school of lessons. She should be the role model of every woman because she indirectly showed the world what a woman is capable of, both physically and emotionally.</span></div>
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After many years of admiration for Frida Kahlo, I can finally put on paper what this woman taught me:</span></h4>
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<strong style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Love is forgiveness.</span></strong></div>
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<em style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">“I had two big accidents in my life: The trolley and Diego; Diego is by far the worse.” ~ Frida Kahlo</span></em></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Frida was the wife of Diego Rivera, the muralist who was best known for his endless love affairs with women. He was a womanizer who had serious problems with infidelity.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Although none of Frida’s friends nor parents approved of this awkward union, Frida still married Diego. She kept on loving him despite all the pain he caused her.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Frida teaches us that love is forgiveness.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">She might not have said it out loud, but staying with him throughout her life, shows us that she did forgive him every time he cheated on her.</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Love is unexplainable.</span></strong></div>
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<em style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">“…the marriage of Frida and Diego is like the union between an elephant and a dove.”</span></em></div>
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<em style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">~ Frida’s mother, Matilde Calderon</span></em></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Whenever I have a discussion about Frida’s life with someone, I always get the same question: “Why did she love him?”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Frida loved Diego for reasons no one understood and she remained faithful in her love for him up until the day she died.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Sometimes people think we fall for the wrong person, but in our own eyes, they’re always right for us. Diego was 42-years-old and 300 pounds while Frida was 22 and 98 pounds. He cheated on her, had little time for her and yet she loved him.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">If each one of us looks back at our own experiences, we can understand Frida’s love for Diego. We can never explain the love we had (and maybe still have) for people who hurt us or left us but we can definitely feel it. Frida simply taught me that love is unexplainable.</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Love yourself.</span></strong></div>
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<em style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">“The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to.” ~ Frida Kahlo</span></em></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">To love yourself means to remember yourself, no matter what the circumstances are.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Frida married a man who had little time for her, due to the busy life he lead. She married a man who cheated on her and left her in agony. She suffered from polio, underwent three abortions and had an accident that tucked her away in bed for numerous years.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">We live in a time where we’re instantly bedridden if we have a tiny headache. Frida had a broken spine, wore a corset most of her life, had an amputated leg and still she managed to paint.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">With all this emotional and physical pain, Frida never forgot herself. She loved herself immensely that she always kept herself busy with painting. Although she loved Diego, she didn’t accept being a doormat who waited for him at home crying. In retaliation, she loved herself enough to go out, make affairs and pleasure herself just the way Diego pleased himself.</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Know when to quit.</span></strong></div>
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<em style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">“I am not sick… I am broken.” ~ Frida Kahlo</span></em></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Diego had many affairs with many women. But one affair finally pushed Frida to quit. In 1934, after having her third abortion, Frida learned that Diego cheated on her with her younger sister, Cristina.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Afterward, they separated for almost four years and Frida led a life away from Diego.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Frida teaches us that it’s okay not to let go too soon but one must know when it’s time to quit.</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Suffering is consciousness in disguise.</span></strong></div>
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<em style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">“I drank to drown my sorrows, but the bastards learnt how to swim.” ~ Frida Kahlo</span></em></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Frida Kahlo was plagued by illness starting at a young age. At 18 she went through a tough accident that left her with a broken spine, a fractured vaginal structure. She had hundreds of injuries and died critically ill with pneumonia.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Mentally, emotionally and physically, Frida Kahlo went through intense suffering. And though we don’t realize it, Frida was more conscious than many of us are today.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Her pain was her gate to higher realizations—realizations that we only find through books nowadays. Frida found them through pain.</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Keeping a diary is healthy.</span></strong></div>
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<em style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">“I never paint dreams or nightmares; I paint my own reality.” ~ Frida Kahlo</span></em></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">People usually underestimate the importance of keeping a diary. I bet Frida wouldn’t have been able to live as long if she didn’t let out her pain.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">There is only one thing that can truly kill us and it’s called “sadness.” If sadness isn’t expressed, it has the capability of ending a body’s life faster than any disease.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Frida Kahlo is the first in history to write a diary with a brush on canvas. She also kept written diaries with drawings for the last 10 years of her life.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Frida teaches us to express, to paint, to write, to do anything to let out our anger and sadness. She teaches us to make something out of our pain—something beautiful.</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Don’t be ashamed of your style.</span></strong></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Frida was regarded as an icon of beauty in Mexico. She was known for her extensive style with her colorful clothes and extraordinary hair braids.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">The unibrow and the mustache that people make fun of today, are the very elements that made Frida unique. She left her armpits untouched and decorated her shoulders with fantastic Tehuana dresses.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Frida was best known for her red lipstick, red nail polish and the beautiful smell of perfume that she wore. Kids in her neighborhood used to know she was passing by when they started smelling roses.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Frida taught us to be unique in our style and comfortable in our own skin. She taught us to simply be ourselves.</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Don’t get attached to your plans.</span></strong></div>
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<em style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">“Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away.”</span></em></div>
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<em style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">~ Frida Kahlo</span></em></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Frida never planned to become an artist. Until she was 18, she was planning to become a doctor and attended a prestigious school that only had 35 girls out of 2,000 students—Frida was among them.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "open sans", arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">The accident she had at the age of 18 changed the course of her life forever. As a result of being bedridden with a corset, her father gave her his brushes and paint and constructed an easel for her so she can paint while she was in bed.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "open sans", arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Just like Frida says, “everything changes, everything moves.” We never know how or when our life can change. Hence, never plan and get attached to your plans.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "open sans", arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Women have an abundance strength inside.</span></strong></div>
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<em style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">“At the end of the day we can endure much more than we think we can.” ~ Frida Kahlo</span></em></div>
<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "open sans", arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">I highly believe that women are stronger than men in many aspects and Frida Kahlo stands out today to prove this notion for us.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">She is an example of how much a woman can undergo and still be able to stand on her two feet.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">With a man who sucked the energy out of her system and an accident that left her with hundreds of injuries and deadly illnesses, Frida teaches us that women are a pile of strength.</span></div>
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<strong style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Let go.</span></strong></div>
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<em style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">“I hope the exit is joyful and I hope never to return.” ~ Frida Kahlo</span></em></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Frida was an outgoing person who used wise words in her conversations. She loved to smoke, drink tequila and sing off-color songs to guests at the many parties she hosted.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">Despite the fact that the doctors tests on her revealed a severe kidney infection, anemia, exhaustion and alcoholism, Frida remained a person who drank, smoked and had fun.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">The bottle of tequila and cigarettes never quit her hand.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">She held them until her last breath. She just didn’t care much about the consequences. She went through a lot and lost a lot that there was nothing more to lose—she let go, and this is what made her the great Frida.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">(reprinted from The Elephant Journal)</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x6rbDBA6jek/WbtV9V9EBUI/AAAAAAAA0MI/E5fqFCkGSSE5a0XACPi2mR1WlSqXc8xVACLcBGAs/s1600/fridaanddiego1933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x6rbDBA6jek/WbtV9V9EBUI/AAAAAAAA0MI/E5fqFCkGSSE5a0XACPi2mR1WlSqXc8xVACLcBGAs/s320/fridaanddiego1933.jpg" width="238" /></a></span></div>
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Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-71566018192233456432017-02-10T14:52:00.000+10:002017-02-10T14:52:10.480+10:00SALE!VALENTINE'S DAY SALE! 50% OFF ALL LISTINGS UNTIL 15TH FEBRUARY!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/ARTDECADENCE?ref=hdr_shop_menu">https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/ARTDECADENCE?ref=hdr_shop_menu</a>Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-1445208301962858622017-01-16T13:15:00.001+10:002017-01-16T13:15:22.276+10:00A new beginning....<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/kindness%20to%20self_zpsphasr2gy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo kindness to self_zpsphasr2gy.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/kindness%20to%20self_zpsphasr2gy.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Well my darlings, I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. I did; one of the best ever. Who would have thought? This time last year life was full of trauma. I suppose much of the last three years have been. I don't mean it's all been bad, heavens no, there have been some beautiful treasured moments. But it hasn't been easy. Now, though, with both Mum and Dad gone and most of the estate stuff finalised, I've entered a time of respite. A weight has been lifted and (though I feel a little guilt at saying this) I feel relief and a sense of freedom. Don't get me wrong - if there was some magic that would bring my precious Mother back I'd use it in a flash - but there isn't. And I know life is going to keep presenting challenges, but those challenges won't include being a 'daughter' and the expectations that can come with that role. I was raised, like many, in a home where you were expected to think, feel, and behave in a certain way and if you didn't you weren't a 'good' person. And, of course, none of us as human beings can be 'perfect' so we end up feeling flawed and lacking. So the challenge continues for me in accepting myself and all the things that have happened in my life with kindness. I know I'm not alone in this. More and more I realise that we're all one. Each of us has joys and sorrows. It's the kindness we need to cultivate, for ourselves and others. Blessings to you all in these early days of 2017.</span><br />
<div>
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Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-79031247792914283402016-11-20T07:52:00.000+10:002016-11-20T07:52:45.010+10:00Play<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It's official; having fun and playing leads to </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">new ideas</span><span style="font-size: large;"> and </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">inventions</span><span style="font-size: large;">! I'm working on some....what about you?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.ted.com/talks/steven_johnson_how_play_leads_to_great_inventions" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe></span></div>
Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-19931054026203603692016-09-06T16:13:00.000+10:002016-09-06T16:13:05.473+10:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/vidatotecollageblog_zpsspazrngx.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/vidatotecollageblog_zpsspazrngx.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo vidatotecollageblog_zpsspazrngx.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/vidatopscollageblog_zpsov6mqfof.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/vidatopscollageblog_zpsov6mqfof.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo vidatopscollageblog_zpsov6mqfof.jpg"/></a>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">
Many totes, tops, tshirts, shalves and wraps available from <a href="http://shopvida.com/collections/voices/chrisy-mcconnell">VIDA</a>. Head on over and check them out!
</span></div>
Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-9854983695828481052016-05-23T08:42:00.000+10:002016-05-23T08:42:15.866+10:00Frida's Home La Casa Azul<centre><script height="364px" width="640px" src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#pbid=ccded04939c4010a47d948d2e3232a7&ec=UyMHJnMzE6D5gLrJCln7KB_ani6Uku5S"></script></centre>Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-67808714351115814662016-05-11T10:20:00.001+10:002016-05-11T10:20:39.032+10:00Splish Splash!<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/fountain7_zpsez1eqksu.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo fountain7_zpsez1eqksu.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/fountain7_zpsez1eqksu.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Into the sunshine,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Full of the light,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Leaping and flashing</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">From morn till night!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/fountain4b_zpsoflwdfn4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo fountain4b_zpsoflwdfn4.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/fountain4b_zpsoflwdfn4.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Into the moonlight,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Whiter than snow,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Waving so flower-like</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">When the winds blow!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/fountain1_zpsntb6yvqe.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo fountain1_zpsntb6yvqe.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/fountain1_zpsntb6yvqe.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Into the starlight,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Rushing in spray,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Happy at midnight,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Happy by day!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/fountain2_zpsqgvilbuq.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo fountain2_zpsqgvilbuq.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/fountain2_zpsqgvilbuq.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ever in motion,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Blithesome and cheery.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Still climbing heavenward,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Never aweary</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/fountain5_zpslrxznkez.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo fountain5_zpslrxznkez.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/fountain5_zpslrxznkez.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Glad of all weathers,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Still seeming best,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Upward or downward,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Motion thy rest;—</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/fountain3_zps3beg2hwq.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo fountain3_zps3beg2hwq.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/fountain3_zps3beg2hwq.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Full of a nature</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Nothing can tame,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Changed every moment,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ever the same;—</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/fountain6_zpsdhzwgamh.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo fountain6_zpsdhzwgamh.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/fountain6_zpsdhzwgamh.jpg" /></a></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ceaseless aspiring,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ceaseless content,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Darkness or sunshine</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Thy element;—</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Glorious fountain!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Let my heart be</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Fresh, changeful, constant,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Upward, like thee!</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
'The Fountain' by James Russell Lowell</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Polish sculptor Małgorzata Chodakowska has made a name for herself by creating unique, moving sculptures and statues that actually feel like they have a human-like presence in the room. Now, she's taken her work a step further and added water, creating bronze statues that double as spectacular fountains.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">The water erupts from the statues in unlikely places, creating a sense of motion that only adds to her figures' life-like qualities. Some fountains give the appearance as if the statues are playing in the water, while the water creates emergent shapes on others.</span> (via lifebuzz)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-91086964127550174392016-03-09T07:31:00.002+10:002016-03-09T07:39:45.991+10:00A Beholden Purpose<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/158033264" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>"...the mission of the artist in an overtechnologized, overmasculinized society [is] to call the old magic back to life."</i></span> - Tom Robbins</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-20621599305959212242016-02-12T20:50:00.000+10:002016-03-09T07:40:06.328+10:00La la la la la laaaaaa<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-7NYt09TsP8" width="640"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">My favorite song, together with gorgeous fashion. </span></div>
Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-32751280211365724502015-10-20T19:02:00.001+10:002016-03-09T07:40:39.926+10:00Tragedies<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UfSopHrT-m4" width="560"></iframe>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Oh Marlon Williams what a signer you are! Crooning here 'When I was a young girl' the soundtrack from 'The Beautiful Lie', a contemporary retelling of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, a series that began last Sunday night on the ABC. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">For those outside Australia, you can view each episode after it airs...<a href="http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/beautiful-lie/DR1402V001S00">HERE'S</a> the first one.</span></div>
</div>
Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-26951758081730135502015-09-28T09:50:00.000+10:002015-09-28T09:50:03.684+10:00Evolving<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/fountainbyjaimiebeck_zpszjhq44uu.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo fountainbyjaimiebeck_zpszjhq44uu.gif" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/fountainbyjaimiebeck_zpszjhq44uu.gif" /></a>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Happiness cannot be found</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">through great effort and willpower,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">but is already here, right now,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">in relaxation and letting go.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Don't strain yourself, there is nothing to do.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Whatever arises in the mind</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">has no importance at all,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">because it has no reality whatsoever.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Don't become attached to it. Don't pass judgement.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Let the game happen on its own,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">emerging and falling back - without changing anything -</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">and all will vanish and begin anew, without end.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Only our searching for happiness prevents us from seeing it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It is like a rainbow which you run after without ever catching it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Although it does not exist, it has always been there</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">and accompanies you every instant.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Don't believe in the reality of good and bad experiences;</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">they are like rainbows.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Wanting to grasp the ungraspable you exhaust yourself in vain.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As soon as you relax this grasping,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">there is space - open, inviting and comfortable.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So make use of it. Everything is already yours.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Search no more,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Don't go into the inextricable jungle</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">looking for the elephant who is already quietly at home.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Nothing to do,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">nothing to force,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">nothing to want</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">and everything happens by itself.</span><br />
<br />
'Happiness' by Lama Gendun Rinpoche<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>I am still practicing 'letting go'; every day a little ending and a little beginning. The last few months have been the most challenging yet the most rewarding of my life. Not only have I lost my Mother as physical form but after months of abuse from my Dad (who has Narcissistic Personality Disorder) I've had to let him go as well. This is a huge step for me requiring lots of honest soul searching about my own value. And in the end it was really a matter of saving my own life. Now I can feel close to Mum all the time; can 'feel' her with me. Now I can relax.</b></i></span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-2208935799174352432015-09-03T18:37:00.001+10:002015-09-03T18:37:43.898+10:00Let Go<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/girlunderwater_zpslo3zfxpi.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo girlunderwater_zpslo3zfxpi.gif" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/girlunderwater_zpslo3zfxpi.gif" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">I let it go.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">It’s like swimming against the current.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">It exhausts you.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">After a while, whoever you are,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">you just have to let go,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">and the river brings you home.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
– Joanne Harris, Five Quarters of the Orange </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-25207612888847029012015-08-30T17:13:00.001+10:002015-08-30T17:13:50.074+10:00She is gone...<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/fridadeathofthemotherBLOG_zpssqfukaxw.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo fridadeathofthemotherBLOG_zpssqfukaxw.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/fridadeathofthemotherBLOG_zpssqfukaxw.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">6 weeks after the death of my precious Mother, some thoughts.
When someone you love dies, it's like a part of you dies as well, and you look at the person left and wonder who the hell you are. There's a rebuilding to be done. You are not the same and you never will be. I'm in that stage where I can go a whole day without thinking of Mum and then the loss hits and the pain is overwhelming, gut wrenching, and there's that split second where you know you can choose - to surrender, to open your heart, and let the pain overwhelm you, to wail, to thrash about in such sadness, yet powerless for there's no magic wand to bring her back. Other times, you choose to distract yourself; you know you will have to surrender to the pain soon but you need, yes 'need' to keep yourself together right now; you're weary; so you dive headlong into an activity. But of course, in the end, it's worse. The heaviness, the constricted throat, the moist eyes, stay then for hours, for days, until you can't hold it in anymore and you surrender. Yes there are others who'll always be there to comfort you - if you're capable of reaching out. Yes, there are a couple you know intuitively who are tired of your grief; your conversations, but doing their best nonetheless. But, in the main, humanity, gosh almighty it's amazed me. The natural world has always been easy for me to appreciate; people not so much. Yet, from the pain of loss, there is a this deep abiding connection to others and it's as if each person who's touched my life over the last couple of months, feels the loss with me, is truly there with me (there are exceptions for a couple of family members who are mentally ill and many families have these). Even people I don't know I feel differently towards now; we are all travellers on a path that's, yes, filled with much joy, but oh the sadness. Nobody is exempt. We are all in this together; walking each other home. I know that nothing ever stays the same; know it rationally; but the change is accelerated now. Sometimes I just want it to stop. But it won't.
</span>Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-56595874505673767262015-05-31T08:04:00.001+10:002015-05-31T08:04:55.812+10:00A little update<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/FridaMexicanBGWMBLOG_zpszqs1aual.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo FridaMexicanBGWMBLOG_zpszqs1aual.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/FridaMexicanBGWMBLOG_zpszqs1aual.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/blogmexicandress_zpsg8ibte8v.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo blogmexicandress_zpsg8ibte8v.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/blogmexicandress_zpsg8ibte8v.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/gypsywagonroom_zpsb5gmw6la.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo gypsywagonroom_zpsb5gmw6la.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/gypsywagonroom_zpsb5gmw6la.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Just a few random images I like. First is my latest Frida Kahlo photomontage (available <a href="http://artdecadence.etsy.com/">here</a>), and the other two photos are images I saw on Facebook...I don't have any references as they'd done the rounds on tumblr and I couldn't find the end of the trail! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Today I'd like to curl up in that gypsy wagon and pretend everything in my life is okay. Mum is very ill with cancer; I spend most of my time with her these days. This is 'life' I know and mostly I can be grateful and 'in the moment' but the last couple of days she's been crying a lot. It breaks my heart. </span></div>
Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-72984342949768761622015-04-16T20:36:00.001+10:002015-04-16T20:36:32.519+10:00Slide out the side....<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode"; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/escapebybethherkel_zpsblisuuie.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo
escapebybethherkel_zpsblisuuie.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/escapebybethherkel_zpsblisuuie.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode"; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Escape Route collage by <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/BethHoeckel?ref=l2-shop-info-name">Beth Hoeckel</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode"; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Inside this new love, die. </span></i></span></div>
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Your way begins on the other side. </span></span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Become the sky.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
</span></i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode"; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/birdincage_zpsnzqin43j.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo
birdincage_zpsnzqin43j.gif" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/birdincage_zpsnzqin43j.gif" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Take an axe to the prison wall. </span></i></span></div>
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Escape. </span></span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Walk out like someone suddenly born into color.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
</span></i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode"; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/escapeonmap_zpsgc3ke9jx.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo
escapeonmap_zpsgc3ke9jx.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/escapeonmap_zpsgc3ke9jx.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode"; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hand decorated map by <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/boyinabearsuit?ref=l2-shop-info-name">Boy In A Bear Suit</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode"; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Do it now. </span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><i>You're covered with thick clouds. </i></span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><i>Slide out the side. Die,</i> </span></div>
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode"; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/escapeheartfromartwithpower_zpsvgvwhyii.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo
escapeheartfromartwithpower_zpsvgvwhyii.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/escapeheartfromartwithpower_zpsvgvwhyii.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode"; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">by <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/ArtwithPower?ref=l2-shop-info-name">Art With Power<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">and be quiet. Quietness is the surest sign </span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">that you've died. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Your old life was a frantic running </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">from silence.</span></div>
<o:p></o:p></span></i></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">The speechless full moon </span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">comes out now.</span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">'Quiet' by Rumi</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I wonder if I'll ever learn to review life choices regularly; not wait until painful times like physical or emotional illness give me no other choice but to review. Who knows?!</span><i style="font-size: small;"> </i></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span>Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-19537275676826688902015-02-22T16:36:00.001+10:002015-02-22T16:36:52.157+10:00Doo See Doooing With French Knitting<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/blogfrenchknittingontreebymiaHamilton_zpso43lwwas.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo blogfrenchknittingontreebymiaHamilton_zpso43lwwas.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/blogfrenchknittingontreebymiaHamilton_zpso43lwwas.jpg" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
French Knitting Installation from New Zealand artist <a href="http://artshow.co.nz/gallery/mia+hamilton">Mia Hamilton</a><a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/blogfrenchknittingskirtbyEmroce_zpsi1taeb9q.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo blogfrenchknittingskirtbyEmroce_zpsi1taeb9q.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/blogfrenchknittingskirtbyEmroce_zpsi1taeb9q.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Above and below by Australian artist Emma Churchill of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/emroce?ref=l2-shopheader-name">Emroce</a>
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/blogfrenchknittingbeltfromemroce_zpscyeoourd.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo blogfrenchknittingbeltfromemroce_zpscyeoourd.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/blogfrenchknittingbeltfromemroce_zpscyeoourd.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/blogfrenchknittinginstructionsviaSewfun.wikispaces_zpsxj2cqmrx.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo blogfrenchknittinginstructionsviaSewfun.wikispaces_zpsxj2cqmrx.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/blogfrenchknittinginstructionsviaSewfun.wikispaces_zpsxj2cqmrx.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Here’s a <span style="font-size: large;">great idea</span> from <a href="http://www.inspirationrealisation.com/2012/11/diy-make-your-own-extra-chunky-yarn.html">Inspiration Realisation</a> – make your own <span style="font-size: large;">extra chunky yarn</span> using your French knitting! Think I'd need one of spools where you can just turn the handle...could be awhile otherwise.
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/blogfrenchknittingchunkyyarn_zps5hdybiov.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo blogfrenchknittingchunkyyarn_zps5hdybiov.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/blogfrenchknittingchunkyyarn_zps5hdybiov.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
I’ve been looking for extra chunky yarn and can tell you it’s difficult to source over here, and it’s expensive….so…now...a <span style="font-size: large;">Giganto Rug</span>! Look at those <span style="font-size: large;">needles</span>!
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5voV033GJXY?rel=0" width="640"></iframe></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Or</span> get one already made up in gorgeous wool from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/lilyandpeabody">Lily and Peabody</a>!
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/blogfrenchknittingrug_zps1o5zrsai.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo blogfrenchknittingrug_zps1o5zrsai.jpg" border="0" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j358/healthfactormedia/blogfrenchknittingrug_zps1o5zrsai.jpg" /></a>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dUOgqefnt_I?rel=0" width="640"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Everybody needs a little ditty to knit by and this is <span style="font-size: large;">a classic</span>.
</div>
Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-53144553214263798252015-01-02T17:45:00.001+10:002015-01-08T09:12:59.098+10:00Magicians with Polymer Clay<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/polymerclayskulldollfromGriffinWize_zps1c77adc3.jpg.html" style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/3tVKT23WVS1BwZtUkph3mIPF0l5y8dP5JBuUR2YiUC_Dzmu_-FLF_CGFJflels-vxqOj22Rjj6cxrYFHhzFpBndiAex6Ht05Y4qDe6IKXRgQmAwUm3Kn5kFwZ_Y1URaDErDkPAsje1NZDVqPtmZq_op-PSogaHmXilNHNSDGsHIfcA" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I know, you never intended to be in this world.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But you’re in it all the same.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So why not get started immediately.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I mean, belonging to it.<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/polymerclaybyWalkingSquid_zps81a8c42f.jpg.html"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/bbPqoSHs-Nne3vTs4VGdNFQr2PZipS-9xekD0nrKJ7jkyPEUvs-GxWOH30XqO4nf7qYkaq7bKiRYfIgDn0eUaDGIje7B6-kV7DwYc_u-nWGUBVpcugWY13hBQR_0cE0qdesh4c1LENHkzqfFnyLQ5AiEeiX7gl8N" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
There is so much to admire, to weep over.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And to write music or poems about.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Bless the feet that take you to and fro.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Bless the eyes and the listening ears.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Bless the tongue, the marvel of taste.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Bless touching.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/polymerclaymillicent_zpsc71d56ab.jpg.html"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/6otychp9vQmYRpIWGMafl3Ax6fNt2rCfIqC5dJ7sfynlryu_u8tnuanC2vToKLxmoaLFFjrWXTJSYbjBDNcYOJxz4ghssgJCVlhrmYmIJOWkp7AZLKhVtdkCj2oidZs9FB_e-T05-O9z_xj_R8x_Fl2gaQ" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You could live a hundred years, it’s happened. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Or not.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I am speaking from the fortunate platform</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
of many years,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
none of which, I think, I ever wasted. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/polymerclayTilesbyLasJoyDeMarie_zps99f47566.jpg.html"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/2gsybEkJX4A5Kvc_816TDLAk6FpWj6QBGunGwCU_dI51K1qRQY2Bm9USA__Xzyw8CmG3kedaclnMy1AqltlSULIAGCsPcTP9DUhgxfGCCtDXnabFsCVyfJ4x1xKrvXM2Sf1PCYbgKj8RNayqNpeM3HkMGuRV85ukbdCx3TJx" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Do you need a prod?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Do you need a little darkness to get you going?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Let me be as urgent as a knife, then,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and remind you of Keats,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
so single of purpose and thinking, for a while,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
he had a lifetime.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
‘The Fourth Sign of the Zodiac Part 3’ by Mary Oliver</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/healthfactormedia/media/PolymerClayDoorstopDevarimYafamo_zps0524f992.jpg.html"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/LwDRe2UfJA7gCzni77OmyAu3dsGoHDwImRhlL4mvUxFwc1MA-lckIpVUDHBjapgbvolCpyLowbJeDlu1fPvVk7brDvYY8PXLqJStZ0Ust5BeMKnWSSDOy7kn4YaeK37y6Evw3iI9MJ1K_jgerSIkqKJkcffCS4__xaSPwmOUvQ" /></a>Artists from top to bottom: 1. Skull doll from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/Griffinwyse">GriffinWyse</a> 2. Tentacle Necklaces from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/WalkingSquid?ref=l2-shop-info-name">Walking Squid</a> 3. Maleficent from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/ArtHouseSculpture">Art HouseSculpture</a> 4. Coaster Tiles from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/LasJoyitasDeMarie">Las Joyitas De Marie</a> 5. Doorstop from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/DevarimYafimo?ref=l2-shop-info-name">DevarimYafimo</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode"; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GSzCLf8tjP4?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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-->Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-26718284493501754672014-09-15T14:33:00.000+10:002014-09-15T14:34:52.384+10:00The Eclectic Home<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/eclecticdecor_zps242b18fb.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo eclecticdecor_zps242b18fb.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/eclecticdecor_zps242b18fb.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: x-large;">
Eclectic</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">interior decor = </span> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/IZfFpRdooUs" width="640"></iframe>
<br />
a <span style="font-size: large;">mixture</span> of <span style="font-size: large;">textures</span>,<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">time periods</span>,<span style="font-size: large; text-align: right;">styles</span><span style="text-align: right;">, </span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: right;">trends</span><span style="text-align: right;">, and </span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">colors</span>.</div>
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<br />
<br />
Home decor items available from<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Australian sellers -</span></div>
</div>
<div class="etsy-embed-list">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.etsy.com/pages/shopaustralia/eclectic-decor?eref=shopaustralia">Eclectic Decor</a>
curated by <a href="https://www.etsy.com/pages/shopaustralia?eref=shopaustralia">Shop Australia NZ</a> on Etsy<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<script>(function(d,t){var s=d.createElement(t),s1=d.getElementsByTagName(t)[0];s.async=true;s.src="//site.etsystatic.com/widgets.js";
s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s,s1);})(document,'script');</script>Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-29215939117431565782014-06-26T20:06:00.000+10:002014-06-26T20:44:40.020+10:00Street Style<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/streetstyle3_zps6b389f87.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo streetstyle3_zps6b389f87.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/streetstyle3_zps6b389f87.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">photo via <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://keishikibi.com/">keishikibi</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Hi darlings. I've curated a team page for the Australian Wandarrah Team, titled Australian Street Style. Go have a look at it <a href="https://www.etsy.com/pages/shopaustralia/australian-street-style?eref=shopaustralia">here</a>; share it on your facebook; tweet it; then come on back here of course!</span></div>
....<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/australianstreetstylefireshot_zpsda70df43.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo australianstreetstylefireshot_zpsda70df43.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/australianstreetstylefireshot_zpsda70df43.jpg" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/laraparker/stunning-examples-of-street-style-from-around-the-world">This page</a> gives a look at street fashion from around the globe. It's fabulous.
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/StreetStyle2viabuzzfeeddotcom_zps1f879467.jpg.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo StreetStyle2viabuzzfeeddotcom_zps1f879467.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/StreetStyle2viabuzzfeeddotcom_zps1f879467.jpg" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bwx3bko22NE" width="640"></iframe><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">For a more upmarket look, grab one of the above ensembles.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> And l</span><span style="font-size: large;">et's not forget the guys.
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jOdQSJuC31U" width="640"></iframe></div>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">What do I wear 'on the street'? Black and denim are my style. A confession...I'm not overly interested in fashion. I like to be smart but comfortable and I hate shopping in shopping centers/malls! I do like pottering around thrift shops though. How about you; what are you wearing now?
</span></div>
</div>
</div>
Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-25847462692760964682014-05-03T14:45:00.002+10:002014-05-03T14:49:37.381+10:00Macrame - When A Knot's Not Just A Knot<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/macrame1fromVladimirDenshchikov_zps534f1bf8.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo macrame1fromVladimirDenshchikov_zps534f1bf8.jpg" bor-der="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/macrame1fromVladimirDenshchikov_zps534f1bf8.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Oh my, when I saw the macrame icons constructed by Russian artist Vladimir Denshchikov I drooled. Go do a google search for more of his work. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Well darlings 'macrame' has certainly come a long way from the pot plant holders and owl hangings of the 70s hasn't it! I did a search on etsy.com and was amazed to have thousands of items come up. Lots of jewellery of course but many other items I didn't expect. Aren't they lovely? They've inspired me to, well, go get knotted!</span><br />
<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/macramatopfromAtelierKliko_zpsd5bcd4b5.jpg.html" tar-get="_blank"><img alt=" photo macramatopfromAtelierKliko_zpsd5bcd4b5.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/macramatopfromAtelierKliko_zpsd5bcd4b5.jpg" /></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Macrame top from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/AtelierKliko?ref=l2-shopheader-name">Atelier Kliko</a> <a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/macramebarefootsandalsfromArtOfGoddess_zps02248988.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo macramebarefootsandalsfromArtOfGoddess_zps02248988.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/macramebarefootsandalsfromArtOfGoddess_zps02248988.jpg" /></a> Barefoot Sandals from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/ArtOfGoddess?ref=l2-shopheader-name">Art of Goddess</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/macramewallhangingfromSlowDownProductions_zps2cd67911.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo macramewallhangingfromSlowDownProductions_zps2cd67911.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/macramewallhangingfromSlowDownProductions_zps2cd67911.jpg" /></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Wallhanging from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/SlowDownProductions?ref=l2-shopheader-name">Slow Down Productions</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/macramapatternbookfromgrammysyarngarden_zpsd9773349.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo macramapatternbookfromgrammysyarngarden_zpsd9773349.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/macramapatternbookfromgrammysyarngarden_zpsd9773349.jpg" /></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Pattern book from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/grammysyarngarden?ref=l2-shopheader-name">Grammys Yarn Garden </a><a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/macramecatmaskfromMaMachavaya_zpsbfc5cf10.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo macramecatmaskfromMaMachavaya_zpsbfc5cf10.jpg" bor-der="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/macramecatmaskfromMaMachavaya_zpsbfc5cf10.jpg" /></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Cat Mask from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/MaMachavaya?ref=l2-shopheader-name">Ma Machavaya </a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/macramecurtaininstructionsfromabeautifulmess_zps797a448f.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo macramecurtaininstructionsfromabeautifulmess_zps797a448f.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/macramecurtaininstructionsfromabeautifulmess_zps797a448f.jpg" /></a><br />
Make your own curtain with instructions from <a href="http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2014/02/make-your-own-macrame-curtain.html">here</a>.<br />
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ps. I'll spare you all the reasons why I haven't posted for so long. Life as a human being just gets in the way. But for right here, right now, everything is perfect.</div>
Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-47863283129033378792014-01-03T17:14:00.000+10:002014-01-03T17:14:01.179+10:00Out with the old AND the new<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/minimalist10_zps866d1d32.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo minimalist10_zps866d1d32.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/minimalist10_zps866d1d32.jpg" />
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<span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;">I'm ashamed to say I own too much 'stuff'. And I procrastinate daily on cleaning it out. A 'declutter' is way overdue so I've put together some hints gathered from across the net in the hope that, by sharing with you, I'll motivate myself. Maybe you have a similar problem?</span><span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;"><em>Declutter for 15 minutes every day. It’s amazing how much you can get through if you just do it in small increments like this.(This is quite appealing to me; it takes away the overwhelming nature of the job...maybe I'll start with 1 minute...)</em></span><br />
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<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/minimalist3_zpscc295d00.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo minimalist3_zpscc295d00.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/minimalist3_zpscc295d00.jpg" /></a>
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<span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;"><em>Don’t allow things into the house in the first place. Whether you’ve begun
decluttering the living space, or you’ve just completed it, stop bringing in
new stuff NOW. (Yes 'but' it's okay this week while the thrift shops are closed, but what happens 'next' week...)</em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/minimalist2_zps255a397e.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img 3="" a="" alt=" photo minimalist2_zps255a397e.jpg" an="" as="" boiling="" border="0" but="" englishman="" everything="" for="" have="" helps="" href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/minimalist5_zpse4832aaf.jpg.html" if="" is="" it="" keeps="" kettle="" kitchen.="" kitchen="" minutes="" next="" obsession="" of="" on="" only="" re="" room="" s="" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/minimalist2_zps255a397e.jpg" target="_blank" tea="" the="" tidy="" top="" up="" well="" whenever="" with="" you="" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #d9ead3;"></span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #d9ead3;"></span></span></span> <span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #d9ead3;"><em>Whenever
you’re boiling the kettle for tea, tidy up the kitchen. If the kitchen is tidy,
tidy up the next room – it’s only 3 minutes but it keeps you on top of
everything. (Pity I drink coffee and my machine needs vigilant attention. And what's with a kettle that takes 3 minutes to boil!?) </em></span></span></span></div>
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<img alt=" photo minimalist5_zpse4832aaf.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/minimalist5_zpse4832aaf.jpg" />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #d9ead3;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #d9ead3;"></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: #d9ead3;">Use the “one in, two out” rule. The rule: whenever you bring in an item, you have
to throw away two other items. (Okay, 1 dress in, two tissues out...)</span></em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt=" photo minimalist6_zpsb90ce133.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/minimalist6_zpsb90ce133.jpg" /> <span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;"><em>If you haven’t worn an item in 6 months, sell or donate it. (But what about those 'special' pieces - you know the ones I mean - the wrong size but gorgeous fabric, or the vintage coat that only comes out once a year. I don't think so.)</em></span></div>
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<img alt=" photo minimalist1_zps3c377806.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/minimalist1_zps3c377806.jpg" /> <span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;"></span> </div>
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<em><span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;">Declutter one room (including any closets, desks, cabinets, etc.) before starting on the
next one. Spending time in that room will feel so good, and it will be so
easy to keep clean, that it will motivate you to do more! (A possibility but seems a tad daunting)</span></em></div>
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<em>
</em><a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/minimalist4_zpsc0581b09.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo minimalist4_zpsc0581b09.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/minimalist4_zpsc0581b09.jpg" />
<span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;"><em></em></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;"><em>Internalize that your value is not in your “stuff”. It is just “stuff”. Hoarding is a selfish act. (I 'know' my value isn't in what I own; and I'll give away to anybody who visits and takes a liking to something - within reason, but I'm not a minimalist at heart, I like a bit of 'stuff' around me.)</em></span></div>
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<img alt=" photo minimalist7_zpsccf73aa3.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/minimalist7_zpsccf73aa3.jpg" /> <span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;"></span> </div>
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<span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;"><em>Have someone else help you go through things. They don’t have the
emotional attachment that you might have, but can still
recognize if something should be kept. (This is a great tip. Just be warned, 'some' people, such as my daughter, are a tad too free with the 'OUT' command and you may find yourself having to purchase a whole new wardrobe.)</em></span>
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<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/minimalist9_zps10474c77.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo minimalist9_zps10474c77.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/minimalist9_zps10474c77.jpg" />
</a><span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;"><em>Books you’ve read immediately get recycled among friends, family or
local libraries. (But, but, what if I'm feeling low and need to reread a poem, or a passage, from a fav book to lift me up?) </em></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/minimalist8_zps98c82ad7.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo minimalist8_zps98c82ad7.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/minimalist8_zps98c82ad7.jpg" /></a><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="color: #d9ead3;">Images of this lovely neat home via </span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.roushiji.com/">Roushiji Deco</a></span> </span>
</div>
<br />
<span style="color: #d9ead3; font-size: large;">Oh dear, where will it end. So dears, there's quite of few of you following this blog. I'd like to invite each of you to drop by my place - whenever you're in the neighbourhood - and I'll send you home with some 'stuff'....</span>Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250336293713543016.post-32315372960523644992013-11-11T16:38:00.000+10:002013-11-11T16:38:36.184+10:00The sea's a magnet...<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/swingbeach_zpse62a0ca0.gif.html" tar-get="_blank"><img alt=" photo swingbeach_zpse62a0ca0.gif" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/swingbeach_zpse62a0ca0.gif" /></a>
<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/underwaterelenakalisa_zpse6ab1581.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo underwaterelenakalisa_zpse6ab1581.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/underwaterelenakalisa_zpse6ab1581.jpg" /></a>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When I came across these glorious underwater photographs from <a href="http://www.elenakalisphoto.com/">Elena Kalis</a> I ached, yes ached to be back at the ocean. My breathing gets slower - in rhymn with the waves maybe - and I have no trouble slotting into a slower pace of living. It's as if the sea takes me back to the essence of me. </span><br />
<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/underwaterelenakalisd_zpsfe5f55b9.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo underwaterelenakalisd_zpsfe5f55b9.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/underwaterelenakalisd_zpsfe5f55b9.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/underwaterelenakalise_zps96b3d9e3.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo underwaterelenakalise_zps96b3d9e3.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/underwaterelenakalise_zps96b3d9e3.jpg" /></a>
<span style="font-size: large;">The ocean drowns out the internal chatter; cleanses me; let's me just 'be'. </span><a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/underwaterelenakalisc_zps927e7f7a.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo underwaterelenakalisc_zps927e7f7a.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/underwaterelenakalisc_zps927e7f7a.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://s152.photobucket.com/user/Artdecadence/media/underwaterelenakalisb_zps3e8da960.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo underwaterelenakalisb_zps3e8da960.jpg" border="0" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/Artdecadence/underwaterelenakalisb_zps3e8da960.jpg" /></a>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And I love people watching by the sea. It's as if we're drawn to it like a magnet. I mentioned this to a friend and she said maybe it's the desire to 'go home'. The anthropologist <span dir="auto">Loren Eiseley </span>said it well 'Every time we walk along a beach some ancient urge disturbs us so that we find ourselves shedding shoes and garments or scavenging among seaweed and whitened timbers like the homesick refugees of a long war.' </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Maybe it's time to pack the car and succumb to the magnetism...</span></div>
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Chrisyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01954004833710064612noreply@blogger.com12