Mural Monday or Mosaic Monday?

Some of these are Invader and some are others in the same style.

All made me smile.

I'm not sure who made the Pigeon below but I was absolutely charmed by it. Brilliant use of space, and eye catching quirkiness.

Whereever you go in Paris there is something to see.

“The chief danger about Paris is that it is such a strong stimulant.” —T.S. Eliot
 

Tell Us about....Style Icons

I don't think too much about fashion - I like what I like and I wear it. I live in Uniqlo Marimekko and occasionally real Marimekko and Kitten D'Amour. On my feet, Birkenstocks and I did have a collection of Kitten D'amour shoes but alas heels are not my friends anymore. Shiny Converse are my new dress shoes.

"Fashion as we knew it is over; people wear now exactly what they feel like wearing." – Mary Quant

Who is my style icon?

Yanoi Kusama. I love her art but she also always looks cool! I've written about her work in Canberra, displays in Sydney, her museum in Tokyo, seeking her robot (and failing), and of course the big exhibition in Melbourne. Her art is very much part of her, and her dresses and the hair always look so fabulous.

I too rock the red hair from time to time, in theory all the time but it washes out after a few weeks and sometimes I take a bit of time to do it again....like now. She is not afraid to mix patterns, like me since the Anthony Bloomfield days in the '80's. I've just tried to google him and it seems he's vanished. Which is sad, as he really started the wearing two prints fad. 

The bottom line is, style is so much more than clothes. It's in all that you do, it's in how you carry yourself. Confidence and style are often intertwined (though not bullish). If the clothes make you feel good, bring you happiness when wearing them, style is usually on display.

“Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn” Orson Welles

Photo Credit below.

 Yayoi Kusama wax model at Louis Vitton for 2012 collection unveiling.

Garry Knight

Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

Linking short and sweet for Tell Us About....#WeekendReflection for the infinity room and #StyleWithaSmile (because it's on Style)

(Also, it's been so long since I've used a Creative Commons photo, I'm a little scared I haven't done the attribute correctly. Don't want a fine so sing out if I've breached the copyright somehow)

For some actual fashion shots - here's a few older posts:

"Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world." - Marilyn Monroe

"If you love something, wear it all the time." Vivienne Westwood

Valentine's Day and the Fire Horse

Spice Alley set for both celebrations

It's that time of year. This Saturday is Valentine's Day and you have the whole day to celebrate. For those in Sydney, there's a few idea here.

And of course, for those who do nothing to celebrate it, just remember the Lunar New Year festivities start in Sydney on the 14th Feb, so you can welcome the Horse instead! Thai Town also has their Lunar New Year festival that night. Tickets here (free).

Something for everyone!

#Allseasons linky runs from Thursday to Wednesday each week. 

Link one post that shows something seasonal. Traditional weather wise, a seasonal nature marker or a seasonal celebration or event.  Please link relevant posts only.

Make sure you link back to this #AllSeasons post. 

Please comment on the post before yours and the host. Don't dump and run. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Success

 

For years, my rose bush has only bloomed one rose at a time, and I have been most excited by this single flower appearing, feeling like it was a success.

I came home to a mass of flowers in bloom, and I delight each day they are still holding together or more have taken the place of the ones that lost their petals.

What changed? I've no idea.

Sometimes it's not what you do, it's just how it happens.

Linking with #WordlessWednesday #NaturesNotes #FloralFridayFoto #Thankful Thursday #GardenAffair #MondayMusicMovesMe (note there is a swear word in the song) 

More Street art in Paris

I was very lucky while in Paris to meet up with Kwarkito - his blog is my favourite, with very insightful and poetic posts on a range of topics. Often very beautifully sad on memory and life, often with gorgeous photography. It was lovely to put a person to the words, and we had much to discuss (fortunately we did not need to rely on my terrible, long forgotten French.).

He kindly took me on a little tour of the 5th, and I'm sure I drove him crazy with my endless snapping! But there was so much wonderful art.

 

It is always lovely to flesh out the blogger we know so well through their words with an actual person. Especially as all the bloggers I knew through the blogger brunches or the travel bloggers meet ups have gone. Funnily in recent years I have met more bloggers from Europe than I have from Australia! (Though my readership is more overseas these days so maybe that makes sense?)

As I mentioned in this post, history is everywhere in Paris - you just need to look. This little restaurant was the home of Hemingway's studio which they proudly show with a small picture in the window. It was also where the poet Paul Verlaine died in 1896, thus the name. 

This is just the start of our walk, there is so much more to come.

I did want to say thank you to Kwarkito for giving up his Sunday (Monday?) morning and taking time to meet with me. I really enjoyed it.

Linking with #WordlessWednesday #TalkaboutitTuesday #MuralMondays #TheRandom

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. Soren Kierkegaard

Because we had no time to go to Versailles, we took our youngest on a tour of the magnificent Garnier Opera House in Paris. The hall of mirrors and the jewel box rooms are reminiscent of the magnificent grandeur of the palace, at least to our Australian eyes.

There are two rooms that have infinity mirrors, plus the hallway that reflects on either side.

Sort of like us, the sum of every person we were before making up the present individual that we are. What you see is the human that is a reflection of every existence they've been in the past, Stretching all the way back to birth. We can't erase it, it's there if we look, but we can mould ourselves into the best version we can or just shift our focus to the best light and narrow down on the person we are now.  

"They say that a person's personality is the sum of their experiences...[but] we're more than the mistakes we made yesterday...we are all of our next choices, too, all of our tomorrows." Fredrick Backman, Anxious People

Linking with #TrafficJamReboot #WeekendCoffeeShare #WeeklyWonder #SundayBest #ThruMyLens  #KeithsRamblings

January Reading

I've been pretty slow on the reading this month, to be honest. Not 100% sure why I've lost my concentration. So as I do when that happens, I dip back into comics. I got two from a street library by a prolific writer I've never read.

I mentioned Aussie, Actually in this post so I won't repeat myself.

By it's Cover - I took this on holidays to read while in Venice. I tried to check that I hadn't read it before, but once I started reading it, I had. It didn't matter as I'd forgotten it all, but it had that familiar feeling as each new fact was revealed. I enjoy the familiarity of the streets and locations as I am in them, both in the book and in real life. 

Under the Net - we did this for book club. I loved it. I thought it was rollicking existential fun. Our book club was split - we either thought it was funny and delightful or they hated it. So I don't know what to tell you. Iris Murdoch writes very cleverly, and there were a number of quotes I noted for discussion. I feel it was a little like Marty Supreme but funnier and charming (with a much more satisfying ending). I really enjoyed this book!

When in Rome - I read this when I was in Rome - it's fun to have the characters touring about some of the sights I was. As a mystery, very much like Agatha Christie. Very hilarious descriptions of drug use and antiquated descriptions of homosexuality (warning it might be offensive - I did find it really weird to read some of it, but the drug talk was equally weird so it just seemed old fashioned and a bit daft but I'm mindful it's not personal to me so I might be being a little clueless - It was published in 1970).

I got these two comics out of the street library, so I was unfamiliar with the writer.

i love this part - This is a short sweet love story, of young people who can't stay together. I will admit I'm probably too old for it and it means a lot more to a teen. LBGT themes.

Spinning is more accessible. A tween/teen moving cities, fitting in, LBGT themes. Again, as an adult, I find it so sad that the world is unnecessarily difficult for these kids. I do think by now it shouldn't be. But again, that is the adult lens reading the book, rather than someone feeling that teenage angst. I liked Spinning, and I think young teens would really like it. It covers broad themes that a lot of teens feel re isolation, fitting in and friendships, bullying and so on. (I've still a little to go so will amend this review if any trigger warnings are needed - the adult reader is a little uneasy)

When I was a kid, my parents were mad for I, Claudius, a BBC series based on the book. They would talk about it with friends at dinner parties and we'd have to be home to watch it on Sunday nights. I decided to listen to it before going to Rome, and it was fun to know all the Emperors and some of the stories that came up in the tours. It is a crazy history, you wouldn't believe half the stuff except the guide is telling you, and a lot of that comes up in the book, except it's recounted in the first person by Claudius. It's funny and entertaining. 

Just started Prophet Song for bookclub. So far so good...but we shall see. I believe it gets hard going.

Linking with #TalkaboutitTuesday #IMWAYR #StackingtheShelves #MonthlyBookworms  #SundaySalon #SundayBookends #AGoodBookandaCupofTea #Bookdate #SeniorSalonPitstop