Amy, 24, Melbourne, web designer, piano student, Slytherin, nostalgia (and chocolate) addict, and languisher in all things baroque, rococo, and Tolkien.
Saturday 9th
I decided it was time for an impromptu tea party and was joined by my best friends and co. for this lovely day. I was so excited. 
We had a laid-back approach to things and didn’t have to purchase anything except a few ingredients. I’ve decided to try to hold monthly tea parties now, because the cost and effort for all involved is minimal, but the enjoyment is high! Everybody helped out here and there: Adam added some flowers and greenery, Martin organised the music, Alice brought delicious pikelets, and Kimmy provided her signature, divine, bite-sized berry friands.
I even tried something new with my hair!
Tea leaves included: strawberry & champagne, saucy fruit, peach, mango, buddha’s tears, flowering teas, mmm!
Alice, Kimmy, Martin, Lowana, Adam, me (Alex hiding behind the lens)
And now to the park to stretch our legs!
Adam, the object of all our desires.
Sunday 10th
For Martin’s second last day with us I thought a trip through the Dandenongs might be nice. He enjoyed The Lace Shop, while Adam bought himself a funny little hoodie and this perfume for me. I’d had my eye on it for a while and liked the natural scents of it!
We went to Sassafras for some late-afternoon browsing and food. We picked Cafe de Beaumarchais for eats, and were glad we did. We really enjoyed the sweets, drinks and snacks there, and I can’t WAIT to go back for another slice of the caramelised onion flan. My mouth was in heaven for every bite! From the homemade pastry to the delicious chutney, just the thought of it makes my mouth water.
Stealing Adam’s Infanta coat for the day! Can I steal this mirror now, too?!
Martin used this misty opportunity to get some photos on a side road. It was raining and muddy but felt so wintry, nice and crisp. I seem to have recurring dreams about forests, especially deep, snowy ones. I’m really in my element (sigh)!
Monday 11th
We decided this would be the best day to visit Montsalvat beacause it was basically on the way to the airport. Montsalvat is an old (but still very much alive) artist’s community that gets used for a lot of weddings and photo shoots. We set up there for a few hours of peaceful wandering and photography.
I didn’t like what I wore or how I looked that day, though I wasn’t trying to go for any historially accurate look in the slightest! I wouldn’t be the only one whose wardrobe choices are limited by budget, though Adam and I were trying to dress relatively casual. Anyway, I’m really glad we got to have this little week of adventures and am looking forward to the next series of adventures when Juliette comes to stay!
Today (well, yesterday) was my little sister’s birthday, so we hung out for the evening and I snapped lots of random pictures.
Kimmy is extra cute and is something of a patisserie chef-in-training. She invents sweet treats and obsesses over cooking things properly with quality equipment, and over displaying food properly. I used to say, “it all ends up in the same place” but it really does seem that when food looks good, it tastes better. She keeps a bit of a Tumblr blog with pictures of her cooking.
Also pictured are the newest lovely things in my life: a dress I picked up last week that I’m very happy with, a pink and white Queen Anne-style stool (I love it!) that I found on eBay, a set of five Chanel perfumes (which I’m calling my first ever ‘real’ perfumes), and roses from my grandparents’ garden. We are still taking my grandmother to the doctor’s several times a week for the white-tail spider bite, which is slowly healing but still looks awful.
In other news, I will have possible details on the inaugural Rococo picnic coming soon. The venue (Como House) has been confirmed but we don’t yet have a date and such. I will be adding a page to this site as well as a FaceBook event page. At this point there are approximately 60 places left to fill for guests; some have already said they will come, but other expressions of interest are very welcome. Dress-ups are essentially a must, but there are no rules as to how you should interpret the theme, how strictly you should adhere to historical authenticity, or how much you should spend! As previously mentioned, styles that are most appropriate are 18th and 19th century, Steampunk, Lolita, and Victorian Gothic. Frilly fops, lacy ladies, dishevelled dandies, polonaise gowns, behatted gents, over-the-top hair… I shall provide a page of inspiration once the event is announced! If the picnic is a success I would love to organise more in the future.
Yay! Today we picked up our ‘new’ bed frame. Once we had it all re-assembled I threw some nice bedding back on it. It’s a little imposing (in a good way) and has been telling us things like, “I OWN this room” and “you MUST sleep in me”. It’s just really great to have a frame at last – any excuse for a four-poster! The damask I bought a few months ago may come in most handy for the curtains, since it’s really too thick for clothing. All we’re really lacking in household goods now is a washing machine and a living room set (comfort foremost). We don’t have a television but don’t plan on getting one until we start to crave a round of Mario Kart or something. All we need is the house to furnish all this with! Unfortunately our incomes only just cover the cost of living at home, so we’re playing it by ear for now, and figuring out ways to earn enough for the long run.
Next on the list of fun things is the newest adventure in the charming Professor Layton series for DS. If you have a DS and haven’t yet played these games, they’re essential! I loved the first two games and Professor Layton and the Unwound Future is also rather absorbing. And the website for Diabolical Box is designed well! I have a big crush on Hershel, and the whole thing is just so quaintly steampunk. Oh, and there are puzzles, many fun little puzzles… that’s the whole point of the game, really. It isn’t a dashing gentleman and his lovely voice, no, it’s brain strainers that quash your ego a bit every time you lose some picarats from guessing instead of thinking.
Onward. Yesterday my gentle-fellow and our special friends had an awfully good time picnicking by the river and then playing cricket in the pouring rain. We stopped after it got particularly heavy (part of Australia is being hit heavily with bad floods at the moment) and then headed home, completely drenched. I baked zucchini and cheese muffins and we all ate them and watched The Book of Eli. We’re now very sore from what almost counted as “sport”, and I’m about to settle down for bed. My grandmother was unwell for a while and on top of a horrid bronchial bout has been receiving treatment almost every single day for a nasty spider bite. She doesn’t remember being bitten or know how it came to be, but one person or another in the family has had to ferry her to the doctor’s daily to have it tended to. It’s definitely improving, and thankfully wasn’t a particularly agonising or disabling bite! There has been a lot more going on with my grandmother and her husband, which has taken up my mind and time lately (I do like having something to do though, and like spending time with her), but I think that those issues will settle soon.
And finally, I managed to get a reserve on a BTSSB dress, Dance of the Black Cats, in this exact style and colour! I paid for it today and am very excited. I can’t wait for it to arrive, and for an opportunity to wear it! I shall wear it to the next piano recital. Speaking of piano, every time I go to practise, I find myself avoiding every piece and obsessively returning (though who out of any that know the 48 preludes and fugues would blame me?) to Bach’s C# minor fugue (BWV 849). Yesterday I had great fun analysing it and circling every instance of the subject and two counter-subjects, and it’s just such a delight to see the music “revealed” through these expositions, answers, and episodes! There is something very satisfying, wholesome, and focusing about studying, playing, and listening to counterpoint.
Yesterday we found a Baroque-style dining setting for sale online. We asked if it had been sold yet and were told it was still available, so after a few hours debating our budget and our need vs. want for it, we agreed to buy it! The seller’s mother had bought the furniture new a few decades ago and it had been cared for immaculately; I assured them it was going to a very good home. The price was fantastic and it was in perfect condition (not a scratch or dent to be seen, very smooth surface on the table, hardwood, chairs perfect and no re-upholstering needed) so Adam and I went halves and picked it up today. It looks extravagant but we could’ve easily paid a lot more for something new or modern (which is not our preference) – I’m convinced that since everything went so smoothly that it was just the right decision. We’re very pleased and it’s satisfying and encouraging to be able to slowly collect furnishings and household goods for when we can eventually have somewhere to really call our own. We’re far from rich, but we manage what we make well enough and set our sights on quality bargains (furniture, appliances, clothing, shoes, etc.) that will last us a long time. It has also been really helpful budget-wise to plan meals a few days ahead and not make so many grocery trips. Nutrition is a real priority for us these days, as is a bit of forward-thinking (with a very healthy dose of spontaneity in my case).
Also on my wishlist of wonderful things are the following DVDs, specifically for the voluptuous and handsome Yvonne Kenny. I would love to see her on stage again once or twice more, I adore her coloratura and warm voice.
Have you ever found exactly what you’re looking for, only to find out you can’t possibly have it? And nothing else will do? A few weeks ago I found these on a classifieds website, so I immediately expressed my interest to the seller. I sent a “yes, I’ll take both!” message, provided the other tentative buyer pulled out. And of course they didn’t, and I can’t find anything as good for the price. Nonetheless, I am still hunting for a Rococo or Queen Anne style dressing table. I can only afford reproductions or revival furniture, it should preferably be white, second-hand, and have room for a stool underneath.
- Oh dear, we just bought a queen four-poster bed from a friend! What a good day! I have bought and received far too many lovely things lately, and everything else is going well.
- My eating and exercise habits seem to be leaving me feeling better than ever (or at least not sluggish and unable to cope with events day after day!) which I am attributing to cutting out sugar, and most breads or carb-heavy foods. The vegetarian thing doesn’t have as much to do with it, but I’ve saved money from not buying meat and have levelled up in cooking considerably.
- Christmas Eve and Day were nice, and tomorrow I’m going to the city again with family.
- Then I’m having my Harry Potter collection photographed and sending off the pictures in an entry to a book. I’ve also just opened The Elder Wand, which is a Tumblr blog at this point.
- We’ve been playing lots of Battlefield Bad Company 2 (I’m unlocking all the sniper rifles at present, and Adam has collected about 70 dog tags since we bought the game a few days ago).
Sister Blog
Juliette at Classical Doll