Urban foraging and flat lays

Instagram, as with social media generally, attracts a lot of criticism for various reasons (narcissism, phoneyness etc), but I love it, especially since I started my shopping ban and stopped following online fashion retailers and (most) fashion bloggers on social media.

Instead I have - I hate the word 'curated', but it fits - I have curated an Instagram feed of people who inspire me with their creativity, positivity and kindness (and also people who make me want to kidnap their adorable pets, most notably British shorthair cats and greyhounds). 

Recently I have been inspired by a few Instagrammers who create gorgeous nature and flower flatlay photos - check out Vanilla Lemon Cake and Charis in Wonderland, to name but two. I love, love, LOVE their work and decided I would have a go at doing something similar myself. 

I wasn't overly thrilled with my early efforts, but I'm happy with my progress.  

The photo above is from a few weeks ago. I picked the purple heart-shaped leaf from in front of someone's house in Richmond (it was overhanging the path). It was beautiful then and the colour and texture are still beautiful now even though the leaf is dried out. The background is printed card, not real wood. 

The photo above and those below are from today. The flower in the centre of the photo above is an everlasting daisy I picked on the trail to the summit of Mt Kosciuszko when Luke and I walked it a few years ago. The lambs' ears are from the Botanic Gardens (ssssh!) and the lavender and spiky little balls were scavenged from front gardens in South Yarra.   

Part of the fun of creating the flatlays is gathering the materials. I've turned into an urban forager, scanning footpaths, nature strips and public gardens for seed pods, gumnuts, feathers and all sorts of bits and bobs. Nearly every day I come with something I've found on my wanderings. I'm like a child, gathering little souvenirs from my travels. The acorns were collected beside the river on my walks to work (intact ones - with their little hats still on  - were surprisingly hard to find). I found the spiky chestnut burr in the middle (along with two others) when I was meandering the streets of Cremorne today. It was in a laneway just off...Chestnut Street! I would have had no idea what they were if I hadn't just started following a chestnut farm on Instagram, which was mostly only because they followed me, but it's proved useful. 

Here's the purple heart-shaped leaf from .above, all dried out (not that you can reeally tell). This collection also features dried hibiscus blooms and fallen flower buds from a laneway near my place and seed pods from the Botanic Gardens, which I first noticed because they were very crunchy underfoot. 

It's just as well I have more energy now that I have to wonder the streets looking for flatlay stuff, #verandahseats and ghost signs. 

Click here to see my Instagram pics.

Stuff what I love right now (October 2016)

My tiny garden from Morning Flowers at Melbourne Central

Here is a bunch of stuff that I am loving right now (mostly discovered on Instagram and Pinterest). 

The glorious floral paintings of Canadian artist Bobbie Burgers. I love her bright, colourful works, but I adore the darker ones like this. 

'Take this longing'

The dark and haunting work of Dutch artist and photographer Nola Limmen.  I also love this photo of the view from her desk. 

Speaking of desks, I've been pinning a lot of pictures of people's workspaces on Pinterest lately. They even have their own board. I'm not sure why I like looking at pictures of people's desks and studios, but I do.  This one (the desk of UK-based interior designer Kate Young) is one of my faves.  I love the rustic desk and black and white photo combination. I'm feeling inspired to tizzy up my desk at work a little (it currently has barely any personal touches at all). 

I have also developed a Pinterest obsession with pictures of collections of things. All sorts of things, stuff that I'm not interested in collecting myself, like Blythe dolls, vintage cameos and pocket watches, mannequin heads and glass eyes. It's more about the photos of the things, than the things themselves.  

 I think this photo is by Glenn Matsumura, 

though I can't see it on his site

Today I discovered knolling, which is the arrangement/organisation of like objects into a neat square or rectangle. I'm not entirely sure why you would do this, but I like looking at photos of it. Here are 50 photos of knolling (knolls?):

I also like this Tumblr called Things Organized Neatly.  (I wonder if I might have a streak of obsessive compulsive in me?)  Things organised neatly in rainbow colour are even better. 

I might have banned myself from shopping for shoes, clothes and accessories, but I'm still allowed to look. I love Zana Bayne's leather gear (fortunately I couldn't afford her  stuff even if I were allowed to shop).

Oversized buckle belt

Designers Guild's gorgeous fabric, wallpaper and homewares. I've just discovered they do free samples (although they don't ship to Australia, but there are ways around that). 

Pip Studio wallpaper and homewares. So pretty and colourful.  

Skulking about Richmond

I didn't go to yoga this morning because I woke up feeling very body-weary. Later in the morning I took the bus to an 11.30 appointment in Richmond because I didn't have the energy for a half-hour walk. But then I wandered for eight kilometres* around the back streets of Richmond taking photos before walking almost all the way home. 

If you saw someone in red boots skulking around between Bridge Road and Victoria Street taking photos of things on people verandahs and in their front yards, that was me. 

I posted my pics to Instagram when I got home and was amused and a little creeped out when I noticed I was being silently watched while taking a photo of chairs on someone's verandah! 

This photo is a little blurry because I rushed to get a shot of the dog while it was still sitting on the seat. 

It started wagging its tail when it saw me and I assumed it was going to come for a pat, but it got down off the seat and headed straight for the open front door! 

Some more of my photos:

 Snail lunch

 Closed up

 Love the shutters and entrance. Near Richmond West station 

 Shutters and statue

 Verandah seats, also near Richmond West station 

 As above

 Pretty garden and cottage on HighettStreet 

 Verandah bike, Lennox Street 

 Buttery yellow and blue 

Verandah couch 

 Conformity is overrated

 Verandah seat with wine glass

 Lovely lavender

 More verandah seats 

And couches

  * according to my VivoFit

A-wandering

I had an impromptu wander around my neighbourhood this afternoon on my way home from yoga and an osteopath appointment. I spotted a beautiful white magnolia tree on Park Street and stopped to take a photo and it went from there. 

 Winter dining - blankets provided

 Entrecote on Domain Road, South Yarra

 Verandah seat. Millswyn Street, I think

 Lovely row of terrace houses, also Millswyn Street

 Beautiful entranceway

 Spring is springing. Magnolias are blooming all over the place

 Verandah pot

 Wimmera Bakery, an old building on Millswyn 

Street that's now a residence

 Ghost sign - engineer and panel beater - on St Martin Place 

When life gives you lemons

 I LOVE this art deco front window on Millswyn Street

The aforementioned white magnolia, Park Street

Now that's a fence post, also Park Street

I walked about 14,000 steps and then I came home and got into bed - yoga + osteo + 14,000 steps = sore body. 

Greyhound love

The rain over the bay yesterday

I have become obsessed with greyhounds. We had a pet greyhound called Bess when I was a kid and I've long wanted to have one of my own one day, but lately I just really, really, really want one. Seeing them in the news more because of the recent ban on greyhound racing in New South Wales hasn't helped. I guess saving a squillion photos of them on Pinterest doesn't help either. Today I found a series of photos of Borys and Walter, a Bengal cat and rescue greyhound, who are best friends. It's so cute it hurts. 

Greyhounds are actually ideal dogs for apartments because they are very lazy, but we aren't allowed to have pets, and I wouldn't go and get one on the sly. One day maybe...

I love these dog portraits, and of course I like the greyhound/galgo ones the most. There's some dog breeds in there I've never heard of - like the Silken Windsprite and the Azawakh. Look how adorably gangly the Azawakh is! 

My week is half over. Yay. 

Odd fog, good hair, new blog

Weird patchy fog lingered around the city all day today. The sun was shining where I was but I had a good view of the foggy bits, like in the picture of Docklands above. It was strange but cool. I love fog. 

Zoos Victoria shared some ace photos of the fog at Werribee Open Range Zoo this morning.  

I had a good hair day today...mainly because a tiny bit of effort into making it look less like troll hair. 

My new blog, More than Enough, is live! I'm still working on tarting it up though. Day two of my shopping ban today and so far so good! 

Good timing, aerobatics, hyperbole, little pig

The corpse plant has conveniently waited until the weekend to unfurl its stinky flower after all. Hurrah! It's expected to be fully unfurled by morning, although apparently it already smells (like rotting flesh, hence its common name. Its proper name is Amorphophallus Titanum, which means 'giant misshapen phallus'!). I wonder if there will be a long queue to get into the glasshouse to see/smell it like the last time it bloomed? I hope not because I'm very impatient, but I also think it's pretty ace that so many people turn up to see a rare flower. 

The Australian Grand Prix is on this weekend. Today as part of the entertainment for those trackside, a fighter jet performed spectacular aerobatics over the circuit. We could see it and hear it from our office windows.  It was LOUD. At times it seemed as if we were higher up on the 38th floor than the jet was at the lowest point of its routine. 

You know that feeling when you read an article that perfectly expresses an opinion or feeling that you share, but haven't been able to properly articulate? How good is that? It happened to me today when I read this article about the hyperbolic language of the internet. Made me want to punch the air and yell, "Yeah!". 

Only the most bombastic and hyperbolic descriptions will now do, even if they are in jest, and it's a direct consequence of the internet, which has turned discourse's volume up so high that only the most caustic or reverential reviews will cut through the noise. Only extremes of feeling are worthy of your finite consideration, everything else is scrollable.

I love these gorgeous photos of kids and animals by Russian photographer Elena Kaneeva. I love the first one with the wee calf, number 12 with the hairy little pig and number 13 - the child's expression really makes it. I love the autumnal light in some of these shots. 

Current culinary fixations and thwarted creativity

Yarn bombing, Swanston St 

I have developed a mustard fixation. I can't get enough of it. Wholegrain and dijon, in particular.  I love it on steak. I love it on lamb and on pork. I like to dip dill pickles in it. I make salad dressings with it. I would have scoffed at the concept of a mustard sommelier not too long ago, but now I want be one. 

My other culinary fixation right now is the combination of avocado, cumin, lime juice and coriander. It's delicious and fresh and zesty. Mmmm, smashed avocado...and salad dressing...and guacamole, of course.  

Luke snoozes on the couch quite often and he looks so cute I can't resist taking photos of him. I have so many pics I could start lukenappingonthecouch.tumblr.com but for some reason he isn't as amused by this idea as I am. Don't stifle my creativity, man!

I bought the new Kitty, Daisy and Lewis album, The Third. I like it.  

New phone, flowers, tree love

Flower meadow, Birrarung Marr

I got a new phone on Sunday. I dropped my old one last week and smashed the screen, and since it's a few years old and showing signs of age, I replaced it rather than have it fixed. It's a more recent model of my old phone - I stick to what I know so I don't need to grapple with learning to use a new gadget. It's like I never even changed phones. 

It has a pretty good camera, which pleases me. I took this photo of a flower at Birrarung Marr on my way home from work on Monday.

 Buzz

I found out today the National Trust has a Register of Significant Trees in Australia, which allows you to discover unique and interesting trees near you (and further afield). There's a few in my area I didn't know about. I think I have some more trees to visit...

Clearly I am among tree lovers here in Melbourne. The City of Melbourne (my local council) has developed an urban forest map which catalogues 70,000 trees within its boundaries. Each tree was assigned an ID number and an email address as a way for the public to notify the council of damaged trees, but people have been emailing the trees with messages of appreciation and concern. And the council has been replying to them on behalf of the trees! Wonderful!

JBPM: day 22

The city disappeared today

Today was super foggy. The city was hidden when I left for work and I couldn't see the bay from my office until the afternoon, but most of the metropolitan area remained shrouded in fog all day. In fact, the fog is forecast to linger in some parts of Melbourne until tomorrow afternoon. I like fog. 

For lunch today I had a bowl of the lamb and vegetable soup from Sue Shepherd's new(ish) range of FODMAP friendly products. It was nice to have a hot meal instead of my usual lunch of sushi rolls. I can't eat onion, garlic or gluten so sushi is the easiest quick meal option for me, but it's not the ideal winter repast.  

I made the avocado and lime rice again tonight, but this time I didn't measure anything and it was even better. It's so quick and easy to make too.  

Have a look at these pictures of a gorgeous 144-year-old wisteria tree in Japan. Stunning. 

Here's a song from Norah Jones' other country band, Puss N Boots. 

Day 5: Mindfulness through photography

I had a "me too!" moment yesterday when I read an ABC News story about a new book on mindfulness through photography. Capturing Mindfulness is written by Sydney author, illustrator and public speaker Matthew Johnstone, who says buying a camera helped him to overcome years of depression. 

I went out and bought a camera, and in many ways I believe this camera saved my bacon. It was through this camera that I realised the whole concept and idea of being in the moment...Photography at the end of the day is really about stopping, it's really about seeing what's in front of us, it's really about stopping and focusing and it's about capturing that moment.

Me too! Well, in a way...Photography hasn't saved me from depression, but it has had the pleasing side effect of taking photos is that I take more notice of my surroundings. I see more. I actively look for things. My experience of my world is richer and I feel more connected to it. It gets me out of my head and into the world. Writing Gleeful contributes to this too, of course, since I need to take notice of life's little pleasures. 

Matthew Johnstone is also gets excited about being in industrial areas where there are rusty pipes and peeling paint, so we have that photographic obsession in common as well.  

I was meant to have them

I've had my eye on a pair of boots in an online shop and every now and then I check to see if they are on sale. This afternoon they were still at full price, significantly more than I would usually spend on shoes. Then five minutes after I checked, the store tweeted about their 20% off sale (I don't even follow them - it was a promoted tweet). I couldn't resist. Now they are mine. Hopefully we get a little more mild weather so I can wear them before autumn!

I'm 34

I was quite pleased today to learn that my fitness age is younger than my actual age - 34, rather than 41. That was my result when I said I exercise two to three times a week and go "all out", which I do at the gym. When I put in that I exercise at a lower level of intensity nearly every day, as I do when I walk to work, my fitness age is 38. Either way, younger than 41.    

Droopy, icy treats, little reader

Even the daisies were droopy

It was stinking hot today. It hit 40 degrees C (104 F) in the city. My boss left the office in the afternoon saying he'd be back in a little while. When he came back he had icy treats for everyone - Icypoles and Frosty Fruits. What a champion. It really hit the spot (not that it was hot in the office).  

I took a break from exercise today because of the heat...but I still walked to and from work. I was a puddle of sweat when I got home, but thankfully my flat was still relatively cool. I stood in front of the fan in my undies for about 10 minutes to cool down. 

I walked through Degraves Street on the way home and spotted this little fella in front of The Little Bookroom. 

Several people stopped to let me take the photo so they wouldn't photobomb it. It's nice when that happens.