MARION

I've found every other colourway of Alexander Wang's marion bag except the one that I want―beige with rose gold hardware. The perfect simple sling bag.

CALL ME A CAB

I've picked up a habit―spray painting everything fluoro yellow. 

It all started with this necklace and has now extended to flowers, fluoro flowers. I've never really had a favourite colour, yellow's always been my ma's. I'm just borrowing it for a moment, the brighter the better. 

Photos, paintings and collage by me

Model photo from sass and bide's stand & deliver collection 

'Beat Piece' poem scan from Yoko Ono's grapefruit book

SOMETHING NEW

Big love goes out to all who entered my first giveaway. I used random.org to determine a number from all the comments and a congratulations to Christie from Rebel minus a cause for being that lucky number 13!

I also wanted to introduce a new section to you, the SHOP section which you can see has joined above. If you missed your luck on the giveaway, I have hand picked a selection of beautiful leather books that are up for sale here and a couple that I have even customised with a little neon touch (which are personally my favourite, you should know by now how I like my dose of neon!) 

There are plenty more that I have for you (including all in the above image) and I'll be updating this section as new items drop in, so make sure to take a peek every now and then if you're searching for treasures.

Plot your ideas, scribble your dreams, pause for thought and record your most treasured moments..

SHOP HERE.

FLOAT AROUND

Looks like Autumn's kicked into my accessories without any intentions. My favourite season has a warm and earthy colour palette that's somewhat re occurring in all of my belongings. Here's a closer look after my little insta-peek:

Having a bag like this in almost every colourway is a sign of slight obsession. I can't help it, the embroidery, pom-poms, braided handle―it's all to much of a good thing to carry anything else.

Handmade leather diary from India (one of plenty that I purchased from here), old and everlasting reptile comme des garçons wallet, everyday mac lipstick, rustic coloured pashmina from India, chanel miroir double facettes mirror, vintage sunglasses from glebe markets, disposable camera from a dollar store for a little experiment that I'll post about soon, rind concentrate body balm from aesop laws of motion kit, iPhone 4 (I feel naked without this little thing that I always seem to leave behind somewhere!) and keys with little pandas from my visit to Hong Kong a couple of years ago.

P.S I'll be announcing the winner of the leather journal giveaway in my next post with a little something extra. Stay tuned. x


Photo and styling by me

JUST FOR YOU - GIVEAWAY

I have a little something for you. 

It's handmade, stitched with rustic charm, filled with delicate rose petal paper, embossed with intricate designs and is all the way from my travels in India.

After receiving such a great response from my instagram photo and journal entries, I thought I'd bring back a couple for family, friends, and (one lucky) you.

I'm sure I mentioned my love for beautiful blank notebooks in my very first post―but it's what you fill them with that matters the most. They evoke the best of our memories, record our thoughts and hold our most treasured moments. So here it goes, a give away for the very first time!

To enter:

1. Follow hopethislasts.com on google connect and bloglovin'.

2. Leave a comment below of your favourite quote (on life, love, travel-completely up to you!)

3. Make sure you leave your first name and email address so that I can get in touch.

Good luck!

Competition ends Sunday, 18th March 2012 at 7pm (Sydney time)

MY FAVOURITE CITY

Patchwork heaven, camel safari fun, sunset dancing in the desert, tea time (all the time), valentines day on top of the fort, rose petals sealed with love, generous amounts of sula, meeting new friends and group dinners, sunrise from our camp, wandering through jaisalmer fort, getting lost and spending for presents to bring back home.

Jaisalmer was my favourite city.

MY FLOWERS ARE YOUR CIGARETTES

Picked up some glassware today after dropping by uni, lunch at ampersand and a short afternoon of op shopping. My initial plan was to find a vintage white table for some new projects I'm working on but this seems to be a never ending hunt―finding that perfect one.

This bottle in particular is my favourite from todays thrifted finds, particularly because of the shape and green tint... and the fact that it reminds me of weird science classes. Weird.

I've grown a decent collection of old bottles now, flowers included. Preferably old.

P questioned my actions of buying flowers nearly everyday. I quite happily said...
My flowers, are your cigarettes.

He seemed to agree.


Photos by me

EN ROUTE TO THE DESERT

1. Entrance to our desert resort in Mandawa / Patchwork love.
2. An eye catching rooftop restaurant while visiting various havelis.
3. Gift cards from the children at Asha Ka Jharna (Fountain of Hope) a school we visited for kids with special education. They were the sweetest little souls.
4. Getting cosy for campfires.
5. Doorways to havelis.
6. Namaste x3. The third was the cutest.
7. Antique shopping.
8. A box full of old postcards.
9. Old dining tables.
10. Miniature painting on an old postcard that I bought from a young man selling him and his sisters artwork.
11. Dancing in an emerald green sari in Bikaner is harder than it looks.

/ 12. Stopping the bus on the way home at night to dance at an Indian wedding. (I wish I had captured this moment on film)

BACK ON TRACK

old random longsleeve / custom made leather jacket / topshop jeans / Acne pistol boots / tassel necklace from bali

Back into routine. If I even have one these days.

This jacket is my favourite piece of apparel I brought back, but then again I did stick to only buying the little things since I would have to deal with the weight on my shoulders (my backpack!) It has lost its newness since I pretty much wore it everyday while I was in India but I find it more attractive beaten up. It'll only get better with age. A little lazy dressing with the rest but those little things still make a difference―this slight pop of neon is just the way I like it. 

THE LITTLE THINGS

A couple of favourite jewels purchased on my trip.

1. Moonstone dream bottle pendant
2. Beaded bangles
3. Mala with neon tassel
4. Tikka head pieces

A LOVE STORY

The Taj Mahal: Built by Emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial for his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their fourteenth child. 

It's quite funny, you think you know the seventh wonder of the world, like you've seen it already... all the over exposure, the photographs filling up every travel agency, brochure and postcards of India, all the stories I had read and heard. I said to my boyfriend while walking past the gardens, 'it's like I've been here before.' 

But up close and personal, once I stepped foot on those marble floors, it all became new to me. Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore, described the Taj Mahal as 'a teardrop on the face of eternity' while Rudyard Kipling called it 'the embodiment of all things pure'. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. An architectural masterpiece. A lingering sadness...  A beautiful love story. 

1. Just like all the other pictures but this one's mine.

2. Looking up while pigeons fly.

3. Details: my favourite carvings and designs up close.

4. Silhouettes past the doorway entrance.

All photos by me

FIRST WEEK

1. Easier ways to re stock minus the postage costs / getting started in the art studio
2. Flip, zoom and edit of the tassel / art studio wall

Just a few photographs I snapped this week (which was my first week of an art student).

THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE

The first week of my trip to India was booked with The Golden Triangle―colourful and chaotic bazaars of Delhi, a sleeper train to Agra, the red fort, late night walks around town, love heart coffees, the seventh wonder of the world (which I'll post more photos of soon), tuk tuk rides, long bus trips to Jaipur filled with journal writing and music, fatehpur sikri, delicious vegetarian meals, the tiring walk up amber fort (which shows how unfit I really am!), snake charmers, making a wish while tying my bow at a temple, watching henna in process, admiring hawa mahal, practising my bargaining skills at johari bazaar, popcorn and a bollywood movie at raj mandir, a cold rickshaw ride through M.I road and C scheme and sleeps at a heritage hotel, bissau palace.... and that's just the beginning.

All photos by me