Daily Dishonesty

via Little White Whale

Lovely little lies from Graphic Designer, Lauren Hom.  Thanks Gloria!

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Best of… January 2013

January days ticked away quite nicely, didn’t they? Hmm, yeah.

via City Brewed

Ellie, I envy your ability to wear a hat with such swag.  In case nobody has mentioned it to you lately, you’re really something!

More girl crushing via The Sartorialist and Favorite Things

File under: how to dress like a man, without looking like a man via The Sartorialist

THAT backless maxi via Cocogroove

via Fashion Toast

Pretty ring via K come Karolina

Oh Jules! via Sincerely Jules

When a smile is part of your style via Vanessa Jackman

via TKOW

More on pinterest.  xo.

Finders Keepers

Pretty much digging the whole collection at Finders Keepers.  Sometimes a label just gets you.

Self-portraits

Creating self-portraits was one of those lazy last-minute Art class ideas on my part that ended up being a complete hit with the kids in my class.

I think the reason this was the most popular idea I’ve had so far is because younger kids are completely (and adorably) self-obsessed by nature.  Seriously.  If you ever need to entertain anyone under the age of 6, looking and talking about a bunch of personal photos will keep them occupied for hours. 

It’s also super-easy to organise: all I had to do was give out the various parts and leave the kids to the assembly.  I particularly enjoyed distributing the face templates while asking ‘What colour are you?’.  The answers (white, brown, yellow, orange…) were hilarious because of their limited colour-shade vocabulary and the absence of any kind of comprehension of racial difference.

The kids procrastinated over the placement of their googly eyes for ages and drew on their own noses and smiles, with surprisingly accurate results.  One kid drew a sad face (?).  I helped with the hairstyles to make sure we got them just right.

Rawan rocks a perfect messy top-knot like this every day. I feel like asking her mother what’s her secret, but I know that would be weird.

Anyway, I always wanted to be able to show you some of the amazing people I work with, without putting photos of them on the internet and my job on the line!  Now I can!

Banana Drawings

It was Lucy that first introduced me to the concept of drawing on a banana.  Then I discovered this site.  It’s strangely difficult to stop strolling down.

Child of the 90s

I’m a Chrome user, but I have to admit this is nicely played!

Thing #31: Have a BBQ

Let’s be clear about something here: ‘have a barbeque’ and ‘host a barbeque’ are two entirely different things.  I had a barbeque because that’s what was clearly stated on the list and by having a barbeque, I mean that I turned up at one with a shop-bought cake (the fancy kind),  played Jenga with the burger toppings and over-complimented the chef.  That’s what having a barbeque means to me.

I like to imagine I could be the host.  I like to think of myself as the type of person that should you show up at my apartment unexpected, I’d be able to greet you warmly while flicking on the kettle with one hand and taking some baked delicious thing out of the oven with the other.  I’d like to think I’d be wearing a pair of socially acceptable pants.  But some of these things we like to think about ourselves are not always real.

So I had a barbeque, compliments of some real-life hosts, Dee and Tim.  Dee always has something tasty on the stove.  Tim knows how to man a barbeque.  They just have those kind of faces that you want to see every time you’re hungry.  Together, they are a power couple, foodie-style.

This was major.  Dee and Tim live on Dubai Marina (right on it!) so we got everything set up on a balmy evening with only the prettiest of views.  Then, the food!  Everything tastes better off a barbeque-grill, right?  But I’m always most excited about the accompaniments- there was a whole trestle table full of them.  There was homemade Pimm’s and the most amazing coleslaw and even chilli (because there are no rules about what you can bring to a barbeque).  Someone brought homemade carrot cake that knocked me right off my dessert-providing high horse.  When I eventually get around to getting the recipe, I’ll be sure to pass it on to you.

Anyway, this post was sort of all over the place.  Just a little real life me coming out.  I’m okay with not being the host, and so so grateful to those more competent in that role.

€5 has been donated to UNICEF Ireland for the completion of this ‘thing’.  Click here if you too would like to donate online.

Dr. Seuss

If Dr. Seuss books were titled according to their subtexts:

You see, we can trick children into learning important life lessons by using silly illustrations and hilarious rhymes.  See the rest here.

On this note, did you know that in work, I’m not allowed to read my favourite Dr. Seuss book, Green Eggs and Ham, to the children in my class?  It’s because Islamic law forbids any reference to the P-word (pork… oops!).  It’s true!  I can, however, read another gem, Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?  Among the long list of sounds Mr. Brown has mastered, none of them appear to offend our Muslim friends.

How to be Happy

How to be as ‘appy as a ‘ippo.  Simple and true.

What shall I do?

On my to-do list this weekend: figure out my dreams and what to pursue for the rest of my life.  Wish me luck!

… and have a lovely weekend xo

Don’t forget to BE COOL!

Backstage at Rena Lange:  I loved the sign instructing models to BE COOL!  As if this crowd needed any reminder.  I’m always telling myself (and my friends) to do just this, and getting slated for it.  I think its sound advice in general, and shouldn’t be restricted to the catwalk.  I’m even considering a similar display on the inside of my front door.

p.s. The incorrect spelling of the word straight in this notice irritates me beyond reason.  It’s one of my weird pet peeves.  I can loosely tolerates mistakes like this, but seriously, if you write your instead of you’re, I can’t be held accountable for my actions.

Hotel Citta Del Mare, Sicily

Oh yes.  This exists! 

In exactly 10 weeks’ time (but who’s counting?), I’ll be watching my sister, Fiona take Damien as her lawfully wedded husband in a beautiful little church in Taormina, Sicily.  All our family can talk about right now is how excited we are.

The part about it being in Sicily makes it even more exciting.  It means that on dull Wednesdays in January, I can get all wanderlusty looking at pictures like this one.  Even though the Hotel Citta Del Mare is on the opposite side of the island, and it won’t exactly be swimming season in April, we’re still planning a brief trip to check this out.

Have you ever been to Sicily?  I’d love to hear your suggestions on what to do while I’m there.  I’ve heard The Godfather Tour is a must. 

This Bag

So, if you were to buy this Celine bag for me (let’s just say if…), I would call to your house,  I’d move in, we’d get married and that would be the end of that.

Thing #7: Stay at a 5 Star Hotel

Khalidiya Palace Resort, Abu Dhabi

My list made me do it.  That’s how I ended up in one of these fancy places I really had no business being in.  Nobody really stays at 5 star hotels on a regular basis, do they?  Not in my circles anyway.

 

Here’s why:  4 star hotels meet normal people’s requirements just fine.  Exceed them, even.

That extra star is rewarded for over-the-top things that nobody cares about.  There’s the guy who opens the taxi door for you on arrival.  The turndown service, for those of us who are too exhausted after a long day to peel back our own bed sheets.  And the  pillow menu, really?  It seems like they are trying too hard.  If 5-star hotels were people, I wouldn’t want to hang out with them at all. They’d be all clingy and uptight and obsessive and I’d just want them to chill out. I mean, I’m pretty much excited about the prospects of not making my own dinner, and that someone will be serving it to me without expecting me to ask for the recipe or offer to lend a hand with the washing up.

 

Lobby and Atrium, Khalidiya Palace, Abu Dhabi

These places also employ a ton of extra people, to the point where the staff to guest ratio borders on ridiculous.  The point, apparently, is to provide a more personalised service and attend to your every whim.  The staff greet you by name, then begin to overuse it- Of course Ms. Frayne, right away Ms. Frayne -until it becomes an irritation. What’s left to do only play their game?  So you steal an obvious glance at their name badge and come back with-That would be great Marcus, thank you so much Marcus – sounding like a pretentious idiot. 

It is the kind of setting that brings out the brat in people; the perfect backdrop for obscure requests delivered in calm, steady voices.  Maybe that only offends me because I’m a teacher, but I firmly believe you should only get exactly what you want if its a reasonable request.  Mint ice-cream with the chocolate chips removed at 5 in the morning?  Of course Ms. Frayne, right away Ms. Frayne!

I don’t have any brattish tendencies (I don’t!) and when I stayed at Khalidiya Palace, I found myself being overly thankful to people for things I didn’t really want in the first place.  It’s like that feeling when someone holds the lift doors for you but you’re still 20 metres away and you were going to take the stairs anyway, but their kindness forces you into an awkward jog of gratitude towards them.  I was in that awkward jog for a whole weekend.  You know that saying that people were ‘falling over themselves’ to help us out?  Well, that actually happened.  At one point, two members of staff literally fell over one another when both went to help us with our luggage at the exact same moment.  Can you imagine how guilty I would have felt if anyone suffered any injuries at my expense?  That’s something I don’t need to be dealing with.

No, 4 stars is just fine with me.

Private Beach, Khalidiya Palace, Abu Dhabi

€5 has been donated to UNICEF Ireland for the completion of this ‘thing’.  Click here if you too would like to donate online.