Jar of Hearts

There have been a handful of purchases from my Etsy shop and I'm incredibly thankful and grateful for the love. This duo is heading to Victoria tomorrow :)

Gentle Blossoms @ Etsy.com

I haven't painted since returning to full time work in June and am feeling quite guilty about that. I have however been getting back to playing the piano, so technically, I'm still being creative. And when I'm being creative, I'm happy *beam*

For most, a car would be their first big purchase. I always knew that I wanted to spend my first pay cheque on a piano, a baby grand, to be specific. When the time came, I couldn't justify spending big on a baby grand, and it wouldn't fit in the tiny unit I was renting anyway. I came across an Alex Steinbach, loved its sound, its shape, the glossy black; signed up for a 5-year repayment plan... and yes, I spent those years without a car :)

I've been hearing plenty of Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri on the radio and wanted do a cover of it. I love the energy, strength and raw emotion in the song, it's the kind of song that grabs at my heart and soul when I play it on the piano. Oh and I totally love the desaturated music video. 

I use piano notes and guitar tabs as a guide only, as I'm too impatient to read piano scores and play them exactly as they're written. No two songs I play are ever exactly the same as I make the notes up as I go along. I let my fingers do the talking and I get to surprise myself every time! So here's my take on the song, complete with slip ups.
Because there is nothing wrong with imperfection. 

♥

Sunday morning

Rain, please don't stop, I want to lie in bed, be drenched in your embrace and drown in your singing...

How glorious it is to have the luxury to sleep in on a rainy Sunday morning. 

Reminds me of being in the most comfortable bed ever, when I was housesitting not too long ago. I'll always remember being engulfed by layers of warmth as I listen to raindrops and the quiet breathing of the best little dog I've ever met.

And here's a little song for this gorgeous Sunday morning. My first piano recording, bearing in mind that I haven't played the piano in about a year and I'm not a singer!

♥

Happy sky

Dear Winter,

I'm so glad that you're back to your gorgeous self today :)

Over the past few weeks, you've blown my fence over (again) and threw hailstones at my car (yes, again). I also appreciate that you've surprised me with a pretty water feature, though I wish that you didn't put it inside my house.

But I forgive you.

Today, you've hugged me with sunshine and blue skies and I'm happier than I've been in a while.

Thank you. You're awesome.

Love,

Chinwei

♥

Morning on the beach

So I'm housesitting and totally loving it. The guest bed is a lush cloud so a little sleep-in is a must on this gorgeous Sunday morning. 

I hop out of bed only because I'm ravenous and have been looking forward to breakfast at John Street Cafe in Cottesloe. After the vegetarian lot and a coffee, I head down the street towards the beach.

John St

Cottesloe beach

It's super sunny and it's really comforting in that sense, but I have to remind myself that it is the middle of winter and I hug myself against the chill as I stroll towards the groyne. I sit on the rocks for a while and stare at the blue green ocean and there's no where else I'd rather be. 

Seagulls swoosh past, waves crash around me and 2 dolphins swim past.

Taking the scenic route back to the car, I revel in the sand squishing between my toes and manage to get seaweed on my jeans. Good look :)

obligatory footprint shot

Vitamin D and happiness levels are back up and I think I'm ready for the working week ahead.

♥

Pinterested!

There is beauty in everything if you'll only stop for a moment to notice it. I love love love looking at photographs, exploring spaces, admiring landscapes, listening to nature, running my fingers over textures, picking up trinkets, smelling roses...just taking it all in and hoping to imprint it all in my brain.

I've bookmarked Pinterest as one of my go-to sites for my daily dose of beautiful and am really happy to find a couple of my paintings on it :)

Water Dandy on Etsy

Blanketed on Etsy

I always see something on Pinterest that makes my heart skip a beat. Here are some of my favourites from browsing today:

Source: vintagethorns.tumblr.com via Erin on Pinterest

Source: mycolorfashion.com via francyface on Pinterest

Source: core77.com via Joshua on Pinterest

Source: oldbrandnew.blogspot.com via Tory on Pinterest

♥

Piggy

Today was grey, rainy and dreary, perfect for a warming brunch, followed by a trip to a new-found creative space. I whipped out the piggy scarf for a bit of playfulness :)

Scarf: Ebay
Top: Supre

I love brekky/brunch at That Little Mexican Place. Today I had cafe de olla, churros con chocolate, some chorizo, and finished off with jalapenos rellenos. 

tasted amazing. apologies re grainy mobile pics

The coffee is sweetened and steamed milk is available on the side, cute! The churros come with 3 dipping sauces...strawberry, caramel and chocolate...my favourite was strawberry (surprisingly) and I licked that clean ;) Jalapenos for breakfast? I'm a chili freak, chili freak, chilly freaky *to the tune of Super Freak*.

Then a visit to Venn, a shop + cafe & bar + gallery + studio.

This used to be an old factory, so naturally, I'm in love with the combination of brick walls, steel beams, wooden floorboards and concrete. 

Industrial architecture genius:
The shop area is slightly raised and features an expansive glass wall
Up some wooden stairs, a gallery where exhibitions are held
Glass panels provide a glimpse of studios on the lower level
Down the back, a bar and cafe with access to the roof terrace

The shop is filled with the interesting and innovative. Many goodies pulled at my heartstrings but I couldn't justify letting go of my purse strings.

hardly a winter-appropriate drink :)

The bar and cafe is grey and modern, yet had a nice amount of warmth. 

And even though I could only peer into the artist studios, it was oozing creative energy and I hope that some of it rubbed off on me :) 

♥

Pamper sesh

I purchased a discount voucher for a hair pamper pack at Element Aveda Concept in Subiaco and have been looking forward to it since making my appointment in January. My hair is in bad shape and today couldn't come soon enough.

At the salon, my session started with a Blue Oil head and shoulder massage. The scent from the oil was completely unexpected; it was an instant pick me up and the massage melted the week's stresses away. Glorious.

Next, hair colour. I wanted a warm yummy chocolatey colour for winter so on it went. Half an hour later, I plonked myself on the shampoo chair. Well it was more like a massaging lounge chair, I was nearly reclining and didn't have to crank my neck back very much at all. Here's the best bit...the scalp conditioning treatment/massage went on for what seemed like forEVER. Bliss.
By then I realised that my parking ticket would expire before I'm done here...well I thought that allowing for 2 hours was plenty. Anyway, I was having too much fun to worry about that. My hair was swiftly and expertly cut (I got my fringe back, yay!) and I had a hand massage at the end of that. Incredible.

blurry shine

Today, sitting in front of a mirror for nearly 3 hours, I realised that I no longer give myself grief over my imperfections and flaws, perceived or otherwise. I still whinge about them but instead of wishing that they weren't this or that, I now tell myself that sure, it sucks balls but it could be way worse. As my makeup was touched up at the end of the session, I say a little thank you for concealer and bright lipstick :)

I stepped out onto the stylish streets of Subi and lap up the winter sun. Man I love Perth winters!

oh hi there, parking fine.

meh.

♥