LifeStories

LifeStories: Who is Sia?

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Australian singer/songwriter Sia has been around for a long time, but I had never really heard of her until her intriguing performance on this year’s The Voice UK, during which her face was obscured by a bizarre long wig that looked like a modern reworking of a 1970’s lampshade. Who the heck is this? I thought, whilst being slightly mesmerised by her haunting vocals and electro-pop sound.

A quick search on Wikipedia revealed some interesting snippets – her music incorporates hip hop, funk and soul; in 2014, she was ranked the 97th richest Australian person under the age of 40 by BRW magazine; she is the niece of Colin Hay from Australian group Men at Work; and she performed as a background vocalist for Jamiroquai. Recently Sia has written hits for Rihanna (Diamonds) and Beyonce (Pretty Hurts), as well as for Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Kylie Minogue, Christina Aguilera, and Rita Ora. Continue reading LifeStories: Who is Sia? →

DIY & Craft

Lazy Sunday Side Table Upcycle

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Hello! You know when you want to do something useful and creative but you have that lazy Sunday feeling? Here’a an easy 20 minute project to make something pretty with minimal effort.

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I bought this little folding mid-century modern side table at a charity furniture store in Byker, Newcastle (note to British readers – yes, that Byker). At £4, it was a bargain, and I thought it would come in handy for occasional use.

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This morning I thought it could use a little makeover, but nothing which would detract from it’s simplicity and clean lines. Then I remembered I still had a small amount of paint left over from my copper spray paint superhero post, so I decided to paint the bottom third of the legs as if they had been dipped in copper (Rustoleum Painters Touch in copper, £4.99).

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Do Good & Be Inspired

I’ve been nominated for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers award!

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Thank you so much to Orbb’s Fashion for the nomination, awesome, so grateful! (and sorry it took me a while to do this post). Please check out her lovely fashion blog, which features themed picks across a range of clothing stores, often focussing on affordable ranges for those of us who might be a bit skint! My current favourite is Youthful Exuberance – loving the blue suede boots and heart shaped pastel sunglasses!

sisterhood1 Continue reading I’ve been nominated for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers award! →

Health & Beauty

Coconut Oil Skin Saviour

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I’ve been hearing about the benefits of coconut oil for a while now, but in true Eclectic Feel fashion, hearing about how good things are frequently stirs up a natural resistance to trying them. Aah, teenage rebellion, alive and kicking and still happy to cut my nose off to spite my face.

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I’ve suffered from mild psoriaisis on and off for most of my life, but until recently it’s been pretty much under control. A hideous bout of work-related stress, an eyeball-dessicating office environment as hot and dry as a well-burnt pop tart, and the vitamin D drought that is the British winter have recently combined in a bad flare up. There is no cure for psoriaisis, and the only really effective treatment involves applying a topical cream which feels akin to sulphuric acid and renders me to tears and the kind of contorted postures last seen in Pompeii. Continue reading Coconut Oil Skin Saviour →

Travel

The House of Tomatoes

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Hello! If you’re feeling a bit bleugh because it’s Monday morning tomorrow and work awaits, then let me me introduce you to my blog friend Jessie over at A World named Jessie. As a collector of all things eclectic and unusual, when I stumbled across Jessie’s blog I felt like I had discovered a kindred spirit of the blog world. Always different, her take on life is both cynical and uplifting at the same time; quirky, strange and always interesting; artistic and frequently hilarious. “The House of Tomatoes” made me laugh so much – it’s my all-time favourite blog post. Thanks Jessie, keep it up, we need more strange!

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Finally, after 20 years, I stopped. At the side of the road with the red flapping Coca-Cola umbrella, motherly nurturing within her shaded midriff, a couple dozen sacks of tomatoes. Alongside a bucket, cradling a few lengthy cucumbers, adorned with relevant tomato clip-art, a sticker, ‘The House of Tomatoes’.

A wall light, well worn, seemed to be taking place of an assistance bell. Before I saw this button, admiring the stand and its contents provided relief. After all these years, passing this stall, I’d finally stopped and given into a lifetime of curiosity. But once I had laid eyes on the button, the stall turned from initial enchantment to horror story.

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Art & Photography

Colour me Friday: Faded Flamingo

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Chris Schoonover is a photographer and art director from New Jersey. He became interested in photography via Instagram, got his first camera in 2013 and started taking it everywhere with him, with incredible results. For me, many of his pictures have that Las Vegas faded-beauty-hit-on-hard-times feel about them which I so love, and puts me in mind of Lana Del Rey and The Killers. Chris has described his work as “a photo journalistic style where the subject is interacting with their environment. My style is always changing, and growing with me. The common thread would be that each image seems to tell a story, and that story is really up to the viewers’ imagination”. You can check out (and buy) Chris’s work at http://society6.com/cschoonover.

Continue reading Colour me Friday: Faded Flamingo →

Do Good & Be Inspired

Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream Recipe

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Just wanted to share this yummy and healthy recipe with you, thanks to Sincerely Aimee – wish I could eat this right now after a long day at work!

Fashion

Everything I learnt about fashion, I learnt from 80’s Dallas

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Hold on to your (cowboy) hats, because I’m about to (not quite scientifically) prove to you that, 24 years after it ended, Dallas is still influencing fashion in a major way. When I was growing up in the 80s, Dallas was compulsory viewing in our house. Yes, I do mean compulsory. Whatever was going on, my mum had a rule that it all stopped for Dallas – homework, chores, sibling squabbles, even if it was actually past our bedtimes – every Wednesday night, my mum, stepdad (begrudgingly), me, my five brothers and sisters and Sloopy the dog would race in to the living room, leap onto our alloted (and fiercely fought for) beanbags and faux-black-leather-and-chrome sofa spaces, and await with baited breath for the answers to last week’s cliffhanger. Continue reading Everything I learnt about fashion, I learnt from 80’s Dallas →

Home & Design

Five Bold Wallpaper Choices

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Fortune favours the brave – and after years of dreaming and working, we are in the final stages of buying a beautiful house. Bizarrely, the two things which I seem to be excited about at the moment are 1) the round, glass-topped, 1970s coffee table I have stored in the attic (which I salvaged from our former MD’s office when my company moved buildings); now it can finally have a suitable home of it’s own (open plan kitchen/diner/living room + small separate lounge = two coffee tables needed, yay!). 2) I can finally have the downstairs loo of my dreams – by which I mean dark, dramatic wallpaper (funny thing to aspire to, I know – but hey, read the title of my blog). Hmm, which to choose? All advice welcome 🙂

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Sanderson – Vintage Swallows, £34.74
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Little Greene – Fern, £66.50
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Abigail Ahern – Genuine Fake Bookcase, £185
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House of Hackney – Palmeral Midnight Azure, £148
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Little Greene – Pines, £66.50

Do Good & Be Inspired

Behind The Blog…. featuring Jo from Eclectic Feel

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Today I am very proud and excited to be featured on “behind the blog” over on Confetti and Curves. For those of you who haven’t come across Karen and her blog before, she is literally one of the most amazing, supportive and inspirational bloggers out there. Thanks Karen! Jo x

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Eclectic Feel

Hey Beauty Buddies,

I hope you’re all settled snugly with your usual hot toddy in hand ready for another fun filled Behind The Blog? If not get that kettle flicked and curl up in your comfiest chair for a quick meet & greet of yet another awesome blogger!

As always, if you’re new to Confetti & Curves (friendly wave) and not entirely sure what this virtual shenanigans is all about *click here* to bring yourself up to speed – you may even find yourself getting involved. Why the heck not?!

So today we have the deliciously diverse Jo from her mighty blog Eclectic Feel joining us. If you haven’t already stopped by her sizeable slice of the interweb then get yourself over pronto peeps, she really is a blogging gem.

Jo is the proud parent of one of the most varied blogs I’ve stumbled across since launching Confetti & Curves… when I say there’s…

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"In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different" – Coco Chanel