lily putts

I seem to have a rather persistent problem when it comes to packing a suitcase and that is I completely overpack.  Every single time I just can't help myself and the worst thing of all is that my carry-on luggage could be compared to everything 20 people would need for a 2 week holiday.  It is just ridiculous. 

However, after hauling my usual 10 tonnes of so-called 'I can't live without' luggage on a 20 hour flight from Brisbane to New York a few days I ago it was quite humorous to read an article by Amanda Fortini in the New York Times this morning in which she proclaims her obsession with the overpack too. 

I was comforted by the fact that she too has packing anxiety and as her friend kindly puts it - 'It's like you're traveling by ocean liner.  Will you be accompanied by a porter?'  I WISH I could be accompanied by a porter.  Usually my husband is around and has in the past helped me lug large seashells in my carry-on luggage from Hawaii and cushion covers, mirrors and a painting from LA but this time it is just me and my carry-on and let me tell you it is exhausting running for a connecting flight with 3 heavy bags.  I have vowed and declared that on our return flight next week I will only be bringing 1 bag into the cabin with me and the rest will be checked in.  It will be interesting to see how I go.

Notes:

• New Line/Warner Bros.' Anthony Hopkins exorcism pic The Rite opened on the lower end of expectations, but still won the weekend box office race with an estimated gross of $15 million.
• Last week's #1, Paramount and Spyglass' No Strings Attached, held better than expected. The romantic comedy came in #2 while grossing an estimated $13.7 million -- and now has a cumulative total of $39.7 million in its first 10 days.
• CBS Films' action remake The Mechanic, the weekend's other new entry, tied with Sony holdover The Green Hornet for #3 -- each grossing $11.5 million.
• For award favorites, Oscar nominations resulted in a definite box office bump, led by the Weinstein Co.'s The King's Speech, which jumped the $70 million mark domestically and came in #5.
• Paramount's True Grit (#6) showed a zero decline from the previous weekend, unusual for a film well into its run. The Western, receiving 10 Oscar nods, grossed an estimated $7.6 million for a cume of $148.4 million.
• Coming in at #8, Fox Searchlight's awards front-runner Black Swan was down only 13% from the previous weekend to jump the $90 million mark on its way to $100 million.
• Paramount's The Fighter also benefited from its top Oscar nods, coming in #9 and dipping just 5% from the previous weekend. The film grossed an estimated $4.1 million for a cume of $78.4 million.
• Across the board, the box office was hurt Friday by yet another storm in the Northeast. But business rebounded on Saturday and doesn't have any football to compete with today. While box office revenues were down 13-15% over the same period last year, it's a narrower decline than recent weekends.
• All figures are industry estimates. Final weekend figures will be released on Monday.
• Reviews of True Grit, Black Swan and other movies not in the top 10 can be found by clicking on the Film Reviews archive icon at left.
• Sources: Hollywood.com, Hollywood Reporter
  

Today I collected together a little group of mismatched, brightly coloured fabrics for some cushions for a client's sofa.  I never tire of putting different fabric combinations together and I always try to make sure each client has a different combination so as to keep their look unique to them.  Lately I have been so inspired by fashion and the combinations of different fabrics fashion designers have been using in one outfit.  I love the way Easton Pearson mixes fabrics and incorporates beading, frilling and special details in their designs.  The top image is actually a collection of Easton Pearson dresses from 2008.  I like the colour combination used in those 4 dresses and would love to create a room scheme using this image as inspiration.

image 1 - jane roarty stylist

Monday = Free Music Day!
Here's the latest list:

• Compliments of SPIN Magazine comes 16 tracks from its "Best of 2010" issue. Click here to download via iTunes. Offer expires next Monday, January 31.
• Also from SPIN, download a mix tape featuring one song from each of the albums the magazine deemed the "10 Best Albums You Might Have Missed in 2010." Click here.
• Timbaland has kicked off Timbaland Thursdays on his site -- offering up a free download each week. Click here to get the latest -- "Take Ur Clothes Off" (with Missy Elliott) and "Round Da Way Tim."
• Click here (or the image above) to download "Don't Shut 'Em Down," the first single off the forthcoming studio album from Flogging Molly.
  
• Smashing Pumpkins now has eight free downloads on its site --with the latest being "The Fellowship." Download them all here.

Want more free downloads? Well, don't forget to continually check the following sources -- new songs covering all genres are added frequently. Just click on the links below and enjoy some new tunes.

• AbsolutePunk
• Amazon singles
  
• Amazon albums
• The BoomBox
• eMusic
• Fuse.tv
• Guvera
  
• KickKickSnare
• MTV
  
• Spinner
• Stereogum
• VolumeVote
• YNot Radio
  
• Walmart

Notes:

• Paramount’s Natalie Portman/Ashton Kutcher R-rated romantic comedy No Strings Attached topped the weekend box office with a solid $20.3 million start -- on the higher end of expectations. The film obviously overcame mostly weak reviews with good word-of-mouth by a mostly female audience.
  
• No Strings Attached proved a strong return for Ivan Reitman in the director’s chair. The $20.3 million opening beat the debuts of recent R-rated comedy hits I Love You, Man ($17.8 million) and Forgetting Sarah Marshall ($17.7 million).
• Meanwhile, Portman is the darling of the box office -- with two films in the top ten. Fox Searchlight’s Black Swan is still doing strong business, coming in #6 for the weekend. Portman won the Golden Globe for best actress in a drama for her role in the psychological thriller. Jeff Bridges shares the two-fer feat -- starring in #5 True Grit and #10 Tron: Legacy.
  
• Sony’s 3D The Green Hornet came in #2 in its second weekend, declining a respectable 46% to an estimated $18.1 million -- and a domestic cume of $63.4 million.
• Colin Firth’s Golden Globe win a week ago for best actor in a drama likely boosted The King’s Speech, coming in #4 for the weekend. On Saturday, the filmed scored a surprise upset over The Social Network in winning the top award from the Producers Guild of America.
• On the downside is the 11th consecutive down weekend vs. last year with the ghost of Avatar looming large and making comparisons tough.
• The specialized fare of The King's Speech, True Grit and Black Swan should continue to do well next weekend -- not only because of good reviews, but due to the Oscar nominations they should garner come Tuesday morning.
  
• All figures are industry estimates. Final weekend figures will be released on Monday.
• Reviews of True Grit, Black Swan and other movies not in the top 10 can be found by clicking on the Film Reviews archive icon at left.
• Sources: Hollywood.com, Hollywood Reporter
  

I have been searching for the perfect blue and white tiles for a wall above a bench in our kitchen and I have found them.  Patchwork blue and white tiles....could there be anything more beautiful than this?! And they have used brass taps which I love.  A huge thank you to  my blogging friend Emily for posting about these.

I thought I would collect together a few little items I absolutely love which were sitting on my desk today.  Obviously fluoro pink is currently a favourite hue.  I must say it is hard to get things in fluoro pink so whenever I see anything in the colour I grab it including the fluoro pink envelopes, the fluoro papermate pens I recently found at our local newsagent and a little snippet of boucle fabric with fluoro pink, fluoro green and fluoro yellow threads running through it.  We also just received a new collection of vintage suzani textiles  in the shop today and this one above is my absolute favourite!

These pretty pictures which I spotted in my picture file on my laptop today inspire me.  The colours, the floral wallpaper, the ruffling tulle...

It's really hard to come back and post about the mundane things I post about here on my blog after our city and surrounding areas have been through the worst natural disaster in over 30 years.  I have been stalling and not really wanting to post about anything. 

I have been out to some of the worst affected areas and I have helped in my own small way.  It is really awful and probably worse than you can imagine.  I feel guilty because we weren't flooded.  I feel sad and absolutely scared for the people who have lost everything.  The elderly couple I met on the weekend have lost everything and it is just so hard to imagine how they will get over this.  I think it is the elderly I feel most sadness for as the young ones have time and the ability to recover but the elderly don't. 

Everyone I know has in some way given to those affected.  I am proud to be a Queeslander and I am proud to be part of such a caring, giving and generous community of people.  This week I will be posting about some of the wonderful ways we can help via donating to certain charities as I have been asked by so many of you living interstate and overseas.

It is time to move on, help rebuild our city and our neighbour's lives.  It will be very hard but with the response we've seen in the last few days, I think we have it in us to do great things.  I for one will do everything I can to help this week, next week and the coming months which lie ahead.

image - leanne shapton artist

Notes:

• Sony's 3D The Green Hornet grossed an estimated $34 million over the weekend to nab the second-best opening ever for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Sony estimates the superhero pic will gross $40.5 million through Monday.
• The only other film to gross more over the long King holiday weekend was Paramount's 2008 Cloverfield, which earned $40.1 million for the three days and $46.1 million for the four days. Hornet also is the third-highest January opener after Cloverfield and a reissue of Star Wars.
• Ron Howard's Vince Vaughn/Kevin James comedy The Dilemma, from Universal, got off to a rough start due to bad reviews -- grossing an estimated $17.4 million through Sunday. Good enough for the #2 spot, but far lower than the usual opening for a Vaughn or James comedy.
• The bright spot continued to be specialized fare -- as The King's Speech, True Grit and Black Swan continue to do well -- thanks to good reviews.
  
• It is important to note that The Green Hornet came in on the lower end of expectations -- possibly due to poor reviews. The film couldn't help reverse a troubling downturn at the domestic box office for studio popcorn titles. Overall revenues for the weekend were down at least 25% from last year, as well as being the lowest since 2007.
  
• All figures are industry estimates. Final weekend figures will be released on Monday.
• Reviews of True Grit, Black Swan and other movies not in the top 10 can be found by clicking on the Film Reviews archive icon at left.
• Sources: Hollywood.com, Hollywood Reporter
  

Brisbane residents have been fleeing their homes today and the levels are supposed to rise even further...it is incomprehensible.  Look there's the popular keep calm poster in the canoe.  It couldn't be more appropriate.  My brother has been helping sandbag properties all day.   We ave friends whose houses and businesses are underwater.  My cousin's fiance just emailed me a picture of Black & Spiro and it is absolutely fine {we are on a hill thank goodness} and there was even a lady windowshopping!  Crazy!!!

Stay safe.

xx
Anna

Anyone who knows me is completely aware of the fact that I can be quite disorganised and very forgetful.  I blame it on too much to do and not enough hours to get everything done when really there is no excuse.  So, I have made a promise to myself over the holidays and that is...I AM GOING TO GET MYSELF ORGANISED!  I headed out today and found this great book {at Kikki-K} and a few other essentials which are going to help me.  After watching the news tonight, I think I am safest here at home getting myself sorted and away from all the horrible things this relentless rain is doing to our State.

image 1 - fulvia farolfi's hamptons home photographed by the selby

Notes:

• Paramount and Skydance Prods.' True Grit wrestled the weekend box office crown from Universal's Little Fockers for the first time, grossing an estimated $15 million and upping its overall take to $110.4 million.
• True Grit and #2 Little Fockers (with $13.8 million) had no trouble beating Relativity Media newcomer Season of the Witch. The Nicholas Cage-starrer came in #3 with an estimated debut of $10.7 million.
• Sony/Screen Gems' new nationwide entry starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Country Strong, grossed an estimated $7.3 million to come in #6 as it expanded from a limited two-city run.
  
• It was a slow weekend overall compared to the same time frame a year ago, when Avatar lit up the domestic box office with a $50 million gross. Revenues this year were down a whopping 30%.
• All figures are industry estimates. Final weekend figures will be released on Monday.
• Reviews of True Grit, Black Swan and other movies not in the top 10 can be found by clicking on the Film Reviews archive icon at left.
• Sources: Hollywood.com, Hollywood Reporter
  

Collecting shells on the beach is a tradition children remember forever.

25 years ago Topsy, my cousin’s grandmother, would walk along the beach in front of their family beach house at South Golden Beach with my cousins and they would collect shells. Topsy has since passed away however, when the family sold the beach house, my cousin Ben kept some of the shells they had collected over the years. They now sit in a bowl on his coffee table in his beach house which he recently built 2 streets away from his grandparents old beach house.  I am sure everytime he and his brothers look at those shells, they are reminded of those special times with their grandmother on South Golden Beach.  Ben will no doubt continue this shell collecting tradition with his own children one day. 

I have photographed the shells as above.

I believe in Tradition. I believe in following the thoughts and actions passed down to me from the older generations in my family. I live my life based on the things my family has taught me and I hope my boys will inherit this same way of life.

Over the holidays I've had so much spare time to think about what is most important in my life and every time it comes back to my family and the way we live and have lived since I was a little girl.

So, this year I am going to talk more about tradition here on ABT. I am going to post a series called A Family Tradition. I hope it inspires you to think about the traditions and beliefs your family has instilled in you and maybe, if those traditions have been forgotten about, you might be encouraged to re-instate them.  Or maybe you might be inspired to establish some new tradtions for your family to embrace.



Happy 2011! Here are the first free downloads of the New Year -- which are actually some leftovers from late in 2010:

• Head over to Facebook here to download "What the Hell" from Avril Lavigne.
• Click here for 10 live tracks from Trey Anastasio and the Scorchio Quartet. The set from the Phish frontman was recorded last November in Richardson Auditorium at Princeton University.
• Compliments of NPR comes The Best New Music of 2010. Download the 12 songs via iTunes here. Free offer expires February 28.
• The Winter 2011 edition of the Landmark Digital Sampler is now out. Download 11 tunes here.
• And sure, Christmas is over and you're so over the music. But if you like Country, you may want to download 8 holiday tunes from People Magazine -- and save for NEXT Christmas. Top stars Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts are included in the mix. Download here via iTunes. Offer expires this Friday.
  

Want more free downloads? Well, don't forget to continually check the following sources -- new songs covering all genres are added frequently. Just click on the links below and enjoy some new tunes.

• AbsolutePunk
• Amazon singles
  
• Amazon albums
• The BoomBox
• eMusic
• Fuse.tv
• Guvera
  
• KickKickSnare
• MTV
  
• Spinner
• Stereogum
• VolumeVote
• YNot Radio
  
• Walmart