ninetwelvetwentyfive

observant readers of this blog will know that the rockstar and i were born in different places.  he is a native of brasília in brazil; i am straight outta AB25, the aberdeen royal infirmary.  but then i lived in brazil as a teenager and developed a taste for brazilian street food and melissa shoes; he grew up listening to the beatles, wearing doc martens and playing in bands heavily influenced by the gang of four and siouxsie. so we have more in common than we don’t, really.

but there is one matter on which cultural differences might always remain. and that is the question of whether guaraná or irn-bru is better.

i refer, of course, to the signature soft drinks of our respective countries.

both date back to the first decade of the 20th century. both are made of exotic ingredients: guaraná from the fruit of the tree of the same name, irn-bru supposedly “from girders” (the ads said this for years, although according to the bible that is wikipedia, “though the closest one can come to substantiating this claim is the 0.002% ammonium ferric citrate listed in the ingredients”. mm, tasty). both are eye-achingly sweet.

and, above all: in their respective markets, both outsell coca-cola. now ain’t that something? i even remember hearing that scotland is the only market where something other than coke is offered as the default soft drink with your mcdonalds combo meal.

today at the ontrays emporium in petone i picked up a can of each so that the rockstar and i could perform a taste test. at first sight, the guaraná is a pale ambery colour — the irn-bru bright, bright orange. though there are many brands of guaraná available in brazil, only one ever seems to get exported, and that’s guaraná antárctica, the biggest seller of them all.

the rockstar took a generous swig of the guaraná, then a slightly more cautious one of the irn-bru. he declared the guaraná “sweeter” and the irn-bru “more bitter”. this is from a guy who routinely takes 5 sugars in his coffee. i am not sure the word bitter had ever been used in the same sentence as the word(s) irn-bru before today, so i instantly had to confirm this for myself.

guaraná is supposedly made from a fruit and the drink does taste fruity. god knows i’ve tried to pin down exactly *what* fruit. i can only come up with this: imagine a strong synthetic apple taste with an overlay of a not-acidic-at-all fake orange flavour. there’s some kind of tropicalish aroma floating around as well .. think passionfruit or mango “juice drink”. i’m not helping at all, am i? it’s sweet and yet weirdly refreshing. it goes down smoothly. on a hot day where there’s churrasco on offer, i actually prefer diet guaraná with ice to a cold beer. yum.

irn-bru is instantly brighter on the tongue with a way more intense fizz. like guaraná, the taste is instantly recognisable and practically indescribable. a mild bubble gum, maybe? not at all bitter, except if we’re talking the sour effect of carbonation, i guess. if you’re accustomed to the taste of guaraná, this is maybe a harsher drop. but as an accompaniment to a traditional scottish pudding supper it would be supreme. i tried to convince the rockstar to take a mouthful of irn-bru to wash down a bite of another great scottish institution, the tunnock’s caramel wafer. it’s amazing he didn’t fall into a diabetic coma on the spot, really.

anyway. the rockstar’s verdict: the irn-bru wasn’t horrible, but he wasn’t sure if he’d choose to drink it again (sacrilege!!). as for myself: both can co-exist happily in my culinary universe. much to my dentist’s despair.

1. mother’s day flowers from L. beautiful dragon tulips.

2. me and the baixinha

3. smoked mackerel and potato hash at floridita’s. one of my favourite things to eat.

4. fashionable water at la bella italia, petone.

5. macarons at la cloche, thorndon.

6. water at the chocolate fish cafe, shelly bay.

food, love, our daughter. this is what life has been about lately.

a short trip on good friday.  ice creams and sea air .. and L’s first look at the sea

(hokey pokey. of course. and it was delicious.)

more from our weekend to come. hope yours was delicious, too.  xoxo

sometimes the simplest things are the best.

1.  above, a perfectly simple lunch at nikau cafe in civic square.  grilled halloumi, perfectly ripe tomatoes dressed with a faint sprinkling of oregano and a goodly pinch of salt.   a squeeze of lemon, a slice of grilled bread.  damn, it was good.

2.  via the mighty boon, an important question: is moleskine going too far with their new offerings?  their iOS app certainly sounds pretty rubbish.   i used to be a die-hard moleskine devotee but lately i’ve been craving something new.  again, the key might be keeping it simple.  note to self offers elegantly designed notebooks, made in NZ and with a perfectly small range.  i’m going to order some.

3.  mondegreen is getting a lot of noise for bringing pamela love’s jewellery to NZ, but for me their dresses are the real draw.  considered, clean, lovely materials.  i can’t decide between the bambina in seal grey and the ma belle.   now that the weather is turning decidedly autumnal in wellington (read:  horizontal rain and 120kph winds the other day) sweatshirt dresses are an extremely good move.

4.  a sunny day, a walk along the waterfront with my two loves.   coke zero in a glass bottle as a treat, sitting in the shade and watching the leaves against the sky.

sorry about that little unscheduled break.  i started a full-time job which i love but has been taking a lot of my time and energy.  but i have been writing and taking photos and travelling and thinking about fashion, because that is what i *do*.  and now that i am feeling a bit more on top of things, i will be around here a bit more.

anyway. in amongst the other things i have been doing, i went to whanganui for the weekend.  i spent my school days there and still have family there.  so the rockstar and i jumped into my mg and off we drove.  we met my mum and dad there.  and we spent a very pleasant weekend eating, drinking, seeing family and having fun.

whanganui, like many small towns in new zealand, struggled a bit through the 80s and early 90s.  but now, thanks to a thriving art school, it’s a cool place to visit.  there’s enough kitsch (the huge plates of old-skool food at the brick house or charming afternoon teas at reflections cafe at virginia lake, a park around which i walked about a thousand times as a kid) and enough sophistication (the fantastic element cafe on victoria ave, where we had an excellent dinner and a truly amazing plum, blackcurrant and marzipan pie!) to keep any city-type satisfied.   there are a lot of good antique shops and a really nice hotel to stay in.  we had a lovely time.

anyway. how are you?  i’ve missed you.  it’s good to be back.  and i’ll have fashion silliness next time i post.  promise.

xoxo

as evidenced by my possibly-favourite-ever shoe manufacturer, melissa:

detail of the gorgeous box:

i have to say i am not *gagging* for the shoes themselves (although they could look pretty cute with jeans and a simple teeshirt) but the box is utterly precious.    as the company themselves says, the total concept of a brand isn’t just restricted to the product itself but to the packaging .. because that’s the first impression a consumer gets of a product’s quality and its essence.   i couldn’t agree more.

now, as for a pair of melissas that does make me go “ooh” .. check out these babies, the melissa ocean II (great heel height, right on trend, and i particularly like the bronze/gold combo, perfect for what the rockstar terms the perua rica or rich bitch look):

and then speaking of babies, well.  this link may make you die of the cute, i warn you.  but if you ever thought that vivienne westwood’s collaboration with melissa couldn’t get any better, it just has:  dame viv + melissa for kids. check it.  those miniature-sized lady dragons!  eeeeee!!

(all images from the lojamelissa blog)

the autumn/winter collections are in store, coincidentally at a time when i have (a) hardly any money to spend and (b) a need to equip myself with a slightly more corporate wardrobe than i’ve been rocking this past few years.  (i did say slightly.  there will be no navy suits for *this* bunny, unless martin margiela makes a deconstructed one).

so instead of spending actual money, i present you with things i would buy if i could, thus indulging my magpie-like eye for the sparkly and new (ooh, a shiny penny!)   here are three things i really, really want at this point in time.

exhibit one: the dress

the karen walker bunting dress.  isn’t it beautiful?  the rockstar actually picked this one out of a magazine, believe it or not.  there is something about colourful prints on a dark background that men really like, it seems.   and i like it too.  although it isn’t exactly an autumn dress, it looks so fresh among all the nude colours and ditsy florals — or big shoulders and studding — that it feels like i’ve been looking at for ever :-/   i think with a base layer, thick tights and boots, this would transition through a wellington winter just fine.

exhibit two: the accessorything

this belt harness hybrid from kate sylvester is calling me and i may have to succumb.  i love the dark brown, the raw edges of the leather, the solid hardware.   it stops it all from looking too dominatrix-y for everyday wear, which is often a problem with these harnesses, i think.  this would look equally fabulous over a blouse and skirt as it does over this divine oversized coat.   and the socks and shoes!  i die.   thinking about it, there is something a tiny bit reminiscent of an old-style girl guide uniform about it, which is probably why it appeals.   the rest of my guide uniform was pretty horbz, but i loved the belt.   wish i still had it.

(also, snaps to kate for the fabulous lipstick .. and for always, always having great gothy-post-punky music playing in her stores.   she rules.)

exhibit three:  the totally lush and rich scent

well, i ask you:  if you could smell like daphne guinness, why would you not?   according to the fabulous review on now smell this (my favourite perfume blog) daphne has notes of bitter orange, incense, saffron, rose centifolia, tunisian jasmine, tuberose, iris, patchouli, oud, amber and vanilla.   it is produced by comme des garçons, who consistently make some of the most interesting fragrances around.    i sprayed it on a card at mecca cosmetica, sniffed it joyously and put it in my bag.   for the rest of the day, every time i opened my bag i was assailed by this rich, heavy, spicy scent .. oh my gosh, just gorgeous.   i want this.   it is the kind of perfume that turns heads .. like ms guinness herself, of course.

anyway.  that’s just a little of what’s been rocking my socks.   for now, i shall lust on ..

(images from karenwalker.com, katesylvester.com, doverstreetmarket.com)

things i am really into today:

- watermelon juice.  a brazilian delicacy and best made now in NZ while the watermelon is still fairly cheap, locally grown and plentiful.  here’s my recipe:  cut a quarter watermelon into large chunks .. seeds in (you can remove the seeds if you like, of course, but brazilian healthy types believe they’re good for the circulation. and also i am lazy).  put into blender.  add filtered water until it reaches 750ml on the side of the blender.  (less water makes for a thicker juice, but it will be more like a smoothie and not so much like a suco brasileiro).   blend.   add a decent drizzle of honey (i usually add a two-count of squeezable arataki).  blend again.   pass through a sieve to get rid of the seed residue.   serve.  accept compliments.

- the men’s section in vintage stores.  i scored a wonderful men’s dress shirt yesterday at fin in newtown.  the whole front and cuffs is made of this fine honeycomb-weave cotton, and it was precisely the right size for me.  another great score:  men’s oxford bags from savemart in upper hutt.  think laterally about men’s vintage:  wide waists can be cinched, long sleeves or legs can be rolled (and in fact often look better that way).  if the fabric is good and the drape works, you will look elegant.   (yes, i need to do an outfit post.  i will, i promise.)

- wednesday nights on tv3! new zealand’s hottest home baker (grayson, i love you!  i so want you to win!) followed by project runway.  you know, i am not sure this ever made it onto the main networks in the UK .. it was always buried away on some obscure satellite channel .. so i had never seen it.   oh my god, best show ever. [edited: dayum, it's actually thursday nights! pox! but i have already set the mysky box, hehe]

- cute iphone apps! my current favourite is one called 30 kittens per second.   cute and bonkers.  and i’m kind of tempted by this.  if only because the first line of the description made me LOL, as i believe the kids are saying these days.  ”Does your iPhone need more kittens? We understand.”

by the time you read this (isn’t scheduled publishing grand?) i will be on a plane on the way to brazil.  i don’t think i will be taking these shoes, as they are not quite brazil-style, really.  brazil does not encourage dressing like a parisian schoolgirl, in thick black tights and short black skirts;  it is more colourful, more fluid, more relaxed.

things i am looking forward to, in no particular order:

• watermelon smoothies, made with ice and a dash of sweetener
• shopping for melissa shoes, possibly several pairs
• sun-warmed skin, hair going lighter at the ends
• seeing the rockstar in his natural habitat (heh)
• showing my parents around my adopted home (well, one of them) and watching them fall in love with it just like i did
• learning how to cook more brazilian dishes, with a view to a possible project (!!! very exciting)
• seeing my friends!  gorgeous television presenter friend, dashing superstar lecturer friend, hopefully even the bbcbrasil posse at our favourite rio-style bar in são paulo (yeah, i know, contradiction much?)
• seeing my brazilian family!  gosh, i’ve missed them so much
• just being in brazil, the one place on this beautiful blue planet where i feel properly at ease ..
• .. with the rockstar, the one person who could make it even more special.

oh me, oh my.  it’s like the two halves of my life .. the dislocation between which has caused me so much disquiet .. are finally coming together and becoming one.  it’s the strangest and yet the most natural thing.

anyway.  posts will be forthcoming, just as soon as i figure out a good place to post *from*.  there is a lot i want to say about brazilian fashion, about globalisation of style and how brazil seems to firmly resist it .. and, of course, about my beloved melissa shoes.  i’m already dead keen to buy a pair of the vivienne westwood lady dragons .. because, well, come *on*, i resisted when i was in rio in april and i’ve regretted it many times since .. but would i be brave enough to buy the scent?  we shall see .. xoxo

because my dear darling chuck taylors are pretty old and full of holes, and they let in water.  where i am going (brasília, in a week, in the rainy season) that ain’t good.

okay, so they’re not a brand new pair of loubs (stifles yawn) or a funky pair of vintage somethings.  but i tell you what: these bright green kicks make me very happy when i look at my feet.  and you can’t ask for more than that from a shoe, really.

(blazer stella mccartney for h&m, old and much loved; t-shirt that says “j’aime paris”, lazy oaf;  goat’s skull necklace, comfort station;  jeans, uniqlo;  shoes, chucks.  of course.)

this used to be my uniform, this outfit: jeans, chucks or high heels, t-shirt, blazer.  i used to wear it, or a variation of it, a lot.  it’s kind of perfect in some ways:  easy to throw together, comfortable, funky but a little bit smart (that’d be the stella).  work-wise, it was suitable for all but the most formal of situations.   it became my signature.

i’ve diversified a bit since then. a desire to push boundaries has come upon me, a desire to break out of the cliches we build for ourselves.  a new-found confidence makes me realise i don’t give a toss if people stare .. in fact, that harry winston quote about how people will stare and we should make it worth their while .. i’ve taken that a bit more to heart.   i no longer want to dress safe.  right now, i’m the happiest i’ve ever been in my life and that’s showing in how i put myself together.  every day is a new adventure and every time i open my wardrobe i feel inspired to create something new.

regardless.  some days, jeans-blazer-good-shoes is all i want to wear.  and today in wellington, it felt right.  the rockstar said i looked “very cosmopolitan”.  pois é.

anyway.  happy weekend, y’all.  i shall be spending mine going to a friend’s gig, the farmers’ market, possibly the new dowse gallery .. and prowling around wellington in my new green shoes