fred williams: infinite horizons

I’ve been a bit down lately. My sister is very unwell and I am feeling pretty unexcited about uni this semester. It’s funny how no matter how much you tell yourself that there is no point in wallowing about in your own self-pity, nothing seems to make a difference. I woke up on Tuesday feeling pretty miserable. I really dislike going into the city every day and my sweetie little sister is constantly in the back of my mind. I have a big break in the middle of the day, so I decided that instead of catching up on some of the homework I am already way behind on, I would hop on a tram and make my way down to Federation Square to see the Fred Williams exhibition at the NGV.

It was such a beautiful exhibition. The colours have been floating about in my head ever since. There’s something kind of therapeutic about looking at artwork. I tend to find that my favourite paintings are the ones that really draw me in and have an ability to kind of distract you from the rest of the world. I loved all of the variation in colour. Each room of the exhibition seemed to have a colour of its own – from the rich reds and oranges of the You Yangs paintings to the brilliant greens and blues of the seascapes.

I think that there’s also something really beautiful about seeing your own landscape represented in art – the landscape you have been surrounded by growing up. In general, I don’t have as great an appreciation for Australian art as I think I should. I am surrounded by the Australian bush almost every day, and it is something that is very important to me. It is lovely, and kind of refreshing, to see similar scenes depicted art.

The exhibition is on until the 5^th of August. And it is free for students! I would definitely recommend checking it out!

XXX

Napoleon: Revolution to Empire

Yesterday, I went to see the Napoleon exhibition at the National Gallery. While I wasn’t looking forward to it as much as I have looked forward to the Winter Masterpieces in previous years, it was such a great exhibition! I particularly liked the drawings from the early Australian explorations. I’ve always found early colonial drawings very interesting. The exhibition focused on the early French connections with Australia, which is not something that I had previously known a lot about. I also loved the botanical drawings from Malmaison - Josephine's garden in which she cultivated a lot of Australian plants and kept a lot of Australian animals. 

I really loved the historical aspect of the exhibition. It follows somewhat of a chronological order. The first room focuses mainly on the Ancien Régime. The exhibition then documents some of the French Revolution, moving on to Napoleon’s reign. I love the fact that it is not only art that is being displayed, but also a lot of other interesting items such as military uniforms, guns, furniture, crockery and clothing.

The exhibition is on at the NGV for a few more weeks. I’d definitely recommend checking it out!

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A Love Note to Winter

Recently, I’ve found myself dreaming about summer a little too much. Like a lot of people, I spend most of summer yearning for winter and winter looking forward to summer. I missed out on a lot of summer 2011/2012 due to being overseas.  While I did spend a couple of stinkin’ hot weeks in southern Mexico, America and the northern parts of Mexico in December and January were freakin’ freezing!

In the back of my mind, I’ve already started planning this summer – summer dresses, icy-poles, trips to the river and the beach, etc. etc. etc. Not anymore! I have made a little pact with myself to spend the rest of winter focusing on all of the indoorsy things that I really love about winter. Snuggling up on the couch with a good book, drawing, baking, doing crafty projects.

It’s so lovely to spend the day doing some drawing.

The other day we made these delicious grapefruit yoyos! They are just the same as my passionfruit melting moments, but with ruby grapefruit instead of passionfruit. So delish!

I’m currently reading this book. While I’m only about half way through, so far I am really enjoying it!

And as always, sewing is my favourite way to spend a wintery afternoon.

I'm also a bit excited to be spending the rest of today listening to this. 

Tomorrow we're heading off to another one of my favourite winter things - the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces! 

XXX

Weekly Wishlist: Pearls and Lace

I'm definitely starting to get a bit prematurely excited for warmer weather at the moment! These are a few of my current favourite pearly lacey pretties. I love these collar brooches! Such a simple way to pretty up a plain top.

1. Dahlia Lace Prom Dress  2. Asos Bunny Earrings  3. Topshop Pearl Collar Peplum Top  4. Dahlia Collar  5. Paper Orchid Cupcake Wrapper  6. Asos Collar Brooches

Sunday Stylish Lady: Jean Seberg

Weekly Wishlist: Teal

1. Topshop 2. LizHutnick 3. MaliceAlice 4. Topshop 5. Lulu's

Tuesday Treats: Tasty Asian Salad

I don't think that this salad is actually very Asian. I don't remember ever having eaten salad in Asia, so I'm not quite sure what an Asian salad is. Nonetheless, it has tofu and a very Asian dressing, so that's what I'll call it.

This salad is so delicious! There are a few naughties in the dressing, but other than that, it's a very tasty way to eat lots of healthy things.

Here's what you need:

275 grams of tofu
2 stems of celery
1 1/2 cups of chickpeas
1 carrot
1/2 capsicum
1 cucumber
1 pear
sesame seeds
4 tablespoons of tamari or soy sauce (I used tamari, but soy sauce would be fine too!)
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1 tablespoon of peanut oil
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
a little extra oil for frying

Begin by chopping your tofu into rectangles - the size is up to you. Place the tofu in a shallow dish. Cover it with two tablespoons of tamari or soy sauce. Set it aside and let it marinate.

Chop up all of the salad ingredients and put them in a large salad bowl.

Place the remainder of the tamari, sesame oil, peanut oil and brown sugar in a small bowl. Mix them well.

Heat up a fry pan on the stove and gently fry your tofu. It should be a nice golden brown on the top.

Pop your tofu on top of the salad and serve with the dressing and sesame seeds on the side.

YUMMO!