a light bulb moment

a light bulb moment: when an idea sparks in your mind and you start seeing colour again

That's how I'd best describe my recent light bulb moment anyway. I'm really excited because for the first time in a while ideas and inspiration is flowing and I have some fun goals in the pipeline. Firstly, I've decided it's time to revamp Gloss Posse and evolve. I can reveal that soon I'll be changing the name and hope that you'll enjoy my new direction! I've been blogging on and off since January 2010 - 2 and a half years!! - and its been a great outlet for my passion of writing. 

Part of the reason why I've decided to move in a new direction is from a recent weekend away in beautiful Montville on the Sunshine Coast. I don't think I've ever need a holiday so much and being surrounded by rainforest, birds, fresh air and views over mountains out to the ocean reawakened my heart and gave me a lot of clarity. Maybe it was the decadent Maleny cheese and red wine haha but I felt so relaxed and refreshed - my creativity has been kick started again. 

Northey St Markets, Brisbane

Another aspect of my life that's evolving is embracing vegetarian food! Over the past couple of weeks I've started to make a shift into the world of eating raw organic fruit and veges and although to date I haven't cut out eating meat all together (yet) I feel the good that it's doing for my body and soul. I did my first grocery shop at the Northey St City Farmers Markets two weeks ago and snacked on raw almonds like a hippy while I filled my bag up with delicious leafy greens and vegetables. I can honestly say that I stuck to eating only veges and fruit for 4 full days (I made my poor fiance Joel say no to meat too and by the fourth night he was digging around the stir fry looking for chicken) but we really started to feel great! Then on day 5 we had a bit of meat and went on our holiday... so the vegetarian eating went out the window haha.

Chai cafe at the Northey St Markets (organic soy chai! yum)

Our fridge full of delicious and healthy food
after shopping at the market

Now I'm back on track and will head to the Northey st markets tomorrow to commit to raw food, and I'm also armed with a very inspirational book which I just ordered from the UK book depository called 'Live RAW' by Mimi Kirk. 

Mimi Kirk

Mimi Kirk is very inspirational and at 73 years of age looks amazing. A vegan for 40 years and only a Raw foodist for the last 3 years, Mimi says, "Feeling like you’re in your 20′s at 73, is quite an amazing thing. I accredit this youthful look and spirit not only to my attitude, but really to my way of eating which is a raw vegan – living foods lifestyle... so many people asking my secrets on health and longevity, I thought this was an opportunity to share my life and possibly help others to transition into eating a plant based raw food diet." 
Raw food is about eating 'living food', and to be honest it's a bit of a journey for me so I'm currently researching recipes and more on how I can improve my health and lifestyle, so that's also a hint on where my new direction is going :) It's about eating food in its most natural and freshest state, uncooked (not cooking it over 118 degrees F), unprocessed and organic. I love to cook and prepare food and plan on being as creative as possible along my raw food journey. Mimi writes, "Raw food is not "rabbit food". Raw food includes fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouts, grains, seaweed, spices, herbs, oils and sweeteners, all in combinations that excite the palate." (Live Raw, 2011 p2) So I look forward to this new lifestyle challenge and will keep you posted when my new blog begins! 


Arielle x

Portobello mushroom stuffed with basil pesto - Mimi Kirk

simple living

I don't want to get so busy that I stop creating, making, writing...

City living and uni life can creep up and cause you to forget about nurturing yourself.

This week I'm reminding myself to take time out and write, draw and stop saying "I used to..."

A. x

healthy inspiration :: yoga, fresh air, fruit & wakame

This week I've been recovering from a really bad cold. Catching up on rest gives you time to think and it's really made me appreciate being healthy! So I wanted to share some healthy inspiration; body, mind and soul. 

Apart from eating lots of healthy foods and daydreaming about the beach, I've also stumbled across Janella Purcell. In case you haven't seen or heard of her, she is a talented natropath, nutritionist and chef on 'Good Chef Bad Chef' (which I've been watching on my sick days at home) You can find out more about her on her website. What I like about her is her organic, straight-down-the-line approach to cooking and her claim to be able "to shop, cook and eat without using red or white meat, refined sugar, carbohydrates and fats, or anything artificial or processed." 

I've learnt a thing or two this week thanks to Janella, and am planning to cook a Wakame salad sometime this week! Wakame is an edible seaweed also called 'Asian Kelp'. It's packed dried and can be re-hydrated in 3 minutes in warm water. It's nutritious, highly alkaline and has lots of health benefits for your skin, hair (keeps it in and gets rid of greys), helps burn fatty tissue and is full of vitamins.

You can even buy some online here but I plan on heading to an organic supermarket. 

Stay healthy!

Arielle x

Sorbet inspired

 

I'm loving the fun and playful pastel trend that's happening in fashion at the moment. It's cheeky and girly and inspires me to buy fresh flowers, wear sorbet and gelato colours - even if it's just nail polish - and indulge in expensive delicious floral perfumes...

Images:

1:: Pastel boots

2 :: Louis Vuitton 2012 range

3 :: Edie Campbell by Mel Bles for 

Jalouse February 2012

4 :: L'Officiel Mode cover, Paris

5 :: Tati Cotliar by Raymond Meier for 

Vogue UK February 2012

6 :: Lara Stone & Kate Moss by Mario Testino 

for Love Spring 2012

7 :: Kate Spade 2012 promotion

8 + 9 :: Valentino Couture, Vogue runway 2012

10 :: Pastel nail polish

11 :: Thibaut wallpaper in Geometric blue

12 :: Anna French wall paper, Thibaut

13 :: Crisp white with neutral textures

14 :: Sterling Roses fabric by Patty Sloniger 

on Spoonflower

15 :: Spring flowers

Pinterest and pretty

In case you haven't heard about it yet, the fun and unique social media page, Pinterest has quickly become the latest online craze with an audience that triples Twitter and has grown tenfold in the last six months! (Wall Street Journal, 16/02/12) 
It's easy to see why...

I've had a Pinterest account for about eight months now, but it was only a few weeks ago that a friend of mine asked me to invite her through my account (you need to request an invitation to join) that I found myself becoming an avid 'pinner' and understand why it's grown so fast in popularity.

Pinterest is an online pin board creator that allows you to make multiple boards for anything you want - a way to catalogue your lust lists, plan a wedding, inspire yourself to travel or make vision boards for your goals. I would almost label it as 'virtual self expression tool' on a new level compared to Facebook, Twitter and Lookbook. It carries across lifestyle, fashion, design and art, using visual media eye-candy to show your style sense and interests to the world. The great thing about Pinterest is that any image you pin links back to the original photographer or person who uploaded it, so credit is given to the artist and allows for more people to discover new talent. 

(Found on my pinterest page http://www.pinterest.com/apinkpeony)

There's always the people that want to find a way to monetize it, but I think the idea behind Pinterest is to use it as way to pin interesting and beautiful finds you come across online so you can keep it as reference and check back later. It's inspiring, creative and a fun way to see new sides of your friends and what they are into.


It would be a handy tool for creatives to pin their original artwork, photography and even furniture or lighting designs with a price tag attached and a link back to their website as way to gain further exposure(Etsy users are quickly jumping into Pinterest) - and who knows - maybe your work could even become a new pop culture image that gets pinned around the world!

(Found on my pinterest page http://www.pinterest.com/apinkpeony)

If you need an invitation just send me an email: glossposse@mail.com


Arielle 

Sydney Indesign 2011 Review

In August this year I was lucky enough to make it down to Sydney for the 2011 Saturday Indesign to scout out Australia's finest suppliers and showrooms of quality interior furniture, lighting and finishes. Brisbane's Woods Bagot Interior design team and I were well prepared for the day, armed with a map of the particular places we wanted to visit as we kick-started our design-packed day at the trendy Jardan showroom in Surry Hills.

jardan :: beautiful and bright retro-styled pieces with lovely attention to detail.

great dane furniture :: sophisticated danish + scandinavian furniture and lighting. The highlight was the unique and stylish cork pendants.

spence and lyda :: more rounded peices with a retro feel

zenith :: a focus on real-time working with bright, bold colours.

schiavello :: Blurring the line between public and private spaces with the clever use of screenings and alternatives to traditional partitions

tait outdoor :: I loved Tait's outdoor furniture as they provide fun feature peices that compliment Australia's outdoor lifestyle with a modern and chic style.

euroluce :: Plenty of fabulous lighting options with the showroom cleverly styled using neon lighting installations to present their designs.

And finally, we celebrated that night in style at Stylecraft's fantastic showroom party...