holy vampiros!

i LOVE this poster for cuban animated film ¡Vampiros en La Habana! from the Sydney home of Maria & Eduardo of villa + villa spotted via the brilliant design files.  HOW have i never heard of this film before - according to the imdb blurb its the tale of a scientist who invents a potion that allows vampires to be able to live in daylight and when all the vampires of the world find out they fly to Cuba to gain control of the potion. what ensues is a battle between american and european vampires.  the main character is a trumpet player (the scientist's nephew) that holds the formula for the elixir and from the clip i found on youtube - he seems to be able to use his trumpet to disrobe large breasted women and get them into bed!! hot stuff.  but anyway - the poster is fab, i'm wondering if i have room for one as they are available via amazon.

madtress

ha ha ha...check out this madtress design from dutch winkel (shop) snurk.  i love the other products on offer too (especially Bob...perfect for dog lovers!).

british summer...is it all over

St Leonards ...with fire-ravaged Hastings Pier in the distance

what a jolly day for a bicycle ride along the seafront

having spent most of this year sorting my home out (new kitchen, etc) i haven't made much time to go away at weekends so its been really lovely, right at the end of summer [unless you believe the recent forecast of a heatwave in October] to be able to visit a couple of beaches recently.  i took a quick day trip to St Leonards to see a friend who had given up city life (and a small flat in Hackney) to move to a lovely seaside home and as we strolled along the boardwalk to Hastings and back in the sunshine I was very envious.  St Leonards is very small and cute and seems to be filled with arty types.  the coastal currents arts festival was on the weekend i visited and we had a look round artist Phil Oakley's converted pub home/studio on the London Road and all his amazing neon signs - when he bought the pub there were lots of old fairground bits, bobs and signs left in the basement, which are on display alongside Phil's work. the town itself is also liberally dotted with street art from ben eine.

Phil Oakley's illuminations

it's a sign! "S" and "P"....my initials!

Eine's bonny Prince Charlie...on the seafront...

the following weekend i went to Hampshire to visit my parents and my mum and I decided on a trip to Bournemouth, where we lived briefly (and I was at boarding school between the age of 10 and 17 while my parents were posted overseas). my mum hopes to live there again one day as she loves to be beside the seaside too - we just need to bring my dad round to the idea! 

a bench with my name on it...at Boscombe Beach

at the tip is Hengistbury Head and in the distance...the Isle of Wight

beautiful beach huts

we had a lovely walk along Boscombe Beach toward Hengistbury Head (where, as boarders dressed in woolly hats and flapping green capes we had spent many a weekend outing strolling the cliffs in crocodile formation).  we then drove over to Sandbanks - home of millionaires and footballers as it's prime real estate in this beautiful harbour - to catch up with family who live in Bournemouth.

the harbour at Sandbanks

a view of the beach through the pavillion

no riff raff allowed!

me & my cousin, Sarah, she normally towers above me (i'm on a rock!)

my mum & and i on the left and my aunty Jennie, cousin Sarah and her daughter Renee - can you tell we are related!

wardrobe wannabe

i know we're due to have an autumn HEATWAVE here in the UK - but i was just getting ready to bundle up for wintry weather.  love this look from here spotted via bliss - perfect for the changeable weather, you just need a good hat!

Mattressland Calendars 2012

cover photo from Brick Lane - thanks to Luke Foy!

just put in my first order for the 2012 calendars...dummy should arrive in a few week.  this one contains quite a few friend contributions from over the river, over the sea and over the other side of the world....watch this space!

mattressness

what a beauty - sent in by Luke Foy from Brick Lane "for the night owls"!

three fantastic contributions from national and continential roving reporters...i think we've got our calendar cover - twit-twooooo! thanks guys!

perfect little tootsie roll - from Kate Havrlik in Brussels

another Belgian-special from Bart Maras - this one makes my eyes go funny (apparantly the last line on the sign says "only stops when you want it to"...right, well can you stop making my eyes go fuzzy - not distracting to drivers/pedestrians at all!

typewriter redux

1960s Adler Contessa

1950s Smith Corona 5 Series

i am loving these gorgeous typewriters from NYC based kasbah mod.  they restore vintage typewriters to their former glory and in some cases also upgrade with a new paintjob.  am so glad that i recently asked my mum for my old turquoise Petite Super International typewriter (still in it's case) which was stored away in the attic. 

1970s Petite Super International

i remember receiving it as a birthday present as a child - but to be honest i think i only really began to appreciate its beauty as an adult (despite friends telling me i am hording enough junk and i should get rid of it) and would love to get it back into working order.  sadly i have, so far, been unable to locate a ribbon supplier as they don't manufacture them anymore.  perhaps i need to look up the kasbah boys on my next trip to NYC!

SLC-SLC

Callisto Constellation Long Dress in Silk

Callisto Orbit Print Silk Dress

check out my latest Etsy discovery SLC-SLC - a Suffolk based fashion label that uses traditional screen-printing and dying techniques to create stunningly beautiful, eco-friendly collections.  this is what i love about Etsy - i put in a random search and came across SLC-SLC's shop and just fell in love.  i am particularly enamoured of the dresses....but also the scarves...ooh and the lovely lingerie! of course it also helps that the collection has been photographed on wonderful wild beaches (as SLC-SLC says "in the heart of Constable country")....i'm a sucker for a brisk walk on a British beach and i can just see myself in one of these beautiful pieces.

Blue Swan Print Maxi Dress

friends....

Zoe & Demi - bezzie friends 2011

having just spent a fab saturday night watching '80s classic The Lost Boys at Canary Wharf with my oldest bezzie mate Jo [tho she's only 27 of course, I hasten to add, ahem], her daughter Zoe & son Zaki and Zoe's best friend Demi - it's made me all gooey and warm inside.  it's always such a pleasure spending time together and WOW my goddaughter Zoe's beauty just takes my breath away - but it was also really great to see Zoe & Demi's friendship - it just reminded me of Jo & I and all the fun & frolics we've shared.  we've known eachother since the early '80s (when we were roughly Zoe & Demi's age now) and growing up together in what was a little oil town called Miri in Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, when we were lucky enough to live the charmed life of ex-pat brats thanks to our parents working overseas.  now here we are 30 plus years later and we're still going strong...thought i'd share some photos from over the years and just wish Zoe & Demi the long and happy friendship...and lots of amazing adventures...that Jo & I continue to share!

yours truly & Jo in one of the annual plays put on to keep the boarding school kids occupied throughout the long party-filled summer holidays - this one was called Jeannie and we were singing/dancing along to "Quantanamara" - 1982-ish!

getting ready for a party...it must've been christmas as thats one of the trees my mum used to put up to make it feel like we were back home in the UK - despite the boiling heat!

one of the many parties at our house - check out the groovy brown sofa (& Heineken cans in hand!)

Jo and I seem to be joined at the head a lot in these photos ....a sleepover at my house!

this was a New Years Eve Party...we had been having a good cry because it was the last holiday we would spend in Miri together [sob!} - around 1984ish

by now we've both moved to London - its 1991, my birthday at a tapas place in Hampstead - i've already been married, lived in NYC, separated and Jo & I have had a few years worth of serious raving under our belts!

Jo & I on holiday in Morrocco in 1993 - i don't even want to GO near the trouble we nearly got ourselves into - this woman is a liability - bloody hilarious tho!

me, Jo ....and ZOE (in mum's belly) in Cornwall, 1997

fast forward to summer 2010 - looking shiny and happy on a visit with another ex-Miri mate, Emma & her lovely family

...and just to show we're still big kids who love any excuse to dress up and act like idiots at the ripe old age of forty f....err 27!

same time, same place - me & Zoe...ha ha!

and, cos i'm just such a proud godmother i have to share these shots of Zoe (hopefully she won't mind i've pinched them from her facebook page) - soooooo gorgeous!

Zoe, 2011

...stunning

like mother, like daugher - here's Jo in 1982!

Californication - The Lost Boys @ Canary Wharf

2 x Coreys in one fine film....you can't ask for better than that - the Frog Brothers RULE!

last night Canary Wharf became Santa Carla for a screening of  '80s classic The Lost Boys - thanks to future cinema and what an awesome event it was.  they really out did themselves with an amazing set complete with fairground, vampire cave, beach & grandpa's house (with taxidermy) but unfortunately the major downside was the lack of loos (about 9 portaloos for 3,000 people!), bars and food stalls - leading therefore to hour-long queues which meant some people didn't get to enjoy the whole experience.  luckily we got there early enough to secure a good spot for the film, got a drink before it got too manic (but no more the rest of the evening - apart from when i found a secret tequila bar behind the vamp's lair!) and i am used to a bit of "alfresco peeing" so ended up going behind a truck (not very nice for everyone i know, as it got bad later - but the organisers are fully to blame for miscalculating the needs of the high numbers of people - hopefully they've sorted some more toilet facilities before tonight's showing of Top Gun).  all in all though it really was an excellent night - we all had a great time and seeing the film again after so long was fab - we all sang along and there was lots of screaming and roaring....oh and the warm up DJ (think it was Guilty Pleasures) beforehand got everyone totally rockin' - well done guys...just get the Qs sorted next time, eh?!

queueing to get into California Wharf...first of many!

Santa Carla (murder capital of the US) Boardwalk

thank god we have protection from the Frog Brothers!

the Holy Finger (of the hand of God, natch) will smote all vamps with extreme vengeance - look out MOTHERSUCKERS!

my goddaughter Zoe (on the left) with her bezzie mate Demi - so gorgeous!

Zaki looking supercool!

waddya mean its not JAWS?! i was told to dress as a surfer, you can't have surfers without sharks i say!

vamps and bikers and frog brothers everywhere...that is one lucky kid!

Zak has a go on one of the bikes!

uh oh...the natives are throwing shapes....

London...you look beautiful tonight!

we're all ready for it to start....

uh oh...here comes trouble!

and thanks to the Frog Brothers...fighting for truth, justice and the AMERICAN WAY...the residents of Santa Carla can all sleep soundly in our beds tonight!