I've moved ...

to wordpress http://kebabette.wordpress.com/
I still love you blogger but all my other work blogs are over there ...
See you there peeps!

Party like it's 1986 everybody Wang Chung tonight

Yearbook Yourself 1986
Originally uploaded by kebabette

Ok tonight is clearly the night for silly picture making. Thanks Mo-mo for providing a flock of giggles with yearbookyourself.com

So 1986 or 1964 for me I think.

Most likely the 80s ...

Notable hits in 1986:
* "Addicted To Love" - Robert Palmer
* "Breakout" - Swing Out Sister
* "Bigmouth Strikes Again"- The Smiths
* "Big Time" - Peter Gabriel
* "Bizarre Love Triangle" - New Order
* "Captain of Her Heart" - Double
* "Chain Reaction" - Diana Ross
* "Digging Your Scene" - The Blow Monkeys
* "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" - Wang Chung
* "Holding Back the Years" - Simply Red
* "Holding Out For A Hero" - Bonnie Tyler
* "Kiss" - Prince and the Revolution
* "Livin' On a Prayer - Bon Jovi
* "Lessons in Love" - Level 42
* "Mad About You" - Belinda Carlisle
* "Manic Monday" - The Bangles
* "Notorious" - Duran Duran
* "A Question of Lust" - Depeche Mode
* "Rock Me Amadeus" - Falco
* "Sledgehammer" - Peter Gabriel
* "Sometimes" - Erasure
* "The Sun Always Shines On TV" - a-ha
* "The Sweetest Taboo" - Sade
* "System Addict" - Five Star
* "Take My Breath Away" - Berlin
* "The Final Countdown" - Europe
* "Throw Your Arms Around Me" - Hunters + Collectors
* "True Colors" - Cyndi Lauper
* "Two Of Hearts" - Stacey Q
* "Venus" - Bananarama
* "Walk This Way" - Run DMC featuring Aerosmith
* "We Built This City" - Starship
* "West End Girls" - Pet Shop Boys
* "Word Up"- Cameo
* "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)" - Beastie Boys
* "You Give Love a Bad Name" - Bon Jovi

Mad Men Me

Mad Men Me
Originally uploaded by kebabette

Mad Men is hotter than a cloud of foxes.

Thanks to Pretty pretty pretty and Spare Room for the heads up.

Who wouldn't want to be the saucepot Joan, or make out with the dapper Don?

Sabrina's songs

These are my two favourite songs to sing to Sabrina.
Tallulah from Bugsy Malone (with Tallulah replaced by Sabrina):


and the other is a country number by Charlie Rich


And am adding the rockabye series to her repertoire, The Cure has gone down well with the whole household and the neighbours

Twitter & some staggering works of heartbreaking genius

http://twitter.com/kebabette
... the siren lure of twitter has finally sucked me in. it's montana poetry day and it's like writing a bastard haiku ...

Twitter's just like having fun with your facebook status really. Will see if it takes.

Musically - I'm in love. With Dan Black and Johnny West. Different sounds, but both with an uncanny way with lyrics.

Colours and sounds that blow my tiny mind

• Squint Limited - bespoke upholstered furniture
• The music & sound of Miss Emily Brown
• Bookplates for free from the wonderful Children's Bookshop
• As ever, Irregular Choice shoes - from sequinned wrestling boots to holographic heels
• The return of Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian
• Sweet pea baby hats - combine faux fur with ribbon and you have a whole world of cuteness
• Fun with The Fashion Police
• Blythe beauty competition

And a question to contemplate - Cheese School or Nude School?

Baby Vogue-ing

Nestled in
Originally uploaded by kebabette

I love this photo of Sabrina. Never thought I'd say this but respect to Anne Geddes cos babies are hard to capture with a camera. Phenomenal cuteness! She's trying to say some words, it came out like "brrm brrm" so maybe she's taking an early interest in motor sports ...

I haven't been watching much early morning C4 lately but the other day I saw this one. Supergrass has long been a fave of mine - I remember buying their first cd and getting a t-shirt with Hugh Grant's mug shot on it.. Went to their concert years ago, even got a cd signed when they came to Christchurch. Anyways, I liked this a lot - is like a mini doc and who can resist a mermaid

Fornasetti

Fornasetti cushions
Originally uploaded by kebabette

In the era of the remix and the mashup, the way the designer Fornasetti worked and reworked this same face is inspirational.

The serene face so endlessly repeated is that of Lina Cavalieri, an Italian soprano renowned for her beauty.

I've long loved his work - have got a book (the library has it too - Fornasetti: Designer of Dreams) a Swatch watch and Marion O kindly scored me a brooch in Melbourne featuring my favourite image - the face in armour.

Flickr has some cool images with the Fornasetti tag.

This week I spotted these cushions in Annex in Victoria Street - and realised Trade Me might be worth a look. There are some badges, plates and necklaces for sale. I'm plumping for the badges - after a hot auction where the price skyrocketed, they came again on a 'buy now' so I leaped on in.

More Trade me subjects:
Fornasetti
Art deco and retro
Brooches

White Lies

I love White Lies and their album "To lose my life" is on high rotate at our place. Enjoy their deep dark majesty.

Things to delight your eyes ...

Coffee Group babies
Originally uploaded by kebabette

Busby Berkeley stylee babies

My new slippers from Japan - Thanks F and K!!

Go fug yourself ... yes yes I know we all love the fashionista laughfest but what category causes most amusement? POLTERWANG!

Gok Wan is in NZ - love him immensely - see him on Close up, Breakfast, loving his show Fashion Fix - we've got him at the library too and on the library blog.

Were I to dally on Trade Me my key words would be ...

Blythe
rose
lace
boots
sequin/s/ed
velvet
fur
coats
jackets
shoes
opal
tanzanite
trelise cooper
tamsin cooper
coffee tables
...

Congratulations ...

... to Moata for winning a Qantas Media Award for her Blog Idle. Totally deserved, she shows those celeb bloggers how it's done - with a styling vocabulary and turn of phrase, plus sharp and smart observations.
... and to Moata and the rest of the team from Christchurch City Libraries at the Auckland Readers and Writers Festival for bringing it on back home to those of us who can't be there in person. And to the library for supporting NZ Music Month and music in general.

My signature dish = Spinach lasagne

I can't remember where I got this recipe from, but it's the bomb:

Spinach lasagne (serves 6)

2 large onions (peeled, chopped)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves
2 400g cans tomatoes (whole ones or those neat new cans with already blended tomato mixtures are best)
900 g spinach - cooked, drained, chopped (this sounds like an awful lot, I never use this much ... you can also use silverbeet instead and throw in other soft veges such as courgettes, mushrooms etc)
350 g cream cheese (I usually just use a pottle which is less in size)
2 sheets fresh lasagne (most packets have 6 - I open the bag of fresh lasagne and split into 3 portions for freezing - so 1 packet will do 3 of this recipe)
Topping - breadcrumbs
You can also add in other cheeses with the cream cheese - parmesan, mozzarella, whatever

1. Fry onions in oil 5 mins, add garlic and fry another 5 mins without browning.
2. Puree 3 tbsp of onion mix with tomatoes. If using already chopped up cans, you can just mix them in together.
Add the rest of the onion mix to the spinach together with the cream cheese/cheeses.
3. Put layer of spinach mix into bottom of shallow ovenproof dish and cover with layer of lasagne, then half tomato sauce mic. Repeat the layers, ending with the tomato sauce. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top, and maybe a dash of cheese.

Bake uncovered in preheated oven (190 degrees C or 375 Degrees F) for 20 to 30 minutes. Serve with salad

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My other recipe pick - Fresh Lemon Loaf from the Edmonds Cookbook, with some poppyseeds added in. Really tasty stuff this.

Return of The Manics

I haven't been taken by a book so instantly as seeing this on the shelf at Whitcoulls. Gorgeous!Around the world with Mouk : a trail of adventure / Marc Boutavant ; [translated by Linda Burgess].

And was utterly captivated on a cold Sunday listening to an interview with Nicky Wire of the Manic Street Preachers on the essential The Guardian Music Weekly - plus the full interview as an extra.

Miss New Zealand - High heels, high hopes. Highly entertaining look behind the scenes of this rather antiquated competition. Would make a most excellent reality show.