Flight or Fright

I had the experience of flying from YAZ > YVR on a seven seater plane through a storm the other day. The storm needless to say made for an interesting flight including some very a sweaty palms, a small girl crying and though I don't really practice any religion but I may have said a prayer or two.  But on the bright side I snapped a few epic cloud photos, I haven't even f'd with them the skies were actually this moody or maybe there was a tint on the window.

1) Circling the ocean after take off 2) Clouds and ocean  3) Flying into the black abyss 4) Blue skies on the other side:)  5) Looking back into the storm 6) The drug smuggling plane from LOST??? 

Xo Austere

DIY Inspiration: Fringed Kimono

I'm not one to typically own fringed things or kimonos. They are the type of things that I see and love on other people but every time I try them on myself I just don't feel right. However, I feel like I could make an exception when it comes to this lovely fringed kimono. The best part is this would be so easy to make! I find old silk floral bathrobes at thrift stores all the time. Simple crop one and sew fringe to the bottom and sleeves. I honestly can't wait to make this.

Prudence

Photo found on Pinterest (I couldn't find a better source than that)

DIY Cocktail Party

While drinking games and spin the bottle are in past for me I still think a party is better with an interactive element or an ice breaker shall we say. What better a plan then to make alcohol the focus for an evening.  My birthday was earlier in the month, so we hosted a cocktail party. Those joining were asked to bring the base alcohol they wished to drink and everything else would be provided. 

  Im blessed with a group of friends that includes 6 or so trained bartenders, but for those who aren't so alcohol inclined Prudence and I spent the few days prior inventing and writing out drink recipes on cue cards.  We based our drink choices off our common dislike for overly sweet beverages and the array of flavoured simple syrup I had made.  Needless to say the party turned out well, and with the holidays just around the corner we thought it was a good enough idea to share.

Keep reading to see materials needed and some of our favourite drinks from the night!

Materials Needed:

ICE

Straws

A Muddler

Martini Shakers 

Glasses.....

According to Martha Sewart a host should have 3 glasses per guest for a 2 hour party.  I'd say thats a little bit excessive but thats just me.  We went for mason jars as their inexpensive, can be bought in bulk and maybe someday i'll take feel the need to do a whole lot of canning.

Basic Alcohols: Vodka, Gin, Bourbon (or whiskey of your choice), Rum, 

Mixing Liquors: Disorono, Triple Sec, Sweet Vermouth, Dry Vermouth, Grand Mariner, Campari 

Fun but not Necessary: Van Gogh Espresso Vodak, Sake, Limoncello, Bailey's, 

Simple Syrups: Ginger, Cardamom, Rosemary, Coffee,  Hot n' Spicy, Star Anise, Pineapple (not pictured)  Here is our  Simple Syrup Recipe with directions and suggestions for flavouring.

Garnishes and Things to Muddle: Limes Slices, Lemons Slices, Orange Slices, Grapefruit Slices, Pineapple, Blackberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Cucumber Rounds, Ginger Slices, Fresh Basil, Fresh Mint, Olives.

Juices, Nectars, and Sodas:

Soda water, lots and lots of soda water, Ginger Beer, Pineapple Juice, Cranberry Juice, Pear Nectar, Peach Nectar, Pomegranate Juice, Blueberry Juice, Sparkling water for those may not want to drink.

Favourite Drinks (using our flavoured simple syrups):

Blackberry Cardamom Lemonade

Muddle then shake 1oz Vodka, 4 Blackberries, 1 oz Lemon Juice, 1 Tsp Cardamom Simple Syrup and Ice, Top with Soda Water 

Asian Pear

1oz Vodka, 1/2 oz Gin, 2 oz Pear Nectar, 1 Tsp Ginger Simple Syrup, 1 Tsp Ginger Juice

Top with Soda Water and Ice

Spicy Cuke

Muddle 1 oz Vodka, 1 Lime Wedge, 2 Cucumber Rounds

Add 1 Tsp Hot n' Spicy Simple Syrup, 1 oz Lime Juice, Ice

So Fresh $ So Clean

Shake 1 oz Vodak, 2 oz Grapefruit Juice, 1 tsp Rosemary Simple Syrup with ice. 

Top with Soda Water

Red Dragon

Muddle 1 oz Vodka, 4 Raspberries, 1 Tsp Hot n' Spicy Simple Syrup, Lemon Wedge

Add Ice, top with a splash of Cranberry Juice

Photos 1) Birthday Chalk Board 2) Simple Syrups 3) Garnishes 4) A Beautiful Waste

Xo Austere

Feather Ear Cuff

Feather and Chain  Ear Cuff 

Materials Needed:

Two feather charms

3 inches of thin chain

Needle nose pliers

Using your needle nose pliers bend each feather charm into a circular shape leaving a small opening.

Open a chain link on either end of our chain and insert the loop of the charm into each, close the links firmly.

XO Prudence and Austere

Memories of Rodarte

Perhaps it is because they retreat into the woods of one of my favorite places on Earth (Big Sur, CA) to find inspiration, or because they have found a way to make clothes only imagined in fairy tales wearable, or because there always seems to be a heavy emphasis on craft inspired details. Whatever it is, I am obsessed with Rodarte. To me their clothes are absolute perfection and if I was going to be stuck wearing only one label for the rest of my life there is no doubt in my mind that Rodarte would be what I choose. So obviously I love  this editorial in Grey Magazine featuring past collections from the Rodarte sisters.

Prudence

Photos from FGR

DIY; Carpet Clutch

Sometimes the best inspiration comes from those around you. 

I've been in a home redecorating mood lately. Getting ready for winter making our place cozy and warm and well lit to compensate for time change.  This started with a good old fall cleaning and temporarily ended with the purchase of a new couch!  A new couch which then brought on a spree of re-arranging, re-furnishing, shelf building, lamp hanging and so on.  All of which has occupied the majority of my free time and creativity.

 Since then I've been in a bit of a creative lull, could be that all I want to do is hang out on my new couch but I've spent hours upon hours searching my favourite blogs (and new ones) for a good DIY idea and nothing has come to me.  Until this afternoon my lovely friend Sara stopped by for a quick pillow case making lesson/session with some great provence printed material.  But pillow cases really aren't the point here (though we did document the making of them which I was planning to post this evening) the point was that all I needed was a simple sewing project to get me back in the project mood.  

Materials needed:

Piece of Carpet 1ft x 1ft' 3 inches

Piece of material for lining

Old belt or inch wide strip of leather 2 inches longer then carpet

Jewellery making head pin, with decorative top 

Pins

Thread

Scissors

Needle Nose pliers

Speed-Sew glue, or other strong adhesive

Cut your lining about an inch wider then the piece of carpet your using. Fold under each side to make the lining just smaller then the carpet.

place the lining on top of the carpet with the nicer side of each facing outwards. Using your sewing machine stitch along each side of the material as show above. 

Fold the lined carpet as shown above, I left about 7 cm for the flap. 

 Stitch from A to B and from C to D, then turn your clutch carpet side out.

Pin then sew from A to B on either side of the clutch (shown above)

Lay out your strip of leather with the rough side facing up, leaving an extra 2 inches sticking out above the flap.

 Glue and pin leather as shown above and below,  leave the last 2 inches of the leather without glue.

Use a sewing pin to poke a hole through the leather and carpet, you may need to work it through a few times to fit the head pin.  Push the head pin through to the inside of the clutch.

Clip off some excess of the head pin leaving about 1 cm sticking out.

With your needle nose pliers turn the rough edge of the pin down to make a small loop.

Xo Austere

Beach Bum

While there may not be much need for these lovely chunky knits on the Hawaiian beaches I've been hanging out on lately, I still fell in love with this Zippora Seven for Elle France September Issue editorial. New things on my want list, yellow knit bikini, knit leotard, super oversized pink knit sweater.

Photos from FGR

DIY Inspiration: Unique Layers

I'm not one to normally post or obsess over celebrity fashion. However, this skirt that Emma Roberts recently wore is amazing! I love everything about it, the geometric print, the sheer detailing around the hem, and most of all the unique peplum-like layer at the top. The best part is that this would be a very easy look to recreate. I'm now on the look out for a pencil skirt that is a little too long so that that I can make my own DIY version of this great look.

Prudence

photo from Nylon Mag

Miranda

What a babe.

Images via

Xo Austere