our not so secret garden

I love coming home to the farm, but I especially love going home just before Christmas because the garden looks beautiful. The hydrangeas are bursting to the brim, the miniature roses creep along the roof top and the lilies spanning in all colours of the rainbow stand tall and proud, soaking in the all the sunshine while they tinkle their toes in the lake edge. And everywhere I turn there are flowers.
I secretly pretend I’m in the movie the Secret Garden. (Because secretly I actually believe my life is a movie*) There are pretty colours everywhere and when I search a little it is not long before I come across evidence of a friendly creature or two.

*I was informed the other day that this is an actual disorder call the Truman Syndrome. This was developed after the 1998 movie the Truman show. But I just laugh to myself as I know the cameras are out there.

fabric turned to bundles of hope

When I was younger I loved to go through my mother’s sewing box, pull out all the materials and look at them. I hardly ever made anything because I thought they were too pretty and even at a young age I knew I didn’t want to waste and destroy them on something childish.

This year however I got over that and decided to make something that would last. I was given a gift during the year from visiting Brownie leaders from the U.K. I thought they were such a lovely idea that I would make some for my friends and give them as presents. They are ever so sweet.

On the card reads:

An eraser so you can make your own mistakes disappear .

A coin so you can never say you are broke.

A marble in case someone says you have lost yours.

A rubber band to stretch yourself beyond your limits.

A piece of string to tie things together when they fall apart.

A heart to remind you that someone loves you.

And of course each of those things are in the bag. I think they liked them. I made some extra ones up to give to people during the year. There are always times when people need a little something to remind them they aren’t alone when going through a rough patch. Everyone needs a bit of cheering up from time to time.

rebranding feminism

While flicking through my scrapes from the year I came across this article in some trashy woman’s magazine and found it rather interesting. I ripped it out and stuck it into my scrap book so I’m sorry I can’t make any acknowledgements because I don’t write it down, naughty. But I do know it was written in reference to the book Oh Baby... Birth, babies & Motherhood Uncensored by Kathy Fray- a kiwi author. Kathy says the old terms for feminism are out of date. We’re on to the fourth incarnation of the women’s movements and we need new ways to describe it.

1. Suffrage Sisters: The first wave of feminism was led by the 19th and 20th century suffragettes fighting to give women the right to vote. [New Zealand was the first country in the world allowing woman to vote.]

2. Bra Burners- The second wave was during the 60s and 70s with ‘women’s libbers’ and the sexual revolution. These revolutionaries used techniques of political solidarity to demand economic and reproductive rights for women.

3. Power Players- The third wave of feminism was far more clandestine, says Kathy. “Most women weren’t even concisely aware of it, as they weren’t marching parliament carrying playing cards.” She says Girl Power, epitomised by pop icons the Spice Girls started to emerge in the early 90s with the likes of Sigourney Weaver in Alien, Oprah and Roseanne Barr. Pop-culture girl power moments include a heavily pregnant Demi Moore nude on the cover of Vanity Fair, Edina and Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous, Sex And the City, and Eve Ensler’s provocative stage show. The Vagina Monologues.

4. Uterosexuals- Kathy says the world is now “aglow” with female leadership, such as our own Helen Clarke, presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chile’s first female president Michelle Bachelet, Liberia’s Ellen Johson-Sirleaf (the first female president on the African content) and China’s Vice Premier Wu Yi.
“To describe this level of success as Girl Power is insulting” says Kathy. “Many of us are what the academics are defining as the ‘fourth wave’ of feminists, nicknamed ‘uterosexual’- strong women who are emancipated, educated, ambitious, feminine, intuitive, articulate and immensely proud of their almighty womanliness.” She says that utrosexuals are “feminine feminists” and believes they aren’t women trying to succeed in a man’s world- they’re woman who are succeeding in a unisex world. They don’t dislike metrosexual, heterosexual, bisexual and homosexual men; in fact they enjoy their company. Kathy has her own rallying cry for women. “The fourth wave of feminism has arrived. Welcome to the next generation.

I have thoughts on this but need to ponder and dabble with my thoughts...

What are your thoughts? Where are we to now? How will it all play out?

Image: 1899 Auckland, Lady voters approaching the polling booths/article from trashy mag.

upstairs for thinking...

This is too cleaver.

The wall paper grows flowers when heat is present!

Source: LOLITA

tea bangle set

I’m back from holiday, and while back in the office pretty stoked to be back in this ghost town of a city.

I promise, (more to myself than anyone else) to update sweetpea with my ever so sweet adventures but first I had to jot down my favourite post of the day.

I came across the work of Lindsay Pemberton, thanks to a post by Kate Elliot.
Some pictures of her Tea Bangle Set are below.

I just love tea cups, like really love them, my dream is to one day open a beautiful tea house filled with beautiful tea cups. So I think this idea is ever so sweet. I’m head over heels in love.

Also you will notice that Lindsay is features on the website clever bastards. I also am very supportive of this site as it is supporting the fantastic, local talent of Aotearoa.
I especially love the write ups on the Clever Bastards themselves, such interesting people, and it’s so nice to see them photographed in their own environments. If you know someone who should be featured on this site or rather fancy your own cleverness make sure you check it out to get some well deserved recognition.