31 Jan 2013

January Blues

January never claimed to be a joyful month, but it doesn't deserve all the bad press either! In our experience, January is full of promise and subdued joy just waiting to be discovered by those who take the time to be observers! The stress from the end-of-year festivities has cooled off and a brand new year has brought excitement, personal motivations and resolutions.

In our northern hemisphere we gain an extra hour of daylight between Christmas Day and 25th January. Meanwhile in our warmer regions the earlier floral messengers of Spring, namely narcissi and daffodils, start coming into their own.

January is still a time to enjoy those richer dishes, indulgent desserts and comfort food at large (bend those resolutions once in a while!), from homemade waffles served with rich hot chocolate, to family-sized pots. It's a time to be homely, snuggled up in a mohair wool blanket on the sofa by the fireplace, with a good book and good sounds. It might be a time for reflection and instrospection but as for the proverbial "January blues", the only type of blues we know about is purely colour-related, and being the optimistic kind we like to keep it that way!


Source : (1) Pastel Swirl Cake, by Sweetapolita, via Flickr.

19 Jan 2013

The Little People by Jean-Joseph Renucci

Welcome to 21st century Lilliput! Here two worlds cohabit, that of the tiny folks in scenes of work or play set against the life-size mundane objects of our human daily life, including the iconic tub of Nivea tub and the gas cooker. In this installation, the tiny lives are magnified to take over the full scale objects in a fascinating exploration.


Source: (1) 'Meet Me at the Ballpool', (2) 'Dancing Cream' and (3) 'Hell's Kitchen Part 1', all part of the 'Domestic Paradise' series by Jean-Joseph Renucci.

14 Jan 2013

Typewriter Notes

The typewriter, awesome bit of kit whose easily-recognisable clickety sound has punctuated many a film noir, detective story, cop drama and court drama. Creator of suspense as much as va-va-voom down the typing pools of WWII, the typewriter, object of desire, despise and derision, where stories were told and plots unfolded by the Graham Greenes, Agatha Christies and Hemingways of this world... The typewriter, trapping fingers, eating paper, jamming, being hurled abuse at, thrown across rooms in fits of tantrums. The unimitable slightly smeared, slightly dirty typeface, enemy of the purist and of those trapped by dogma...

 Now available from an app near you.


Source: The Virtual Typewriter.

12 Jan 2013

Plastic Fantastic?

Following on our extremely popular Caught in the Pacific Trash Vortex post that highlighted social activist Chris Jordan's plea about the seabirds from the Midway Atoll, Mirabelle was contacted last month by the designers of an interesting educational infographic that really drew our attention further on the damage caused by the 'fantastic' yet pawned invention that is plastic. We have great pleasure in sharing this catchy bit of information with you.

As a beach babe living on the coast, Mirabelle is faced with the downside of plastic on a daily basis, so we thought we would even drill the awareness message further by adding an advert that also caught our eye. In our view, packaging as a whole needs a total rethink and overhaul, and the plastic supremacy needs to be toned down drastically. Plastic manufacturers/ suppliers and their immediate Fortune 100 clients are to blame, but then again it is up to the end consumer to "vote with their feet" and shun plastics for more sustainable less pollution-prone alternatives that will be less likely to end up back into the food chain. Folks, let's make this work and let's be smarter in 2013!

Sorry, Blogger won't allow picture to zoom in!


Sources: (1) OnlineEducation.net. (2) Concept Ad WWF, by Eric Eykhout, via Behance: "Plastic litter from all over the earth ends up in the ocean, gets caught up in ocean currents and has created a giant swirling mass of 7 million tons of toxic debris dubbed 'The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.' The waters in this immense area contain 6 times more plastic than plankton, a primary food source for fish, marine mammals and ultimately affecting humans as well."

Additional Resources: Find out about professional surfer Kyle Thiermann's mission to help reverse plastic pollution effects on 'surfers paradise' coastlines across the world, via Surfing For Change.

Interesting update (18/07/2013): Two scientists manage to break down phtalates (soft plastic components), using bacteria! (via TED Talks).

11 Jan 2013

New Year Pep Talk

Symbolically a New Year heralds a new beginning, a new lifecycle, an upsurge in energy and positive vibes, boosted by a plethora of desires, hopes, wishes, ambitions and resolutions. Come the second or third week of the year however, the outlook might appear a touch less rosier for whatever reason, as those hopes might start paling down into the day-to-day reality of life, wishes might start wobbling a notch, and resolutions slowly going up in smoke...

Instead of beating yourself up on those "failing" goals, just celebrate last year's achievements, and break down those ambitions for the New Year into more manageable, achieveable units. How about keeping it simple and down-to-earth, and celebrating the beauty of life, those little things and mundane moments that we tend to take for granted? Slow down the pace of your life to better enjoy the company of your loved ones, take the time to (re)discover your immediate surroundings, take a short journey to the local museum, the next town or the closest place of interest and immerse yourself into it. Make someone's day, bake a cake, perform random acts of kindness, give the local charity a hand, invest your spare time into a hobby or a cause. And in the process, see what you are about, find out who you truly are.

So make it happen in 2013! Find yourself, surprise yourself, and make this your year, your lucky year!


Sources: (1) 'Just Be Cool' gilded poster by thevaguely, via Etsy. (2) Via One Little Bird. (3) Via Crush Cul de Sac.
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