A mission for you

I’ve had an idea.

I need your help.

As a part of this competition I’ve entered I need to come up with creative ways to get noticed to win a trip around the world to go to a bunch of music festivals and interview bands etc etc.

My plan is to create a short video that is complied of a whole bunch of people showing their support for my competition entry.

How can you help?

It’s simple. Grab a piece of paper, write on it “BAAAROOKE FOR MY WORLD TOUR”, take a photo of yourself with said piece of paper and email it to me!

Get your family & friends to do it. Even if I don’t know them, you know me and know I’d be fantastic at this!

I know a lot of people have Christmas parties / family gatherings coming up so if you could do this for me I’ll love you FOREVER!

This idea won’t work without your love & support so please please please help me!

Here’s an example I prepared earlier – it doesn’t have to be fancy, it just needs to say “BAAAROOKE FOR MY WORLD TOUR” and have your beautiful smiling face with it! You can make it as creative or simple as you please

Email to: brooke.jagoe@gmail.com with the subject line "PHOTO FOR MWT" - no super large photos please :)

I really need this by the end of December so if you can get it on ASAP it would be greatly appreciated

Super love & Sparkles

x x x

Brooke

P.S I just saw "Where The Wild Things Are" - it was a heartbreaking, stunning, beautiful, amazing movie!

Help me help you :)

I know it's been a while. I apologise. I always seem to be apologising on this which I probably shouldn't :)

My long absense has been filled with life, travels, fun, crazy times and I wish I had more time to post stuff on here.

Right now I am in a competition to try and win a trip around the world and I need some help.

I know it's cheeky to be MIA for so long and then come back here and ask anyone who's reading this to click on the following link to help me out.

HERE'S THE LINK

I need profile page views to go up. On a plus note I have been writing about music and such on this profile page so if you're desperate for some of my ramblings then you can check it out there :)

So please spend a little time out of your day to click on the link. Click on it a few times. You'll be helping me get my profile noticed!

Super love & Sparkles

x x x

Brooke

Song of the moment - 30 Seconds to Mars: Kings & Queens

Cobra love

I have to wake up at 3am tomorrow morning to get online to purchase tickets to see Cobra Starship in Los Angeles on August 11th. I'm pretty certain that if I waited until 9am I'd be fine to still get tickets but I do not want to risk it :)

Our trip has evolved again. We have now decided to stay for 3 nights in Los Angeles at the end before we fly home. Mainly because of this show. Dedicated much?

It seems a lot to change your holiday plans to include a show to see a band - to other people anyway. To me and Crystal it's a usual occurence. We travelled to Brisbane and Adelaide last year to see this band support Panic! at the Disco so I think an earlier drive to Hollywood is definitely in order.

I have had an appreciation for Cobra Starship from the first time I heard the song "Snakes on a Plane" - something about the fun lyrics and super cool tunes just felt right. It's been a long time love and this show just seems to fit perfectly in with our holiday without messing us up too much :)

Tomorrow I'll be tired but I think it'll be totally worth it when I'm in Hollywood, at the Troubadour dancing to Cobra Starship :)

Watch their new clip (featuring Leighton Meester aka Blair from Gossip Girl) - it's delicious :)

Love & Sparkles
x x x
Brooke

P.S GO PIES!

Make up tutorial: Silver Dreams

Another request from my flickr posting :) Sorry its so delayed :)

What I used:

Eyeshadows: Mirror Mirror & Empress & Nymph Magic Dust by Lime Crime, black eyeshadow by Rimmel

Eyes: Black eyeliner by Bourjoirs

Nails: White nailpolish from Sportsgirl (1 week after application!)

With a medium brush I applied Mirror Mirror (silver) to the whole eye lid extending slightly above the crease in the outer corner (to create the solid looking line on the outer corner I used household sticky tape. I angled the tape from the corner of my eye reaching up to the edge of my eye brow. This creates the solid line & a more dramatic look - especially good with black eye shadow as you don't want to end up looking like you have a black eye).

Using a smaller brush I applied the black eye shadow to the outer crease of my eye - working from the outer corner inwards. I built it up until I was happy with the darkness - blending with the silver in the bottom corner as I went. I also applied a small amount of the black eye shadow to the inner corner of my eye lid to even the look out a bit.

Using the medium brush I lightly loaded the brush with Empress (purple) and dusted over the middle section of my lid - blending into the silver and black. I just wanted that hint of purple to lighten the look up a bit.

To highlight my eyes I applied Nymph (gold/white) to the bottom inner eye and along the brow bone. I also added a bit of Nymph to the outer corner line (after removing the tape).

Apply black eyeliner to the top lashline and apply black mascara.

Apply foundation and concealer as desired on your face. For this look I used a pink gloss on my lips. I'm a bit of a fan of the Rimmel gloss (with colour) at the moment. It gives you a solid colour but doesn't go on sticky and is nice and shiny.

This look also works with bright blue eye liner and a dark purple eyeliner (I've tried both and have been happy). It's pretty versatile as black and silver will go with any colour you can think of. You could substitute the purple for pretty much any colour and end up with a great result.

*To make the colours more vibrant wet the brush before applying eyeshadows and use a primer*

Go nuts!

Love & sparkles
x x x
Brooke

Song of the moment = Kasabian - Where did all the love go?

‘Diva’ Steals Artists Designs!

SO anyone who knows me knows I am a fan of shanalogic.com. It has been brought to the attention of all her shoppers that Diva (yes that accessories store that you see in pretty much any Westfield Shopping Centre in Australia) has been ripping off products and designs sold in her shop and mass producing and re-selling rubbish versions. As a loyal Shanalogic.com fan (and Shana fan to boot) I am annoyed, outraged, disgusted and appalled all in one!

Shanalogic.com is an online store that specialises in all things handmade and indie. From clothes, jewellery, artwork & lots & lots of accessories. Shana offers buyers the opportunity to purchase quality handmade products that come from independant, amazing artists from all around the world. If you want to know more about her site - VISIT IT! You won't be disappointed! You get fabulous customer care and the pieces you buy are of the highest quality and are oh-so-adorable!

I don't even know how to word my outrage with Diva, not only are they exploiting these awesome hardworking artists but they are doing it in a cheap, nasty, crappy way. The rip offs are bad quality and look cheap compared to the originals. So far no one has recieved any responses from Diva (even after multiple people emailing them) regarding their blatant rip off of some of these products (down to the last bead).

See Shanas original post about the issue (complete with more photos like the one above):

http://shanalogic.com/wordpress/?p=2815

Show your support and leave a comment.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP?

Get the word out there - email everyone you know who is an artist, designer, or interested in art or jewellery. Post on Facebook, Twitter, LiveJournal, other blogs, any site you are part of where people will read what you say.

All designers need to take a look at Diva's website and check if they are ripping off any of YOUR designs.

If you have a local Diva store, go in, take some photos of any suspicious items, post photos on the facebook group
(http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=112878499771) to make sure that if someone is being ripped off, they find out!

Diva's website is: http://www.diva.net.au/ Feel free to contact them and let them know how you feel about this! Anyone who has a Diva store in their town (mostly Australia and NZ, but they have some overseas stores too!) should call their local paper or, even more likely to support you, indie magazines & other publications, and ask if they are interested in running a story about how Diva is ripping off independent artists.

Last of all AVOID DIVA. I will admit that a large chunk of my "cheap" jewellery is from Diva but I am quite happy to never buy anything from them again. I have earrings, head pieces, bangles, beaded necklaces, chunky rings and more from them but I'm determined to NOT support a company who steals from artists. I may only be one person and I may not make much of a difference but please help do your part to support artists.

I'll be doing some covert ops when I am in a shopping centre from now on. I'll take a look in Diva to see if I can spot any other Shanalogic pieces and I'll be taking photos to post. I've seen the love-o-meter necklace in their store one day whilst wearing the love-o-meter necklace (their crappy version didn't have the spinny arrow).

Support artists - Shop indie & feel good about every purchase!

Love & sparkles

x x x

Brooke

I am alive still... I promise

The Killers @ V Festival Melbourne - by ME!

I am still alive.

I've been busy in my "real world" life and this blog has taken a back seat.

I apologise. Hey I never said I was very good with commitment. Just be happy I'm back :)

A lot of things have happened since I last wrote. I've been on adventures, met musical heroes (Andrew McMahon I heart you), seen beautiful people get married (x 3 couples), seen UNBELIEVABLE live bands (Razorlight/Kaiser Chiefs/The Killers/Coldplay/Jack's Mannequin/The Grates/Kings of Leon/RED RIDERS - here's looking at you), seen hilarious comedians (Russel Brand & Dylan Moran), planned my amazing USA holiday, got PROMOTED at my job, met some fun new people, witnessed crazy cuteness courtesy of my gorgeous nieces - to put it simply I've been living and busy and happy.

Right now I'm listening to the new Mandy Moore album and it's so light and happy and I'm freezing but I realise that life is good. I have spent the day material shopping with my Mum in hopes to re-create this dress I saw on forever21.com for our upcoming awards ball (for work). I found all the material I need for it, now Mum needs to get sewing.

Here's the planned outfit, lets hope we can pull it off (I think we've got a good chance):

We're going out for dinner tonight and then I'm going to see The Hangover with my sister. Hopefully it's a good funny movie - from what I've been readings it's getting great reviews and people seem to love it on twitter.

I can hardly believe it's June already. 1/2 the year has passed by in what feels like the blink of an eye. I've achieved a lot of things. I've also failed at some things. The rest of the year holds so much possibility I can hardly wait!

The most exciting thing to come is that I am headed back to the USA with my sister. We're travelling around for about 4 weeks. It's a lot exciting! I am spending my birthday in New York City and then travelling south to Disneyworld before flying across to San Francisco to shop & relax for a few days before seeing Jack's Mannequin (eep!). We will then meet up with some beautiful camp friends (STORM!) and hopefully fit in a short trip to Las Vegas. We fly over to Chicago for a long weekend of Lollapalooza festival madness (OMFG! Perfect!). Then we fly back to San Francisco and meet up with that lovely lady (STORM) who will *fingers crossed* be able to organise a reunion of sorts before we drive down the coast and fly back home out of Los Angeles.

It's set to be a crazy, busy, exhausting, amazing, beautiful, exciting, trip! I cannot wait to spend some money in shops that I love without having to spend ridiculous amounts of money on postage. I am going to be able to try things on before buying them and I am going to come home with a whole new wardrobe!

Oh and I have something to look forward to AFTER we come home. About a week after we return we are going to see The Academy Is... AGAIN! Those fabulous boys have decided to return to our shores and they timed it perfectly! It'll be the smallest venue we've seen them at which is amazing in itself. They are the support band again but I think this time they'll get a longer set than when they toured with Panic! at the Disco.

We have exciting times ahead that's for sure. Hopefully I'll be able to update on at least a weekly basis. I am entering a new phase of my life - more responsibility, more happy times, more life choices - I'm eager to see where this is going to take me and eager to write about it. I feel this is a time I never want to forget!

Love & sparkles

x x x

Brooke

Song for the moment = Cobra Starship - Good Girls Go Bad

P.S I am going to see Lily Allen on Friday night - I have had these tickets for AGES so it's a bit exciting! I'm going to be keeping myself well busy until this trip, I'm trying to distract myself :)

Make up tutorial: Emerald Shine

Todays make up tutotrial comes at a request. I figured I'd post it here as well incase it gets too long :)

What I used:

Eyeshadows: Mirror Mirror, Nymph & Voodoo Queen Glitter all from LimeCrimemakeup.com and available through Shanalogic.com

Eyes: Black liquid eyeliner, black mascara & fake eyelash glue.

With a medium sized brush apply a light dusting of Mirror Mirror to the whole eyelid.

I was having trouble getting the glitters to stick properly and fully to my eyelid - I tried the creme shadow, make up primer, EVERYTHING - and I wasn't getting the full coverage look I wanted. I read in one of my make up books that when using glitters it is sometimes good to try the fake eyelash adhesive glue to get it to stick properly and much more solid. I tried this and SUCCESS!

Paint fake eyelash glue to the lid in the shape you require. For this look I painted just above the crease of my eye as I was unsure how dramatic it would look.

Using a brush you don't mind wrecking (in case the glue doesn't come out - mine did as I washed the brush properly after use) soak in water and then into the glitter pot (to ensure the glitter is picked up by the brush). Apply the glitter to the still wet glue until you have a solid base - allow to dry. Apply one eye at a time to ensure the glitter and glue don't crack and so you can see what you are doing.

Once dry take a smaller brush and apply Mirror Mirror (silver) to the outer lines of the glitter and under your bottom lash line.

Apply Nymph (white/gold) to the inner corners of your eyes and dust under your brow.

Apply foundation and concealer as desired on your face. For this look I used a red gloss on my lips.

Though the eyelash glue made my eyes feel very heavy to start off with I barely noticed by the end of the night. This is by far one of my favourite looks I've created with Lime Crime makeup and I'm sure to repeat it with the 2 other glitter colour I have from Lime Crime.

It made me feel like Sophie Ellis Bextor in her "Murder on the Dance Floor clip". See it here on youtube (for some reason I can't get it to post here)

Super love & sparkles

x x x

Brooke

Song of the moment = Sophie Ellis Bextor - Murder on the Dancefloor

Camp Sentimentality

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my time at Camp. More thinking about the people I met there and the friends I’ve still got from my time there. I think it’s got a lot to do with the fact that I’ll be back in California in August and I’m getting excited/anxious/nervous to be going back. I know I’m not the same girl they all knew back when I was there but I also know they’ll (hopefully) still love the person I’ve become.

Camp was a strange place for me. A wonderful amazing place but still strange. When I first went there I was 20. I was at a point in my life where it was “change things or settle” and I was NOT willing to settle. I wanted adventure and new experiences and camp life certainly provided me with both of those things.

I think the thing that surprised me the most about my time at camp was the friendships that formed so easily and so quickly. I met people at Camp Campbell who I did not believe existed in real life. I didn’t dare dream that these people existed because I would then have believed that I was missing out on something in my “normal” world. Sounds harsh to my “normal” world friends but I don’t mean it to. I love my real world friends more than anything but this was something else in its entirety and unless you’ve had the “Camp” experience then it’ll be hard to understand.

It’s something that never leaves you, and I don’t ever want it to.
My trip back to the USA this year was only supposed to be a 2 week holiday. I’ve blown it out to 4 weeks because I want to have enough time to spend with Storm. I want to go on a road trip and catch up with as many people as I possibly can who I shared Camp time with. I know it’ll break my heart all over again to see them and leave but I think that bit of pain will be worth it.

I miss my boys. I miss Storm. I just want to be there with them so much lately that it hurts. Most of them I haven’t seen in over 3 years but that level of happiness that fills my heart with each facebook message or short email doesn’t diminish with time.

I can remember on my last night at camp 3 years ago Shawn asked me why he mattered so much to me, why I believed that he was one of my favourite people in the world. At the time I couldn’t put it into words, I don’t think my brain would let me vocalise what I wanted to say because it was hurting my heart to know I was leaving him and everyone else again the next day. I can honestly say I’ve never known people like them before, I’ve never laughed, loved or belonged so easily before. They always made it easy to be me. They always made me feel like it was ok to be just me. That is a rare and special thing in a friend.

I only wish there wasn’t a great big ocean between us. I wish it didn’t have to take me 3 years to get back to them. It feels like every time I visit that it isn’t long enough.

This post sounds a bit like I’m depressed – it’s not supposed to. I’m excited! I’m beyond excited!!! I want to be in the Californian sunshine, I want to be walking down a street with Storm & the boys; I want to be reunited with friends who I haven’t seen in over 3 years!

A lot of missing happens when you have friends who live across the other side of the world but when you finally get to see them again and it feels like home, there’s nothing better.
SO this post goes out to all those Camp Campbell alumni who will be in/around the Californian area at the start of August... I’m coming and you’d better be ready to meet up again! I miss you all and am NOT taking any excuses!

Super excited love & sparkles

x x x

Brooke

P.S The past month has been one of the best ever and I'm sorry I've been M.I.A. Life sometimes catches up on you and your online life disappears. I'll try to not be away so long this time.
Song of the moment = Jack's Mannequin - Doris Day

Show: Razorlight 31 Jan 09

*Picture of J Borrell taken by me*

Sometimes you go see a band and it's so special and the atmosphere so electric that you KNOW you've witnessed something that only happens on rare occasions. The Razorlight show at the Hi Fi Bar on the 31st of January 2009 felt like one of those shows.

I know I am biased by my true love and devotion to this band but I know I wasn't the only person in a state of extreme happyness and amazement walking out of the Hi Fi Bar that night - the crowd felt it, they loved it too.

The night began as it had all week - extreme heat. We've been going through a ridiculous heat wave in Melbourne, Saturday was not as bad but we still hit the high 30's. Bright blue make-up was applied, outfits were chosen and excitement was building.

We headed to Chapel Street for pre-show dinner at my friends Julz' brothers cafe where we ate delicious food and chatted about all things life & Russell Brand. The twitter was check regularly as it neared doors opening time and there were fits of "OMG it says "quick nap after sound check before the gig". They are really there!"

Time reached 7.40pm and we couldn't wait anymore - doors opened at 8pm and I was feeling that familiar nervous/excited/stressed feeling in the pit of my stomach that I only get when it comes to seeing bands I love too much for words. I HAD to get to the Hi Fi Bar soon or I wouldn't be much for conversation until I did.

We forgot to take into account Chinese New Year in the city so the road closures and traffic should have caused a horrible panic but somehow my "travel in stressful situations" mind kicked in and I got us into our usual parking place and walking through the doors at the Hi Fi Bar at 8.20pm. A sigh of relief escaped me as I realised that the Hi Fi Bar was still half empty and I could manage to secure a spot at the front to the right side of the stage - exactly where I wanted to be.

We waited impatiently for the support band to start. Beers and conversation were our only company - though I was not very competent on the talking front.

I had never heard of the support band before that night and I expected to loath them - they were all that were standing between me and Razorlight - but they were quite good. Their songs were catchy, boppy and they seemed to be really enjoying their first major support slot. I don't really remember what they were called but I do remember looking at their feet a lot - none of the band members were wearing shoes and their feet were dirty. It grossed me out a bit. They finished as quickly as they began and then it was time for the good stuff.

It's so hard to describe the feeling in the room as the time neared 10.30pm - the Hi Fi Bar filled, the crowd grew restless. By the time it hit 10.25pm there was an excited buzz, sporadic screams and then the clapping started. The room darkened and the crowd erupted as 3 shadows sauntered on stage slowly followed by one tall skinny figure.

Back to the Start blasted through the speakers to a crazy roar as the crowd surged towards the stage in a sweaty heap. Dancing, singing, screaming and clapping erupted as the crowd ate up every note, every tune, every moment.

I have been to a LOT of shows both here and overseas, I've been to music festivals, sideshows, first show, big shows, little shows, arena shows, club shows and more but I have NEVER been to a show with a crowd like this before. It's taken Razorlight 5 years to finally do a tour in our shores and you could tell that everyone in the room was eager - having waited so long they weren't letting Razorlight go without showing their appreciation. They sung along to every word of every song and each song was met with a cheer so loud that you were unable to do anything but cheer with them.

*excited much? I got a set list - love the Roadie love*

And the band - WOW! What a show! With a set list 19 song, they were here to play. Johnny sang his heart out, Carl jumped and danced around, Andy pounded on the drum kit and Bjorn - well I don't really know what Bjorn was doing he was on the opposite side of the stage and I could barely take my eyes off Johnny to notice :) The set flowed perfectly as the new songs melded with the old. Noticeable highlights included Don’t Go Back To Dalston, Hostage of Love, America, In the City, North London Trash and Rip It Up (my personal favourite).

The set was over in what felt like a moment and the chants for encore began in seconds. J Borrell returned to the stage solo asking the dudes at the front what they wanted (they had been calling out for Stumble and Fall all night – lucky for them it was the next song on the set list) and delivered in true acoustic form. His voice rang out over the crowd and was answered in deafening screams and sing-a-long. The rest of the band joined him at the end of the song and the crowd ripped into a frenzy.

They played another 2 songs and we danced and screamed and sang and smiled – a lot. They finished with Somewhere Else and I can quite easily say that no one was thinking the words that he sang but they were singing them with him.

Once it was over I felt satisfied which I did not expect. Sure they left me wanting to hear songs that they didn’t play but I was so over the moon with the songs they DID play that I wasn’t disappointed. I didn’t expect 19 songs, I didn’t expect the crowd reaction, and I didn’t expect to be speechless.

It was awesome to be surrounded by fans, to hear the appreciation of the band first hand, to SEE them enjoying their music and to be able to be 100% happy and there.

This was the show I’ve been waiting for almost 5 years for, THIS was how seeing Razorlight for the first time should have been like(not that it wasn’t amazing, it was a LONG stressful day – I’m not going into that), this is what makes me love live music.

Best part about this is that I get to see them 2 more times this year! I think I was so calm when the show finished because I KNEW there was more to come. There wasn’t that fear that another 3 years would pass and I’d listen to their music and hear about the amazing shows they are playing overseas and never get to see them again – I get to see them again in April and I’m already counting down the days :)

Have you ever seen a band who completely rocked your socks off? Where everything was beyond perfect and you'll never ever in a million years forget about it? Tell me about it!

Excited love & sparkles
x x x
Brooke

Song of the moment = Razorlight - America

Sparks of Happyness - week 12

* Photo taken by me at BDO*

It’s here again. To be honest I can’t believe it’s Thursday again. This week has flown by with so much fun and happyness that I think this weeks list is by far the easiest I’ve had to write.

Big Day Out Festivities – Monday was Big Day Out. For those not in the know the Big Day Out is Australia’s biggest music festival. People can argue otherwise but it’s been around the longest and visits the entire country. This year I decided to return (I didn’t go last year because I was very unimpressed with the line-up). I had about 4 bands who I really really wanted to see and I saw them. I sang along to The Getaway Plan, danced to The Grates, shimmied and shook to The Black Kids and bopped and screamed to the Arctic Monkeys. I saw a whole bunch of other bands throughout the day as well. I was really sceptical about Big Day Out this year because there didn’t seem to be enough bands to get the excitement going for me, but with the help of some great people dancing and singing and laughing with me I had a great time.

Razorlight announcing that they are playing V Festival and supporting Kaiser Chiefs in their sideshow – OMFG *dies*! I really don’t think this needs an explanation – see this post and read the section on Razorlight and multiply that excitement by 150% and you’ll be where I am at right now about this revelation. V Festival now has 3 of my top 5 bands playing – How AMAZING!

Creating lists and analysing my life – I’ve spent a bit of time this week creating lists of things I would like to start doing to make my life more fabulous. A little like my previous post but in more detail. Most of the things I wrote about in that post I have somehow managed to forget about because of life and extreme heat waves in Victoria this week but I feel like it’s the universes way of telling me I should sit down and really look at what I want to change and figure out ways of doing that before I make any rash decisions. I’ve been plotting and planning and this weekend I am going to start putting some of those plans into action by acquiring the tools I need to do so. I am the kind of person who gets bored and distracted easily so I know I have to be really serious and think things through and really commit to them for them to work for me and this week I’ve been getting serious! This inspiration for this change came from the same place as most inspiration has - Gala Darling - and this post

Dinner with beautiful friends – I literally just got back home from going out to dinner with some beautiful people. I love our dinners and always walk away from them feeling happy. We have a great time discussing our lives and eating delicious food and I truly love them to pieces. Tonight we ate some yummy refreshing ice-cream and have made a date to go eat Greek food at this little place in Clayton. I cannot wait! I think I’m counting down the days already J

New necklaces – At Big Day Out I found a necklace that was me all over. I have for a very long time believed that bands who have tambourines are definitely more cooler than bands who do not. A tambourine adds an extra level of festiveness to the bands performance and I feel it is a much neglected instrument. Imagine my delight when I was walking past a stall at Big Day Out and I found a silver chain with a miniature tambourine attached to the end. I looked at it and KNEW that I had to own it. How could I NOT buy a necklace with a mini silver tambourine that made noises when you shook it? Impossible! I have worn it pretty much every day since I bought it and I don’t really see the novelty wearing off any time soon.

Honourable mentions – re-reading Breaking Dawn, new episodes of Greek, drinking sessions while watching Razorlight DVDs, drunk UNO, High School Musical glasses, the movie “The Wrestler” (WOW!), family outings with my parents, shopping by myself, twitter updates from Big Day Out, epic Big Day Out meet up fails, RUSSEL BRAND TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS (this is sure to be a super love when I buy tickets), anticipating this weekend, sweaty hot Ting Tings sideshows, free parking in St Kilda, loving going to work again, cars with air-conditioning, air-conditioning systems in general (it’s been heatwave central here in Victoria), new episodes of 30 Rock (LEMON OUT!), new Lily Allen songs, Britney Spears tour announcements (WTF Melbourne please), getting excited messages from new-ish friends about tour announcements who are just trying to make your day & excessive tiredness.

Please share, I know you’re out there. How was your week? Let me join in on the glee...

I am going to see Ryan Adams tomorrow night. It is supposed to be 40 + degrees in Melbourne tomorrow so it’s sure to be a sweat fest! Then Saturday night is THE event of the month – RAZORLIGHT! I’m sure I’ll come back here with photos and a post filled with too much happyness that my words will all jumble into one and I’ll have to delete and re-write and re-post but I’m sure you’ll love it :)

Extreme love & sparkles
x x x
Brooke

Song of the moment = Razorlight – Hostage of Love

Sparks of Happyness - week 11

*Pictures of Evie taken by me - turned in to polaroids thanks to Poladroid*

I’ve had a pretty great week this past week. Here is my little piece of thanks to the universe.

The Swell Season show – It was last night at the Palais (A big old theatre hall in St Kilda which is beautiful and amazing). You know the show is going to be something special when the lead singer walks onto the stage with an acoustic guitar away from the microphones to the front of the stage and starts singing acoustically out to the crowd. Glen Hansard has an unbelievable voice, it beyond charming, can tell a story that is adorable and funny and can entertain to no end. This was the show I wanted way back when the movie “Once” came out in the UK – it didn’t disappoint. I got chills at some points in the show. Everyone should check them out – or at least watch the movie “Once” to know what I’m talking about.

New handbags – I went shopping on Saturday and walked away from Knox with a bag and some stockings. I was wanting to purchase a bigger style bag but when I saw this little black (I never buy black bags) bag in Dangerfield I couldn’t resist. I looks like it belongs in the 40’s and is so super cute I knew I had to have it. It actually holds a lot more than I expected it to and I’ve used it every day since I bought it. I’m officially obsessed with it.

Catching up with old friends – Saturday night was my dear friend Heathers birthday BBQ and I spent the night laughing and catching up with my friend Liesl who has just returned from her 1 year adventure in the UK & Europe. It was so great to hear her stories and catch up again. I also got to hang out and chat with Becky & Heather too. We talked about life, love, moving out, moving on & surviving quarter life crisis’. It reminded me that some people are in your lives for a reason. Some friendships don’t have to be hard. Some friendships can survive time and space and can feel totally natural and right. I think I’m lucky enough to be able to have a few friends like this – we don’t see each other as often as we’d all like but when we do it’s like no time has passed.

The kindness of strangers – Last night while circling the parking lot next door to the Palais a lady and her family were crossing to get to their car and she waved to me to show me where her car was so I could take her spot (the car park was chockers as it was a lovely day and people were at the beach plus the show was on at the Palais). I thought that was lovely of her until she started walking towards our car – I thought “oh great she’s not really leaving” but instead she handed me her parking ticket (it was a lot where you display the ticket on the dashboard – you don’t need it to exit) that was valid for the rest of the night. I couldn’t believe it – not only had this lady helped me with showing me her park but she gave me her ticket so I got free parking. It really made the beginning of my night fabulous. I haven’t encountered kindness from a stranger in a long time and it really shocked me but made me smile oh so brightly.

Evie & Bridie & Kyla (the trio of nieces) – On Sunday night the family visited my brothers house for dinner so I got to jump on the trampoline with Bridie for a bunch. We then proceeded to sing a dinner song and smile and laugh as we drank our drinks and ate our dinner. I got to cuddle Evie and saw her massive smile for the first time. If I thought was good – today me and Mum minded Kyla who was in a nutcase mood and then Evie came to visit for a few hours. When she first got here I layed down with her on a blanket and talked to her. She smiled and “gooed” and “gahed” and it was so cute my heart wanted to burst. Bridie came over with her Dad (Nathan) to pick up Evie so we read books, cuddled and spat water at each other. It’s amazing how much fun 3 little girls can be and how much they can turn an ok day into a fantastic day.

Honourable mentions – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (OMFG WOW! Such a beautiful/tragic/amazing movie), scouring the internet to find good pictures of Cate Blanchetts hair colour in said movie so I can dye my hair that colour, finding out from my hairdresser that she CAN dye my hair that colour next week, 9 sleeps til Razorlight, 35 days til Jack’s Mannequin, driving Crystals new car, seeing Crystal getting better as a driver, long weekends, making plans, watching lots of the Office (US version), taking beautiful photos of my nieces, trying to plan my USA adventure, buying travel guide books for the USA, my iPhone, finding nail polish that looks like Dorothy’s red shoes in Wizard of OZ, & anticipating my week to come.

It’s been a fun filled week but I’ve remained un-tired. I know that won’t last through to this week to come. I’ve got Big Day Out festival on Monday, the Ting Tings show on Wendesday and then it’s on the crazy stuff after that. I don’t know when my love list will come up next week but expect to read fan-girl gushing about how fabulous Razorlight were next Saturday night (the 31st)!

Tell me you had an amazing week. Make me smile because you’ve smiled.

Major love & sparkles
x x x
Brooke

Song of the moment = Swell Season – Falling Slowly

P.S Anyone heard the new Franz Ferdinand album yet? I’m expecting great things!

Procrastination & Motivation

* photo taken with my iPhone at FC ball*

This week at work I've been finding myself dropping back into my pre-Christmas routine of getting all my work out of the way in the morning and then twiddling my thumbs in the afternoon dreaming about the end of the day.

I've been trying to motivate myself into trying new things but I'm struggling to find new things that excite me. I have been reading all about this hooping sensation that seems to be sweeping all across the internet and it's intruiging me - I just haven't managed to find a hoop to buy :) Actually I haven't looked.

Yesterday the lovely lady Miss Gala Darling did a post on "How To Establish a Fabulous Daily Routine". Perfect timing as usual.

I've been sitting here today thinking about what I'd like to change, what I could change and why I should change it and have come up with the following:

What isn't working?

• The lack of excercise is killing me - literally. I have never before worked in a job that requires me to sit and work at a computer all day and my body is feeling this the most. I don't feel particually healthy and I know if I get off my butt and excercise a bit it will help.
• Snacking on junky junk - This goes hand in hand with the top point. Junk food is not my friend and I know it but somehow it tastes so good that I can't help myself.
• My brain is struggling to stay in that positive attitude space - I know point 1 & 2 contribute to this but I have to keep my brain focused on staying away from negative things.

What do I want my routine to look like?

• Wake up 7.10am - get pretty - eat a delicious breakfast - WALK to work
• Work all day - make sure to snack on nuts/fruits/yummy healthy things
• Walk home - take my beautiful pup for a 30 min walk - try new excercise (hooping?) - rest/get creative - dinner - read for 30 mins before sleepy time

What steps do I need to take to make this a reality?

• Get off my butt - go to the supermarket & stock up on food that tastes delicious and is good for me - buy a hoop - find something that makes my creative brain happy - STOP having loose change in my bag (buy a small adorable piggy bank)

I know it won't take much for me to get happy and healthy again I just need to find things that I find fun to do. I am going to attempt to NOT eat chocolate for 30 days - starting TODAY! Plus I am going to cut back on the Coca Cola intake as of today. I've let myself slip back into the "yeah I'll have a can" almost everyday and it's not a good thing - that stuff is like liquid poison.

I'm a little late on the New Years Resolution but I never keep those so I'm hoping that this will be a better option for me :) Wish me luck...

Extreme love & Sparkles
x x x
Brooke

Song of the moment = Razorlight - North London Trash

Sparks of Happyness - Bumper Edition - Weeks 7 & 8 & 9 & 10

* Photos of the adorable nieces by me*

I know I've been M.I.A from here since '09 began but I have actually been quite busy. I can't pin-point where my time has gone but it has something to do with work being busy again, life picking up and it's summer time in the homeland so that means festivals & sideshows & band fabulousness.

So today will be a bumper edition of Sparks of Happyness and it's being posted a day late but you know what I don't think it matters because the whole point of this is to appreciate what's happened and send that little bit of thanks out to the universe :)

Jack's Mannequin sideshow - It was announced. They are supporting some bands who I could really care less about (only because I don't know then not because they are bad). I don't understand how my heart is going to survive 3 straight days of Jack's Mannequin shows. I can't even describe how I feel about this because it's far too overwhelming. Everytime I think about it I feel like I want to cry, scream, laugh, smile and vomit all at once. It's excitement like I've never felt before (even though I've seen them once and met Andrew McMahon - this is better). I get to see them with my sister, my friends and random strangers who are yet to realise how special these shows are going to be.

Falls Festival & Sideshows - I have already posted about Falls Festival but I also spent 2 nights last week enjoying the sideshows. I saw Franz Ferdinand supported by one of my absolute favourite Aussie bands ever, Red Riders. I also saw The Kooks. Both shows were spectacular - each in their own way.

Red Riders - I enjoyed seeing them so much they deserve their own point. It's been over a year and a half since I last saw this band live and I've missed them a lot! They've been through a lot - lost a member, producer and have had to delay the release and recording of their 2nd album but it's nice to see they haven't lost that something special onstage. I feel like this year it their year too and I hope it's amazing and fabulous and all those great words :)

Family BBQ's - My uncle came down from QLD to visit with his new family (he got married last year and has inherited some kids) so we had the family over at our house for a BBQ. I spent most of the night playing with Bridie and Kyla in the dirt and I haven't smiled and laughed so much in my life! I then had a fabulous conversation with one of the new kids about Twilight - where she tried to tell me things I already knew about the series and things that weren't true. It was a truly fun night.

Fabulous movies - I've seen some great movies in the past few weeks too - Role Models, Twilight (again - yep I'm up to 3 now), & Yes Man. I did try and see Bride Wars last night but the cinema had a black out (I KNOW) so I don't know if it's a good movie yet... Tomorrow I plan to go check out either Doubt or the Wrestler at Knox - I feel like I need a movie with substance.

Poladroid for Windows - As you can probably tell I'm a little in love with this application. I got so excited it was finally here that all my pics are polaroids now :)

Finding new accessories on sale - I've had my eye on this cute purple fake leather flower bracelet (I'm using the word bracelet because cuff sounds wrong but bracelet is also wrong) for quite some time now and I went into Diva on the weekend and it was onsale for $5! I snapped it up along with a new necklace, new black bow clip and some new headbands.

BOOKING FLIGHTS FOR AMERICAN ADVENTURES - Yep! Uh huh! I've booked my flights to Los Angeles in July - I will be in New York for my birthday - I am going to Disneyworld! I am so ridiculously excited that I'm going back to the USA. I can't wait to visit new cities, hang out with old friends, shop til I drop (or until my credit card won't let me anymore) and see a Broadway show on my birthday!

Honourable mentions - Long conversations about the future of your fav bands, secret conversations about new band members, cuddling Evie, new glitter from Sportsgirl, my iPhone, my mighty book of boosh, watching new episode of One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl & Scrubs, re-watching Boosh, re-watching The Office (US version), wearing bows in my hair, decorating bum bags for festival fun, creating countdowns for fabulous bands - 15 days til Razorlight & 41 days til Jacks Mannequin, free lollies from customers, having time off over the New Year, finding old jewellery, dressing up for lame work functions, and re-discovering new items of clothing that I forgot I bought.

How has everyone been? What's been happening since I disappeared? Tell me about the start of your year!

I really think that the start of my year has begun right. I'm happy, excited and have adventures planned - BRING IT ON!

Bright shiny love & sparkles

x x x

Brooke

Song of the moment = Jack's Mannequin - The Resolution

Hello oh-nine

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

I know I disappeared for a bit there but it doesn't help when you travel somewhere new for New Years where you have no phone reception and are sleeping in tents.

I spent my time dancing to amazing music at the Fall Festival in Marion Bay in Tasmania. It was an adventure filled with fun times, sleepless nights, lots of glitter and did I mention the dancing.

Rather than try to explain the past fews days I'm just going to photo blog it. Usually I'm more of a writer and prefer descriptions but today I'm still feeling sleepy from the trip so check out the pics :)

*clicky click for bigger versions *

The people in the tents beside us were noisy and weird and kept talking about this ellusive "Barry" character who we never saw the entire time we were there. We snuggled at night to keep ourselves warm in our tent and woke up in the morning and ate Kellogs Crunchy Nut Cornflakes out of plastic cups with forks.

The days went from beautiful sunny to horrible rain but it didn't dampen our spirits or the celebration. We embraced the rain and wore garbage bags as home-made raincoat

I welcomed the New Year singing and dancing to The Hives and the last song I heard play that morning was "Bathroom Gurgle" by Late of the Pier - to which I danced, sang and danced some more.

It was a fabulous time and I know I'll do it again someday.

How was your New Years? Did you dance? Did you have fun? Was it filled with glitter?

Mega love & Sparkles

x x x

Brooke

Song of the moment = The Hives - Try it Again