Grumpus and Dewi

After Grumpus's disastrous meeting with Valentine, he felt a wee bit bad about the decapitation, stoning and shooting through the heart thang. So from that day forward he decided to play nice with all the other saints, in the hopes that one day he would get to be St Grumpus and have a holiday of his very own! Erm I mean he wanted to be nice and stuff like that, in a truly altruistic way.

The Grumpus came across Dewi whilst he was up on a hillock, talking to a bird. The bird twas a dove perched upon Dewi's shoulder. Turns out Dewi was a vegetarian, who liked to party in Glastonbury, so after a few wild nights, Grumpus went on his way. Dewi was nice on all, but what with all the leeks and being vegetarian, I am sorry to say that Dewi had more than a little wind problem. 

Happy Saint David's Day to my Welsh Chums!

Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus.

Factoid: The welsh leek has a flower much like a daffodil (which is quite a bit easier to find around the world in March), so many use daffodils instead

What will the Grumpus get up to next? I wonder if you can guess?

Colleen Atwood's Oscar-winning Alice in Wonderland costume designs...

Congratulations to Colleen Atwood for winning the prestigious Best Achievement in Costume Design Oscar, for Tim Burton and Disney's Alice in Wonderland live-action movie, at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards on February 27, 2011.

Alice in Wonderland movie poster

This is her third Oscar win from a career filled with nine Academy Award nominations in total, plus numerous other industry accolades.

Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter battle costume

Her previous wins came for Chicago in 2003 and Memoirs of a Geisha in 2006.

Colleen Atwood designed Alice in Wonderland

dresses worn by Mia Wasikowska

Colleen Atwood's other Oscar nominations include costume design for Nine, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Sleepy Hollow, Beloved and Little Women.

Crispin Glover's Stayne Knave of Hearts costume

Here are just a selection of her fantastical costumes that were photographed on display around Los Angeles at the El Capitan Theatre, ArcLight Hollywood and Sherman Oaks cinemas, and at Walt Disney Studios Headquarters.

Helen Kingsley and Young Alice costumes

Alice in Wonderland also won the Oscar for Art Direction going to Robert Stromberg (Production Design) and Karen O'Hara (Set Decoration).

Hatter Clan costumes designed by Colleen Atwood

You can see some of the props used to decorate the Wonderland movie sets here at Hollywood Movie Costumes and Props.

White Queen and Red Queen Courtier costumes

Alice in Wonderland movie billboard

Colleen Atwood beat off stiff competition in the Costume Design category from Jenny Beavan for The King's Speech, Mary Zophres for True Grit, Antonella Cannarozzi for I Am Love and Sandy Powell for The Tempest. Here is a glimpse of some of the other Oscar nominees work, simply click the link for more detailed photos and other outfits from the movies.

The King's Speech film costumes designed by Jenny Beavan

The Tempest movie costumes designed by Sandy Powell

True Grit movie costumes designed by Mary Zophres

what to wear at the opera

Whatever you feel comfortable in! Some people like to go all out (especially on opening night), and some people prefer a more casual look. Both are welcome!

Visit the Your Night at the Opera section on our website - it will tell you what to expect at the theatre. You can also check out the Fashion at the Opera section on our Flickr for ideas:

Hope that helps!

- Selina Rajani, Communications Manager

Ask me anything

Spotted

These are not your grandmother's garden gnome -

These guys were spotted in West Elm store in Hallandale Beach, FL. They're about a foot high and I want to say they were under $25, but in all honesty I really can't remember. I can't find them on the West Elm website yet, but I'm sure they'll be there soon.

Five Minute Hummus

One of the questions I get a lot is, how do I make and photograph and then EAT all this stuff and not weigh 500 pounds?  (The questions usually are asked in a much nicer way than that, but that's the general drift.)  And while I'm not as slender as I was before I got-married-had-a-baby-started-a-food-blog, I'm so far still fitting into the same size Levi's I've been wearing for the last 10 years or so.  One of the answers I always give (and it is very true) is this: small plates!  I'm a great believer in eating things that are truly delicious, and I'd rather have a little bit of bacon then a whole lot of celery.

However, from time to time I have to resort to, shall we say, a more strict eating regimen?  Just for a little while until the Levi's can be buttoned without the whole lie down on the floor trick.  And this time, I am going for Mark Bittman's routine which he calls Simple Till Six.  The basic gist is this: you eat like a vegan from the minute you wake up until 6pm...and then you eat the way you always eat, maybe watching things a little more carefully, but in general, going your usual bacon-loving way.

So I've been doing this for the past month or so, and it's actually been pretty great, both for my Levi's and in terms of coming up with some interesting recipes that rely exclusively on veggies, fruits, whole grains, nuts and anything else that doesn't involve meat/poultry/fish/dairy/eggs/bacon.  And that I, food-worshipper that I am, actually LIKE.  So, I am going to start a new "vegan" tag on these recipes so I can keep track, and the first one I made and adore is this one.  I can't believe I have been buying overpriced, pre-packaged, not-as-good hummus at the supermarket when I can literally make it in LESS than 5 minutes at home.

I'll put the recipe in formal form below just to be all official, but here's basically what it is: Dump the following items in your food processor: one can of drained chick peas, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, a clove of garlic, 2 tablespoons tahini (this is optional but I like the taste).  Press the on switch and let it rip until it looks like hummus.  You can thin it down with a tablespoon or two of water if you like your hummus really smooth.

After that, feel free to garnish it with a little paprika, maybe an extra swirl of olive oil, and then it's just a matter of deciding what you will be scooping it up with.  Pita chips, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices and your finger all work equally well.

And at 6pm, I'll be breaking out the bacon.

Five Minute Hummus, from  Real Simple

• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
• 1 clove garlic
• 1⁄4 cup olive oil, plus more for serving
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste; optional)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

1. In a food processor, puree the chickpeas and garlic with the olive oil, lemon juice, tahini (if using), cumin, and ¾ teaspoon salt until smooth and creamy. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water as necessary to achieve the desired consistency.
2. Transfer to a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the paprika before serving.

Click here for printable recipe

Shark Week Baby Shower Invite with Download

Here is a mock up of the Shark Week invite -

The beauty of doing the ivites online is you can print youself for cheap or use a service like Moo or Vista Print and have them look totally profesional.

Double click the small blank invite to open the photo in a new window, then right click and save to your computer. You can add your own text in Photoshop or even in Word if you're going to be printing them yourself at home. Or, better yet you can upload and add text on Picnik, seriously, I heart Picnik.

Tartar Guard costume and polar bear maquette from The Golden Compass...

The Golden Compass is a 2007 movie adaptation of the first in Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy of fantasy novels. The movie follows the adventures of Lyra Belacqua in a parallel world to ours.

Original Tartar Guard costume from

The Golden Compass on display

The Tartars are a feared militaristic people of the North. These warrior soldiers are used by the dogmatic ruling Magisterium to guard children held captive at Bolvangar, whilst they are experimented upon to learn the secrets of Dust.

Ruth Myers was Costume Designer on the movie and this costume was photographed on display at the London Film Museum on January 25, 2011.

The Golden Compass movie poster

On her travels Lyra befriends a talking armoured bear, 'Iorek Byrnison', an expert metalsmith from the land of Svalbard. In the movie the male polar bear is voiced by Sir Ian McKellan.

Iorek Byrnison polar bear maquette from The Golden Compass

This original sculpted maquette was presented to the director for approval before being scanned in to create Iorek Byrnison in CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) in the movie.

The Golden Compass movie poster

Buy Philip Pullman's original His Dark Materials trilogy: His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass)

His Dark Materials Omnibus (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass)

Buy the movie and the illustrated book companion: The Golden Compass [Blu-ray]

The Golden Compass (Full-Screen Single-Disc Edition)

The Golden Compass: Official Illustrated Movie Companion

Garden Party Baby Shower Invite with Download

Here is a mock up of the flowery invite -

Double click the small blank invite below to open the photo in a new window, then right click and save to your computer. You can add your own text in Photoshop or even in Word if you're going to be printing them yourself at home. Or, better yet you can upload and add text on Picnik, seriously, I heart Picnik.

The beauty of doing the ivites online is you can print youself for cheap or use a service like Moo or Vista Print and have them look totally profesional.

Sock Monkey Baby Shower Invite with Download

This is my choice theme if the baby is going to be a boy.

Here is a mock up of the invite -

The beauty of doing the ivites online is you can print youself for cheap or use a service like Moo or Vista Print and have them look totally profesional.

Double click the small blank invite to open the photo in a new window, then right click and save to your computer. You can add your own text in Photoshop or even in Word if you're going to be printing them yourself at home. Or, better yet you can upload and add text on Picnik, seriously, I heart Picnik.

I am also going to shave a the D.I.Y. for a Sock Monkey invite if you'd rather go the handmade route.

sweet escape

Fasten your seat belts and enjoy the flight, because we're heading for Bali!

Our accommodation at Matahari Bungalow was absolutely heavenly! We even had a resident kitty! The staff were gracious and friendly and before we knew it, we were calling them by name by the end of our four-day stay!

I found this notice at our pool amusing...

Nothing escapes art in Bali. This scene of motorbikes lining up for gas at the station sums it up for me!

We stopped by the art market at Sukawati and my dad went crazy. Nop, not crazy enough to buy all these pots, but he did buy A LOT from this particular store.

Passed by a few people having an intimate moment...aha ha ha ha...

Gunung Agung (which translates to 'Majestic Mountain') is the tallest peak and volcano in Bali. It was a pretty awesome view considering the fact that everything was shrouded in clouds just a few minutes before!

Shrines can be found everywhere in Bali (kinda like parking meters in the city). These ones were at a restaurant facing Gunung Agung.

On the slopes of Gunung Agung is the Besakih Temple -- mother of all temples. These statues of Gods and Demons line the entrance of the temple. Sarongs are wrapped around most trees and statues around Bali to render them sacred (and in most part, decent).

The Tirta Empul/Tampak Siring temple is the only temple in Bali that will (self) serve you holy spring water. It is probably the safest unboiled water you can drink for free in Bali. Very much frequented by the locals :)

 

The proudest thing I did in Bali was to drink 'kopi luwak'. Potent and shitty. I guess I now have to admit I drank coffee made of civet cat poo to justify my moment of glory. NB: My brother was trying to entice the crazy super hyperactive mofo to stay still for a good shot and got scratched pretty badly in the process. We reckon its all that coffee its been having!!

Great. The whole world is gay.

Twisted monkey (probably due to alcohol abuse).

At Kuta beach where everyone loves Bali and turquoise is in fashion.

I'd be happy to sit in a truck like that and collect beach trash alllllll day!

Surfs up! Also, as always, Tassy is losing it.

Balinese are Hindus, not Muslims like the majority of Indonesians. Their culture differs from the Muslims whereby they make offerings every morning in front of their homes and/or workplaces for their safety and protection against harm. Thats what I got out of our tourist guide anyways...

Meet my dad and my bro with a mo. Taken at the Uluwatu temple, 70 metres above the Indian Ocean. The temple is behind me -- in ruins.

The Uluwatu temple grounds had so many cheeky little monkeys reknown for snatching personal belongings off tourists! I had a large male monkey have a go at my bright sandals! Thank God our guide came well prepared with an umbrella. Thats right, jot it down -- monkeys fear umbrellas...

The one thing Dad wanted to do in Bali was to eat Babi Guling (roast pig) at Ibu Oka's. He had seen Anthony Bourdain visit the place on the Food and Travel channel and so we ALL had to eat the many weird bits of a roast pig for lunch that day. 

Studio Ghibli much? I find the frogs at the corners so 'Spirited Away'! This temple is at Lake Bedugul, which is located in the mountainous areas of North Bali. Its like a little hill-resortlike place in the tropics with the temperature there being cooler than the lowlands (a bit like the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia). The water levels were high that day from the overnight rain, or else it would've been possible to walk across to the temple. My favourite place in Bali because it is so magical! :D

Among the many things I love in this world are bright colours!

 

Young boys making a living by selling kites at Tanah Lot. These kites are cool because they give the best silhouttes! :

This one brings back childhood memories of Peter Pan! :) 

 

Four days was definitely not enough for me to get a good trip out of Bali, simply because I am that kind of tourist that will read up on every single piece of history in a museum, explore every back alley, and then do it all over again. Needless to say, I'm definitely going back! This time with less bright sandals and I AM BUYING THAT GODDAMN RAINBOW-COLOURED UMBRELLA!

left back in time, xo

PS: Thank you DS. Utomo and Ellie for the recent follow! :)