• Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
• Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
• MGMT - Oracular Spectactular
• Lykke Li - Youth Novels
• Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
• Santogold - Santogold
• LadyHawke – LadyHawke

Astonishingly, these are all debut releases. It’s also super-happy-fantastic to see Pip Brown, aka, Ladyhawke, taking on the world and ripping up dance floors everywhere (that’s my usually latent Kiwi pride coming out).

I also enjoyed discovering a few other musical acts such as Pharoahe Monch, who I first saw at the Splore Festival in February (”Simon Says” is now one of my anthems). The Chemical Brothers were an act I revisited - they played in February, complete with awesome AV - leading me to systematically go through their archives. The architecture geek in me nearly died when I saw this wire frame fly through. Warning, loads of flashing, not suitable for sensitive types:

However, my favourite live experience had to be seeing psychedelic rockers Little Bushman playing with the Auckland Philharmonia. It was magical and something I will never forget. It was like being in an aural cavern of sparkling jewels and I was a greedy miner. Harps! Timpani! An organ!

What were your musical highlights of 2008? When did the shivers run down your spine to your toes? When did you fingers click uncontrollably? When did you wish your brain recorded video?

Oh snap.

Tawharanui, a regional park.

My standard holiday look - turban, cotton dress, sunnies. Sweet.

Warning, participants may find words addictive.

How were your holidays? How did you ring in the new year? I watched fireworks, jumped around and hugged my friends to near death. Haha, I trust you had a similarly lovely time.

Hm, there’s a lot of muted beachy sleepiness in my pictures isn’t there? All that relaxation was nice… but now I’m super keen to get into new projects and adventures. Right on, 2009, let’s kick some ass!

Because of the perceived demarcation of time, it’s a good time to set goals and resolve to do thing differently. In particular I like the New Year for reassessing my style for the year ahead – it’s mid season too, so you have a wee bit of thinking and preparation time.

This year my personal fashion resolutions are:

- To wear lipstick more often or, at least, some sort of stain. I’m kind of lazy and just use gloss all the time, when the lovely MAC colours that seduced me at the counter go unused.

- To buy a pair of Frye boots. I love these stormy ones and would like to make them mine!

- To wear my Chucks less (to work). I love them but sometimes they don’t work so well in the boardroom. Plus it’s an opportunity to buy some towering wedges I have had my eye on.

- To go to the gym more often (3x a week). Right now I have a rather sporadic approach to my training, which is a shame because I was so good for months! Routines are necessary and must be followed.

- To wear more hats! I adore fascinators and the way they manage to turn a plain outfit into something sultry. I’d like to embrace the hat look with open arms - I want to be the fancy girl in the feather finery!

What are your style resolutions or goals?

If you want to change your style but are having trouble deciding on exactly what to do; take it small and easy to begin with. Initially I brainstormed one thing to wear more of, one thing to wear less of, one thing to buy, a beauty wish and a health/fitness goal! Goal maestros recommend making things even more specific, so break these thoughts down even further. For instance, wear make up more is a bit generic so I then focused it on my lips. Sassier shoes became buying the Frye boots.

Another tact you could try is writing a style statement and highlighting the elements you want to build upon this year:

“2K9 is the year robots take over planet Earth and force us to wear a uniform of black hooded dresses and blue metallic tights. I ward off the negative energies of the everyday by wearing amulets of amethyst and large powder-coated chain necklaces. 6 inch towering black heels keep me looking above the heads of the crowd, keeping an eye out for ‘bots.”

More of a visual person? Destroy a few of those magazines you have lying around - snip imagery that takes your fancy and create some fashion inspiration collages to refer to. Be sure to note down designers of pieces you particularly like!

One of my (in progress!) 2009 style inspiration collages.

For others, it may be a combination of the two. I’m going to print out my list, along with a few of my favourite collages of late, and pin them to the inside of my wardrobe. Everyday inspiration, voila! And hopefully, some style resolutions we can stick to!

It’s all a bit design orientated today… but who is to say that’s a bad thing? Design geeks for life!

• Learn something new - Nike presents art based video workshops on zines, cinematography, skateboard design and more.

• Create a reading list for the holidays with The Economist - its pick of the best books of 2008.

• How do you design? Hugh Dubberly has assembled a compendium of over 100 design processes/models. All laid out in a great PDF.

• Behold! Grace Jones in chocolate. Nuff said.

• NY Times picks the best ideas of 2008.

Tokyo Subway Map

• Redesigning the subway maps of the world means a heart shaped New York system and a Tokyo map which is reminiscent of a turntable.

• Flickr colour search tool - amazing results!

• Incredible handmade typefaces, straight out of Estonia. Yum yum.

From top to bottom: Mason’s Men’s Store, Mei Mei, Widdess (with the cute lil knitted puddings), Jamie Boutique (book list to die for) and World Beauty (lights & giant letters ❤). Just a little touch of Christmas - but these are boutiques not huge over-the-top department stores. Um and I just had to show you those shoes even though there are no holiday decorations at all! Silver boots count as festive though, right?

Further afield, Fred Flare has a photo tour of NYC’s store windows - screaming CHRISTMAS! What are the window displays like in your ‘hood?

I do like - they remind me of corals and sea anemones! However what really stands out is the use of zips as an object of beauty in their own right, rather than for pure function.

“In art school,” Kate explained, “I realized that once you allow yourself to use materials in unconventional ways, then, just about anything is possible. It’s ironic that most fashion designers try to hide or disguise zippers in their creations. However, I love zippers’ shiny metal teeth and I want to show off, not hide, their sparkle and their sinuous flexibility.”

Ah yes, those little dangerous teeth. Also, not being the sewing type, Kate’s work alerted me to the fact zips come in different colours… something I never really thought about before.

Marc Jacobs is also feeling the zipped aesthetic, with these hair barrettes:

I really like both manifestations of ze zipper - a rock and roll hard edged look made wearable. A touch of punk!

A personal curatorship that amuses and inspires!

photos from the adobe bookshop project

bookshelves by chotda

Red and orange and yellow and green, indigo, violet and blue…

The power of colour can not be underestimated for bringing interesting new dimensions to your life. Gorgeous and so easy… anyone can do it!

Make your whole life seemingly organised - Rearrange your CD’s like Nattbarn has done or your clothes - a la Nubby Twiglet. Read only green books for a month. Eat a rainbow of foods for a week (at your own risk). Only take photos of yellow objects or, if you’re feeling sassy, pink. Write your diary out in lime green ink. Work within constraints to break new ground in your life. Feel the power of the spectrum… Embrace it!

The Paris Wallpaper City Guide will go down a treat when you are plotting an excursion to the fair city - full of cool tidbits and local nous that will see you hitting the ground running. When you make your own discoveries you can note them down in the back of the book. Multi-function for the win! I have recently bought one in anticipation of taking on Beijing and the Tokyo one has been a good friend to me in the past.

And to go with your travel literature, may I suggest a Maison de cire Trudon candle, in the scent of Roi Soleil! “The candles are part of a legacy which extends back to 1643, when the first Maison de cire Trudon apothecary opened in Paris, providing its services to Queen Marie Therese. ” Since then they have been gracing the olfactory spheres of royalty, parishes and other notable residences.

What makes Roi Soleil especially wondrous is its fragrance  - inspired by the “”Mirror Gallery” and the vast wooden floor of the Chateau de Versailles”. It is described as a “kingly and solar perfume”, that “blends a green and wooded wake of coniferous trees to the sumptuous dizziness of incense with a light ray of citrus”.

Ooh la la - that language! Egads, I am almost sniffing my screen… As you know, I am on a Français film spree and have just watched Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (so sweet, like candyfloss hair) - so this is perfect. The candles are also vegetable-wax based - meaning they’re animal friendly, which is the only way to go.

Imagine the two items bundled in tissue, wrapped in brown paper, then tied up with peach tulle. Whether for yourself or someone dear to you, what a breath-taking gift to unwrap - magnifique!