Italian Summer

Can you believe that this is just a random, non-heritage-listed town in the Italian countryside? Apparently it is nowhere special - just where people live - even though the town is filled with medieval architecture and the most gorgeous abandoned castles. I have yet to come across any part of Italy that is not completely beautiful. I am definitely falling in love with the place. shirt - Thrifted + DIY dress - "Internet Shop" in Haymarket shoes - Asos glasses - Cotton On bag - Thrifted Apparently, the place that I am travelling to for the next two weeks will not have any internet! So if I suddenly disappear, or my posts are a little bit more sporadic, please don't worry about me/get mad that I'm not posting anything - it just means that I haven't been able to find any good internet cafes! And anyway, it might be nice to be without internet for two weeks. I have nothing against the internet, or being a heavy internet user - in fact I think it's one the most incredible human inventions - but I am really reliant on it so it'll be interesting to see how I do without it. Anyway, you can keep up to date with any posts that I make through facebook and twitter if I do manage to get online, and I also have some scheduled posts that'll go up by themselves in the coming week! Oh! And I will have a DIY on how to make this shirt I'm wearing tomorrow, which is exciting because I haven't posted any clothing tutorials for ages! I hope that you're all having a lovely day, Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Rabbits in High Heels / Blood Vessels

These photos are super summery, but they were actually taken just a couple of days before I left for Italy, on a strangely warm winters day in Sydney. I am so in love with this shirt that was sent to me by Sheinside - it's the perfect amount of bizarre, as I've come to expect from the clothing at Sheinside (you can't see it in these photos, but these rabbits are also wearing giant red high-heels. Of course). blouse - c/o Sheinside skirt - Paper Hearts shoes - Yeswalker socks - Cotton On Body belt - Thrifted hat - c/o Wholesale Today I will leave you with this awesome image of the blood vessels in the human body, via the Bodies Revealed exhibition. The model is made by the process of "polymer preservation", which involves using liquid silicone rubber to preserve real tissue from human beings. This preservation process can take up to a year to complete. image source Because your lungs is where the transfer of oxygen into the blood stream, and carbon dioxide out of the blood stream occurs, there are a lot of tiny blood vessels (called capillaries) hanging around there, as you can see! There is also a lot around your digestive system in the stomach area, to pick up all those nutrients that you consume, and of course, in your brain, to feed all the billions of neurons (and glia) that help you do your thinking! While showing my boyfriend Luci this blog post, he said: "How do people not just burst all over the floor?? How is there room for anything else!?" It's amazing to think that on top of the blood vessels, there is room for all your cells, proteins and enzymes as well. Look at the head - there is room amongst all those blood vessels for billions of neurons and glial cells (which make up the brain) as well, not to mention that every cell in your body contains about 2 meters of DNA. The body is really good at compacting things, that's for sure - so don't worry about bursting all over the floor. I hope that you're all having a beautiful day so far. Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Good Morning, Paradise / Science Saving Ducklings

My heart almost exploded when I woke up to this scene this morning. I think I may possibly be the luckiest person in the world right now. I had no idea that Italy was just so incredibly beautiful (and thank you Nellie for snapping these twilight photos - not so bad for someone to whom I just said "stand there and click".) Not only is this little vineyard villa completely tranquil, it's also got kickass wifi, so I'm planning a lot of outfit shoots around this place. shirt - Sportsgirl skirt - Paper Hearts bag - Thrifted hat - Market stall in Osaka  necklace - Claire's Here's a cute science story to start off your day (or to accompany an afternoon coffee if you're in Australia). This duckling was born with a genetic deformation that caused him to have a backwards foot. The duckling had difficulties walking and was also at great risk of infections from the many injuries he sustained trying to get around. So his owners had his bad foot amputated, and replaced with a 3D-printed prosthetic (if you're new to 3D printing, I rave about it here, here and here). The duckling, now a grown-up duck, has his own facebook page and took his very first steps on his new foot just two days ago! Image Source Yay for 3D Printing! It's basically the best. Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Paint by Numbers and Italian Scientists

Ciao! I am currently writing this post from a vineyard in Italy! I took these photos back in rainy Sydney, though - I haven't coincidentally found a wall that looks exactly like the same one back at home to take photos in front of. Ahh, and Italy... what can I say. There are not enough superlatives to describe how amazingly awesomely wonderfully beautiful it is. There will be photos. blouse - Thrifted skirt - c/o Romwe socks - c/o OASAP bag - Thrifted hat - c/o Wholesale shoes - Yeswalker As I am currently still very jetlagged, I am re-posting a science story I wrote back in January (originally here) about one of my inspirations, the Italian scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini. So if you've seen this before, I apologise! But as she was such an awesome person, this might be worth re-reading anyway. Rita Levi-Montalcini was an amazing, fiery and bad-ass neuroscientist, who sadly passed away in January, aged 103 years old. Image source and article Italian-born, she pursued a career in science at university despite both her father and 1930s society being generally against women in higher education. Then, she had to go into hiding when Mussolini came into power, as she was Jewish and thrown out of her university. To continue studying science, she built a secret research laboratory. Despite this, in 1986 she won a Nobel Prize for discovering something called "nerve growth factor", which greatly advanced our understanding of how neurons (nerve cells) work. Being at this point 77 years of age, she never slowed down - she went on to found the European Brain Research Institute in Rome, and a foundation encouraging the education of young women in Africa. She gave lectures and spoke out about promoting equality for women in science. And she turned up to work every day super well-dressed, with perfectly manicured hands and coiffured hair, even after turning 100. Basically, I want to grow up to be Rita. Read more about her amazing life here. Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Send Me On My Way

Arrivederci, Australia! Right now, I'm sitting in a hotel room trying to use mobile internet to get this post out - and in just 6 hours from now, I am meant to be getting up and hopping on a plane (ugh, 6am flights!). Anyway, here is my outfit from the other day! I'm really loving stripey things right now, and thigh-high socks! (And I'll have a stripey shirt DIY up in a couple of days, ooh!) I've brought a few pairs of thigh-highs to Italy with me, too, but I don't know if I'll be able to wear them in the summer heat. It's going to be a shock going from winter (and constant rain) to the middle of a heatwave-summer. shirt - Cotton On overalls - Thrifted necklace - c/o MartofChina socks - c/o OASAP shoes - c/o Yeswalker hat - c/o Wholesale Anyway, wish me luck for my flight - I'll be doing some more blogging from Rome, I hope! (I don't have time for a science post right now, but you can read my post about the physics of air-flight, if you missed it the other day!) Oh, and one more thing - everytime I go travelling, I make sure that this song is on my phone: Send Me On My Way by Rusted Root (it's the Matilda song!) Even though I'm a super sciencey scientist and all, and try not to be superstitious... that song is the best for good travelling vibes ;) Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Neapolitan Feet & 30,000 Ft Microbes

Today I aimed for my feet to look like melting ice creams! Do you think I succeeded?  These neapolitan-coloured brogues sent to me by MartofChina are only $15 - and they have sizes which fit my big feet, too! I really like them - although I think I will swap the laces for something a little nicer (the ones that came with them are a bit like pieces of string). Otherwise, I'm very happy with them! Also - this overall-style skirt is from a physical store in Haymarket, Sydney, that is actually called "Internet Shop". So if you're getting confused as to why there is no link below, and going "but it's called Internet Shop!?!", that is why. blouse - c/o Romwe skirt - Internet Shop shoes - c/o Mart of China necklace - c/o Les Folles Marquises socks - Tutuanna hat - c/o Wholesale Bacteria rule the world. For every human, Not only is there about 10 times more bacterial cells on and in your body than your own body cells, but there are probably about 5 million trillion trillion (5 with 30 zeros after it) bacteria on Earth. They are also extremely adaptable - bacteria can live inside hot springs and volcanoes, deep underneath the ocean and also, apparently, 9 km (or 30,000 ft) up in the atmosphere.  (Image Source) Very recently, scientists at Georgia Tech hitched a ride on some NASA airplanes, took samples of clouds and searched them for bacteria. They found about 100 different types of bacteria living in the clouds. And the bacteria might even affect how clouds form - at 30,000 feet, ice crystals which form the clouds need a particle to grow around - and that position could possibly be filled by bacteria. That means that bacteria not only rule our bodies and our land, they could also be controlling the weather. Read more about it here, it's super fascinating (I've been reading about it all morning). Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr