Kristina Dryza

Living in rhythm

6th October 2011 | 0 comments | 1 person likes this

Oh my! Over a year since my last post. There really isn't a worthy explanation and I’m not even going to try. Let's just sweep it under the carpet like no time has passed and get on with the business of today. And what’s currently of interest to me is rhythm, which is in all creation, and what my future novel is about.
‘Grace and the Wind’ is a unique cross between...

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Post-holiday blues

2nd August 2010 | 1 comments | 1 person likes this

Back from holiday and since landing all I’ve done is complain that Tokyo isn’t Hawaii. I am a whining five-year-old wanting to time travel back to the beach paradise I left behind. I don’t want to deal with all the stuff that magically disappears when away, namely paying bills, unclogging drains, deleting spam and er, work. Put simply, get me out of here!
I know I’ve got to leave the sand...

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Down the rabbit hole

29th April 2010 | 0 comments | 1 person likes this

I was working all weekend in Manhattan so couldn’t indulge in my favourite pastime of brunch. A friend once derided the whole American weekend brunch phenomenon and the queuing it induces declaring, “It’s eggs. You crazy people are queuing for eggs.”
The older I get the less I like queuing and the more I’m in NYC the more I ‘get’ that the enjoyment of the city comes from being in...

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Niche perfumery

12th March 2010 | 0 comments | 1 person likes this

For a certain in the know person, a fragrance from Escentric Molecules is the only accessory worth wearing. Created by one of the most talented perfumers in the industry, Geza Schoen, the brand has a cult following with worldwide waiting lists and adulation from every fashionista worth her top note. Oh, and lest you forget, there’s the much discussed pheromone effect.
You’ve probably read how Molecule 01 is a single scent...

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An expression of creativity

8th February 2010 | 2 comments | 2 people like this

Every Wednesday afternoon in Adelaide my mother with several other women go to Crystal’s house to work on their beading projects. Crystal, a designer of ornate jewelry, hosts these afternoons not as social occasions, but as a way for women to make a commitment to their creativity within a busy lifestyle. “It’s a way for women to stop putting themselves last on their to do list,” she says. “Women are...

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Scented candles are the new flowers

27th January 2010 | 0 comments | 1 person likes this

Flowers are there at all the most important moments in life – weddings, births, deaths – and CALMING PARK, a company whose candles are made in Grasse, France, believes there’s only one comparable modern day object, the scented candle.
To founder Olivier Rohrbach, scented candles embody the same symbolism and provide the equivalent desire we have from flowers – for them to act as our calm and still companions as we...

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47 things I learnt about Christmas parties

9th December 2009 | 3 comments | 2 people like this

With many Christmas parties to attend this week, as well as hosting my own at my home last Saturday night, I thought I'd share some of the lessons learnt. As they say, experience is the best teacher.
1. All anybody wants is to be invited somewhere. So don't stress too much about your party. You've already done the most important part - giving people a place to go. Mission accomplished. After...

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Documentary Review: Seed Hunter

24th November 2009 | 2 comments | 3 people like this

The invitation asked if I’d like to see a documentary on seeds. “Er, no, not especially,” I thought. But like all things you go into in life with your mind made up, the ‘thing’ in question always has a habit of changing your mind.
The restaurant that on entry looks like the dodgiest dive ever is the one on exiting you proclaim to friends as the best in the world e-v-e-r....

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What I’d give for a decent scone

9th November 2009 | 5 comments | 2 people like this

A scone has the power to heal my soul. Even more so when it’s part of a decadent afternoon tea at a fine hotel, but also on its own, with its favoured companions, strawberry jam and clotted cream.
To me a scone means leisure. It means choice in what I’m doing. Freedom. And definitely no guilt.
It means being idle and enjoying life. It means it’s 4pm and there’s nothing better to...

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Traveling the Trans-Siberian railway

27th October 2009 | 1 comments | 3 people like this

So I’ve been out of the loop. I opted out of life and spent a month traveling the Trans-Siberian railway from St Petersburg-Beijing. No phone, no email, no Facebook. Just more life.
Now back and ensconced in my Tokyo routine and feeling dehumanised by urban life; family, friends and clients have kindly been asking for details of my trip . . . and I’ve discovered that it’s impossible to put a...

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