shine little light*

Oh yeah and...

2012-02-14T14:00:00.000+11:00

Happy Valentines.

It's actually my Dad's birthday today and I'm far more into celebrating that than a hallmark holiday. We're cooking a feast for him tonight which is such a treat as we live so close now. This song is for him as he introduced me to Tom Waits and I love him for it to this day. Thanks for being the perfect combination of ridiculously intelligent, fun, handy, comforting and awesome. Love.

Before & After: Arm Chairs

2012-02-14T11:40:00.000+11:00

I have these fabulous parrot chairs on loan from my mum who in turn has them on permanent loan from a friend. They are a little worse for wear, poor things, but they are super comfy to curl up in and sink into and I love the shades of green in them. Having a puppy around the house now means that any loose dangely bits of fabric may get eaten and made worse, plus I wanted to freshen up the darlings. Whilst sorting through my fabric scraps box I came across this gorgeous cotton that I picked up in an op shop in Adelaide over Christmas. I had just enough to do both, I hemmed it and gave it some corners so that they just slip over the worst of the wear.

Introducing: Lola

2012-02-13T09:34:00.002+11:00

Me: Hey Lola this is my blog.
Lola: Can I chew it?
Me: No please don't chew it Lola, meanwhile please take Tim's sock out of your mouth.
Lola: Me? Sock? What? Oh you mean this old thing... why... I didn't even know.
Me: hmmmm, you're lucky you're so cute.
Lola: I know.

Lola was at Yass pound. The pound recognised a dog with potential and called ARF, a Canberra rescue organisation and they collected her. We bought her off them. She's a german shepherd crossed with who knows what else! She's about 7 months old, enjoys taking us for walks, is scared of the broom, the vacuum cleaner and the lawn mower, likes anything soft and chewable, chasing us as we chase the ball and people. Seriously, worst guard dog ever! She's the new addition to our family and is enourmously helping with our country folk cred.

{Whoops seems like Lola fully took over my blog for a few hours there, all fixed now!}

Flea Market Finds...

2012-02-12T10:10:00.000+11:00

I told you this town was good. Sideboard $25, Wardrobe $70. They both need a little bit of love, but the sideboard is genuine 70's laminate (mmm!) and is exactly what I was looking for for the living room. If anyone has any fantastic ideas about how to make it looks a little less shabby lemme know! The wardrobe is for the guest room to store bedding, our winter coats and a little space for guests too. It has beautiful drawers inside and awesome bakelite handles. *love* Soon enough I'll show you them in situ, the guest room is getting a major overhaul this week (so far its been the I-dont-know-where-to-put-this-so-I'll-put-it-in-here room) and we are almost done getting rid of the bleurgh beige/brown/olive trims in the living room.

* More flea market finds over at Her Library Adventures.

Things to be Thankful for*

2012-02-10T23:08:00.002+11:00

* How hysterically fun dogs are.*
* Although she has escaped, twice, she is only interested in going next door to see the neighbours dog.
* Yoga. In particular our new yoga teacher here who looks like a trucker but is incredibly bendy!
* The sheer potential of our garden space.
* A new and surprisingly excellent coffee shop has opened in this town! Woot!
* The stars and how we can see them so brilliantly here.
* The massive Bunnings and Spotlight. So handy when you're setting up home!
* Late night walks to admire the moon with my love.
* Phone chats with faraway friends
* My parents being just around the corner. Lovely.

* Did I mention... we got a dog?

Link Love For Friday*

2012-02-10T09:46:00.000+11:00

* Imagine doing the same job for 60 years!
* Paris Vs New York.
* Genius gumboot idea.
* Sandwich as art.
* Gotta love free online magazines!
* An oldie but such a funny read.
* Find out your scale within the universe.
* Awesome illustrated rant.

Happy Friday Y'all.

These parts...

2012-02-08T08:30:00.000+11:00

* Our matching boots outside the back door.

* Wild cornflowers(?) on a walk.

* Getting the laundry in order.

* Being greeted by a rainbow at the front door.

* At the top of the hill on our walk.
* Discovering what was behind our boarded up fireplace.

* More incredible evening light.

* Chairs for two at dusk on the front verandah.

Before and After: Cabinet

2012-02-07T09:00:00.000+11:00

We found this cabinet in one of our sheds (mmmm sheds) when we moved in, underneath the orange paint, wasps nest and cobwebs we saw a bit of potential, plus we are in need of furniture. Moving from one bedroom to an entire house does that to you.

It took me about 4 hours over a couple of days to get this beauty functioning again and it cost about $20 for paint and a replacement bit of ply for the top.
I washed (scrubbed actually), sanded, removed the top then cut and nailed in a new one.
I gave it three coats of paint in 'Red Alert', but decided to paint the inside of the door in 'Mermaid Splash' (both British Paints).
I left the inside as it is because a) we both love rustic and it has a certain charm and b) I might think of something amazing to do with it later.

Oh yeah and we made it our booze cabinet, because y'know, everyone needs one of those (all donations to expand contents of booze cabinet most welcome). I added fairy lights, et voila! I love how the red of the cabinet picks up the red of Surry Hills, our old home!

* Artwork from red dog design
* Cardboard radio from Suck UK

Give away!!!

2012-02-06T15:56:00.000+11:00

Mmmmm dudes, my awesome and ridiculously talented friend Mia is doing a give away of her cards over on her blog, they're awesome valentines day ones (but I always have some in my draw as wedding cards!) and you just have to head on over and leave a comment to be in the running! Whoop! Hop to it!

Flea Market Finds...

2012-02-06T12:27:00.000+11:00

I'll be honest, I was pretty excited about the op-shop, well err, opportunities when it came to moving to the country. So far I have not been disappointed. First up, a magazine rack. Every one needs reading material in the loo lets face it, this baby was 3 bucks and needed a little wipe down and it was good to go, as now am I. TMI? Sorry...

More flea market finds here..

Link Love for Friday*

2012-02-03T14:30:00.002+11:00

* A letter worth reading.
* In need of a giggle?
* Harry Potter theme, every which way!
* Beautiful bookstores.
* Beautiful pop ups.
* False portraits.
* Famous art and.... cats.
* Short films about obsolete jobs.
* Awesome iPod dock.

Chocolate Almond Torte... almost

2012-01-30T23:30:00.000+11:00

Today woke up with rain! Yay! Rain! The weather becomes somuch more noticeable in a country town, and with such a vast amount of lawn(for now its lawn), that after a week of mega sunshine we were stoked. We scuttled up into the roof first thing to put insome insulation. When it’s 33degrees outside and inside is 32 (see I toldyou weather = much more interesting all of a sudden) we needed some action andfast. Half the house is now done and the bedrooms are already noticeably cooler.

Anyway, as it was cooler today I thought I would give my newkitchen and oven a test run. Speaking to our neighbour over the fence (yes thatreally does happen!) we discovered that it was her birthday onFriday. Never one to pass up an opportunityto be neighbourly and fulfil a beautiful cliché, I thought I would bake ourneighbour a cake.

We bought the ingredients when we went to get moreinsulation (measure twice purchase once dammit!) and this afternoon I set toit.

The cake is a thoroughly enjoyable one to make. Gooey silkybrown chocolate mix all in the one saucepan. Enjoyable, that is, until themoment I realised I was no longer in possession of an electric whisk. The onein Sydney belonged to our house mate. Twice in only one week now I have becomeunstuck in the kitchen because of not owning such a device (hint hint husband).Not only do we not own an electric whisk, we do not even own a mechanicalone. So hand held it was. The process of the cake baking became momentarily lessenjoyable as I proceeded to whisk the egg whites (Tip: Just pushthrough the pain, don’t stop whisking it will only make it hurt more!) but asthey did eventually stand up that old sense of achievement came back of why Iused to bake all the time for fun as a kid.

Into the pan it went, but alas my oven is wayyyyy hot… like30 degrees hotter inside than it says it is on the dial. Ouch. Also this is arunny mixture and proceeded to drip all through my clean shinyoven. Due to the oven temperature the cake burnt and was not fit for sharing with my (very forgiving) husband let alone my new neighbour. And as it currently tastes like charcoal I don't even want to give you the recipe yet as I don't know what it really tastes like. Mind you, the stuff straight out of the bowl was goooood. That's what a test run is for I guess. Next time gadget, next time.

One week in.

2012-01-29T14:35:00.000+11:00

We have now been living here for one week. It's been massive... and expensive. Yeah... setting up a house is ex-pen-sive. Yikes. But. It is super nice having *new* things. A new broom and dustpan, a new bin, new pots and pans, and precious things out to use. Things we were given as wedding presents and had left in there packaging because we would hate for someone else to break them.

Now that we are pretty much unpacked, today we've made ourselves stop. Aside from giving the house its first proper clean (Bev I have shiny wooden floors you would be drooling after!) we're making an effort to meet people, and do fun stuff.

What else about this place? Every night magic happens. Every night the sunset has been like the pictures. It's blowing our minds! The day time pictures are from Australia day. The pool is my parents, not ours... but now that they're just around the corner... it is kinda ours... tehe! And it's friggen hot so its a most welcome thing.

Okay so I keep promising pictures of the house and I'll deliver soon! I've picked out some paints so there are gonna be some before and after action as well!

So far...

2012-01-25T08:33:00.001+11:00

Every evening there has been a glorious pink sunset.
Every morning golden light streams through the front of the little blue house.
It's marvellous. There is so much to do, and the sheer weirdness of setting up (read: unpacking haphazardly!) a house of our own, the quietness and the sense of disbelief that all this is actually ours means that I don't yet really believe that it's all true. Meanwhile some sexy shots of our sunsets, sunrises and the little blue house.

Welcome to Wagga Wagga!

2012-01-23T07:20:00.001+11:00

Sydney nostalgia aside, this place is ammmmazing. My very own house! I can't wait to show you around! As soon as we have internet... And a place to put the computer... Hmmm.

I lived in the city.

2012-01-22T11:00:00.000+11:00

In the middle of the city.
There's this hill.
It's quiet.
It has the most perfect view.
There's a bench.
And you bring your own beer in a brown paper bag.
And you can watch the sun set to magnificent colours to your left.
And the city lights twinkle straight ahead.
There's people walking their dogs.
And I could just walk there.
Climb the hill.
And sit.
And feel an enourmous sense of not only belonging... but ownership.

Today we leave. I wonder if that sense of ownership will too?

Dear 8 years in Surry Hills,

2012-01-20T22:59:00.000+11:00

I will miss you:
* Dasher the Wonderdog
* St Minas fruit and Veg
* Yullis (lets try somewhere different for a drink... naaahhhh)
* Coffee coffee coffee
* The Hipsters
* The laneways to explore
* Bumping into people on the street
* Feeling like I live in the centre of the World
* The bike lanes
* Cat Alley
* Bakers Bun Yes (screw you Bourke St Bakery!)

I won't miss you:
* The crazy loud neighbours
* People pouring out of The Clock at midnight every night
* The expensiveness
* The Hipsters
* The buses
* Renting
* Never feeling cool enough
* People Puking/pissing/defecating (no I'm not even joking or nuthin') on our back steps...

I can't actually believe its our last day being Sydney-siders. Wow. Just. holy fricken wow. Tim and I have been counting down for a while now, and the eyes... the look of "....wow" really lets us know that we're both feeling the same way.

Wow.

Bouquet

2012-01-17T08:30:00.000+11:00

Our succulents are having flowers at the moment and they just keep on going. Wouldn't they look amazing draping out of a bouquet with some Billy Buttons and perhaps sweet grey lambs ears and dusty pink roses?

Things to be Thankful For*

2012-01-14T13:07:00.000+11:00

* That my husband and I are exactly the same clothing size. Double the wardrobe.
* The furniture shop down the road that carefully folds all its boxes and puts them in an unlocked cardboard recycling skip.
* The exquisite taste of good quality milk chocolate.
* Husband just finished his last day at work. He is now a full time student!
* Today is my second last day at work before we move.
* Friends who have promised to help us pack our truck.
* All the amazing friendships that have resulted out of having housemates for the first 5 years of our marriage.
* No matter where I live I can take this space with me.
* That I can go to the corner store in my pajamas on a Saturday morning, and no one cares.
* Organisations that rescue pooches from the pound and then give them to loving homes ;)

{image, via}

More thankfullness...

Link Love for Friday*

2012-01-13T09:00:00.000+11:00

* Beautiful landscapes, carved out of books.
* Brilliant collection of clothing inspiration. I know I need all the inspiration I can get when it comes to clothes!
* Art remakes.
* Builder robots! We live in the future!
* Origami wallpaper.
* I love breakfast.
* Who knew they used to do this for children's portraits? Spooky!

* More links than you can poke a stick at.

Oasis

2012-01-12T17:04:00.000+11:00

Our garden is looking grand! It's a pity we leave it soon - our little oasis in the middle of the city. We've been so lucky to have a proper (if small) garden for most of the time we've lived here. Great for abundant herbs, worm cultivation and a wee picnic.
I have a feeling our new garden is going to be a little bit more maintenance, but I'm so excited for what we do with it. I came across this post whilst scouring le blog for past photos of the garden. I didn't know then that 6 months later we would buy it and a year later move there! Lets see if we can make that daydream come true.

Things to be Thankful for*

2012-01-07T19:06:00.001+11:00

***

* I am moving to my dream cottage in the country. {thanks to Jodi for reminding me to be grateful about this}
* The colours of the Surry Hills markets.
* Being spoilt for choice in world class coffee.
* Free boxes from friends.
* My uber snuggely husband.
* Tickets to see Elbow!
* Summer sun & freckles.
* Sunscreen.
* Clothes that make you feel pretty.
* Clean floorboards.

More Thankfulness over here.

Link Love for Friday*

2012-01-06T15:56:00.000+11:00

* Things your Grandma should have told ya.
* Great article.
* The early days of blogging.
* More vintage blogging. Ps. I have an old LJ account.
* How adorable is this mini printer?!
* I'm a George girl, all the way.
* Who new street view was so pretty?
* Guaranteed to make you smile.
* wowa.
* Amazing images.

New Year, New house, New town.

2012-01-05T18:46:00.000+11:00

***

Things are being squished into boxes.

Lists are being made.

And everytime I go somewhere I get a pang of... "oh, I'm gonna miss this."

We're packing up our amazing Sydney life and moving to our little blue house in the country! In oh errrr two weeks... by the way. We're so excited to see what our house looks like again - we've only seen the inside once on the inspection - are we crazy? ermmm maybe. Hopefully in the ensuing year there will be before and after photos aplenty. And hopefully this tree change will be just the change we need!

{Have I been pinning inspiration much? You know it! A whole house of my own to decorate!}

2012-01-04T00:07:00.002+11:00

I think I can well and truly say I am done with eating. Silly season? Nup, no silliness here (well, no more than usual) eating season more like. Yikes. After being on three different holidays in three weeks with three different sets of people the eating has been out of control. So much so that I no longer wake up hungry, I am in a permanent state of fullness.
In other news we had a quiet NYE with a little wine, a little bit of sparklers and then a New Years Day on the beach learning to surf. Man, it was fun, but I have bruises showing up all over me from it! And now it's back to work and more busyness and absence from me. Boo.
I hope you all had a marvelous Christmas and New Year. xsx

{Picture unrelated but totally awesome}

Happy...

2011-12-31T13:06:00.001+11:00

Happiness is: bright pink toes, sparklers, great food, a perfect beach, cold beer, good company and a smashing read. Oh and no phone or internet reception for a couple of days. Happy new year my sweets.

Merry Christmas.

2011-12-24T19:51:00.000+11:00

Christmas Dinner.

2011-12-22T22:56:00.000+11:00

We had an early Christmas dinner with my family while we were away on holiday with them. It's so nice relaxing somewhere new and different for everyone. We settled into a big old beachy house on the Sapphire coast. I decorated the table with what I could find around me, grasses, ivy, agapanthas and gardenias from the garden, sea shells and those grassy balls from the beach and everything else happened to be in the house. As we are all vegetarians (except for my brother) we cooked up a huge plate of slow roasted veggies (potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, zucchini and capsicum), my ma made a nut roast with cranberry sauce. Chocolate red wine cake with brandy butter, raspberries and cream for dessert. Oh and wine. And port. And chocolate.
Afterwards we watched Red Dog. Have you seen that movie? Man, I damn near cried the whole way through. I'm so sentimental about animals!
Coming up this week, more chocolate, more family, more christmas dinner.

Sunday, Sunday

2011-12-18T18:44:00.002+11:00

Don't you love it when one person suggests scones and another suggests gin and then it all comes together in beautiful harmony? Thought so. I brought the straws.

Occupy

2011-12-15T16:50:00.000+11:00

Love a small town with a sense of humour. Yup. Occupy Cobargo. Woot!
Finally today the sun has come out! We've been to the beach, plummeted down the water slides at Magic Mountain and... yes... my husband just offered me a gin and tonic! Sweet!
ps. There's been a bit of op shop gold as well!

Heaven.

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000+11:00

I'm on holiday.

* Sleeping.
* Eating.
* Drinking.
* Laughing.
* Singing along to tunes.
* Lapping up the sapphire coast. God it's beautiful.
* Sitting by a fire. mmm yeah. Apparently it's December?
* It doesn't matter. I'm sitting by a fire.
* Being a bit silly.
* Being driven in Dad's "sporty little number".

And there's so much more to come. Because we made a schedule. Happiness!

Sometimes I don't have time to blog. Like all of the last 3 weeks. Sometimes I have no inclination. Like now. Why would I be on a computer when I could be doing all of the above. With my husband and my family. Sometimes, actually mostly, I prioritise reading other blogs to writing my own. Really that's what got me here, it's why I'm here. But I like you all being here too. So I decided to share, a bit more about me. A bit more about life. I think that's going to be better. So I'm gonna try and open up a bit more.

Ps. Sorry I missed thankful things this week. I'm thankful for all of the above.

Position wanted: Full time present wrapper.

2011-12-12T15:39:00.000+11:00

I think possibly my favorite part of Christmas is wrapping presents. I've daydreamed about just wrapping presents as a job. Oh man. Does anyone need me to do there wrapping for them? I'll take payment in the form of mince pies or one or two of these cushions...

P.S. This is last years wrapping efforts that I never got around to posting... Home made potato print stars, and book present toppers (what are they called?)

Mini succulent...

2011-12-08T07:00:00.000+11:00

Inspired by this, I grabbed a knife, a cork from our cork collection (adorning the kitchen door frame) and got to it.
* CAREFULLY hollow out your cork.
* Fill it with fine slightly damp soil.
* Pop in your mini succulent (snap a little bit off a bigger one and strip back the bottom few "leaves").

More Creative Spaces here.

Brown paper packages...

2011-12-07T17:46:00.001+11:00

...Tied up with... well anything! I love me some brown paper. It's cheap - don't get fooled into buying it from a fancy paper shop (maybe that only happens in my suburb?) - get it from officeworks or some other mega stationary store then do with it what you will...

* Just add confetti.

* Or add string and a tag..

* Make it lacy.

* Draw on it. (This would be amazing in a neon pen too!)

* Stick a letter on it.

* Stick a doily on it!
... and obviously there's always ribbon.
Annnd more idea's than you can poke a stick at here...

Scars

2011-12-07T17:06:00.000+11:00

I recently met someone with no scars. Like none. At the grand old age of 26 I possibly have a few more than my share but most people have one or two at least right?
Scar 1: Is on my forehead from when I fell over when I was very little.
Scar 2: Is most definitely the most noticeable, being along my neck, in a 'someone-cut-my-throat' kind of way, which actually, they did, but they where a doctor, so that's alright. I had a cyst on my thyroid gland... I had a swollen neck for a good 6 months after that and my 15 year old confidence (HA) was boosted no end by random strangers in the street asking "what had happened because it looks like I tried to hang myself hahaha" funny? Mmmmnotsomuch. (That really did happen. I got over it.)
Scar 3: Is actually 3 scars all from my recent bicycle accident, down my elbow, a hole in my hip and a hole in my thigh.
Scar 4: Is a rather large indentation down my right shin. I dropped a piece of masonite, that stuff is freakin heavy and it scrapped down my shin. Gross. I know. Sorry about that.
Scar 5: Very faint white scar down my stomach on the right hand side where our cat scratched me as a kid.
Scar 6: Hmmm... multiple little scars, a hole in my upper arm from that stupid BCG injection they make you have in England, another hole in my arm from where a friend accidentally stabbed me with a pen, a line on the bottom of my foot from having a verucca removed (gross, but got me out of PE for a few weeks!), another in my thigh that I have no idea where it came from, and one between my fingers from a blackberry thorn.

{image}

Things to be thankful for*

2011-12-02T22:57:00.000+11:00

* The smile I exchanged with a stranger on a bicycle as we passed each other.
* Music, bands and music festivals.
* The majority of the Christmas shopping is done.
* Family holidays coming up.
* Finding things that work in the street.
* Bloggers. Those people I don't know but I feel like I do. Thank you.
* White chocolate caramel slice. mhmm.
* The privileged of getting to show people the (our) real Sydney.
* Our amazing amazing house in the middle of the city with a garden and beautiful people to share it with.
* Waterfalls.

{Images of Thursdays trip to the Royal National Park. Yes you can swim. Yes it's amazing. Yes it's 40mins from the centre of Sydney by train. What do you mean you haven't been yet?!}

Link Love: Wreaths

2011-12-02T10:19:00.000+11:00

Wreaths. I am pretty excited to have one, just as soon as I have my very own front door. Here's some of my favorite this year, some are home made and some are shop bought. Which one would you choose?

* Sticky wreath

* Beautiful colours!

* Love the Australiana look of this one.

* These are so up my alley.

* For the reading type.

* A more autumn feel.

* Living wreath.

My Creative Space*

2011-12-01T09:00:00.000+11:00

So last week I had a little (brace yourselves I'm gonna say it:) Crafternoon with my craftastic friend Cat. She is the talent behind our hanging pot in our bedroom. So I thought I'd get her to show me and therefore you, how it's done.

You need:
Some yarn
A pot
A plant
Some soil and a bit of gravel
Scissors
Crochet hook (optional)
A friend (also optional but makes it easy for us less craftelly endowed and first timers)

Okay so what you need to do is get your crafty friend to crochet you a little circle or two. Or you could be uber clever and watch this tutorial OR you could be errr.... me and skip this bit.

* So cut 6 lengths of your yarn at about 1.5ms, 150cm or 1500mm... or 60 inches.

* Either tie each of these 6 pieces at even intervals around your little crocheted circle or gather them all and tie a double knot in the end with as much dangling at the bottom as you fancy.

* Place your pot in the middle of the circle, hold each piece of yarnstring up the side one by one and tie a little knot in it about a third of the way up the pot. These are just decorative. Then pair up your pieces of yarnand two thirds of the way up tie them together (see pic above). Do this to all three pairs.
The tricky bit is trying to keep your spacing even, so that when you're measuring up the pot you keep them spread out evenly at the bottom too. This is where I found it useful to have another set of hands.

Okay so then, you need to split up your pairs of yarn and pair it with the nearest one from another pair.... hmmm that doesn't make much sense... look at the picture above...that should do it. You want to tie these ones together a few centimetres above the pot.

Then spread them all out like in this picture. Gather up all 6 yarn threads and about 20cms up tie them all together in a double knot.

Then you can macramé up a storm with the rest of your yarn! Trim the ends all to match and make a loop in them to hang it with. Then you need to fill your pot with a little gravel in the bottom, soil and a plant. A succulent is a good idea as they are rather hardy, don't need much love and can be indoors.

More creative spaces here.

Type

2011-11-30T19:01:00.001+11:00

I'm typing this on one of those old fashioned PC keyboards. You know. The ones that make a lot of noise and always have dubious amounts of browny to grey gunk down the sides of the keys. I didn't realise it, but those smooth mac keyboards just aren't the same. I love a good satisfying clunk as I smash away at an email.
Picture is not entirely unrelated :)

A few sleepy things...

2011-11-23T22:55:00.001+11:00

(1, 2, 3, That bed is where I wanted to stay this morning and gardening ideas are floating around my brain right now...)

* I wore double waterproofs (top & bottom - mmhmm sexy) and still got rather damp on my ride into work today. WTF Sydney?
* If you happened to be on Redfern street at about 10.30pm tonight you may have noticed a girl riding a grey bicycle carrying an impossibly large bunch of flowers in one hand. Yeah that was me.
* I think I may have decided to switch from my beloved Real Living magazine to Inside Out, it feels like it's got more.
* We recieved a hand written letter and a photo of 2 cute babies in the post and it was so so lovely. Note to self: Write more letters.

Things to be thankful for.

2011-11-20T17:11:00.001+11:00

* The Smell of summer rain.
* Good theatre.
* Grey skies, for making me appreciate blue ones more.
* A cold beer (or 3) after a week of hard work.
* My husband. My amazing, amazing husband.
* Watermelon. Its colour, it's flavour, the free chunks we got given after our breakfast this morning.
* Sydney pubs that havnt been made trendy yet. Gold.
* Old friends. Where you can be silly again, and gossip and laugh about old times.
* Even older friends, who despite time and vast distance are consistent and comfortable.

Linking up with Maxabella.

In bloom

2011-11-16T14:05:00.001+11:00

I'm so stoked to have hydrangeas growing in my garden.

2011-11-14T09:30:00.000+11:00

Have you seen the little people project? Ummmm, it's awesome. {props to the lovely Carly who made me aware of it}

Also, I'm plunging back into mega work land, so it will be irregular around here for the next lil' while. Don't worry {OMG what will I do without my daily shinelittlelight*???? - I hear you cry}, when I'm back it will be all about Christmas (eek!) food, pressies, summer fun! Huzzah!

Flea Market Finds*

2011-11-13T10:00:00.000+11:00

Yeah baby! We picked this awesome sofa up from our local Salvos. It folds out flat and has storage underneath it. Its a "firm" sofa (husbando's preference), so I'm gonna be countering it with some super slouchy chairs at some point. I'm tossing up reupholstering it (baby blue? Grey?), but it's got a great Danish shape to it and hasn't worn very badly at all. We shall see how it looks in a new situ.

Playing along here.

Things to be thankful for*

2011-11-12T06:30:00.000+11:00

* Friend's babies that I can cuddle.
* Freakin' awesome thunderstorms (and how my headache clears when they come!)
* It's Jacaranda time, purple carpet everywhere.
* Things being ticked off lists.
* Cheese.
* Awesome brave women sharing their birth stories. I am HOOKED!
* Our travels. I can't believe it's been 2 years since we left.

Linking up here.

Link Love For Friday*

2011-11-10T08:49:00.001+11:00

* Make your own Jelly bean Bike.
* Try on glasses virtually!
* Cool Australian online place for ladies.
* The awesome Pip has made an awesome holiday guide of awesomeness.
* Cute Belt.
* Umm can someone please knit this for me?
* Crazy moves. {via}
* Sweet party projects.

{Castle Linen}

My Creative Space*

2011-11-10T08:49:00.000+11:00

Pillow Cases. After realising that the divine but out of my price range Castle linens where not coming my way by my willpower alone I decded I had to get to it and do something about the lust myself. After all, how hard can a pillow case be? Errrr... Quite? For starters I did it off an old pillow case that had a tear in the seam. I picked it apart and just um... cut around it straight onto my new fabric... No, I didnt even pin it in place. Yes, I am extrordinarily impatient (you could also say lazy) when it comes to sewing. Anyway, I did it. The spotty ones were easier as I could follow the rows of spots to get my lines straight (sending me just a little cross eyed!). Just no one turn them inside out and inspect the seams! Ha! Look they even have fancy folds in them and a hood to keep the pillow in. Am planning on adding spotty buttons to the grey ones... Just as soon as I can work out how to do button holes!

Oh, and clearly I don't iron. Actually, we dont even own an ironing board!

More creative Spaces here.

Colour...

2011-11-08T17:47:00.004+11:00

I've been daydreaming (a lot) about decorating our house. In my mind it got a thorough going over with a coat of white everywhere, but now I'm thinking in colour! Check out this Road Trip Palette by Mr Jason Grant for Murobond!2 Peas for the living room, Lazy Haze for our bedroom, Happy Days for the kitchen and it has to be Hello Yello for the Laundry. I love Glorious too, but where do you paint pink? I have a bathroom, sunroom, guest room and study left....

Oh Florence.

2011-11-07T10:07:00.000+11:00

I love you. I've decided when asked what kind of music I like I'm gonna say: "Epic".

Flea Market Finds...

2011-11-06T09:00:00.000+11:00

I found this amazing Dutch Pewter coffee set at the local vinnie. Look at those lines! Look at those little wooden bitties inbetween! Look at the price tag - thirty buckeroos - Sahweet! Currently gracing the mantel piece, it's next to mini wooden London, my old school camera and a felt pot plant.

Things to Be Thankful For*

2011-11-05T13:39:00.002+11:00

* Colours in our garden.

* Zucchinis. What a marvelous vegetable.
* The feeling of riding on smooth new tarmac.
* An impromptu time at the beach.
* Balsamic vinegar, making eating raw greens more delicious.
* Online shopping, anything that helps me avoid a Westfield over the Christmas season is appreciated.
* Deadlines and how they help you get more stuff done.

More Gratefulness over here.

Link Love For Friday

2011-11-04T09:17:00.000+11:00

* Beautiful satchel.

* Have you tried photoboother?

* How amazing does this hotel look?

* Love this iPhone cover.

* Awesome list of homemade gift tutorials.

* Great home planters.

* If anyone wants to send me this rug, that would be nice.
* DIY light fittings.
* An oldie but it cracks me up.

Berry and Rhubarb Ginger Crumble

2011-11-03T10:23:00.002+11:00

Whilst prowling (I do tend to prowl when on the hunt for a recipe) for something to take as a dessert to a dinner party I was taken aback by the top post on Smitten Kitchen. That crumble just looked so good. And though I normally associate crumble as a winter dessert, her spin on the crumble itself got me thinking about it in a more summery way. We just got our first batch of stone fruit in our vege box delivery this week, a sure herald of summer. Plus beautiful berries are on sale at the moment. Pondering what summery combination of fruit I could match with the ginger crumble, I stopped short of the stone fruit, peach and ginger sounds too wintery to me, and nectarine and ginger doesn't quite sound right... Thats when I spied the rhubarb. I also ended up making up the crumble recipe as our internet went down just as I was about to cook it (come on broadband), it's pretty close though.

You need:
*Fruit*
* 2 punnets of blueberries (125gs each)
* 1 punnet of strawberries
* 1 bunch of rhubarb chopped into 5cm chunks and trimmed (weighs about 350gs)
* 1/4 cup of white sugar
* Rind of 1 lemon and juice of half lemon.
* 1 Tsp vanilla
* Sprig of mint, finely chopped
*Crumble*
* 1 & 1/2 cups of ground ginger biscuits (150gs)
* 3/4 Cup of plain flour
* 1/4 cup White sugar
* 1/4 cup of Brown sugar
* 100gs of butter, diced

Then:
* Put your oven at 200 degrees and greade a medium dish for the crumble.
* Put all the fruit ingrediants, EXCEPT 1 of the punnets of blueberries into a saucepan on a medium heat on the stove, let it cook, stirring occasionally.
* Meanwhile make you crumble. Mix all the dry ingrediants thoroughly in a bowl and then rub in the butter until it is all err crumbly! Add extra ginger if your biscuits aren't strong enough.
* Once the berries have mushed down and the rhubarb is soft, have a taste and add more lemon, mint or vanilla (to help with that bitter rhubarb) as you like. Take it off the heat and add the last punnet of blueberries and then pour it all into your crumble dish. Evenly spread out your crumble on top and place it in the oven. Bake it for about 25 mins until the crumble is golden and the berries are just bubbeling up around the edges.
* Serve it with cream, ice cream or cold custard or y'know... all three.

{Image 1 - Coz I didn't take after pictures as I was running out the door!}

Surprise....

2011-11-02T09:30:00.000+11:00

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif

At last some pictures of the surprise party I threw husbando! See he really was surprised! I'll tell you more about it soon!

Terrarium

2011-11-01T16:07:00.000+11:00

Okay, so I've been pronouncing it TerrANIUM (like Geranium) for aggges now.... yes, yes, I am a grown up. Hem. Anyway, talented friends made us Tim this beautiful thing for his birthday. Isn't it marvellous!? I'm going to harass her into showing me how to do it and then I'm going to tell you how to do it! Yeah? Yeah! Name submissions are now being taken for the gnome.

*

2011-10-31T11:01:00.000+11:00

With a little free time recently I've been sorting my stash and organising my ribbon. Mmmm organised ribbon. Sexy non?
I also added to my stash from the local oppy. How great is this fun 80's fabric? It's like school jumper material, smooth on the outside and soft and fleecy inside, but what to make with it?! Ideas?

PS. Happy Halloween to those that do that!

Flea Market Finds...

2011-10-30T13:11:00.002+11:00

Look at this baby we got from the oppy this week! I'm pretty sure its been lovingly home made by some one judging by the wood work. We gave it a clean up and now husbando has an actual bedside table.

Linking up here.

Things To Be Thankful For*

2011-10-29T14:59:00.001+11:00

I'm a little world weary today. What do you like to do when you're feeling blue for no reason? I guess a thankful list is a good place to start.

* The anticipation of when a really good bit is coming up in an awesome song.
* The smell of newborn babies.
* That the bird in our back garden has stopped swooping us.
* Clever people, who write books, that teach you how to do stuff.
* That my husband helps me have perspective.
* Our little blue house.
* Tea. In bed. (I think I've said this one before... whatevs!)

{image}

More thankfulness here.

Link Love For Friday

2011-10-28T09:30:00.000+11:00

* Look at this house!
* Design your own shoes!
* Too cute for words.
* Best fish bowl ever?
* A really, really beautiful wedding.
* Yay 3 Sheets has a shop!
* This little shop has sweet things too.
* Oh and so does this one...

There's a bit of a purchasing theme this week...

My Creative Space...

2011-10-27T09:00:00.000+11:00

Last weeks creations! The cloud for baby E and the fabric became a cushion for a lovely friends birthday. With left over felt this week I've made a little circle garland. And on the boil for today? New pillowcases. Yup. Will let you know how I go with that! Stay tuned!
Ps. Live in Sydney? Get to here for drool-a-licious fabric.

Linking up to here...

Teeth, Magazines & Money

2011-10-26T09:00:00.000+11:00

Yesterday I went to the dentist. It was all good. Thank goodness. But man, the old clean hurts SO MUCH! Luckily my new Tigers had turned up when I got home to cheer me up, huzzah for aqua laces! And I may have bought myself a magazine because I felt like I, err... deserved it, and I can't stand the thought of eating chocolate right now on my hurty, shiny, clean teeth (the usual reward). Do you reward yourself for unpleasant things you have to do too? "Well I've just done the washing... time for a tim tam and a cup of tea..." That's how I justify all my magazines pretty much.
We've just started a "puppy fund jar" for a potential new family member. Luckily for our relationship we are both big proponents of the save before you spend method. Jars make saving feel more real I find. Couple that with there being nothing like your imaginary puppy's eyes looking at you disappointedly when you only put 2 bucks in the jar (of left over spending money) at the end of the week. "Don't you love me, potential mummy?"
When we got our mortgage I had to view the whole thing as a giant backwards savings account where you want the numbers to go down instead of up, in order to cope with the idea of being in so much debt!
I was trying to find out which generation is in the most debt and, if you ask google, it turns out we all are. I guess this proves that a) you can get the internet to tell anything you want it to and b) many (most?) folks are happy to buy on credit. The way I see it is you've got to pay for it at some point and the less extra money I'm giving bank executives, the better. Plus, y'know, practising patience is good for the soul. Doesn't stop me buying magazines I don't really need though! Ha!

Zucchini & cherry tomato summer pasta

2011-10-25T09:30:00.000+11:00

This is a meal I throw together from time to time when we want something quick and low fuss. It's great for summer as its fine hot or cold. All the flavours in it are easily adjustable to your taste, and quantities variable depending on how many you are feeding too. The recipe below made 2 massive bowls of pasta.

You Need:
* 1 largish zucchini, sliced into thin rounds (5mm tops!)
* Small punnet of cherry tomatoes (halved if they are big, otherwise whole)
* Pasta spirals
* Big bunch of parsley
* 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
* 3 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
* 1 small chilli, seeded and finely chopped
* Half a lemon
* Handful of rocket
* Handful of toasted flaked almonds
* salt & pepper
* Parmesen Cheese

Then:
* Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a fry pan and add your crushed garlic, chilli & zucchini. Pop your pasta to boil on the stove. I used spirals but this would be great with fettuccine as well.
* Sautee the zucchini for about 5 minutes until it starts going clear. Add the cherry tomtoms, roughly shredded parsley and salt and pepper.
* When the pasta is cooked, drain it and return it to its pot.
* When the zucchini is thoroughly cooked and the toms are getting all shiny add the contents to the pasta and mix it all in. Squeeze in the juice from your half lemon, throw in the rocket and toasted almonds and wind it all together gently. Add the extra dash of olive oil if it looks a little dry.
* Dish into bowls and serve with parmesen on top. Delish!

Peonies.

2011-10-24T12:29:00.000+11:00

I got the last bunch of peonies! Aren't they happiness in flower form?
I had a lovely weekend which included a picnic in Vaucluse and a bush walk from Waterfall to Heathcote. How was yours?
ps. It's 30degrees in Sydney today! What happened to Spring?!

Things to be Thankful for*

2011-10-22T17:04:00.000+11:00

* My old fashioned sewing machine that can't break.
* Cheap but delicious dinners. (No Name Italian, I'm talking about you)
* How good it feels after a run, the before is just so awful!
* Blogs. The hours and hours of lovely blogs.
* That husband brushes my hair.
* The sweet kiss of summer sun. (& sunscreen for my pale pale skin)
* Picnics.
* The colour of Sydney's sky! The bluest sky in the world methinks.
* Melon season!
* Nurses with painless blood taking skills.

{Some views from around these parts: trips to the seaside, homegrown strawberries and picnics with friends & cider}

More thankfulness over at Maxabella.

Link Love for Friday...

2011-10-21T10:49:00.001+11:00

* The people in THAT painting.
* Do you give to charity?
* Dig this art.
* AND... Dig this art too!
* Do you like to shop alone or be assisted?
* Great climate change rant.
* Are you easily distracted? (via PMM)
* Check out these beautiful ceramics. (via creative spaces)
* Amazing yarn bombing.

{Andrew B. Myers}

My Creative Space

2011-10-20T09:30:00.000+11:00

More cloud mobiles are under way for lovely babies of lovely friends. Plus I have some other projects on the boil which are mostly just making our bedroom a mess at the moment (but how cute is that fabric!). I'll show more when they are nearer completion!

PS. I now have a recipe tab up the top there. See?! Click through! Enjoy!

More Creative Spaces over here.

Freelance...

2011-10-19T09:41:00.000+11:00

Ways to kill time when you suddenly have it:

* Read the entire newspaper (get slightly depressed)
* Do the crossword
* Finish the crossword by cheating and using a dictionary (ahem)
* Look through old magazines
* Plan meals
* Drink tea
* Make a dentist appointment
* Refind all those long lost sewing projects...
* Clean up after frustrating and messy attempts at long lost sewing projects
* Get distracted by a box of letters you had forgotten about
* Catch up with friends
* Drink tea
* Bake
* Make lists.

Sweet Pegs
Beautiful Mobile.

Eggplant Stack

2011-10-18T09:34:00.004+11:00

This is yum. Heaps yum.

You Need:
* 2 red capsicum (pepper/bell pepper)
* 1 large eggplant (aubergine)
* 1 can diced tomatoes
* 100gs black pitted olives chopped small
* 4 large cloves garlic, crushed
* 1 tsp dried Italian herbs
* 1/2 cup red wine (and one large glass for yourself)
* 1 tsp vege stock powder
* Parmesan (fresh is best but the powdered stuff works!)
* Rocket leaves to serve

Then:
* Chop up your capsicum into nice large slices. I sugget cutting off the bottom and then trying to evenly cut off the sides, discard the middle. Slice your eggplant into disks. I guess keep it about the same thickness as the capsicum is; half a centimetre or so.
* Put these all flat on a tray (its okay if they overlap) and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Put it under the griller on a medium heat and shut the door (to speed things along). After about 10 minutes you are going to want to flip them over. You want it to just start blackening on its sides.
* In a saucepan, fry up the crushed garlic for a minute then pour in the canned toms. Sprinkle in a big pinch of your Italian herb mix, and your stock. Splosh in the wine and add the olives, give it a stir and let it simmer away for about half an hour or until it has reduced and thickened, stirring occasionally.
* When your eggplant and capsicum are done take them out of the griller, seperate them and set them aside. When your sauce is done, you start stacking. I stacked mine on the griller tray so that I could give it all one last blast with the grill before serving. I managed to make three stacks but you may wanna make 2 big ones.
* On the tray put a slice of eggplant, then a slice of capsicum and then just a little sauce and sprinkle with parmesan. Repeat once.
* Top with a final piece of eggplant and capsicum (if you had some smaller bits these are good on top), sprinkle with parmesan (skip the sauce on top) and pop it back in the griller for 5 minutes so it's nice and hot and the cheese goes a touch melty (mmm melty).
* With the left over sauce pop a circle onto the middle of each persons plate and then pop the stack on top of it. Serve with the rocket, it all tastes great together. Huzzah!

Brought to you by the colour red

2011-10-17T09:56:00.000+11:00

Is Melbourne! I didn't take many pictures as I was working most of the time (on this), but hubby and I had a day to spend together (yes he came down to ~~slob around my free hotel room~~ hang out with me). We went to St Kilda, Luna Park (we played pinball and ate strawberry ice-cream!), the botanic gardens and then watched a movie (it's really sad).

Funny how colour themes just pop up sometimes. (Note the awesome red jeans up the top there!)

Flea market finds

2011-10-16T21:54:00.001+11:00

Decent Sydney op shops can be hard to come by. But I found a beauty in Drummoyne the other day when visiting my bro.

I scored a wicker laundry basket. I always wanted one of these but they can be pricey new. plus I'm all up for romanticising something as mundane as hanging out laundry.

And a sweet little toy for a kidlet. No kidlet in particular... but I just liked it. Its rainbow. It's wooden and I can't wait to get my hands on some marbles and watch them twirl down, down, down.

More flea market finds over at Her Library Adventures...

Things to be thankful for*

2011-10-15T09:32:00.001+11:00

* Being at home.
* A fridge full of fresh fruit and veg.
* Coloured pens (for list making)
* A full day hanging out with my bro.
* Hard decisions being made and agreed upon.
* Mince pies are in the supermarket (yes I know it's waaay to early but how good are mince pies! Heaps. That's how.)
* Charity shops. Saving waste, saving money and supporting a cause. Sa-weet.
* No more flights for a whole 2 months at least!
* Roses. These roses are from the botanic gardens in St Kilda, I spent a good hour wandering around sniffing every single one!

More thankfulness over here...

Link Love for Friday...

2011-10-14T16:28:00.000+11:00

* The most useful kitchen tip EVER.
* A splash of light!
* Melbournites - There's a button-fest on!
* The fight over Keep Calm and Carry On.
* Awesome placards from Occupy WallStreet.
* Comedy gold.
* A sweet way to make a difference.
* Nice place.

{Images from 1, 2, 3 Via Pinterest}

Wrap.

2011-10-13T17:13:00.002+11:00

Wow. It's a wrap. It's done. I'm unpacked. The washing is in. The marking is complete.. er almost. I've been anxious about the month that's been for a while now. Been looking anxiously towards it. And now it's done. I had a moment in the middle of it all, where I sat back, looked at the work in front of me and at what I had already done and went. "Wow. Here I am. And it's okay. Enjoy this moment." And man is that something I need to do a little more, always looking forward never just being in the present. Does anyone else do this too?

ps. There's a little questionnaire going on my f'book page... please head over and lemme know whatcha think?!

Link Love for Sunday...

2011-10-09T16:48:00.001+11:00

A belated link love this week!

* Incredible Lego.
* What should you read next?
* An awesome blog planner!
* The lovely Angela now has a shop!
* Jack White talks design.
* Next weekend there are crafty bike workshops at the Powerhouse! I'm thinking of going, wanna join?

{Cyanid & Happiness comic in memory of Steve Jobs. PS. They're comics are R rated!}

Things to be thankful for*

2011-10-08T12:45:00.003+11:00

* Husband's time in lieu stored up so that he could visit me in Melbourne.
* One week and I'm unemployed!
* Friends having healthy babies. Eee!
* Cold beer after a long day at work.
* iPhones. Thanks Steve.
* Long hard conversations that end in hugs.
* A night in with my boy.
* Cheap red wine that doesn't taste cheap (May I recommend the Banrock Shiraz)
* Strawberries and ice-cream.
* Hot, high pressure showers.

{Paper graff outside the VCA & magical love hearts formed in beer foam}

More thankfulness over here...

2011-10-05T18:38:00.003+11:00

Waiting for the tram this morning a pretty snow of blossom petals fell all around me. Okay Melbourne maybe I like you after all.

Did you know...

2011-10-04T13:55:00.000+11:00

Dublin has a leprechaun museum? How awesome is that??!

Home

2011-10-03T13:56:00.000+11:00

Nice things. A little reminder of home, while I almost hit the 1 month away mark.

Things to be thankful for*

2011-10-01T09:45:00.003+10:00

* The opportunity to do my current gig.
* I was the boss and we worked so well we got an early mark!
* Travel sickness tablets (Not thankful for 14 flights in 3 weeks)
* How near a yummy thai joint is to my accommodation
* Trams.
* Tickets to Homebake festival.
* Only one week of teaching left. (I made it!)
* Red jeans! Woohoo!
* Really belated birthday presents in the mail! Yay for mail, knitted pears and ricrac flowers! (made by this lovely lady)
* Being able to stalk other people's sweet ass babies and lovely pregnancies on the blogasphere!

Link Love for Friday...

2011-09-30T10:15:00.013+10:00

* Street art of the year.
* My first blog to life meeting experience!
* What it looks like inside a 2 year olds head!
* Now that is a nice camera bag.
* An Insult generator!
* Anyone else out there a fan of Tom Waits?
* Understanding 'Ism's'
* Got baggage?
* A mattress to make cuddling comfortable!
* The most famous movie haircuts.

Melbourne: Rain with a chance of more rain.

2011-09-29T18:26:00.000+10:00

A flight twice as long as it should be due to: The Weather.
Luggage not coming for anhour due to: The Weather.
Journey to accomodation painstakingly slow due to: The Weather.

Thank goodness I remembered my brolly!

{image}

Street Photography

2011-09-27T19:07:00.001+10:00

I've always liked taking pictures. I was really blessed to have a year 4 teacher who was a hobby photographer and set up a dark room next to our classroom and taught us all how to develop our own film. Film. Those where the days. Street photography is an art I greatly admire. The candidness and pure emotion not to mention naturally occurring beauty in the everyday is so good for the soul to see. Husbando just sent me a link to this article, and I really had to share it with you all. How amazing are Henri Cartier-Bresson's pictures? And Eric Kim's tips are brilliant too!

Romantic weekend.

2011-09-26T15:39:00.001+10:00

A little glimpse of our lovely weekend away together. It was bliss to spend time with nothing to do together after my having been away. We stayed in Newcastle one night and visited the beach and had a lovely cafe breakfast with a friend. Then stayed in a beautiful B&B called Elfin Hill in the hunter. We tasted some wine and went to the most swanky restaurant I've ever been to and ate the most divine food I have ever tasted. No really. And the food itself looked like works of art!

Then we went up to Barrington Tops. Just near Dungog which is a ridiculously quaint, quiet and unspoiled little town. Staying in a very basic eco-lodge we got up close and personal with a bit of nature! Wallabies everywhere, plus a goanna too, and then a tick bite (it was a big bugger too - I had to rip it out of Tim's shoulder!), a red belly black snake and a wild electrical storm with hail! There was no TV, no phone reception and no internet. We ate lovely home cooked meals and read our books and walked. It was incredibly relaxing!
What about you my lovelies? How was your weekend? Where are you dreaming of travelling soon?

Catch Up

2011-09-25T16:27:00.000+10:00

{The Viking part of Dublin in the sun, The Queen of Tarts x 2 - Look at that cake!, Dublin has a wee bit more neon sign-age than Western cities usually do, and a bit of awesome street art.}

So apologies for the absence... again. It seems to be happening a lot at the moment things are crescendoing. So a catch up.
* I threw Tim a suprise 30th birthday party... and it was a surprise. I'll do a post on it (and how to pull it off) when I get some pictures together.
* I've been to England for a couple of days to squeeze in time with some precious people.
* I've been to Dublin for work... pictures as above...
* I got straight off an international flight slept in my own bed for 6 hours and then got straight onto another flight to teach at university that day.
* I got straight off a flight and into a car to go on a 4 day holiday with husbando. No internet, no television, and no phone reception and plenty of wine, reading, amazing food and a little too much nature (ticks, snakes etc).
* And tomorrow I do it all again: Flight, teach, Flight, Flight to Melb, Work... Yikes.

Dear Blog,

2011-09-24T19:36:00.037+10:00

Happy 2nd birthday to you! Look how far we have come! It's been a blessing and a joy and yes I'll admit sometimes a struggle filling these pages, but I love how you've documented my life, I love the friends I feel I've made and I love all the pretty things you hold.

Some highlights of the year:
Hitting the 100 mark!
The one where we bought a house.
That rant about being a vego.
My new bicycle.
The most popular post on my blog ever!

Yours Thankfully,
Sophie

{image}

Nana-nerner...

2011-09-20T08:27:00.000+10:00

I pledged to eat a banana a day whilst I was in a country where they are an affordable commodity. I present to you bananas in every way!

{Ps. I didn't really drop the skin on the floor...}

How to not look like a tourist when you are a tourist...

2011-09-19T09:40:00.013+10:00

* Jay walk. Obviously only when it's safe to do so.
* Sure, carry a camera, but don't have it poised and ready to go. If you're not on a safari camp then you're probably taking pictures of buildings. They're not going anywhere fast, so just stop, take off the camera lens and snap casual stylee.
* Avoid taking pictures of people and buildings. Separate the two...
* Look at the map before you leave the accommodation. Find land marks, get orientated. Then just head in the general direction.
* Dress like a normal person.
* Go wide eyed. By which I mean: don't have tunnel vision. Take in everything around you casually. You might be surprised by what you find and you won't look like a doofball. (new word of mine that...)

I know I know. Where would you be without me???

Oh and if in doubt, chuck all this aside and employ your super cute accent to win hearts and minds.

{image of awesomeness}

Things to be thankful for*

2011-09-17T05:21:00.000+10:00

* Skype; making missing husband that tiny bit easier.
* Notebooks. Without any technology and no one to talk to, writing things down feels like sweet relief.
* A successful opening night.
* The strong dollar!
* The amazing "hellos" I have done this week.
* The beautiful people who I managed to see and who it breaks my heart to leave all over again. There are some downsides to having two passports.
* The river Liffey, without it I would be completely lost and disorientated in Dublin.
* Though I thought I was going to die on the flight over, I didn't. That though I was sick, it was only little (And fitted in the bag. TMI?). I didn't pass out as expected and that thank God, I had my darling friend Caz there to look after me.
* My grandparents had 5 children who had lots of children too, which led to me having lots and lots of excellent cousins.
* The hugeness of the apartment that I'm staying in! It's like I can pretend I live here! (ps. I rearranged the furniture as soon as I arrived! hehe!)

More thankfulness over here, and on my blog every week.

{image}

Northern hemisphere fashion

2011-09-16T09:08:00.000+10:00

Don't laugh but I'm sending phone pictures of me in dressing rooms to husbando. I really am the worlds most indecisive shopper! So tell me... can I work biker boots? Are dungarees/overall dresses really back? (I dont know if I ever left them behind actually.) Do I, lady of the black, white and grey wardrobe, have the balls to wear some freakin' colour ?!!!

Obviously plastic rain ponchos are not the way forward... however when you are in the London Globe and you bought the cheap tickets and it's raining, they are quite the epitome of fashion. Goodness. Aren't you glad you clicked through for that very errrr... real life picture of me! Ha!

Oh and yes yes, the cultural pics of Dublin will come soon!

Radio Silence!

2011-09-14T08:53:00.000+10:00

I'm in Dublin and quite busy. Don't worry I have a whole list (yes it is actually a list, on paper) of posts for you... it's just I havn't been able to get them up yet! Dublin is superb! (my flight here less so... more on that later!) Back soon! *s*

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Things to be thankful for*

2011-09-10T04:10:00.000+10:00

* Safe travels, loooong but safe.
* How vegetarians get their food first on airplanes (haha)
* How smells stay the same across the years. The london underground smell, my grandparents house...
* My grandparents. so. flippin. awesome.
* The stories my grandparents have.
* My grandparents garden. Simply glorious.
* Old stuff. Nice one England.
* Gran's lemonade, soup and fruit cake.
* Tad's eyebrows, enthusiasm for technology and for always having ice-cream to hand.
* The 30 years today of my husbands life. Thanks parents in law for that!

More thankfulness over here this week...

My creative space...

2011-09-08T09:30:00.000+10:00

Is it cheating if its over 15 years old? Our dear family friend (and awesome artist), Jules scanned this in to her computer and sent it to me the other day! She had kept it all these years because clearly even at the age of 10 I was completely adorable! Ha! Have to confess my drawing skills havn't improved much since then... Though I am now quite good at drawing feet... yup, there's a Random Fact of the Day about me for you. You are SO welcome.

More creative spaces over here...

I wish I was related to...

2011-09-07T08:58:00.002+10:00

Not that my family isn't 120% awesome. Just that there are some people I would love to hang out with in a family setting. John Cleese would be great at Christmas lunch. I have a feeling Maggie Smith would be wickedly lovely to have over for tea, Jonathan from Media Watch, Anton from SBS news... These are people that I wish I was related to. Who would you love to just be able to hang out with in a relaxed setting?

Maggie Smith
John Cleese

Wisdom, Insight, Feelings...

2011-09-06T11:39:00.007+10:00

Does anyone scrapbook? And would anyone be interested in digital scrap booking? I've been offered to do a promotion on this blog and I'm not quite sure what to think. I personally don't scrapbook and can't imagine myself spending time digitally scrap booking. Heaven knows I spend too much time on the computer as it is... But if I have readers that are keen...

It's funny, I was so stoked to reach 100 followers because, way back when, I remember reaching 20 and being completely over the moon and husbando telling me... "ohhh when you reach 100 you should monetise your blog" and I was like: "Ha! Yeah right" but also "Yes!!".

I'd like to say it was never my aim to have lots of readers, but it's simply not true. It's nice to feel liked and appreciated. And now, 2 years later, here I am and I'm nervous about this offer. (I kinda feel okay writing this because I doubt they've actually read my blog. If they had they would know I don't scrapbook!)

What do you think? I know lots of bloggers like to be ad free and that's cool, I read blogs with ad's and promotions and enter giveaways for such things... and I read blogs that don't too. I just don't feel like this blog is particularly focused enough on any one thing. I'm not a mummy blogger (though I read heaps of them), I'm not a craft or sewing blogger (though I do craft from time to time), I'm not a food blogger (but I love to cook). I just errr... blog. And that's okay. Sometimes I don't feel like blogging so I write short posts. Sometimes I share a lot. It's all okay. You're all here. And no matter what husbando and my mum will read along. (Thanks guys!)

Beth wrote an interesting post about this a while ago when she got sent a whole heap of toys for her kids to review and perhaps maybe she would blog about it. I felt what she describes - "Whoppee! A company wants to use my blog because I speak to The People!" And then for me "Um... actually I probably just passed some statistic test and they send out 500 of these emails every day...annnnnd I don't scrap book..."

What do you think bloggy friends?? Wisdom, Insight, Feelings? My Facebook followers have said that if the business fits then the business can buy me chocolate (money buys chocolate) butI'm honestly not very sure if this business fits. Scrap booking anyone?

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Mantle Piece Monday

2011-09-05T09:33:00.000+10:00

So not my mantle piece but my mum and dads bookshelf. It was looking so pretty the other day I thought it would be perfect for a bit of blog love.
The tree painting is by a friend of theirs. I don't think her work is online though. They collect antique wooden vases with Kookaburras on them - a specific collection I know, but they're beautiful things. The wattle and pear blossom is from their garden. Oh, and there's a picture of Tim and I on our wedding day, the one where I'm carrying him... erm yeah. And some African carved animals from various overseas trips.

Mantle Piece Monday hangs out over here...

Things to be Thankful For

2011-09-02T13:14:00.002+10:00

* Paid trips overseas.
* The amount that you can get done in a day if you're woken up really early. (damn builders next door)
* Spellcheck.
* The internet.
* Friends who lend a helping hand.
* Paperclips, labels, organisational tools!
* Spring, the sun, my sunflower!
* Caramelised onion! Yum!

Link Love for Friday...

2011-09-02T12:58:00.000+10:00

* Very funny friendship rant.
* How to get rainbow roses.
* The most beautiful birth story I ever read.
* Children's book by Bowie.
* Say something nice.
* The French are having a post it war.

Dublin Doors

2011-08-31T08:59:00.000+10:00

I'm going overseas next week. For work. I've never done that before. It's pretty exciting but also sad because being apart from Husbando sucks. Being apart from husbando when he has an important birthday sucks even more. Being paid to be in Dublin for a week will still be pretty good though... so my question is... do I have any Irish readers or peeps who are down with the diddle in Dublin?

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Weekend...

2011-08-30T21:22:00.001+10:00

On the weekend, in between work, we squeezed in time to build a tent out of bedding in our room and watch Some Like It hot, whilst eating frozen yogurt (to keep cool from all that Marilyn action). Needless to say it was great...

{Making a gif}

Is that...

2011-08-29T08:51:00.003+10:00

Yes Jasmine! Everyone is talking about the jasmine. And how the wind doesn't make your ears go blue and that smell. That Sydney, Spring smell... where even in my hood there is just a hint of the sea on the air. Heaven!

Without further ado dreamy spring outfits collected from Pinterest:

here

pretty yes?!