Only November

Dear blog friends,
Just writing to let you know I am ok! In the past month I was a bit homeless and a bit hospitalised but now I am ok.. I have a new job, a nice new house and am feeling much better about everything. I do however not have internet at my new house.. crazy I know! So this blog is pretty much capoot for the time being. If I really really wanted internet I am sure I could get it connected but life without internet is pretty good I gotta say (that and the fact that my new job involves me sitting in front of a computer all day) but ask me in a week and see if I feel the same.. I know already that I will miss reading my favourite blogs which sucks. So yeah, ummm see you around? (or, if you're not one of my penpals you should email me and we can swap addresses) Thats all! xoxo

Reeling through an endless fall

Hello bloggy! Sorry I have been a bit absent lately, I have plenty o reasons! Here is a small assortment of some things I have been upto..
-I moved out of my fail of a unit and I am now crashing at my boyfs wee little place for a few weeks. It's cosy and fun but I am pretty keen to get my own bed back and have more than 1 bag in my possession. Plus, living in a house with 3 other boys is all sorts of interesting and gross!
-I went to hospital! I had an operation that is taking forever to recover from and it really sucks. I added more scars to my collection and I can't start running again for a few weeks but, the op was all fine and I am getting better everyday so it's all good. I'm alive!
-I'm not going to Tasmania anymore because the doctors don't recommend that I hike through the wilderness with a 10kg pack for the next few months. I am utterly devastated. My bff from NZ is coming over especially and we were gonna hunt down some snow and pick berries and shit but not now. Lamest.
-I start a new full time job on Monday! It's as customer service representative for a internet company :) I get to wear blouses, I get my own desk, a real salary and get to hang out with nerds all day! Very excited! I haven't had a real full time job since like 2005 when I was a checkout chick (but that doesn't count as it was a terrible time)
-Counting down to NZ in January. Bands & camping & boyf & summer = best vacation everrrr?
-Saw Alexisonfire! Long anticipated sing alongs ensued but there was a bit of a fail ending.
-Thanksgiving! Clearly not a celebrated thing down under but I will use any excuse to pretend to be from North America and to make my own pumpkin pie.
-Tax return dollars and putting them straight into savings.
-Getting my Holga film developed! I haven't used my beloved camera in years but I picked it up when I was home and very very excited about FILM.
-Finders Keepers craft market came to Melbourne! I was so stoked to get to go.. so many lovelies there and I even saved some dollars especially for the occasion but only actually bought one thing (wooden cassette brooch!). Restraint success! I wanted so many tea towels and prints it was a bit ridiculous.
-Watching Eat Pray Love at the movies! One of these days I will see it.
-I am still doing my 365 photo project after 40+ days! I almost forgot the other night but saved the day with an average photo of the doona. It's fun though and I am not trying as hard as I did last time which is good as it takes the pressure off. I like my average photos! See them all on my Flickr :D

That is pretty much it in a nutshell. Au revior! xoxo

Things I Love Thursday

♥ Friday mornings, getting my fringe back, hearing the postie, Kit cosmetics, refunds, cookie dough Pop Tarts (best!), diy Grill'd, late night lols, not shitty group interviews, surprise faces, chocolate parcel from Great Britain, Washi tape at Borders, raspberry and pineapple gelato for lunch, new skyline eye spy spots, finding new skateboarding roads, phone calls from NZ, re-creating our first date, watching I Love You, Man again, watching The Room for the first and last time, Tasmania soon!, my operation soon!, free pizza, Timezone, hot tea, rainbow umbrellas, feel better soup in country towns, more plane tickets, getting lost, proposals at the dam, maroon fleeces, dancing to the My Girl soundtrack in Borders (seriously, best soundtrack/film ever? yeah), stockings, anticipating BDO bands line up next week!

P.S. Hello, sorry I have shit all to say these days. I am looking for a job in any variety and a new house in almost any variety otherwise my return to Perth will be alot sooner than I want because Melbourne is tough and I don't know how much more I can handle. Life in Perth is so much easier. I wish I could go back to high school and speak with a career advisor because surely I should be a little more on track with a real job by now. Plus, thinking a housemate will be ok just because he reminds you of a friend doesn't mean he will be a good housemate. Ugh :(

Things I Love Thursday

♥ Double decker red nail polish, greek yogurt, leaving my phone in his car, mix cds in the mail, studying maps, relationship updates!, thinking I start work at 12 only to realise I don't start until 2pm, breakfast together, my walls, hardcore conga line, familiar faces in Melbourne, brown rice, wall of love, butter, new FB friends, late night pancakes, old married couples, cardigans at work!, forehead kisses, pearl nail polish, when he brings me onion rings, birds that chirp pretty chirps real loud in the morning, my first invite to an engagement party!, Triple J, the patterns on the inside of bill envelopes, men that bake me raspberry muffins, Mexican meet ups, anticipating new stock at work, getting organised, talking about food, making him breakfast, foreign train tickets, cinnamon in my coffee, reading poetry to my boyf, my Dockers, a good library visit, men that make me tea, taking a photo a day, Boosh with Baileys, living in my shoebox, after dinner hot chocolates, eyespying new op shops, chin up moments, talking to customers about Kenya, country folk , Malaysian restaurant garnishes, Christian hardcore, dreaming of Cornerstone festival, dreams with Bruce Springsteen in them, vanilla toothpaste, singing in his car, massive tubes filled with smores ingredients, bulk soda, days off together, sharing ice cream sundaes, super hero undies, crossing fingers for the house with carpet and the porch, finally reading again, tax returns.

Whoa, that's a whole lotta love this week! I haven't done one in a few weeks, woops!

Keep calm and something something

So you probaly wouldn't know and I'm probaly not going to tell you why but I have been having a bit of a rough time lately. But, I am trying to find ways to keep my chin up. Ways that don't involve buying blouses from Sportsgirl or dvd boxsets of Gilmore Girls. I want this to be a positive blog, well, really.. I just want to be happy. Here are some of the ways I am trying to avoid floods of tears..

-Decorating envelopes! And making my own stationary! I get into a big papery mess on my bed and it takes a few good hours but I love making that kind of thing for my penpals

-Ticking things off my to do list. Most days it is longer than it should be because I write things like "get up" and "eat breakfast".. just in case I forget but I still get the perk of ticking it off my list

-Smsing my boyf mis-heard Flight of the Concords lyrics

-Making my own muesli out of brazil nuts, cinnamon, pepitas, oats, flax and sultanas. OM NOM NOM

-Going for walks to my hidden park and trying to out quack the ducks

-Plastering my walls with Hold Steady lyrics "we gotta stay postive" etc

-Catching trains for 30+ minutes just so I can read my book in silence with a nice view

-Hacking apart magazines simply for nice typography and patterns.

-Listening to Huddle Formation by The Go! Team. So effing good!


That's all I really have. It is working somewhat but at the end of the day I am still feeling pretty bummed about things. Any tips? xoxo

101 Project: July and August update!

Remember when I started this blog in ermmmm March I think and the reason for starting it was because I wanted to do the 101 Project and document it on here as I don't usually have much to say otherwise (oh hey, like today and the past month) well, I still am doing the project.. I swear! However I haven't really actively tried to tick anything off the list for the past 2 months, plus some need reviewing as I have changed my mind about some. But it's all good as I have a few years to still conquer the rest! But I guess here is an update of sorts.. but not many if any!

Inspired by the Day Zero Project!
Start : 11th March 2010
Finish : 7th December 2012

Italic = in process of completing

Bold = completed

4. Tell crush I like him
I tell my boyfriend everyday how much I like him :)

34. Run 5km
That is/was pretty much my daily training route leading up to my 10km.

35. Run 10km.
Yeah I did!

53. Go to a multi day music festival
In January I will be going to Parachute.. a 4 day music festival in New Zealand :D

61. Give up coffee
I don't think that is going to happen hey. I don't drink more than one cup a day and it's only instant but yeah, I can't remember my reasoning for needing to quit but I like it and one shouldn't give up something one likes.. especially when with cinnamon and vanilla.

81. Make 5 people mixcds (5/5)
I did this one without even realising! Booyah! I made my boyfriend a hardcore cd and I sent 2 cd's as part of Biancas mix cd swap. Done and dusted! But I will still make mix cds because they are the BEST.

96. Read at least 1 novel a month
I have read several parts of several novels. I have read lots of running books, hiking books, cook books, I am reading the bible but I have not actually read one whole novel for some time. Booooooo. I want to though, I just can't find a bloody book that is good enough for my eyes which is annoying because i go to the library so much but nothing catches my eye and everything I do want they don't have. Any good book suggestions please?

END.

These days vs those days

Ola! I am back from the wild west of Perth. You know whats good? Hometowns. We went to the beach alot, ate several varieties of burgers, went to Timezone in several locations, made epic breakfasts, ate alot of amazing food in general, my boyf got a tattoo, I lost a filling from one of my tooths!, watched my Dockers smash the first semis, I ran into a few old pals and hugged my parents heaps.. all in all a bloody good time. Now I am home in my other home state and feeling ok, but shit, I miss the ocean and lots of things about my real home. I had my first work trial at le French cafe today which was ok.. wore some new shoes that made my feet feel like roasted marshmallows (in a bad way) and I wiped alot of tables. I just ate some stirfry and tonight I am catching up on letters, doing my tax return and watching new Big Bang!

Oh also, on the 1st of September 2010 I begun my very own 365 day project of taking one photo every day for a year. Why? Because I have a Flickr account (do you? add me!) but I don't really use it (or take photos) when I am not travelling so this will be a good way for me to take more plus to learn how to make my camera take semi decent photos. I tried to do it a few years ago but didn't get past the first month, plus several of my favourite bloggers are doing it at the moment so that will be encouraging :)

Things I Love Thursday

♥ Making mix cd's, cleaning and unpacking my room, no more election spam, finally sending off some thankyou notes, tea in the morning, when the lady at the post office calls my envelopes "festive", Koorong books, Seabird, purchasing tickets to New Zealand for next January (27th January - 9th February, north island!), interviews at French patisseries, sleeping in until 1pm, Sunday nights with his parents, watching Timer with my sis, the day when I almost left the house with 2 different pairs of shoes on!, love song dedications, Triple J playing at work, Youth in Revolt, soft licorice, fondue at 21st birthday partys, greek yogurt with raspberries, dressing up as cowboys at 24 hour Kmart, writing letters on the train, hardcore home group. ETC ETC ETC!

P.S I am heading back to the wild west to my hometown of Perth (where the temperature is above 20 degrees, wooooo!) for a week so au reviour and see you all when I come back full of stories of marvellous foods, island adventures and phanau fairytales xo

The spectrum's a - z

Last week I literally moved two doors down (but same postal address is still ok pen friends!) to a new unit and so I have been cleaning and packing and unpacking and attempting to decorate my new sparse unit (which I have sadly come to realise I do not like for a few reasons so alas, I am already looking for another new place! So yeah I am feeling a bit shit about the whole situation) However tomorrow = thrift store makeover! Here is a fun fact: if it wasn't for my wonderful boyf I would be living back in Perth by now where life is so much easier, wtf Melbourne you are tougher than I can almost handle. Anyway, I've seen this quiz on a few peoples blogs and I am bored enough to do it myself this morning. So, here are interesting things about my new place from A-Z..

A- My AIR CONDITIONER is set on: no air con for Melbourne winters geez! Heater is set to FULL though and it sounds like a very loud purring kitten.

B- My BEDROOM theme is: bits of red, bits of florals, some old maps, lace doilies, a few polaroids, a Kate Nash tea towel hanging on the wall and PILES of things everywhere. I am literally living out of a suitcase still.

C- The CAR in the driveway is: whatever my housemate drives.. no idea. A car of some sort.. a car that goes too fast down the drive way.

D- My DESK looks: cluttered! At the moment I can see my stationary box, some cd's, jewellery scattered all over, my house plant fern and my big beautiful atlas. It is good to have a desk though which is neat because otherwise I would have no furniture but I am gonna get a table cloth for it as it looks a bit high school and beige at the moment.

E- The EXACT time I wake up daily is: it really does vary.. yesterday my boyf and I woke at 5am and today I woke at about 8:30am. I have no real regular schedule.. ahhh the perks of having a (shit) casual/non existent job.

F- The FIRST thing I wash in the shower is: my face!

G- My GARAGE is filled with: I don't have one!

H- My HOME is: a unit! 2 bedroom 1 bathroom in a block of 6 units

I- If you peeked INSIDE my bathroom you'd see: boyish blue shower curtains and not much else as I haven't unpacked yet apart from my toothbrush. But we do have a light heater thingo.. warm! I miss my old elephant bathroom :(

J- My favorite JUICE is: most juices! Raspberry juice if I can find it. There is no juice I don't like really but I don't drink it very often as it ummm it costs more than water and makes my teeth more yellow than I want them to be?

K- The best part of my KITCHEN is: I get a whole cupboard to myself! I love food shopping and filling my little cupboard up.. now I just need to be home enough to eat the food inside it. And my (tiny) mug collection is pretty sweet too.. Bruce Springsteen! Maryland map! Art deco patterns!

L- The LAST person who visited my home was: my boyf two nights ago. We don't get many visitors, which shouldn't surprise me as my housie makes them feel so unwelcome when we do have visitors, good one :(

M- The last piece of MAIL for me was: we all keep getting heaps of lame election candidate mail, boring which should end now but last week I got the travelling journal from Bianca which was very exciting!

N- My NEIGHBORS think I'm: weird as I used to live in the front unit and now I live in the back unit? Musical units!

O- If you OPENED my fridge you'd see: milk, pumpernickel bread, vanilla Coke, baby spinach, natural yogurt etc :)

P- My last house PARTY was: I don't really have house parties, I dunno. At my first house in North Perth like 5 years ago? It was cowboy and indian themed and I dressed up as Pocahontas and it was so much fun!

Q- A QUICK meal I like to fix is: stir fry

R- My favorite ROOM of the house is: My room. FOR SURE.

S- The SHAMPOO brand I use is: Palmolive this week I think?

T- My largest TELEVISION is: we only have one tv in the living room.. it is quite big and housie likes to play Xbox on it. Cool dude :/

U- UNDER my bed you will find: nothing. My mattress is sitting on the floor so I can't put anything under there.

V- The last time I VACUUMED was: I vacuumed last week at work which was actually fun but I we only have floorboards here so sweeping it is.

W- Looking out my WINDOW I see: the drive way and the neighbours bedroom window, awesome.

X- I wish I had X-TRA: money so I could live somewhere else!

Y- My YARD is: concrete, boooo.

Z- ZZZZZZZ My bedtime is: I try to go to bed before 11 but that rarely works out.

Okayyyyy, that was fun! Have a nice week everyone ♥

Things I Love Thursday

♥ Not working on Saturdays, making french toast, moving units (actual units not unit as in money..), Koomba park at dusk, Mexican golf ball cocktails, Friday night burger hunts, new sheets, Peter Alexander hiring new staff (fingers crossed!), planning for Parachute!, unpacking, "I'm old Gregg!!", finally getting into the Mighty Boosh!, finding old sparkly bits of paper in my old room, double dates, chocolate spring rolls filled with custard!, breweries, impromtu sleepovers, my new doona cover, heater fans, sausages from our local butcher, finally exploring Buckanbe Park at dusk and falling in the pond at bit, cooking dinner with my boy, new doona covers!, pay day, Perth next week!

Curious Tuesday 012 & 013

Oh hiiiiiii, I am still here but with minor amounts of internet and time but here I am! I miss you Blogspotters! Talking about tying knots and le vacationes this week!

1. How do you feel about marriage as a concept? Realistic? Romantic? A pipe-dream?
I think of it as realistic and very romantic and still a current thing not just an old fashioned ideal. I have never not wanted to get married. In fact when I was younger I always thought I would be married by now at the age of 24! Ha, not likely.
2. Do you think you’ll ever want to get married? YES.
3. If you did get married, would you want a big blow-out celebration or would you keep it low-key? Pretty low key I think, I don't like fancy shit. In a little church or on the beach and then a big bbq picnic later but reading wedding blogs (not that I do all that often, I swear) but you know sometimes you see these really amazing wedding videos and locations and music and food. I guess I would want to incorporate all sorts of bits and pieces of awesome but on a smaller scale.
4. If you are married now, how has that changed your relationship? N/A
5. If you’re married, how did you celebrate it? Knowing what you know now, would you have done it differently? N/A

&&& some questions from last week which I missed..
What were your family vacations like?

Where did you go? What did you do? What always happened? What was the best holiday you took together? What was the worst?
I remember in primary school all the rich kids got to go to Disneyland for holidays and we would always go to Rottnest or Exmouth. I was never really that jealous because I honestly felt like the parents were trying to buy their kids love (seriously, who spends that much money on a 8 year old?) I still don't get how or why parents take children on overseas holidays! The parents always look so pissed off and stressed and the kids always act so effing spoilt, argh! Sure, they must be rich and have money to burn and most likely don't need to "buy" their love but, shit, at that age I would rather see some real shit like native birds and karri trees. I much preferred seeing dolphins and quokkas and eating fresh fish and learning how to snorkel. I remember Mum always used to bring too much food, I remember singing John Williamson and Crowded House really loud. I think the best holiday we ever took was to a tiny town down south called Walpole.. I remember kayaking, watching my Dad fishing, roasting marshmallows, glass sculpture artists and smelling lavender fields. I am pretty sure that was the last holiday we had before my parents got divorced, so I guess it is also the worst for that reason :(

& beyond

You know what is zero fun.. searching for nice bed sheets and doona covers. Seriously, where are all the nice ones? Not at Myer, David Jones, Target, Kmart or Big W that's for sure. Laaaaaaaaaame. But check out what Anthropologie have.. love letters bed sets for only $264, yikes!
Garrrrrrr, I really shouldn't look at American websites! Also, tonight I am moving house! And I feel like such a wreck for several reasons and I could almost cry and catch a plane back home right now and if it wasn't for my wonderful boyfriend that is where I would be (a plane back home) Fuck, I hope the rest gets better from now on.

Things I Love Thursday

♥ My boyfriend!, snow trips!, onion rings, self-saucing puddings, when the delivery boy remembers my name even without a name badge, plans.

&&&&&&& a gazillion other things that I don't have time to write about at the moment!

Oh & p.s.. this songggggggggg & dancing in his bedroom to this and him singing me all the words, awwwwwwwwwwwwww. Pretty amazing!

Things I Love Thursday

♥ Dromana beach!, Kate Nash!, meeting future house mates, new pen pals, playing Star Wars Monopoly on Sunday nights with the phanau, so much mail, 2 types of cake at church, sleeping, not sleeping, 4am whispers, calls to make sure I get home ok, having someone to walk home with, sending postcards home, the Hipstomatic iPhone app, shopping for confetti, Kate Nash tea towels, East Brunswick Club, thinking every person on the tram is Justin Healzewood, Elvis themed pizza joints in seaside towns, when you can lift the arm rest at the cinema, baking jaffa cupcakes & bulk mushrooms for 50c! ETC!

All the matter in the world is how much that I like you

I saw Kate Nash last night at the sold out Corner show and I waited in the rain for an hour and the crowd was full of screaming effing youth. I also saw Kate Nash the previous night at the East Brunswick Club which was much nicer because it was a smaller venue and the crowd was more sane and friendly. I am so glad I went to both shows in the end despite it's mission destination. I didn't realise so many people liked her! There were lots of dresses and bows and fringes and flat shoes in the crowd.. and hardly any men! I am very tired now though and a wee bit deaf and feeling a bit confused as to whether I enjoyed it as much as I thought I would. She didn't play Early Christmas Present or Birds which I was bummed about. I guess I just realised that going to shows solo really sucks, I have no problem going places alone but I get sick of holding my own hand sometimes, plus for the most part I would have rather had been at home nice and warm with my boyf watching some zombie movie. I had a spare ticket which I sold on Ebay weeks ago before I knew this amazing boyfriend of mine would want to come with me just so I wouldn't have to go alone. I think it would have made his ears bleed but still it is nice that he wanted to tag along and keep me company because having company is nice having someone to share my chips with at midnight is nice too. Alas, I love you Kate Nash! ♥

Curious Tuesday 011

Do I ever post this on Tuesdays? Nope!

1. What is your style direction for the upcoming season? Direction? Ermmmm, how about jaded runner chic? Or how about a winter hibernation focus? Suburban siren? Retail raven? LOL. I dunno! I bought a red tartan scarf yesterday which I am pretty excited about because I love red and I don't many other different scarfs over here. My main direction is to stay warm! I still wear thermal and flannellettes to bed plus 2 pairs of stocking if I am feeling brave enough to go out with no jeans. Ummmm ok, lots of red!

2. What is your favourite song right now? Just one? Ummmmm.. last night I heard Ryan Jarman do a cover of Do Wah Doo which I really liked. Oh and most songs by The Thin Kids! So much fun! And Mew singing Special. Quite a bazzarre mix really.

3. What’s your best love advice? Go for it & don't be afraid & put your heart on your sleeve! ! I dunno, I guess just don't hold back from opening up and loving with your whole heart :)

4. Who is the most exciting person you’ve met recently? My boyfriend, Ryan! The days when I don't see him are really boring and every time we hang out is so much fun! Every date has been amazing and today is actually our one month anniversary, awwwwwww!

5. Are you doing anything wonderful this week? What is it? This weeks wonderfuls are/were.. seeing Kate Nash twice!, going to see the ocean!, general boyf hang outs!, booking plane tickets!, writing to new penpals etc etc!

p.s WTF Blogspot,what on earth are you doing to my fonts! Seriously, WHY-THE-EFFING-FACE?

Mister postman, look and see!

Have I told you lately how much I love mail? Well, guess what? I love mail so, so much. I got a huge parcel this week from the wonderful Meghan from The Perfect Compilation Tape all the way from Chicago as part of the the Colour Me Happy swap! Awwwww, my heart is all full of squishyness and I am gonna show you why!L-R (1.) I always think it's funny when foreign post offices stamp things with "first class" because I am pretty sure there is no second class for mail right? I am pretty sure Australia Post doesn't have "classes" .. I mean we have things like premium expresss, but thats different. I dunno. (2.) This cool and colourful book is all about birthdates and colours! Mine tells me I am sparkly! Teehee, yes sometimes I am and that's the way I like it (3.) How adorable are these postcards? They are stitched! They are photographs of vintage kitchenware! I love them so much! (4.) A green screen printed polaroid print! Makes my heart flutter!
L-R (1.) Polaroid pins! Red owls! Floral hair clip! Awwwww! (2.) More polaroid goodness! It's a polaroid album with gaps for photos and little questions about the photos, cute! I cannot wait to fill this up! (3.) More stitched postcard love! (4.) This is an old book that had been re-binded and filled with blank sheets and I am going to use it as my running journal!

Thankyou so much Meghan, it was all so thoughtful and exciting!

P.S I am taking part in Miss Biancas music swap!
Are you? DO ITTTTTT. Best idea everrrrrrrr!
Because really, music + mail = perfection! ♥

P.P.S If any one wants to be a penpal of mine please email me!
I love new penpals and I always write back and ummm I am pretty awesome?
fallandthesunshines(at)hotmail(dot)com

Things I Love Thursday

♥ My boyfriend!!!, last Friday, burritos, Mew, napping whilst listening to Coldplay on the couch, traffic light kisses, the truth, Ewoks, "cha-chinggggg!", sending little parcels to the army, fireplaces at 7am on Sundays, breakfast invites, butterflies in my tummy, nacho nacho night, when he brings me cupcakes, my new queen size bed!, tellling Mum about my boyf, dancing on Toorak St, when customers tell me I am gorgeous (in a non-creepy way), having someone who has faith in me, homeware interviews, not sleeping, perfecting my Mr Robot dance moves at work, Vietnamese crepe faces, whispers, seeing Band of Horses!, Moss, being invited to England (!) and New Zealand (!), reading blog posts about mail, dreaming about future mail art, getting amazing parcels from Chicago!, phone calls when I am on my lunch break, Dad chats, certain Iphone apps, this coffee date!, kissing in the rain, napping in his car, matching tattoos and many many other things!

Don't think, just try and sleep

"I like being able to shout, but I wish I could be quiet
When I'm quiet people think I'm sad and usually I am"
Nasher

I may have been blogger-verse quiet but that is because I have been busy ..not because I am sad! Guess what? I have a boyfriend nowwwwww! And some other things that have been keeping me occupied too! And I am seeing Kate Nash twice next week. Twice! In my lifetime! That is all ♥

Things I Love Thursday

♥ Sore cheeks from smiling so much, running!, Dark Was The Night compilation, skipping work because of "swollen ankle" but really for Pancakes and the cinema, The Kooks playing on the stereo at Grill'd, nutella pizza, supportive smses at 7am, seeing my first Victorian sunrise, seeing my first ever flock of BATS!, forehead kisses, showers at work, the view from Glenferrie station, applying for cupcake jobs, making decisions, stationary departments, dinner with my Victorian phanau, this band called Surrogate, wagging work for hanging out with the boy, laundry day, wrapping up parcels with string, going to the post office, my name in the newspaper for my run!, Runners World magazine, breakfast dates, smses that tell you he is counting down the day til he's sees you next, more Kate Nash tickets!, still getting some Centrelink loving, lentil curry soup, Pancake Parlour for post-run debrief/cuddles, when I think I see the editor of Frankie out in public, finding old camping books from the 1930's at work, Old Gold raspberry chocolate & so many other things!

Curious Tuesday 010

G'day! This weeks Curious Tuesday is courtesy of being a busy bee, waking up at 6am and of course, Gala.

1. What is your very best beauty tip? Smile, drink lots of water and get lots of fresh air? Or failing that, take flax seed capsules and use Bio Oil?

2. Who is your arch-nemesis? I don't know! There are unfortunately lots of people that could be contenders though but I try not to think about them.

3. What are the three things you need to do in order to feel sane? Run, drink water regularly and listen to music at all times.

4. What is the strangest food you have ever eaten? I ate whale when I was in Japan.. but I didn't know that's what is was at the time and my friend didn't tell me til much later and then I was so upset! Most things in Japan were pretty strange.. like Natto. Owwwwwwww, Natto is such a painful and putrid dish.

5. What is one thing in your wardrobe which makes you feel invincible? My new Salomon running shorts! They are black and so so light and comfy. Total win.

We could re-claim the Olympics

Guess what I did yesterday? I ran in my first ever running race! 10km in fact! I was going to do the 5km but really my daily run is already 5.6km so I thought I would give the longer one a shot and it was so.much.fun! I got hardly any stitches and I only choked at the water stop once, success. It was over too soon though, I just wanted to keep running! There was so many people so I was dodging fellow runners the whole way but it was so pretty to run around the Yarra at 9am on a Sunday winter morning.. no joke, that is my idea of fun! I can't wait for the next race in August and then maybe I will do a half marathon in October if I am ready for it. It was a bit of a lonely day though especially crossing to line to see no one and then I had to go to work in the afternoon to see slim to none customers.. but skipping work for pancakes today made up for that ♥

A map leading to my heart (part 1)

Some of the ways to melt my heart include but are not limited to the following..
♥ Make me a mixtape and/or mix cd of your favourite songs
♥ Send me a letter in the post
♥ Make me a music playlist to play especially for when you drive me around in your car
♥ Take me for walks around pretty lakes in the winter sun
♥ Wish me goodluck several times when you know I am nervous about my race
♥ Run towards me when you pick me up from the train station
♥ Introduce me to your friends and family
♥ Offer to take me to see the snow
♥ Wish me good luck and mean it
♥ Be prepared to skip church to watch me run in my first race
♥ Surprise roadtrips
♥ Call me more than you sms me
♥ Let me eat the big half of the slice of the Mars Bar cake
♥ Be a gentleman and open doors for me
♥ Tell me you like my outfit
♥ Tell me about your favourite bands
♥ Listen to my favourite bands
♥ Invite me to see Band of Horses even though you don't really know them but you think I do
♥ Be softly spoken
♥ Let me eat half your Subway footlong sub
♥ Make plans to see me 4 times in one week
♥ Make plans to see me 4 times in one day
♥ Hold my hand
♥ Quote lines from the IT Crowd
♥ Point out all the cute dogs at the park to me that you think I would like
♥ Send me cute smses about British television shows
♥ Drive me home while the sun is setting over the valley
♥ Tell me you would take me anywhere

ETC!

Things I Love Thursday

♥ First dates, being driven home listening to Copeland, seeing grown men in suits carrying presents wrapped in bright ribbons and paper, entering my first ever 10km race, Super Mario GP on land, sleepovers, boys that make music playlists especially for a car ride with me, caramel hot chocolates, winter sun, butterflies in my tummy, phone calls just to say hi, late night smses from home that say just "love you", mix cds in the mail from my favourite penpal, cover versions of Maps, Italian ballads, colour co-ordination extravaganza at work, making plans, when the bus driver is playing Gyroscope, it being so sunny that I don't need to wear a coat for the first time in weeks, Bonds galaxy themed undies, phonecalls from home about storms and chocolate stashes, dancing to Jay-Z at work, phonecalls, voicemails, hunting down Italian dessert, Miss Seltmann in velour, seeing bffs holding hands while teaching each other how to skateboard, The Birmingham, holding hands, pesto on my pizzas, seeing Kate Nash's name up in lights as an upcoming show, pro con lists, working in Hawthorn, kisses in the carpark and homemade bircher muesli.

"The Grey Man" by Copeland from One Small Instrument Pictures on Vimeo.

101 Project: June update

Inspired by the Day Zero Project!

Start : 11th March 2010 Finish : 7th December 2012

Italic = in process of completing Bold = completed

My full 101 in 1000 Days list here

I really didn't consciously do anything for my 101 project at all for June.. good thing I have like 2 years to go!? Plus it is already half way through this month now and still done zilch! Yikes! I been busy moving states, dating boys, cooking soups and shiz ok!

2. Do monthly 101 Project update on blog
Done

8. Move out of home
Technically, yes! Most of my stuff is still over in WA which I may or may not pick up but in the meantime, I have moved out of home and have no intentions of moving back there.

10. Get new sunglasses that have sun protection
They were cheap as faux Ray Bans but they are so much more UV rated and darker than my silly 2 bucks Primark ones with no glare control. Squinty no mores!

15. Learn how to make a video on computer from holiday
I have self taught myself to make an epic masterpiece of my trip to Europe, Japan and NZ. It basically just full of screenshots from out the side of trains with rice paddies rushing past and shaky footage of some mountains but it has a awesome soundtrack and I think I will finish it soon.. all 30 minutes of it :/

16. Take one photo of myself a month
Oui

29. Have a monthly face mask
Only just! I should do it much more often, sorry face.

78. Get a plant for my room
I did! From our lovely mad Plant Man down the road. I got a fern and the living room got a whole jungle worth of greenery.

82. Find 10 new bands to love (3/10)
I am in love with Sally Seltmann

96. Read at least 1 novel a month
Yessss, but only one! Neon Pilgrim by Lisa Dempster. It is a story about a girl from Melbourne who does the henro michi pilgrimage in Japan and I love it! She is a vegan and very courageous and I am so keen to do this walk now.

Imma versatile blogger!

Guess whattttttttt, I won a "versatile blogger" award from the super duper wonderful Monster Girl! Awwww thanks a gazillion! This lovely girl from QLD is so funny and cute and writes hilarious and wise things and I wish we lived in the same state because then we could eat Grill'd vegan burgers and go roller skating together and watch Star Wars together and quote Daria sometimes too maybe. If she didn't give me the award I would be giving her one but alas I cannot! Plus then the also very very awesome Gemma from moth meets flame gave me one too, awwww shucks!

4 Rules go along with this award:

Rule 1: Thank the person who gave you this award.

THANKS MONSTER GIRL & GEM!

Rule 2: Share 7 things about yourself.

1. I don't own a single Apple product.. no Ipod or Iphone at all! & yet I manage to listen to music on the train with my (now extinct) Creative Zen, I know sounds lame but it works like a treat even after 3+ years! Plus, I know Iphone are full of all sorts o handy things but really, I just think it takes you away from reality and I like reality.. as opposed to a phone screen.. make sense? Not really.

2. I don't understand why people don't walk on escalators, I am pretty sure they were invented so you could move faster not so you could stop moving for a minute. I am not normally in a rush or all that impatient I swear, I just like to move!

3. I have been to Germany 4 times over the past 6 years mainly because I love everything about it but also because my step-grandma lives there and I would love to live there one day.

4. My surname is French (but my family is actually Dutch) and no one can EVER pronounce it correctly and I can not wait to get married and change it. Or I could just move to Europe where they embrace and appreciate the accent.

5. I don't have my drivers licence. I have a WA learners permit that I really should get transferred over to a VIC one but really, I just hate driving and I am quite frankly, terrified. I have driven before, had numerous lessons and also.. crashed. Plane tickets are where I prefer to put my money towards rather than automobiles and petrol but yes, one day I will!

6. I have had a super mega case of wanderlust for the past 5 years but now, the only place I wish to visit is really New Zealand (fingers crossed for next year to live there foreverrrrrr in the mountains maybe!) and Tasmania (in October for hiking adventures with my Kiwi bestie) other than that, I'm good! But ask me in 5 minutes and i will probably change my mind and tell you I'm going to Kenya or something

7. I kissed the Blarney Stone in Ireland and that is meant to make you eloquent.. I think it made me way less eloquent so now I just mumble a whole heap and rant about some ridiculous things or sometimes i just don't talk at all.. that isn't very eloquent now is it! Such is life.

Rule 3: Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic.

♥ Courtney from Kid vs City! Such a sweet girl from Chicago and I love hearing of her adventures and we are now real life penpals!
♥ Jess from the beat my heart skips! I love NZ bloggers and this lovely girl has just started a 365 photo challenge (with Tillie!) which I think is tops, posts about pretty mail and veggie foods!
♥ Chelsey from Always Learning! This girl is so funny and I love reading about what she gets up to in America! She is also a paper journaller and a Hanson fan too!
♥ Megan from Time After Tea! This girl is all sorts of awesome and posts about pretty mail too and if I ever go to Canberra I want to have afternoon tea with her!

I cannot name 15 blogs.. I don't read all that many blogs hey and the other people I would give the award to have either already gotten it or are bigger than tina so it's just these top 4 bloggers from me! Sowee.

Rule 4: Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.

MMMMKAY.

I've got nostalgic pavements

As you may know, I recently moved out of my wonderfully decorated room in sunny old Perth and I am now in a lovely unit in Melbourne but alas.. I have not so much of "me" to decorate my room as it all back home still. That was until a lovely lady by the name of Chrissy sent me the goods to make my own doilie garland as part of the Simply Delightful package swap! Awwwww yeah, the one on the right is my room (the left one being the main inspiration)! I have hung it from my ceiling light and attached the string to my curtain rods and I love love love it! It is so pretty when the afternoon sun leaks through them and I realised they actually look like snowflakes at night time.. I love snowflakes! The whole package was just so freaking lovely.. it was from my favourite place, New Zealand so I was stoked to find Pineapple Lumps inside (no chance of a photo, they were in my tummy pretty quickly..) and there was also some sweet as hairclips, an adorable scarf and a cute letter. It really was simply delightful :) Thanks Chrissy & Tillie too for hosting swaps ♥

Things I Love Thursday

♥ Houses that have central heating, parties with cookie platters, outer city streets that have black & white photobooths, appearing offline all of the time, ravioli with butter sauce, Americana parties with beer pong and flip cup, macaroni, Jo Bros, my patent brogues, The Boss teacups for 50c, Flight of the Concords on Sunday mornings, a week without work, pro Melbourne attitudes, smses from home about 2004 bootlegs, Hawaiian cocktail bars, vegan roti balls, good intentions, writing love letters to friends near and far, finally turning on my electric heater is my room, San Churros dates, cinnamon something dulce something hot chocolate, day trips to Healesville, being a member of two different libraries (double the books! =140 books!), dumpster diving resulting in vintage suitcase #4, when I went for a run and a boy was running towards me wearing one of those panda beanies with the long ears.. it was cute and so so funny (I imagined he really was a panda..), a payday at last!, listening to the Cure for hours on end, talking to really cute boys about The Cure (and Korn..), writing this list every week, lentil burgers, boxes of berries in the freezer, my new Glenburnie running track and looking forward to seeing Sally Seltmann on Saturday!

Curious Tuesday 009

This weeks is brought to you by my 8th consecutive day of no work despite actually having a job now and sitting in my room til midday with my electrical heater, eating blueberry porridge and of course, Gala Darling ♥















1. What was your first kiss experience? I think I was in year 9 so maybe I was 14 years old and it was with a boy in my bathroom as part as a truth or dare. It was slobbery and pretty gross.
2. If you could work for — & learn from — anyone, who would it be & why? I want to play tambourine in Kate Nash's band (so she will take me thrifting and to dance parties in our spare time) or be Gyroscope's official photographer (because they have great stage presence and are also top blokes and quite fetching) or be Kurt Halseys personal chef (not that I am a super vegan foodie but I am sure he knows some delightful recipes to teach me when he is not drawing or painting and I am his muse, haha) or work for Frankie magazine (I could write articles about the different soy milks on the market and about how to decorate your room like a champion without actually getting any blue tack on the walls)..? Yeah all them!
3. Have you ever taken a Myers-Briggs test? (If not, do it here, it’s quick & easy!) What was your result? Do you think it was accurate? (Also, TypeLogic is a great resource for finding out more information about your type.) This test reminds me of a test I had to do once for a job interview.. I haaaaaaaaaaate these things. But according to these dudes I am "ENFP".. I don't understand why or what it all meanssss?? I don't like being 50/50 intro and extro-verted, boooo. And why can't I be 100% feeling!

Extraverted (E) 50%	Introverted (I) 50%
Intuitive (N) 55%	Sensing (S) 45%
Feeling (F) 80%	Thinking (T) 20%
Perceiving (P) 68%	Judging (J) 32%

4. What is your favourite thing about your best friend? She is hilarious in a way that only we find funny, well other people laugh but not as much as we do.
5. What makes you happiest? Fresh air! I love driving with windows down in cars and even in buses too in winter I open the window (much to the dismay of other passengers..) I love fresh air when I am running, I love fresh air when I am hiking, I love ocean air any time all the time. I remember when I was landlocked in Canada for about 5 months and then when I saw the ocean at last and it really felt like a drug and I felt like I was a fish returing home! Fresh air FTW! They should bottle it and sell it because I would buy it but then I guess it wouldn't be fresh fresh, hrmmm. I miss the ocean right now btw, I haven't been near it for over a month, gasp!

I like compassion and thoughtful gifts

HAPPY 23RD BIRTHDAY KATE NASH! ♥
Miss Nash is my number one girl crush and in less than one month I get to see her live in concert for the first time ever! I have been thinking that I want to have a Kate Nash themed party, maybe for my birthday next year except that I only know of one person in the whole country that also likes her, hrmmm. Well anyway, the menu would comprise of pumpkin soup for entree, cheese on toast and bbq food for main and a million flavours of cake and strawberries for dessert. It would be at a park near the beach at sunset and then we would catch a train to dance at a disco til way past midnight and then we would come home and watch CSI and drink tea! And the dress code would be polka dots, florals and/or skeleton suits. Aww yeah!























Ohhhhhh & I just found this video from a photo shoot from a magazine called BlackBook which is incidentally from the same wonderful magazine that Laura sent me a few weeks ago because Kate Nash was in it and the reasons this video is awesome is because.. it features polaroids and bowling alleys and I am going bowling on Friday night with a boy! Seeeeeeeee..

Also because..

"Your world.. you can make it good. Find the people that make you feel good, be inspired, listen to music that makes you feel happy, go and swim with dolphins! Make your world good and then everything else is just like.. you kind of fight it with some kind of family that you've made of happiness" ♥

Send me a postcard, tell me a story

A few months ago I participated in my first ever package swap, The Package Project and I cannot wait to do more! For example the lovely Tillie is hosting a photo swap! I've joined have you?! So anyway, my package project partner was the lovely Nawal from Dubai! I have only ever been to Dubai airport for a stopover so it is really cool to discover all sorts of things about her country and see what kind of things we have in common.. which turns out was a fair bit:) I have never even met or spoken a person from Dubai so it was really interesting for me:) Thanks Nawal!





















Isn't it all adorable! I had never seen Middle Eastern stamps so I was pretty excited and the brown paper parcel was so pretty after I had pulled and tugged it out of my letter box. I really love the script they use for writing so Nawal sent me some postcards too for my collection. The first picture is of a cute little pouch from Apiary from America to put all the little nick nacks from my camp kit. In case you don't know, I much prefer camping and hiking over shopping and fashion so Nawal made me my own "camp kit" ..






















This is only a few of the items inside. Super cute wooden cutlery set "for when using your hands just doesn't do it anymore", a mixtape notebook "for when a song/lyric or thought comes into your head", a needle and tread kit "might come in handy" and mini candy burger "for when all you crave is a burger"! Awwwww! Also inside was some floral fabric, earring with leaves on them, a pocket mirror from Muji!, origami, cute Swedish matches, felt animal, bandaids, a button and a very sweet letter and all sorts of little notes all through and wow it was such an adorable idea and so thoughful

♥ P.S I got a new camera yesterday.. still trying to figure it out but it's macro setting kinda bites the big one. I couldn't believe how many choices for bloody digital cameras there are!

Things I Love Thursday

♥ When the burger joint has Frankie magazine available to read, seeing the ocean at last!, my first roller skating training session, first roller skating injuries, walking home in the rain, cute smses from boys about Star Wars and chocolate, quitting shitty jobs!, browsing skating stores for roller skates, hanging up my lace doilies from my roof with wooden pegs and lace string!, Morrocan lamb flavoured anything, realising that Tilly and the Wall are on the new She & Him record!, smuggling in homemade cookies into the casino bar to eat with Baileys on ice, Melbourne at night, packages from Nottingham!, tickets in the mail from The Corner, my new massive atlas from the 1970's, my new curtain (a map of Victoria), getting hired back at my old favourite job with casual hours, talking to farmers, head to toe merino clothing ensembles, Star Wars themed hardcore bands, bird themed metal bands that wear bird masks, getting okonomiyaki at every available opportunity, vegan chocolate raspberry cookies made from this recipe, ginger stuble, holding hands along the river, reading MX magazine on the train home, The IT Crowd

Believe in kissing

“Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep out alone under the stars. Learn how to drive a stick shift. Go so far away that you stop being afraid of not coming back. Say no when you don’t want to do something. Say yes if your instincts are strong, even if everyone around you disagrees. Decide whether you want to be liked or admired. Decide if fitting in is more important than finding out what you’re doing here. Believe in kissing.”

♥ Eve Ensler

(from here)

Curious Tuesday 008

This weeks is bought to you by sitting in bed at 6am with gloves and a beanie not being able to sleep, contemplating chocolate raspberry cookies for breakfast again, the next 8 days off work and of course, Gala Darling ♥













1. Where do you find inspiration? Travelling, walking around the city at night, walking around the mountains, weekend markets, new music, assorted blogs, Frankie magazine.
2. Have you got any hobbies or interests you’ve let lapse & wish you would take up again? Swing dancing! I have done it on and off over the past 5 years and I adore it and I want to find a club in Melbourne as it has been over a year. Also, I haven't been for a run in over a week!
3. One tea party. Ten invitations. Who do you invite? Gala Darling, Miranda July, Sara Von from Yes & Yes, Ellen Page, Kate Nash, Tina Fey, Lisa Mitchell, Drew Barrymore, Zooey Deschanel, Michelle Williams.
4. Who was your favourite teacher at school & why? Probaly my photography teacher who let me hang out in the lab every single lunch time for 2 years unsupervised to develop photos that I had taken of my favourite local bands. Also, I got an award at the end of high school as Photographer of the Year from him!
5. Have you ever been in a long-distance relationship? Nope.