Lowdown

I've come to rely so heavily on these lists as a record of my daily affirmations and to chart what really matters. It's fair to say that even when I've prioritised other activities or writing, I know that this will be an accurate insight into the bits and pieces that make up the bigger picture. It's the closest thing that I have to a journal and it's also my own 'lowdown' of pure joy.

One, these gulls, and how they merely shuffled out of the way as I ran through their prim group.

Two, we're onto BIRD collective nouns! At the moment, I really like a wake of vultures and a storytelling of crows. More here.

Three, my travel containers of almonds and green tea.

Four, chronologically organising my Frankie magazine stash.

Five, whipping out my new pizza stone for incredible pizza, ready in ten minutes. Try the Arriva-inspired: gorgonzola, Italian sausage, sundried tomato and mozzarella.

Six, drafting our Brisbane Bucket List over morning coffee.

Seven, temperatures that encourage an afternoon siesta.

Eight, holiday countdowns.

Nine, reading through blog archives. A Beautiful Mess is giving me great ideas for Christmas DIYs like this.

Ten, writing letters and cards to say, I love you.

 What's on your happy list? Tell me all about your weekend! 

Confession

Where have I been? I keep undertaking immense and passionate plans to write here every day, yet my everyday life somehow picks up and I get consumed by those things instead. In the last couple of weeks I have had a lot on my plate in the way of family commitments and work training, and as disappointing as it is to admit, I've barely had the time or resources* to write. Regardless, these have truly been the best of times. Moments that I will always cherish, that I will look back upon and remember, all while working towards some of the best months of the year. There is more to come on this site -- more words, images, ideas and words to share -- but until then, I'd love for you to enjoy these shots my mum sent me recently. When I was home last week we spent nearly every moment on the back deck, soaking up the sun and delving into their vast library. I don't think it's possible to find a place anywhere near as relaxing in the world.  

Sunshine Revival

Change of season gratefulness is more or less here. It's become somewhat of a ritual to observe the creeping warmth and the promise of spring. Habits resurface and doors remain open. We moved the table out to the deck and I sit there, my green glass bottle of yellow chrysanthemums my only company as I happily plough through work. Reinvigorated, our morning coffee won't be reheated to boiling for much longer. And soon we will switch to muesli, forgetting about porridge altogether for these months. We discuss whether there's any more meals in the comfort category that we'd still like to make. Yet we abandon that conversation at the idea that it will soon be too hot to think of food, and the only touch we'll bear is hands held under the chrome fan. My daydreams are of the beach, yet every night I go out on the balcony and try to savour that last bite of cold, even as I wince and reach for a cardigan. But the next evening, as the sun goes down, I run along the water with my jumper tied around my hips, the cool air blotting the sweat that only a singlet makes bearable. The tangy promise of mosquitoes is there, and I stop, breathless, to pick the jasmine that is blooming already. It's neither bittersweet nor unremarkable. It's now, and I am conscious of the child inside me that remembers the heat that will blow across the country as the day ages. My soul won't forget that feeling. These moments are coming.

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Image via 

Blood Bright

I realise that I haven't been entirely steady in my posting here recently. While I haven't been as inspired  or creative in the last few months, it's become apparent that this lack of enthusiasm has extended to most parts of my life. In an effort to reignite energy in all areas, I've undertaken the most serious health and fitness mission of my adulthood. I mentioned here that, as of July 1st, I was going to run a cumulative total of 500km by New Year's Day, 2013. So far, I've run 39km, which -- though a little behind what I'd planned to achieve at this point -- still feels amazing.

Moreover, my awareness of what my body needs and what I want has progressed significantly. Previously, we'd made marked changes to create weekly meal plan, however maintaining them was a hurdle that we weren't overcoming nearly as well as we were maintaining our punctual Nando's Cluck For Your Buck date. Needless to say, something had to give, and in this case we fortuitously received a huge gas bill and my work hours were cut, thus removing that extra $40 from our peri peri fund. Also, one of my girlfriends alerted me to the My Fitness Pal app and also mentioned the quantitative repercussions of that much chicken.

At this point, I have so much more to write, and thankfully, I'm finally composing in my head again. Before, I'd do anything to avoid Blogger and when I hadn't clicked into my Dashboard for a week or so, it became easier to pretend than type a few vague sentences and save to draft.

Until I come back, with more sharing and ideas, I'd love to put you on to this superbly analysed post by Moorea, and also see if you relate?

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Image via

It's good to feel bright again. 

Park Life

How's your weekend? I'm a little sunburned from our time in New Farm Park today. It was blissful, and even if I peel, at least I will remember this magical afternoon shared with the friends that are like family. These past two days have been remarkably wonderful. In between the puppy spotting, the talking in Irish accents, the demolition of the (crack) biscuits, and sharing Italian with my oldest friends, I've just got two words to say: happy and delicious. Such a contrast to the horrid week days leading up to it, so I'm super thankful for this (newfound) perspective. With this, and the plans to erase a miserable first week of July, I don't mind Monday at all. Until we meet in a haze of home cooking, painted nails, movie marathons, and handwritten letters, I hope you have the most splendid week possible. Here's to forgiving, and forgetting!

Ps, the remarkable pockets of glitter:

1, the '70s dance party we've been having every night. Particularly Creedence, oh my dayyyss.

2, this meme. And applying to the above.

3, new candles that give our home a sultry glow.

4, the graduation countdown.

5, plus, the beagle count up..in the park.

6, epic discussions about travel that end positively. And, without money-related conflict. Good talk.

7, fresh herbs with every meal.

8, a text conversation all about scones.

9, planning for Christmas In July. Huzzah!

10, Brisbane's Powerhouse Museum. One of my favourites, at any and every time.


*Despite its beauty, I'm glad that bad boy moon is finally waning..and so is my twitchy face.

Monochromatic

I graduate in a little under two weeks and I've been so hazy on what I'm actually going to wear. In terms of occasion, I'm most excited that I'll be celebrating with some of the people I hold dearest. Outside of what I've achieved in study, I feel as though it will be my most adult epoch to date. As both the ceremony and dinner afterwards will be shared with just my partner and parents, it's very important to me that I feel comfortable yet sophisticated and very joyful. For once, I've steered away from my traditional, fitted style and am instead looking at finding the impact in my outfit in terms of fabric and the silhouette created. While I am always the first person to aim to dress for my shape at all times (hello, cinched waist), choosing quality, timeless pieces will help create a chic finish. As it's a night-time ceremony, and winter here, I'm thinking that dramatic outerwear can create a contrasting monochromatic scheme. Despite the cold of my (former) riverside campus, I'm going ahead with my 'party on the feet' theme. I've had my fuschia suede heels waiting for some time, and they'll be quite the eye catcher as I cross the stage to receive my Bachelors. Singular black and white has never been so fun.

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Images and shop:

Asos Silk Dress,

Net-A-Porter Shirt Dress, 

Asos Parker

Net-A-Porter Belted Blazer

Birthday Week

It's my sweet man's birthday on Wednesday, yet we've been indulging in special things here and there since yesterday. I love everything about birthdays, and the opportunity to spoil someone I adore so much makes it an even more joyous affair. So far, in the '12 Days of Birthday' there has been a Vietnamese meal, gelati (ginger, butter cookie, and nut caramel flavours), a behemoth dark chocolate lamington, and carob-covered ginger. To come, there is certainty of jaunts to Vapiano, Wagaya, and the German Sausage stand, as well as a Revenge Of The Sith evening. I'm also going to post random things this week that would make rad presents (both fantastical and/or probable..).

Until tomorrow, here is this weekend's happy list, inspired as always by this talented woman, and inclusive of some things about life with the birthday boy that make our days together unexpectedly spectacular.

1, Your pedantic obsession with coffee. You've perfected it to the extent that I no longer enjoy it out.

2, That I can count on you to utilise leftover icing and other baking confections. I'm referring to the dulce du leche crumpet incident of early June here.

3, That our language has extended to include both tactful reprimands, "I'm in The Zone", and ridiculous television quotes.

4, On some evenings I come home to the cleanest house in the world, incense and candles, and a pot of tea. There's often leftovers as well.

5, That you'll come out and meet me at the road if we've noticed some dodgy things going on around the neighbourhood.

6, That magnum of Shiraz we shared last week.

7, Your exceptional taste in music.

8, The ability to realign our Feng Shui each season.

9, The reworking of songs you utterly detest.

10, How welcoming you are to my family and friends. 

Happy (almost) Birthday, my S.

Sunday List

A little list of things from today that made my day. It seems like I can actually kick back and enjoy those moments in a purer way come these sweet evenings. Hope you've had a great weekend with your dearests.

1, The return of strawberries.

2, Dancing outside on the stairwell.

3, How my love wears his jumper hood up and we say "Ghost Protocol" to one another in Mission Impossible voices.

4, Watching the afternoon light change as I travelled home today. One half of the city was in shadow and the other was glowing pink.

5, Calling a girlfriend just to say hello, and unexpectedly chatting for an hour.

6, This soundtrack.

7, Trying on perfume for a bridal scent story.

8, Making a perfectly smoky Baba Ganoush.

9, Birthday countdowns (10 days).

10, Relaxing with the prospect of a new week and sharing our home with friends.

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A word about this image. I found it via Jonas Paterson's, a photographer, professional blog. I have more to say on his work, but until then, I hope this ideology resonates with you in whole, or at least in parts.

The Love Apartment

I'm just thinking about the word, apartment, what it might actually mean and how it came to be used for a place of living. I guess it might be because of the fact that it's a whole thing, with the -ment, but the separated aspect lies in the apart-. I've often thought, and I certainly feel, that living with Sim is the best thing ever. Before this I'd just dream about him constantly, and now that we share a space, it's still kind of like that but much more free. I really love how we can be working on our own projects while being so close. What's more, the feeling of being apart is doubly meaningful when we return and are reunited here. It's familiar, and the strange and wonderful part is that it's both mine and ours and his.

Apparently in Scandinavia, "love apartments" means that they belong to couples. Every time I read or remember that, it strikes me as the loveliest thing.  

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Images via

Little info snippet via

Again, I just love the Fieldguided blog. 

Sip, Nibble, Settle

Since finishing uni and full time work drying up somewhat, I have spent so much time at home. Cabin fever has set in from time to time but just now, as I got ready for bed, I realised how special it is that, finally, it really does feel like ours. As I looked around tonight I could see that it's incorporated into both our space and our lifestyle and is flexible when we have guests and when it's just us two. It's less about decor and more about habits that we decided should be present (and items that could be kept) even with such a tiny unit. These habits stretch to our belongings and I'm glad that our musical and writing endeavours are so clear in the bits and pieces we have around us. It's pleasant to have the dearest things close and I'm always inspired by the memories they recall. The other things that make our house feel like home shine through in other ways, but we've developed a routine together that can easily adapt to playing host or letting things go a little, particularly on weekends..

Our abode is a fairly constant build of the instagrams above..
..morning coffees - with vague attempts at heart swirl art - and lots of honey.
..movie dates together. This is largely curry, and last week it was yoghurt marinated chicken and vegetable curry with a side of Tanqueray and tonic.
..lots of lamps lending their glow, as well as having records, books and my guitar all near our beloved couch. My love close by too.
..mugs all over the house. They especially signal autumn and cosiness to me. It's kind of impossible to enjoy that sort of comfort in summer.
..a celebration or two - a soy vanilla ice-cream affogatto for me or a Scotch for him. We tend to mark occasions in our own way.
..quality time with our families. This is only complete with some sort of food pampering. Last Monday, it was fig, ginger and honey ice-cream with a drizzle of honey, a shot of Frangelico and blueberries - a very indulgent sundae.


Even with occasional cabin fever, I'm always happy to be here.

What defines your home? I'd love to hear your homestyle secrets if you've the time to share, I adore learning about other people's lives.

Gone To Look For America

This might be February blues, as the year feels a little bit long already, but I'm in need of a little holiday. A proper break. Requirements include making a new playlist for the road, individual chocolates (somehow more expensive than a block of chocolate but also far tastier..I'm thinking Baci) from a box for breakfast, staying up late only to sleep in, walks to any place that might be waiting to be discovered, dancing in the kitchen of our temporary home (a self-contained place is a must, so my love can make coffee), reading on the verandah, waiting for the moonrise, giggling at ridiculous things we do that make it clear we're barely the adults we pretend to be.

I feel more relaxed already. I might even go for a staycation tonight. Curry, a movie and the return of the rain will do the trick. We don't even need to leave the house.

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Where I go for peace in my head.

The other place is with my man's family

- the sunsets out there are incomparable.
Image via 
     

Collegiate

While it's been a little bit hectic - I disappeared again, deep into intern land - I can now say that I'm a graduate! These Journalism and Arts feathers have been a long time coming, and while I thought it would be a walk in the park or an easy program to complete, the extra time and numerous sleepless nights and tear-filled days make today worth it. Though I won't don cap and gown until July, the affirmation and knowledge that I've achieved this now means just as much. I'm actually far more excited about the new phase, and I'm glad I took the long way round to properly situate and understand all that I've learnt. It feels like those daisies - clean and fresh.

...

Daisies from my mama,

Image via instagram - 

I don't know that it quite

captured the cheeriness.

Paper Heart

 

366 new days to make magic with, dance through, and make count. Of which I've already spent approximately 13. This fresh new feeling might fade, but in a sense this is a year of my life like no other. It might even be the start of a new phase. 

In this, my first year outside of formal education (there were eighteen plus one of preschool) since I was three, I find that I am still fertilising long-time, familiar dreams and learning foreign, unreal ones. I'm excited and ready and hopeful beyond measure.

Here are the ones that I dearly hope will take root this year:

1, a lively herb garden and making tea from it.

2, a new job and developing new skills.

3, graduation and travelling afterwards (hello, Japan!).

4, strong and loving relationships.

5, a content heart and productive spirit.

6, the reading of many books and recipes.

7, becoming a part of a community.

8, rising earlier and being healthier.   

What about you? What does your new year hold?

I also wanted to say thank you to anyone who has

visited this space during its time online.

I plan on looking after my space more frequently

in the coming months and I'm so 

excited to share it with you.

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Image by me from instagram

These sweet flowers are brightening 

our home today.

They will dry and be everlasting.

I always think that nature can turn

any day around and make

my heart glad again.

Before Bedtime

It feels so restorative to sit back on this couch of ours, listen to some live Radiohead, and reflect on this week. There have been many things that have made this week sparkly after an incredibly special weekend with family (though I wish it didn't have to end), from the ones listed here to not so little things like my best friend arriving from interstate and our Christmas plans looking rad and involving family when we didn't think we'd be so lucky.

Two for one burgers. The field of dreams at Grill'd is so good.

Post-run stretches overlooking the river.

All the floating 'Santa Claus' flora. I have no idea what causes it but I love catching them, wishing, and then letting them float on.

Balderdash, the hilarious bluffing game.

Plus, the inevitable silly, breathless laughter.

Picnics and moonlight cinema*.

Playing handball in car parks**.

Fairy lights in our bedroom.

Sharing home made curry with loved ones. And that it just gets better with time.

People watching - there's so much joy to behold. Such a special time of year.

Have a truly indulgent weekend xx

*more on this, very soon!
**see previous post..

Flawless

Everyday sweetness includes..

Sunset over the city..

..innumerable cheeses with the dearest friends..

half-asleep sleeping in..

..apple pie from "our bakery"..

runs in the evening wind with the fluffiest Gandalf cat..

..plans for the weekend, almost always..

so much laughter and innumerable hugs..

..new slushee flavours..

bittersweet, yet perfect, ideas for the future..

that sweet man. who makes me a princess all by his incredible self.

Thank you, life.

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image via

Tuesday Edition

Happy about, grateful for, satisfied by..

1. Affogatto. All the time.

2. Wanting to exercise much more.

3. Spending last week with family, the weekend with friends, the start of the new week with my love.

4. Seeing The Never-Ending Story for the first time ever!!

5. Our calendar wish list of gigs over the next few months!

6. Reading and agreeing with the notion, "do something to work towards your dreams every day". Seemingly easy, even on the couch.

7. Deconstructed mango lassi (!!) - diced mango, greek yoghurt, and raw ironbark honey.

8. The house down the road that has gardenias growing through the fence.

9. Sky blue nail polish, white linen maxi skirts, brown accessories.

10. Planning a fundraiser for a friend's stolen synth.

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Some notes:

I am working on that list - namely the lassi part, haha!

We are addicted to honey, but we're definitely not alone..

(so lovely, follow the link for rad joyness)

One of our dear friends had his vintage Korg stolen from

their rehearsal space a fortnight ago. This is terrible news,

and a great loss for him and the band. I'll keep you posted on

plans, but it's so sad that things like this happen. 

Here for more about it.

What is your Tuesday Edition? I'd love to hear what's bringing you

happiness, gratefulness, satisfaction.

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Clothes pin installation image

via A Cup of Jo, via The Debonaire, via Milk

..I love this, and I love having this "virtual hanging

space" to curate my ideas and to share my inspirations.

With Rain And Snow

It's been crazy weather here over the past few days. It's pretty fitting considering the sheer amount of everything that has me snowed under - uni, work, writing, life. These are definitely common themes and I'm not complaining. I am just a bit worn out, so I'm going to have an early night, recuperate a little/a lot, and then hang outwith some of my best friends tomorrow. I think there's a bad* movie in there too. I can wait, but I relish these types of delightful things. They're the sort of soul food that I need above anything material. Plus, rain gods? Your cloudy presents are more than welcome here. Thanks, Aoife. xx

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*I kind of really adore trashy movies. They're my junky soul food.

I've watched so many while studying recently that my brain is a 

mush of movie love stories. 

Hence the picture above..do you know the source?

What Is Strange Is Wonderful

A snippet, or rather the actual handful, of pictures from our anniversary. We had a deluxe home breakfast, wandered into the city for the Mad Men exhibit, acquired some Nespresso pods, took an Oasis smoothie with us to GOMA, enjoyed the Surrealism exhibit and made plans for Friday night, went back to the city to read a little at Brew, were indecisive about dinner before admitting we both wanted Fantasia laksa, then went home to overload on a 1.134 kg Whitman's Sampler.  Oh yes.

We also had a smoothie and a honey, lemon, and ginger tea in there..but I forgot to take a photo.

Some other things I didn't get photos of..

- His hand falling into mine

- Giggling like crazy over most things

- The quietness you find when exploring a gallery

- A warm day and cool night

- Having him as my best friend

- Looking up at the sky throughout the day

- New playlists

- Talking and drinking tea on the couch

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Post title is an Irish saying - I love it

Three

Today it is our three-year anniversary. Our epic celebration plans have been fine-tuned to a suitably rad mixture of food, coffee, and exhibitions. We had already decided to brunch, go for coffee, hit up the Surrealism exhibit at GOMA, do some park reading, then dinner (we are never this organised - the couple of times we have pre-booked anything have been pretty disastrous), however fate took a strange turn yesterday.

In a "hypothetical gift" conversation Simon asked what I'd like, and I said the new series of Game of Thrones and Mad Men. When he told me it wasn't possible, being a total goose, I told him not to bother then. It was an awesome surprise when I was doing my morning SMH reading and I read a blog post about the Icons of Style exhibit, featuring costumes from Mad Men! I'd read last month that they would be going to Melbourne so this news is doubly awesome. I adore everything about Mad Men - costumes, characterisation, plot, cast, cinematography - so this will hopefully fill the void until season five arrives.

I'll just be happy dancing in the kitchen 'til we reconvene, mmk?

Part Two.

Tonight, over Thai, we talked about graduation and work prospects etc. Truthfully,  I'm more than a bit concerned about going freelance if I'll be my own boss/colleague/lunch company. Further to this, I wonder how this will affect me socially. I'm aware of how easily I can alienate myself, and quite often I work/function so well by myself that I don't want it to be the core part of my routine.

As I said here, the amount of time I spend lodged in an endless stream of internalised monologues is incredibly cushy. In a strange way I feel like my daydreaming means I'm not up to the real world. I worry that I'm not up to being this adult or any adult. I then wonder how I'll manage being in charge of everything when I can't say "I'm a student" and that's enough said.

I'm terrible at making decisions and I want so much for the future to be full of things that I learn from and look forward to. I want there to be constructive mistakes and beneficial losses. I hope I'm up to being in a team, and that the person I can be by myself is someone I can feel confident to be around others too.

Sometimes I worry the vernacular I have with my boyfriend, family and a few others is something I'll never achieve in all my relationships. The crazy part is that I love being around other people just as much as I'm comfortable in my own company. More than anything I worry that if it were flipped, would it be the same the other way round.

This post puts the mental buzz together too.

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Quote from Alice in Wonderland,

but the picture, I'm not sure (?)