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Sunday, January 31, 2010

I won something.


The lovely Kellyansapansa tagged me with this award and it was a very nice surprise indeed.

I need to list 7 interesting things about myself.

Not sure how interesting these things will be - but I'll give it my best shot :)

1) I am becoming much more creative as I get older. I'm also becoming happier and happier as I get older - so there could be some connection there...

2) I will be having botox (or something of that ilk)as a 40th birthday present to myself.
I never would have thought that I would do anything like that - but nothing like having your 36th birthday to get you REALLY thinking about stuff like that!
I might add that Sd is four years younger than me - and uses eye cream!
That may have contributed to my decision.

3) My birthday and my sister's birthday are one day apart. I am two years older than her.

4) I have zero idea about football (soccer) but I LOVE to get up in the middle of the night for a couple of weeks every 4 years to watch the World Cup.
Can't explain why - but I absolutely love it!!

5) I have a fully fledged love/hate relationship with working anywhere near customer service.
Can't live with the general public, can't live without them.

6) I did 4 years of my Naturopathy diploma ( it took 6 years back in the day) and although loved every minute of it - stopped at the end of the fourth year.
I realised though that I would always struggle to make a living and that the world ( at least the Australian 'world') was about to be flooded with Naturopaths. I took my career in a different direction and have never regretted it.

7) I used to believe in Astrology. I no longer do.



I tag these beautiful bloggers;

Anything Fits a Naked Man

Pink Patent Mary Janes


LolaConstanceEvelyn

Fleur Delice

The Truth about Mummy

A Day in the Life

Living my Life,whatever


They are all very different from one another but are all beautiful!!


xx

Friday, January 29, 2010

Song of the Week.


Stand by Me - Leicester School Boys Choir


A while ago , I happened to see a documentary on the ABC I think or maybe SBS - about a choir master - Gareth Malone, who went into an English boys school in Leicester for a term and started a choir.
Success at this particular school was predominantly measured by how good you were at sport, as it is in many boys schools. The arts and (particularly music) were not a priority here.
It was also a school where there were some boys with quite difficult backgrounds and tricky behavioural problems. These boys were encouraged to be in the choir - and caused Gareth a fair bit of grief along the way!

In the end , he did manage to form a choir and at the end of term they performed at the Royal Albert Hall! How exciting!

It was so wonderful to watch them perform and to see all their hard work pay off. It was just a group of boys with no singing or performance experience who gave something a go and triumphed!
So beautiful to watch!

You might need some tissues at the end. Or maybe that's just me...

Enjoy and have a lovely weekend!


xx

The best eyelashes of 2010 go to...


In honour of the birth of the CUTEST baby born this week
( obviously the cutest baby born next week will no doubt be mine!) - I give you Manzi.

She was born at Mogo Zoo earlier this week and I think she is possibly the most adorable animal I have ever seen.

That is all.


xx

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Love it or hate it?


I'm not sure.

This is a dress from the Givenchy show at Paris Fashion Week.
I love love love this dress ( or should I call it a gown?) - from the waist up. It's divine.

Now, from the waist down - I'm torn. I love the colour and I love the graduation of the shades of colour. I'm not sure about the puffy bits at all.
I like the mix of textures but maybe not the sequins, the puffy bits, the different colours,the split in the front, the geometric waistband juxtaposed against the organic curvy puffy bits...all in the same garment.

It's all a bit much.

Or is it?

Torn, I tell you!


xx

Monday, January 25, 2010

Week 38.


Hello!

Good Lord - it's Week 38!
Well lovelies , if I thought it was surreal last week, Week 37 has nothing on Week 38!!
I now have virtually no body parts that I recognise as my own - except my head - occasionally.
I have also suddenly realised that I am not going to be sleeping for a very very long time and that has filled me with fear!
On a more positive note, Sd is reading some baby books - which has impressed me immensely. It's also lucky because despite having done quite a bit of reading myself, I can barely remember anything I have read. As my friend said, reading baby books is like reading a book on how to sail a boat - without the boat or the water.
Couldn't agree more.
Hopefully, Sd has a better memory than me!

Anyway, not much more to report because as per usual, I have been sitting on the couch for the best part of the day.
I can't begin to imagine how large my bum must be.
Oh well, hopefully anyone horrified by the size of my arse will be distracted by either the size of my stomach or the delightful heat rash working it's way down my body!

Beautiful! That's me!


xx

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Magazines and me.


I'm not a huge magazine lover. I suspect my impaired Gemini attention span has something to do with this. I'm the kind of person who goes shopping and is so overwhelmed by the amount of things to look at, the bright colours etc that I often forget why I have come to the shops , what I need and what already have at home. That's why I have 6 striped singlets. I am honestly shocked each time I come home with another one that there are any already in my wardrobe.

I expect that for similar reasons, I don't like to read magazines much. They overwhelm me. When I finish reading them I can't remember anything I've read about or seen and I feel a bit dizzy!!

As a result, I only read four magazines regularly; Vanity Fair, Notebook, Frankie and Real Living.
My brain seems to cope with these publications quite well!!

There are many many others I like but I don't buy them because I can't bring myself to. I think I have reached a certain age where I can tolerate very minimal amounts of 'celebrity' anything. I have an aversion to trying to emulate the 'style' of a particular famous person. Don't mind if someone else does it...it's just not for me.

Don't get me wrong, I have particular people that impress me when it comes to their fashion choices or how they decorate their home. You can read about that here.
However, I don't want to be like them or have a smaller bum than them , I just think they do what they do well.

I want to do a really good job of being me, dressing like me and decorating like me!
The afor mentioned magazines help me to do that and that's why I like them!


Which magazines inspire you?


xx

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Week 37.


How time flies!

Just went to the Ob and all was ok. Which is lovely.
I think that he thinks Sd and I are slightly strange because we do not appear particularly excited about the impending birth of our child. We're kind of not. I think we are slowly going into some kind of shock. Especially when our doctor says things like 'less than 2 weeks to go!' and we just smile and say 'Yes'.
Not really the reaction to that statement you'd look for in expectant parents!
Underwhelmed anyone?!

Like I keep saying, it is becoming more and more surreal each day that soon we will have a baby.

There is definitely a part of me that will not allow myself to contemplate our future because of what has come before.
When this baby is out of me and in the world then I will feel more able to comprehend what has happened.

Strange but true.

I am sounding more and more deranged as this post continues, so I might leave it at that for now - I think you get the picture!


Hope you are having a lovely week!
And thank you so much for your comments on my last couple of posts.
They were very very kind.


xx

Monday, January 18, 2010

Hip Hip Hooray for 100 posts!


I couldn't just do the venting post today.

For those who could bring themselves to read the angry angry post I wrote earlier today, I am calming down now and I just want to clarify that of course I am so happy that my mum is well and that I do appreciate that she has been through a terrible time - alone. As per her choice.
I am just shocked and very disappointed that someone who has taught me and guided me as to 'how to be', used information she had hidden from me as a verbal 'slap in the face'.

Just wanted to make that clear. I do love my mum alot!


Anyway, moving on...

This is my 100th post. Not really the festive one I had hoped for but I guess sometimes things don't go exactly how you'd like them to - and that's life isn't it?

Here's to the next 100 posts and minimal amounts of venting!!


xx

Vent vent vent.


You know how something can completely take the wind out of your sails? Well, that just happened to me. And this post will be me venting so feel free move on over to the next blog if me venting is not something you feel like reading on a Monday morning!! ( can't imagine why you wouldn't!)

Without going into the gory details, I just rang my mother and in my view she said some things that, to say the least, were extremely childish and hurtful and wrong.
Essentially, she told me that she 'didn't feel like' doing something and then when I asked why she told me that she wasn't well. I said to her that that was news to me and then she told me that recently she had been investigated for an extremely serious illness and has found out she does not have it.
In order to defend herself.
She also said that she didn't want to tell me about it because she didn't want to ruin the birth of my child!?
Because it would be so much better to reveal that she had a life-threatening illness AFTER I had a baby!!!!!
Sooooo much better - obviously.

Although , she felt it fine to suddenly reveal it all in a phone conversation a couple of weeks before the birth of this baby in order to bite back at me when I asked why she 'didn't feel like' doing something. Fantastic decision.

I guess it is her business what she decides to share with other family members however I am devastated that she would choose to keep this from me and my sister and moreso that she saw fit to reveal it in such a way - using it as ammunition in an argument.

I'm furious. Can you tell?

I would like to add that she is surprised that I am angry ( because everything is fine and she does not have a terminal illness). So what's the problem?

Oh, and also that when I got married 2 years ago, my (chronically ill) father had shingles and was extremely ill on the day. I was so stressed that day because I could clearly see that my dad was a million times sicker than usual and everyone kept telling me he was fine. After the event, his condition was revealed to me and I made it very clear that that kind of 'protecting' of me was to never happen again.I thought we were clear on that.
Apparently not.


Off to set something on fire now. See you later!



xx

Friday, January 15, 2010

Song of the Week.


Miss Li - Dancing the whole way home


I found this song on the Perez Hilton website.
I just want to admit that straight up.
Please don't let that dissuade you from listening to the lovely Miss Li - she's great! She is Swedish and this particular performance of the song 'Dancing the whole way home' is live. I always prefer live performances. Much more interesting and exciting.

As I said, forget about Perez and enjoy this song!
I guarantee it will make you feel happy!

Have a wonderful weekend.


xx

Week 36.


Well, as you can imagine, moving around and doing things is not my forte at the moment.

That would explain my frequent posting here, although I also am trying to get a few extra ones in before the baby comes.
Not sure there will be many posts in February...I will try though.

Due to my general lack of activity, I don't have much to report because I haven't done anything or been anywhere really.
I've said this before but I am constantly amazed by the amount of time that I can spend doing absolutely nothing!
One thing I have managed to do is get the baby's room sorted. I will take some photos today hopefully so you can see what I've done.

It's strange, even though the birth is drawing closer, the idea that we are going to have a baby we started trying to have in April 2007(!) is becoming more and more surreal! It is wholly unbelievable that after everything that has happened between then and now - that Sd, the baby and I are at Week 36.
It's amazing.

Guess I need to spend some time sorting THAT out in my head asap!
Poor child!

I'm going to do a post for each of the remaining weeks. Hope I don't bore you too much!


xx

Just lovely.


Morning!

The other day I told you about a website that I love to visit
( and not buy anything from!)
I showed you some of their furniture and homewares but primarily they are a gorgeous fashion website.

Well, this morning I see on Jezabel that they have a new 2010 catalogue and it's stunning!

To take a look, click on the Jezabel link and you should find it easily. Look in the top left corner of the home page.

Enjoy!


xx

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Something funny and yet scary at the same time.

We watch 'The Jon Stewart Show' on the Comedy Channel most nights.
It's an American show featuring political satire.

The show is very funny and at times it can also be inspiring.
He has some very eloquent guests and although he does aim to make his audience laugh, Jon Stewart manages to inform as well.
Each night at the end of the show he has a 'Moment of Zen'. This usually involves a Republican or a die-hard Republican masquerading as a free-thinking journalist on Fox saying something ridiculous.
Last week, the 'Moment of Zen' was a bit different. Stewart played a part of an interview he did with Calvin Trillin in 2006. In the interview, Trillin is referring to Richard Reed - the man who tried to blow up a plane by putting explosives in his shoes. As you do.

This interview obviously took place a long long time before a Nigerian man attempted to blow up an aircraft over Detroit on December 25, 2009. By igniting explosives in his underwear.

Spooky.




xx

Look what I found!


I love Frankie magazine. It has just the right measure of quirkiness and originality for yours truly.

I just saw on Facebook that they have have quite a few new wallpapers that are available to download - and they're lovely!

Here is the link - http://www.frankie.com.au/wallpapers

Maybe you'll find one you like!

The one above is my favourite.


xx

I miss Sparsley Kate.


I miss Sparsley Kate.

I assume that some of you also followed her blog, but, if you are unfamiliar with the heart-felt, often hilarious and all-round superb writing of the one and only SK then I all I can say is that she was an awesome blogger and writer and hopefully one day you will get to sample some of the fabulousness of Sparsley Kate yourself.

Her blog disappeared towards the end of last year, then it was back and I was overjoyed! But now she's gone again.

One of the reasons I loved her blog so much was that she was completely honest with her reader and herself - which is difficult to do at the best of times - but when you are going through difficult times - it can be too too much.

I respect her wishes to have time to herself and also to maintain her privacy. I just miss her.

So, if you're out there Mel/Sparsley Kate - a big Hello from me.
Happy 2010 and hope to hear from you soon in whatever form that takes.


xxoo

Weird way to start the day.


Disclaimer: I am a long time ( and I mean long) Dannii Minogue fan. I used to watch her every Saturday night on Young Talent Time and taped the episode so I could watch it again during the week. Just to make sure I didn't miss any Dannii details. I wanted to look like her, sing(!) like her, dance like her, do everything like her really.
Since she left YTT, about 500 years ago, I have not followed her career at all however I remain totally devoted to Dannii! Well, not devoted, but let's just say old habits die hard!



This morning I turned on the TV and apparently Dannii Minogue ( my life long friend!;) is pregnant. Usually when I hear this kind of celebrity information I generally have no reaction. However, this is Dannii we are talking about here and I have found myself feeling so happy for her and slightly in shock that this is the case!! And that now I am posting about it!

Anything for Dannii though.

So congrats to her and her partner Kris!! ( now I'm acting like he is my life-long friend too! Hilarious!)

Great news!


and now on with my day....


xx

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

People wearing sunglasses.



In November we headed down to Melbourne for a wedding and at the beginning of the weekend we caught up with our lovely friend Dave. He is a photo-journalist and he literally has a camera with him at all times. We spent a lovely afternoon at the Belgian Beer Cafe on St Kilda Rd catching up and hearing about his plans for his next trip to far flung places...

He emailed us this photo recently - taken that afternoon - entitled 'People wearing sunglasses'.

The people are actually Sd and I. I really like this photo because it is simply a moment in time. Nothing more, nothing less. We really don't take enough photos and I'm really hoping that when the baby comes we get our act together and make photography a bit more of a regular occurrence.
Or we will just have to organise to see alot more of Dave!


xx

Lusting after homewares... and a fox.

I have a website that I regularly drool over.
I discovered it a few years ago when I was working for an Australian designer who exported her clothes to the US and this site was one of her stockists.
You can buy clothes,accessories,furnishings,jewellery...lots of different things there. And it's all beautiful!
Ordinarily, this would be a very dangerous activity - the drooling - because it can lead to buying. However, this site - www.anthropologie.com does not ship to Australia. So it's actually an inexpensive and harmless pleasure and I thought I would show you some of the things I saw today that inspired me.


Grandiflora rug



This is Midsummer nights dream wallpaper. How divine is that? It's not very easy to see but it is the dialogue between Puck and one of the fairies. Sigh.



Gazelle wall art (made from vintage book pages)



said fox



shabby chic mirrored drawers



numbered drawers




beautiful bed linen



Enjoy!!


xx

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

A spot of decorating.

Hi lovelies!

I have been doing a bit of home decorating in the last week. I've been actually DOING the things I've planned to do for ages.

We've transformed our spare room into a usable space - as opposed to a giant cupboard to dump things in if you don't want to think about them - with a desk and a fold out couch for guests. It looks great and now is a lovely place to spend time.
I've wanted to have a wall where I could hang all the pictures that I have accumulated - all together and I finally hung them on Friday in our new study/spare room. They are above the couch/spare bed. And I think they look wonderful! I keep going in there to have a look at my wall...it turned out better than I imagined.



They are a bit small to see any detail in these photos but all the pictures have sentimental value to me. The three down the left hand side are collages I made for Sd a couple of years ago - they are a collection of bits and pieces I collected when we went on a holiday to Italy, France and then to New York. The one in the middle at the top used to hang in my Nan's lounge room (she passed away in 2008) and it's an English village scene. It's pretty generic but I love that it's now in my house I can see it every day. The picture down the bottom with the red shoes in it is a wedding photo - I wore some bright red Terry Biviano satin shoes and they and one red David Austin Rose in my bouquet of off-white David Austin roses and succulents, were the only 'colour' in my wedding. Everything else was off white, cream or silver. They were and still are my pride and joy - so it's nice to see them every day too!

The other thing I did was to finally re-cover our four dining room chairs. I bought the fabric about 6 months ago and again - just didn't get around to it.
There are two chairs in the green and white polka-dot and two in the paisley-floral.
I am really happy with the way they turned out too.




And now for the nursery....


xx

The Lovely Bones - My Review.


Like many other people, 'The Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold is one of my all-time favourite novels. I read it about 5 years ago and LOVED it. Recommended it to all and sundry and waited to hear if they all loved it too. And they did!

Yesterday, I saw this newly released film and I liked it alot.
If you have read the book and loved it too, I would give you the all clear to go and see it. You know how sometimes the film does not do justice to the book? Well, although I feel like no film version of this book would ever be 'as good' as the book - I think that this interpretation is about as good as it could get.
Peter Jackson was the perfect director. He managed to combine the awful realism of Susie Salmon's destiny and it's impact on those who loved her with her new experiences in 'the in-between' and then in Heaven.
Something that worked seamlessly in Alice Sebold's book and a reader's imagination but may not have translated very well into film. He did a great great job.

All the performances are good. Some are great. Stanley Tucci and Saoirse Ronan are particularly impressive.
This is off topic but I have to say, Susan Sarandon looks absolutely amazing for 63.
Amazing!!

I don't really have anything negative to say about this movie except that it isn't as fantastic as the book. But, I didn't think it could/would be.

If you haven't read the book, I think you would like the film - the friend I saw it with hadn't and she really enjoyed it.

One other thing I particularly liked about the film was that although the subject matter is particularly gruesome,Peter Jackson has managed to get across what happened to Susie Salmon without any graphic scenes or violence and for that I was eternally grateful!! So, if you hate any kind of blood or violence on screen like me, you will be just fine if you go to see this movie!

I would love to hear your thoughts on 'The Lovely Bones' if you've seen it or even if you've read the book...


xx

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Song of the Week.


Duck Sauce - Anyway : Armand Van Helden and A-trak.


This week's song is as much about the music video as it is about the song.
The dancing in this video is AMAZING and I want to learn how to do it!
Armand Van Helden is a very talented DJ , as is A-trak and together they have created something great!

I hope this brightens up a rainy Sunday afternoon for you!


xx


ps. if you can dance like that - let me know if you will teach me!!

My bargain bag!


What a beauty!

I saw this bag a while ago, but at $595 - I could not justify buying it - no matter how I tried to talk myself into it.

So, my search for a new everyday handbag - that was big enough for random baby stuff when called for, continued. And continued...
I can't believe how many vinyl bags are out there priced at $150 or more!! And how few nice and vaguely affordable leather bags there are!

But today, while wandering past an Oroton store, I noticed that 'my bag' was on sale. Reduced from $595 to $295!! Now THAT I could justify!

So the Oroton Fortuna Hobo bag in black now lives at my house!!

Can't believe how excited I am about my bargain!! (and how many exclamation marks I have used in this post).

Hope you are having a lovely weekend.


xx

Friday, January 1, 2010

Not what you want to be doing on New Years Day.


Our cats escaped today.
They are inside cats and never go outside, except to go to the vet.
We were doing a bit of IKEA furniture construction in the spare room and because it was so humid - we opened the window. And then forgot about it.

So, while I was having a bit of pregnant-lady time on the couch after finishing our jobs, and Sd was getting ready to go to the airport - Renold and Franko escaped.

Unfortunately, we didn't realise they were gone till Sd was waiting for a cab and then had to leave while pregnantladyinherpyjamasandbarefeet roamed up and down the street forlornly calling her cats.

I found Franko wedged up in the underneath of someones car - too scared to come out and Renold was nowhere to be seen. I couldn't reach Franko because due to my enormous size I couldn't get far enough under the car.

I called my sister and she came over straight away to help me (Bless her!) and when she arrived she was simultaneously amused and appalled to see me lying on my back in the gutter trying in vain to squeeze myself under a car.

Two hours of trying to coax Franko out ended happily ( for us-not so much for Franko) with my sister squirting her with the Clove Oil and water mixture I use to clean the shower and then finally dragging her by the face out from under the car. About 10 minutes before this, Renold had strolled past us !!?? and I grabbed him and threw him inside the house.

So, now I am filthy from lying on the road and covered in grease from under the car ( as is Franko) but I am so relieved that we were able to find them and that they are back INSIDE!!! The back streets of Newtown are not the place for these particular cats. They have no survival instincts and zero idea about road safety!!

So a big THANKYOU to my lovely sister and a big THANKS FOR NOTHING to Renold and Franko!!


xx