washing

i am currently in the process of doing two loads of washing, consisting of all black clothes. what am i going to wear in brissy!? tomorrow my stuff arrives in the sunshine state, bringing me one step closer to a whole heap of new and wonderful things and people.

summer

i want to dive into a swimming pool, lie on a beach, feel the sun on my skin and shake these winter blues...

the slap

feeling very tired tonight so only a little post and then it's off to bed (actually my bed is now a blow up mattress) with my book. i'm reading 'the slap' and am really enjoying it. i read it on the tram, when i walk somewhere, while eating lunch - i even read it while waiting in line to get into the pub on saturday!

true blood sighting

those who know me will know that over the past few months i've developed a deep love and bordering obsession for true blood. i really want my own bon temps t-shirt, i'd wear it proudly. the boys in that show, namely eric, drive me wild. and on saturday night i was lucky enough to meet one of them! it was so exciting and every time i think of our chance meeting i get butterflies all over again. we ran into him right outside our apartment and i couldn't believe my eyes. he talked to us for a good 5 minutes and we had a photo with him. he was lovely. i wonder what he thought of us. i always liked his character and even more so now. in fact we're watching true blood as i write this post. sam merlotte, you made my night, week, month and possibly even year! talk about star struck!!

my weekend

this weekend was so so so good. being my second last weekend in melbourne i tried to get the most out of it. it kicked off with friday night drinks for david's farewell. i'm going to miss him! saturday was spent drinking champagne and watching the football grand final. (i can't believe it was a draw!) after that finished we hit the dance floor, despite it still being light outside. i was wearing a st kilda scarf and a lions scarf and so i met some people from brissy who have just moved to melbourne and had fun chatting to them. saturday evening was one of pure food heaven at kathleen's house. she hosted a unbelievable dinner party... entrée of bruschetta, main of 'chicken agro dolce' (thanks jamie oliver!) and dessert of chocolate mouse cake. just amazing. despite it being a beautiful sunny day today i remained indoors packing and cleaning for the big move. at least it's 90% done. to top a productive day off we indulged in the most amazing thai food at palm sugar in richmond. ahh weekends. why do you have to be so short?

footy fever

today is afl grand final day and there is no better place to be than in melbourne! oh when the saints go marching in!

world's best boss

hooray it's friday!! this week has flown by, especially after my mid week sydney visit. only 2 weeks left at myer. tonight we are having going away drinks for my boss who is leaving too. he finishes one week before i do. i bought him a 'world's best boss' mug because i think he is. he gave me a silver pen engraved with 'myer online 09/10' which tucks nicely into the pen holder of my new diary. i'm looking forward to having a drink tonight, most people have already left the office. i am just making some final touches to our 'swim shop' project. check it out here!

debt is scary

i paid off my credit card tonight. again. they are dangerous little things. the first time i paid it off we put my card into a container of water and froze it. it was a very good feeling... but then i applied for a replacement. not so good. so my advice to anyone wanting to get one - don't. it has taken me two times to learn my lesson but i think i'm there now. with goals on the horizon such as a new car, slr camera and just saving money in general i can't really afford not to be. debt is scary. i'm hoping i will sleep soundly tonight with my financial conscience cleared. so here is to just one of many fresh starts in the coming months.

in my heart always

this is an article i came across in todays paper. read it here. although it's very sad i did enjoy it, especially the beginning of the story. i think it is important to remember a person as they were when they were full of life and doing the things they loved. that is how i want to be remembered. the article also reminded me of similar conversations i had with my dad at the time grandma joan was sick. it was difficult visiting her towards the end because she was so different from the person i was used to seeing and i hated seeing her like that - almost lifeless. i'm grateful that it wasn't this way for long though and that she passed away peacefully, with little suffering. she had a beautiful funeral and my dads speech will stay with me forever. it is still hard to believe she isn't with us, so many things remind me of her. i miss things like hanging out at her house on a sunday, reading the paper and drinking tea or bringing over fish and chips on a friday night. i know she looked forward to my visits, i could hear it in her voice on the phone when i'd call from work to say i was leaving. these times alone made living in melbourne all worth it. she is in my heart always. 

early night

off to sydney tomorrow for work so am going to try for an early night tonight. clothes are out, bag is packed, hair is washed, nails are freshly polished, room is tidy, a load of washing is on. i even did some more packing while watching an episode of the tudors. it feels good to be organised.

80 years of lois

below are some happy snaps from grandma's 80th birthday, all applied with an 'antique' effect which i thought was fitting!

it was a wonderful afternoon and night and i'm so glad i was there for it. we didn't tell her i was coming and when she saw me she gave me a smack and said 'you little bugger'! i also met her best friend noreen and noreen's boyfriend dan (how cute is that!). they came all the way from sydney for the special event.

my beautiful and clever cousin rach put this video together. it was the perfect end to a perfect night.

chocolate is good for you

this afternoon i was introduced to the wonders of max brenner. i'm already looking forward to my next 'chocolat' in a hug mug. thanks kathleen, you make a great date. and what a lovely way to end my sunday.

threes

things were happening in threes today. three heart/love related t-shirts. mine said 'put a little ♥ in your heart'. a man's at french fantasies said 'ugly blokes need lovin' too' and then a guy walking past with a woman had a shirt that said 'i ♥ my american girl'. i also helped shona move house today. that's 3 moves this month, grandma, shona and myself!

do unto others

i found a phone in a cab last night. kind of ironic seeing as i've lost 5 mobile phones in the last twelve months and not a single one was handed back to me. 2 were left in a cab, 1 on a tram and another 2 were stolen. i fully accept that it was my own fault each time however the fact that out of five instances there was not a single person willing to hand the phone in or attempt to contact me was devastating, and even more so each time it happened. it made me realise that i had too much faith in others. i've always felt that there is more good in the world than bad and that most people are honest and have some form of conscience. each time i lost a phone though, i started to think otherwise. as for me, regardless of the fact that i know what it feels like to loose not one, but five phones, i will always do the right thing. we all should. 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. (oh, and just in case, have insurance!)

saturday

saturday morning was...
sleeping in, drinking coffee, reading newspapers, baking banana cake, talking to matt, watching the tudors.
saturday afternoon is...
doing errands, going shopping, eating banana cake, writing this post, visiting magnation, hanging with josh.
saturday night will be...
getting dressed up, watching the football, drinking at precinct, dancing with the dt girls, staying out late.

get organised

today i bought this 2011 diary from kikki-k. it's simple black leather and i already love it. today's date, friday 17 september, is my mums 50th birthday! happy birthday mum and happy skydiving.

hello friday

hello friday. i've waited all week for you.

friends from the south

it is finally starting to sink in that i am leaving melbourne and a whole other life here. i'm going to dearly miss everything, but more importantly, everyone. it makes me sad to think of how out of the loop i'll be with things. most of my closest friends all work at myer and i'm going to miss talking (complaining!) about work with them. it's fair to say that it is a shared and thoroughly enjoyed pastime of ours! in addition to talking about work (we really do love it), i'll miss our drinks at the racv wine bar, dinner at our place (namely mexican!), movie nights with josh and lu, coffee at degraves and breakfast at just about anywhere. there are millions more things i could list but most of all i'll miss the love and support of our tight knit group. josh, lu, kathleen, peter and angus have been a family to me and i'm so grateful to have them in my life. i really hope it's always this way, despite time or distance or workplace! lucky for me though i'll have cheap flights at my fingertips and that means many trips to melbourne and many more fun times to come.

rainy days

melbourne is grey and rainy today. i don't mind though. i'm inside on my lunch break at work eating the yummiest lentil soup with crusty baguette. when i went outside to get my delicious soup it was just starting to sprinkle and the smell of the rain was just beautiful. i remember telling matt about the 'smell of rain'. he didn't believe me at the time but i think he might of changed his mind since then. (i've been working on proving the theory to him for years now!) pretty soon i'll be saying goodbye to the grey skies and the 'four seasons in one day' weather patterns. i'm looking forward to my daily dose of vitamin d already. the almost perfect weather is one of the things i've missed most about home. things like wearing shorts, singlets and thongs. sleeping with no covers on because it's too hot. jumping into a pool to cool down. soaking up the sunshine on a beach. but now that i know i'll be returning to all of that in a matter of weeks, i don't mind what the weather does here. if it means i get to rug up, stay indoors and eat soup then i'm going to enjoy that moment while it lasts.

annual photo contest

lynda and jessica

jessie

some of my favourite pictures from grandma's place on the weekend. i've included the captions that she had on the back of each one. the one of myself and mitzy at the beach is a photo that i found in an envelope. she had sent it in with another print (which i couldn't find) for an annual photo contest. how sweet is that. i don't think i'll ever tire of looking at these. i love the soft colours.

scott

skippers 1st birthday

'mates'
jessica roney 18 months
guard mitzy 7 years

geese at cooroy

to do

- new car
- overseas
- photography
- triathlon
- study
- kitten (ok, that's not going to happen but the rest will)

plans

i just love this song.

trash or treasure?

today was fun, although i can barely move from two huge days of lifting, carrying and moving. it was nice to see all of my grandma's things go to new homes. tomorrow is hard rubbish day in her suburb and there were some awesome things (and a whole lot of crap) on the nature strips. i spotted a really cool old bike. if i wasn't moving i would have grabbed it and fixed it up (well so i like to think!). i did rescue various items from our garage sale. like a heart shaped cake tin. despite the exhaustion i'm now feeling it's been a lovely few days hanging out with my wonderful two aunties. i'm grateful to have spent the last two and a bit years in melbourne with them. we've started to talk about a trip to cairns for easter and to see alyce as she'll be living and studying there. i'm already imagining the white sand and clear blue water...

sunshine states

noosa, qld

melbourne, vic

packing up a life

today i spent all day at grandma joans. she passed away a little while ago and tomorrow we are having a garage sale to help do something with all the lovely (and the not so!) bits and pieces from her life. sure was a big task but it feels good to have put in a hard days work and and it was even nicer going through all of her stuff. so many things hold so many different memories and even more so for my aunts. just before i left i spent some time looking through some old photos, something i adore doing. pictures of my aunts and dad as kids, then teenagers, then young adults and so on. and there were some beautiful ones i hadn't seen of myself, matt and alyce as babies and kids. during the week i'll post them here.

well, i am covered in cobwebs and dust and aching all over so this is todays post. i've decided to try and do at least one for the next 365 days. i think it will make a nice little project and i can see it being far more rewarding than my not so secret facebook addiction!

love

next month i'm following my heart right back to where it belongs. happy times ahead.

a blog is born!

time is 10:58pm, when harry met sally is on tv and i just created a blog! so welcome. i have big hopes and dreams for the next 12 months and i like to think that this is the place i will record them.

so keep watch for the stepping stones, milestones and everything that happens in between.