stars align

the other night i unpacked a box of things from melbourne and came across a star sign that i cut out in august. it's from when i went for my first job interview at virgin. i bought a magazine for the plane trip and on the flight back i read this... i don't know how true it was for all aries but it was for me!

   aries

march 21 - april 20

the next eight weeks will prove challenging but interesting. new career opportunities will suddenly appear for those wanting change. you'll be taking your life in a new direction - whether it involves your career, relationship or lifestyle. a whole new cycle is about to start, all you need to do is be very clear and committed about what you want.

this week's mantra: i'm ready to move in a new direction.

hmm

i give up at this post a day thing! too much pressure and life keeps getting in the way! yesterday mum came down to help me go shopping and do my new room up beautifully. we literally didn't stop all day! then we had thai for dinner, watched a dvd and went to bed! my blog didn't even cross my mind! i'll still aim for a daily entry but it's no big deal if i don't, and if i do i'm not going to waste a blog post going on about it and explaining why. that wasn't the point of doing this! i love my room and new place. we took the curtains down and put sheer ones up so it meant i woke up a 6:10 from the sunlight. this early is rare for me so if should be a nice change. time to get ready for another week of work. at least i'll have my new haven to come home to each night.

heart

throw your heart out in front... then run along to catch it.

friday and thai

friday night in with thai and time to myself makes everything feel a whole lot better. 

lady of leisure

sometimes i look around my office and see all these people, myself included, staring at computer screens and tapping the keyboard at one hundred miles an hour. it reminds me of worker bees for some reason. it all seems so mindless and mind numbing. i have a headache right now and am questioning why i am in an office job. something i've been doing a lot lately. surely there are plenty of other things i could be doing, like working outside or making a difference. or i could not work at all. wouldn't that be bliss, a lady of leisure.

dessert heaven

off to dessert heaven tonight with 3 fabulous friends.

kahli, nim and beth. i am thinking something chocolate.



early birds

i know i missed posting last night. we decided to go to bed early which threw my late night internet time out the window. when i realised that i hadn't done it matt wouldn't let me get up! i must say, the early night was worth it because it meant we woke up at 6:15, had breakfast together, watched sunrise, got ready at a leisurely pace and then arrived to work a whole half and hour early. this week has flown by and i'm already dreaming of the weekend. just one more day (not including today!)

new place new stuff

tonight i bought a new sheet set and some charcoal bath towels for my new place! i always love a good reason to go shopping. i do miss my myer discount dearly though.

lovely

mum was lovely enough to give me this purfume as a gift for doing my triathlon. she was very proud, tears and all, when i crossed the finish line. thank you mum.

♥

lavender, orchid and amber mingle with apple martini, paper whites and musk.

2 x triathlete

i did my 2nd tri and made it out alive. just. i am never not training and doing something like that again though! i had a big support crew in the form of mum, dad, alyce, her boyfriend elliot and of course rach (who also did it, and killed it), cris and meg. i must say, despite my lack of fitness it was good fun and i had a smile on my face the whole time. here is a snap shot of my transition from the bike leg to my run. my legs felt like lead! sexy bike pants, not! surprisingly my strongest and favourite leg is the swim. that's the part that most people hate but i really enjoyed it, just as i did in my brw tri in melbourne. 2 x triathlons = 2 x triathlete! woo!

tri time

i'm doing a triathlon tomorrow. 300m swim, 12km ride and 3km run. so it's a nutritious dinner and early night for me. i trained for a full month for the last one i did, so tomorrow is going to be interesting seeing as i've done nothing!

cue the weekend

it's friday! i'm wearing a beautiful new cue dress today.. and high heels!
very special for me. lately i've been the queen of casual and comfortable.  



coffee mania

i know how much people dislike it when other people go on about things from another place or country, especially if they haven’t been or experienced it  themselves. i try to avoid saying melbourne this and melbourne that all the time because of it. it's a shame really because i am so fond of my time there and it was such a big part of my life, it always will be. so today i'm going to throw that caution to the wind and talk about just one element of melbourne... coffee. but first, a side story. this morning when i came out of the bedroom from getting ready, i caught matt and our housemate ben (also known as gm) trying to break into this beautiful tin of merlo coffee beans that i had bought for my parents as a present for when i next visit. they had the spoon under the lid trying to prise it open! after politely yelling at them to freeze i then asked them what on earth they were doing. they said they were trying to find out what was inside it. this cracked me up as it was clearly a tin of coffee beans, the label said melro coffee and it had a picture of beans on the front. it even smelt of coffee from a mile away and sounded like beans when you shook the tin, oh and it was completely sealed. they replied by saying they thought it might have had lollies in it. odd. so anyway, that made for a funny start of the day and i will dearly miss living with such interesting boys. (this is one of many numerous stories from the last 4 weeks of staying with them). ok, so back to melbourne and the coffee in melbourne. before i lived there and worked full time i rarely drank coffee. from memory i was still drinking mocha's and hot chocolates before i left brisbane. well that was soon to change. working in an office quickly introduces you to the routine of getting coffee and it becomes a way not only to stretch you legs and get away from work, it's also a great reason to socialise and catch up with friends. (matt has also found this out he started his job and he carries on if he doesn't get his daily fix) this was particularly true of being in the graduate program and beyond. at first i still didn't enjoy the taste of drinking coffee so i simply pretended. my previous (and favourite) boss david said something interesting to me in regards to this once and it's stuck with me ever since. we were passing the ngv (gallery) and i mentioned that i didn't really like art. he said that it's like drinking wine, you start off pretending to like it however sooner or later you actually do start to enjoy and appreciate it. and the same theory applies to coffee. i started out with a latte and 2 sugars, and then I cut back to 1. then i went through a phase of getting a latte and raspberry and white chocolate muffin in the morning for breakfast on my way to work. that was great until i started to get noticeably fat so i had to cut back on that little 'treat'! now i drink a cappuccino with 1 sugar, or 2 sugars on the days i feel i really need it. and thanks to my time in melbourne i officially love coffee. the smell, the taste, the experience. luckily, at my new job in bowen hills we are just a two minute walk to the merlo and dibella factories. i know they say melbourne is the coffee capital of australia but i must say brisbane coffee is up there. i dearly miss my favourite melbourne coffee haunts and drinking a cup while chatting with friends on a sunday morning. melbourne certainly gave me lots of things and a new found love and appreciation for coffee is one of them. so thank you melbourne. today i am not afraid to give you credit where credit is due. and to conclude this very long post i would like to add that this blog entry is dedicated to my lovely friend kathleen. you make me feel like a fraud as your love for coffee runs deep and you have a long history together. you also know a great deal more than i do when it comes to knowing what good coffee is and exactly where to find it. xo 

looking up

i had a good day at work today. finally feeling confident and capable which is a great feeling! i've had a some long and difficult days recently with nothing going to plan with my campaigns. what's more frustrating is that most of the things were beyond my control from the very beginning. so despite a hectic two weeks i now i feel like i'm swimming, not sinking! on another note, i received a parking fine today. not cool brisbane council.

blog love

blog love

after a long day at work i love coming home and taking some time out to check out all my favourite blogs. the above two are some new discoveries. check them out. i'm off to have a nice long bath after a not so nice long day.

the butterfly effect

i haven't really explained my blog title yet, although it is kind of self explanatory! with the news that my close friend has landed herself a brand new (and very good) job i think i might anyway! i've always believed in this saying, always believed that everything happens for a reason. well, that and a little bit of good luck and a little bit of our own drive and decision making! and the older i get the more i believe it. it's there in the tough times and there when things fall perfectly into place. in a way (without delving too deep into the meaning of life!) everything can be traced back to these words. 'if i hadn't of done this, then that wouldn't have happened and i wouldn't have met this person and gone on to have that experience...' and so on. even when things go wrong i now know (most of the time) that i am learning something from it. that if it's not meant to be, then it's not meant to be. and who knows, it could potentially lead to something that wouldn't have happened otherwise! it's why so many people fall in love... and of course go through heartbreak. well ok, perhaps i am experiencing a little bit too much positivity for this monday night, especially after i've had a crappy day at work! now what's the reason for that!? (i'm sure there is one!) whatever the reason, i'm a believer.

sunday night

tonight we had a barbeque on the verandah with with matt's friend dan. very summer, very queensland. a great way to end what was a quiet and relaxing weekend. we were all sharing our childhood stories.. bike riding accidents (my sister falling off her new bike on christmas day and needing stitches), things we sold as kids (matt had a little (and profitable!) business selling chocolate coated snakes), billy carts (my dad pulled apart my dolls pram to make one from my brother, i was not happy) and the times we'd been in trouble (mostly matt's stories, not mine!). reminiscing is always lots of fun, no matter what age you go back to. and on nights like these i feel even more lucky to have such a wonderful mum and dad. without them i wouldn't have so many of the childhood memories that i do.

most of those memories are from our first house in cooroy. it was a queenslander that my parents restored themselves. it had everything 3 little kids could ever ask for. a cubby house, big trampoline (hours of fun), swimming pool with big rocks around it to jump off, paddocks to roam, motorbike trials, a bmx track, an orchard (complete with a mulberry tree, yum!), trees to climb, a big long driveway and paths to ride our bikes around on, a basketball hoop, chook shed, an outdoor bbq, a pot belly inside, a dam complete with a canoe and so much more. it also had our beautiful cat fluffy and dog tilly in it. i am so proud of what my parents did to that house and wish i could go back there once more. it really was a wonderful place to grow up.

saturday morning

missed another blog post :( fell straight asleep after i got home from dinner with matt. oh well. i had a lovely night and that's all that matters. this morning is a glorious one, the sky is blue and the sun is out. i throughly enjoyed reading frankie and eating my cereal on the verandah. why can't every day of the week be this relaxing and carefree. now matt and i are off to the local pool. it's one week till my triathlon and i have done zero training! no time like the present! happy saturday to all.
♥ 

11.11.10

we will remember them

today

slept in. went to work. worked. played touch. ate dinner. ate an ice cream.

exciting plans

i am moving out of a boys house and into a girls house! in two weeks i'll have my own room filled with all my own stuff again! very excited. it's a beautiful place with a lovely girl named anna.

yum

expensive but delicious

saturday

i missed saturday's post, that's number 2 for the year. i had planned on doing it on that night but then at the last minute i decided to go out. more on that later...!

my day off

i had the day off today. it was so lovely and just what i needed. some time with my family on the morning of simon golding's comital hearing at brisbane magistrates court. it's amazing how you can sit in on these 'open sessions' and hear all about different people and their crimes. i'm glad we were the ones on the right side of the law, it's all very surreal being in there with judges and lawyers. and it is a bit like judge judy, only without judy. after a coffee we set out for some shopping and then saw a movie. now i'm home in the early evening which is a first since being back. it's great watching the 5 o'clock news and catching up on some washing. what i'd give for a 3 day weekend every week.

the facebook

i saw the social network tonight with the girls. it felt a little odd when i then came home and went on facebook. it's amazing how it's everywhere and has really changed how we communicate. it helped me keep in touch with my friends and family here when i was in melbourne and now it's doing the same but with my friends and family down in melbourne. i'm so glad i saw the light and moved on from myspace! if i only i had thought of the facebook idea... i'd be 25 billion dollars richer right now. i know money doesn't buy happiness but i'd at least like to try! (p.s. speaking of money, thanks k and nim for lending me cash for dinner, movies, popcorn and petrol money after i left my wallet at work tonight! xo)

a positive

a positive is my blood type and today i donated blood. i think i'm struggling without that extra blood now though! i played touch tonight and i am so tired it's not funny!

the cup

it's the race that stops a nation, and the race that drains my coffee fund! $7 down today. that's ok though, it was a fun day doing the sweeps, even if it was at work. i wish i could have gone to the races instead. i could have been wearing a pretty dress, sipping champagne and watching the beautiful horses instead of sitting at my desk. next year i might plan a trip to melbourne to experience the atmosphere of the melbourne cup.

witchery love

loving my two new purchases from witchery.

xo

a keyring i made on my first weekend back home.