happy halloween!

the halloween party that i went to on saturday was amazing.

everyone looked brilliant, there were some very clever costumes and

the house looked like a scene from psycho, especially the shower!
p.s. watch this

hello from nsw

hello!

i am writing from the state of new south wales today!

mum and dad called earlier in the week to plan a last minute trip to sydney and my brother matt has driven up from his new navy base at jarvis bay to meet us. i flew in last night and he was only two minutes away from the airport, having just driven for three hours from his place. talk about perfect timing. i was so happy to get on that flight and now i have everyone crossing everything that mum and dad will get on their flight later today. when staff travel works it works perfectly but when it doesn't... well we all know about our recent dramas! so hopefully this weekend will make up for the last time i tried to get my parents down! this morning we had a lovely breakfast at botany bay where we could look across the water and see the planes taking off and landing at sydney airport. right now i'm off to find a halloween outfit for tonight. i'm thinking a nurse but perhaps a bloodied zombie version! tomorrow we are off on the sailing boat. a perfect weekend if you ask me.

bye!

queeny

earlier this week i caught a glimpse of the queen! she was very hard to spot as she was very small and tucked away slightly on the boat but i can still say that i saw her with my own eyes. at first i think i was waving to anna bligh thinking that was her! speaking of royalty... beth reminded me this week that i used to live on royal street in paddington. so perhaps i have had a lovely street name after all! p.s. this picture that looks like a stamp is actually a rug! doesn't it look plush. not sure about walking on the queen though...

pinktober

how amazing do these look. almost too perfect and delicious to eat. october is breast cancer month and next weekend naomi is hosting a pink ribbon breakfast. i think i will bake cup cakes with pink icing or cute pink cup cake holders or i might make pink ribbon shaped shortbread. time for a trip to wheel & barrow! our mums will be joining us and it's an extra special day for naomi's mum who was diagnosed with breast cancer when we were in high school. thankfully she is cancer free and will be there on sunday. her hair is even dyed pink! nbcf.org.au ♥

happy place

memory lane

i have a little theory.

ok it's not really a theory, more of a thought of mine.

i think that street signs are special.

sound odd? let me explain. 

i love that they are every where we go. 

and every now and then you'll see one that reminds you of a person or place.

for example, the other day i drove past waverley road in carina. 

my thoughts immediately went to my grandma joan.

i lived with her in mount waverley when i first moved to melbourne.

and she spent almost her entire life there. 

i might not have thought of her that day otherwise. 

and it's like that everywhere you go. 

nearby in brisbane...

there is a joshua street, my wonderful friend in melbourne.

a maynard street, which reminds me of the creature from true blood.

a leamington street, mmm lamingtons!

ok so not every street sign brings up a deep and meaningful feeling.

but i think you know what i mean. 

and even the ones that don't conjure up a memory can make you smile. 

like flower street, or love street. 

i took this photo about five years ago now.

i made a mixed cd for matt and wanted it to be the cover.

so i looked it up one rainy day, drove there and took a photo! 

i sometimes think it would be fun to have an album of street names that bring back memories. 

but then i'd spend half of my time getting in and out of cars taking photos. 

in cooroy where i spent my childhood everything is named after precious gems and trees. 

ruby street, topaz street, diamond street, amethyst lane, emerald street, garnet street, pearl lane.

oak street, wattle street, maple street, elm street, cedar street.

how lovely are they!

i've always wanted to live on a really pretty sounding street name.

no luck yet, although i think most people have a special connection to the streets they've lived on, regardless of what they happen to be called.

so there you have it. 

one thought from my mind. 

the thought that street signs trigger all kinds of memories. 

i hope you liked it! 

be the one

i can't stop listening to this.
i wanna be the one to walk in the sun...

dear photograph

how amazing is this blog 'dear photograph' that kathleen stumbled upon recently.

i'd seen some of these photos around the place but had no idea a whole blog existed.

i think it's a beautiful idea and what's even nicer are the words that go with each one.

i'd love to do this, i'm just not sure what precious photo or memory i would choose.

i loved this one, the old photo held up against the same location so many years on.

sail on

happy monday world. 

i hope it's not too bad.

shop me happy

yesterday morning i went grocery shopping for various items

yesterday afternoon i watched confessions of a shopaholic

this afternoon i went shopping at indooroopilly with kahli

and tonight i uploaded some worn-once dresses on ebay

yep my life well and truly revolves around shopping

and i'm pretty sure if you read my blog it's no secret

i can't decide if it's a bad thing as it makes me happy

and a little retail therapy certainly felt good today

sadly though i do need to curb my spending habits

especially if i want to save and travel the globe

and just imagine the shopping in europe...

hopelessly

hopelessly

i feel like there might be something that i'll miss

hopelessly

i feel like the window closes oh so quick

hopelessly

i'm taking a mental picture of you now

because hopelessly

the hope is we have so much to feel good about

that friday feeling

happy friday everyone. friday is my favourite day of the week at the moment. i feel excited for the weekend, especially when i have no plans and no places to be. i feel relieved that another working week is almost done and dusted. everyone is happier on a friday. people dress up that little bit more. and make plans for drinks or dinner or dancing. if only every day felt like friday. although then it might not be so special. ♥

drops of happiness

beth and i walked to our local shops tonight

we went perfume shopping for a birthday present

and i now smell like an array of different fragrances

i think we ended up sampling half the store

soon requiring coffee beans in between each one

i've always opted for perfume with 'floral notes'

although i am often influenced by a pretty bottle

i love how scents can belong to loved ones

estee lauder youth dew for my grandma lois

bobby brown beach for my best friend kahli

dior j'adore for my other best friend naomi

for me, i've had so many different ones 

that no single scent feels like my own...

the perfect example of my indecisiveness and

my eternal search for the 'perfect' everything

but with names like beautiful, chloé and lovely

how could i resist sampling more than just one

i now have my heart set on ralph lauren romance

yet another girly scent and alluring name

'happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on 
others without getting a few drops on yourself'

drawing, growing

can you see the numbers in among the leaves? cute! i wish i could draw, sketch and paint like many of the wonderful women in my family. how did that little handy talent skip me? i will never know and never accept it!

fond of you

my subscription has sadly ended but my fondness for frankie has not.

i think this will make for some lovely weekend reading, hopefully in the sun.

wandering

all that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost.

lapping it up

tonight i finally went to the pool at the end of our street for a swim! i swam for an hour and did fifty laps! matt's dad ian would be so proud! he's always swimming at the noosa aquatic centre. i need to text him and find out if my effort is any good or not! i really love swimming and haven't done it since training for my first tri. bring on that level of fitness again please! last night i did nim's fitness class with k and alex which was fun and a good workout. we did a circuit class and spent one minute on each exercise, or in my case 30 to 45 seconds on each! i will try harder next week i promise nim! tomorrow nights plan... more swimming! yay!

travel

i'm so in love with this. 

the colours. the words.

next year my goal is to save

 so that i can see the world.

and hopefully find myself. 

fishtail tales

i am seriously lusting over plaits and braids at the moment. 

the girls and i wore them to oktoberfest a few weeks ago.

i want to grow my hair long enough to wear a fishtail one.

only then will i be truly happy. i must learn how to do one!

how do mums know these things? i'm going to be hopeless. 

show business

tonight myself, mum, grandma lois, rachael and bev went to watch jade perform in her primary school musical. it was called 'annie get your gun' and it was amazing. it was evident just how much hard work had gone into the production and we couldn't be prouder of jade, the star of the show in our eyes. here we are!

you are

in spanish 'tu eres mi viernes'

in english 'you are my friday'

this too

trying to tell myself this to help get through today

mum and dad missed another flight this morning

and as a result will now miss my brothers ceremony

it's a horrible feeling and i can't stop thinking 'if only'...

family values

honour, honesty, courage, integrity and loyalty.

these are the royal australian navy values and i 

am proud to say that my brother of twenty one 

possesses all of them. congratulations on your

graduation today matt. i wish i could be there.

i love you so very much, more than you know.

airports and convention centres

today was a little stressful. and i rarely feel stressed so that is saying a lot. my lovely mum and dad were booked on a flight to canberra today but didn't make it on board thanks to the double edged sword that is staff travel. i was on and off the phone all morning trying to think of other ways to get them there but everything was booked because of the qantas strikes. we then put all of our hope into a later flight which unfortunately was also full. it didn't make for a nice day, especially as i was already feeling sick with a cold. however, despite the airport dramas i was able to pick them up later tonight and now they are sleeping at my place. we had a beautiful thai dinner together and they have been able to see our new home so there are always positives in amongst what feels like the worst outcome. they are on a five thirty am flight so i am going to have to be up super early! and that means closing my laptop and going to sleep right this second! sorry that you had to spend all day at the airport mumma and pappa. although, i love airports. and hospitals. and convention centres. there is something about convention centres that makes me want to sprint up and down the long walkways. i think it's the carpet. and the memories of being a school kid again. goodnight all!

cloud family

for my best friend who loves clouds

(and babies, like me)

worth it

life is too short to wake up with regrets.
so love the people who treat you right.
forget about the ones who don't.
believe everything happens for a reason.

if you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
if it changes your life, let it.
nobody said life would be easy.
they just promised it would be worth it.

tea parties

we have started a tea party club at work

boys and girls, herbal and traditional

last night i made scones for the occasion

they were so simple to make and so good to eat

i'm going to make a batch this weekend and take them to grandma's

hopefully she gives me a good review, she is the scone expert!

young love

six 

years

today

♥

live, love, toil

the clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. now is the only time you own. live, love, toil with a will. place no faith in time. for the clock may soon be still.

que sera sera

afternoon tea

why can't i stop thinking about sponge cake?

wow

wow! how is it sunday? what have i been doing since i last came on here! the days are blurring into each other and now we're almost back to monday again. i guess because i have mentally stopped wanting to blog, it doesn't feel like it's been days and days since my last post. i remember when i couldn't wait to come online and tell stories! yesterday the girls and i went to oktoberfest for naomi's birthday which was lots of fun. we drank beer and ate a bratwurst sausage for dinner, whilst being very lady like in the process of course. i haven't been home to noosa in weeks so next weekend i'll be spending time with my wonderful family and hopefully taking a dip or two in the pool or ocean. it's certainly hot today. so much so that i am about to walk to the shops to get a lemonade icypole. i have a busy week ahead with work but that's almost normal now. i'm planning on going to the gym and even swimming some laps in the mornings and evenings which i'm looking forward to. i had my gym bag packed all of last week but it didn't leave the back of my car once! we have a sports centre at the end of our road and today they had an open day. beth, kate and i all did a fifteen minute zumba class which was very impromptu but also good fun! well... happy sunday all.

thank you in cursive

glimpses

some glimpses of summer so far this year

bring on the sun, sand, surf and sorbet...!

   

noosa beach

surfers paradise

sunrise beach

moffat beach

working week

it's monday tomorrow and that means another week of work. 

lucky for me, i have these four smart and gorgeous girls to get me through.
♥

hello and goodbye

just checking in to say that i plan on checking out.

yes, the sad day has come where i no longer feel like blogging. 

and it is sad. this has become a part of my life and i will miss it dearly.

it's brought me closer to loved ones near and far and this is what i've loved most.

it's also provided a place to record things and given me a reason to write again.
i hope those of you who have read my blog along the way have enjoyed it.
please know that this blog was for you, just as much as it was for me.
i'm not planning on a grand final post, it's all rather anti-climatic really!
i am planning a few other things though. like going travelling next year.
this is one of many things that i want to focus on and work towards now.
i don't know if this is my final goodbye post just yet, i think not!
but i do know that it won't be long before there is one...
so until then, thank you for reading and i miss you already.