blame it on the cold

hello! i am back from a little blogging break. 

it wasn't planned for but it has been nice not opening my laptop

for a couple of weeks. the need to express and create hasn't been 

as strong lately but as beth says, it comes and goes in waves.

a good word to describe how i've been feeling is 'lull'.

(a temporary interval of quiet or lack of activity)

i've still been doing things... breakfast, morning tea, 

brunch, dinners, drinks and outings here and there, 

but inside i am feeling very low on energy and motivation. 

getting out of bed in the morning is a struggle and i 

think to myself 'do i really have to go to work 

today, and every other day for the rest of my life?'

it's like i've just realised that i have a job to go to,

even though i've been doing it for forever now.

i know i'm being dramatic, something i am highly

skilled at, but i honestly think i have the winter blues. 

i find myself wishing i was a uni student with little 

responsibilities so that i could skip classes, sleep in, 

not get dressed and spend all day watching day time tv.

ridiculous and unsustainable, but if i had three wishes...  

maybe this sudden urge can be blamed (another thing

i'm good at, finding something to blame!) on living back in 

leafy paddington (just one street from my first house here) 

where i spent a great deal of time doing exactly that!

who knows, but whatever it is, i hope it goes away soon. 

i have big plans for happiness in my new home and

my lull seems to be getting in the way of that. 

(ok, i've thought about it more, 

i officially blame the cold weather...

lacking motivation is in no way my own issues)

moving out of home

my room was clean. 
but then i had to decide what to wear. 

i came across this saying tonight and it reminded me oh so fondly of my time living with beth. she sent it to me not long after moving in together. we've proved this saying to be true on more than one occasion! sadly, and quite abruptly, that time is almost up. i decided a little while ago that i wanted to move closer to town and while naomi and i have spent the last couple of weekends looking and applying, i still didn't think the big move would be upon me so quick! i'm so lucky to have spent the last year living with beth and i am going to miss her (and our wardrobe sharing) dearly. thank you for taking me on your journey of living out of home for the first time beth, for sharing your freshly painted and cutely decorated abode, for all the times you made me laugh, for the times you were there for me when i cried, for every item of clothing, jewellery, accessory or beauty product that i ever borrowed, for all of your outfit opinions and fashion advice, for cooking me your delicious and sometimes experimental meals, for making me cups of tea, for giving me lifts to work on a friday or when my car was being fixed, for always making my friends and family feel welcome here, for giving me pep talks and showing what it means to be truly positive and optimistic and for the millions of other things you have done for me or with me. living with you has been so harmonious and stress free, always a lovely, happy place to come home to and it was exactly what i needed during some difficult times. i hope that you have enjoyed it just as much as i have! i am already dreaming up of lots of paddington dates for us and i hope you will invite me for tea in 'our' courtyard as soon as the sun starts to shine again. stay your beautiful self and keep this home filled with heart ♥  

mint choc chip ice cream

i love mint choc chip ice cream and i especially love mint choc tops at the movies! i had one the other night when beth and i had a date night. we went to see 'what to expect when you're expecting', which i loved of course... pregnancy and babies, my favourite topic of all time (kittens and cats are a close second). it ended up being my dinner and it was so good! what is not good however is trying to eat one in a really quiet movie with basically no music or loud scenes. i was in such a movie not that long ago, choc top in hand, ready and waiting! but it was so silent and the cinema was tiny and packed so i felt too self conscious to eat it. it didn't stop me completely though, i just ate it super slow and ended up having to walk out of the cinema half way through with it all over my hands and clothes! lucky it was so dark as it wasn't a good look! 

for beth

rainbows (especially bold and extended ones!) for my dearest beth.

words and colour

think...

melanie?

when mum was pregnant with me she craved watermelon. lots of it so i'm told. if i remember the story correctly (i think this is close) she didn't know she was pregnant with me until five whole months along. (something i still struggle to comprehend!) she was eating so much watermelon and suddenly had this little tummy. everyone joked that she must have swallowed a watermelon seed and that there was one growing inside her. little did they know it was an actual baby - me! when i was born they even considered calling me melanie. i don't know how serious of an option that was but i'm glad they didn't! i do love watermelon though.

freckles!

what's better than a chocolate freckle? a rug that looks like one! 

and what's better than a freckle looking rug? a freckle ottoman! 

p.s. 

the next time you see a jar of big chocolate freckles, treat yourself to one! 

i did on the weekend and not only was it yum, i felt like a little kid again!

a secret admirer (me + cushions!)

i have developed a secret obsession with cushions. 

especially when different colours, textures, prints and styles are put together. we have a few cool ones floating around our house and kahli has long been then cushion queen. 

i don't actually buy any, i just admire.

grandad ♥

we are having a big family dinner at grandma's house tonight. to me it still feels like something is missing each time we all gather and that's my wonderful, much loved and much missed, grandad john.

here he is teaching me how to walk down the aisle for rosie and bob's wedding. we are in grandma and grandad's garage in freezing cold canberra. i always thought i was just following him around like a little puppy in this photo but i later found out he was giving me flower girl lessons. 

here is five year old me on the big day. i hope i did him proud!

head up, heart strong

saying goodbye (to sugar!)

thanks but no thanks. 

bye bye sugar.

i'll miss you!

homemade sushi fun

last night we got busy in the kitchen and made our own sushi! when i say we, i really mean mum and matt. my help consisted of slicing an avocado, cutting up a couple of rolls (badly) and then eating the finished product. oh and taking photos of the process of course! everyone in my family loves cooking... everyone but me! i am warming to the idea though and i can't avoid it forever. while matt prepared the sushi and i watched, mum also made a thai pumpkin soup and a butter chicken curry with roast veggies. so clever, not to mention delicious. it's certainly inspired and motivated me to prepare more nutritious meals at home. for the next few months i'm focusing on lowering my sugar intake and upping my protein. wish me luck!

fyi...

i am still alive and well... just had a very busy and full on week last week and this week i'm on holidays with my family in yamba! hope all is well in your worlds. i promise some blog posts soon.

sunday's activities

hello!

is it really sunday already? 

i'm at home in noosa at the moment, about to

have some porridge for breakfast, love you mumsey!

what else might be on for today...

tennis

lawn bowls

home made soup

coffee 

walk

budgeting

goal writing

ice cream

cleaning my car

movies

early evening drinks

...and who knows what else!

turning things around

the weekend that was

this weekend was...

sipping a little too much champagne, wine and cosmopolitans which resulted in talking rubbish, playing with traffic cones, conducting solo strength contests and other such good old fashioned nonsense. 

sleeping in, then sleeping some more, then lazing about while beth went cleaning crazy. 

trying out a new cafe i recently spotted in my local area (relatively local!) called vintage kitchen. 

going on a date with my married friends ash and john to the movies and then to sushi. 

surrounding myself with what felt like a million dogs at the rspca million paws walk.

smiling at the sight of so many hilarious looking ones, from the hard to fathom huge to the teeny tiny.

birthday present shopping for my baby sister and finding the perfect gift at a perfect price.

drinking tea and sampling some delicious baked goods at naomi's oxfam fundraising afternoon tea. 

having a long overdue coffee catch up with my primary school bestie phillipa (now a mumma of two!)

plus... reading, sun baking, eating fresh sandwiches, walking, not blogging, errand running, car washing avoiding (successful by the way), texting new friends, texting old friends, baking biscuits, reorganising my wardrobe, vacuuming, contemplating rejoining the world of facebook, washing, driving, radio listening (up loud!), soaking up the good weather, phone calls with my mum and dad, watching sixty minutes, feeling grateful for beth, feeling excited about the future and lots, lots more! 

this weekend was... wonderful!

closing time

'every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end...'

being happy

dear me