Nice things to do

In the middle of another busy week at work, I took some time out tonight to think about some nice things to do over the next few weeks. I've been so flat strap during the weeks that I want to make sure I have a few special things 'just for me' coming up.

Here's the list:

• Mulgrave Makers Market on 26th June. I haven't been before but have heard good reviews.
• Go to the movies and see The Hangover 2. It looks like a repeat of last time but if I laugh half as much as I did during the first movie, it will be money well spent!
• Book a weekend away for our wedding anniversary.  We made a pact on our first wedding anniversary that we would always try and get away for a weekend to celebrate. Pet friendly accommodation, of course!
• Make time to knit. I have a new baby project to finish; I've finished knitting and now just need to sew the garment together. I think this little item is the cutest thing I have ever made! Photos to come...
• I'm staying with my sister in Sydney for a couple of nights this week and am back again next week. While it makes for a long work week, it's great that she's back here now and we can catch up more often.
• We're having dinner at Phamish on Saturday night. I've not been before but have heard good things; watch this space!

I'm sure that getting through the work week will be a little easier knowing that I have this great list of things to look forward to. Here's to the weeks getting a little calmer very soon.

What would you take with you?

Here's another cool website I found this week. Check out the beautiful photography and sentiment over at The Burning House.

It goes a little something like this:

If your house was burning, what would you take with you? It's a conflict between what's practical, valuable and sentimental. What you would take reflects your interests, background and priorities. Think of it as an interview condensed into one question. http://the-burning-house.com/

So, what would I take? Let's have a think about that...

Well, presuming that husband and M-dog are safe and sound, I'd take...

• My wedding and engagement ring
• Photos (I really must get more organised and create a few CDs and have them somewhere easily accessible in case the house does actually burn down!)
• Considering the time of year, probably a jacket and scarf to keep me warm outside!
• My current knitting project
• My blackberry
• The jewellery box that belonged to my Mum
• Bible that belonged to my Nana
• Ring that Jason gave me when he proposed

In essence, I think I'd go for a mix of practical and sentimental, but with a definite lean towards the sentimental.

What would you take with you?

Love a good period drama

I was at the movies this week and saw the trailer for 'Jane Eyre', one of my all time favorite books. I first read 'Jane Eyre' at University; First Year English. Jane made a great impression on me, as the unconventional heroine and a feminist before her time.  She stands up to those who seek to oppress, judge and harm others.

I haven't read any reviews yet, so I'm hanging my hopes on the trailer...

I'm also looking forward to watching the first episode of Downton Abbey this weekend. The series received rave reviews in the U.K. and again, the trailer certainly piqued my interest.

After finishing season 1 of 'The House of Eliott', I'm hoping that Downton Abbey can fill the void of my rediscovered love of period drama! Or I could always bring out the well-loved BBC Pride and Prejudice DVD's!

3 Things

What are 3 things that you can do to help change the world?

I was looking at the Frankie website today and saw a link to an Oxfam campaign called, 3 Things. In a nutshell, the campaign is asking ordinary Australians, like you and me, to commit to 3 Things that we can do to help change the world. They might be small things, like, recycle more, buy more eco friendly products or ride my bike to the shops rather than drive. Or they might be bigger things, like, volunteer regularly, grow your own vegetables, buy nothing new for a month (I did that last October, it was awesome!)

So, here are my 3 Things:

1. I'm going to get back to composting our food waste; so easy to do and I'll be helping reduce landfill while also helping out my garden!
2. Take reusable bags when going shopping.
3. Give handmade gifts or try to purchase Fairtrade.

I encourage you to take a moment and commit to your own 3 Things. You can then add your list to the website here.

Be part of the movement!

Feeling a little lonely

This little blog started as a creative outlet for me. I didn't really think that many people would be interested in reading it and I didn't think that I had much to say. Well, funnily enough, there are a few people reading my words and I normally find that I can think of something to write about. Hah! Who would have thought!
It's a little scary when you don't know who your readers are and why they're reading your words. I know I'm choosing to write this blog and this means that my words are available 24/7, no privacy, no holds barred... but it's still weird. Maybe I'm showing my Gen X true colours!

I know this makes me sound 100 years old, but I still sometimes can't get my head around the depth and breadth of social media and even just the internet in general, and how it has revolutionalised how we live; how we access & share information, how we communicate and how we work.

After saying all of that, it's time to let you know that I'm feeling a little lonely in my blogging world. I think I need someone else, or maybe a few someone elses, to write me a little comment and say hello.

So... go on, be brave and leave me a comment. I promise it won't hurt and it will actually make me feel pretty darn good!

Relaxing on a Sunday

There's nothing better than a relaxing Sunday.

My Sunday started with a delicious brunch at Tre Bicchieri @ 623 Rathdowne St, Carlton North. I had baked eggs with prosciutto and tomato. It was so light, tasty and moreish.

My girlfriend and I then proceeded to sip our second lattes and pulled out our knitting. We sat in window seats, taking in the few rays of sunshine that peeped out in between the showers, we knitted a few rows (or unpicked a few rows!) and caught up.

After the coffee was drunk and the conversation came to a natural pause, we pounded the pavement and checked out some of the cute little shops in the vicinity. I bought some cute vintage cards at Belki (the cards are made by Writeables.) Aren't they just divine...

We hit a few more shops and then headed home to see what the afternoon would bring. And so another week finishes and a new one begins. 

The House of Eliott

The Elliot sisters, Beatrice and Evangeline with their friend Jack Maddox.

I've borrowed series one of 'The House or Eliott' from a girlfriend and am halfway through. It's a really delightful series, with wonderful characterisation, an interesting (and very wholesome plot) and the fashion is to die for.

If you have an interest in 1920's fashion or even a general interest in the era, this series is well worth watching. 

The aftermath of the First World War is apparent; there are hardly any young men left in Britain and the chances of young women finding a husband are just about non-existent. London is trying to get back on her feet, as are the Eliott sisters after their father dies and leaves them penniless.

'The House of Eliott' is the perfect viewing material for a rainy Melbourne Sunday afternoon.  My peppermint tea is ready and I have a new baby project to knit; looks like I'm ready to watch a couple of episodes right now!

Back to reality

I had a pretty big day at work today. I've been working on a project and today it came to fruition. I'm tired, but relieved and proud that I delivered on task and without any major hiccups.

And now after a great dinner with some colleagues and a few glasses of wine, the day is fading into the background and I'm remembering that I do have a life outside of this project.

I haven't fully connected with the rest of the world for a couple of weeks; I don't know the details of the budget from last week, I haven't read about the kidnapping/murder case in NSW (although maybe I won't as the small understanding I have is enough to horrify me), I saw in the hotel lobby last night that the AUD is now at $1.20 against the greenback (can that really be so?) and apparently Oprah only has a few shows to go.

So have I missed that much? I'll let you know in a few days when I've caught up with the news and my emails.

Busy, busy, busy

This week and the one to come have one word written all over them; busy. My work life balance is definitely out of skew at the moment. I've not even had the time (or the inspiration) to blog or do much knitting. What a sorry state of affairs.

Maybe I didn't help myself by having Monday off work, but I had my Mum here for the weekend and we had a lovely time catching up and doing lots of wonderful things.  We saw the King Tut exhibition, which I blogged about here. We went out for dinner at Italy 1; it was good, but the food was not quite as special as I had hoped. We went to the movies and saw 'Something Borrowed'; again, good but not spectacular, definitely something to see with your girlfriends and not your man! We went to my favorite yarn store, Sun Spun; we browsed through the lovely patterns and yarn. Then we both made some purchases and proceeded to spend the afternoon on the couch casting on. All in all, it was a pretty great weekend.

I've also been trying to finish off a couple of items that need to be returned to the library (as much as I love the library, I dislike being on a reading/watching schedule to get things back on time). I'm reading 'One Day' by David Nichols. It's about 2 people who meet at University and then how their lives cross over, apart and hopefully back together again (I'm still reading, so not sure how it finishes!) I've also just noticed through my googling, that there will be a movie based on the book coming out later this year. Anne Hathaway will be playing the main female character, Emma Morley. Sounds like another good movie to see with your girlfriends or Mum.

The other item that needs to be returned is 'Mad Men' - season 3. I've written about why I find 'Mad Men' so interesting before. By season 3 the plot really has thickened and we know a lot more about Don Draper than I did back in March when I first started watching. I'm still loving the series; mainly for all of the cultural references and for what we see of life being lived in the 1960's. The role of women, the prejudice towards people who are not Anglo-Americans, homophobia and the lack of productivity in the office are all so interesting to me. While we don't by any means live in a perfect world now, I'm thankful to live in a time when some of these major prejudices have been largely ironed out and even legislated against.

I'm off now to enjoy my Sunday at home. Hopefully I can find some time for myself this week to write another post or two.

Love a bit of Kylie

The date has been set. Kylie is coming to town and I'm going to be there.

Some of my favourite Kylie moments take me back to when I was a kid. I remember watching the Henderson Kids, Young Talent Time with Kylie and Dannii singing 'Sisters are Doing it for Themselves', watching Neighbors and seeing Charlene and Scott get married (with Angry Anderson's tune 'Suddenly' playing in the background) and of course there were the early hits, 'I Should be so Lucky' and 'Locomotion' are the ones that I listened to over and over again.

There are so many great Kylie songs and moments; here's one of my all time favourite tracks, consider it my warm up sing-along!

Pride and Prejudice read along

Picture from Meet me at Mike's

I don't know whether you read the awesome Meet me at Mike's Blog or not; if you don't, you won't know that there is a Pride and Prejudice read-along happening right now! Pip has started an online book club and the book to be read is the Austen (and Colin Firth; gotta love that BBC mini series) classic.

You can check out the details here.

So join in and read along. Pride and Prejudice is one of my all time favourite books and if you have never read it, you are truly missing out on something very special. So, do yourself a favor, head to the library/book store, grab yourself a copy and get reading. Discussion about the book happens on Saturday on the Meet me at Mike's Blog.

Get reading!

Casting on and off

As the cooler weather continues to set in, I've been busy casting off a few projects.

I finished a lovely little baby blanket for my work friend and her new bub, Felix. The squares are knitted individually in garter stitch (the easiest stitch!) I'm really happy with the finished product and I received a call from Felix's Mum during the week; she thinks it's pretty nice too!

I also finished a little hat for me. I actually started this last winter in a flurry of wintry enthusiasm for knitting. It was knitted on teeny tiny needles, so actually took a while to complete. I'm looking forward to having it keep my head toasty warm this winter.



So surely finishing a couple of projects justifies buying more yarn for new ones? Well, combine that statement with the knowledge that two more friends are expecting babies in the coming months and the justification seems clear! I went shopping with Mum yesterday and we had a great time browsing, deciding and purchasing new yarns.

I also found this Sublime pattern book which has the sweetest little designs; lots of beanies, booties and cute as jumpers and pinafores.



With today's weather forecasted to be 17 degrees and showers; guess what I'm planning...

A Melbourne Tourist

Tomorrow night I'll be visiting the Melbourne Museum to see the Tutankhamun exhibition. Gosh it looks fascinating.

I've never been to Egypt but have certainly seem some amazing Egyptian relics at the Louvre, The MET, the Vatican Museum and other similar incredible museums. But apparently this exhibition has the 'most impressive collection of  Tutankhamun artefacts ever assembled outside of Egypt' (Quote from the exhibition website http://www.kingtutmelbourne.com.au/).

It was actually my Mum's idea to go; she's decided last minute to pop over for a visit for the Mothers Day weekend. Sometimes I'm guilty of not making the time to go to events in my own city, so thanks, Mum, for the encouragement to go! It can actually be a lot of fun to be a tourist in your own city and it's something that I need to do more often.

So, here's a pledge from me; I'm going to try and be a tourist in my own city more often. Maybe I'll even send you a postcard!

Love & Hate

What a strange start to the week; flashbacks to 2001 and to those terrible images of the Twin Towers being attacked by terrorists.

Do you remember where you were when you heard about the attack on NYC (and let's not forget the other two planes that were hijacked that day).

I clearly remember that day and I always will.

I also clearly remember being in NYC in 1999 and seeing those amazing towers. They imposed so heavily on the skyline; they gave the city part of its silhouette. I could not believe that they had fallen.

I was in NYC again last year and I really struggled to visit Ground Zero and the surrounding memorials and sites.  I still tear up when I see the images of those plans slamming into the skyscrapers. This happened to me as recently as last night, when in covering the Bin Laden story, the news coverage flicked to this image; it caught me unprepared and I was in tears.

By now you all know the news of the week; the head honcho of these terrorists has been taken out. But is it just me, or does it seem bittersweet that his death is now being celebrated so heavily. Even our own Prime Minister stated, 'I welcome the death of Osama Bin Laden'. It jut doesn't seem like the right thing to say.

So I totally get that Americans feel the need to celebrate and be relieved that Bin Laden has now paid the same price that all those civilians did on 9/11; but it is still making me feel odd and out of step.

One of my friends posted this quote on Facebook tonight and it really resonated with how I'm feeling about this subject:

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
--Martin Luther King, Jr.

So, I think we can choose to be hateful about what has happened and what can or might happen to us, or we can choose to love; to let the light that love brings take away the darkness.

I know what my choice is; light, it's always for light.

Panama Dining Room

I went out for a lovely dinner last night at the Panama Dining Room in Fitzroy.

Honestly, I don't remember that last time I put on a pair of heels and went out on a Saturday night. Most of my going out seems to happen straight from work on Fridays these days, so it was a bit novel to make myself look nice and pop on the heels on a Saturday!

I met two of my awesome girlfriends in Fitzroy for a bite to eat at the very cool and very friendly, Panama Dining Room. The atmosphere was pumping; it was intimate, not too crowded with a great buzz in the air.  We sat near a gaggle of girls who must have been on a hens night and there were numerous other groups of friends and couples enjoying themselves.

I started with zucchini flowers stuffed with three cheeses on a grape and walnut salad. Delicious! Main course was one of the specials; barramundi pan fried, with a lovely sauce and a potato, prosciutto and cos (I think) salad. Finally, for dessert I had the Italian choc chip ice cream on banana loaf with caramel popcorn.

It was all really delicious and made my mouth water for more. I thought that the dessert would be my favourite part of the meal (considering my strong sweet tooth) and while it was absolutely wonderful, it was the main course that really took my fancy.  The barramundi was cooked to perfection; the sauce was delicate & delicious and the side salad just complemented the fish perfectly. It was perfection.

The only downer was the parking ticket on my friend's car! Why didn't we check the parking restrictions?!

The Panama Dining Room, Level 3/231 Smith St, Fitzroy.
Check out their website here, then do yourself a favor and book a table for dinner!