More time for creativity

I just can't wait until the long weekend officially starts, for many reasons but one BIG reason; lots of creative time.

I want to finish my present for new baby Felix. Here's a little sneak peek at what I'm working on for him:

I also really want to start my new vintage project, as this is all I have managed so far:

I had a dream the other night that I had finished knitting the back of this jumper; wishful thinking!

So, one more work day until the lovely long Easter and Anzac weekend; I think I'll just make it! We're going away for 2 nights to Hepburn Springs and my plans are to read, knit, eat, sleep, blog, walk M dog (yep, she's coming with us) and thoroughly enjoy myself. I've been reflecting the last few days on how lovely it would be if I had more time to spend indulging my creative side.  I read so many other wonderful blogs and am envious at the time some of these creative souls have to indulge in their passions. Or maybe they just use their time better than me. (Pause and reflect...)

In other knitting news, I came across a previous project last weekend. I visited a girlfriend and her 1 year old daughter was wearing the little summer cardy that I made for her.

It's always really lovely to see one of your pieces being used and enjoyed. Thanks, Joey, for remembering and for valuing the gift.

So now M dog and I are settling in for a night on the couch; we were about to head out for a walk but it started raining. She's not impressed, but she'll be happy enough sitting alongside me while I catch up on some creative time.

The joys and perils of home ownership

Joys:

• You have your own little piece of the world that's yours. Corny yes, but there's something to be said for owning your own 'castle'.
• No dealing with real estate agents or landlords wanting to inspect and make sure you're not wrecking the place.
• You have fun making the place better and keeping it looking nice. You feel really good (like I do right now) when you've spent the day working hard inside and out. It's rewarding.
• At least you're in the market; with prices continuing to go up and up, you feel kinda good that you locked in your place back when prices were only marginally horrifying.

Perils:

• There's so much to keep up with! The weekends are not just for cleaning and washing clothes, but also weeding the garden, mowing the lawns, fixing the kitchen tap, painting that wall/door/architrave (insert as appropriate). For us, on a 650 square metre block, the effort to keep up with the outdoors is significant.
• You have to pay for more stuff; if it breaks, it's your problem. No more calling the landlord to get the water heater, leaking tap etc fixed; you're on your own!
• Sometimes you're so busy doing all of the above (and paying for all of the above) that you don't have the time (or money) to do fun stuff.
• Hey, sure you're in the market, but can you believe what you had to pay?

Considering the list, I'm still glad that we bought our place a few years ago and I'm even more glad that we're planning our future in this place together.  What brought on the above was Jason and I spending the day working flat strap to make our place look great. We have a valuation being done this week and we're trying to put our best foot forward.  We're hoping to get a bit more cashola from the bank to complete our extension extravaganza. 

We're only at step 1 of the process, but I'm already excited and just want to chatter away about all the great things we could do. Needless to say, my quiet husband has his eyes glazing over every few minutes!

More updates to come as and when I have them!

Friday night session and Saturday morning reflections

The weekend started with a Friday night team drinks and dinner event with my work peeps. 

The night started with sparkling at Double Happiness, which is one of those cool Melbourne laneway bars that you wonder whether you're cool enough to go in.  It had a cosy atmosphere; some funky background tunes, the quiet din of other partakers chattering away. The volume increased, but only after I'd had a couple of glasses, which I find always makes it easier to enjoy a slightly noisier environment!

We dined at Little Malaysia; some of us had the banquet, which was an overkill of food, but pretty tasty and good value. The talk around the table centered around work, but also ventured into stories about children, family, major life events and the modern girl discussion of whether when you marry you should change your name.  The wine was flowing and the conversation was firing across and around the table.

Once the eating was complete, we really stretched ourselves and walked across Liverpool Street and  upstairs to New Gold Mountain; another cool little Melbourne hideaway.  I love living in a city that has so many secret spots and only the initiated will find (or you can be like me and make sure that you hang out with the initiated!)

A couple of my other favourite Melbourne hidden (and not so hidden) spots are:

• Campari House - a great spot on a warm day, drinking and chatting on their rooftop bar.
• Emerald Peacock - it's right across from the office, so it's an easy choice, but also quite a cool place. It's great in both summer (rooftop bar) and in winter (cosy and warm indoors).
• Murmur - another hidden away gem. A small, cosy bar, great for a Friday night drink before dinner at Plus 39. 

So the weekend got off to a ripper start!

The other exciting news from Friday was that one of my lovely work friends had her baby, a little boy.  While this sure is lovely and exciting news, it presents a problem for me; I haven't finished his present yet! I've been working on this project since Christmas (I know, that's forever ago now...) and I'm in the final stages but I needed some motivation to make the time to finish. Well, there's no motivation like it being time to hand it over!

It's such a shame that my most loved hobby involves me sitting on the couch for hours. No really, it is! Knitting is obviously not an active hobby and I need to be careful to balance couch time with excercise and general movement!  Luckily, I've really been enjoying my workouts at Curves so I think that I am striking the balance. I've already been to Curves this morning and had my 30 minute power work out so I can let myself spend some time on the couch this afternoon, hopefully putting a dent into the project. I can't give away what I'm making as I want it to be a suprise for my friend, but I'll post some photos once the gift giving has been completed.

Time to finish this post, have a shower, get over to my friend's place for lunch and then I'll be getting on with the project!

Here's where we were on Friday; if you feel the need to check out one of these places for yourself, here;s where they are:
Double Happiness: 21 Liverpool St, Melbourne.
Little Malaysia: 26 Liverpool St, Melbourne
New Gold Mountain: 21 Liverpool St, Melbourne

I'm Yours

I'm all for an early week laugh, which is just what I just did after watching this video again. My dear husband even stifled a giggle (which he doesn't give up easily)!

Have a look for yourself and see what you think. Me thinks that this is one of the cutest You Tube treasures I've seen in ages.

What do you think?

I hope it gave you an early week laugh!

Sunday Vintage

It's been a vintage inspired Sunday afternoon. I started my new knitting project and despite it being a little tricky and going to take some time, I think the results will be worth the effort. (I left it a little late in the day to take the photo, so it's a bit dark, but you'll still see how lovely the project is).

I'll be knitting in a colour quite similar to the photo and in 100% wool. The yarn is lovely; soft and light, so I'm sure it will be warm and comfortable to wear. Now, the goal will be to finish it to get some wear for this winter. Sound achievable? Well, sure it sounds that way, but when your knitting a lace pattern on 3mm needles, it can take some time!

The other vintage element to my Sunday afternoon, was watching Mad Men; the last few episodes of season 2. It's such a cleverly written script and so convincingly acted by the cast.  The ending was quite dramatic and profound. If you haven't watched this great series, you really must. I've written about this topic before, but I want to indulge myself again. For someone who wasn't around during the 60's, the series provides a no-holds barred look at society including; politics, international relations (the threat of nuclear war with the Soviets), fashion, the role of women, drinking in the workplace, smoking on aeroplanes, the lack of tolerance for gay people, African-American civil rights and the list goes on. The people responsible for the sets, wardrobe and other cultural references have done such a bang-on job; it's like the show was filmed 40 years ago.

While I was relaxing, knitting and Mad Men-ing, my Mr went to a car show at Flemington and came back a happy camper. There's something to be said for going your separate ways to enjoy your separate past times and then coming back together again. I love that we have some separate interests and that we freely allow each other to spend time fostering and enjoying these things.

And so another weekend is about to bite the dust; but not before I overindulge in reality TV and get the lastest update from Camp Biggest Loser! Have a good week.

Weekend Goodness

Here's what's in store for the weekend for me:

• A visit to my favourite yarn store, Sun Spun, in Canterbury. I'm hoping to purchase yarn for a pretty, 50's inspired winter jumper.
• A visit to Curves to work off those M&M's I are last night!
• Laughing my way through Saturday night at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. I wrote about who I'm seeing here.
• Compulsory house cleaning, washing, dog walking, ironing.
• Starting my new knitting project, even though I really should finish the current one first (but where's the fun in that!?)
• Making time to talk with my dear husband about our house extension plans. We just haven't been able to make the time or free up enough head space to have a good conversation about this. We're thinking of building out into our front yard to double our living space. Very exciting but also very overwhelming.
• Speaking to my sister to give her some moral support; she's house hunting and it's so competitive and tricky. She's getting a bit worn out.
• Watch a few episodes of Mad Men. I've borrowed series 2 and 3 from the library and need to get them back soon! What a good excuse for some couch and knitting time!
• Gardening; my back garden is looking more and more like a jungle. It needs some love and attention from moi.

And lucky for me the weekend starts now!  Hope that you enjoy yours.

The end of an era

Are we going to have any good bookstores left in Australia?

I read in The Age today that 16 more Borders bookstores in Australia are going to close, in addition to the other closures already announced. Bye, bye Camberwell and South Yarra Borders; it was nice knowing you, I always had a good time browsing and often purchasing your wares.

There was also the news last week that another 12 Angus & Robertson stores were closing; including my old haunt; Chadstone.

Sure, it's been a long time since I was in the book game (2004 was when I last worked for A&R), but it was such a significant part of my life for a number of years... it's really sad to see the company and particularly my old store fall apart. Such is life, I guess.

I have read a lot of interesting articles, blog posts and the like about the book industry in Australia; what should happen, what should have happened, whose fault it all is, is it the fault of cheap online stores... and the list goes on. One engaging point of view comes from an author, talking about how bad she feels for selling her own book for it's RRP in her own shop! That sounds a little bit weird doesn't it. But that's how she feels. You can have a read of that post here; it's from Pip of Meet Me at Mike's fame.

I don't know what the answer is, but I sure will be one sad book lover if we end up with no good bookstores in this country, Maybe that's being melodramatic; we still have lots of great independent stores and of course we still have Readings in Melbourne. But what about Shepparton, Mount Gambier and places like that. I guess they have libraries they can visit; but I still think it's pretty sad that they won't have a local bookstore anymore.

Meanwhile, I'm seriously loving my local library at the moment. Maybe that's why the book industry has fallen apart; I have seriously cut back on my book purchasing over the last couple of years. 

Hmmm...

It's time for laffs

Melbourne residents and visitors will be chortling and giggling their way through the next few weeks, as it's time for one of our favourite festivals; the 25th Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

I have purchased tix for a couple of shows. One for a young man by the name of Andrew McClelland, who used to work for me at A&R many moons ago (before things went pear shaped in the land of books). We've seen him on stage a couple of times before when he was just starting out. In fact, if my memory serves me correctly, my dear husband and I had one of our first dates seeing one of Andrew's shows! Well, there you go.  These days, Andrew is kind of a big deal; he's even on The Circle pretty often (maybe he has a regular spot, I'm not too sure).

We're also seeing David O'Doherty who I've seen on TV a few times; maybe he's even on tonight for the Gala. Here's a look at at his style of comedy; it makes me LOL a lot!

I'd also love to see Stephen K. Amos; that man is an absolute riot! 

What a fun time of year; literally! If you're in Melbourne make sure that you get along to a show; there are so many options, price points and locations. There's really no excuse for not laughing your ass off this April!

Autumn is here

One of the sure signs that Autumn is here is a quick glance at the grand tree on our nature strip. In the last couple of weeks, she's started to change her colours and I know it's nearly time to get my rake out of hibernation.

There is a light smattering of lovely golden and cherry coloured leaves forming on my front lawn. Next weekend might have to be my first rake of the season.

Autumn is definitely my favourite season. One for the fashion; jackets, scarves, boots, knitted beanies & berets. Secondly for the beauty; our grand tree, the many tree lined Melbourne streets that stream with colour and for the beautiful crisp but sunny days that Autumn brings.

I think that my most beautiful Autumn was last year when we visited NYC.  Central Park was an amazing experience, with the most splendid Autumn colours.  It really took my breath away.  The shades of colour were so vivid and beautifully contrasted with the lush green fields and lawns. Ice skating had just started in the Park, people were out enjoying the beauty, the ice and the sunshine.  It was such a special time to be in NYC and I hope to do it again someday.

Central Park, NYC

Autumn is a great time to get knitting; it's so lovely to be holding beautiful yarn in your hands as you work on something special. I've finished the left front side of my cream cardy, but am having some trouble making the buttonholes on the right front side. I'm going to start on a sleeve instead and wait for some advice from my dear knitting friend. We're catching up in a couple of weekends at our favourite yarn store to browse and then (hopefully) buy yarn for my next big project.  I'll take my knitting along and ask for her advice; that normally does the trick when I get a little stuck.

LHS front piece of cream cardy

Time to make myself comfortable on the couch and cast on.

Curves and the Double Down

Juxtaposition; joining a gym on the same day you read about KFC's new wacko deal, the Double Down.

I've not been feeling fabulous of late and decided I needed to ramp up the exercise. Hence a visit to the local Curves this morning; which resulted in them having another member. The premise is simple; a 30 minute workout that you should try and do at least 3 times per week. I really liked the simplicity of their system, but wonder whether I will get a bit bored of going through the circuit day after day, week after week. Hopefully not.

So I've been feeling all fired-up today and looking forward to my new relationship with cardio and to my hopefully decreasing waistline. So you'll forgive my horror and disgust when scanning through The Age online this afternoon, I read about the Double Down burger (but it's not really a burger) that KFC are going to be making. BTW, it's already been a 'HIT' in the States!

Picture this; it's a bunless burger, 2 deep fried pieces of chicken replace the bun, they hold together 2 rashers of bacon, 2 pieces of cheese and a much greater chance of you having a heart attack.

It sounds gross.

After being re-energised today with a short workout and the promise of many more to come, the thought of this greasy 'meal' is making me feel ill. I think I need to stop writing about it. If you're keen to hear more of the horror, you can do that here.