Our House

Finally here are some photo's of our apartment and our recent IKEA purchases!

We replaced the corner bookshelf and put in a lamp which matches the hanging lamp.



I came across the painting above the piano a while back and fell in love with it. It gets mixed reactions. Some friends love it, some dislike it. I like it when a piece of artwork inspires different reactions.



The bookshelf next to the cabinet now match! And we put in the hanging lamp.



It took a while, but everything is in order, and looking more homey. We didn't want to get any "investment" pieces, but still be able to put touches of our personal taste within our home despite our limited budget and very limited space. Its crazy how quickly you accumulate things.

Tea Set courtesy of Miss R:)

Another one bites the dust

We have another wedding to attend in a few weeks. I have been wearing dresses out of my closet. However, I'm thinking of buying something new for the up and coming wedding. These are the dresses I am thinking would suit. I want something young, fun and... flirty? Maybe not... :)

Friends and readers, please offer your opinions on these dresses. The problem is that I usually love a bit of vintage, glamorous granny chic. But this time around I want something more floaty and fun. Thank you in advance!!!




I'm thinking the blue style more, because its $100 cheaper. But I just don't know which colour as well... the turquoise or the rose pink...

And another...

The weekend.

The weekend was a good one. Busy. But really really good. We slept in Saturday morning and enjoyed listening to the rain and being indoors while it was cold.

Our friends were married at 2:30pm. It was a wonderful wedding. The couple are such expressive, sincere people. It was one of those weddings that left you with a nice feeling, and one that we'll no doubt rave about for some time. When the bride was walking down the aisle she mouthed "I love you" to her fiance. The groom couldn't stop grinning and watching his bride throughout the ceremony. At the reception (fantastic food!) we danced to a lot of mexican pop, 80's music, salsa and also some swing dancing. I even got my husband up and dancing with me. The groom wore a lay, and the bride did a Hawaiian dance for him. The bride's family are of Mexican descent, and the groom's parents are from Hawaii. So it was a nice mix of cultures.

After the wedding, we went to the "Wes Anderson party" (at 10pm). There were a lot of people dressed from Life Aquatic and Royal Tenenbaums. There were a lot of good "margot's". One of my friend's looked just like Margot, it was pretty golden.

Here's a pic of my character, Max Fisher... (Rushmore).



I took a photo smiling. But Max Fisher isn't a smiley character, so decided to take another looking a little more sullen/annoyed.
They are my husband's pintuck trousers. He wore these... (before we got married). Now they are at the back of the closet. I have also realised pintuck trousers are not so flattering..

Sunday afternoon we did housework, and took a nap. Then last night went to dinner with our good friends. We both have our 2nd year wedding anniversaries around the same time (ours is in a couple of months), so decided to celebrate together. We went to a fusion restaurant with cuisines from around the world. There was a romantic ambience, fantastic food (I ordered the slow cooked moroccan lamb shank with dates, cinnamon and Israeli cous cous). We went all out on our wine and had an amazing bottle of La Crema pinot noir.

After dinner we went to see Andrew Bird live. I enjoyed the mix of violin, whistling and other effects he incorporated.

And now its Monday morning. I was late to work. Its a federal holiday here, which my husband gets off... and I don't. grrr.

“I don't have pet peeves, I have whole kennels of irritation” - Whoopi

We all have our pet peeves. I have a few, but today I'm going to discuss just one of them.

People talking through their teeth, or with their mouth closed up. Arrggh.

This morning I was on the phone with a client, from the midwest, and I had the hardest time understanding him. I kept having to say "excuse me?" "can you repeat that?".

There is this other girl I know, and like. But I can't get past the way she talks. She's intelligent, sweet and nice. But when she talks, its like there is a plum in her mouth (not in the hoity toity way...) but as though her mouth is half closed. This bugs me beyond belief. It is important in my opinion to speak clearly and not talk like a ventriloquist figure. Maybe this comes across mean, but come on, everyone has something that annoys them, or that they can't get past. For me, this is a dealbreaker.

The weekend is set to be another busy one. Good busy. We have a wedding to go to tomorrow, a party after the wedding (I'm dressing up as Max Fisher from Rushmore - my current movie character obsession). Then Sunday going out to a nice restaurant and concert with two of our close friends who just celebrated their second wedding anniversary! Congrats to them! They're a cute couple. We got married around the same time, and although we're two very different couples, we have had parallel lives in some ways. Our husbands are best friends, have been since they were kids, and my Aussie friend Anna and I have become close friends. We love those guys, and its nice to see them so happy together. Warms the heart!

My friends getting married on the weekend are very cute also. They're both quirky and a little different - and are a perfect match for each other. They were just good friends for many years, then suddenly the husband-to-be started seeing his now fiancee in a different light. He said he was at a wedding (she was a bridesmaid) and they had a dance together. He thought she looked beautiful, and suddenly something changed about how he felt. I love their story, and although it took a long time to get together (and it was right under their noses), they know each other very well. They exchange marriage vows tomorrow. It will be a beautiful day, rain hail or shine.

Out for now.

ps. yesterday I went to a consignment store in my lunch break and found a pair of almost new Seven for All Mankind jeans for... $50! The store was having a 20% off sale, hence the great price. I was stoked. They fit perfectly. Usually their jeans retail around $170-$180. Bargain!!

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't slow down and look around, you might miss it"

I have been binge eating today. Why? Well. its one of those days you know. You name it... I ate it. I get like that about... once a month. Which is ok. Its the day I visit the bakery and buy a massive piece of cake... big chocolate chip cookie... etc. I ate a pack of M&M's earlier also. Crazy. At least I had a salad for lunch. Maybe I'll boil veges for dinner. Except I'm making pasta for my husband. So bets are on that I eat 2 servings of pasta. Oh, and then there was the In'n'Out burger I ate at midnight yesterday... watch this space. It sounds bad. I know it. But it isn't really. I'm pretty good for the other 30 days of the month... Details you all wanted to know? "You know it". (thats my new American expression).

So. I know what you're wondering... you're thinking all "what was she doing at In'n'Out at midnight?

The question isn't what WAS I doing there... but what WASN'T I doing there...
How many of you know what I'm referencing? Its my favourite way to flip a question. But I get so bummed out because it passes over people's heads most of the time. When, IMO its from one of the all time funniest movies ever made.

Speaking of which... my husband hasn't seen "Groundhog Day" - another absolute classic. I love that movie. It kills me. I'm wanting to watch a Bill Murray movie real bad. Its been a while, you know.

So. Back to my question about In'n'Out... last night some mates and I went to see a filming of the show "Big Bang Theory". The MC was horribly annoying. But the show was fantastic. We got in straight away this time and got to see the cast in person. I have developed quite the celebrity crush on Sheldon aka Jim Parsons since seeing him in person. He's a real character full of expression. He was super friendly to the audience and did weird, quirky things... like doing a star jump when they finished filming at about 11pm. I think in real life he and Penny are dating. They were all over each other. Drats.

At one point in the evening the MC called for all the foreigners to come up. There were about 10 of us. He asked us to each sing a song from our homeland. I sang...

G'day G'day... and how're ya going... (THAT song). It was all I could think of impromptu.

The annoying MC said I was very musical (!!) and actually let me sing the whole way through. I wonder if Jim Parsons heard that... ;)

After the filming we headed over to In'n'Out for burgers. It was kinda neat eating burgers at midnight in LA on a Tuesday. Except going to work sucked this morning. So tired.

Out.

ps. i want a pair of Superfine jeans real bad.

What happened to you out there?... Everything.

Last night we visited with friends and had an absolute ball. We watched "Danny Deckchair" an aussie comedy that was hilarious. Although, I think I found it more hilarious than everyone else (of course). I recommend you watch the movie. Seriously funny. As are our friends. They find the small things in life funny, which I love.

Today is raining again, which I'm fine with. I'm thinking of going to the local cafe to do some reading.

On Friday I had my hair cut into a cute, very layered short do. At first I wasn't too sure about it. But as the compliments started rolling in, my confidence in the new "do" shot up. Fast forward to Monday at 1pm and I'm loving it.

I am going to take photo's of my apartment, I promise. I just didn't get time to tidy and clean on the weekend. We try to do it in the midweek so our weekends aren't a slave to housework. I get so bummed out if I work all week, do our usual routine then housework. You need to have time for fun, and have time at least over the weekend to enjoy some things you enjoy doing. So I need to engage in the ritual called housework after work tomorrow or Wednesday. Ah the joys of growing up and getting more responsible:)

So yesterday my friend and I hung out and grabbed a pint of guinness each at the local pub, went thrift store shopping and had our nails done. My husband and I played a boardgame Saturday afternoon and... that night had dinner with his family. All of them. Yikes. It was a mexican fiesta. I got to hear all the women rant on about their husbands. Needless to say I declined to enter into the conversation.

I don't have much else to report on for now. Its Monday. And I have a case of the Mondays. Time to go to the cafe and read a glossy mag.

Its good weather for ducks!

Its raining here today - shock horror! It feels awkward because I'm no longer used to rain! But its kind of nice as well. I have my brolly with me and went for a short walk at lunch. I was at the corner and bumped into a friend who works near me. I teased her that she looked like a celebrity. She was dressed incognito - not on purpose, but for wet weather purposes. When she was afar I kept looking at her thinking "is it Talia...?" - just like you would if a celebrity walked past and you didn't quite know if it was them or a lookalike. We joked around, then she went on her way. Then this guy gets to the corner, looks around and says to me "Its good weather for ducks"!!! How hilarious is that?! I lost it laughing and explained I haven't heard that expression in many years. A colleague in Australia used to say it all the time - at a firm I worked at in my early 20's. The gentlemen in his 50s/60s pretty much made my day.

Today I'm getting my hair cut. I'm currently growing out all the brown - and I want my natural colour back. I haven't seen it since I was in my teenage years. I was thinking... if I don't grow it out now, I could get to 35 and start getting grey hair, without having seen my real hair colour for many, many years. Weird thought I know. But its Friday.

I'm looking forward to the weekend. Lots of splendid things planned which I'll blog about, if I don't get lazy.

I'm listening to the Smiths right now. "Please, please, please let me get what I want". Its a bit of a fave.

Roger out.

Things I want.. and would buy... if I had... money...

I'm a bit in love with these pieces of clothing right now. Of course, like the rest of us, can't afford a whole lot just now. We just got wacked with an outrageous tax bill, which could buy a new car almost. Which is fine. If you pay it... means you must be earning it... (right?). It just means major cutting back on non-essentials! (how boring!)

I love the snap buttons on these skinny jeans! And I would love the floral dress. Alas, at almost US $200 - it will have to be admired from afar.

Honesty Award

I received this award a while ago from Daring to Dream. But couldn't think of 10 things at the time. Well, now I can. So here goes.

1. I love 1940’s movies and movie stars. In fact last night I ordered a book off Amazon which features photo’s of 1940’s movie stars. Can’t wait to get it! I love a bit of glamour! And that women used to “dress” dress.

2. Once I cut almost all of the top part of my thumb off – I still barely have feeling in it. It was pretty traumatic. Each year in June I think that “it was this many years ago…” (happened June 2006). I remember my dear friend S having a sleepover with me the night it happened. We slept on couches. Such a good friend eh:) I have a lot of scars and had many accidents (very clumsy!). But that was the worst.

3. I’m 28 and still haven’t found my professional “groove” or “niche”. I don’t know what I’m good at yet, and want to figure it out soon. 30 is approaching! Not knowing what I want to be or do professionally scares me a little. I’d like to have it more together. I’d like to work from home, but wouldn’t we all.

4. I’m not very emotional. I literally cry maybe 3 times a year. If something upsets me I can have some quiet time and sleep it off. When I do cry, it’s the ugly cry. I’m sensitive to other people and their feelings and feel for other people. But I’m pretty resilient and rarely, if ever get offended. I think I had a few hard knocks in my late teens that hardened me up in life a little. I mean, I do get emotional about things... but can deal with things calmly.

5. I'm pretty sentimental and have kept every card sent to me. As well as movie tickets, receipts from dinners we've had that have been fun. My email box goes back to June 2003.

6. I wear jeans to work with converse sneakers or asic tigers every day, however have about 30 pairs of high heels in my closet. And the number keeps growing.

7. People always think I'm shy/quiet when they first meet me. I think its the English reservedness coming through. The line I always get is "we thought you were so quiet!". Sorry guys.

8. I’m more Australian than I ever realized before moving to the States. I love vegemite and the peace and quiet of Australia.

9. I love a laugh and to joke around with my friends. One of the biggest joys in life.

10. Brit rock is my favourite type of music. Its right up there. I’m beginning to appreciate American country music. Never thought that would happen.

Here were the rules posted with this:-

List 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep.

Anyone who wants to do this - go for it :) I'm simply impressed you made it through the 10 things. After years of doing questionnaires I've run out of new things to write...! I'm sorry if it sucked.

Life is too short to be quiet about it

Just now I’m at work and listening to BB Brunes – a French punk/rock band. I really enjoy French punk music. Its eerily quiet at work, which makes me nervous. But everything in life has a way of working itself out, right. My friend said she tried going for an interview at a small office – no fewer than 15 people showed up. Yikes.

I think I’m starting to feel more at home here in the States. This sounds weird, but I think it has something to do with that I like my “space” more. Redecorating has made me not feel so “temporary” here and gave me a bit of a new lease on life in America, as I know it. I have been meaning to take some photo’s of our apartment, which I’ll do soon. I am still figuring out my decorating style and have been saving images from articles and blogs that I like. When I look at them all together there is a theme or style coming out. I’d post pics up, but haven’t for fear of copyright. For now, my home doesn’t fully reflect my style – but more than it did previously. We’ve done what we can so far within the restraints of time, space (mostly space) and money (ok, money is a big one also). Last weekend we changed our lamps, which was well overdue! Before I had a Chinese lantern style lamp – which I always wanted before. I finally got one and decided I didn’t like it after all!

Even though I’m feeling more settled here in the US of A these days, I still long for things at home. And other things. I long to have a dog. I adore having pets, and am anxiously waiting it out to have one.

Another thing I’d like is a ping pong table. That sounds weird, I know. But I love to play ping pong, listen to some music. Maybe because we did that a lot when we were kids.

My subject line: About a year ago a friend commented on my wearing hats and bright clothes a lot – and she said she is not bold enough to wear such things. I told her the above. That life is too short to be quiet about it. I don’t know where it came from, it was a random. I was reminded last night when a friend noted my bright dress and said “how did you and your husband get together? He is very conservative, and you’re totally not conservative”. It made me laugh. I’m conservative in some ways.

On Sunday night we hung out with some friends who are in their late 30’s. They have a 13 year old autistic son. They don’t usually have people over, but wanted to hang with us – and figured it was easier at their house, where their son is comfortable in his surroundings. So we went over, ate sushi and had a lovely evening laughing away. We don’t known them that well, but wanted to make an effort to get to know them more. They don’t get out much because of their circumstances – yet are so young. The couple are even way cooler than I knew or expected. Totally hilarious! We were cracking up all evening. We were also talking about our interests, and I asked Stephanie – what hers are – “erm… I’m boring. I don’t have any interests”. Huh? What? This shocked me! I didn’t know how to respond – and tried to cover up my awkwardness. I firmly believe in having your unique interests and developing those in life. Finding out what you’re good at… what you enjoy in life. Interests and hobbies enrich your life. Later on, when husband and I were driving home I mentioned it – and that it surprised me, and I couldn’t imagine not having things I’m super passionate about and can talk about endlessly. He made the good point that maybe Stephanie’s attentions have been focused on her son for the last 13 years. Yes. Probably right. It made me think of how self sacrificing Stephanie is. Something to truly admire.

Long overdue update

Its Friday night and my husband and I were just at our friend’s house. Through the week I long for the weekend, and when it arrives I try to treasure every moment of it. Sometimes I get a little down when its all busy busy busy… and then you get a moment to breath and its “now what do I do”. You spend so much time wound up like a clock, the quiet time throws you.

Now its Tuesday morning, and I’m at work. I haven’t been feeling inspired to write lately. I go through spurts of writing. I’m like that in a lot of aspects of my life – going through phases, that don’t last long.

So back to the weekend. It ended up being full and delightful. Friday night we visited our good friends who cooked for us. We drank margarita’s and chatted the night away. Saturday afternoon we went to lunch with some friends, then in the afternoon my husband and i walked into our local village, hung out.. went to the bookstore, then walked home again by the beach. I made stirfry for dinner and we played a boardgame and watched “East of Eden”, which I’d never seen. James Dean’s character was a little weird in it. Sunday I decided I needed a sleep in, so slept in… did housework and then in the afternoon met up with a friend – we did a 23 mile bikeride! It felt fantastic to get the cobwebs out.

And now its back at work. I find myself daydreaming a lot at work right now, and feeling very tired. I have been vegetarian (although eating fish) for quite a while now. And I think its too much for my body. I’m not functioning well, and feeling tired & lethargic – not like me. So I’m introducing chicken back into my diet. I have been eating beans, lentils, eggs etc, but it seems its not enough protein for my body. Or not the kind of protein my body needs. Or maybe it just takes a while for your system to get used to it? One friend said it took him 4 months to feel good not eating meat. Yikes. So, I don’t eat red meat at all – but chicken I can do. I have always been weird about meat. Never eaten pork. Would spend all my time at the dinner table cutting off any trace of fat, or anything that resembled fat. I worry how to handle it when visiting friends – I don’t like to be too difficult “actually… I don’t eat meat”. Maybe for my close friends I’ll be honest about it, but grin & bear it when I don’t know someone too well, so as not to offend.

I have been eating a lot of cookies lately and carbs so am attempting to do the 3 day fruit flush – its so difficult! I want to detox my body, and get it prepped so I don’t have so many cravings for carbs. Right now I’m really craving cheerios and yoghurt!!!