dreamy

I've been having the strangest, most vivid dreams recently. It's probably the seasons changing or something. Unfortunately for most people around, I've been compelled to share them with whoever I can, in person, on facebook, and yay now with you. You're welcome.

Not really, it's too late in the evening to write anything compelling about something that occured in my own subconscious over 12 hours ago. But here are a bunch of pictures that somehow fit into the bizarreness and loveliness of this whole scenario, as I seem to have begun to mush all the recent dreams into an ongoing state of being that I'm having a hard time pulling myself out of when awake.

A few tidbits: model planes made of chickpeas and rainbow garlic // b grade celebrity look alikes mouthing silently along with gangster rap for hours // sleeping in a hat on a couch at a party // straw // forests // grey skies // warm hands, cold weather // that's all.

i exist

 And I like things:

My giant velvet polka dot dress from Twenty Seven Names

Wearing said dress with a ridiculous cardigan covered in mini pom poms, burgundy tights, or a skin coloured slip

Smokey quartz everything

99 Problems, my new local* with the nicest proprietors ever

The fact that I am going to see Bone Thugs N Harmony next week

The wonderful, amazing trip I just got back from in little ole New Zealand, and all the babes I got to see naked in the ocean after two of our beautiful pals tied the knot

In fact, everything about that day, except the sweat during the ceremony, and the entire missing outfit

Hanging out with my granny

Hanging out with my friends' babies

Being home

The Asos package that just arrived

This lovely distraction (select journey)**

Winter's approach,

and my acceptance of it.

Thanks for your time

xL

* it is, dangerously close to my house 

** found via Lolita, thanks!

*** both of the autumney wintery photos are from Le Portillon, my new favourite

i like today

Things that are making me happy right at this moment are:

 This dress from Deyrolle pour Opening Ceremony

 The work of Diana Drake

Warpaint, who were better last night than I'd even hoped (and I had high hopes). I've been wanting to see them play ever since Natalie put Billie Holiday on a mix she made our friends for their engagement a year ago. They make beautiful music and look like girls I would like to be friends with.

Emma Stone. Han went on and on about Easy A whhile she was here and I was skeptical, but I finally watched it and I loved it and am quite comfortable saying she is the new LiLo and it is the new Mean Girls.

oh jeez where have you been

In the weeks/months since I posted anything (regularly) on this blog not a lot has happened, but I've had a pretty nice time. Han visited and we ate out every single day, every single meal. The highlight being a meal of cheese, mozzarella to be precise. Three fist sized balls of mozzarella and then two ginormous pizzas covered in the stuff, along with mushrooms and a few other things, which I couldn't get through but Han put in a stand-out effort and so we managed to leave almost empty plates. A bottle of dusky pink rose on the side and a montenegro to follow. It's a digestive so the whole point is it helps you digest the mountians of cheese you just consumed. In the rain on a little table outside under a tree. With a waiter who seemed abrupt, gruff even, but loved us actually because we are two young ladies dressed nice for a saturday night. A taxi and a cocktail roumored to revive corpses. Not us though, too full of cheese and wine and more cheese we ended it all with a midnight chai and a balmy stroll home and the next day Han went home to New Zealand.

I moved house, finally, it's small and delightful. I went to the Shout Out Louds, Beach House and Andrew WK. The night Andrew WK played was definitely the best night out I have had in forever. I got a cold on the hottest day, I went to the pools, a lot, I didn't cook a meal probably this whole time. I got my hair cut. It's not 'short' any more, more what could be considered 'shoulder length' (it's actually a tiny bit past my shoulders though, just so you know). I thought about posting something on this blog. I went outside and read in the sun. I drowned in hundreds of pages of watercolour. I made new friends. I hung out with girls, so many girls, all the time, this is new for me. I booked a trip back home in March (5 weeks Han!!) and I searched for shoes that would please everybody. I thought about posting something on the blog. Our friend's baby was born. It rained, torrentially, and flooded. Not as badly as in Queensland but it's still been pretty crazy. My housemate's car floated down the street. Not outside our house though, at her parents', in the suburbs. I made marmalade. You can try some at a cafe in Collingwood where our friend works, it's delicious I think (I haven't had any since we put it in the jars but it was pretty marmaladey, so if you're into that sort of thing then it's probably still delicious).

a little hiatus

happy holidays you guys! Han and I probably won't be around for a couple of weeks because after christmas, she's coming to Melbourne and we'll be too busy lying next to the pool to post... See you in 2011! xx

This photo is by mädchen, via Lolita

edges

I've just given myself a modified version of this spiky manicure (with paint, rather than clippers), and would do anything right now for that sweet, scalloped bedspread.

Not sure where the nails are from but the bed comes from this tumblr which I'm currently obsessed with.

i know this matters to you

(besides an unfortunate bratwurst incident at Camberwell yesterday) all I ate this weekend was strawberries and avocado.

reeepeat

(This is not a food blog.)

Foods I have eaten recently:

grilled lamb cutlets with mint, feta and thyme, it was simply the best and the fat rocked my world (I like fat, OK? I'm not sorry, it tastes too good)/ciabatta with hummus and fresh orange juice for breakfast all week, because I have heard that hummus is the healthiest spread for toast/scones made by mum with lots of butter and cream/vegetarian eggs benedict with a huge slice of avocado and parsley pesto (by far the best eggs benedict I've ever had, perfectly balanced and not at all sickening). You can get it from a cafe near the Parnell rose gardens/chicken livers with red onion. I liked the flavour but not the texture/a lammington from the Fridge - a hungover choice I lived to regret/countless pepperoni rolls from sals, the pepperoni fat crystallises at the bottom of the roll, making it a perfect cheesy juicy meaty scone-like treat and they're only $3 or two for $5/lemon pasta, this time without cream. You whisk olive oil, lemon juice and parmesan together, then mix it through the pasta with a huge pile of fresh basil/about 7 bubblegum flavoured iceblocks from the asian supermarket on K Road dipped in vodka/pork chops with thyme butter made with feta, thyme and a squeeze of lemon juice, melted in the pan with the pork juices, eaten with more ciabatta and a pile of rocket to make me feel less guilty/strawberry oreos(gross yet oddly compelling)/a hamburgini from Burger Fuel, which is a teensy burger (not quite a monkey fist) that has aioli, melted cheese, bread and butter pickles and tomato sauce, and is basically the most moreish thing you can eat for $4.95/avocado and feta with pesto on toast for an after dinner snack/sour lollies/rocket and cheddar scone at the art gallery with a short black and trashy mag/oh and last night I went to a bbq for my friend Max's birthday and the boys surprised everyone by getting all the meat from the organic butcher in West Lynn, so I ate a fairly rare steak and it was incredible.

Most things I cooked were taken from The Kitchen Diaries, which I bought last week, which takes my Nigel Slater recipe book tally up to three, which is possibly too many? Or NOT ENOUGH. <3 u Nigel.

ice cream and applesauce just before bed

I listened to this song twice while I walked home today. There were eleven rainbow lorikeets in a tree on the corner of my street. I've eaten asparagus every day for a week.

This photo was taken by Michelle

a little absence

I've been in New Zealand, and it was beautiful!

I'll try and get photos developed this week so maybe there will be some on here eventually... A real post will happen soon, but for now I am trying to readjust to Melbourne time, a whole two hours behind, and am very much still in wedding committee/research mode (the above picture is from Once Wed).

Oh, and tonight I'm going to the Knife opera, yes I am.

eva fontanelli

...has got such good hair, and a winning smile. I want to curl my bob! 

Hey Lou - how is Hamilton? Sunny, I hope.

Photos from Hanelli + The Sartorialist.

two days

This weekend has been one of birthdays, beers, an enormous house party and up until six. Not showering, coloured tights (milky pins) and too many smokes. Nursing a new friend, voms, neurofen and lunch in the garden courtyard of a new favourite spot, chipped manicures, a bunch of white sweetpeas, a lovely afternoon over beers and too many smokes and a delicious meal cooked too late and shared with three of the longest friends. Clean white sheets and a shower before climbing in.

The pictures were nicked from here here and here.

1. I am paralysed by the amount of work I have to do
2. I am amazed at how young everyone is
3. I spent all my money on lunch

about time

It was just announced that Melbourne has elected the first ever Green candidate to the House of Representatives in Australia. While the overall results of the election are still up in the air (and looking pretty dire) I am quite proud to live in Melbourne right now. It also looks like Australia may have its first indigenous member in the House of Rep's as well.

Not being able to vote here has meant my interest in and knowledge of this Country's politics is rather abysmal, but despite this, and the television coverage being convoluted and boring, it's difficult not to get caught up in the midst of a national election.

I think word-of-the-day calendars are strange. Do you ever use words you learn on them in conversation? Rankle was January 1 a few years ago, and I use it, on average, once a week.

Don't you love it when you're walking home late at night and a song comes on and sweeps you up? One that swells further and further to a tipping point before crashing down? That just happened to me, walking home after too many wines. I crossed the road and had to walk down the median strip in the middle of the road, headlights on either side, listening to A Sunday Smile, of course.

small things

(and some bigger things) I'm cheerful about:

• The cutting that's been sitting in a champagne flute of water on my desk for a couple of months has grown two healthy twisty roots, I think that's called propogating?
• My hyacinths and daffodils have started to bloom
• My mum's coming to visit in November
• I have a new job - well, it's not especially new, but it is now official
• I have a new home - it's little and sweet and I move in next week, there's two delightful girls and a little garden out the back which I can't wait to fill with flowers and veges
• I'm going to see Laura Marling tonight, I saw School of Seven Bells on Sunday, and last week Here we go Magic and Grizzly Bear, phew! I'm not sure if/when I'll get to write more about those shows but in a nutshell SSB were great, and pretty, and fun; GB was amazing, I like them far better live; and Here we go Magic were incredible, they played all my favourite songs and beautifully...
• Oh, and I finally get to see Boy this weekend

These lovely plants come from Katie Merchant, Lolita, and some tumblrs I unfortunately have forgotten

you're lucky han is so good

because I sure haven't been, and to anyone who's noticed I offer my sincere apologies. I have been just a bit busy with, well, life but I can assure you changes are afoot (not to me having a life, but to how and where I live it).

And tomorrow I interview for a job I have done for the past three months, in front of three people I have worked with for over a year, and I'm nervous as all hell.
Please cross your fingers and think savvy thoughts for me, I'll return the favour.

This beautiful time-lapse peony I found here, a blog I have only discovered since the author commented here, and haven't yet had time to truly trawl through, though I'm sure I will enjoy it when that time comes.

Last night I dreamed that I wrote and wrote, and this morning I couldn't remember a word. It was quite a difficult feeling.

lovely photo from here