Archive for the 'Life' Category
Melbourne Design Market
Elizabeth June 15th, 2009
The last couple of weeks have been really busy. Work seems to have picked up suddenly, the days are getting short as Winter sets in, and there just seems to be less time to do the important stuff. It’s been taking its toll a little bit, and this weekend Tim and I decided that we really needed some relaxation time.
I’m not ashamed to admit that Tim and I are basically just tall children, so our idea of relaxation time may not match yours. Our healing came in the form of delivered pizza, Buzz on the Playstation, and 18 hours inside the rejuvenating walls of a fort on our living room floor. It was sort of perfect, especially since it was freezing cold and there was little incentive to crawl out from under our doonas. Our pup was pretty pleased to be curling up next to us as well, and he did his best to share his warmth pretty evenly between the two of us.
However, by about midday on Saturday we began to feel a little bit disgusted with ourselves. We moved all our furniture back into place, threw all the bedding in the laundry and made the most of our afternoon. I made the spontaneous purchase of a new desk chair (my back LOVES me for it), shopped up and down Glenferrie Rd, and filled up on to-die-for Vietnamese food. The night was spent on a long boardgame and then sleep with no limit. Bliss.
Today we found a new breakfast place on Bridge Rd, and took our time getting on with the day. I’ve been trying to get to the Melbourne Design Market for about a year now, but always seem to find out about it just a little too late. This time I was determined, so we started off there.
The market was incredible, for many reasons. There were some truly brilliant designs on display – both artistic and functional – and I found myself wanting to explore almost every booth. Unfortunately the crowds made this impossible, so I really had to pick my battles. There were some stalls that I couldn’t have made it to had I not used my elbows. It was insane.
I admit I was a little disappointed with the experience, but only because the event has the potential to be so much greater. A bigger venue would have been more worthwhile for the designers trying to showcase their work, and for the crowds of people who wanted to soak it all in. It was telling that the “food court” was the place to get away from the people and noise. The people who showed up were clearly there for the merchandise.
Having said that, I was patient about getting to the stalls that really grabbed me. I was lucky enough to find some great stuff, and to finally see Lara Cameron and her friends from Ink & Spindle in person!
Ink & Spindle is a small, independent screen-printing and design business. I’ve bought a print from them in the past, but until today have mostly drooled over their beautiful things via their blog. I find their designs to be consistently top-notch, although it bothers me a little to watch other people living my dream!
The best part of their creations is seeing the way that other people use them. Those of us lucky enough to live in Melbourne already know the strong and beautiful bags by mattt, as he and his work seem to be a fixture at every major market. Today I was able to see first-hand the way that Pepperberry and Shonah have put the Ink & Spindle designs to use. Pepperberry’s things turned out to be my favourites today.
Another favourite was KeepCup
The people at KeepCup have thought of everything. Dissatisfied with alternatives for disposable coffee cups, they have designed a reusable cup that significantly reduces the average coffee-drinker’s impact on the planet. You can even use their calculator to see how much of a difference you can make. In my case, assuming that I drink 5 cups of coffee each week (and remember to take my KeepCup each time), this is what I can expect to achieve in a year:
They’ve thought up solutions to problems that I hadn’t even considered. How’s this for thoughtful design?
The challenge will be remembering to keep it with me, and to gather the nerve to hand it over to my snarky morning coffee guy. I figure if it’s good for the Earth, I can handle the eye-rolling!
Lastly, I picked up a couple of pretty brass bookmarks – one to keep, and one to put with a present for Tim’s mum. Picture from www.ras.es.
By this stage we were pretty much over the heat, the people, and humanity in general. We escaped to the great outdoors and made our way to the comparatively serene riverside Sunday Markets, where I proceeded to stock up on miniature cacti. Because apparently my fridge door wasn’t complete?
So that was my weekend. I’m not kidding when I say that it feels like I’ve had a week’s holiday. I’m also completely aware that this sensation will disappear in an instant when I walk back into the office tomorrow, but I’m happy to enjoy it for now!
- Art , Cool stuff , Life , Melbourne
- Comments(2)
WARNING: This post is dangerously schmoopy
Elizabeth May 31st, 2009
This was secretly tucked into my purse last week, beside my tram ticket.
I don’t normally smile all the way to work, but I did that day! ♥
#22 – List 101 things that make me happy
Elizabeth May 31st, 2009
Part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge.
I completed this task some time ago, but never wrote about it here to let you guys know. In fact, there have been a number of items that I’ve quietly completed over the past year and never reported here in my blog. I’m sad that I didn’t always force myself to write, because some of the details are lost forever. I know that my next 101 list will operate a little differently to this one; I guess I’m learning all the time.
Anyway, I was reminded of my own happy list recently while reading Rockstar Diaries – one of my new all-time favourite reads from the blogosphere. Taza (and husband) run this beautiful little blog about their lives and love, and every post brings a smile to my face. In particular, I’ve really been enjoying Taza’s recent here’s to happiness category, in which readers submit ten things that make them happy.
So here is my own happy list.
If I was to begin another list of 101 things that make me happy, this video might be on it. Just another little gem that Taza has introduced me to!
- 101 in 1001 , External Sites , Life , Music , Videos
- Comments(1)
Our new wheels
Elizabeth May 2nd, 2009
I can’t believe it’s taken me almost a month to upload the photos!
Our little car drove us all over the Yarra Valley last weekend, blasting brilliant covers from Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and shielding us from the cold and rain.
We’re loving it, and its new-car smell.
Many, many more weekend adventures to come ♥
#25 – Keep a swear jar for two weeks
Elizabeth April 6th, 2009
Part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge.online casino
I arrived at work two Mondays to find that the phone was already ringing off the hook. I had six million emails and a to-do list that stretched over multiple pages. It was just a couple of days before my boss was to head off for three weeks personal leave, pretty much tripling my workload.
It’s safe to say that I let a few blue words slip that morning. (And lets face it, most other mornings too – that’s how this challenge was born!)
I mentioned the idea of the two-week swear jar to one of my colleagues that day, and she suggested that we both begin it immediately. With a little help from my label-maker my coffee mug was converted into a swear jar, and it’s slowly been filling ever since.
It’s hard to know exactly how much I have contributed to the jar, but as it lived on my desk I’m sure I was the most honest participant. Each morning I would throw in a few dollars for the misdemeanors of the night before, and if I knew I was about to have a particularly bad meeting I made sure to raid petty cash and change a five dollar note into 50c pieces.
It’s been a funny experiment. Some of the bigwigs at work have started visiting more often, emptying their coin pockets into the jar as they tell me their latest drama. People have been leaving my office feeling as though they’ve truly unloaded and atoned for their sins. For some of us it has been like therapy!
My aim was never to cure my swearing completely, as I still maintain that a well-placed bleepable can make or break a story. Besides, there’s a set of words that I have actively decided aren’t right for me. Instead, my aim was simply to reduce the amount of swearing that was done subconsciously or habitually. I’m happy to report that it only took me couple of days to feel the sting to my wallet and think harder before speaking.
I recommend that everybody try this – even if you love your swear words. It’s pretty funny when you find yourself lost for words, because your usual way of communicating a message is too expensive!
#86 – Make some jewellery
Elizabeth April 6th, 2009
Part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge.
You know that feeling you get on the first day of a vacation, when the days ahead feel free and full of promise? That’s how I’ve felt all weekend, and I don’t know why. I’ve somehow managed to purge my brain of the 29 letters I need to write at work tomorrow morning, and just enjoy the simple pleasures that the weekend has brought. Truly. It has been bliss.
So this weekend has brought us two mornings of sleepy morning cuddles, freshly plunged coffee and good music. The fridge was filled with fruit & vegies from our local Saturday morning market (where I bought my first persimmon), and we ate homemade Thai pumpkin soup while we listened to the rain. Saturday night was spent with wonderful friends who fed us like royalty and provided a baby to cuddle. Does it get any better than that?
It always surprises me how naturally the creativity flows during times like this. I can go for a few months without indulging that side of me, but inevitably something “snaps” and I find myself elbow-deep in a project. Today I was torn in three directions as I (almost?) finished a painting, repaired some old jewellery and made some new pieces.
The first necklace was the more involved project, and really needs some natural light to do it justice. I’ll update this post with a better photo later this week.
Today’s zen moment: working on an enormous canvas on the floor beside the back door, puppy by my side, and listening to the rain fall. It’s amazing how weather can dictate my mood. And while I’d obviously prefer to do it all again tomorrow, I’ll go to work rested and inspired and feeling as though I truly made the most of this weekend.
#78 – Buy a new car (we’ve got wheels!)
Elizabeth March 28th, 2009
Part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge.
After twelve months of working on my list I decided to review all my goals. I made sure that my 101 things still reflected the things that were most important to me and were still achievable. Right from the start I gave myself permission to replace tasks that no longer inspired me with something equally challenging.
There was really only one item that didn’t “fit”, so it got the flick.
It happened to coincide with a time when we were beginning to talk about buying a car. We’ve been so lucky to live in an area that is serviced well by public transport, so it has been very easy to be carless for the past 18 months. Every so often we’ve treated ourselves to a hire car for a special occasion, but on the whole we’ve coped really well with the tram system. The ability to buy our groceries online definitely contributed to our sanity throughout this period.
Anyway, we have reached the point where we really want to explore beyond the tram tracks, particularly on weekends. It’s especially timely now that daylight savings is about to end and the days will start to get shorter, colder and wetter. I certainly have no intention of trading in my monthly tram ticket, but I can’t even begin to explain how luxurious it will be to bring home a 12-pack of toilet paper without having to march it home on foot along a busy road!
This morning we signed up for this cute little number – a Mazda2 Maxx in metropolitan grey.
I can’t wait until we can pick it up in a week or so! I’m sure that I can put our new car to good use with some of the other tasks on my list too.
Almost forgot…
Elizabeth March 22nd, 2009
I had a birthday!
Thalassotherapy, along with a pony, are among the many things that I did not get for my birthday. However, I did get three bouquets – one of them chocolate!
The gorgeous Crumpler camera bag that I’ve been lusting after for about 2 years, from Tim:
A shiny jewellery tree from Mum & Dad (plus some Pandora beads!):
And – from the “you know me so well” files…
A vintage book from Sally, re-bound with lots of blank pages to use as a journal or sketchbook. Every so often there’s an illustration or page from the original novel – it’s really beautiful. Created by Aunty Art Studios, check them out!
Thanks to everyone who got in touch on the day – turning 29 was pretty grand.
- Cool stuff , Family , Friends , Life
- Comments(2)
Everything is amazing, nobody is happy.
Elizabeth March 8th, 2009
Louis CK, on why nobody is happy.
Today is pretty great so far, so I don’t fall into that category! After a really late night we slept until noon, and now Tim is making coffee and banana pancakes. Afterwards we’re planning to sit down and do some sums on the cars we test drove yesterday.
Life is grand ♥
Self-indulgent Sunday
Elizabeth February 22nd, 2009
Today we had nowhere we needed to be, and it was bliss.
For some reason Tim and I badly needed this weekend. Tim spoiled me with croissants and pastries on Saturday morning, and we spent much of the day hanging out on the couch together playing video games. Later on we gave the dog a haircut and took him to the park, and spent the rest of the evening playing a board game and eating cheese and olives. We even ducked down to the local for a beer, which is pretty indulgent for us. It was fun to just hang out.
We had intended to get up and go to the Camberwell markets this morning, but it just didn’t happen. Bed was too comfy, we slept too late, and besides – we had everything we needed in the pantry to make pancakes! We watched the nationally-televised “National Day of Mourning” ceremony, cringed as Princess Anne referred to her sister as “The Queen of Australia” and devoured our pancakes with lemon juice and icing sugar. Markets schmarkets.
I’m not sure why, but immediately after the service I got off the couch, dragged my easel and an enormous canvas into the living room, and began to paint. It’s been a seriously long time since I’ve painted anything, let alone anything good, so I’m not really sure what came over me. All I know is that I worked at this piece for hours on end today without losing momentum.
It felt good. I ditched the brushes early on and did most of it with my hands. I built textures. I mixed the sawdust from our poor old tree into the paint and slathered it on thick. I painted a design from a single line – two people hand in hand.
Half a day later, there’s still more to be done. I think the rest will involve book pages and gesso, but I’m not sure yet. I like the way it evolved into something completely different from my original plan, and that I had to throw myself into it – body and soul. Once the paint dried I found myself chipping away at the textures, pulling more white from the bottom layers and scraping off lines of dark paint.
I found it all very therapeutic – better than a punching bag! It really makes me wonder how much negative energy I’ve been lugging around with me over the past few weeks.
Plenty, I suspect.
More photos to come as it grows…
Valentines Day 2009
Elizabeth February 15th, 2009
This was our fourth Valentines Day, although only three of them have been in February.
This time in 2006 Tim and I were planning his upcoming visit to Australia, and the road trip that would ultimately lead to us getting together. Our friendship had well and truly developed into “serious crush” mode by February, and I remember feeling particularly bummed at the fact that we were on opposite sides of the world at that time.
Here is an except from my paper journal from that day:
Valentines Day sucks. I hate everybody, and everything. Except for Tim, who has done his best to share the love from the other side of the stupid world.
Stupid ocean.
Stupid happy people.
Maybe not my most poetic of updates, but that’s pretty much how I felt at the time. I remember Tim feeling very low that day as well.
When Tim visited in April we decided to make one day of his trip “Valentines Day” to make up for February. We chose April 26, which gave us something to look forward to at the end of his trip. We planned a beautiful day – breakfast in Grafton, rainbows and dolphins from the lighthouse at Byron Bay, and a night at Palazzo Versace at the Gold Coast.
It was a happy day, full of beautiful memories. I’d already fallen head over heels in love with this guy by then, but it didn’t exactly hurt to spend that beautiful day together! It was kind of special to show him the beautiful coastline that I know so well, and to discover new things together. I remember watching the dolphins playing in the surf, showing Tim the Eastern-most point of Australia, and dinner on Tedder Ave. Although I ended up getting really (really) sick that night, it was a pretty incredible day.
Three days later, he was gone. I’d reluctantly put him on a plane, not knowing when I would ever see him again. And so began the long and difficult road towards Tim’s migration.
I didn’t know then how things would turn out, only that I was gutted when he left. I slept for 2 days, lost my appetite and wrote in my paper journal a lot. The overall theme of my anguish was “potential” – we’d spent two beautiful weeks together, and I was head-over-heels – but could I really plan my future around some boy on the other side of the world after such a short time together? We’d been friends for years before that road-trip, but was I prepared to put myself through a long-distance relationship while we figured out how to be in the same country?
As it turned out, I didn’t need to make too many decisions – I just did what I had to do. Walking away from this boy wasn’t an option, and so we coped as best we could under the circumstances. Tim lodged his permanent residency visa application a couple of weeks after returning to the US – a show of faith that I will never take for granted – and then we waited. For 16 months.
Valentines Day is a bit special to me, partly because of that lonely February 14 in 2006. And although I get to see Tim every day now, I guess it serves as a bit of a reminder to me of the bullet we dodged – just how lucky we are to have found each other despite being a world apart.
This year I spent Valentines Day exactly as I had hoped – with my gorgeous boy. That makes me the luckiest girl in the world.
101 Things update
Elizabeth February 15th, 2009
It blows my mind that it is already mid-February. I had so many plans for the first few months of this year, and am feeling like time has just disappeared!
I have been making fairly steady progress on my 101 Things in 1001 Days list, even though I had hoped to have a few extra items crossed off by now. I’ve mostly been working on my “works in progress”, so I thought it might be nice to report on each of them here.
To date, I have completed 36 items and have another 18 in progress. These are the ones that are nearing completion:
001 Weight loss goal #1 (50%)
Progress stalled pretty significantly a couple of months ago, due to Christmas and general “holiday mode” atmosphere around here. We’ve had a lot of family staying with us over the past 6 weeks, and playing hosts to the tourists has made me a little too relaxed. It’s been too easy to slip into bad habits because of broken routines, and I’m keen to set things straight before the weather gets cooler. I am sure I can stay motivated to exercise and eat well through Winter if I have already set up healthy patterns for myself.005 Learn 15 new vegetarian recipes (4/15)
I have decided to relax my stance on this task. I find that I am often cooking vegetarian dishes, it’s just that I often prefer to serve them alongside fish! The spirit of this goal was to learn more recipes, not to replace meat and fish in my diet. In hindsight, I think I’ve been a bit too hard on myself.008 Learn to cook a recipe from 30 different countries (5/30)
I have only recently started paying attention to this task, but am already finding it very inspiring. I am keeping a separate page to track my progress.Tim has added fuel to the fire by giving me a recipe book called World Food Cafe 2: Easy Vegetarian Recipes, put together by the owners of World Food Cafe in London’s Convent Garden. The recipes look enticing and the photographs are very inspiring, so I am looking forward to making plenty of progress over the next couple of months! And as the recipes are all vegetarian, this book will go a long way towards helping me with #005 as well.
016 Write a budget
This is just about done. Right now we’re making some decisions about how long we want to live here, when we’d like to buy a car, and when it looks like we’d be in a position to buy a house. In the meantime I have set up a detailed spreadsheet that is just waiting for the figures to be dropped in.020 See 25 movies of Tim’s choosing (10/25)
For the remaining 15 movies I would like Tim to actually compile a list. So far we’ve been pretty spontaneous with this item. For those who are interested, here are the movies Tim has given me so far: Secretary, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Cloverfield, Batman Begins, The Corpse Bride, Tropic Thunder, Be Kind Rewind, Spiderman, The Thing, The Wrestler. Most have been worth it!022 List 101 things that make me happy (64/101)
I struggled with this list at first – not because I’m a miserable person, but because it’s hard to actually write these things down without sounding like Julie Andrews! I’ve gotten past that block, however, and am well on the way to knocking this one over. You can follow my progress here.023 Build a time capsule
Almost finished – I just need to make some decisions about where to store it, and when to re-open it.024 Read the dictionary from beginning to end
I haven’t started reading yet, but I have made progress of another type! I started by purchasing a book called Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages by Ammon Shea, and am feeling very inspired to get cracking myself. I have also bought myself a new dictionary to further the cause.
Initially I struggled to decide on a dictionary to use for this task. I began by selecting dictionaries that looked like they were the most serious or comprehensive, and then realised that it was unnecessarily ambitious. The spirit of this goal is to absorb new vocabulary – real words that are relevant to me – and to learn a little about the origins of words that I am already familiar with. This task won’t be any more complete by reading all 20 volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary!
The dictionary I have chosen is unlike any I’ve seen before – it has a condensed thesaurus on the lower third of each page that corresponds to the dictionary entries. I suspect that I will learn almost as much from the synonyms as I will from the definitions.
030 Learn to identify 5 constellations (3/5)
Pretty sure I’ve exhausted the major constellations that can be spotted in Southern skies from within the city. Looking forward to familiarising myself with another two when we buy a car, and can get away from the city lights.038 Visit 10 local art galleries (1/10)
I am embarrassed to say that I have only visited one gallery since this challenge began 14 months ago. In my defence, the gallery is split between two sites and I visit both regularly… but yikes. I need to expand my horizons!039 Visit 25 restaurants/cafes (16/25)
I recently edited this item to add “cafes”, since we’re not all that big on fine dining. Melbourne really blurs the line between restaurants and cafes anyway, and has such an incredible food culture that we certainly eat well! I am enjoying this item, and have found that it has encouraged us to try out new places rather than stick to what we know.040 Read 10 novels by Melbourne authors (3/10)
I have made a habit of asking staff at bookshops for recommendations about Melbourne authors, and am constantly astounded at the blank stares that I get. For a city with such a strong arts scene, its authors are not being advocated by the people behind book store counters. What’s with that?I’ve resorted to doing all my research online, as I have encountered only ONE book store assistant who could name a Melbourne author.
057 Read the last Harry Potter book
This one is listed as a “work in progress” only because I have the book here in my house. I’ve enjoyed the other books, but have not been motivated whatsoever to read the last one. I’ll get to this someday!064 Organise my photos, and back them up
I have organised all of my photos in Lightroom, but haven’t yet backed anything up. Dumb, I know!065 Improve my photography workflow
Lightroom has been a valuable tool in helping me to automate some of my workflow, however I am struggling badly with colour profiles. Something goes seriously wrong with my photos when I save them for web, and unless I do them one-by-one I end up with horrible washed-out colours.I have spent hours researching this online, and everybody’s solution uses a different approach. If anybody reading this has a good understanding of colour profiles I would greatly appreciate some help.
074 Revive my online recipe book
I began work on my recipe site when my 101 challenge first began, but haven’t progressed a great deal since then. It would be really nice to have a block of time to concentrate on this, as I miss filing my recipes away online.086 Make some jewellery
Two Valentines Days ago Tim and I were in Connecticut, and he bought me a beautiful bunch of pink roses. I racked my brains to think of a way to bring them back into the country on my return, and decided to make them into beads. It was time consuming, but they got through customs!I have bought most of the supplies I need to make the beads into a necklace. First, I’d like to investigate methods for sealing the beads.
092 Keep a paper journal for a year
There was a time when I wrote every single day, and I’m very proud of some of my visual entries from that time. However, I have found it difficult to commit to writing by hand in recent times, and this item isn’t going very well. Need to get back in the saddle.
I know there are other 101ers who read this site sometimes, how are you going with YOUR list?
It’s V-Day!
Elizabeth February 14th, 2009
It’s Valentines Day, at least in my little part of the world.
Happy V-day, lovers.
How we can help
Elizabeth February 10th, 2009
Here are some of the ways that we can all assist the survivors of the bushfires, which have claimed at least 173 lives.
Donate to the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal, providers of on-the-ground support to victims of the bushfires. They are not currently accepting donations of goods, preferring instead to support local businesses and to cut down on transport costs.
St Vincent de Paul is taking donations of material goods throughout Australia at Vinnies Centres. Phone 1800 621 349 or visit http://www.vinnies.org.au/
Project Hope Horse Welfare Victoria is coordinating offers of support for bushfire victims and their horses.
The RSPCA has an online form for those who can offer assistance to animals stranded by the disaster. If you can provide a temporary home to displaced pets or offer your veterinary experience, register your interest. If you would prefer to donate money to those who are working with animals on the ground, you can do so here.
The Australian Red Cross Blood Service has been overwhelmed by donors, and does not currently require further supplies. However, due to the limited shelf life of blood they will need further donations in a couple of weeks time. Register your interest to donate blood using this form, and the Red Cross will contact you when they need your help. Please encourage others to do the same – not only for victims of the bushfires, but for all patients who will need blood in the coming months.
Something all Australians can do: Coles is asking customers to plan their supermarket shop for this Friday (13 Feb), to help raise badly needed funds for the victims of the Victorian bushfires. Coles, BiLo, Pick N’Pay and Coles Online are donating this Friday’s profits from all stores nationally to the Bushfire Appeal Fund, and hope to raise between two and four million dollars.
