Slackness is a word that comes to mind when I compare my plan to post and actual posts. Each time I plan to become more “regular”, sometimes it works, more so not so much.
As history would predict, here are the last two weeks of photos.
Sunlight on Sandstone, 227/365.
I have had one hell of a week this week. A week that has me questioning my morals in ignoring immoral behaviour of others. A week of trying to decide when to rock the boat and when to keep my mouth shut. One of those weeks that really drains everything out of you. After work yesterday I headed down to the mall to unwind in the library, enjoy the music on the mall and just wander around.
The view from my chair in the library.
Swing, Swing, Slide, 226/365.
The playground in our park.
Chocolate from Melbourne, 225/365.
It is a bit of a tradition at work that if anyone goes to Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide they will bring back some Haigh’s.
The long view, 224/365.
One of the many things I adore about this is house is the central hallway. Standing at the back door you look straight out the front door and vice-versa.
That time of the fortnight, time to restock the pantry drawer and fridge.
BBall, 223/365.
I don’t play Basket Ball and don’t think I have ever managed to land a ball through the hoop but with a Basket Ball stadium round the corner, it plays a part in my life.
Sex on Wheels, 222/365.
One of the cars that my Uncle owns, a car that whilst supposedly crap to drive, I would quite happily own it. Oh to drive it round the streets of this town!
Old Curtains, 221/365.
Why are these old curtains? Because soon I will have new curtains up. They are just about finished and then my room will look quite lovely.
I ♥ this skirt! 220/365.
Is this not one of the most adorable skirts you have seen?
I’ve looked at this skirt a few times in Alannah Hill but never tried it on (you can also get it with black ribbon instead of red). Last Friday I had time to spare waiting for Georgie and I just couldn’t resist trying it on. I adored it! Not about to shell out nearly $300 for a skirt though… Here is to hoping that it appears on the sales rack….
Dan Sultan, 219/365.
Went to see Dan Sultan with a mate from work and his partner. We had a ball. Man oh Man that man can move his lower body!
Here I rest, rest one one leg, 218/365.
Mr or Ms Ibis chilling outside work.
The view from a window, 217/365.
I was watching the light on the house next door and then looked at my louvres and thought mmmm improvised tripod. Photo taken with camera sitting on open louvres.
Even Wars Have Laws, 212/365.
This was quite a sight to see outside work on Monday morning. Like everyone else I work with our first thought upon seeing the children with guns was it was a protest against us, however it was actually part of a Red Cross campaign (link 1, link 2). It was quite effective, it bucketed that afternoon though so all the cardboard would have turned to mush.
Collection, 211/365.
I love the sewing room at the farm, shelves filled with wood turned by Grandad and crafty bits from Grandmum.
and what better way to close this off than with a video?
[youtube KP-nVpOLW88]
I, Helen Thura Palsson, make a commitment, that I in 2010 will post more regularly and bite the bullet and get some of my backlog taken care of. HP 1010 09JAN10.
175/365
Mango! Mango! Mango! Mango for all winter long, well maybe a month or two. Mum and I met up at the Kelvin Grove markets today and the most amazing buy was a tray of Honey Gold Mangos. Honey Golds are literally gold! They are my favourite mangos by a mile, the name describes them perfectly. Golden flesh and a sweet taste. We both got a tray of 15 for $14 each! We got a $1 discount because we bought the two trays.. Normally Honey Golds sell for between $3-4 each at the shop so we got a fantastic buy. I peeled, sliced and packed 10 of the mangos and now have 14 bags in the freezer of honey golden mango goodness!
173/365
I went to see Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on Thursday night and they were just so much fun. I got frocked up in mostly era appropriate clothes and just danced!
172/365
Walking home today along the river, the city just looked so dreary!
171/365
I just love this note that was written on the back of a parcel I received a few days ago.
170/365
I put this polish on my toes today and whilst I love the colour, I’m not to sure about the quality. The bristles on the brush are really short which made putting it on a little different to my other nail polishes. At the end of the day, the colour is fantastic and the colour is named Helen!
169/365
The end of a 36hr oh so getaway to Double Island Point. I love how the water ripples over the sand.
168/365
We came across this dugong carcass on the beach up at Double Island Point.
167/365
My little pink pony Christmas tree.
One ornament a day from the 1st till the 24th. My own tradition.
166/365
Hydrangeas from the farm, I just love those colours
165/365
It took me till day 165 to post a movie! I love how the banner flutters in the breeze. You will have to click on the photo to go to Flickr to watch the movie.
164/365
I went to the Paddington Antique market to see if I could find any Christmas decorations (and I did!). I walked past this necklace a few times and kept coming back to it. Now it is mine. The stone is a blue topaz. I adore it!
163/365
Nothing says summer like handful of prawns, a summer ale and a home-made dipping sauce (coconut cream, sweet chilli sauce, toasted sesame seeds and a dash of sesame oil.
162/365
My purchase at the Boxing Day sales, very lovely, high thread count sheets. I just love how the white linen looks with the quilt.
161/365
I spent Boxing Day morning cleaning out my childhood room. I only have a few drawers left to go through which I will do in the coming weeks. On the 27th, I had this terrible feeling in my stomach that I had forgotten to take a photo on the 26th. I had forgotten all about playing with this camera and taking this photo! phew!
Well I realised that it been winter, I am not going to get daylight photos of my room. I broke the tripod out from the spot where it rests beside the door and took some photos. I am going to hack the Aneboda doors with some new inserts, haven’t decided what yet though. Still to make the curtains for the Billy. In the bottom photo you will see my blanket window covering. I picked up both the blanket and the crochet thow from an op shop out Ipswich way. The blanket is great at keeping the warmth in during winter.
At the moment I am watching Dr Rosemary Stanton on Ethical Eating. Over the past few years I have enjoyed reading editorials by Stanton and she is a very very good presenter. If I see a public lecture from her in Brisbane I will be going! I have to add again how much I love ABC Fora, I have listened to some very interesting presentations over the last year or so.
Today, I woke up at 6ish but dozed in bed till 8ish, so luxurious! I popped into work for a while to pick some stuff up/drop some stuff off and say hello to the reservists I don’t normally get to see during the week. I also visited the RSPCA opshop at New Farm and picked up a Le Parfait jar and some crochet doilies for the grand total of $3. Then it off to Flannerys to stock up on rolled oats. Then Ikea called.
I have had a clothes rail for my wardrobe for the last 7 mths or so which I have kept covered with a dark doona cover to keep my clothes dust free and stop fading. I said enough is enough today. I had been umming and ahhing between a few different ones the last few nights on the net. Looking at them today I decided on the Aneboda. I also picked myself up a bookcase, a Billy of course. Looking at them now in my room, I love how they melt into the white walls. I also bought my first Ikea fabric, this nice orange one, which I am going to use to make curtains for my book case. Tomorrow I will have to take some photos. I still have bits and pieces to put away but it looks a lot more roomier now. Also tomorrow I have an SES fund raiser to attend, washing to do and family to visit!
Two photos to share.
I took this photo back in April one rainy afternoon at The Farm. I love how the rain drops.
And sharing my Food Connect box from last week, I had fun this time arranging the fruit and vege for the photo.
On a sad note, I finished watching The West Wing the other night. It has taken me about 6 or so weeks to watch all 7 seasons and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I have laughed my head off at times, wept at times, shaken my head at others and at others just absorbed the drama, the wit, the speeches. And this quote from In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part II
Well I am well and truly back from Melbourne, though I would move there in a heart beat and a half if offered the chance. I figure I got about 80% of the things I wanted to do in Melbourne done and I managed to get about half the things on my pre-planned shopping list.
Lesson #1, Qantas time and Helen time are not calibrated. I was supposedly 1 minute too late to drop my bag for my flight. I had already checked in online the day before but had to queue for the bag drop. I was in the bag drop line for about 4 minutes. The lady at the counter said they had put an announcement over the loudspeaker for people to come out of the line. I just shook my head and if I hadn’t been so tired I would have argued it because there was no announcement. She also tried to tell me that I had to have my backpack in a bag before it could be dropped. WTF? Never heard that before – you just buckle all the straps up and it is fine. Though I must admit I heard her a little later telling another passenger that the wooden box they were checking in as luggage had to be in a bag. WTF? I didn’t queue in her line the next time. Back to the story. $44 later I was on the next flight to Melbourne – it left Brisbane at 0655 instead of the 0555 I had been booked on. Still I was ahead because the Qantas fare was still cheaper than Virgin or Jetstar and they would have made me pay the entire fare again to get on the next flight.
When I went back to check in and drop my bag for the next flight, I joined a different queue and the man at the counter had no problems with my backpack just as long as I buckled the straps up. Silly lady.
Lesson #2, do not make eye contact with the person with the explosive trace wand, because she will target you and wave the magic wand over you.
Lesson #3, Helen ♥s Melbourne.
I picked up the May issue of Real Living at the airport, so that with The Australian and The Courier Mail courtesy of Qantas were my reading material for the flight. I ♥ Real Living. I had a really pleasant flight down. The breakfast was good and one of the flight attendants, commented on my ear-rings which was nice, I returned the comment by saying I would love to be able to style my hair in the way she had done it.
Some photos from the flight.
This is the view as we flew over the Murray, I love the patchwork.
I landed in Melbourne to drizzly rain and grey skies. ugg not the Melbourne I wanted. Still this is the city of “four seasons in one day” by the arvo it would be blue skies. I again stayed at Greenhouse Backpackers. I can not recommend them enough. $30/night, free breakfast if you are up early enough and in such a fantastic location. On Flinders Ln between Swanston St and Degraves St and it has a rooftop 🙂 It is great. Once I had unpacked my bags and grabbed a bed. I was off to explore.
I started on the corner of Flinders and Swanston and walked down to Spencer, back up Flinders Lane to Swanston, down Collins etc in a similar manner till I reached the corner of Little Lonsdale and Swanston. Oh the sights I saw and the sights I didn’t see.
Flinders Lane was great and I must say I loved living above it. The Aesop store has the most incredible fit out, the entire shelving system is made from cardboard. Didn’t go in but I loved what I saw. There was another shop just down from the Greenhouse entrance that had the most gorgeous emerald green wool shift dress in the window. If I was a size 10 and lived in Melbourne I would have stolen it from the window. Had a browse in Polyester Records but didn’t find anything that tickled my musical fancy. Had lunch at Le Petit Gâteau but that will be another post. Really enjoyed walking round the court district, lots of nice buildings and nice looking people.
Saw some lovely bicycles, one great thing about Melbourne is that because it is so flat it is very cycle friendly. I was suprised to see many ladies in full office wear, cycling home after work in high heels and all. I guess you don’t really work up a sweat cycling home in the cooler Melbourne weather.
Had a fantastic time on Little Bourke between Elizabeth and Queen. Wilkins and Kent was a fantastic shop, I picked up a cute little wooden tree brooch from States of Nature, a lavender heat pillow from Tonic Australia and placed a Jo Luping tile on hold that I would pick up from the Fitzroy store the next day. If you go to this article at Lost My Way and scroll down to the Jo Luping section, I got the tree tile that is in the middle. I love it! I had a little look in Paddy Pallin and tried on a great pair of shoes but the size 9 was too tight, tried on the size 10 in a similar style as they didn’t have the size 10 in the style I wanted. The good news was that the Fortitude Valley store had a size 10. Called Pabbi and he went in the next day and picked up a pair for me. Score!!! These are the new shoes, that were waiting on my bed when I got home from Melbourne. They are made by Simple (a shoe company that I just adore) and they can be found on Zappos here
Went to Metropolis Books and oh my I l ♥ that shop. I love how much space they were – it was great not having a really cramped bookshop. I picked up the Sublime Stitching Pad which I had been looking at for a while and a book called It’s So You, edited by Michelle Tea, writings from thirty-five women about personal expression through fashion and style. It looks like it will be a really great read. The lady behind the counter said she had loved it, so should be good.
I also stopped by Made in Japan where I picked up three very lovely ceramic pieces. I got the 18cm open shape bowl and 25cm large shallow bowl in Embossed Asanoha, they looked lovely nested together. I also got the 25cm large shallow bowl in Blue Blossom.
Mmm what else did I do? I walked and I walked some more and took photos! Took some street art photos for Karl
Another thing I ♥ about the Melbourne CBD is all the rooftop spaces with gardens on them etc as well as all the balcony/window sill gardens.
This photo made me laugh
I loved the grid of the tram lines against the blue sky and the number 39.
A little lane way off Little Bourke
This photo reminded me of a show called Loot I once saw on the ABC.
Something a little arty.
The Myer windows in the Bourke St Mall, had costumes and props from Australia. I loved this outfit in the movie.
dead umbrella, no longer needed, the sun is out.
and I leave you with one last photo. You would want to hope that this building never changes street numbers 😀
I retired back to the hostel with a bag full of goodies and a very tired Helen.
I remember the first time I saw a Spencer and Rutherford handbag, Grandmum, Mum and I were in the city David Jones. Grandmum was buying stockings, I think it was even the trip when Grandmum bought Mum her good straw hat. There was a sort of inbuilt fancy shelves in the wall and there was a sign that said Spencer and Rutherford and it was filled with these most gorgeous handbags; lots of beads, lace and fancy fabrics.
Since I have started full time work, I have often looked at the Spencer and Rutherford display in DJs and ummmed and ahhhed about buying a bag but time and time again I just couldn’t justify the price. Yesterday when I was flipping through this weeks Brisbane News and saw a little ad, advertising a Spencer and Rutherford clearance sale at the RNA. I ummmed and ahhhed about going but I am so glad I went now! I picked up three beautiful pieces.
I was so taken by this bag – Beatrice but I just couldn’t pay $200 for it. It was so so so so pretty. This is the bag that I really ummmed and ahhed about the most. It looked like it would fit my laptop but what if didn’t? I rang Mum and got her get my laptop measurements off the website but of course I din’t have a tape measure with me. I sized it up with a piece of A4 paper and my drivers licence. Then I spied two laptops at the “cashier’s desk” so I asked if I could see if they would fit, they both did and the cashier aka a man who I am pretty sure was Chris Michaelides the business manager of the company said his wife (who if I am right is Kim Michaelides the creative designer) used to use this bag as her laptop bag and she had a macbook. When I got home, I sighed my laptop well and truly fits inside! This bag cost me $99, on the website they are selling it for $171 and I have seen it DJs for round the $250 mark. nice!
This is the other bag I got. I had been looking at a larger bag of the same fabric in DJs on and off for the past year, so when I saw this bag, I picked it up to my chest and sighed. So gorgeous and so classy yet still cheerful enough for me. I am looking forward to swinging this off my shoulder 🙂 This cost me $79 and in the shops it is round the $220 mark.
My final purchase was a new wallet. I have been using a gorgeous little coin purse that I got at Fossil a few years ago but wanted something a little more grown up and more than just the single pocket. This is what I picked up $39, though mine is a navy colour not the red in the photo. So pretty! If you click on the picture it will take you to the listing on the S&R website and you can see the Matryoshka doll coin purse that is inside it.
