Popcorn/Flower

Not in the mood for a long post today (SJ and his job issues have me down) so I'm going to tell you how awesome popcorn at work is. I keep a bag of popping corn kernels in my drawer with a handful of brown paper bags. Pour a few of the former into the latter (for me it's enough to cover the seam of the bag about 3 kernels thick) and pop in the microwave for 90-120 seconds...depends on the microwave. Just like with the packet stuff, listen to the pops and use trial and error if you must. When you buy popcorn like this it is awfully cheap...

Umbrellas in the Sunshine

Kind of sums up Melbourne doesn't it.

I caught the train in this morning and it was drizzling, also changed my shoes before I left after realising how much water was around (not a good day for fabric covered shoes). Went to the post office and thought I was going to get wet again, so I bought a new umbrella. Only have 1 between SJ and I and it's a large, Da Vinci one my parents bought me in Italy. Not an everyday umbrella.

Ebay and being anonymous

I was a busy little bee yesterday afternoon, taking photographs of all my items I'd like to try and sell on ebay.

Moonlight Cinema

SJ and I had a great time at the Moonlight Cinema last night.

The scars of Berlin...

Taking a break from telling you about my mundane daily life today to start revisiting some of the places I have been. Don't worry though, I will spread them all out so you don't get too bored of my travels :-)

Berlin wasn't a city I was particularly excited about seeing, and the day I was there it was a lovely 4 degrees, but the history contained there was different to other European cities. It was almost as though Berlin didn't really exist before the war and it's still fighting for a real identity.

Sunny Australia Day

SJ and I spent the day down on Mornington Peninsula today, spent most of our time around Sorrento/Portsea. The weather was lovely (though my shoulders are a little pink this evening).

J'adore rouge

I love red. As a colour it inspires a feeling that others can't manage. As far as my wardrobe goes, I generally stick to neutrals (except summer dresses) but I have quite a few red pieces even though with my colourings I should really stick with the blue items I have instead.

Meal Planning and Market Shopping

I have mentioned numerous times that I don't cook. Almost Ever. I am lucky enough to have a boyfriend who enjoys being in the kitchen and in return, I (usually) clean up after him. It has to be the only advantage of having SJ out of work, he has no excuse NOT to cook me dinner or do all the grocery shopping. That said, we do have a bit of a system in place that should make it easy enough to continue eating as well as we do when he does get a job (and he will soon, I know it!).

Current Projects

I always have a few projects on the go, things I do when I have downtime. Last week that time was dominated by decluttering and culling while SJ was away. Now the apartment is in a decent base state of organisaion I can get stuck into a few projects.

My Tidy Wardrobe

All my work clothes.

My weekend so far...

This was my outfit to work on Friday, a vintage Bonds T my mum wore in the 70s. The words say 'Touch of Class'. I tried to tweet this picture (I can only tweet via email from my phone) but for some reason it's not working.

Shoes.

Behold my shoe collection.

TAG! You're It!

Nat from In The Night Sky has tagged me in this game of blog TAG! You're It!.  Time to get to know each other (or me at least) a little bit better.

And then I smiled...

I've been having one of those days/weeks.

Not the sort where nothing is going right, the sort where you don't see the point. In anything.

Postcards

Don't you just love postcards? I mentioned a few months ago that I joined Postcrossing where you send postcards to random strangers and get postcards from other random strangers in return.  Well I have received 8 postcards so far and thought I'd show you them all before explaining the massive stack of postcards shown in my first pic.

I 'Heart' Stir-Fries

Aren't they just the best?

Starting My Cull

I skipped yoga today. Bad I know but I will go tomorrow, I felt like I was still recovering. And though going would probably have been the best thing for it, I just didn't.

First Bikram Yoga Class, Done!

I dropped SJ at the airport for 6:30am this morning then made my way to my first Bikram Yoga class. Before I get into that though, I'm sure you'll all appreciate seeing the goodies I bought for myself in preparation yesterday. Thanks to a recommendation from The Etail Queen I visited Lululemon on Bourke Street.

From My Balcony

Flicking through my photographs last night I realised I have taken a lot of pictures from my balcony but haven't shared many of them.  I have posted on fireworks and storms, but I'm sure no one would have any objection to a post on sunsets.

On Ya' Bike

I got back on my bike for the first time in 4 months today. Tomorrow is actually the 4 month anniversary of my elbow dislocation. I know they say it's 'like riding a bike' and you never forget, but it felt so weird. Firstly, in order to ride my arm is extended as far as it currently goes, so it hurt a bit. I also had traditional pedals on it again (rather than clipless) and rather than make me feel more stable (knowing I could my foot down quickly) I actually felt like my feet might slip off. I won't be riding with them on for long before I go back to proper ones and my cycling shoes. I'm going to try and ride a little more this weekend, I need to build up my confidence, before hopefully getting back into riding to work next week.

Do I win the Best Girlfriend award?

First, my attempt at an outfit post. Today I wore black work pants (Target), a red Guess jumper, a Burberry print scarf (souvenir from Scotland) and cream/black Giovanna heels. My french fingernails and OPI 'Tickle My France-y' toenails I painted on the weekend, sort of my go-to nails. And wearing some of my simple gold jewellrey. Nothing too exciting.

5 Reasons Why I Need Bikram Yoga

Okay, so maybe NEED is a strong word to be using, 'should try' is probably better.

My personal trainer recommended Bikram to me a few weeks before Christmas so I've been seriously thinking about it.

#1 - Breathing

Perhaps my biggest issue with any workout that I do, is that I forget to breathe. You'd think since it's so fundamental to living I'd be more used to it by now, nope, even when I'm not working out I frequently hold my breath for no real reason. All yoga teaches you to breathe.

#2 - Learning to calm my mind

So I hold my breath while thinking rapidly. Not a good combination. I need to learn to relax and focus on doing one thing at a time. Even today at lunch, I read a few Bikram yoga articles and kept flicking to new tabs to google things and half reading other articles. Must focus.

#3 - Flexibility, posture and knowing my body

My trainer has already helped me so much with this, I am more aware of the position of my hips now and how weak they are (and how bad my posture was - may post on this at some point). Again, any yoga would be good for this.

#4 - My elbow

It's still not where I would like it to be, I have about 150 degrees of movement in it. That means I still can't straighten it. Any stretching will help it but the heat during Bikram will make stretching it easier.

I'm a bit busy...

To write a full post this evening.

Have this mess to deal with.

Hoping to start my clothes cull on the back of it though, so stay tuned!

Western Plains Zoo

As promised, here are my 'good' photos from our day at the zoo. Still not feeling great and hating that I have to go back to work tomorrow. I literally haven't unpacked my bags from my trip, at least I know I bought new work clothes in the Boxing Day Sales so I will just go and find some of them to wear tomorrow and worry about the mess later...Oh and to make myself feel better, right now I have my feet soaking in a tub of warm water. Giving myself a pedicure is a lot more important than unpacking, right?

Warrumbungles Revisited

I meant to start posting these photographs yesterday but I'm still feeling a little under the weather. I'll post photos from the Warrumbungles today but you'll have to wait until tomorrow for the zoo photos (sorry Cat).

Sad Little Christmas Tree

I am finally home. Our apartment was happily waiting for us, but sadly, our little garden patch wasn't so happy. Most of the herbs have passed away and there was a lot of wind damage.

My darling little Christmas tree was knocked over, out of it's pot and so so dry it should have been brown. Thankfully, it's still green so I'm hopeful that we can revive it.

Other than that, I am sick. Had a sore throat since yesterday and I'm feeling incredibly rundown and ill today. We have visitors (friends currently living in Denmark) visiting for lunch tomorrow, so I need to feel better and get around to unpacking in the morning...

Hot Day at the Zoo

Our first stop of the morning was at a lookout just inside the Warrambungles National Park. It was a lovely area to stay in and I'm sure we'll stop there again on future trips between Brisbane and Melbourne.

Camping in the Warrambungles

We have made it to the Warrambungles for the night. Our tent is all set up and SJ is making our dinner.

Wasn't a bad drive, the weather was sunny if not a little too hot.

The drive between Moree and Coonabarabran was cool in a geeky way. The Siding Springs Observatory is at the edge of the Warrambungles National Park and using the Observatory as the 'Sun' planets have been placed at scaled distances away, so we passed Uranus about 200kms north of here.

We're planning on heading to the observatory tomorrow morning, then to Dubbo and the zoo. I'm childishly excited about the zoo, I have been before but I was 6 years old so my memory is a little foggy. Also means tomorrow is only a 3-4 hour driving day, as opposed to today's 9. Can't wait to sleep in my own bed!

One Fine Day

Our final day. We're leaving Brisbane tomorrow morning :-(

Today SJ and I left home at 6:30am to head to the beach before the crowds. It was nice to get in one surf swim for the season.

The rest of the day was spent visiting and being visited and sorting and packing things for our departure. The car is almost ready to go and rather full, just the last minute things (and poor Blue) to go in and we should be on the road before 8am.

The plan is to head to Coonabarabran for the night (just north of Dubbo). Then we'll get to visit the Open Range Zoo.

As always, sad to be leaving my family but looking forward to being 'home' and being back in a routine.

Will try to post from the road :-)

Twenty12

Happy New Year everyone. I hope you all celebrated the start of this year in your own special way. I enjoyed it at home with friends and family, even got a surprise visit from friends who live in Townsville.

I guess it's time to make some New Year's Resolutions...

Mary Poppins

Had a lot of fun at Mary Poppins with my family last night. Definitely takes me back to my childhood a little. Mum made the comment that Mary Poppins the first movie she ever remembers seeing in the cinema...I think the first movie I ever saw was Fern Gully, but that's another tale.

Movies and Chinese

A quick lazy post from my phone because I am definitely in holiday mode.

SJ is back with me now so we've started catching up with all our Brisbane friends. Yesterday we saw a movie down the coast (for any Brisbanites, Australia Fair has $7.50 movies every weekday, $9.50 on weekends...very cheap!) since I had promised I would take SJ to see TinTin. Still haven't seen New Year's Eve though so he owes me big time. Oh and also watched Red Dog (finally) on dvd the other night, made me cry :-(

Last night we also headed up the coast to visit an old friend of mine. He and his wife met when he was working in China (his parents are Chinese) and she was his translator. They now have a beautiful 18 month old daughter and a son due in January. They put on a lovely spread for us, though SJ and I definitely need to eat with chopsticks more often.

And my outfit, a cream and navy nautical feel dress with a cute rope around the waist. Also wore jewellry, starting to get in the habit of wearing it more, it will be one of my NY resolutions to accessorise better.

Today I am off to a barbeque down the coast, meeting SJ there as he left at 7am for a big bike ride. Then tonight I am off to see Mary Poppins with my sisters, mum and nanna. Should be fun :-)

One Week of Holidays

I have finally found the energy to turn on my laptop and upload the pictures I have taken over the last week. So here we go...

Still Recovering

I haven't been on the computer still. Spent most of the day at the boxing day sales, will have to take a photo of my hoard, just a few things for work and a dress I fell in love with.

The above is a photo of my arm during Christmas lunch yesterday, took a little scrubbing to get them off this morning...

Merry Christmas

Just a quick post while I am recovering from a late breakfast before we start our late lunch.

Hope everyone is having an incredible Christmas with those they love.

I'll be back on the computer in the next few days to upload real pics and read all the blogs I follow. My road trip has put me so far behind and I can't wait to see everyone's holiday posts.

Stay safe and soak up as much Christmas spirit while it lasts.

Miss Directions xo

Christmas Slices

I spent Christmas Eve having a big slice making day with MissT while we babysat some younger cousins (4 kids aged 8-15).

2105kms

And I'm home.

'Possum' (our dog) came out to greet me. Isn't she gorgeous? Can't wait to get a little more settled and get into Christmas.

Hope every is enjoying the start of their holidays xox

Not Far From Home

We've just crossed the border and switched drivers, not too far to go now.

And in true Queensland fashion, the sun has been shining and it's above 20 degrees. I already feel like I'm home :-)

Thunderbolt Way

We have successfully arrived in Armidale and checked into a motel. We had intended to camp for the night but it is raining rather nastily here, so we've gone for the dry option.

Left Canberra without any problems and enjoyed a lovely lunch with some of my family. The rain meant their normally lovely view of Lake Macquarie was a little clouded.

We traveled along Bucketts Way and Thunderbolt Way to reach Armidale. It was a really nice road, lots of beautiful scenery (hills, trees, creeks) and I will definitely travel it again. It was a little windy and very steep in some places (not so much fun in the rain) but less crowded than the New England would have been.

The photo above is of SJ (taking a photo) at a camping area on the Manning River. It was a really nice spot and we've remembered it for future trips. We would have spent the night but had nothing organised for dinner.

Only around 5 hours to Toowoomba now, so we should be at SJ's brother's around lunchtime. I'll be rather tired by then (drove solo today) but his 2 year old nephew is sure to revive me.

Starting to feel more like Christmas now too :-)

Christmas Lights

Made it to Canberra safe and sound, had dinner with friends and went to see a bunch of Christmas lights. Took some good photos that I'll upload from Brisbane.

Another big day tomorrow...

Road Tripping Fish

Hi from the road :-)

SJ and I have just stopped in Cann River for lunch. Had a bit of hassle with traffic getting out of Melbourne but made it to Traralgon around 7pm. Good dinner and catchup with family before leaving around 9:30 this morning.

This whole area is really lovely and I've enjoyed the drive so far. We have been listening to '39 Steps' as an audiobook and time has been passing quickly.

Did I mention we are taking our fish, Blue, along for the ride? He's in his special bag pumped full of oxygen by the pet shop. Not sure he's been enjoying my driving though!

Isn't It Ironic

At least, I think it's irony.

Yesterday I got SJ to take my little car to the mechanic and get it checked over before our road trip. He did, they said everything looked fine but that I may need to get new tyres soon. Not worried, after this trip it will be due for it's next service.

So it was a little ironic that when we got down to the car this morning, for SJ to drop me at work and then run our final errands, that the car battery was flat.

I'm on a train to work now, a little late :-S Lucky I have flex time...

No More Christmas Tree

Since we're leaving for Brisbane tomorrow I had to take the decorations off my Christmas tree so it can live (we hope) outside.

 Are you jealous that my Christmas decorations can be stored in a sandwich sized clip seal bag??

All Wrapped Up

I've wrapped almost all of my Christmas presents, I'm still waiting on an order of MooGoo which I really need to arrive before lunchtime tomorrow. Not holding my breath though.

I have a confession to make...

Yesterday I bought my first ever copy of Vogue.

Heading Home for Christmas

10 days until Christmas now. I don't have a lot to do to be ready, but it still feels like I'm rapidly running out of time.

SJ and I will be driving back to Brisbane for the holidays so we have even less time than usual. I will finish up work sometime on Tuesday afternoon (I have a bit of flex time worked up...maybe I should take the whole day lol) and head out to Traralgon to have dinner with some relatives.  Wednesday night will be spent at my best friend's place in Canberra, Thursday lunch with family near Newcastle, Thursday night will be somewhere on the New England Highway (maybe Armidale?) if we can get decent cheap accommodation we'll stay in a motel, otherwise we'll have to just camp (the hazards of traveling without bookings at Christmas time). Friday I'll be dropping SJ at his brother's place in Toowoomba and attempting not to get too distracted by his nephew so I can be at my parent's place on the Gold Coast before dinner time. Phew, exhausted just thinking about it. About 26 hours driving all up thanks to our detours.

Terraced Houses

I wasn't in the mood to prepare a post today on my previous travels, it will have to wait. SJ heard back about another job yesterday and it wasn't good news...

Photos I promised...

 Over the last week I have added phone photos to my blog and promised myself I would upload proper ones. So here they are...

Christmas Cards Sent!

Had a rather productive weekend with SJ. I managed to finish writing in all the Christmas Cards we're sending and posted them today. I get such a rush from posting mail, especially a stack of cards that big!

Also got a little present shopping and wrapping finished and gave the apartment a massive clean. And I mean massive, I vacuumed and dusted and cleaned all the doors, door handles, light switches and cupboards, even used glass cleaner on the windows and mirror (though the outside of the windows missed out, they get filthy every time it rains and it's due to rain all week). I even used cleaned all the internal walls with a rag and a white-block.

Was a little exhausting even though the place is so small!

Having a few friends over for a Christmas catch-up tonight, was motivation to have it all done. That said, I've started sorting through my clothes and the guest bed has piles all over it! Will just keep that door shut...

Moogoo Review

I have been using my new MooGoo products for around two weeks now and thought it was time to share a product review.

Liebster Blog Award

I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy today thanks to AshMac from who nominated me for a Liebster Blog award over at her blog AshMac with Cheese.  So I want to say thanks to Ash and encourage anyone who hasn't checked out her blog yet to do so. It's similar to mine in that it's about a bit of everything and one of my favourite 'personal' blogs. I'll let you in on another secret, we share the same first name too!

Christmas Cards

November Storm

I thought I'd be out of the office again today (but someone else has gone to fix what's required instead) so I prepared this post. Figure I'll send it out anyway...

Just thought I'd share this photograph from a storm in Melbourne last month.  The photograph was taken around 7pm on November 9 2011 just before the storm hit the eastern suburbs.  I wish I had a wide angle lens that could capture the shot, but it was actually taken with a 17mm lens in a series of 6-8 photographs that I stitched together using ICE.

Had a great sunset last night which I'll have to upload over the weekend. I love having a western facing balcony, it's great for improving my photography skills :-)

Signposts and Mailboxes

I recently realised I have a thing for signposts and mailboxes.

Getting Out of the Office

I spent the last two days working out of the office, visiting rain and river gauges for various reasons. My profession has always allowed freedom and stopped me from being tied to a desk, the travel just isn't often glamorous. The weather was really great over the last two days though and it was hard not to enjoy being outside, visiting mountain tops (where rain gauges are) can be pretty spectacular, as you can see from above, has to be better than most office views, right?

Ignite the light and let it shine

I'm out in rural Victoria today for work, the forecast is for sunny weather so hopefully I'll get some nice countryside shots to share. In the meantime, I was treated to a small fireworks display from my place over the weekend, heard banging noises and thought something was flapping around on the balcony. Opened the blinds and saw this...

A day back in time...

SJ and I took MissC and her boyfriend to Sovereign Hill on Saturday. It's a living museum of life in Ballarat during the gold rush in the 1850s. There are people walking around in costume and character, putting on little skits  all day long. There are also scheduled shows and displays, shops to buy ol'fashioned fare and a little creek you can pan for gold in.

A Happy Little Christmas Tree

I finally decorated my Christmas Tree.  Bought two sets of little battery operated lights (harder to find then you think!) in red and white. Not sure they are what I wanted but I guess they will do.  I also bought some red and white spherical bells for the tree, but they were way too heavy for the poor little conifer branches. I didn't think of that in my planning.

My Family Portrait

Just thought I'd start off my photography posts with a shot of my family. Taken last weekend before we went off to the wedding, we had a photo session in my parent's backyard. Got some really cute shots (my favourite has us all peering over the log propped up on our elbows) but I feel comfortable uploading this one as there are no faces. MissE, me, Mum, Dad, MissC and MissT if you were wondering.

5 Reasons Why I Blog

I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I've been reading a lot of other Voguette's blogs and thinking about why theirs are so much cooler than mine.

Tergiversate...

Verb: to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to cause, subject, etc,; equivocate.

Back in my day that was just called 'changing your mind'.

Just read this article about the top words for 2011.  After recovering from the shock of 'tergiversate' being considered a word, I am appauled that 'Kardashian' is now being considered a noun. Again, wasn't the old word for that just 'Diva' or in this case 'Socialite Diva'?

'iStuff'...well that one ispeaks for itself. I have a personal dislike towards many Apple products so I've never jumped on the iPhone bandwagon...oh did you hear they've been blowing up lately?


Tergiversate. Just don't do it.

One Naked Little Christmas Tree

I bought this little tree and pot from Bunnings yesterday. It's a lemon scented conifer, great for hedging apparently, but it looks cute and smells lovely. It is living in all it's nakedness on the dining table. I'm not sure if it will remain there, but it does get some sun at least. As a plant it requires full sunlight but will keep it's lime green colour even in the shade. I'll see how it goes living there for now and move it outside some days/after Christmas.

I'm very pleased with it, it removes the need for storing even a tiny table tree (we really don't have any storage space yet) or displaying a bigger tree and means no real waste. I should be able to use it again next year, but if it's gotten too big I won't have to feel guilty either!

Now I get to go shopping for decorations and baby lights for it. Hard because I want to do it right, hopefully I can get some gorgeous tiny ones that SJ and I can keep as mementos of our first Christmas living together for years to come. I'm thinking white with some red, personally I never really liked multi-coloured Christmas trees and I think the tree is green enough as it is. Also not sure if I should go with silver or gold or neither, I think the 'shiny' factor might be too much with the lime green. Decisions, decisions...and shopping!

Water

Do you drink enough?

And back again.

Screens on the plane this time. Had thoughts in my mind about a few posts today, but I really don't feel like writing them now.

I will post with some substance soon, rather than just talk about myself. Promise.