Please?

Whoops..

So today I was going to do homework right?

Instead I went out for lunch, then went on an online shopping spree and bought this necklace:


Two of these postcards (green and robins egg blue on bottom left). I know everyone has one of these posters know and it's totally yesterday, but I think they are too cute and now that I have postcard size ones I can easily frame them for my itty bitty kitchen, I found them via Lin's post.


Then I made the mistake of checking my bloglines (did I mention that I managed to read all 985 posts that have built up?! No wonder I'm not getting any work done) and saw these gorgeous Japanese paper balloons on My Poppet's online shop. After discovering they were only $3.50 each I of course had to buy myself the panda and the tiger.


To make things worse I had a bit of a browse around after putting these balloons in my cart and noticed the globe paper balloons as well. I figured I already had two paper balloons, what difference is it going to make if I get a globe as well? At least then I will know how to write country names in Japanese right? Perfectly reasonable.


Paypal is an evil invention. But oh well, at least I'll be getting some fun mail in the coming weeks! I was getting a bit sick of all the bills and reminder letters from OPSM/Red Cross/RACV/blah blah.

P.s Did you notice I changed my background? I decided that with the new sunny weather I needed to brighten up my blog a little bit, the grey background was bringing me down. Hope you like it! If not I can always change it back, just for you, because you know how much I love you.

I made tea

Morning (/afternoon) all. Tea anyone?

Guess I should actually do some work today.. but it's so sunny outside!

The evolution of my walls

Still feeling sore and unproductive so instead I'm watching Across the Universe again while putting my posters back up on my walls. They have been bare for far too long.

Something Max says in Across the Universe made me think of my "This is" post from yesterday.

Why is it always what will I do? "What will he do", "What will he do," "Oh, my god what will he do", Do, do, do, do, do. Why isn't the issue here who I am?

Amen Max. Let's focus on who we are instead of what we do. It really annoys me how the majority of us have to spend a third of our lives working just so that we have money in order to actually live. Other than the lucky ones who can combine their work with what they love, it just feels like such a waste. I guess that's the reality of it all though. So depressing.

Anyway I'm here to show you the thrilling evolution of my wall uh.. "display". For the Frankie readers you will note that 90% of what is on my wall is either posters from Frankie or just bits ripped out and cut up. That's right, I'm a hacker, we have discussed this before. The other 10% is made up of random doodles of my own or Avant postcards I used to collect from work.

To be honest I don't pay a lot of attention to what I'm doing when I put all my posters back up after we've had flat inspection. I tend to start with the big posters then work around them. It always looks different everytime which is good because I get sick of looking at the same thing after awhile.

So there you go, do you feel enlightened yet? I probably should have made my bed before doing this, but eh, I'm going for the 'natural' look..

It's pretty hard to see any detail from these photos, but these walls provide me with endless amusment and inspiration when I'm feeling stuck and bored. When I have enough polaroids (or find the ones I've already taken) I'll be doing something like this, I don't care how many other people are doing it, it's still awesome.

p.s Before you are completely despair I will have a good look at Ikea this week and see if in fact we do have the wooden 5x7 frame packs that I was talking about in the previous post. I couldn't find them on the site or in the catalogue, but who knows, maybe we have them on display and I just haven't seen them yet?

I can't feel my mouth

Today I had my fourth filling in three weeks, and I'm officially over it. I'm pretty curtain I'm biting my tongue, but I can't tell, because I can't feel it either. One side of my mouth feels like a balloon, but it looks normal, albeit slightly droopy.

So while I wait for the numbness to wear off and the toothache to set in I'm not going to do a lot of work, because I think this is a fair excuse to ignore my impending essays and to-be-transcribed-interviews. I have a dilemma, and it involves photos, art and frames. My favourite kind of dilemma.

You see a while ago I bought a Yumi Yumi print:


And then I bought two Black Apple prints:


Oh and a diecut:


As you can see my etsy account as been busy..

Anyway, I also got printed all those Europe photos in 6 x 4, which didn't include the ones I'd already had printed in 5 x 7. So, the dilemma. Now I want to frame all of this and I have no idea where to start. I've been getting inspiration from other people as well as the ever wonderful domino website.

I really love this display idea for the Europe photos:

Except for a few problems; Ikea here doesn't sell these packs of frames (and I should know), the photos are printed in 6 x 4 which wouldn't look as good and thus I'd have to get them all reprinted bigger, and also what would I do with all the Etsy prints?

So I'm thinking more of a hodge-podge look might be best, which will require lots of that expensive stick-on-hook stuff and a whole bunch of frames. Should I go for different colours/styles/size frames or stick with one colour/style and just vary the size? It's all so difficult! I was thinking that white or silver frames would be nice for the Black Apple prints, white or natural for the Yumi Yumi print (inspired by her own display). I think black would work best for the diecut and I think just about anything would look good with the Europe photos!

So what do you think? Advice? Suggestions? Cautionary tales? And if you know anywhere (other than Ikea) that sells cheap and good frames clue me in!

This is.. what I want to be when I grow up

A bookcase perhaps?

I think I've mentioned this before, but when I was younger I had four aspirations. To be a ballerina, a waitress, a model, or a flight attendant. I guess it just shows how high and/or humble my dreams were back then. I think years of being told I was pretty (what five year isn't) went to my head, and waitresses and flight attendants are always portrayed as glamorous in movies so what's a girl to do? I was always awestruck by ballet, but I guess my body didn't want to be the ballerina type, and I am still yet to see proper ballet on stage. I'm hoping to change that this year.

Anyway as I got older my aspirations changed. I wanted to be a journalist, a marketing/advertising executive, and finally a research psychologist. But now.. I don't really know what I want to be when I grow up. It's almost like I've hit a quarter life crisis and everything I thought I wanted in life has suddenly been replaced by this overwhelming urge to just run away and join the circus or be a gypsy or something. Is that normal at this age or should I still be wanting to do my honours/masters/phd and a working stiff for the rest of my life?

I guess the academic route has finally lost it's appeal. At school I was one of the "smart" kids, and being at a public school in the country that wasn't exactly hard. So I always wanted to go to uni and blah blah blah because I was so "smart". Now that I'm at uni I realise that probably about 70% of the reason I wanted to go to uni I was just because I wanted to keep that "smart" status that comes form having a uni degree.

So instead, when I grow up I want to be:
- happy
- content
- loved
- in love
- well travelled
- a mother
- a good cook
- in a good kitchen (of course)
- healthy
- my best.

And that is all I can really ask for. Sorry for the sopfest ;)

Thanks to Cindy at bugandpop for this week's theme and Three Buttons for hosting This is...

Procrastination is writing a post about procrastination

Procrastination is flicking through the Tupperware catalogue again

Procrastination is reading all 965 posts on Bloglines that have been building for months

Procrastination is changing channels

Procrastination is finding the recipe for the perfect brownie/slice/scone/cake

Procrastination is folding throw rugs

Procrastination is looking up magazine subscriptions you can't afford

Procrastination is doing the laundry

Procrastination is brushing your teeth

Procrastination is spending four hours looking at thankyou cards on etsy/design sponge instead of the transcribing interviews you would be thanking them for

Procrastination is looking at Europe photos, again.

Disclaimer: uh.. I didn't actually make that youtube thing, you know that right?

Just Lovely

I found this this morning via Hula Seventy and I'm pretty sure it's made my day.



Reasons I love this:

1. It brings strangers together which I always love, remember this?
2. It reminds me once again that you don't have to be extraordinarily talented to make something beautiful
3. It's all about 'lovely' things, which is my favourite kind of thing
4. I also use the word 'lovely' a lot these days without realising it
5. It's inspired me to make something lovely everyday

Just a minute, in September

Seems I completely missed August, whoops. Although I think I cognitively missed that month as well, anyway care to fill me in on what I did for all of August? So here's to September, Spring has apparently sprung and there is blossom everywhere and the days are longer and the nights are getting warmer, this is good right? I'm having trouble feeling good about the impending shorts/skirts weather though I must say, Fernwood to the rescue!

So I am:

Contemplating.. my future. Next year is a big scary new world for me, I have no plans, no goals, and a suitcase full of dreams. Thus far I have considered living in France/Ireland/London/Canada, backpacking around Europe, volunteering in Fiji, cycling around China and trekking the Kokoda trail. All brilliant ideas, but the idea of travelling alone scares the bejeebus out of me.

Stressing.. about my research project. I guess it's basically a mini thesis where I've had to develop, plan, carry out and write up my own research. I'm doing it on the effects of outsourcing domestic labour on gender division in dual-earner households. Exciting stuff right, who would have thought it'd be hard to find women in dual earner households who hire cleaners/gardeners etc?

Photographing.. nothing at all. But constantly seeing things that I desperately want to take photos of. It annoys me that I'm too lazy to carry my Polaroid camera everywhere with me, it would also help if it wasn't such a stupid shape/size.

Spending.. far too much money on my health. Weekly acupuncture plus 5 fillings (yes, FIVE) plus upcoming cardiologist appointment plus the possibility of personal trainer and/or bootcamp to work out my fat arse. Self neglect comes at a high price my friends.

Hoping.. I can just get through the next 3 months without having a mental breakdown. Pray for me kids, I need it.