Halloween

Whilst trick or treating is not huge in Australia, we did get some little people come on by with their sweet little voices singing out 'Trick or Treat'.

There is no way I can resist the little people in their carefully chosen costumes, especially when we got forewarning in the form of a little note in the letterbox days before that read 'BEWARE, Halloween is approaching and our little ones will be knocking'.

In the spirit of all things dress up, D (Steve's sister) and I decided we would adorn the best throw together costume we could. I already had a Teenage Ninja Turtles shirt from a couple of years back and D opted to dress as a 'bloke'. 

 

After the second and last group of kiddies came through, D and I were left wondering who else we could show our costumes too. It was then I received a text to say he was on his way home and would be at the bus stop in half an hour. So, down to the bus stop we went.

D played the part of a bloke well. Each female we passed, D would say things like 'Hey Babe, you're hot' or 'Gee, you're lookin' fine tonight aren't ya'. Somewhat of a 'bogan' bloke.

Steve took one look at us and burst out laughing. 

I guess at 23 years of age I don't need to trick or treat to have fun. Putting on a costume is sometimes enough.

The things we do with...hair

My hair has for the most part of my 23 years been long and brown with some version of a fringe.

Here is a visual of my 4 year old hair.

This style lasted until I was about 12. Long enough to reach my backside with a front fringe that could out-do all front fringes. 

When I was 12, I was allowed to cut my hair. Not too short though, it sat at about bra length. Through highschool, I dabbled in side 'swept' fringes. I got blonde foils (which were supposed to be a dark caramel) when I was in year 12. They looked terrible and I coloured over the top a couple of months later.

From age 17 until about 19 I had the same hair with varying shades of brown and varying lengths of fringe. I got foils in my hair again, but was promised they would blend in naturally and help with the build up of brown colour I had in my hair. I walked out 5 hours later with peroxide yellow blonde foils. I was devastated but had no time for them to fix it as I had to catch a one hour train home at 9:30pm. 2 weeks later, my hair was brown again.

Lesson learnt. I have never put foils or blonde anywhere near my hair again. Brown it is and brown it will be. 

One thing I have changed up though, is my fringe. I love a front fringe and most of the time, they actually suit me. The reason I don't still have one is the upkeep. As I have gotten older, my hair has gotten harder to manage and generally more frizzy. I can blow dry/straighten the fringe in the morning and by the afternoon it usually has curled in at a strange angle at the sides. 

I think it is time for a change. I am currently growing my fringe out, but I am not sure this is the look for me. 

So blog friends, I ask you.. 

Front fringe or no front fringe? 

Does anyone have tips on how to maintain a front fringe and get it to stay in place through the day? 

Is there a particular cut I should try that will sit nicer than another cut?

Goblins in the attic

I always wanted an attic growing up. I dreamt about a space that would be filled with old treasures that I could spend hours sorting through and discovering.

Sadly, in Australia we don’t really have attics; at least not the type that are portrayed in the books. Imagine my surprise when I moved in to my house and discovered a man hole. My own little attic to explore.

 Maybe it would have a goblin hiding in the eaves?

Maybe there would be boxes of photographs I could explore.

After 2 years, we finally decided to explore the attic. Except we didn’t really explore because we don’t have a ladder. We put the camera on a tripod, I stood on a bedside table and we poked the camera through the hole with a self timer photograph at the ready.

What did we find? Well.. No goblin and no treasure. Lots of dust and lots of insulation bats.

So we closed the hole up and went back to the task we were procrastinating from… study.

I was assured however, that there is a wall between my roof space and my neighbours roof space. I had questioned that before!

Do you have an attic? Or a basement?

Are there any cool things in there?

Sunday mornings like these

This morning I was woken at 8am by Steve calling my name from the kitchen. I could smell the bacon cooking and that was enough to get me out of bed instead of rolling over to steal more sleep.

I came downstairs and noticed that he had not only put on a whole breakfast for me, he had also made me a coffee.

We sat down together to eat breakfast and by 9am we had eaten and were ready for the day. That doesn't happen often around here. I enjoy my sleep ins and can usually still be found in bed at 10am.

Now I sit here at 9:30am with a whole day ahead of me. There is something about rising early on a weekend that has such a feeling of accomplishment. Don't you think?

In case you were wondering, this is what my natural, untamed hair looks like right now. Stunning, I know..

Now, as I have a pup asleep next to me I am planning my day ahead. Sadly, that includes doing some Uni work. 

Have a lovely Sunday!

Renting

Currently, I rent a 2 bedroom, one bathroom terrace in the Inner West of Sydney.

I love living here. Renting has afforded me the ability to move out of my parent’s home at a young age and move in with my partner. It has enabled me the luxury of living close to the city at a young age and has enabled me the luxury of a 20 minute commute to work, as opposed to a 1 hour one (like it would be if I still lived with my parents).

However, renting is not all roses and rainbows.

Our terrace is 100+ years old. Whilst this would be ok if our terrace was renovated properly, the fact of the matter is...it isn’t. We have nice shiny floorboards and a nice new bathroom. Our kitchen is 50+ years old and so is the ridiculous oven that’s inside it. You may remember in the old days (perhaps your Grandparents had one) that the old gas stoves/ovens lit up with a flame at the back. Except, in the old days, the spark probably worked which reacted with the gas to create the flame. 

Ah the good old days, when the ovens actually worked. It is so old, that google doesn't even have a picture of it.

The other downside to renting? We can’t choose how big (or small!!) our hot water tank is. Lucky we don’t have a bath, because we would be filling it with hot water from the kettle. Our hot water tank rarely lasts a full shower. If I am lucky, I will have just enough time to wash my hair before it starts to go cold. Washing hair and shaving legs? Forget it. I guess the upside of that is I have learnt to think strategically and find ways I can get both done in the same day if need be. Either that or I am taking more showers.

There are as I mentioned above, also upsides to renting. Especially when our rental goes directly through our landlord (who owns about 7 terraces in a row.. can anyone say gold mine?). We have no real estate agent, which means any problems go direct to the land lord. Well actually, they go straight to his fix it man.

Rest assured, anything that breaks in our house is fixed within 24 hours. 48 at the absolute most. 

Spring Sundays

I know it's Wednesday. Better late than never, right?

Since S and I are heading overseas for Christmas, we have been trying to stay in more. This means eating out less, going out for drinks less and just spending more time around the house.

Sunday is usually the day we spend doing study. Generally, study is pretty boring so we find ways to break up the day and this more often then not involves a walk with the dog and a cooked lunch (sometimes lunch out).

For some reason, S thinks bacon and pancakes/french toast go together. I beg to differ.

This past Sunday, I really felt like french toast. So, french toast it was. We decided we would try and make it with brioche. 

Best french toast ever! Brioche makes a fantastic french toast.

No weekend is complete without some lollies.

During our walk, I stopped to try and find some four leafed clovers. Whilst bending down, I noticed S was snapping photos of me. Later as we were uploading them to the laptop, he asked me why I had bent down to pick up rubbish. Um, ok.

How was your weekend? 

What do you do to save money?

Bill Henson Exhibition

Bill Henson has gotten a lot of media attention for his somewhat ‘controversial’ photography style. A lot of people find him to be perverted because he uses teenagers in his shots.

Source 

Personally, I find him to be an incredible photographer. The way he captures a person is artistic and in no way perverted. He is respectful of his subjects and does not photograph them in a way to ‘sexualise’ them. What a lot of people don’t know (or choose to ignore) is the fact that each subject has been given parental consent to be photographed. Bill Henson never has to put the call out for models, they come to him.

This past weekend, Steve and I went to see the Bill Henson exhibition at the Roslyn Oxley Gallery in Paddington. There were about 14 photographs presented on canvas on display. There is something about seeing art in its true form, rather than on a computer screen. Seeing the canvases on the wall really brings a picture to life and little details that were previously missed are picked up.

We were in and out of the gallery within about 20 minutes. There is only so long you can look at art for, especially when there are only 14 pictures to look at.

Have you seen any of Bill Henson’s work?

Do you find it to be controversial?

Happy Friday

Dear Sydney weather. Thank you for bringing back Winter. Just when I saw a small glimmer of Summer creep through (and remind me why I loathe it so much) back you come to show everyone the goodness that is cold weather.

Dear work. Another boring week spent sitting in front of 2 computer screens trying to look busy. You are so boring that I find myself checking blogger/news sites every hour. At least.

Dear Steve. A weekend inside with movies and good food sounds good to me. Also, 72 days until Japan!!!

Dear Japan. All booked and ready to go now.

Dear Teddy. Why do you stop to smell EVERYTHING when I take you for a run, but when Steve does you power on ahead trying to beat him every step of the way?

Dear Lunchtime. I am writing Fridays Letters trying to decide what to eat for lunch. Why is the decision always so difficult?

Dear Uni. A group assignment...via correspondence... Seriously, whose idea was THAT?!

Dear blog readers. Thank you!

Linking up with Ashley

Let's have coffee

A coffee date, if you will. 

If you came to my house for coffee, I would make you a nice hot flat white (or whatever you chose). 

I would tell you that Steve and I are both excited that Japan is coming up. That we have 13 days of uninterrupted time together. We get to ski again, sight see, taste new food and buy new clothes.

I would tell you that we have our name down for a second pup and are looking to get a little girl in January/February.

If you came to my house for coffee, I would tell you that I am getting used to being home alone most evenings while Steve works late. I thank my stars that he isn't working until 12am/1am like some of the other students in his Post Grad course.

I would tell you that I am getting through Uni and can't wait to finish, but that I am scared of the end and which way my career will turn.

If you came to my house for coffee I would tell you that I have a Nephew due at the end of November and that already I love him so much. I can't wait until that precious bundle of baby is born.

I would tell you his baby shower was beautiful and a lovely celebration for a little baby that will be a huge part of my life. I saw him on the ultrasound and was so close to tears. Chubby cheeks, double chin. Beautiful.

I would tell you that Steve's little Sister has been staying over lately and making my nights interesting. I would tell you that we have a lot of fun together and danced for an hour for exercise.

If you came over, I would ask how you were going and what is happening in your life. 

It's been nice, I hope you come again soon.

Post idea by the lovely Casey Wiegand

Team Building

Team Building days at work are always interesting. Generally, I find that most people are happy to chit-chat on the day, but come Monday they are back to their old selves. Sitting at their desks with their heads down; not engaging with anyone around them.

Friday was our annual team building day which was held at Middle Harbour Yacht Club.

 The morning was spent doing the usual team building games (working together with instructions, trivia etc) and the afternoon was spent with the group split between 4 yachts racing around the harbour.

The best part of the day was by far the sailing. Since I have sailed before, I was nominated as an ‘experienced sailor’ (I beg to differ. An overnight sailing course does not make one experienced). On the yacht, there were 9 of us, plus a skipper and deck hand. I spent most of the time winching in sails (pulling ropes) and the skipper allowed me to be helmsman (drive the yacht) at the end of the race.

Serious face

Everyone participated at least a bit during the afternoon, which made for great team building. They were all willing to put in a bit of help to enable us to come a close second at the end of the races.

The sailing was followed by a dinner at Encasa Spanish Tapas restaurant. The food was amazing and I spent my time talking to a few people who I hadn’t really spoken to before. After telling Steve at least every hour that I would be leaving soon (he was going to pick me up), I finally walked out of the restaurant at 11:30pm.

Have you ever had a team building day with work?

Do you think it changes the way people interact when they are back at work?

*There are only photos with me in them, since I don't have permission to post other people's pictures. The pictures aren't very good quality because I used my small camera

We all have a different story

I am constantly amazed by comments from people who deem me too young to even think about the idea of engagement, marriage and having children.

Friday was a work team building day. In the evening, the day was finished off with a dinner at a Spanish Tapas restaurant. With a couple of Sangrias under most peoples belts, the conversation turned to our partners and relationships. I said I had been with Steve 5 years and one of the (single) guys asked me how that was going. Fine, I said. We get along well and we enjoy each others company. 

I don't believe you, he said. Well why not? Because every relationship has problems, I bet he can be an asshole.

Yes, every relationship has problems; but no - he is not an asshole. 

The conversation went on with him basically trying to convince me that Steve probably did have 'asshole moments' and that I just couldn't see it. Basically telling me I was too young to realise.

A female colleague, over the age of 30 (age will be relevant in this story) decided to join the conversation. She told us that I was young and I hadn't experienced a relationship properly. She said 'wait until you are 30, your story will change'.

Which led me to the question - How is my 5 year relationship (at 23 years of age) any different to a 5 year relationship at 33 years of age.

Well apparently, at 23 years of age, I haven't experienced enough. Apparently, since Steve is my first love I have no idea.

Why do people think they can weigh in on my relationship and tell me whether it is going well or not?

 Why do people think they can tell me what age is ok to become engaged or get married or have children? (Because the conversation also had their opinions on this too)

 Why do people who hardly know me think it is ok at all to form their opinions on what they know so little about?

And most importantly, what has happened in their life to make them so bitter?

We all come from different walks of life. We all form our own story. Just because their story sees them married at 30+, that doesn't mean the rest of society should follow. Just because they might have had a relationship at 23 that didn't work out, doesn't mean mine will be the same.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being married after 30. Just like there is absolutely nothing wrong with the way in which my relationship goes. Whether I be engaged at 23 or 33; that is my story.

Do people try to weigh in on your relationship?

Do you ever get told not to worry because you are 'too young'?

We win this time, Ikea

If you are a long time reader, you might remember this post, where I shared the details of our bed breaking. Yes, this was months ago. Yes, it has taken us this long to buy a new bed. 

Steve and I finally bought a new bed this past weekend. After searching high and low, we decided to just go back to Ikea and get a flat pack bed, since our staircase doesn’t allow for a readymade bed to be taken up without first removing part of the roof, perhaps some of the staircase..well, you get the idea.

 

The assembly of the bed began with all the bits and pieces being laid on to our bedroom floor. I opened up the instruction manual, took a deep breath and got stuck in to the assembly of the bed. I lasted two steps before it became clear that I can’t read instructions if Steve and I were going to come out the other side still a couple, I needed to remove myself from the room. So that I did. Instead of trying to ‘help’ I decided to put my domestic skills to good use and prepare dessert for the both of us.

 A nice homemade Apple Pie, straight out of the Ikea box it came in. I will give myself credit for being able to bake that apple pie perfectly. The perfect amount of crisp on the outside, with the right amount of warmth on the inside.

 

2 hours later, at 11:30pm our bed was made and ready to sink in to. Steve was sporting some nice blisters on his hands and Teddy and I were sporting faces that had sleep lines across them from falling asleep in the spare room.

I am pleased to say, our relationship has passed the 'Ikea Test'. We came out the other side still liking each other and still together.

Steve + Rhi - 1, Ikea - 0

Spanish Night

Rosebud in Rozelle hosted a Spanish Night on Saturday night which myself and some friends went to.

We originally heard about the night when we were there 2 weeks earlier eating breakfast and noticed a pamphlet that had been strategically been placed on all of the tables. Clever marketing; it worked.

The first course was a plate of tapas to share. It consisted of prawns, anchovies on toast, baked potato and little meatballs (I don't have the correct names of each tapas as they weren't given).

I got a picture after most had been eaten..

That course was followed by the most delicious (and only) plate of Paella I have ever tasted. I am not one for seafood, but even my plate was finished clean. I'm not sure if all Paella has these ingredients, but it consisted of prawns, mussels, peas, chicken and I think squid.

The best course - dessert, was Churros with melted chocolate. These were ok. I tend to think Churros taste like deep fried donuts and I am not a huge donut fan.

Like any great meal, ours was accompanied with alcohol. Sangria for the girls and Corona's for the boys.

Rosebud did really well with this night. At only $39 per person, the cost was reasonable. The service was great and the atmosphere was vibrant.

White shirt = the need for a bib

Spanish shots!