A bit of everything

So, where were we? Oh yeah, I haven't blogged in weeks. Even I can't remember where we were.

I had an unintended blog break pretty much because I couldn't be bothered to blog. Anyway, a few things have happened since the start of June. I have decided on a career leap that I am terrified about and I am not even sure it is the right decision, but it feels right I suppose. I submitted my application today and the manager says I have pretty much got the job.. but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves because it will be pretty embarrassing if I in fact do not get the job!

S and I are in savings mode to buy a house, which we hope to buy by the end of next year. We want to stay living in the same area and to do that, the mortgage is going to be pretty big. Not stoked about that aspect, but we'll see how we go when we get there (or when reality kicks in and we realise we need to live further out). We both opened first home savers accounts which is a bit exciting. S is the money man in this house and was asking me to open one for ages but I kept putting it off.. until I realised you get 17% interest from the Government (up to a maximum deposit of $6,000). Say no more! Free money! 

I remembered earlier that I had not blogged about my Cousin's wedding. She doesn't like pictures of her and her family all over the internet, so I leave you with pictures of me and my family. I have 5 brothers and somehow, I made them all get in photos with me. Mean sister I am. They are all taller than me too..when did I become the runt?

In other exciting news (to me), I have gotten my sewing mojo back and am on a mission to sew a dress and blouse using the patterns I bought recently - Sewaholic Pendrell and Sewaholic Cambie. S's sis works at a great fabic store that stocks some amazing materials, so she has brought me over some samples so I can choose a great fabric. Only problem is, if I am using such good quality fabric (as opposed to Lincraft and Spotlight stuff), then I want to make the garment well and not rush it. To make a garment well, an overlocker would be handy....so I have asked S for an overlocker as a graduation present as I am practical like that. Any suggestions on a good one? I have no clue!

I love the top and bottom fabrics in this pic. 

Loving the stripes! Maybe for a maxi skirt?

and finally... in less good news... my bestie moved to Brisbane a couple of weeks ago. I will miss having her live not too far away, but at least it is only 1.5 hours on a plane to see her! Also, she sends me pretty pictures of sunsets, so there is a win in there somewhere!

What have you been up to?

Natural

If there is one thing I love about Canberra, it is the natural beauty and walking trails. We took Teddy on a couple of walks during our stay over the weekend and watching him run around in such wide open spaces we just don't get in Sydney is great. The natural beauty along with some beautiful natural lighting at dusk made it a perfect time to get some photos I had wanted to try out as well.

Photo by S

S and I both love to experiment with the camera and the best part is that we both have really different techniques and styles that we like. We can experiment with those techniques and styles and give each other tips.

I love to experiment with silhouttes and composition whereas S likes to experiment with lighting and mastering techniques he has read about. It's fun; the way we like it.

Girls weekend in the Hunter

K, T and I were long overdue for a girl’s weekend so last month I jumped on to finding a location for us to go away, drink wine and eat good food. Where better to do all three but the Hunter Valley? A timely trip too, as K moves interstate soon so we won’t be able to see her as much.

I spent a few days looking for the perfect accommodation for us. All we had decided was that it had to have a fireplace and not be too expensive. I found Cedar Creek cottages in Wollombi and knew straight away that was where we were staying. After all, how does anyone say no to free port and chocolates? Not us!

Our view

We left after work on Friday and got there at about 9:30pm. Since the two restaurants in town were closed, we pulled together our snacks and ate dinner and drank port. We were supposed to go on a wine tour the next day, but I received a cancellation the day before (by text message!) saying they couldn’t pick us up from our accommodation. Instead, we took our time getting ready and then went for a drive to the Tempus Two winery where we had lunch and went to the smelly cheese shop.

Supplied breakfast hamper

Saturday night we lit the fire, cooked up a risotto, relaxed and were in bed by 10:30pm.

On Sunday we again took our time getting ready, soaking up the little cottage (and patting our new friend) before heading around to the wineries that are located in Wollombi. Wollombi is about a half an hour drive from the main winery area so it was nice to see some vineyards that were a bit smaller in size. We went to Wollombi Village Vineyard, Undercliff Winery and Stonehurst Cedar Creek (where we stayed) and left with some nice port, liqueur, wine and muscat.

Our little getaway was really relaxing and I’m glad we choose to spend it in the Hunter Valley. It ended up being a good thing that our tour was cancelled, as it meant we weren’t on any schedule and we could take our time to look around.

The verandah and a visitor

Visitor number 2..and at breakfast time, of course.