What I'm seeing

From the bedroom window. Pretty good shot for an iphone camera, right?

I love storms! They're so exciting. I'm meant to be working now but have become totally distracted by the flashes and bangs. (Actually, I'm surprised we still have power right now)...

Bar Discoveries ft. Potter

So Josh and I, both having recently graduated, have discovered a grand old thing called MONEY. No, neither of us are earning millions, but we both have more than we did while we were at uni (look, it was borderline poverty at times, the low point being biting into a block of cheese cos it was the only thing in the fridge).

So to celebrate the fact that we're both the only ones in our group properly finished with study now and both a little richer, we hit the city on Sunday afternoon to explore some bars.

First stop was Madame Brussels in Bourke St. I'd been here before but Josh hadn't, and this joint is possibly one of the cutest places in the city. The main parlour is decked out with white garden furniture and astroturf, and the waiters and waitresses are all in tight poncy tennis clothes - it's like stepping into Wimbledon in 1950. There's a nice sunny terrace area outside too.

The bev of choice was a punch called "Lolita", full of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, mint and a lot of Gin. Was a bit pricey, but delicious. Then...

Fondue for two! This was friggin heavenly. That's all there is to say really.

After this we left on a sugar high and went to check out Rooftop on Swanston St. Up 8 or 9 stories, it's a cute little bar that has a big cinema area. There wasn't a show on when we went, but I can imagine it'd be awesome to watch one there. We went to the bar and ordered Frangelico Sours which were delicious, almost as delicious as the bartender. What?

They were making mulled wine and hot cider while we were there and all the spices and stuff made the joint smell beautiful. Josh and I took a seat, and cos it was a bit chilly, a couple of the big blankets they provide for colder nights (how awesome is that!) and enjoyed the city views.

After that, we went to Geebung in Hawthorn, and that is where the classy and civilised part of our night ended... 

So any out of Melbourne readers who come to visit, GO TO THESE 2 PLACES. You won't regret it! And Melbourne readers.. you should have already been by now. X

Why I love living here

Reason #23840...  I can cross the road and get this ^ at any time of the day, and be back home in 30 seconds.

Seriously, I know it's not the healthiest lunch but if anyone's ever in Preston, go to Achillion Cakes and pound a slice. They are massive and delicious and less than half of what you'd pay for the same thing in the CBD. They also do brilliant home-made sausage rolls, and baklava. Those Greeks can make good pastry!

Just finished work for the week, ROLL ON SATURDAY NIGHT! x

the substitute home.

So I've been quiet lately, this is due to the fact I have no internet (yet) at the new house. As a self-confessed net addict, AND as someone who works online, this fact pretty much physically hurts me.

However, due to the move to Preston, I am a 15 minute walk away from many dear friends of mine. I have been pretty much living at Dean St, the home of Shona, Potter, Maire and Nath, since we officially moved - so I can hawk their internet. I have had to stay over multiple times due to my erratic roster. They are all brilliant for letting me hang at their abode - and it's been good seeing them every day.

Josh and I are busy planning our audition tape for The Amazing Race Australia - Season 2. We'd be brilliant, and we know it. We just need to pack this brilliance into 3 minutes of video somehow. We don't want to do anything too extreme or fancy, just something to show off our highly awesome team chemistry and personality (and epic weirdness).

In other news, Melbourne seems to think it's already summer. The last couple of days have seen temps up to 23C! The plants are following suit and flowers are in bloom already. The only thing I'll complain about is the friggen hayfever it gives me. Here's a couple of pics around my "substitute home" of the early spring :D

Project Bedroom.

This is the view from Doncaster Shopping Centre, where Kayla and I had lunch the other day. I love the cityscape so much! Though from this far away it looks miniscule and is probably more of a landscape with a nice bit of window. Whatevs.

So, the process of moving has begun and with it I have started the process of setting up what I hope will be an AWESOME bedroom.

My bedroom has french doors that lead out onto a little balcony. The walls are cream-ish. There's a big rectangle ceiling rose on the ceiling, which is high.

I'm thinking kinda french provincial but only kinda... I don't want it to look too try-hard, I'm doing this on a budget and can't afford things that look truly authentic. Basically, at the moment I like white, and lace, and anything remotely french looking, but still simple. Hmm...

My bed is going to be blue and white and cream, my wardrobe and drawers and bookcase will be white, and when I am done with it it's gonna look freaking awesome. Stay tuned.

Tom flies

Today, my younger (though much bigger) brother Tom moved to Melbourne. He has officially become a grown up, and what an epic way to do it! He arrived at 11 this morning, when me and Kayla greeted him at the airport with a massive green and gold sign (G'day Thomas!) and now I am no longer the only one of my family living out of New Zealand.

So in Tom's first few hours of being really and truly independent, he moved countries, and as soon as he arrived we were off to the real estate agent so we could sign the lease on our new place! That's some extreme nest-flying if you ask me!

I've almost teared up thinking about Mum and how upset she would have been saying goodbye to Tom, and how sad she would have been all day.
(Ok now I am seriously tearing up.) Poor Mum! Lucky she has two extra kids at home, haha.

Anyway, it's great to have him here. Though one thing I'll have to teach myself to do is think of him as a housemate as well as a little bro - I have already found myself on numerous occasions worrying about him and thinking that I'll have to look after him and make sure he's okay, or that I know where he is at all times. But then I think, he's my housemate now. I don't know where Maire, Kayla, Courtney or Aaron are half the time, and I don't worry about it.

Once Tom knows all the ropes, and his way around the city a bit better, he'll be sweet! It's going to be a lot of fun living with him and having family around all the time. Perhaps he can even look after me sometimes, haha. In the meantime, I will remain in protective big-sister mode till he's all settled in!

xx

Happy news.

So some pretty brilliant things went down today. First of all, I smashed out my final assignment last night, and I am officially DONE with university forever! It's exciting, but somewhat sad in a way. Another era of my life is over. I was definitely ready to leave though, after doing a semester extra than I should have, I was well and truly over attending classes and listening to douchey hipsters point out their pretentious opinions, or listening to mature aged students arguing with the tutor because they're old, and clearly know more about the world than anyone else in the room. However I will miss student life and the perks that come with it - youth allowance, going out on weekdays, cheaper everything... (wait, my student card doesn't have an expiry date! Muahaha, thanks La Trobe!)

The last thing I'll ever submit. Peace out LTU!

Anyway Kayla and I then went to get lunch at one of the uni cafe's, and the boy there made my day by bringing the price down on my meal. Bless his heart.

Nothing was more delicious than a big-ass burger to celebrate my finishing uni... The proper thing to do would have been to go and smash some beers in true graduate style.. but we had more important things to deal with and that brings me to my last BRILLIANT thing.

Earlier in the day we'd gone to a house inspection and fell in love. We were shown through an apartment above a shop on a busy street filled with cafes, grocers and random little shops. The apartment was perfect for us - newly renovated, it looked basically new. The three bedrooms were very decent sized, still had restored art-deco period features on the ceilings (which were HIGH and awesome) and the two front ones had little terrace balconies going out onto the street.

Kayla and I had a good old yarn to the agent and he was a very decent bloke - he made us feel as though we had the place secured already. The other group being shown through were three asian guys who seemed disinterested. We took some applications, went home, smashed them out, and took them straight back to the estate agent to apply.

Less than an hour later I got the call: THE APARTMENT IS OURS!!

This is our new kitchen! It's so newly reno'd that the exhaust fan still hasn't been installed, haha!

So THAT is my brilliant day! Been a while coming! I feel as though two great weights have been lifted right off my shoulders. 

Tom arrives in the country tomorrow and our household will be complete. We're going to sign the lease as soon as we get him from the airport, and then all the fun stuff like packing can begin! Hooray!

Kicking some essay butt.

I am sitting here pounding out my last bit of uni EVER! (It's a bit late, but meh.)

The topic: “The changing representations of the vampire in gothic fiction.”

Hence the Twilight. And the skittles cos they're delicious. Tomorrow, uni and I will be DONE FOR GOOD.

Right now

It's 3am and I cannot sleep because I am stressed out and worrying about life.

However it's really lovely to be inside while there are gale force winds and rain outside and I am warm under a brand new goose down duvet! Gone are the days when I would literally run in my bed to get warm (aka, six entire months of last year and a couple of this year).

Anyway I know it's not Friday today and that many peeps are sick of hearing the word at all (has Rebecca Black ruined the end of the week forevermore?) But I had to share this video. A friend posted it on face last week and I have watched it multiple times cos it's brilliant. Jules and Tone; can cover the worst song of the year. Check it out.

Giving up is hard to do.

Recently I have been struck down by horrendous headaches. Not slight aches and twinges,  but that gradually building, absolutely head splitting, "I feel like I drank 2 litres of vodka last night" POUNDING type. I wondered what may have brought this on so suddenly. I put it down to two factors. The first being work - I stare at a screen quite often on a daily basis, I'll admit, but not with the intense concentration and effort that I do when I'm working. Plus my screen is currently rooted with an ugly dark shadow over half of it (very annoying), causing strain to the eyeballs I'm sure.

And then there's the big factor - Pepsi Max. Or should I say, LACK OF.

For the last few months, there's never been a shortage of the beverage dubbed "Smax" in Lawrence Court. I pound the stuff breakfast, noon and night. I live on it. Since I began work I haven't had my usual endless supply of it. It didn't take me long to realise I am having caffeine withdrawals of a severe kind. Even as I type this now I feel hungover. I haven't had alcohol for like 2 weeks.

So I'm gonna give up Smax. It's not healthy to be so dependent on the stuff. I'm weaning myself off (had some  coffee today) but the pain remains for now!

I read something somewhere about Pepsi Max having another addictive ingredient other than caffeine? Just goog'd it quickly, couldn't find it, but if anyone knows anything about this let me know!

I've still got a bit of assignment and an exam to go. So my timing could have been better. Oh well!

I want it so bad...

PS. There's a total lunar eclipse tonight. Good motivation to stay up till 5am doing assignments. I'll post pics if I can get anything decent on the ol' iPhone cam.

Home Shoppin'.

So the hunt for the house is well underway - well sorta. We are on the lookout constantly. There are so many factors we have to take in, and we have to keep a budget in mind as well. Just cos I have a job doesn't mean it pays well!

Here are a few types we are looking at, plus pros and cons.

This is a very cute house. It's just in our budget range. But the con? It's a fair way away from where any of our friends are living. We've felt a bit detached being further out from the city from our friends this year, and we want to be closer when we move. (This is closer to the city, but on the other side to the friends.)

This one is in the location of my dreams. It's near the corner of Smith and Gertrude in Collingwood, VERY close to the city. Taxis would be unnecessary, and the rent is shockingly cheap..

And therein lies the problem. WHY? Is there a roach infestation in this house? Will we die of hypothermia? Is the toilet in the main bedroom? 

Admittedly it's not the best looking house I've seen but there must be other reasons to its cheapness. We'll check it out.. warily.

Now, this one could be perfect. It's much cheaper than we're expecting to pay, and it's 4 bedroom, not 3 like we're planning for, so we'd have the option of a fourth housemate and EVEN CHEAPER rent!

Cons? This is not much further in to the city than we already are. Cheap rent would be a plus, but I would never wish the commute to the city that I endured for over a year to anyone. Let alone my own flesh and blood. (Oh yeah did I mention Tom is living with Kayla and I? That's our new household. Exciting!)

And then maybe you might find a house that seems absolutely perfect. Close to Thornbury train station, affordable rent, close to our friends. Easy right!?... No. No it friggin' isn't. Because there is a huge competition when it comes to applying for houses. Especially perfect ones like these. And they tend to prefer people who have steady incomes rather than students, recent Kiwi imports, and poor beasts! 

Fingers crossed though, we're praying that we can call this (or something just as good as this) our home very soon!

Lawrence Court vintage.

So the hassle and cost of hunting for a new house has begun. There's so much to do, and so little money, and we are constantly chasing up things that need fixing, replacing or cleaning. Maire, Kayla and I have never had much luck with our fourth housemate. The three of us have lived in this humble abode without hassle for over 18 months, but we rotate fourth housemates like they're going out of fashion. At the moment we're struggling massively because one of the girls refuses to pay us for a set of keys she lost (meaning we have to replace the locks) and the landlord's lawnmower, which she ruined by putting in straight petrol instead of 2 stroke.

This photo is the "Lawrence Court Originals". It was one of the first nights we were all together in the house. Laura, the blonde, was the "fourth housemate", she left after breaking up with her boyfriend (one of our best friends), demanding a whippet dog and cracking the shits when we said no, and generally not getting along with us. Hopefully she's happier in her new house... (Not that we'd know as she deleted us all from facebook)

But despite such ridiculousness, we are pretty happy that the three of us have managed to stick together through the trials and tribulations of Lawrence Court. It is going to be too weird not living together anymore :(

It's been a rough week...

time for a rough night.

It's here..

"The color of springtime is in the flowers, the color of winter is in the imagination."


Winter has come. I could sook about the bone chilling cold, the rain, the short days and the guys who grow facial hair as a means of keeping warm. But I won't - I will be a positive beast, and welcome with open arms the following:

Snow. If it's gonna be this freezing, it may as well look nice while it's at it. (No, I'm not expecting it to snow in Melbourne, I understand I will probably have to make the trip to see it) and I can do that if I have enough money. 

And for the money I will need:

A JOB! Praying hard that I can get one ASAP - June 17th is my one and only exam and then it's farewell Centrelink and hello potential homelessness if I can't earn money. So fingers crossed something decent pops up soon! And once I'm earning some cash, I may be able to splurge on such items as:

Winter dresses. Seriously, these are amazing. I stumbled across ModCloth today and was literally furious at myself for not discovering it earlier. Their dresses are some of the best I have seen for a long time. It's such a shame they don't have a shop in Australia - international shipping is so expensive! But point is, with cash, I can maybe buy similar dresses, put on some heels and tights and look moderately attractive while consuming expensive beverages. Cos you know, I'm part of the workforce now.

And finally, what better way to warm up than with a good spoon sesh. (Though just looking at the amount of flesh exposed here makes me uncomfortably cold. If it were me, both parties would be so under that blanket, just sayin'.)

So those are just a few things I look forward to in the next few months. Winter, COME AT ME!

A comparison.

So this is our backyard today. It's so freezing that I can barely stand being out from underneath covers of some sort. I have spent the day so far doing essays and watching junky TV in bed. (I should prob turn on the heater, but I'm the only one home, not much point in heating the entire house).

Six months ago to the very day, could not have been more opposite...

We'd JUST arrived in Bali, checked in to our hotel and went to have dinner and cocktails nearby. The heat was overwhelming - "sweatin' like a beast" was probably the most commonly heard line during the whole trip. These were the first of many exotic beverages we had. Far out, I can't believe it was six months ago already. Ah, what I would give to be back there again and out of this crappy Melbourne ice box.

Weekend ft. A Sibling & New Phone

I'm back! Tom returned to NZ yesterday, so I have regained access to my computer (he had supreme rule of it while he was here). This was fine, as I was preoccupied by my brand new iPhone 4! May its life be longer than its predecessor, the one that got stolen on the spiked-drink night (whole other story).

I'm not going to even start on how much of an asset this is to my life, cos I will never stop. So instead I will post some pics of the weekend, ft. my sibling.

Bless the fact that this device has a decent camera.. and bless its freakin' cool apps!

Here are a few pics taken with the Instagram app, where you can take pics and instantly apply cool vintage-looking filters and effects to them.

All these are just random shots I took for the sake of using the app, and they look awesome! The blur (like in the last picture) can be used in any of them, though I only just discovered this moments ago.

More cool shiz to come! Till then, I'm off to use the Sleep Cycle app in bed. You set a half-hour time frame in which you need to wake up, and the app uses motion sensors to record when you're in the lightest sleep and therefore the best time to wake you up. 

Here's the graph of how my sleep went on Sunday night (well, Monday morning). We'd been out on Sunday night and had been drinking, hence the almost-instant "deep sleep". This is a typical example of alcohol-induced sleep, with deep sleep in the first half and frequent waking in the second.

Pretty cool huh!?? I'll post one soon of a normal sleep night.

Anyway, it's time to go to bed for real now. Goodnight!

Filth.

Still being awake at 6am SUCKS.

I used to do it way too frequently. When I was first 18 and working I would go out most weekends and stay out until the sun was rising, then I'd wake up less than 3 hours later to go to work and I'd be fine to work all day. I cannot even fathom such behaviour now. I can still party of course, but I start to fail around the 2.30am mark. To think I would get up and work a mere 3 hours after falling into bed is insanity. Where did I find such energy?
Maybe I am getting old. Or maybe it was the fact I was still living at home and eating Mum's nutritious meals...

Anyway. Point is, it's 6am now and I haven't been to sleep, but this is because I have been pounding homework all night. My computer hasn't been working for a while (failed charger) So I've had to put off typing my assignments until I got money, to replace charger. Grrrrr.

But, the work got done. AND I am free to enjoy the company of my dad and brother, who arrive in Melbourne for a week tomorrow. Hooray!

Now, to promptly pass out. x

Gotta catch 'em all!

So on the weekend Kayla and I went to a "sidekick" themed housewarming. Here are a few photos of us as Pikachu and Tinkerbell.

Fair to say we tarnished the reputations of these characters nicely.

In other news, I just finished watching this movie: 

Serious WTFs... It could not be more obvious that this was made for teenage girls. And by Americans. Haha. Kate came off as a whiny selfish beast, which was a shame because I actually like the real Kate. (Though some moments did make me swoon... because I am a sucker for trash). 

Bring on the wedding!! (Yeah I'm excited.. what of it?)

Lest We Forget...

Today in Australia and New Zealand it is ANZAC day, a day dedicated to the memory of the soldiers who fought at Gallipoli during WW1.

In Melbourne it is also the day of one of the biggest AFL clashes of the year - Collingwood vs Essendon.

As an Essendon supporter this is always a fantastic day - I went last year (running off 2 hours sleep after returning from my 21st with the family in New Zealand) and the atmosphere is just amazing. Seriously, the combined spirit of the AFL and the ANZACS is too much! There is a minute's silence to remember the ANZACS just before the game starts, and to stand with 100,000 other people in a deadly silent stadium is eerie and magical, and the absolute roar of support when a minute's up is so exciting!! Then the game is under way.

Maire and I at the MCG in 2010 (It rained). Note: Try to avoid attending this match with a Collinwood supporter if it looks like Collingwood is going to win.

Last year Collingwood absolutely dominated which was disappointing, but they have been on fire for the last couple of years. (To add insult to injury a seagull shat on my head moments after the game concluded)  However Essendon has been doing very well this year so hopefully this game will be close.

 I am choosing to watch indoors today, as to avoid seagulls/rain/Collingwood supporters. That, and I couldn't get tickets.

Anyway game is starting in a matter of minutes, so I am off to give the TV my full attention. GO THE BOMBERS!!!