1. Master SSG got his swimming ribbon for being able to swim from the platform before rolling over and floating.  Proud mum moment.
2. My new microwave was delivered, installed and the old one removed in less than half an hour.  Love your work, Appliances Online.
3. Got to the airport in time. 
   

   It’s very soothing sitting here typing as planes depart around me.  Reminds me, need to get cracking booking the next work trip.

4. It’s so good to be back home at mum and dad’s.  So relaxed already because mum and dad have forcibly (in the nicest possible way) taken over all my adulting responsibilities.
5. Mum’s new car is arriving today and I’m going to help her learn how to drive it.  Wish us both luck!
6. Well that was an epic buffet dinner. Dessert included chocolate fondue with the chocolate coming from the most elaborate chocolate fountain I have ever seen in a hotel restaurant.
   
   
7. Continuing the sweet life theme, Levi’s Donuts at the Fremantle Markets are the bomb dot com.  
   
   
8. Sad to be flying home but also looking forward to being in my own bed tonight.
   
9. Hectic first day back at work but it wasn’t as bad as I feared it would be.
10. A day of getting things done.  I also baked with beetroot for the very first time.
11. Looks like I’m heading to Berlin for work stuff this October.  Can’t wait.
12. Great pace on my run this morning.  I think I will make the entire course of the Sydney City to Surf after all – it’s only a month away.  Eeekkk.
13. A productive and efficient day at work.  Perfect way to end the working week.
14. Got my tyres replaced.  A nail went right through one.  The good news is that because the mechanics filled the tyres with nitrogen I don’t have to check my tyre pressures for SIX WHOLE MONTHS!!!!! 
15. A beautifully sunny but cold day. 
    

    Started at the Tramshed Farmers Market before spending the afternoon at the Bastille Day Festival in The Rocks.

    
16. Oh that was a cold start to the day, the special snowflake signal went off in my car because it was 4C outside.
17. Sun, glorious sun!!  The laundry even dried completely on the line.
18. Hit the ground running at work today.  Fell in love with basil pesto dip at our work morning tea…
19. I did it. 
    

    Got my eyes tested.  My prescription hasn’t changed and my retinal scans were great!  Yipeee!!!!!  I’m so relieved I’m giving myself five sentences today.

20. So sleep deprived today because I got calls at all hours from work last night / this morning.  Here’s to extra shot skinny caps!
21. A perfect Saturday.  Sun, run and baking.
22. Family, cuddles and chocolate cake.  What’s not to love?
23. When I write the minutes for a meeting, expect them to be very short.  Also, I’ll count you as having attended said meeting even if you missed ao long as I saw you at work at some point of the day.
24. First day of term three!  Our holiday report starring Larry the Lion, the kinder class ‘pet’, was a huge hit.
    
25. I think I’ve overtrained for the city to surf.  Tried to conserve the function in my ankles by hitting the bike rather than the treadmill at the gym today.
26. Phew, that ankle survived the treadmill for a second consecutive day.
27. The joys of having an old house include the electrics.  Fortunately, I have a legendary electrician who has found a solution to the short circuits that happen here every winter. 
28. I love my new glasses!  I’m this close to giving my contact lenses a bit of a holiday.
    
29. Finally!  Done with work but not before I have to call IT to fix my password.  Took a record 10 minutes to get me back on track.  Thank you, IT!
30. So much learned and so much discussed.  A pretty full on day but one that makes me love what I do even more.
31. Tuesday.  My day off.  What’s not to like?

The theme of this year’s birthday celebrations is ‘Memory Lock’. Comprising of a five metre high lock with a key suspended above it, the key symbolises ‘the unlocking of magical moments’ and the lock is ‘the symbol of cherishing them forever’, according to the QVB’s official website.

 The key and lock were designed in conjunction with James Dive and Scoundrel Projects.

Visitors to the installation are able to attach a lock and a handwritten message to it in a reference to the padlocks of the Pont Des Arts in Paris.

I’m a bit of romantic when it comes to places and this project got me thinking about what the QVB means to me.

My first memories of it was the mass of people that I somehow melded with the moment I entered.  Coming from the quiet and wide open spaces of Perth, the crush of humanity was a bit overwhelming.  People were walking this way and that all around and sometimes practically on top of me.  With purpose and with speed.  There were people everywhere I turned, there were new things to see if I so happened to pause for breath, close my eyes and reopen them. Sydney was a blur of energy to me on that first trip.

I’ve mostly acclimatised in the years since I’ve moved here and the QVB is no longer just the slightly daunting old building I need to get to in order to get my supply of Haigh’s dark chocolate peppermint frogs.

 

Happy Birthday. QVB!!  You’re such a special part of the lives of many Sydneysiders and we all wish you a long life and good health (in your foundations and other essential structural components).

What does the QVB mean to you?

The mascara retails for $42 AUD and comes in a weighty gold triangular shaped tube.  It has a fine wand that’s stiff enough to coat your lashes fully from base to tip. Currently the only shade available is Ultra Black and there is no specific mention on the packaging about it being waterproof or not.

via Sephora

I think someone at the gym knew I’d be struggling to find motivation to train with a sore right ankle and a stomach full of my mum’s cooking.  I dug deep, held the post it note to my chest, took a selfie and then went hard on my exercise bike.

Diorama season has started at Kinder and a shoe box from home was required.

via audit.com.au

It’s less than a month until Sydney’s City to Surf and training is going well in that I’m injury free and still looking forward to hitting the pavement at the crack of dawn even if it is in fleece and ski gloves.  I’m just not entirely sure if what I think is Heartbreak Hill is the actual Heartbreak Hill of the race.  My hill still causes me heartbreak each and every time I attempt it so perhaps that’s confirmation.  All will be revealed on race day that also happens to be my birthday.

I’m eagerly awaiting the new iPhone releases in September this year because I have to replace my current phone. The forward facing camera has severe and terminal shakes which makes every photo it takes look otherworldly.  I swore that I’d never again be the fangirl who logs her order the moment the online option becomes available but I’m going to be that girl this year.  Aside from the new handset itself, I’m also curious about the new iPhone emojis and memojis (emojis you can create of yourself).

Refinery 29 recently wrote about the new additions in this article.  I was fascinated to learn about the process behind creating each emoji.  The attention to detail and the ability of each icon to perfectly encapsulate what it represents is phenomenal. As much care is taken as with the creation of other software and hardware, there can often be 30 versions of a single emoji before the final one is created.  With regards to the memoji, rather than base the creative process on your gender, apparently you will be able to start with a blank face that you create into how you feel you look rather than what the program might tell you you should look like based on your gender.  Interesting concept.

It’s tax time which means having to face the vaguely organized files of ‘stuff’ I’ve collected over the last financial year into better organized files for my accountant.  There’s paper and file clips all over the floor at the moment,.

Did you know that Bic’s ‘multi-click’ (my name for them) pens now come with a fluro highlighter option?  The only thing is you lose the green pen with that particular version.  Come to think of it, I’ve never run out of green or even red when using those pens.

The July 2018 issue will be the last for Donna Hay’s eponymous magazine.  I will miss it terribly but am also excited to see what new projects Donna will now undertake.

I have many happy memories of cooking along with the magazine and also admiring the more fashion and lifestyle focused pages which often included items from Donna’s own collection.  I felt that I got to know a bit about Donna as a person through her magazine.  The location shoots took me elegantly all over the country and the world from the comfort of my sofa.

Fun fact.  Master SSG’s favourite fine motor skill task as a toddler was attempting to tear the covers off my Donna Hay magazine collection.  It actually ended up being a surprise party game at his first birthday party.

And lastly, heaters.  Or rather, the lack thereof.  With the sudden cold snap, electric heaters have sold out at most department stores in Sydney.  I was luck to get the second last convector heater for the spare bedroom at my local Harris Scarfe store.  It was the first time I’d visited Harris Scarfe, actually.  I like the store layout and the prices.  Will definitely add them to my radar the next time I need something for the house.

Have you ever used up the coloured pens in a Bic ‘click pen’ before the black and blue inks?

Will you miss Donna Hay’s magazine?

Sure the nights are freezing (by Australian standards) and some of us need to dress as if we were hitting the snow when we go running in the morning on suburban streets but once you get past all of that, this is what you’re blessed with.  The bluest skies and sun against the bare branches.

Winter makes me feel as if I’ve earned myself a Saturday bacon and egg roll at the farmer’s market.  Instagram is flooded with photos of people breakfasting in Italy at the moment but to me, this view was just as magnificent because it was accompanied by that aforementioned bacon and egg roll, an excellent coffee and the prospect of a whole day of freedom to follow.

I know I should have bought my fruit and veg while I was there

via YouTube

Did you know that Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively have a new film coming out?  I saw the very slick trailer on my feed one morning, clicked and then found myself down a rabbit hole googling the novel upon which the film is based.

via Walmart.com