the ground beneath her feet.

Ivan & I have just returned from a roadtrip to celebrate our twentieth wedding anniversary-- one in which we revisited the places we journeyed to as newlyweds on our honeymoon. back then, we drove a little old red Nissan that gifted us with a flat tyre halfway up the Kaikoura highway, & we paid for our accomodation in cheap little motels we booked into as we went, using hard-earned fistfuls of cash. I took around fifty photos on my film camera & hoped they'd all turn out. twenty years later, we travelled in a big new red Mitsubishi with cruise control & blessed aircon, & stayed at swanky hotels we'd booked online using credit cards. this time I took over 900 digital photos, & could see instantly what I'd captured. ah, progress. ;)

some things were just like the good old days, though: the motel we stayed at in Kaikoura was a source of much hilarity due to the fact that the airconditioning consisted of a window propped open with a block of wood, the television had a set of rabbit-ears for an aerial & only picked up two channels, the toilet appeared to have been stuffed into a hall cupboard, & the bathroom had NO DOOR WHATSOEVER, ahahajkhklahdfklshf. still, it was clean & tidy, the bed was warm & comfortable, and this was our view.

apparently I can deal with anything if I have a view of the ocean to soothe my soul-- even if I am staying in an establishment run by Norman Bates' younger & weirder brother. :D

in contrast, the hotel in Blenheim was quite possibly the nicest one we have ever stayed in, with a huge room, a super-king size bed, a spa bath, swimming pool, and our very own balcony. I could easily have lived there, especially with the added bonus of ROOM SERVICE. ♥

anyway. it was a fantastic vacation with glorious weather & lots of gorgeous, gorgeous scenery. I'd forgotten just how beautiful that part of the country is, but never again: afterall, I have 900+ photos to remind me. :)

more in a flickr set [ here. ]

hump day.

this is where I spent the majority of my morning-- on the terrace with the sun umbrella, a bottle of water and the latest issue of Home Beautiful magazine....



...accompanied by this little cutie. ♥

in the pink.

springtime brings with it a thousand shades of pink, from the softest whisper of blossom petals to the loud & blousy neon-tinted rhododendron flowers. it's not a colour I usually seek out, but after months of nothing but the muted shades of winter, being surrounded by nature's blush makes me unspeakably happy. :)

Saturday morning.

it has been well over a month since my last confession blog entry, a fact possibly only interesting to me-- and maybe not even then. I have spent that time doing the following:

- setting up and organising my new computer (♥)
- playing way too much Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook
- springcleaning my entire house
- buying many, many bottles of red wine
- walking in the spring sunshine under blue skies & showers of blossom petals
- rewatching all three seasons of Friday Night Lights on dvd and being reminded why it's the best show on tv, ever.♥♥♥

I've also been rediscovering my love of taking photos now that the weather is warmer and far more hospitable to be out & about in.





Ruby continues to be the world's best puppy, & is quite happy to let me accessorise her with funky-patterned & coloured bandanas. (Ivan draws the line at actual dog clothing, but the bandanas have passed muster, haha.)



it's right in the middle of the school holidays-- one week gone, another week to go, so there's at least seven more long, lazy days ahead. sounds pretty near perfect to me. :)

40 things.

forty things.


1. Do you like blue cheese dressing?
I've never tried it! am I missing out on some insanely delicious gastronomical treat? I mean, on one hand-- I love cheese an obscene amount, but on the other hand, when I was a kid, my Dad used to eat Blue Vein cheese and the smell, omg. blue cheese dressing = blue vein cheese, yes? hmm.

2. Have you ever smoked cigarettes?
for a few months when I was seventeen & stupid. maybe a few other times when I was drunk. alcohol & cigarettes seem to go hand in hand, really. BUT. here's where I admit that I never, ever learned how to do the drawback, so all that time, I was pretty much a FAKE SMOKER. sad but true-- but I'm okay with it. I'm very anti-smoking now.

3. Do you own a gun?
no. & I never, ever will.

4. What's your favorite drink at Starbucks or other specialty coffee shops?
there is no Starbucks in my town. no, you don't understand- THERE IS NO STARBUCKS IN MY TOWN.

[moment of silence]

we do have a lot of cafes, though, & I usually order a trim latte (yes, I'm one of those people I used to mock, so feel free to go ahead & laugh) or a chai latte.

5. What do you think of hot dogs?
MEAT ON A STICK. (it's funnier when you're drunk, I swear.)

6. Favorite Christmas song?
O Little Town, as sung by Cliff Richard. it gives me goosebumps, every time.

7. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
COFFEE. I can't stress this enough. GIVE ME MY COFFEE.

8. Can you do push ups?
yeah, no. :X

9. What's your favorite piece of jewelry?
my silver charm bracelet. ♥

10. Favourite hobbies?
arts & papercrafts, playing hidden object games, photography, web design, reading, walking, daydreaming.

11. Do you have ADD?
no.

12. What's one trait that you hate about yourself?
I wish I were less of a procrastinator. <-- yes, this.

13. Middle name?
Jane.

14. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?
is my throat sore or am I just thirsty?, I am so glad to have my phone back from being repaired, & I MUST REMEMBER TO PAY MY MOBILE ACCOUNT.

15. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?
coffee, chai latte & water.

16. Current worry right now?
my father's health.

17. Current hate(s) right now?
this cold & seemingly never-ending winter weather. where's my sunshine & springtime?

18. Favourite place to be?
road-tripping.

19. How did you ring in the New Year?
with Ivan & Lauren, watching fireworks at the beach from the clifftops. ♥

20. Like to travel?
I love it. :)

21. Name 3 people that will complete this.
I don't know, actually. I swiped it from Facebook. :D

22. Do you own slippers?
yes, & I'm wearing them right now. I had to save them from the jaws of Ruby the Chewy Puppy earlier today.

23. What color shirt are you wearing?
purple.

24. Could you ever make it 39 days on the show Survivor?
nope. nor would I want to. I'm not that desperate for my fifteen minutes of fame.

25. Song you sing in the shower?
Leaving On A Jet Plane is a recurring favourite.

26. Favourite girls names?
Eloise.

27. Favourite boys names?
Jack.

28. What's in your pocket right now?
absolutely nothing.

29. Last thing that made you laugh?
Ruby, stumbling about with a slipper stuck on her head. :X

30. Worst injury you've ever had?
I put my back out last Christmas, & that really sucked.

31. Do you love where you live?
yes, yes, yes. I adore it. ♥

32. How many TVs do you have in your house?
three.

33. Who's your loudest friend?
...I have no idea. I've never measured their decibel levels. :X

34. Does someone have a crush on you?
not that I'm aware of.

35. What's your favourite candy?
chocolate.

36. What were you doing at 12 AM last night?
sleeeeeeeping.

37. What were you doing at 7AM this morning?
also sleeeeeeeeping.

38. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up today?
how utterly BIZARRE my dream had been. (you don't even want to know, trust me.)

39. What's your favourite holiday?
Christmas.

40. What are your plans for tomorrow?
maybe some spring-cleaning. I've been in the zone lately.

polyvoracious.

amongst my travels on this wonderful thing called the interwebs, I have discovered something called [ Polyvore ] -- a website where you can create all kinds of groovy collages that are RELEVANT TO YOUR INTERESTS, using the fabulous technology that is drag & drop. it's so easy, and oh-so-addictive. I spent waaaay too long on there last night making the three collages you see above, which contain all manner of things that are, in fact, totally & utterly relevant to my interests. (especially that delicious red chair, which appears in two collages. :D) I think it's essentially a fashion/beauty site, because a lot of the images are of clothing, shoes and other accessories, but there is a lot of other stuff too: homewares, furniture, perfume, quotations-- all sorts of goodies. you can browse for objects by category, keywords, or even cooler, by colour. *swoon* you can also look at collages (or "sets", as they're called) that other people have put together.

anyway. if you're as easily amused by stuff like this as I am, then you will love it, I'm sure. I KNOW I DO. ♥

oh, and: if you make any collages of your own, link meeee. I'd love to see them. :)

f-stop.

the colours of my day.

it was starting to feel like forever since I'd taken any photographs, so today I remedied that, and took 170 of them.

(!!!)

that actually sounds more impressive than it is, due to the fact that most of them were taken while I sprawled in the comfiest chair in the house, basking in the sunlight, with a slipper-munching, wriggly puppy on my lap. I have a zoom lens and I know how to work it, and yeah, laziness, thy name is halo. I know, I know: go outside, loser! still. one hundred and seventy photos! I'm glad I got that out of my system.

and you can be glad I only posted eight of them. :P

always, sometimes, never.

I always:

+ love to fall asleep to music on my ipod.
+ wear my seatbelt. always.
+ can find time for coffee or a chai latte.
+ want to be loved & healthy & happy.
+ am up for a good roadtrip.
+ see photographic opportunities, everywhere.
+ look for inspiration around me.
+ want to wake up with Ivan beside me.

I sometimes:

+ spend hours on the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab website reading the lavish & evocative descriptions of their oils.
+ conjure whole new lives for myself inside my own head. (I think it's called daydreaming, haha.)
+ wish I'd known then what I know now.
+ jump in the car & drive to where I can sit beside the ocean & watch the endless ebb & flow of the tides.
+ cry at commercials on tv.
+ dance around my bedroom in my underwear.
+ want to run away and leave all my responsibilities behind.
+ think about what I'd do if I actually did ever win a million dollars.
+ wonder if anyone's even reading this. :D

I never:

+ go to bed when I should & I suspect I never will.
+ learned to touch-type properly.
+ eat cooked carrots. (except at this one place, because the way they make them, they don't even taste like carrots. I APPROVE.)
+ want to lose anyone I love.
+ have understood finding joy in shoe shopping. shoes are UGLY.
+ have or will watch any movie starring Sylvester Stallone.
+ want to be taken for granted. ever.

a real estate.

when I think about what my dream house would look like, more often than not it's some kind of variation on a late sixties/early seventies style of architecture-- vast expanses of windows, huge living areas, stone fireplace surrounds up to the vaulted ceiling (complete with beams), rooms with wood-panelled feature walls, and (be still my beating heart), floating wooden stairs leading up to a delicious mezzanine floor. that's pretty much perfection for me, right there.

I was browsing the houses for sale on TradeMe just before and found this listing, and I think I'm in love. ♥



granted, it looks a little like some kind of odd & slightly-awkward spaceship perched on the top of a hill-- and the garden needs some major overhauling, but that aside, just, wow. look at all those windows and fabulous angles! a little updating, and it could be amazing.



inside: JUST LOOK AT ALL THAT SPACE. that is one huge kitchen. and check out those views-- right over the city & ocean, stretching away to the horizon.



the living areas are also huge. the decor needs updating (a little too much white for my taste) but I'm oddly enamoured with the orange carpet.



and I mentioned the views, right? if I lived in this house, I would spend my whole day watching the world go past my windows, coffee in hand. that's pretty much my idea of sheer bliss, right there. :)

right here, right now.

TODAY
June 29th, 2009

Outside my window... it's dark & and cold & damp. just your usual midwinter evening @ 9.30pm.

I am thinking... about where to go walking tomorrow if it's not teeming with rain.

I am thankful for... my laptop, allowing me to be cocooned in bed whilst typing this. ♥

From the kitchen... tonight's dinner was beef & parmesan ravioli parcels in tomato & mushroom sauce, cooked & served by Lauren. :)

I am wearing... a grey tshirt & black yoga pants-- what I sleep in.

I am creating... a collection of horse canvases, using Ann Wood's patterns found here. I made a bunch this afternoon using all kinds of mixed patterned papers, & I really like how they turned out.

I am going... to make some more of the aforementioned horses tomorrow. :)

I am reading... nothing right now. I need to go to the library, and soon.

I am hoping... that winter passes by quickly. the shortest day is behind us, so that's a good start. roll on springtime!

I am hearing... the sound of distant sirens outside. fire engines, I think.

Around the house... lately, it's Ruby's puppy toys scattered over the floor. her theory seems to be, "why play with just one when I can play with them ALL?"

A few plans for the rest of the week... walking, visiting the library, spending time in my studio, and drinking many, many chai lattes, mmm.