The Pink Palace

its time. I'm back. Its been a busy couple of months, I deserted my blog due to a number of freelance jobs that had began to take over my life. I am pleased to say I have finally finished one of the most tiresome jobs I have ever completed. During my blogging absence I have also been coming to terms with the loss of my beautiful budgie noodle, it still makes me sad to think he is no longer here.

One thing that has happened in the past few weeks that definitely brings a smile to my face is our new home, the pink palace! Disco and I brought a gorgeous Spanish mission style house we can now officially call home. It will be such a joy to have room to move, a garden and perhaps even a studio for little ole me.

Noodle- farewell my little one

Yesterday I lost my beloved pet budgie noodle. He passed away during the night after a sudden illness. He was my good friend and will be missed dearly. Noodle was a very special part of our little family for close to 8 years and provided an endless supply of joy to myself and my husband. He really was a wonderful pet I still can't believe he is gone. Andrew often said I loved Noodle more than him and although this is not true he was loved immensely. I will miss him and all his cute antics, low flying across the room, singing his little songs, his little birdie cuddles & kisses, keeping me company while I work, chasing his little bird friend across the kitchen bench, pooping everywhere, eating any and every bit of paper, talking to the hairdryer, the toaster, the kettle, spoons, walls, lamps, anything really, he was such a chatty happy little fellow and always a loving friend.

When tomorrow starts without me,
and I'm not there to see,
the sun will rise and find your eyes,
all filled with tears for me.

I know how much you loved me,
as much as I loved you.
And each time you think of me
I know you'll miss me too.

But when tomorrow starts without me,
please try to understand,
an angel came and called my name
and I stepped up on her hand.

She said my place was ready
in bird heaven far above,
but that I'd have to leave behind
all those I dearly love.

If I could relive yesterday
even for a little while,
I'd fly over and kiss you
just to see you smile.

So when tomorrow starts without me
don't think we're far apart,
for every time you think of me
I'm right there in your heart.

Thankyou Daz for this beautiful poem.

a bloody long way

I have left my bloggin boots under the bed for the last few weeks and its time to drag them out again. A group of friends and I achieved a small milestone yesterday and completed out first half marathon. Congrats to all who ran! It was definitely a tough 21.1kms for me and although at the 15km mark I remember thinking I would never do this again I am fairly positive I will start training for another event soon. I guess I must be a glutton for punishment, blisters and sore legs!

illustration friday - farm

It was a nice day for flying.

little red

My friend Sam sent me some wonderfully cheeky photos of her daughter lulu. This one has to be my favourite, I couldn't resit adding a little story time background to go with her serious little red riding hood attitude.

a perfect match - day 7

ok I am completely over my 7 day flower blog challenge. Its been hard to think of spring when the sky is the color of concrete, pah to that! Today's image is from my favourite shirt dress that I brought in Byron Bay. A pattern of flowers, fruits, cherry blossoms and brightly coloured shapes that matches a bag my mum made from vintage silk kimonos I brought in Tokyo :)

flowers, flowers, flowers - day 6

a little reflection on our wedding day, 4 months already... Wow! its gone by quickly. I still haven't really done anything with the photos but here is one of my bouquet - tulips, black berries, silver foliage, hyacinths & lisianthus. Like the whole day, loved it !

a flower - part 5

ok so this is not my best effort but here it is. ..Today's flower for my blog challenge, an oil pastel drawing that is actually a small part of a larger piece I did a long way back.

The only other thing on my mind is this damn weather... I sound like a broken record but what happened to spring? Lucky I didn't put the electric blanket away!

roses are red

and the sky is blue, or if not blue perhaps a little grey, cloudy and rainy. Either way a boy with 30 long stemmed roses is always a welcome sight and these beautiful flowers where a present from my hubby a little while back and didnt I feel that little bit extra special that day :)

illustration friday - safe

Betsy the pug felt safe in the paws of her top dog acrobat troop and she just loved her new pink leotard with matching floral fur piece.

This weeks illo friday theme was safe, not sure I would feel quite so safe in this situation but then I am not a circus pug! I even managed to get my silly flower blog challenge into the illo.

Gus TV

Today slipped back into winter again, which is not surprising in Melbourne, ho hum. Not to let the cold weather get me down I ventured out with some friends to ACMI at Federation square and checked out the TV50 exhibition.

A look at the past 50 years in Australian television, complete with the largest tv screen gallery, classic clips, and memorabilia. How could we forget classic Australian TV such as Skippy the bush kangaroo, Perfect Match and one of my childhood fav’s Mr Squiggle. Mr Squiggle was a long running children's program on the abc that had a number of wonderful characters including a grumpy talking blackboard who was often heard mumbling “Hu-rry u-p, hu-rry u-p"”, Bill Steamshovel who told silly jokes, Gus the snail and of course Mr Squiggle. The main character, Mr Squiggle, lived on the moon and visited his friends in his flying rocket (named Rocket). He used his pencil nose to turn viewers squiggles into drawings, the man behind Mr Squiggle drew via the puppet strings upside down. Now I didnt do this upside down but I did make an illo of Gus the snail with his little TV and flower pot on top. An image for a grey gloomy spring day that would have been perfect for lazing in front of a tv or two! This wall of tvs adds a whole new meaning to 57 channels and nothing's on.


As a quick side note last night we ate at the Schoolhouse café in Brighton, a fantastic new venue that I shall be visiting on a regular basis. If your ever in the area stop in for a coffee, meal or a drink at this funky bar/restaurant.

hello spring

Spring has most definitely sprung. To mark the new season I have decided to change my blog address, the initial name was chosen from a birthday card I received with a delicious poem by Edward Monkton, My Chocolate Kingdom. Many of you may have seen his work, I love the whimsical non nonsensical nature of his poems and line drawings. I recently gave my hubby a little book of love notes by Edward Monkton. Here is one my favourites from the book.

” I Love, Respect, Cherish and Admire you for being the FREE and BEAUTIFUL and WONDERFUL Human Being that your are *... *except for when you’re being REALLY ANNOYING”.
Edward Monkton

Anyway, it seemed fitting for my blog to have a new name, so from now on it will be mi and mu.

To welcome in mi and mu and spring I have given myself a little blogging challenge. I will post a photo/sketch of a flower or springtime image each day for the next week. Not a very difficult challenge I know, but thats it! So here goes... A few snaps I took this morning on the way home from our weekly shop at the Prahran market.

ta ta winter

Today is the last day of winter and what a beautiful gorgeous day it is. I know that spring is nearly here because not only is the sun shining over the city but I feel like I have a ton of dust in my eyes. It has felt like such a long cold winter it is relief to see the end in sight. I swear it started getting cold back in April and although we havent had much rain there has been many a day when your winter woollies & then some where needed. To send off the cold weather here is a list of my favourite winter things.

hot chocolate woolly socks cuddles rain on the roof snow crisp winter night air polka dot umbrellas long coats sticky date pudding beanies

big breakfast scarfs soup big fluffy towels hot showers sunday dvds electric blankets doonas ugg boots

adam and eve

Its been a while since my last blog. I was a bad girl over the weekend. A girls lunch turned into a very late night out at eve nightclub in South Melbourne. It is definitely harder to get over a night out as you get older (just don't tell anyone I am getting older). It was a fun night with lots of dancing and general club chit chat. Katie Underwood performed a few songs which added a nice interlude to the evening. I have had my fill of clubs, vodka and smoke for another few months but it was worth the sore head and tiredness.

illustration friday - match take two

( click for biggie )
IF match 2. I decided to add some color to this weeks illo and post again :) I hope you enjoy my memory match game as much as I did.

illustration friday - match

( click for biggie )
One of my favourite pastimes as a child was memory, a simple game that involved 2 players flipping over 1 card at a time to find matching pairs. I used to love this game for the cute illustrations but mainly because I was the unbeaten memory champion in my family. So for this weeks IF I couldn’t resist recreating a winning snap shot of all my matching pairs!

Heartbreak hill

Its been 3 days since the city to surf and I can finally walk down stairs again! It was a lot harder than I thought, so many damn steep hills. An endless up down, up down, with a lot more up than down. Disco stayed by my side the whole time which was a blessing as I think I would have stopped or perhaps even collapsed. The only time I wanted to slap him was in the last 1 km when he said "I can see you have some left in you, come on lets make under 75mins!" If I did have "any left in me" I would certainly have taken a swipe at his very much composed self. Needless to say we finished 7324th over the line with a time of 75:33, which is not half bad considering there was over 63,000 entrants and the first time I had run this far before was on July 29th! I feel quite proud of our little achievement and I am looking forward to a much faster time on the flat ground in the Melbourne half marathon.

illustration friday - capture

Last minute inspiration. Keeping up with my mid year christmas theme for a very late IF post.

time to run & fly

Disco and I are off to Sydney tonight for the City to Surf. I am really looking forward to the short break, its been a tough week for no apparent reason. I am putting it down to the full moon playing havoc with my emotions! Lucky we have Cadbury to help settle the nerves. I definitely added to their profit margin this week with the consumption of chocolate bullets, a dairy milk block, old gold snack bar, chocolate truffles and of course a few natural confectionary jungle animals. No wonder my belly is getting bigger, nothing a 14km run wont fix (i hope!) ;)

No illustration Friday this week, as I have been too lazy and pathetic to pick up a pencil busy and choose not to participate this week. So I thought I'd post a cute photo instead!

My pet budgie noodle attempting to find out what time it is.

Running in a dream

Monday again.... Disco and I had a busy weekend, Cirque Éloize was a beautiful, graceful amusing show that featured elements from contemporary dance, theatre and of course circus. The performers skill was breathtaking & when combined with the costumes and multilayered backdrop provided a surreal dream like setting. I felt like I was watching a book come to life or wandering in someone else's dream complete with random characters and acts. It was a show I would definitely recommend. 8 out of 10.

Saturday we ran 15kms... its not getting any easier, in fact I felt tired the entire time. Although I must admit my legs and back are not as sore as the previous week. We followed the long run with some hills on Sunday, fingers crossed we are prepared enough for the City to Surf this coming weekend. Either way it will be a fun short break!

Speaking of running, I think its time to hit the pavement for a few kms along the Yarra .

Its raining flying men

The end of a fairly uneventful week is in sight, I am off to Crown Casino tonight to see Cirque Eloize - Rain. We are celebrating Sonya's Birthday and it will be nice to see some high flyin action and enjoy a few champagnes! Hopefully the rain stays at the show and we have the predicted sunny weather over the weekend, sunshine means I can wear my new suede green and silver heels. Keep your toes crossed!!!

clean 2 - illustration friday

I decided to revisit this weeks topic with a different take on clean, a digital image of a reindeer getting ready to go out. Nothing better than clean shiny teeth to match your red shiny nose.
Sorry for the repeat link in illo friday I made a mistake in the URL.. opps

School Café kitty

I recently had some great news from my brother, he is about to open a new restaurant in Brighton called the School House Cafe, its going to be a wine bar/cafe and I am really excited about it. The cafe is in an old church school house (hence the name) and is a beautiful old blue stone building with a lovely lawn out the front. Perfect for breakfast on a sunny day or for a glass of wine with friends. I will keep you posted on how he is going and hopefully share some of the delicious food he is sure to serve up. He is pretty darn handy in the kitchen and I never turn down a offer of a meal cooked at his place. Last time I visited I got to meet the new addition to their family, Loca the kitty. She is such a cute crazy little ball of fluff that the name is a perfect fit.

everyoung

Is hair removal a taboo topic....I had my 5th IPL hair removal session last night at everyoung in Port Melbourne. Its run by my friend Sarah, she does a wonderful job and I always look forward to our post treatment dinner usually at the George in St Kilda. Its a great place for wine and a casual bite, my favourite dish is the popular George Calamari. Personally I think its up there with the best calamari you can get in Melbourne, especially delicious when combined with a glass of Riesling... it also helps me forget the post treatment heat!

clean - illustration friday

LUX washing detergent, helping women everywhere keep their dishes squeaky clean! A look at advertising for the modern housewife. Give me a dishwasher over dish pan hands any day.

in training

Disco and I went for a 14km run this morning!!!! That is officially the longest run I have done in my life. Felt pretty good until I twisted my ankle at around 12kms, nothing major just running on tired legs. We finished in 75mins, we didn't push ourselves too hard and hopefully will be able to shave another 5 mins more off our time. I am sure Disco could do that very easily, me on the other hand, well we shall just have to see. The real pain comes the next day, with tired muscles and general all round sleepiness. Its only 2 weeks to the city to surf so I guess there is no time to rest yet!

Opposites - illustration Friday

Its almost Friday again, but I managed to finish a little illo for this weeks topic (just). I think I must of tossed around a million ideas and my typical Gemini mind which is full of opposites and often the cause of many an indecision chased its tail and ended up with a resolution in the form of 2 puppies. One white, one black, one night, one day, like so many of us different in many ways but inherently the same and ready for some fun and games :)

dvd dust buster

Not much on the weekend, a few dinners, running, DVDs, relaxing, eating, snuggling on couch! perfect really :) We also brought a new DVD player, who knew they where soooo cheap cheap!! If only we had worked this out sooner we could have saved ourselves countless minutes and calmed many a dvd storm. I can assure you no amount of rubbing on the carpet/your shirt/couch or general dvd tantrum throwing will make the damn rental dvd play, do yourself and your loved ones a favour go out and buy a new one.

chocolate confessions

Its been a while since my last chocolate post , I can’t believe its Sunday already! And yes I have sinned. Last night I ate nearly an entire block of Lindor dark. The soft smooth melt in your mouth cubes were worth every bite. The punisher (Disco) made me repent this morning with a 12 km run!!! Jeez what a meanie.

Where has the week gone? I have been busy with a freelance job during the week, still a lot of work to be done but getting closer to the end of this most tiresome job. I would much rather be spending the time sketching, painting, or just plain sleeping. Although this week’s topic for illustration Friday is proving rather difficult.

Disco and I are off to an engagement party this afternoon, it seems that love is in the air. Our friends are getting engaged, married and popping out kids left right and center. Someone must have put something in the water, that or we are all ready for white picket fences. I would settle for a little backyard and a puppy, although not sure how noodle would feel about the competition.

skyline - illustration friday

A quick sketch this week. Birds on a wire; a moving, flying, tweating skyline.

2 foodies

Sunday night and what a satisfying culinary weekend. It all began with the perfect roast chicky and chips cooked by my hubby on Friday night. He has been outstanding in the kitchen of late and I have been enjoying the spoils immensely.

Saturday morning we had breakfast at Palette in greville st, scrambled eggs, bacon and avocado on toast with a strong latte. What better way to start the day! We couldn’t resist a takeaway raspberry and white chocolate muffin for our afternoon tea.

That evening we enjoyed a meal with our good friends at VIN. I began with salt & pepper quail, followed by red duck curry which was divine until I got to the third piece, tough chewy dry yucky no. 3! What a shame :( Desert luckily made up for this disappointment, Disco was too busy yapping too notice I had eaten the entire quince crumble! The sweet toffee caramelised taste was a melt in your mouth sensation. Overall rating of 6/10. A few deductions for mediocre service and chewy duck!

Sunday we woke late and headed to St Yarra for a 2 lap run around the tan. With only 5 weeks to the city to surf we felt real pain on our second lap, Anderson hill is tortuous enough but heartbreak hill in Sydney will definitely result in tears unless we get some serious running legs! Not to feel too discouraged we headed to South Melbourne for a boozy lunch at Lamaro's. If only every Sunday could be so nice, a sumptuous 3 course lunch with good friends, including Mr Stinky (no names!) I had the beetroot and goats cheese salad, snapper with pesto and walnuts and saving the best for last chocolate fondant with liquorice ice-cream. This is definitely a place to revisit, great company, great staff, great food, great wines. A rating of 8/10 on all accounts!

Before we left we posed in front of Lamaro's ala Rick Stein. :)


Anyone would think this was where the consumption of food stops but alas in a boozy haze Disco and I managed to squeeze in a slice or two of greasy pizza....if only we hadn't!

slow morning

I am sitting at my messy desk at home this morning, it seems we still don't have power in the new office yet! Hopefully in a few hours it will be sorted, in the meantime what I should be doing is cleaning my home office space. It looks like some sort of bomb has exploded, I probably need to buy a new bookshelf. Oh well :)

Last night's dinner was very nice, my brother cooked salmon on a bed of crisp potatoes with fresh asparagus, drizzled with a hollandaise sauce and one or two glasses of wine. By all accounts a good meal. They have the cutest little kitten, loca, she is a black fluffy sweet thing that like most kittens loves to bounce around the room at a million miles an hour. It also seems that the painting was a success and after much meausring of wall space and quite a bit of giggling we even managed to hang it in the perfect spot.

yoga and wedding bliss

What a great combination for happiness...My yoga school has started again this week, it feels wonderful to be back :) I have been going to classes for over 3 years now at yoga arts academy in Melbourne. Yoga Arts teaches the principles of Sakshin Ghatashta Yoga, which has its roots in classical Hatha Yoga and the disciplines developed by the ancient Tantric masters of India, Tibet and China.

I wish I could practise more often but I find the 6am starts tough to deal with while working full-time. 3 mornings a week is enough of a struggle especially when its dark, cold and rainy like this morning. Can't wait for the warmer weather so I can ride my bike to work again.

Tonight I am off to my brothers new place for dinner. He moved in a few weeks back with his girlfriend, who is such a lovely girl :) We are taking the painting down that I finished the other day, fingers crossed it’s a good fit.

Today is also our 2 month wedding anniversary!!! Yah! I love being married. Kisses to my hubby xx

Happy 4th of July

Today was a busy one in the design studio. We are curretnly in the process of getting new desks so the team moved all our computers to the empty floor below, then moved back to the 8th floor in the late afternoon to find we have no power, to move back down to the 7th floor. I think we all may have got a little dizzy!

On the home front I finally managed to finish a painting for my brother, its been a very long time coming and has changed several times. Hopefully he likes it :)

autumn

sticky - illustration friday

A sticky kiss... no matter what they did their lips remained stuck together

xx

the bubble

another week already. I can't believe Disco and I have been back from our honeymoon for over 5 weeks! Our wedding seems like it was ages ago. We are almost at our 2 month anniversary, very bizarre from someone who never thought she'd get married. Married life I must say, is wonderful :) We are still living in the honeymoon bubble and hopefully will be for many more months/years to come.

We had a nice weekend even though the weather was horrible. Cold, wet and windy! Not the best for a day at the races but fun nonetheless. Yesterday I even managed to do some painting on a very overdue present and started our wedding thank you cards, miracles will never cease!

giddy up

just got back from lunch with brother b, aka the taste maker ;), from straight up radio. If anyone is looking for a great online streaming radio look no further than straight up. A mix of local and international talent run by peoples who loves what they do.

Only a few hours left in the work week, its been a bit slow but I have managed to get some good feedback on a concept for a new client. Finally a job I actually have an interest in, it makes such a difference!

It seems we have another busy weekend planned, its off to the races at Flemington tomorrow for a little bit of giddy up and bubbles, followed by more drinks at a surprise 60th and hopefully followed by a sleepy Sunday. Til then....

A ring a ding ding

Yesterday I was inspired by a comment left by Rrramone on how not to lose earrings, so I decided to put it to paper. The resulting image has left poor Brenda with a constant ringing in her ears! I think we might have to come up with another solution ;)



Thank goodness it's not (do)'nut' Friday today. I think I have consumed so much sugar I am going to have to open the top button on my jeans, which is probably strictly speaking, not the most appropriate thing to do at work. And just a passing note to my friends, "NO" the expanding waistline does not mean I am pregnant, its just a sign of too many cakes, lollies, chocolate and wine. I am such a sucker for pretty green things like this apple cake I just ate from smxl!



And don't forget today is red nose day a great way to support SIDS, kids and a wonderful excuse to don a red nose. ( as seen here by my co-worker ;)

One ear bandit and a summer breeze

I feel like I keep losing things at the moment. I have lost so many earrings since the start of winter that I have given up wearing them altogether. The problem seems to be directly related to scarf wearing and shoulder hunching. It's so annoying, I now have a whole bunch of single earrings. Maybe its time to start a new trend, either that or sell them on ebay.

This day seems especially long, I am rather bored and a little tired. It may have something to do with the bottle of wine I consumed and the late night but my eyes feel all sticky. Oh well, Disco just sent me the cutest photo of one of his clients dog. Mochi is such a cutie I couldn't resit posting the pic, it makes me dream of spring.

rain drops - illustration friday

my first attempt at illustration friday ... this week's theme is "Rain". Noodle thanks flying umbrellas!

Red Vue

Just got back from a lovely lunch with my friend za at a new cafe in Little Collins Street, Cafe Vue. This little jem is the new lunch time dining experience for Shannon Bennett from Vue de Monde. It is filled with bright red objects and has a great selection of delicious snacks, soups, sandwishes and cakes. I had a yummy tuna and egg mayo toasted sandwich with a naughty Wednesday glass of wine. A very nice way to chat about our new little business venture. Za and I are working on an idea that has been in the back of our minds and our hearts for a while. I can't wait to post more information, but it will have to wait until we have a few more of the details resolved. Until then here is a decidedly red vue.

I couldn't resit adding a photo of za's new boots. They look so comfy and ooooh so cute.

who's looking at blue?

:: Blue Bird
Here is one little guy that brings a smile to my face, my pet budgie, noodle. Noodle has been part of the family for 7 years and is a unique little character. For such a little guy he plays such a big role in our lives and provides endless hours of company and joy. His favourite pastimes include running up and down the bench, flying around the apartment, eating paper, general cuteness, eating anything he can and pooping everywhere!!! He follows me most places including the shower and even though he gets loads of exercise he still can't seem to beat his little blue belly bulge.

day 7

well we made it... 7 days of running with only a slight hiccup. Disco dragged me around the tan after our usual Saturday morning boxing session to make up for missing our Thursday run. I may have wanted to punch him for this but considering we only have 7 weeks to the City to surf it was needed. I just printed the training schedule from the website...oh my gawd how am I ever going to run for 90mins!!!

To distract me from this journey I couldn't resist jumping onto the color wagon one last time. Why stop when I have only just began. I always seem to arrive late and enviably am the last to leave. It's such a nice idea...

:: Yellow

This image is courtesy of some beautiful flowers I received from my yoga instructors. They are such a cute couple and whatever the color orchids are stunning.

Happy and Content

10/10 for Disco and the Lamb. You have truly outdone yourself! and it looks pretty darn close to the original. I feel extremely full and more than a little content. Its hard to believe we managed to squeeze in a few cubes of melt in your mouth Lindt Lindor chocolate after such a wonderful meal. Then again I think there is always room for a cube or two of Lindor.

Lamb Roast, Nicole Kidman and a lazy Sunday

I love Sundays... Has to be best day of the week (didn't I say that about Friday?). Lazy mornings followed by lazy afternoons. The only problem is that they go by so quickly. I met some girlfriends last night at Hoo Haas in Chapel Street and after a few bottles of vino our conversation ended up at the topic many of us contemplate... With most of my friends hitting 30+ its a popular topic. The question last night “if you could flick a switch would you choose to be 25 again?” I think we all agreed that no we wouldn’t, but hey a little bit more time or a pause button would be great.

This is how I feel about weekends and especially Sundays, morning quickly turns to afternoon which turns to evening and before you know it’s night time. Pretty much how life has been for a while now, blink and you miss it. Now is this a phenomenon of age or has it always been like this? My mum has commented on many occasions that the years go by quicker as we get older. Maybe time doesn’t change speed but I know we do.

Is it possible to stand still but not let life pass you by?

Two people not letting life pass them by today is Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban. The biggest celebrity wedding of the year (in Sydney anyhow) has just taken place in Manly. Love her or hate her, one thing you will be unable to do over the next week is ignore them. Get ready for the media onslaught of 'Our Nic' marrying into the Urban clan. My thoughts may have something to do with walking down the aisle less than 2 months back and still living in the honeymoon bubble but I think its wonderful. Whatever the reason I wish them the best of luck and happiness.


Speaking of happiness, my gorgeous husband is cooking up a feast tonight - Braised Lamb with white wine, anchovies, garlic, pancetta and chickpeas. Sounds amazing and looks pretty good. It been a whole day extravaganza starting with a morning trip to the market, chopping, washing, marinating and cooking (note to self "clean the oven more than once a year!"). I am sure whatever the outcome it will be delicious. Lets see if the end result compares with the recipe photo. I bet Nicole would turn down a date with Tom Cruise for this lamb roast, then again she'd probably turn down insane Tom whether “mum was cooking a lamb roast” or not.

Under the BIG top with Circus Oz

Friday night we went to see Circus Oz at Birrarung Marr. An unconventional circus filled with raunchy chicks, rock 'n' roll, grit and a political conscience. A show with something for everyone, a singing stuntman, acrobats, BMX bandit tricks with mullet attitude, a pvc clad pink lemonade drinking, selling, singing Christa Hughes from machine gun fellatio and high wire school yard antics. Overall a fun entertaining night under the big top!


A night at the circus wouldn't be complete without the enchantment of the fairy floss stall. Pink fluffy sugar on a stick, a combination impossible to ignore. Thankfully for my stomach I did manage to walk past this delicious treat but I couldn't resist taking a pic of the man in charge of the fairy floss wand. Love the flags and a bargain at only $3.00!

a week in color

I am a little late for color week but thought I'd give it a go anyhoo.... Last June we went to Europe for a summer holiday. We visited some beautiful places and spent one glorious week in Paris. These photos where taken while walking the streets of that wondrous city.

White Monday :: Brown Tuesday :: Black/Gray Wednesday :: Blue Thursday :: Red Friday ::

the donut and the hole

Not only is it my favourite day of the week but it's also donut morning. What better way to start the day then with coffee, a chocolate donut and that oh so puzzling conundrum - what comes first...the donut or the hole?

Melbourne has actually gone donut mad at the moment. After much hype Krispy Kreme has finally opened its first Victorian store in Narre Warren, apparently there was a 1km queue for a donut! Don't get me wrong, love the donut, but queuing for over an hour kinda takes the fun out of the sugary beast.

Dark Chocolate Heaven

I have decided that since my blog is titled 'My Chocolate Kingdom' with a nod to the interesting thoughts of edward monkton I should incorporate a little bit of a chocolate heaven into my musings. Lets start things off with an oldie but a goodie..... Currently I am lovin' cadbury old gold dark in the handy 250gm block. Old Gold has always been a favourite with the older generation, now I am loathe to admit it has crept into my lunchbox. I don't know if its an age thing, a taste bud thing or a growing obsession with chocolate but old gold has definitely grown on me. It might just be the rich, dark smooth bitter taste or the fact that I can guarantee that anyone under the age of 25 will spit it out in disgust. Which was exactly the ploy my own mother engaged to her advantage when I was a wee lass (deep down I still don't believe she liked it). So here's to getting older and eating all the old gold yourself !

7 day challenge

Melbourne winter has officially settled in. I actually quite like the colder weather, it means snuggling with your loved ones, snow on the mountains and more cakes in your belly. May & June is a time for over eating and relaxing in a normally hectic year, my annual winter tummy has grown and as June looks to July it is time to hit the pavement again. Today is day five in my new 7 day running cycle, the kick start to my winter fitness program and preparation for the Sydney city to surf in 51 days, 22 hours, 37 minutes, 35 seconds (give or take). Although I like the colder weather running in winter is not so much fun. It's a struggle to drag yourself out into the crisp cold night air and push yourself and those extra kilos around the running track. My running partner and I set a slow pace last night but slow is better than not at all. Hopefully by day 7 my running fitness will have returned and we can pick up the pace and hit those hills ready for Sydney.

Winter Solstice

As the sun sets on the shortest day of the year we hit the ultimate double hump - Wednesday meets winter solstice. A perfect evening for dreaming of sunshine, beaches and cocktails before the harsh reality of cold winter nights & freezing dark mornings sets in. At least we have fluffy uggs and hot chocolate to warm our frosty feet.

Chick Flic

My friend Jodie is coming over tonight for some yummy food, a glass of vino, and a bit of chit chat while we watch one of my favs Pride & Prejudice. Nothing like a bit of girlfriend bonding to pull you out of the midweek slump.

A few things

where to start? the best place is at the beginning...

I decided to write a blog because I was beginning to feel suffocated in my life, in my job, in my creativity (or lack of) and a little bit down. I have no real reason to be unhappy, if I write down a list I really do have a pretty darn good life.

So here they are, a few good (great) things...
my husband, my pet budgie, my family, chocolate, my friends, a morning coffee, yoga, sunshine, running, fog, puppies, pjs, mangoes, dancing, laughter.

Lists are wonderful. I feel better already :)