single happy moment: garden joy
I’ve always been a bit useless at gardening, but since we moved into our house-with-scary-garden 8 months ago, I’ve really taken a shine to it. I’ve been experimenting, with varying results, with flowers, annuals, perennials, fruit and vegetables, creepers, herbs, hanging baskets, mulches and fertilisers – all terms and things I’d previously had zero knowledge of.
Mostly though, I was just a little bit tentative about my foray into gardening, and so for the most part, tried to leave it as the old owners had left it to us.
I did make one huge change though – my ultimate pride in the garden for the first summer I had with it, was harvesting some delicious tomatos from my 2 plants I bought as soon as I moved in and found a sunny spot.
pride and joy!
They were just regular tomatoes from the nursery, Burkes Backyard ones I think, but they were the single successful thing I grew that then gave me the confidence to tackle other plants, and even a bit of a landscape makeover (which is still in progress!)
Delicious, and inspiring. What helped you gain confidence as a gardener when you first started out?
Read Moresingle happy moment: villas & sunshine
In 2010, over Easter, myself and my fabulous dance team took a little trip to Bali for the Indonesia Salsa Festival. I was teaching, and my team was performing. We decided to land a few days before the festival to soak up some sun, and rented a gorgeous villa in Seminyak.
The week seemed to go by lazily, with us starting the day by rising blearily from bed and tumbling straight into our private pool, daily visits to the spas, then afternoons spent between lounging with cocktails on the deck, and having somersault competitions in the pool again.
It got so utterly decadent that one of the things we seemed to think was HILARIOUS by the end of the trip (proving our delirious happiness) – was swim up to the edge of the pool and peer over, pretending to be sharks. UH HUH. YES. We are just so cool.
can you hear the Jaws theme playing? 
fooling around on the deck
It was probably one of the best trips we’ve done as a team, simply for all the pool time and laughter that was shared. SUCH a good single happy memory to have in the chill of mid winter in Melbourne, and to look forward doubly to our Thailand trip this November!
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quoted for truth
Sometimes you come across a quote that makes your spine tingle, because it rings so utterly true for your aching heart. Sometimes your heart aches not because the quote references one particular incident, but because its essence defines your life’s mission statement that is somehow at times not reflected back at you by others.
Here’s to focussing on living a life touched with humanity, of having grace in times of difficulty, of moments laced with greatness without regrets. Of remembering that everyone deserves to be truly happy, despite your own selfish concerns. Of knowing in your heart that you got somewhere without trodding on anyone else. Of knowing that even if you’re not going anywhere, there’s no need to climb on anyone to get there.
In other words, winning, the right way.
Surely if the world did this, it would be a better place?
Read Morethe chaise chase
Since moving into our house 8 months ago, we’ve done pretty well to settle in the way we have. We’ve done several stages of backyard blitzes (1, 2, 3, 4), made-over an outdoor furniture setting, done an incredible amount of landscaping (which I haven’t blogged about), bought almost all our furniture, and found good storage for most things. We DO still have 1 last room which is a bit junky (shh don’t tell), but mostly, it’s pretty good.
I have, however, been insisting to S that we need one last piece of furniture in the loungeroom. I just think it would complete it so. See, we have the world’s LARGEST L-shaped couch, and it’s just a huge monstrosity, albeit a comfortable one. So i think to CLOSE the U-shape so that we can sit AROUND the TV and worship it appropriately, a lounging chaise (and a good-looking one at that) would fit the bill nicely.
S isn’t so sure. He thinks we don’t need ANOTHER piece of furniture, and thinks my penchant for buying things I don’t strictly need is a disease.
To which I reply, maybe so, BUT THIS CHAISE WILL COMPLETE THE ROOM!
Anyways, here’s some inspiration I’ve been looking at for chaises. And maybe one day, S will come around and I’ll have my cleopatra lounging area.
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{source: the lennox}
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Can’t you see it? A lovely cushioned space for me to lounge about on so S can feed me grapes and bring me cups of tea. Ahhhhhh….
Oh wait. I see why he doesn’t want one now.
DAMN.
Anyway, in the interest of err research, does someone want to recommend me places in Melbourne to look for some of these beauties?
xx
Read Morethe big chop
So today I fulfilled one of my hair wishes. I don’t know if I’m alone in this, but there’s a few hairstyles I’ve always secretly lusted over but never had the guts to do. In my twenties, I experimented with MANY of these – blonde, hot pink, streaked hair, ultra short, corkscrew permed, blunt fringed, cleopatra style… But there was one cut I never got, and everytime I’ve seen another girl with it, I would get slightly wistful..
Today on a couple of recommendations, I popped into SAS Hairdressing which is just so near my house it’s almost sinful. Terence was my hairdresser, and he seemed just lovely.
I asked for “just a trim”, then as he discussed what he was going to do, I threw in a joke about how “i’ve always wanted a *******”.
And he said, “that would look HOT”.
AND I SAID NO. TOO MUCH. TOO DRASTIC. TOO NAUGHTY. TOO YOUNG.
So lovely Terence started snipping away, giving me JUST A TRIM, and a feeling in my belly kept growing fire.
All the thoughts kept running through my head.
I’m only young once.
I’m 30. When else am I ever going to do this?
It’ll grow, it’s just hair.
And when did I become that old fogey that was scared of cool haircuts anyway?
It’s just awful, that I’m now old and boring.
Plus, I think it may just look alright.
But err… S may hate it.
Oh well. he’ll live.
I’m only young once.
And I can totally still have cutting edge WHATEVER I WANT.
And it’ll make me feel alive, and beautiful and…
And suddenly, I blurted out, I WANT IT. And Terence stared at me incredulously for a total of 5 seconds before going HELL YEAH, LET’S DO IT!
He was extremely patient and understood my slight panic, and went extremely slow with me – first demarcating what he was going to do, then executing it in stages.
And voila, here it is.
Sharon, in an undercut.
as I was leaving the salon!
I’ve had mixed reactions to it – half of my friends ADORE it, and others are ambivalent. But the way I see it, I only live once, and you know, I actually REALLY like it! It FEELS nice (I keep stroking the undercut section a bit weirdly), it makes my hair sit across my forehead which is nice too, and I feel a bit spunky after almost a year of feeling in pain, dowdy, and not really living a whole life. And THAT feels nice. YAY!
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