the sunday session 15 - jump

you know what - melbourne weather is confusing me.  in all my years of watching the news and the weather round the country, i came to believe that melbourne was a mostly cold, rainy city.  i have found it far from that.  for me i haven't seen much rain, i know the chill will come, but that will be far out shadowed by all the great things it brings.

so at the minute i am still in short sleeves and taking the "just in case" coat with me each day. just in case.

i had a great - but busy week.  i like to wake everyday with fresh eyes and try not to be held back by anything - sometimes that does require a time of reflecting in order to move forward but with each new day we get another opportunity to fly higher and move forward taking steps to make life better for ourself and those around us. i also took a full make up free day - zero anything, but free faced freedom.

my 2 mantras of being in the now, and practicing gratitude make me feel at peace and somewhat emotionally fearless - and by that i mean that i am comfortable being me, being a bit out there, and embracing the reality that this is my life and i should feel empowered enough to say what i want, do what i want and respect that there will be people who may not get me. i am totally okay with that. but for those who do get me, then they find a warm, caring compassionate woman, who dresses louds, acts like she hasn't moved beyond her youth, but has the wisdom and ability to know what to do and when.

i even saw this horrid bracelet at the oppy on the weekend and bought it for fucks sake. i won't be wearing it E V E R, but i will own the word in an emotional sense.

my favourite outfit this week was the poncho gold jeans combo.

on saturday night, i was being a friend and it got me thinking abut how many people don't have someone to reach out to, someone who will just listen, support, never judge and just be a friend and the kind of friend who says right now, this is what you need.  own it, accept it, embrace it, let it be what it is and move forward. i have been lucky to have that support as well. it makes such a difference.

as i got dressed on sunday in the poncho gold jeans combo, i just couldn't get the Madonna song jump out of my head, the song about empowerment, being okay, being in charge of your own life and how it pans out. it was my soundtrack and a reminder that whatever has happened previously, shouldn't affect who and how i should be today.

months ago, i had the courage to jump into the unknown, i would love to think that others have the courage to be fearless and go fuck it, this is what i want, and i'm gonna give it a crack.

as i confront 50 - the ultimate mid life crisis, i am in love with who i am, and in love with the carefree person i am. although the song was written about something so not me, i just think that whatever is on the other side can only be found by digging deep, feeling fearless and jumping into the unknown.

Are you ready to jump
Get ready to jump
Don't ever look back oh baby
Yes, I'm ready to jump
Just take my hand
get ready to jump

if you can honestly put your hand up and say that your life is amazing, then you have probably started jumping. i for one, never want to be held back by anyone or anything. i want to jump further and higher while i have the chance and i want to encourage anyone to jump for something that will make a difference to your life and those around you. you don't even need gold jeans and a cream poncho to do it, just a little bit of fearless.

The Sunday Session 4 - eat eat eat

last week was a week for visitors and visiting, with my mum arriving last sunday for a few days and with me jetting off to sydney for a long weekend and it's all revolved around food and the need to dress to accommodate the amount of deliciousness that has been on offer.

i think from the looks i wore last week, that the spotted pants and green top was probably my favourite.  it had the right amount of pattern and the brighter than bright green top just seemed to make it a stand out and it felt amazing to wear.

but the week really did belong to the food and my mum and i had some super tasty vegetarian treats during the week.

starting with this from Aix cafe in centre place melbourne.  this little gem serves crepes and damn are they good.  i was a bit reluctant at first, as i hate stuff made with lots of eggs and thought they may have been eggy, but no, they were just delicious.  i enjoyed a goats cheese, spinach, roasted capsicum and thyme crepe and my mum had a tallegio, mushroom and spinach one.

this is a pretty filling cheap eat as well costing about 13 bucks each with a drink. a return visit will be in order to try out the sweet ones, in particular the traditional lemon and sugar, but i don't think you could go wrong with any of them. try and grab a seat in the laneway to watch all the passers by.

then it was off to brunetti on Swanston St for an affogato.  coffee and ice-cream in a wine glass.YEP! at $6.50, this is a great refreshing beverage or a sweet dessert.

we went to a place called enlightened cuisine on queensbridge street, southbank.  this is an asian vegetarian restaurant that specialises in mock meat.  i am going to own this loud and proud.  yep, i don't eat meat but i do eat the delicious substitute.  fake meat originated way back in the 1890's and man has it come a long way.

there are many places that embrace the mock meat regime and luckily for me, this one is close to home.  we dined on sesame prawn toasts, wontons, vegetarian fried rice and duck with plum sauce. delicious.

this was probably the most expensive meal of the week. i think it was just over $60 with 2 glasses of wine.but it was so worth it and given that i love leftovers, i was able to get a lunch from this as well.

 

doc pizza at albert park was also a good night out - with the words "so good" being said about 1000 times.  cause it was so freaken good. this is my pizza go to of choice. we devoured the rocket, pear and honey salad and a buffalo mozzarella pizza. i am renowned for not eating my pizza crust, but this night, i decided to live a little and poured some of their amazing olive oil onto my plate, sprinkled it with a bit of salt and started dipping.  it is the way forwward now for crust demolition.  amazing pizza, salad and 2 glasses of wine was just over 50 bucks, but worth everyone of them.

one lunch time, my mum and i went and sat by the yarra and enjoyed the tofu curry on brown rice from shuji sushi at freshwater place.   this is a perfect lunch time dish, because there is so much of it that at about 11 bucks a pop, there is enough for the next day's lunch, making it a super bargain meal. and for the "i'm on a budget - give me a meal deal" necessity. it doesn't even need to be reheated, which is a bonus.

more delicious eating took place at etto pasta south melbourne.  this is a fave place of mine because it is authentic and also relaxed with footpath dining as well as a few tables inside. on my first visit, i very smartly ordered the kids size meal and man, that's the smart thing to do, cause the serves are massive.

on this visit i ordered the 3 cheese gnocchi and my mum ordered the meredith goat cheese ravioli in a tomato sauce with olives. we just keep reaching across each other to take spoonfuls of food. none of this getting extra plates biz. and we shared a caprese and yep - left overs.  the glass of wine is also a good size, so we shared that as well.

i really want to branch out and try some other things, but it's hard i seem to always come back to the gnocchi.  about 45 bucks with leftovers but we did order the ravioli special.

with my mum heading back to fiji, it was time for me to get ready to head to sydney for the long weekend with these guys, who recently made the move from brisbane to sydney.

we ate a LOT of food and a lot of cheese. happy days.  saturday brekky was at little mule in stanmore, where i had the best sandwich i have ever eaten.  it was brocolli, kale, swiss cheese and jalapeno.  a fucking party in your mouth.

the coffee was great also, and they managed to make the "hotcold" to perfection. ice, coffee, warm milk.

the ladies headed off to paddington for a stroll and again, managed to have some tasty treats.

first stop was orchard st, the raw takeaway, where kombucha was in order.  they had some good looking stuff, but i drew the line at being tempted by the chocolate that was laced with medicinal mushrooms. didn't end well over 30 years ago, so couldn't see it ending well today - given that i hate mushrooms of any kind. we didn't go and beg for any samples at sweet art, but it's a sydney institution in the cake making scene and the window never fails to delight.

we wandered to the markets where we stumbled across a man asking for people to try his balls. tasty balls they were.  it was an egyptian vegetarian place and we shared this delicious platter consisting of falafel, vine leaves, dips, beans and salad washed down with a fresh lemonade. seriously tasty and i would head back there in a heart beat.

saturday night belonged to espresso martinis from gunthers dining room, which followed an amazing meal at redfern continental. they are one and the same.  we started with some ginger cocktail and ended up in bad shape.

dinner was amazing, the vegetarian offer was stuffed zucchini flower and my main was penne arrabiata which was just right.  the sauce had that i want to stick to your pasta consistency. we shared caprese, brocollini, and fries.  there was a lot of food and we retired to the dining room at the back of the restaurant for some cocktails and nonsense.

 

the animals were an addition, as we felt the need to spruce up our drinks.

on sunday, i took dorothy for a walk and we enjoyed a coffee while my host and hostess did some sleeping.....a lot of sleeping. whoever said that three espresso martinis would keep one awake, was a big liar.

we decided to eat in that night and i got the pleasure of cooking.  oh it has been too long since i have been let loose in the kitchen to create something more than dahl and rice, or quinoa and raw veg.  and this dinner of gnocchi 2 ways - gorgonzola and chilli with caprese, salad and brocolli was a massive hit.  i am going to share all these recipes as it's definitely a dinner party waiting to be had that is pretty much foolproof - unless you are a fool.

on monday - 2 became 3 and we headed off to manly, but not before enjoying a homemade brekky of toast with tomato fetta and fresh picked basil.

 our trip to manly was great where we dined on kids meals at the manly 16ft skiff club.  brilliant.  pizza for one.

 and of course there is always shenanigans when we are together.

dinner was delicious leftovers from the night before with a serve of jenga and vodka shots for whoever knocked over the tower. phew - wasn't me.

 

and a lightening filled adventure up on to the roof of the house.  wow - hello sydney.

tuesday came and it was time to head home, but not before a piece of vegemite toast.  proud to be a vegemite kid, but only when the toast is cold and the butter spreads like cheese.  none of this melted business.

it's australia day and although there's a lot to celebrate - cause we do live in an amazing country, we could also do better at loving our fellow man - or woman, past present and future.

 

well i had an amazing week (apart from the bolt of turbulance on arrival into melbourne that had people loudly yelling "shit") and one where i got to see some amazing sights, eat some amazing food and catch up with great people.   

my week was topped off by waking up to find that my friends dog has pissed in my make up bag and a bit of my suitcase.  i knew that my deoderant hadn't leaked and if it had, it certainly didn't smell like wizz....  he either wanted me to leave, or wanted me to know how much he loved me.  either way, how fucking australian is that. at least he didn't try to hump me!

the sunday session - 2

well, i am still feeling a bit of withdrawal from not doing my what i wore project.  sniff sniff. but that hasn't stopped me from looking fabulous.

last week i had a highlight - i went on a date....yes, a "date". i didn't call it a date, cause that implies it's a date - what is a fucking date anyway.....apart from a piece of fruit that is dry and chewy and even when in something sticky isn't that great.  i also had a lowlight, but i might talk about that when i do my next don't sweat the small stuff blog.

I really like the idea of just going for a "catch-up" as my friend Elena calls it.  one hour - a catchup - the time it takes to have a productive meeting and decide what outcomes you need to deliver - if any. do you need to schedule another meeting to resolve the issue, or in my case do you need some action items in order to move forward.

So I need some action items and it involves realising what it is i want.  And again, i call on my friend Elena, who doesn't want to find herself in another 10 years unable to explore the great things that there is to explore, because you would never want a zimmer frame to get in the way.  I need to see what's out there.  i had a child at 19, married young, divorced young, felt unbelievable pain and zero self confidence till i reached my 30's and even then i didn't skyrocket but i started to skyrocket later in life (never was one for convention) and now in my late 40's i want to challenge every part of me and explore things i never did before, because of my fears. i want to enjoy the company of the opposite sex and this isn't about having sex (ooops i said the sexy word or about having to feel that my life is incomplete without a significant other), but about having fun, and flirting and growing and enjoying life with someone of the opposite gender.

so over the weekend, i decided to dig a little deeper into my soul cause i really do think i must be giving off/given off the wrong energy to men cause honestly, i cannot seem to engage men in any way - apart from sleazy online mentions and my barista when he looks at me with a raised eyebrow when i ask for something different than a 3/4 soy latte. maybe i need to swap the janergy to manergy and see if that makes a difference.  but i don't want to end up like the reverse Caitlyn Jenner, cause that's not the aim of the game.

so, i'm gonna open it up right here, right now. i have always had a fear of people not liking me - especially MEN (i have my reasons, but it's time to move on)  How Fucking Stupid Is That - the most likable person on the planet and when i shared this with my friend Elena (who i have referenced plenty of times here), she had the light bulb moment and then i had the light bulb moment and i went right, better do something about that then...

the best way to face a fear is to tackle it head on. so i got a piece of paper and exorcised some fears from my subconscious.  this is so teenage, but after being advised by my EAP'er last year to write shit down, i did it.  NOTE: if you can get past the airy fairy and put that stuff that is chasing its tail around in your head down on paper, two things can happen.

1. you look at the problem objectively - thus seeing it for what it is - a blip on the life radar
2. you move it to the external drive (the paper) where it then frees up the space in your mind for other stuff, such as creating space to face your fears.

once they were on paper - i burned those mother fuckers.

so with that, i am challenging myself to be open to all possibilities and the beauty is that i am in the driver's seat.  i can switch it up a gear, hit the brakes,  pull over to the side and tell the passenger to get out any time and that is totally cool.  i am making all the road rules and if the sat nav doesn't take me to the destination, then that's fine i may have seen some great landscape on the way and i can always re-route.

i love a light bulb moment, cause not only does it create a spark that gives you an Adrenalin burst, but it also lights the way to see what lies ahead and for me that's going to be working my janergy as i continue to dig deeper into my soul and uncover the many layers that this life has to offer me.

challenge yourself - it's amazing how it paves the way from scary unknown to the "oh my god, i am so glad i did".

stay tuned.

the what i wore project - week 52

week 52 - hang on - wasn't this supposed to be the last week of the year???  well according to my diary it is, but there is still 4 days left, so my what it wore project isn't quite over yet.

it was a fun week though - and one where i was able to see forward to a window in the year where i could have 10 days off to unwind, relax and enjoy some stillness of body and mind, following this bonkers year.

i think i managed to make it through the week looking tres chic.

monday i donned the jo mercer boots, target pleather skirt, and leopard top gifted from my sister. the belt was from a 2 dollar shop and i was loving this. it was a hip swaying outfit - boom to the left, boom to the right, boom, boom boom.

tuesday, i was challenged for wearing black and being converted to a melbourner.  no no no no no. this wasn't about black, but about the shiny red shoes from jo mercer that just happened to complement this gorgeous dress i made back in about 2012. it is so textured and cute and i copped a lot of feels.

i had the perfect hair - it was just the right height, with the right amount of flick, but i was let down with the bare minerals lipstick fail. lipstick on your collar, tells a tale on you, but lipstick on your teeth - makes you look like a dudey head.

wednesday i went for the tropical twist. it was a fun bula frock from fiji, teamed with belt from 2 dollar shop and shoes from jo mercer.  i posed under a bridge at southbank and bought the fiji islands to the city.

thursday i was determined to wear my bad christmas shirt for the day. i thought it was bad, but people loved it.

but i guess everyone loves elvis - even when he is a christmas bauble. i teamed the shirt with jeans, shoes from jo mercer, my name belt from NYC and i posed with the Chrissy tree in the foyer of my apartment. 

well friday was christmas day - a day that i am not attached to by religion, but by being with family and friends.  this way my first christmas on my own and guess what i wasn't on my own. i had a super time.  i went to fed square to have breakfast with people like me - people who were new to melbourne, displaced, homeless, or just wanted a free brekky....

i then went our for lunch and i wore some great brocade shorts from huudaverti, kaftan top made by me circa 2007, shoes from nine west, and a sprinkling of happy.

this beautiful woman who i met recently included me in her christmas day with her friends and i felt both greatful and privileged to have had such a lovely day with like minded people, who were determined to have a fun day. how awesome are we?

it was one of the funnest christmas days i have had shared with people from Spain, India, Malaysia, Peru, France, Egypt and Australia.  it was truly amazing.

i took this photo as part of my morning ootd shots and i really love it.  i am wondering what to do as my next project - and i know i want it to involve fashion and writing, but i think that smiling should also be part of the picture.  it's amazing how much a smile can make a difference to anyone. 

on saturday, boxing day, i was invited to join the jobson's for brunch.  they are my kind of crazy and i can't thank this family enough for welcoming into their home for the day. i actually didn't want to leave. i wore jeans, birkenstocks, red shirt from an oppy, baubles in my hair and accessorised with a pimms.

when you arrive at someones house, let yourself in to see santa dishing out presents and the kids running wild, then you know it's going to be a great day.

my photographer was the lovely Beck and this is one of those days that i will cherish.

sunday i wore some sparkly pants i made, my birkys and a swan shirt i picked up in brissy yonks ago. i love the street art around melbourne, so this was the perfect place for me to be airborne - like a bird - for about 2 seconds.

well. that's week 52 done and i'll be happy to reflect on my year when i do my last 2015 fashion post, but until then, share a smile - you never know what it will mean to someone else.