^ Dear Van Gogh mug by Mike Mak (via swissmiss)

Today this lovely handmade envelope and a letter came from Megan;



^ I commented on the envelope when I saw it on her blog and said how much I liked it so she sent it to me. Love the pic of Zooey and it was a great letter. AAAAAND, I won her lovely giveaway :)

And I finished a letter for Lauren;


Still watching the tennis. Whenever Lleyton Hewitt (Australian tennis player) is playing I automatically support who ever he's against. If you've ever seen him play you'll probably know why I find him so unpleasant; lots of ridiculous hand gestures and yelling, like so;



Listening to: I and Love and You - The Avett Brothers

^ brantlea.

I've spent the day watching the Australian Open on tv. Last year when I watched it I was living with my brother and his wife in Carrington, and the final between Rafa and Federer made me cry, ha. The commentators are lengthily discussing the texture, shape and size of the tennis balls this year, it's ridiculous - "those balls couldn't get any fluffier". I swear I'd be a better commentator. I think I'm the least likely sports fan, but for two weeks of the year I am a die hard tennis fan, and for part of the rest of the year I am an Australian soccer fan. Yesterday I finally went for a bike ride on my rusty little kids bike - I hadn't ridden a bike in about ten years, so I looked pretty wobbly and ridiculous. I felt dorky, but I had a fun time riding around Newcastle's back streets. Sadly, C's bike is broken so we can't go for anther ride today. I'm looking forward to riding every day, and only just considered that it might make me a fitter. I haven't stopped sneezing over the last few days, it's exhausting.

I received a gorgeous envelope this morning from a Swap-botter in a Decorated Envie Swap and she included two envelopes she'd made. The main envelope looks like a Cavallini & Co, but I'm not certain;






I made a quick birthday card and envelope for C's mum last night;



Here are some pictures of my brother and my beautiful niece I took on the weekend;

^ on the table and then yawning at my mum.


^ This is my little sister.


^ one of the pavlovas I decorated for desert.

Letters to reply to: 9
Eating: Vegemite and cheese sandwiches.
Drinking: Fuze.
Listening to: screeching of Rafa's shoes on the tennis court on the Open on TV.

^ Nick Cave's soundsuits (via Agent Lover) and 'Baby' by Paul Graves (via Design For Mankind) - this one's for you Sylvia.

So, I spent several hours today laboriously slightly modifying my blog layout. I think it's generally tidier, but the two side columns make it a little cluttered and distracting and now every image can be no larger than 500px in width! How awful! Anyhow, I'm too lazy to change it any further and I haven't fiddled with html since I was about fifteen and I used to make geocities webpages every day, so I'm out of practice. I also made a new little favicon (look to the left of the url), by using this tutorial. I received two lovely items of mail today;




^This came from miss GirlZoot. She made twenty mini envelopes each containing the answer to questions I asked her in my last letter and each sealed with a different sticker.



^ A great Di De Los Muertos themed postcard from a lovely miss in Arizona.

^ unknown.

10 Things that make me happy (tagged by Megan and Belen);

1. My supportive, gentle, cooking, cleaning, cheerful boyfriend. Every morning he greets me with hot chocolate and marmalade toast. He often wears an apron, likes riding his bike, getting his hair brushed and the bands Phish, Belle & Sebastian and Nine Inch Nails a lot. Every day I feel appreciated, loved, cared for and happy.

2. Friends, near and far.

3. Blogs and blogging; I never knew, prior to starting this blog, that it would introduce me to an amazing community of like-minded people. If you're reading this, it makes me happy that you're reading this.

4. Sending and receiving letters; Going to my letterbox every morning is my feel-good routine. Writing a letter (or three) a day is therapeutic and it feels good to have a full-time hobby that revolves around making things to give to other people.

5. Music; here are some of the happiest songs I could think of -

1. Huddle Formation by The Go! Team
2. Ce Matin La by Air
3. Fed and Watered by Josh Pyke
4. Send Me On My Way by Rusted Root
5. Ta Douleur by Camille
6. Funny Little Frog by Belle & Sebastian
7. Tout Doucement by Feist
8. If You Should Try To Kiss Her by Dressy Bessy
9. Big Jumps by Emiliana Torrini
10. The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song by The Flaming Lips
11. We Just Won't Be Defeated by The Go! Team
12. Shoebox by Kate Miller-Heidke
13. You Make My Dreams by Hall & Oates
14. Wrapped In Piano Strings by Radical Face
15. Electric Feel by MGMT
16. Better by Regina Spektor
17. Now, Now by St. Vincent
18. For Once in My Life by Stevie Wonder
19. New Soul by Yael Naim
20. You And Me Song by The Wannadies
21. Before We Begin - Broadcast
- Download HERE.

6. Creativity; painting, collage, singing, writing, drawing, decorating, making.

7. My family;

^ Yesterday at our belated Christmas lunch.

8. Food; I'm not much of a comfort eater, but C makes me the most delicious food every day and it makes me very happy to eat these masterpieces.

9. Boxset TV, movies & books; I love getting wrapped up in fictional worlds and realities and being in another place for half an hour.

10. 95 Fern Street, Islington, 2296, NSW, Austalia. C and I have made a date that we're going to decide to think about making a decision about moving to Tasmania (A+ decision makers) and although I'm feel really positive about this move, I will really miss Newcastle, seeing friends and family and definitely the little home we made ourselves here. It's small and nothing flashy, but it's always had a good feeling about it.

I'm never good at the tagging part of this, but I'll pick a few - only do it if you feel like it; Rokia, Sophie, Carly, Sylvia, Milly, Charlotte Lucy, Stu, Faiza, Karli and Holly. If you haven't been tagged yet, feel free to participate :)

Also, I saw this on Still Live's lovely blog and I thought it was rather nice. I'm not sure of its original source;

HOW TO HAVE A LOVELY DAY:
1. Smile at strangers.
2. Slow down.
3. Say thank you.
4. Give lots of compliments.
5. Dress nicely.
6. Wear parfume.
7. Observe and listen.
8. Be charming.
9. Laugh.
10. Wish people a lovely day.