+ Swapping baked goods with my friend Jaine.
+ Sipping mulled cider with whiskey while watching nice films on Sunday evenings.
+ A lovely impromptu dinner at my neighbour's house.
+ The little gap between Theo's front teeth.
+ Lady dates to look forward to with friends.
+ Cheese, biscuits and semi-dried tomatoes on the table in the team room at work before my shift. I ate so many.
+ My fun friend Mary's Kickstarter campaign for her book.
+ A pile of thrifted books (recently: The Virigin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides, Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh, Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson and Generation X by Douglas Coupland).
+ Scented candles that make my house smell delicious.
+ Walking up the hill to West Launceston with a friend and admiring the view of the city.
+ Bare limbed trees reaching for the sky.
+ Cardamon.
+ The Chat 10 Looks 3 podcast by Annabel Crabb & Leigh Sales.
+ The odd people I observe at work who make going to work feel more worthwhile.
+ French Earl Grey.
+ Buying a $4 radio alarm clock from the opshop and waking up to the radio (a strategy I'm trying to implement to deter myself from pressing snooze a dozen times).
Flannelette sheets. Late nights. Late mornings. Radio. Fire warmth. Text messages. Tinder. Polite hellos. Burgers. Smudged eyeliner. Milo out of the can. Op-shopping. Perfumed scarves. Toddler conversations. Migraines. Bus. Secondhand books. Gouache. Bad eyesight. Chapped lips. Scented candles. Bare trees. Friendship. Intuition. Deep breathing. Lack of routine. Lust. Wondering. Overindulgence. Restlessness. Muesli and yoghurt. Baths. Floordrobe. Typography. Freelance. Customers. Chit-chat. Toy trains. Microwave. Wood smoke. Overtired. Foggy breath. Films. Comfort food. Cold toes. Memory. Black paint. Tiny paintbrushes. Honesty. Too much iPhone. Colourful mess. Drawing dates. Alarm clock snooze. Uncertainty. New pens. A pile of vintage. French Earl Grey. Sleep.
Inspired by Susannah.
What are your 100 Words of Now?
Reading | Craft For The Soul - Pip Lincolne (the best book I've read in ages - really uplifting and great advice), Uncle Tungsten - Oliver Sacks, Art Before Breakfast - Danny Gregory (a gift from my brother) and a bunch of excellent zines I picked up in Sydney last month.
Listening | Feist records on my fancy little old record player.
Watching | Bunheads (fun), Populaire (gorgeous French film) and 20,000 Days On Earth (I saw this with my friend Jaine at a little bar in town last night and drank warm mulled cider with whiskey out of a metal cup! The film was fantastic and so was the beverage). I also went to see Nazeem Hussein to a fantastic with my friend Jaine and he was excellent.
Consuming | A million cups of T2 French Earl Grey. Toasted marshmallows (Theo tried one and said "yuck!" - more for Mum!).
Making | Illustrations for all sorts of fun things including a piece for a little girl's room, a poster for a local band, a canvas as a gift for a friend, some envelope lettering and a chalk mural at a local cafe - more on this in a later post!
Looking forward to | Warmer weather - seems so far off right now! Brrrr. I love scarves and coats and hats and warm drinks and my crackling fire, but the cold effects my morale so much. Tasmania has three amazing, beautiful seasons and one in which I just wish away the time!
This month I returned home from Sydney after attending the zine fair, seeing Morrissey in concert, celebrating Theo's birthday, visiting my sister and her babies and I came home to an especially chilly Launceston. I've been having Theo at my house from Sunday - Tuesday each week for the past few weeks and it has been the best part of my week every week. We play, we go for walks, we go out for babycinos and chai, we jump on the bed, we watch shows, we kick balls around, he helps me to light the fire. I bought him an old fashioned wooden train set last week and sat the box in his room for when he arrived. When he came over he went to his room to get some toys and he brought the box out to me immediately with a look of awe on his face (he'd played with one at his cousin's house, so he knew what it was). I took all of the bits and pieces out of the box and he got straight into assembling his little track and he played with it for a solid three hours. He then had the biggest meltdown he's ever had when I told him it was bedtime - back arching, guttural crying, head banging on the floor . The next day he was up at the crack of dawn to get straight back into it. It was lovely to see him so obsessed and focussed with a toy and seeing his dexterous little hands assembling the pieces. He makes lots of fun sound effects too. I think I'm going to get him some extra little pieces like bridges and turnstiles and other bits to add to it. He is getting much more conversational lately too. He's a dream boy.
I've been a bit stressed out lately freelancing, so I'm planning on paring my jobs right back as I head back to study in a few weeks time. I really love freelance and feel so very lucky to have people interested in my work, but I'm having trouble juggling several jobs at the moment with my supermarket job, Theo, study and trying to work in my personal work somewhere.
Life is good at the moment though. The past six months have been really character building and positive for me, despite the tribulations. Thanks for reading folks, xo.
+ The shaggy Dachshund that lives across the road from my house
+ A fresh, new little red Moleskine for keeping ideas in
+ Lovely lady dates involving cake
+ Dipping chocolate chip biscuits into hot Milo with my toddler mate
+ Putting together little packages for nice people
+ A pile of zines to read by the bed
+ A roaring, crackling fire
+ Finding pieces of fruit under furniture after Theo has gone home with tiny teeth marks on them
+ Packages bound with twine
+ Going out to see a great comedy show with my friend Jaine
+ Books that give great advice
+ Theo playing with the wooden train set I bought him for hours on end
+ Compliments from customers on my new glasses
+ An opshopping adventure in the works
+ Making up little melodies while I'm in the car
I've not been feeling much like myself lately. Getting out of bed each day has been especially difficult (not helped by the temperature being somewhere near zero each morning). I am trying to do some nice things for myself and have some nice moments. I just wanted to say so, to commit the feeling to paper and try to move on from it. I hope you're doing okay.