Waters off 1770, my 21st birthday weekend, Toadfish. Awesome day! xx OTIG

Winter Festival Connotations

Countdown to my birthday is 5 days. Countdown til my holidays start is 6 days. Countdown to Splendour is 13 days! I can't wait for winter, festivally goodness!

I can't believe how much I've missed out on writing up here due to a lack of time in the blogging department. I've been busy working, training, cleaning my house and hanging out with new people. Oh, and a lot of time watching re-runs of How I Met Your Mother.

My new favourite dinner is Baked Potatoes Covered With Lots of Delicious Toppings and Microwaved Until All the Cheese Dumped on Top Melts. Take one large, clean, farm potato. Cut it in half and prick the insides twice with a fork. Place face down on a plate and microwave for 4 minutes. Then microwave face up for 3 minutes. Take potato out of the microwave and proceed to dump toppings of choice on the faces of the potato. I'm digging Diced Bacon, roughly diced Onion, Salami, Tomato (fresh or sundried) and truckloads of Tasty Cheese. Let the toppings fall off the side a bit, it doesn't matter, just make sure there's lots. of. cheese. Microwave the whole lot for another 3 minutes, then bravo, chop it all up, season with salt and pepper and you're done. That is the best food for just after you get home from the gym! (Health can get screwed!)

Updators.

I booked my tickets to Paramore last Friday night, and my best friend Barb will be accompanying me which will be really great - I've been spouting love lust for this city to her for months, and now I can show her what all my fuss is about. So have a look at the wonderful things Lonely Planet has to say about my Melbs:

"Sophisticated and slick, edgy and rough, Melbourne’s physical and cultural landscape is shaped by a dynamic population, ever-ravenous for a bite of global culture. The result is Australia’s most accessible multiculturalism. Ornate Victorian-era architecture and leafy, established boulevards reflect the city’s history, and cutting-edge developments such as Federation Sq exemplify its enigmatic contemporary style. But, Melburnians still keep their urban frenzy to a deliciously sedate pace. Trams lumber back and forth on routes radiating out like spokes from central Melbourne, and cycling is a common way to get from A to Z."

"Character-filled neighbourhoods, such as Fitzroy, St Kilda and Carlton, hum with life and the city produces some of the best art, music, cuisine, fashion, performance, design and ideas in the world. Melbournians are also devoted to their sport and they go ballistic around the Australian Football League (AFL; ‘footy’ to the locals) finals and during Spring Racing Carnival. They love to shop, eat and attend the myriad festivals that the city offers. You’ll even find them defending the city’s temperamental weather, and if you’ve ever experienced Melbourne’s inclination to plummet from searing heat to drizzling rain in the space of an hour, you’ll understand that this must be the true definition of unconditional love."

Some places I want to try out this time include:

The Bell Jar, 656 Smith St, Collingwood +61 410 336 019

Journal, Shop 1/235 Flinders Lane, Melbourne ph: 9650 4399

My boyfriend got an iPhone yesterday, jolly menace he is. I still have to wait a month and a half til my old contract runs out, and he sneaks in before me just to make sure he is always just a little bit cooler. I will have one in my hot little hands soon enough. He bought me shoes last week, mind you, they were $20.00, and it was only because he accidentally spewed on my face the night before. But that's another story for another time.

xx OTIG

Harriet the Spy

I love the idea of being properly prepared, the whole package, ready to go out into the world. I am snug, dressed in stockings, frock, coat, scarf and boots. I have a bag, and in it I have all the tools I might need - nail file, face wipes, phone charger, make-up, bottle of water, hair spray, disposable camera, notebook and pen, map, money, toothbrush, spare pair of undies, ribbon and safety pins. With these on my person I can survive any situation I encounter. I am leaving my base, my cave, which holds everything I own, and I'm setting out for the whole day with only the essentials.

This is a lazy Sunday afternoon of blogging. OTIG