Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Friday 25 March – Wedding prep Friday





Current location: Alexandria
11.11pm, Back home, after a trip to Camperdown. I'd had a partly busy/partly chilled day of soccer (just a friendly kickaround), pub trips, then a visit to my friend Rach's house, to make some macrame pot holders for the wedding. Cool huh?!

Thursday 24 March – The laziest, loveliest evening


Current location: Alexandria
11.11pm, Asleep. I had the most relaxing, chilled night tonight, ahead of what will be a pretty mad few weeks. I came home from work, made some yummy dinner, ate a bag of popcorn, watched Grey's Anatomy and drank two glasses of wine. Bliss.

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Wednesday 23 March – Wurmz in Enmore


Current location: Eveleigh
11.11am, Not reading. Which was a problem, because I had Book Club that evening, and I hadn't finished the book yet! I nearly had!
Luckily, I managed to squeeze in my last few pages on the way to Book Club, which was at Lou's house in Enmore, and then had a most excellent night eating more cheese and pastries and drinking more wine, and discussing said book (which we agreed was average...).

Sunday 20 March - Cheese dreams



Current location: Alexandria
11.11pm, Sitting on the sofa drinking wine and being very full of cheese. We had to try some cheeses for our wedding (yes, we had to) so we invited some friends around to help us get through a few kilos (not exaggerating) and drink some port. Weirdly and excellently, Sha, Nick and Andy all dressed the same.

Sunday 20 March - Matches of the day



Current location: Alexandria
11.11am, Being a bit nervous and drinking a protein shake. Today was our first proper soccer/football game, and I was pretty pumped by the time we got to the pitch (although that might have been the coffee). It all passed in a bit of a blur, that saw me run way to much in the first half and not enough in the second half, but the main thing to take away from the game was that we won 4-1! Woo! Go Freelance United! It really was an amazing team effort (with some extra effort from the goalscorers) and I really enjoyed it! And I got Woman of the Match (granted, there were only four to choose from) for 'doing everything we told you to do'. Can follow direction!
Seriously though, it was a great game, and I was really proud we got the win. Afterwards, once we were thoroughly drenched by the rain, we went to the pub and had a celebratory pint... Then I went to my netball semi-final, which we also – very surprisingly – won! Sadly, none of us expected to win so we didn't have enough players for the grand final, and had to forfeit! Still, a successful day of sport. 

Saturday 19 March - Ring ring




Current location: Paddington, Sydney
11.11am, Ring shopping! We kind of forgot we needed rings until this week, so managed to grab an appointment at Claire Aristides and chose some beauties (not the one pictured above, although I did love that one too). 
In the midst of a mad weekend, Andy and I then decided to go for a chilled and yummy brunch, just the two of us, to sit in the sun and have a bit of a relax before it was all go again...
Then it was all go again. I went out to Sydney Olympic Park and watch the ANZ Pre-Season Netball Shootout (amazing), then came back and we headed to the pub to meet our friend Franny. 

Friday 18 March - Just one drink




Current location: The city, Sydney
11.11pm, Dancing! Tonight, I went out for the infamous 'just one drink' after work, for two of my good friends' leaving parties (sob!). After that one drink, I had another couple (it was a hot day, i was rehydrating), then happened to amble over to karaoke across the road. It was hilarious, one of the funniest karaoke sessions I've ever been to, and, of course, we had to have a few more drinks to get us through the singing. It was actually so lovely to have a proper catch-up with my buddies from work, and there was such a good feeling and vibe. So good, in fact, that we then went back to the pub for 'just one more'... And honestly, I would have left – but then I ran into my beauty of a future-sister-in-law, Bree, and we arved up the dancefloor for aaaaages. The blurry, sweaty, happy photo at the bottom sums it all up. 


Thursday, March 17, 2016

Saturday 12 March – My hen do!










Current location: Nielson Park, Sydney
11.11am, Meeting up with my beautiful friends. My day went something like this:
At 10.15am, Sha and Rochy came around, then asked me to leave, locked me in the car and went back to my apartment to get what I needed for the day. We then all got in the car and drove... I didn't know where to, but we got out at stunning Nielson Park, which I've never been to before, but which is beautiful!
A group of about eight of us then walked the awesome coast path to Rose Bay, where the rest of my friends were waiting. We had some scrummy food and chats and sunbaked in the lovely sunshine, then walked along the beach a bit further until we got to a place to hire kayaks and paddleboards! The next hour or two was so fun, exploring the bay (on the very calm waters) and having a swim, and chatting and laughing and trying to do yoga on paddleboards, and falling off.
We walked back along afterwards, and carried on with our amazing champagne picnic, with delish foods (including gourmet sausage sandwiches), decorated with pretty bunting and rugs and cushions, and chilled out and scoffed ourselves.
Next up, Sha and Rochy kidnapped me again, and we went to Sha's house, where my very own hair and make-up artist came to make me look beautiful. I was also presented with an incredible gold Gorman dress and a flower crown – I was ready for the evening!
We got back in a cab and then got out again at Bree's – which had been transformed!! It was also ready for the evening – with our very own caterer whipping up amazing treats (honestly, the food was next level), champagne for days, beautiful decor, a karaoke machine, games, videos from my sisters and friends from home, and all my friends there looking gorgeous in bright colours! So special!
The next about 7 hours (yes, honestly) were packed full of some things I can mention and some I can't (no strippers), and a lot of tequila. We took over the dancefloor, I took over the karaoke machine and mircophone and did a very long speech on why I loved everyone, and we all danced and drank and sang and played games and drank and ate and danced and drank and played and laughed and laughed and laughed and had the best time ever.

Friday 11 March – Prepping for partying



Current location: Alexandria
11.11pm, Asleep. I had a nice early night, as tomorrow is my hen do! I have no idea what I'm doing, but I had a fab, chilled evening of doing my nails, doing a face mask, drinking lots of water and watching crap TV. So I'm nice and rested, ready for whatever tomorrow brings...

Wednesday 9 March – Sydney Dance Company



Current location: Alexandria
11.11pm, On our way home from our friend Petros' show. He dances for Sydney Dance Company, and the show was absolutely incredible, my favourite one so far!

Tuesday 7 March – Work wife



Current location: Eveleigh
11.11am, Soaking up my last few hours with my friend Yee... Today is her last day at work, and I work with her, eat with her, make cups of tea with her, dress the same, wear fancy dress with her, laugh with her, go to the beach with her, see taylor Swift with her, and generally just have the best time ever. I'm going to miss her os much but luckily she's staying in Sydney so we can still habng ALL THE TIME. Love you Yeezles. xxxx

Sunday 6 March – Soccer Sunday


Current location: Queens Park
11.11am, Playing soccer. I'm still learning and trying to get better! But it's a verrrrry slow process. 
Next up was drinks for Tristan's birthday, which was lovely out in the sunshine at The Local. 
We're dog-sitting Dana at the moment, so I came home and had a lovely walk with her and Rochy in the park... Fun times. 

Saturday 5 March – Sunshine and sweat and sparkling wine









Current location: Sydney
11.11am, Driving back to the city. This morning, Yee and I went down to Cronulla to meet our beautiful friend Keeley (who I usually work with but who's been off on maternity leave since having gorgeous baby Zephyr) and have brunch. It was hot and pretty, and I definitely want to go back to Cronulla again some time! I also drove, which, when you're as wussy a driver as I am, is quite the achievement!

When we got back to the city, I had a relaxed couple of hours, then hopped on a train/ferry to go to Manly. Today was the F45 Playoffs (like the Crossfit Games but less intense) and a group of us decided to compete, including an all-girls team. My goodness, it was tough. Physically, it was the worst 10 minutes of my life! Ten minutes of exercise doesn't sound that hard, but it was so hot, tiring, intimidating and way beyond my fitness levels! The high afterwards was great though, especially as our whole team was finishing, and we were all so proud of each other!

Afterwards, we went for a swim (the Playoffs were right on the beach) then went across the road to the pub for the next few hours... Then back to Sydney for a party at Matty D's house. Gotta love justifying nine hours of drinking with 10 minutes of exercise!

Monday 29 February – Grand final time!



Current location: Eveleigh, Sydney
11.11am, Being nervous. I was sooooo nervous all day, because tonight is our Oztag Grand Final. Considering we only just started playing this season, and half the team had never even heard of the game before, I was pretty stoked we'd even got to the finals.
So, the game begun, and we got off to a slow start. We caught up though, and at half-time it was 5-5. Pretty low-scoring and we hadn't got any girl tries (which are worth double).
At the start of the second half, the other team came out firing, and the score quickly blew out to 10-5, uh-oh. A bit of dodging from me got us two more points, and then we kept going and going until the final whistle blew. It was 11-11.
I won;t go into great detail of what happened next, but it was a drop-off (lose one male and one female from each side) and basically it become first try wins.
They got the first try.
They won. We got sad.
We sat on the field and drank beer with our friends for two hours and talked about how awesome it was that at the beginning of this season some of us didn't even know each other.
Very proud of Newtown Brooklyn!

Sunday 28 February – Day of non-rest







Current location: Queens Park, Sydney
11.11am, Playing soccer. Still loving playing, and trying out new positions (no-one can decide where I'd be best used as I don't really know what I'm doing!).
Soccer over-ran, so i had to go straight to my hair appointment... Turning up for a haircut with football boots and stinky football kit on isn't the best look, I'll be honest. But they sorted me out a treat, and then my lovely friend Ducky picked me up and we went to Bree's house, to sort out some wedding things with my bridesmaids. I got heaps done and didn't notice the time, until I suddenly had to rush to netball. We won 20-10, and I finally got home at about 9.45pm, and flaked out...

Saturday 27 February – Rainbow running








Current location: Sydney
11.11am, On our way up the coast. This morning a big group of us did the Rainbow Run, a 6.8km run in support of equal love and gay marriage. It was so hot but a really good atmosphere, and I managed to have a great catch-up with Jess on the way round too!
Afterwards we headed up to the Central Coast to Wagstaffe, to check out some of the details of our wedding venue. It was such a gorgeous day, and it just makes me hope it's sunny on the day!
We went back to Dave and Val's and had a yummy dinner and sat out on the balcony taste-testing all the wines for the wedding. Hard job, but someone has to do it!

Friday 26 February – Spice Alley






Current location: Chippendale, Sydney
11.11pm, In the pub with Nick and Andy. I was on my way back from Spice Alley, so popped in for one with them before I wobbled off home. I'd been out with some absolute legends from work for Aaron's last day. We'll miss him heaps, but there was a great bunch of people to celebrate his last day. We went to the Old Clare and had a drink on the rooftop, then bought some bottles of wine and spent a few hours at Spice Alley, a hawkers-style market in Broadway, which I love. Such a fun place!