52 lists – things I am grateful for

It’s Thanksgiving today. Of all the different holidays out there, I really wish this was one that we celebrated in Australia. It’s such a lovely idea to focus a whole day on being thankful.

Here’s some things that I am personally thankful for:

-Ian. He’s been my partner in crime since 1996 and every year with him gets better and better.

– My parents. They made me the person I am today.

– Leigh. She’s always been a wonderful sister. And now I get to watch her be a wonderful mother. Plus I’m spending my whole day with her tomorrow and I can’t wait!

– All the little babes in my life. Especially Antigone who is my favourite of them all. That girly deserves a medal for being such a joy giver.

– Roahl Dahl who is gone from this world, but who left us with the nuttiest, wackiest, most magical children’s stories.

– Bloggers. Unlike in mainstream media, bloggers are writers without borders and so I trust them, I learn from them, am inspired by them and feel happy because of them.

– Cold avocado. It’s like nature’s icecream.

– People with fanciful ideas. Ideas are beautiful.

– People who dress with pizazz. They are like moving art!

– Freshly baked cookies.

– Getting to spend the whole of this coming weekend in the City!!!!

– The lovely sunshine we’ve had lately. Summer has certainly said hello! I feel like my Vitamin D levels are nicely topped up. 

– Donna and Mel and their big personalities. They are like kindred spirits in excitement levels.

– Sheela and Alissa, who tell witty tales with punchy one liners and make me laugh.

– The girls I work with. There’s been a lot of banter and hi jinx lately and they make my torturous organisation bearable.

– That I don’t have a disfigured face. And for Emma, who made me think about this :)

What are you thankful for today?

Floating dandelions

52 lists – cookies I love

So Pip from Meet me at Mikes has made the list of the week all about cookies. I really don’t want to be thinking about cookies right now. But if I must, then I guess I must. I mean, that’s the way the cookie crumbles right?

There are SO many cookies out there. Millions and millions of them. But my favourite will always be the choc chip cookie. I like all versions of choc chip cookies. In this department, I am not a purist.

Here’s some delicious choc chip combos for you.

Cookies one

1 – Peanut butter & choc chip cookies

2 – Choc chip, nutella, candy cane cookies 

3 – Salted caramel chocolate chip cookies

4 – Choc chip cookies with nutella, brown butter and sea salt

Cookies again

5 – Skillet baked, chocolate chip cookies

6 – Buttered popcorn, chocolate chip cookies

7 – Salted, spicy, double chocolate, chilli cookies

8 – Pumpkin, chocolate chip cookies

What are your favourite cookies?

52 lists – things that warm my heart

My heart is suitably warmed right now. Some things that do this:

Hugs

Watching E sleep

Seeing elderly couples hold hands

Watching people eat a packed lunch (I know, this is weird, but seeing someone unwrap a sandwich and then open a flask of coffee brings me so much pleasure)

The look on E’s face when he sees me after we’ve been apart for a few hours or days

Animals dressed in clothes and/or glasses

This.

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52 lists – things I find relaxing

I could do with some relaxing today, after a super busy weekend. Things that make me relax:

Sitting quietly on my verandah

Colouring in my colouring books

Hearing no sounds, except for birds chirping

The late afternoon sun

Watching a good movie

Wandering through book shops

Literary time

Church

Being immersed in water. Bubble baths, long hot showers, swimming in a pool or the ocean

Lying on the grass in the sun

I hope you have time to relax this week.

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52 lists – style icons

Do you have style icons? Because I don’t really. Style icons are not my thing, you know? It’s not something I think about.

So I looked to my ‘She’s got the look’ pinterest board, for inspiration. And I’ve realised that:

I like girls who wear jeans well. 
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And red polish will always be my favourite. 

PicMonkey Collage

I’m also a fan of girls who look good in knee high boots. gbfgfgb

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I also think Nat is gorgeous. She rocks jeans, she rocks boots, she rocks stripes. And even when she’s just sitting about, like below (pics from her blog), she looks supes cute!

PicMonkey Collage

52 lists – nice sauces and condiments

This is a bonus mini list. Fitting really because sauces and condiments are like a bonus in a way.

I don’t like to have lots of condiment bottles in my fridge (clutter!) but I do delight when I find them in other people’s. My friend Tim’s mother has so many different sauces and chutney and pickles that she could set up a shop.

I love:

Aioli – But I can’t make it myself because once I see the raw egg going into it I freak out

Mustard – the hot English, Australian and American varieties

Gravy – must be thick and brown NOT clear

Hot chilli sauce – I like it so hot that my skin goes beet red, my eyes well up with tears and my head feel like a house on fire

Worcestershire – delicious on eggs, on hot chips and on oysters

Soy – cos I think I was Asian in a past life

Pickles – especially with cheese, on a ploughman style sandwich

Chutney – with leftover roast beef, this is such a winner

Pesto – I love me some green sauce!

Chimichurri – I quite like this recipe.

What are your favs?

From Pinty

52 lists – things I’ve read lately

Embarrassingly, I’ve only read three and a half books so far this year. This is mostly because I’ve discovered the joy of watching TV on my laptop before going to sleep. I’ve also been using long distance commutes to watch movies. What I have read though, has been amazing.

My three books so far this year are:

Books

I wrote about Shantaram here. I started it on January 1st and didn’t finish it till January 31st. It was certainly a hefty novel, at 946 pages long, but I loved every page. I think I probably could have finished it quicker if I’d just read the book and stopped youtubing. As I went along, I kept googling the author and I’d spend night after night reading about him online and watching interviews. Fascinating man!

Then there was The Boat, a collection of short stories by Nam Le. As with most short story collections, there’s always quite a few you love and then quite a few you don’t. Nam has a strong background in writing poetry and that was quite evident in his writing. He has a real way with words. And I really like ethnic literature. It’s important.

Next up was Life of Pi. I loved this book. I love beautiful quotes, as you know, and for me, this novel felt like one big, beautiful, philosophical quote. I loved Yann Martel’s perspective on religion and also on Zoos. I don’t necessarily agree with him, but he puts forward a few interesting arguments and gave me pause for thought. I also like how he calls churches God Houses. Tres cute! I’ve been mentally referring to them in the same way. I think I’ll probably do a whole post on this book at some stage.

I’m now about half way through A Million Little Pieces, a memoir by James Frey. It’s a tough book to read. Hearing about the way drug and alcohol addicts treat their bodies literally makes me feel weak at the knees. I think perhaps I’m reading this book to soon after Shantaram. It’s making me want to step back in time and give James’ liver some love!

But what about you? What have you been reading lately? Any good books? Mags? Cookbooks? Blogs? Websites? Share!

52 lists – things that make me feel cosy

Feeling cosy is da bomb!  What makes you feel cosy? For me, it’s:

Steaming cups of tea

Noodle slurping

Ugg boots with a good lining

Snuggling under a soft blanket

Browsing through a book shop on a rainy day

Wearing a hoodie (my winter uniform!)

Wearing jumpers a size too big so that I can fold the sleeves over my hands

Wrapping my fingers around a mug of coffee

Hearty soups stashed with vegetables

Cheesey jaffles

Reading in a big comfy chair (just need me a pouf!)

Soaking in the bath (add a handful of epsom salts, a handful of table salt and a handful of  baking soda. Then add a couple of drops of essential oil).

Being cared for when you feel poorly.

Steaming cup of coffee

52 lists – things I do every day

So I’m having a lot of fun here. Are you enjoying these lists or are you bored to tears?

This latest list is pretty much a summary of my day. If I could draw, I’d turn this into an infographic!

Things I do every day:

Hit snooze at least twice

Reluctantly wake up

Think about exercising more

Wash my hair, tie it in a top knot

Get dressed

Moisturise – feet, hands and face

Put on foundation

Check social media news feeds

Drink coffee

Drink tap water

Read the news

Read a book

Learn stuff

Write lists

Procrastinate

Think

Work

Roll my eyes

Use every swear word ever invented. Make up a few for good measure

Chat (too much)

Read blogs, read email, read texts

Laugh

Put together a special dish I call dinner

Clean benchtops

Acknowledge that I’m unreasonably obsessed with clean benchtops

Shower

Put on a sarong

Pop pills – of the vitamin variety

Count my blessings

Pray

Text Sheela

Say I love you

Dream