Day 347 - 12 things to smile about on 12/12/12

Seeing that today is 12/12/12 which is kinda special, I decided that I should do something a little different for today's post to commemorate this date. Today I'm documenting not just one thing that made me smile, but twelve!

So here we go, 12 things that made me smile on the 12th day of the 12th month in 2012:

Day 338 - Coming home to a running cat and pretty flowers and girls

After a looooooooooooooooooooooooooong day at work, it's so nice to come home to:

1. A cat that's running towards the door to greet me, with her flabby belly swinging from side to side as she runs.


2. Pretty flowers. There's something very therapeutic about flowers, they can turn a bad day right around. The roses are starting to open up.



3. Pretty girls. These gorgeous girls came in the mail today. Yep, I got MORE girls to adorn the house! 

Day 336 - It's December!

HOLY MACARONI I can't believe it's December already?! You know how everyone says the older you get, the faster time seems to fly by? It absolutely rings true for me. As you get older, you also start noticing that everyone around you says the same thing and can spend up to hours discussing and marvelling at how fast the year has whizzed by.

Today being the 1st of December means a few things:

1. It's officially the first day summer.
2. I can play Hanson's awesome Christmas album 'Snowed In' on high rotation without judgement!!!!!! I'M LISTENING TO IT NOW AS I TYPE OMG I LOVE THIS ALBUM SO DAMN MUCH OMG
3. There's just one month left of this project to go..!! Well technically, anyway, because at this point in time as I type this there are still *gulp* 64 posts from July - November to catch up on.. gah! I will write those posts in due time (even if I don't finish doing that this year....), I promise!

I woke up this morning to these 'stars' in my room. So pretty. They get me every time. I've thought about getting rid of these curtains and installing blinds many times, but every time I see the stars shining they just take my breath away.

Then I got some fresh flowers for the week,

and took some time to smell the roses with Snowflake (fun fact of the day - those red and yellow striped roses are called abracadabra roses!).

Chrysanthemums always remind me of my home in Penang. Dad almost always buys chrysanthemums for home every week from the market. They also make me think of the chrysanthemum tea we drink at yum cha. They're such simple flowers, but each bud carries with it a lot of sweet-smelling joy and nostalgia.

I almost forgot - the 1st of December also means one more thing... CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!!!

Day 302 - Coffee, fatty bacon, poorly photoshopped cat wrapping paper, job title: rock star, some stage of Project Home

On this beautiful sunny Sunday I...

...let out a heavy sigh. Oh coffee how I love you so, don't ever leave me.

...had a healthy dose of mushrooms and fatty bacon. ALL THAT TASTY CRISPY BACON FAT OMG

...giggled hysterically at this wrapping paper of a bunch of poorly photoshopped kittens that all look very sad to be put together. (Of course I bought it, it was only $1!!!)

...laughed and wished that I could put down 'rock star' as my job title.

...completed stage err I don't know 30? 500?! of Project Home. Yay!

Day 243 - Stage 27 of Project Home in progress

Why do birds suddenly appear,

every time you are near?

Day 187 - The bookshelves are done!

I'm proud to announce that Stage 26 (or whatever it is, I've lost count) of Project Home has finally been checked off!!

For the past few weeks, I've been making many trips to Ikea and my housemate Michael has been doing a lot of this...


Soon there was 1 Billy, and then there were another 4 Billys, but I had nowhere to put them...

...because this eyesore was in the way!

So after rifling through then packing everything up and chucking its remainings into the Bermuda Triangle, I was left with this... yay progress!

In the midst of switching some shelves over, my books had a hissy fit and became stepping stones all over my bedroom floor..

And I cleared out the closet (this itself took weeks... seriously...) and moved our towels (amongst other stuff) in there (I also thought I'd arrange them by colour). Pretty!

And in due time, everything started to fall nicely into place...


There's now SO much space for me to prance around!

Day 186 - Frankie freebie, cosy reading/lounging spot and sneak peak of bookshelves

1. You know that slight heart-in-your-throat feeling when you receive something unexpected for free in the mail (that's not bills)?! Aww Frankie I wanna give you a hug.



2. Stage 11 of Project Home - create a cosy reading/lounging spot and try and camouflage the random spare mattress - check!



3. And finally, a sneak peak of stage 25?!? (which is still in progress) of Project Home!:

Day 185 - The Bermuda Triangle eats crap like you for breakfast

Now you see it...

...but in a few hours' time, you don't!

Lots of cursing, laughing and me repeating "this was a bad idea" as Michael and I carried all this crap down the stairs. The legs of the desk got caught on the carpet on the way down and broke off!

Day 183 - Suited animals and having an amazing housemate

1. Suited animals are funny!



2. I'm certain I have the best housemate in the world. Not only did I come home to these - my 4 Ikea Billy bookshelves all assembled, built and lined up in a row at attention (he built the first one a few days ago and did the rest when I wasn't home)... 

...he also made me yummy beef taco as my pre-dinner snack!

Jackpot!!

Day 126 - Lazy Saturday with Snowflake, fresh flowers, Captain America and har mee

Here are a few things that made me smile:

1. Spending a lazy, cold and wet Saturday morning with Snowflake in bed, where it's nice and warm!



2. Fresh flowers.



3. Hello Captain America! You are mighty fine!



4. Having (what I think is) the most authentic tasting Penang hokkien mee (aka har mee) you can find in Melbourne at Straits Cafe mmmmm.

Day 111 - Lululemon's blush quartz and entrance area is complete

1. Pretty blush pink shades never cease to put a smile on my face every time I come across them.



2. I'm proud to announce that Stages 9 and 10 of Project Home are now complete! 

Michael and I turned this madness...


...into organised serenity.


Snowflake's already found herself a new hangout spot!

Day 108 - Cat thugs, Steel Saunders' The Cat's Meow and awesome housemates

1. Wtf..?

Source: Fail Blog


2. Caught Steele Saunders' comedy show The Cat's Meow tonight and found it hilarious that I could relate to almost everything he said about cats, from topics of their Fitness ("Cats only have 2 levels of fitness: 1 - Do fuck all, absolutely nothing, or 2 - Like a cat on cocaine running around doing everything all at once, which is half of everything on YouTube"), their Honesty ("My cat Jerry likes a pat on the head every morning, but sometimes he wants a pat before I wake up, which causes a bit of an issue. So he comes up to my hand while I'm still asleep and rubs his head against my open, lifeless hand to give himself a pat, but he doesn't stick around for a cuddle afterwards, no... instead he bites my hand and runs off. It's a hand rape. That's honesty, cats don't lie."), and Happiness (where Steele shares a long but heartfelt story about how a cat named Chewy brought him and his girlfriend so much pure joy - though I especially loved how Steele gave his girlfriend a birthday card with a picture of a kitten in it saying 'This is being born for you today' and an asterisk below noting 'Not actual kitten'.)

Really enjoyed Steele's deadpan delivery and his appreciation of cats' competencies as he  compared cats' superiority to the stupidity of humans the strange things humans do. Thanks Li Jun for the ticket!



3. I was surprised to find these just sitting there when I got home. They looked as if they were patiently waiting to meet me!

Some fairies Michael had assembled them while I was at work. I don't think I could wish for a better housemate! 

Day 107 - Bermuda Triangle likes bean bags, hipster cat, fro-yo, Lifelounge interviews Taylor and Kelly Smith wall is complete

Here are a few things that made me smile:

1. The Bermuda Triangle's appetite is insatiable!
   
   Bye bye bean bag, the Bermuda Triangle (or some poor, unfortunate person who hasn't realised you're very stinky) has you now. 



2. A cat wearing a beret = hipster cat.

Source: Fail Blog


3. Treating myself to a yummy frozen yoghurt after a gruelling yoga session. I think I'm going to do this every time now!


4. I chuckled while reading Lifelounge's interview with Taylor Hanson.
   
   "This two hour conversation revealed to us that maybe Hanson holds more of a place in our hearts than we ever realised. Their 1997 debut Middle of Nowhere sold over 10 million copies, they were nominated for three Grammys and plus, whether or not you knew what sex he was, the middle one was really good looking..."


5. Stage 8 of Project Home is complete! About 35 more stages to go......