Day 60 - Happy Leap Day

Happy Leap Day!



I think today is pretty special. February 29 only happens once every 4 years, so we won't see the date pop up for another 1460 days.

On the downside, it means that all of us on an annual salary work for free today (which kinda sucks a bit).  But hey - it's an extra day in the year! That equates to an extra day of smiles as we take a day longer to ride around the sun.

On my way home from work, I noticed a homeless man sitting outside Melbourne Central. He had a dog next to him (whose name is Bull, I later found out), and as he sat there he had his fingers clasped in prayer. He hung his head down low, but visibly perked up when I approached him for a chat. I then realised it was just another day for most of us, but it was an extra day on the streets for the homeless.

It got me thinking, so I did some googling when I reached home and came across this great initiative called Share Your Pay This Leap Day to help the Hutt Street Centre continue providing services to the homeless and disadvantaged in Adelaide.

I also thought it'd be fun to put together a mini "time capsule" - it was basically a little box containing recent photos and a long letter to future me. In my letter I described how things were now, what was happening, and I put down my aspirations and thoughts about what I wish to achieve, who I want to be, and what kind of life I'd like to have in 4 years' time. I'm sure it'll be an interesting if not highly amusing read in 2016!

I spent the rest of the night "leaping" around (it's tradition right?)....


...while Snowflake preferred to lick her bum!

Day 59 - Cute Melissa flip-flops, great Citibank customer service, housemates who cook, unexpected birthday card and Scranton the Electric City

It's a 5'er today:

1. Melissa Harmonic Bird flip-flops at 35% off. So cute, so comfortable. 



2. I gave Citibank a call and was pleasantly surprised by the great customer service I received. I spoke to a girl who was based at their call centre in Philippines, and it was obvious that she was wearing a smile the whole time we spoke. We even chatted about Boracay Island, and she suggested that I visit the Puerto Princesa Underground River in Palawan, as it had recently been chosen as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature!


3. My housemate, Michael, made me a delicious shrimp sandwich from our Neil Perry cookbook. Having a nice housemate is so awesome. 


4. I received an unexpected birthday card in the mail today... 2 weeks after my birthday. I love birthdays that drag on for ages!



5. Loved Season 6 Episode 13 of The Office and was in stitches all the way through, but it was the ending that had me hysterical with laughter! 

Day 58 - Lomo Redscale love and cute bear shaped buns

Today, I got a roll of redscale film developed. The super-saturated bursts of red, orange and yellow make my eyes hurt!

Shooting with film really appeals to me (and always amuses me) for a number of reasons - its so nostalgic, I love that you have to wind your film with every frame and then manually wind up the roll at the end of it; I love the mystery of not knowing whether the shot will come out well; I love all the technique and non-technique that go into photographing with film; I love the graininess and lo-fi, retro feel the photos give; I love the unpredictability; but most of all, I love how I spend so long finishing up a roll of film that by the time I finally do and develop it, I come across and relive all these moments and memories I had captured months ago and had forgotten about.

Like Snowflake gazing out into the big, bad world in wonder...


...to having lunch at The Pour Kids on a lazy afternoon, where they have dishes with comical and adorable names like "Google this", "Duck for cover", "The Lego", and "Piggy in the middle"...




..to basking in the sun on the beach in Torquay...


..to marvelling at the sun reaching into every nook and cranny in Melbourne from the 76th floor.




On another note, I stumbled upon something incredibly cute....

Bear shaped buns! They're sooo adorable, I can feel my innards combusting just by looking at them!

Source: Enjoy Living Sustainably

Day 57 - Sugar high Sunday and Why I Can't Help but Love Snowflake Reason #192

I spent most of today being on a sugar high.

I happily devoured some honey joys (which I absolutely adore! Come on, who doesn't like honey-drenched, kinda crunchy kinda ooey-gooey cornflakes?!) and chocky crackles...




Then munched my way through my Burch and Purchese haul from yesterday.

I was bouncing off the walls like a hyperactive chihuahua!


And now, let me share with you Why I Can't Help but Love Snowflake Reason #192:

She accompanies me while I wash the dishes.

Day 56 - Finding little joys on a stinking hot day

Today, on this ridiculously hot and insufferable day of 38 degrees, I...

1. Wished Snowflake good morning.



2. Swooned over the most amazing pork belly crackling at Cafe Gaia (which made me slightly delirious after).



3. Felt weak in the knees over all the pastel pink prettiness at Target's hair accessories section.



4. Found it extremely difficult to not buy EVERYTHING at Burch and Purchese. I am utterly in love with that place - there are so many delightful, yummy goodies to ooh and ahh over, just inhaling the air in there makes me giddy with sugary excitement!




5. Learned how to properly swear in Chinese. 



6. Sighed at the sight of heart shaped spoons.



7. Giggled when I stumbled upon Snowflake's twin on Tiny Owl Knits.



Source: Tiny Owl Knits 


8. Felt extremely lucky and grateful that Brett willingly (or so I think) accompanies me to watch sappy, girly flicks like The Vow without putting up a fight, and watches Grey's Anatomy regularly with me - so much that he paused the show and gave me a full recap when I asked, "Who's that guy? Is that their baby? Is this a continuation from the last episode?? Errr what happened in the last episode???" midway through Season 8 Episode 16.

I remembered something I read from Marc and Angel's blog not too long ago. When I first came across it, I thought it encapsulated exactly what motivated me to start this blog - to capture, document and remember the little joys:

Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things. The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.

Today, despite the stifling heat, was a day full of beautiful small moments.

Day 55 - Still high on Death Cab, Boost brainfreeze, pink silk dress and blobby Snowflake

4 things:

1. Almost 2 days later, I'm still buzzing from seeing Death Cab for Cutie's incredible live performance 2 nights in a row. I love that my iPod sometimes seems to know exactly what to play on shuffle. While walking home today, with my mind occupied with work, it decided to play me this Death Cab song. I swear I must have emitted some sort of retarded squeak as I broke into a massive grin on the footpath. 



2. Getting brainfreeze from a Boost Strawberry Squeeze when the temperature is a scorching 35 degrees. 



3. Breathtakingly beautiful blush pink silk and delicate beading on my gorgeous Alannah Hill frock, which was on sale for 50% off woo hoo! 



4. Snowflake comically looking like a gigantic white blob. A white blob with a floppy, saggy belly and a comparatively little head!

Day 54 - Awkward looking Snowflake

Hahaha did I catch you at a bad time Snowflake?

Day 53 - Death Cab for Cutie, again!

Ok, I wasn't expecting to see Death Cab again SO soon, but after last night's epic performance I thought, why the hell not?! 

So with my crazy partner-in-crime Jon in tow, we got tickets to see them again tonight!


Turns out it was THE. BEST. DECISION. EVER. It was an almost completely different setlist, and they opened the show with 'A Lack of Colour'. Oh my gosh. Words fail me. This song puts meteoroid-sized lumps in my throat. And I mean that in a good way.

The lines 'I'm reaching for the phone to call at 7:03, and on your machine I slur a plea for you to come home. But I know it's too late, I should have given you a reason to stay' and the change in the tune never fail to cause my eyes to involuntarily swell up with tears. Just beautiful.


The band delivered the next 23 songs for the night seamlessly.


The high energy, album-length 9 minute long 'I Will Possess Your Heart' with its complete 4.5 minute long intro had the crowd going wild with excitement.


I loved how the whole room sang along with Ben word for word when he lovingly crooned 'I Will Follow You Into the Dark'. Surely there can't be a more beautiful suicidal song than this!




It was such a finely tuned performance!


They faithfully ended the night with an epic, brutal and haunting rendition of 'Transatlanticism', which is quite possibly my favourite song. Ever. I especially loved how the room fell silent as Ben began on the piano keys leading into the song, and everyone seemed to hang onto every crisp word that flowed out of his mouth. It was simply melodic art in motion.

Here's Ben coaxing the crowd to "come ooooooonnn":


Thank you for another awesome night, Death Cab. See you again soon!


Setlist:

1. A Lack of Colour
2. Doors Unlocked and Open
3. Crooked Teeth
4. We Laugh Indoors
5. Long Division
6. Grapevine Fires
7. Codes and Keys
8. Different Names for the Same Thing
9. I Will Follow You into the Dark
10. I Will Possesses Your Heart
11. Title Track
12. You Are a Tourist
13. The New Year
14. Company Calls
15. Company Calls Epilogue
16. Brothers on a Hotel Bed
17. A Movie Script Ending
18. Soul Meets Body
19. Cath...
20. The Sound of Settling


Encore:

21. Underneath the Sycamore
22. Blacking Out the Friction / St. Peter's Cathedral
23. Tiny Vessels
24. Transatlanticism

Day 52 - Death Cab for Cutie!

Dear Death Cab for Cutie,

I'm in awe.

You guys are such solid performers. Clearly meticulous and perfectionistic, you manage to create such poignant yet clean, "full" sounding music live. Tonight's show was very impressive - 2 steady hours of back to back tunes, including 4 encore songs, and Ben even put on a solo drum show for us - what a treat!

Thank you for creating such heartbreakingly beautiful music. A lot of your songs have been featured in the soundtrack of my life, for which I am grateful.

Thank you for the incredible performance that will remain imbedded in my memory until I see you again.



Setlist:

1. No Joy in Mudville
2. I Will Possess Your Heart
3. Crooked Teeth
4. Why You'd Want to Live Here
5. Photobooth
6. Doors Unlocked and Open
7. Long Division
8. Grapevine Fires
9. Codes and Keys
10. What Sarah Said
11. I Will Follow You into the Dark
12. Hindsight
13. You Are a Tourist
14. The New Year
15. Little Bribes
16. Soul Meets Body
17. Cath...
18. We Looked Like Giants
19. Marching Bands of Manhattan (with Ben's awesome solo drum performance, and Chris and Nick swapping instruments!)

Encore:
20. Home Is a Fire
21. Title and Registration
22. A Movie Script Ending
23. Transatlanticism

Day 51 - Pole sweater, grass mat, hungry Bermuda Triangle and excitement

Here are a few things that made me happy today:

1. Knowing that poles get cold too.



2. Having a grass mat on my doorstep.



3. Knowing that the Bermuda Triangle has digestive problems too. 

On Saturday, the Bermuda Triangle devoured 2 teddy bears, 2 cushions and a LCD screen in an hour. I took that as a sign that it was starving, so I fed it more junk.

I fed it craploads of cardboard, a DVD player, a heater, a broken lamp, old kendo sticks, some nice shoes, light bulbs, books, a roll of chicken wire and a drafting table's stand.

But it didn't seem to like all the crap I gave it. In fact, much to my disbelief, it regurgitated a cupboard, a chair, and possibly even a bicycle!

However when I left for work this morning, everything was goooooooooooooooone!



4. Being super excited about seeing Death Cab for Cutie tomorrow night that I can't stop grinning from ear to ear. Coincidentally, when I got my morning coffee from Plantation today, they were playing Plans! To say I squealed like a 4 year old schoolgirl would be an understatement.

I can still vividly remember their perfectly executed performance from almost exactly 3 years ago, the 24th of February 2009.


So psyched - can't wait!

Day 50 - Dessert at 3:34pm

Happiness is waking up at midday on a Sunday, having lunch at Axil at 2:30pm, and a nougat parfait with marshmallow, passionfruit, smashed honeycomb, persian fairy floss and lemon sorbet for dessert at 3:34pm in the afternoon.



I'm convinced its the best cafe dessert you could have in Melbourne. Hell yes.

Day 49 - Cute things and boys that clean

A couple of things put a smile on my face today:

1. I love randomly stumbling upon cute, funny things, such as a card with a llama wearing a stripy scarf which was knitted by bunnies...

...and this "I love you just the way I am" tea towel, which features a fat cat which resembles Snowflake.


(And here's a photo of Snowflake that I think looks like the fat cat)



2. When I came home, to my shock and horror I found my housemate, Michael... wait for it.... cleaning and scrubbing down the kitchen. Oh my God. I am unable to put into words how gloriously happy it makes me to see a boy cleaning. Little did I know, he had already helped me reorganise all the contents in the kitchen cupboards, cleared out all the expired goods, and sanitised and wiped down all the greasy cupboard doors. I think I've hit the jackpot!