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Things I Love Thursday 22/6/2017

This past month has flown by.  Since the beginning of June, I took a little holiday from work, caught up with loads of friends and celebrated my 31st birthday.  There have been so many things that I’ve felt proud of and grateful for.

This week I love:

  • My friends.  I got so many messages of love and celebration on my birthday and each one brought an ear-to-ear smile to my face.
  • Michael Jackson.  David and I watched This Is It together and it was amazing.  I am a huge Michael Jackson fan and it breaks my heart that he didn’t get to perform his final masterpiece at least once.  I found the rehearsal footage breathtaking, and it’s hard to imagine what the final show would have been like.
  • Putting my cupcake hat on Rupert, David’s cat.  He purred like a maniac and wore the hat for a full half hour before he fell asleep and it toppled off his head.
  • Poking around vintage markets on chilly afternoons.
  • Bean burritos
  • Vegan vanilla cupcakes that look like they were pooped out by a unicorn.

Helloooo! Awesome birthday pin from my brother. #mrsdoubtfire #pins #birthday #geekery

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  • My new Mrs Doubtfire pin from my brother.  I am slowly building quite a collection of cute enamel pins, and this is the newest addition to my hoard.
  • Watching the Top 1000 Songs of the 80’s countdown on Foxtel and taking bets on what would be number 1. ( I lost.  I voted Thriller, which was edged out by Living on a Prayer)
  • Kate Lister’s website Whores of Yore.  Kate is a sexual historian who explores the history of sexual practices, language and culture.  Her website is fascinating and funny as well as highly educational.
  • My new heated throw blanket.
  • Watching my cats wriggle on the floor after their dinner each night.
  • The smells of winter mornings: wood smoke, frost and wet grass
  • Booja Booja chocolate salted caramel truffles.  And also the name Booja Booja, which is really fun to say.
  • Skins.  Various friends over the years have urged me to watch this show and I’ve never listened.  Now that I’ve started, I can see why they thought I would love it.
  • The Time Traveller’s Wife.  I’m not usually into romance stories, but this one is so clever and thought-provoking.  Dr Who fans who enjoy the romance between The Doctor and River Song should give this book a whirl.
  • Gloves

What do you love this fine Thursday?

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Things I love Thursday 6/4/2017

It’s the first Thursday of April and it’s time for a Things I love Thursday post.  Pour yourself a cup of tea and relax while I share all the things that I’ve loved lately.

 

I love:

  • Celebrating my one-year anniversary with my beloved, David.  He is such an amazing person and he makes me feel so blessed. We have had an awesome year together and I can’t wait to see what adventures the future has in store for us.

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  • Having Mr Ringo peer over my shoulder while I read.  He’s such a curious little dude.
  • The late emergence of Autumn weather.  The final week of March was almost unbearably humid and hot.  I honestly wondered if the weather was ever going to cool off.  But like clockwork, April brought a crisp morning wind and a chill to the air.  I’ve happily been rocking knits and socks, and I’ve had the perfect excuse to break out the slippers I was gifted months ago.

 

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  • This Deadpool stuffie that David bought me for our anniversary. For our first date, we saw Deadpool and played the arcade machines at the cinema.  So now, Deadpool is kinda “our” movie.
  • Lush’s Ruby Red Slippers bubble bath bar.

 

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  • Argyle vests
  • Putting the sleeves on a jumper I’m knitting for myself.  I”ve already finished one simple jumper for myself, thus completing my new years resolution of knitting an actual garment.  This time I’m working on something with more shaping and raglan sleeves.

 

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  • This awesome Monsters Inc tee shirt I picked up for $7 at Uniqlo.  I have a few Uniqlo shirts now and they are such good quality.
  • The Good Dinosaur.  I finally got around to watching it and it made me cry so hard. And also laugh so hard.  And then cry again.  And laugh some more.  It was a yo-yo of emotions.

 

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  • finding the final Sandman book to complete my extensive collection in the op shop for just one dollar.  It was a proud moment.
  • Project Runway.  I’ve become a tiny bit obsessed.

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  • This room service pizza I got for dinner on our anniversary.  It was not vegan (it had goat’s cheese) but it was vegetarian. It had zucchini, pumpkin, pine nuts and leek. It was so amazingly good that I didn’t even care that I had a food baby for our anniversary-celebration-sexy-times.
  • Actual vegan recipes I’ve made these past few weeks, including an off-the-charts mushroom stroganoff and a mock-chicken and vegetable soup. I’m getting extremely good at this vegan cooking thing.

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  • Finding a mega-cute heart hoop for my helix piercing.  I’m always on the lookout for unusual body jewellery and I really haven’t changed the stud in my helix since I got it pierced nearly eighteen months ago.  This heart was just the ticket, and it’s so comfortable.
  • Wood fire smoke
  • Being able to snuggle under layers of quilts without exploding from heat.

What do you love this week?

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Things I Love Thursday 7/1/2016

Woah, it certainly feels a bit strange to type “2016”.  I’m excited for the very first Things I Love Thursday for this brand, spanking new year.  So let’s all jump right in, shall we?

 

This week I love:

  • Visiting with Nook, my Nana’s friend.  Nook and Nana were friends from the time they were teenagers until my Nana passed two years ago.  I had morning tea with Nook and her husband on Monday and it was so much fun.  She has such a positive outlook on life and has a great way of making everyone feel cherished and special.  And she’s an awesome cook.  I must have eaten about a thousand of her mini Christmas puddings.

Intermission. #cats #musical #olddeuteronomy

A photo posted by Vanessa Bowen (@nessbow64) on Jan 2, 2016 at 7:19pm PS

  • Seeing CATS for the third time.  CATS is my all-time favourite musical and my parents bought me tickets to see the Melbourne show for my birthday.  After a six-month wait, I finally got to take my seat at the Regent Theater and soak in the amazing performances.  I’m thinking about writing a full review of the show if you are interested in reading about it in more detail.
  • Shopping for new sexy time toys.
  • Star Wars!  I saw The Force Awakens on New Years Day and I thought it was brilliant.  I had low expectations for this instalment of the Star Wars saga, and I was surprised at how great the film was.  I won’t go into detail, but I thought it was a thoroughly entertaining film and was so much better than the prequels.

I’ve gone a wee bit mod tonight. #vintage #60s #flowers #outfit

A photo posted by Vanessa Bowen (@nessbow64) on Jan 1, 2016 at 11:02pm PST

  • Wearing a fun, silky shift dress and feeling like Queen of the Mods.
  • Brushing the cats.  Although both of my cats have short hair, they seem to shed like crazy.  I am forever vacuuming up cat hair and it seems as though my clothes and bed are perpetually peppered with strands of fuzz.  So I’m trying to get into the habit of brushing the cats regularly to get rid of some of the loose hair before it gets onto the carpet.  Jelly is totally into this, but Ringo has taken a bit of convincing.  On Tuesday I managed to get him to sit still for fifteen whole minutes and I brushed off enough hair to build a brand new cat.
  • Making headway with some of my new year’s resolutions.  I’m trying out a productivity app called Habitica that is pretty cute and it’s really helped me to move towards some of my goals for the year.
  • Jane The Virgin.  I started watching this on Netflix and it’s actually pretty fantastic.  It’s kind of like Arrested Development meets a Spanish Telenovella.
  • Getting my first professional pedicure in two years.  My tootsies were in serious need of some TLC.  Now they are soft and lovely.
  • Salted caramel everything.

What are you loving this week?  Has the first week of 2016 been kind to you?

 

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Things I Love Thursday: 19/11/2015

This past week has been a very busy one.  I’ve been quite the social butterfly, flitting from one meeting to the next.  While I enjoy heading out into the world and meeting people, it’s important for me to have time to myself as well to keep grounded.  My weekly Things I Love Thursday post is one of my favourite grounding practices.

 

This week I love:

Sleepy Jelly. #cats #kitty #sleepy #adorable

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  • Miss Jellylorum.  My sweet little lady turned eight last Friday.  I know it sounds corny, but Jelly really is my best friend.  She is such a constant companion and she’s been with me through good times and bad.  I think it’s also fair to say that this tortoiseshell diva has saved my life on a couple of occasions.  When I’ve been at my very lowest, and wondering if it might not be better if I weren’t here at all, the though of leaving Jelly alone is too much for me to bear.  When you are depressed, it’s easy to think that the people in your life might not miss you if you weren’t here, but it’s hard to feel that way about animals.  I love her, and I know that she loves me.  She’s precious.
  • Planning dates to the zoo in the near future.
  • Breathing a sigh of relief that all my friends are safe and sound in the wake of the trauma in Paris

  • Getting ready to go out. Mt hair needed feathers. #hair #vintage #birdsofafeather

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  • Wearing feathers in my hair.
  • Lunches down the lake.
  • Getting excited about Christmas.  I adore the festive season, but I make myself wait until December 1st before I will allow myself to get out any decorations or seasonal treats.  And it’s nearly here!  I can’t wait.

  • How do you like them apples? #thrifting #scarves #kawaiiasfuck

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  • The apple-printed scarf I found at the op-shop for a mere fifty cents.
  • Cool nights and thunderstorms.
  • Old school Disney films.
  • Knitting. The click-clack of the needles is so soothing to me.

What do you love this week?

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Things I Love Thursday 22/10/2015

Weeee!  It’s Thursday again.  The weekend is almost here and I’m pumped to get into another Things I Love list.  Let’s goooo!

 

This week I love:

  • Please Like Me.  This show has been a breath of fresh air to me.  There are so many bland and boring TV shows on at the moment and this one just blows them all out of the water.  It’s written by Josh Thomas, who is a sensational Aussie comedian and it touches on some really important things like family feuds, relationships, homosexuality, mental illness and suicide.  But it manages to talk about those things in a really honest manner while still being funny and chatty.  It’s such a great show and I highly recommend that you check it out.

She is the prettiest kitty ever. #hashbrownnofilter

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  • This kitty.  She is an absolute sweetheart.

 

  • Reading in the sunshine on a Sunday afternoon.
  • My new yoga class.  A gym has opened up just around the corner from my house and they have cheap yoga classes.  Even though I practice at home daily, I thought it would be good to expand my horizons and try something new.  Boy, am I glad that I did.  I have learned so much and have really overcome some fears I had about certain poses.  It’s been amazing.

 

  • TARDIS blue sequins.
  • Gin and tonic
  • Finding vintage Shiapirelli stockings in the thrift store for a dollar.  They are divine.
  • Getting psyched for Halloween.
  • Gremlins.  I watched it for the very first time last weekend and I thought it was great.  I want my own Mogwai.
  • Throwing shit out.  I have so much old furniture and broken down crud in my flat and it’s been driving me insane. So last week I ordered a skip bin from our local rubbish removal service. I filled it up in no time and it’s so wonderful to have all that clutter out of my house.
  • Getting all excited for a date this weekend.

How about you sweetheart?  What do you love this week?  Don’t be shy, go ahead and share!

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Things I Love Thursday 8/10/2015

Yeah for Thursday!  After a long weekend and loads of relaxation I have a lot to be happy about.

This week I love:

  • My new phone.  I finally got a smart phone which means that I can see all the fabulous emojis that my friends have been sending to me.  It’s also good for other useful things.
  • New ear piercings.  I have wanted to get another ear piercing for ages and last Sunday I took the plunge.   I couldn’t make up my mind whether I wanted another hole in each lobe or my forward helix pierced, and the gentleman at the piercing studio said he could do all three if I wanted.  So I did.  Lemme tell you, three piercings at once is no mean feat, but I’m really glad I did it.
  • David Bowie.
  • Horror and fantasy films.  Now that October is here I have thrown myself into watching all my favourite Halloween films with gusto.
  • Lurve-ly vintage lingerie.  I went thrift shopping with Ms Fairchild a few weeks ago and the two of us got stacks of gorgeous vintage underthings. It’s always fun shopping with a friend who is a different size to you, because you never fight over items. We were both throwing things back and forth when we found something that we thought might fit the other one and both walked away with a massive haul.
  • My new Instagram account.  Follow me!
  • Letting Jelly enjoy a bit of outside time each day.  She has gotten so good at tree-climbing.
  • My new Adventure Time tee shirt.
  • Red velvet cupcakes and Earl Grey tea.
  • This vintage wool dress I got from Raised by Gonks Vintage.
  • And ditto this cute 60’s sundress.
  • Warm weather and bare feet in the grass.
  • Homemade minestrone soup.

What do you love this week?  Feel free to include your own Things I Love Thursday list in the comments.

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Things I love Thursday 12/3/2015

Good day to you, gorgeous reader!  I hope that the week has been kind to you so far.  I’m typing this while I wait for my dinner to cook, and I haven’t got a moment to waste so let’s leap on in!

This week I love:

– Getting an email confirming that I will have a stall at an upcoming local craft fair.  I am so nervous and so excited all at once.  I have heaps to do to get ready, and I have no idea what to expect but I am just filled with glee at the thought of having my own stall.  I’ve wanted to do this for years and it’s finally happening!

-Stocking up on new yarn for loads of knitting and crochet projects. I’m working hard to get some more things finished before the craft fair.

– Delicious salads with baby capsicum, broad beans and rocket.  So freakin’ tasty!

– Online dating.  No joke.  I signed up last week and so far I’m having a blast.  For someone who doesn’t go out much socially, it’s great to have a forum to meet people and chat with interesting guys.  I’ve connected with a few sensational people and I’ve got some dates lined up.  I am so stoked to get out there and begin dating again.

-This pretty little weirdo.  Jelly’s been up to some very silly antics this week.  I moved my couch a while ago, which means that her usual favourite sunny spot is no longer available. But she’s decided that she now wants to spend her mornings perched precariously on the edge of the windowsill, using the back of my narrow couch to support her.  She’s a strange little creature, but I love her.

-Making a “stress less” list.  When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I think about the specific things that are stressing me out.  Then I think of some concrete steps that I can take to resolve those issues.  Upset because the house is a mess?  I carve out some time to do the jobs that are most urgent.  Cranky because I haven’t had any me time?  I make sure to set aside twenty minutes for a home pedicure.  This list is so simple but I feel so much better because I know I’m spending my time working on the things that are taxing my senses the most.

– Cooler mornings and evenings.  Autumn is definitely on it’s way.

– Sleep ins and couch naps.

– Chocolate cake and strawberries.

– Making plans to catch up with some of my favourite people.

What do you love this week?