A good husband will eat whatever you make

This story is an example of how much I love my husband.

On most days I like to make my husband a sandwich to take to work (awwww ! well whatever helps him leave the house faster in the mornings!) Most of time these sandwiches consist of ham, tomato and lettuce. Today however, we had n o ham so I made him a plain tomato and lettuce sandwich with the intention that he take a can of tuna with him to add into the sandwich later so it won't get soggy. In our usual morning rush, we ran out of the house and I didn't notice that he stuffed the sandwich in his bag sans tuna can.

He later rings me at work and says "thanks for the lettuce sandwich babe"

Me: "What lettuce sandwich? you were supposed to add tuna"

Hubs: "Oh, I didn't bring any tuna with me"

Me: "It was on top of the sandwich!"

Hubs: "Oh, I thought that was for you"

Me: "So what did you have for lunch?"

Hubs: "The lettuce sandwich"

Yes but, can it take calls?

Feeling a little attached

I used to be proud of my phone with no features other than to make and receive calls. No camera, no applications, no blue tooth connectivity, no music player and no 3G connectivity. I never stressed when I left it at home or in the car. Nor did I feel any pain when I dropped it on the floor (several times).

This was until recently I was laughed at by someone I least expected while saying my phone was "sooo old". In that moment I went from feeling no emotion toward my phone to feeling ashamed and wanted to bury my little dinosaur to the bottom of my handbag and ignore it when it rang.

So I have sold out. I am now expecting my new iphone to arrive in the mail. This should be a proud moment but it's not. I feel confused! Do I really need a phone which can play air hockey with me?

P.s. This little pic is a Karin Q original. Knocked up using my very basic Adobe Illustrator skills. :)

I love printing

Sometimes I feel like I'm going backwards

I have lived in my area for 18 months and never knew the Melbourne Museum of Printing was just around the corner from my place. Lucky for me I found out just in time for the open day through this post.

So I had a look at their prints (a cool $200 each) and then used what would have been $6 for the entry fee to have a coffee at the Happy River Cafe which is part of the Footscray Community Arts Centre. Then road my bike home along the river. Ok, that's a lie but I would have ridden if I wasn't coming from my friend's place!

It was a nice end to a nice weekend. I have been crafting this weekend too...but my latest project is not finished yet. I hope to have something to show soon! Everything takes longer than planned. This crafty stuff is hard work!

Oh I forgot to mention - this photo was taken by Marika on her iphone. Thanks Maz!

A new find

I discovered a new online mag today via Abigail's blog called "Antler". It is a free mag featuring fashion, art and design . This month's issue has an interview with Abigail, a jewellery designer based in Glasgow who makes some of the most exquisite pieces I have seen but alas, cannot afford just yet [Edit: Previously I wrote that the magazine featured an interview with Abigail's beautiful jewellery which would be interesting if her jewellery could speak...so note to self: do not write a post in a rush!] . Check it out!

Tonight my family and I are going to watch Cirque Du Soleil. I am very excited - I have seen them twice before and loved every minute. I hope everyone has a fun filled weekend!

No Junk Mail

We just finished hosting an international student for 3 weeks from Kobe, Japan. A sweet girl, a little quiet, but gave us lots of stuff. I love stuff.

I also love receiving mail too. Maybe it's the small pleasure of busting open an envelope and seeing what's inside - e.g. finding out after 3 months I am totally on track with my target daily water usage. Yes, these are small pleasures.

I don't generally like junk mail though but I deal with it. I am definitely not so good at tolerating other people's junk. The Japanese kid stays for 3 weeks, becomes a member at Crown Casino and although she knew she would leave the country shortly after, uses our address to receive mail. What the...?

Strathewen

Photo of Strathewen taken by Tim Young for "The Age"

I had never heard of the town, Strathewen, before today. Tim, a friend of mine, is a journalist for The Age who had the opportunity to visit the north Victorian town where of its 210 residents, 30 people died in the worst bushfire Victoria has ever seen. This is what he reported:

http://media.smh.com.au/?rid=45977&sy=smh&source=undefined

Strathewen is only one of many townships affected by the blaze in Victoria.

Pinned

It's nice and hot outside so I am staying indoors to escape it all. I spent this morning rummaging through big fabric bins at a vintage Japanese fabric warehouse so that's my work for the day. I've got my music cranked up (MGMT), icey cold water by my side, and my trusty little Canon Ixus40 at hand.

So I thought I would share with you my pin board for January. My pin board includes, among other trinkets:

1. An apology note from our first fight (gees I'm glad I kept that one! one)
2. Chinese New Year red packet - with money included and everything so I'm not too old nor too married to stop receiving yet, however I think that is against tradition but I'm not complaining. Thanks mum.
3. A necklace and earring set I made for my step-mother-in-law's 60th coming up,
4. Post card from my regular Aussie friend turned Buddhist monk. Since the post card he sent from a remote village in Thailand 5 years ago, I have not heard a word from him. I really do wonder...
5. A metcard which might not do anyone any good when the trains hardly work in the heat here. Although Melbourne is still one of the most liveable cities in the world, promise!
6. A watercolour pic of some flies. Not sure what was buzzing in my mind when I drew them. I just wanted to practise watercolouring within the lines I suppose.

It's already one month into the year. Happy January!

The west side, on the fringe, and some shades...

I initially set out to just upload a pic on our new blinds but I realised when downloading the pic to my comp, I hadn't transferred a whole heap of other pics I took over the past few months so I thought it worthwhile expanding this entry into mentioning my trip to Perth and my new bangs.

Being from the East coast of Oz, I don't really have much of a chance to explore Western Australia because Perth is at least 3 hours away by flight. That's as far as Melbourne to New Zealand! So it never really crossed my mind to visit the other end of Australia until recently when the husband was invited over there to speak at a conference. I decided to tag along and boy was it worth my while. Perth has amazing surf beaches that stretch for thousands of kilometres and the whole city is just rich with culture. Our visit coincided with a sculpture exhibition right on the famous Cottesloe beach which was quite inspiring and unexpected.

We also chanced upon a great cafe/art gallery which had awesome quirky items dotted around their courtyard like this random sculpture of a car and a not so shiny bicycle behind it...

Our new house is coming along quite nicely and it has been really fun doing it up with our own cosmetic touches - we installed Roman blinds recently after ordering them custom made from the internet. It cost us 60% of the commercial store prices and it was quite simple to install too (well the husband did most of it but I still helped!) Hmmm I actually do have more colour plans for the house other than beige...

... and, I got myself a heavy fringe right after the wedding as promised (to myself):

I am a picture frame

Just married!

My new surname is "Quadros". Pretty exotic huh? It's Portugese. Well, the meaning isn't quite so exotic (it means picture frame)

There are too many highlights to mention in one blog entry but I'm sure they will all filter through to this spot as time goes on.

Here are two highlights to start with:

1) The ceremony. It was held in the Williamstown Botanic gardens on a beautiful Saturday afternoon

2) A poem my sister wrote for us

Ode to Karin and Nate
by Narrie Full

Karin, we’ve grown up together and throughout the years
We’ve seen good times and bad, laughter and tears
We share a bond that no-one could sever
My sister, my mentor, my best friend forever
You’ve been my rock when the world was unkind
You’ve helped open my eyes when I was blind
And over the years, I’ve seen you kiss frog after frog
And now you’ve found your prince – the one and only Nate-dog!
A guy who’s so genuine, smart and sweet
And how I wish he had an older brother for me!
Nate, from the very first moment you met my sister
You were smitten – who can blame you? – few can resist her!
Big brown eyes, ruby lips, the most perfect skin you’d ever find
But of course, you Nate were only captured by her mind!?
And Nate - as for some advice – always remember
Behind that sweet face lies a fiery temper
So if you ever sense the approach of a fight
Keep in the back of your mind – “she’s always right”!
The phrase “soul-mates” is often brandished about
But when I look at you two, I have no doubt
That you epitomize this enduring term
And through thick and thin, your love stands firm
As individuals you are both amazing in your own right
But as a couple you shine together with an enviable light
So I invite you all to raise you glasses in a salute to fate:

Congratulations on this special day – here’s to Karin and Nate