This month has been pretty swell! It's also quite the month for birthdays.





Happy Birthday Jaz and Keni! Thank you both for being wonderful ;)

Inspiration Wednesdays 001

Inspiration. Aspiration. Motivation.

(Writing those three words makes me think that perhaps my play with the concept of 'breathing' is not quite over...)

Probably not something I'll be able to pull off any time soon, but a goal to aim for in the future. It's my aim to create something as beautiful and full of meaning. Simple, but complex, but simple, but not complicated, but deep. That's a horrible sentence. I love layers and depth and this has that remaining unpretentious. I've not-so-recently discovered that I love characters much more than a complex plot. Not that I don't enjoy fancy, well done plots, but it's not something I feel I can achieve. I love being able to relate, developing a relationship with characters and experiencing emotions. Vicarious living, yes please.

Meanwhile, I bought myself a Panasonic Lumix LX5 last night, which could quite possibly be in my hot little hands by tomorrow according to FedEx... Excellent. I have zero ideas as to what my creative project for this weekend will be. If worse comes to worst I shall just use my Manly trip with Whit as an excuse to play around with my new camera (if it comes on time *knocks wood*). Hoping to force myself outdoors a lot more during the mid semester break in attempts to get inspired. And to get moving. Creatively and physically. I need to kick my hermitage out of my system.

not so new project

Sometimes I sit around feeling sorry for myself. Okay, not really. More like I sit around wishing I had something to show for these 22 years of existing on this earth. Well time to suck it up, sucker. Here's my challenge for you (you, being me—don't ask why I phrased it in such a confusing way, but hey you can participate too if you like and yes I'm talking to you now as in you that is not me talking to myself I'll shh now): Every week set aside some time, even if it's just ten minutes to get inspiration in any way, and then create something. Anything.

Why yes, this is pretty much no different to Project Thing-A-Week, which was a rip off of Thing-A-Day, but it's back with a deeper meaning. What deeper meaning? Okay, so really there isn't one. It just feels more fitting for some reason now that I seem to be battling with my annual What-am-I-doing-with-my-life?! phase.



These phases aren't even actually an annual thing. They're more like quarterly, or even monthly episodes of doubt and unrest as I apparently have a compulsive need to carve out a future set in stone, even though I'm fully aware that this is near impossible given circumstances beyond my control. Whatever. I need to come to terms with the fact that I may never be a straight arrow and learn to enjoy being a curve ball.

So self, just remember, it's okay to not know what you want to do with you life, just as long as you chase something. It doesn't matter what that something is and it doesn't matter if you don't know what that something is yet, just keep trying/going/exploring.

Breathe. I still have time and my decision to take an honours year is a good one because I'm exploring and potentially chasing something I'm interested in, as well as giving myself the time to grow, live, laugh, try new things, and experiment.

So self, stop worrying and give yourself a chance. Have some fun.

Partially inspired by this post by Phil of Wong Fu Productions.

Prepare for some crazy experiments.



BOOM!

cutato is back

A new friend of mine asked me today about passion. No, not the crappy soap opera, and no, not the steamy kind of passion, but as in what I'm passionate about. I've spent most of the past few months trying to remember, reshape and reclaim who I am as a singular person, and what I'm all about. This extends to all aspects of my life from the way I dress, to the people I associate with, and even the way I text. It's funny how you can lose yourself, but it's kind of fun playing Where's Wally with myself.



Recently I finally decided to get my ear re-pierced. For the past year or more I've only had an earring in the left side of my ear since the right one healed over after an infection and scar tissue dramas. It's funny how barely anyone noticed (— side note: think about this next time you're all stressed and worried about how other people think you look. Honestly, no one pays as much attention to yourself as you do). I'd been meaning to get it re-pierced and kept telling myself that I was too lazy, but really, I was a little freaked to get it done.

Let me square with you, I had an extreme phobia of needles. The first time I got my ears pierced I was around ten. I spent two hours doing laps in a shopping mall with my dad trying to pluck up the courage. It wasn't until he put his foot down that I managed to step into the shop. Long story short, even though it had been my choice and I'd really wanted it done there were a lot of tears and screaming. I may have even been held down. After it was done I managed to faint outside the place and an old lady came over to offer assistance by offering my dad a trolley to wheel me around in.



My latest needle trauma was the cervical cancer injections during my final year of high school. I was one of the last to get it in my grade due to my avoidance tactics. This meant that the younger grades were starting to line up. I took a teddy bear my friend had given me from my 18th and clutched it as fat tears rolled down my cheeks. I considered it a victory that I didn't scream or pass out.

Now I'm in the so called best years of my life, and single to mingle to boot, I thought it was time to finally bite the bullet. Can I just say: I went, I saw, I conquered. I not only got three piercings, but there were no tears, no fainting, no screaming, and no teddy bears.

I admit, every time I look in the mirror and see my cartilage piercing I feel a little bad ass. I know it's no nipple piercing, but for me this represents the breaking free from the shackles of fear. So if you see me tuck my hair behind my left ear in the future, watch out. It means I'm bringing it. No fear.

catching up

Realised I haven't done my obligatory it's-the-end-of-semester-and-I'm-procrastinating-on-final-assignments post, so here it is. A compilation of things I've yet to tell/show you (in no order).



Trying Menya Mappen with W



New kitties ♥



Redyed hair myself!



Got my Jeffrey Campbell Skates



Comfiest heels ever due to the padded sole



Flavoured teas as a study aid



Evidence I went to...



Jurassic Lounge!

Which pretty much sums up my semester. Can't wait for the holidays! I'm the only holding myself up by procrastinating though. As soon as I finished this last assignment I'm done so off I go :)

Search for the Perfect Water Bottle

Since last year I've been searching for the perfect water bottle, after learning about the hazards of using plastic water bottles. My family is the type that would just re-use plastic bottles and that's a no-no. Since then we've resorted to using glass bottles, which is fine for home use, but not convenient for going out.

I purchased a Cheeki stainless steel bottle, but the bulky design in my flat shaped bag made it hard to fit everything in. So I've been searching for a flask shaped water bottle to no avail. Seriously, why is a flat design reserved for alcohol? I'm sure there'd be a much bigger market for flat designed water bottles. It just makes a lot of sense. So much easier to fit in your bag because it doesn't take up as much space. Simple logic!

This week I discovered Add Water. About time someone started using their brains. It's the first bottled water company to think outside the square in Australia (if you're into celebrity news, you'd know already that there are a few companies in the US doing the same thing eg. Paris Hilton and Liquid Salvation). I'm wary of re-using it like any plastic water bottle, although Add Water uses PLA instead of instead of normal plastics made from oil. If you're into convenience bottled water then Add Water is your guy, since it's meant to be 100% renewable and made from plants.



I'm still waiting for re-usable water bottle companies to catch on, but until then Add Water is my best friend.

At the moment retailers for Add Water are quite limited, but you can order off the website (or search for more retailers there), or General Pants Co. sells them for $3.00 a bottle (500ml).

Thing-a-week #2

I made this cake for my birthday on Sunday. I haven't actually consciously kept up with Thing-A-Week, which should now probably be known as Thing-Whenever... but apparently cooking/baking counts, so if only I had a picture of my Apple Cinnamon Muffins with Streusel (recipe here! Delicious, by the way.) I'd be on track... but anyway, here's my Chocolate Beetroot Cake with Raspberry Mousse Filling (raspberry mousse recipe here) and Chocolate Ganache.



Sadly, as you can see it had an accident. Sometimes I get lazy/cheap/cocky and do stupid things like not use waxed or baking paper or cut said paper into strips (see here: Frosting a layer cake, to see what I'm raving on about) when frosting a cake. This leads to spectacular disasters that ruin a near-perfect cake :( ie. the bottom layer of the quite large, heavy layer cake ends up splitting in half when the two large pieces of unwaxed paper are being removed...

Proud of myself though. Instead of letting emotion (frustration, sadness, anger) overcome me (it was getting quite late into the night) I took deep breaths and tried to salvage it the best I could.

Note to self: Don't be that stupid/lazy/cheap/cocky again. It's not every day you get to decorate a cake so don't be so frugal.

Additional note to self: Stick with the chocolate mousse filling next time. Or try a coffee/mocha mousse filling. It is not worth 1.5 hours of sieving the seeds out of the raspberries as the mousse isn't as complementary as anticipated.