so-soAnother heavenly day at a writer‘s festival. 1st up this morning was Tony Birch (I ❤️ the sound of his voice), then a shop at the farmer‘s market (on the same site) where I got all the ingredients for a feast that we ate tonight. I love me some Buratta. Then the lecture in the pic where I caught up with a family friend before and after, then last but not least Clementine Ford and a new discovery for me, Brodie Jabour who I need to investigate.
pickFirst book purchase at #SFW. Never heard of the author before the the lecture I went to as it included Toni Jordan, who I bought the ticket to see. Paddy got me to buy her book with one sentence and let me take her picture. She said my name is spelt unusually like hers. Shame about the cold but I did just have a nice hot cheese pie and glass of Shiraz for lunch. I will borrow a jacket to wear tomorrow. Now off to fill in time at the book shop.
pickWagging school (as I do every year) and on my way to the Sydney Writer‘s Festival on the train. Hoping to get this book signed on Sunday. Catching up with a family friend and staying with my beautiful friend and godson who I haven‘t seen since last year when she told me she was pregnant and now she is about to pop. I‘m eating date loaf and drinking Red Rose tea courtesy of #LitsyTeaSwap and @Bookwormjillk It is waking me up too. Thankyou Jill xo
Monday night‘s full moon walk home from ballet yielded these goodies from the book swap.
pickStarting on this 1 on the 🚂 to work this morn. I already know it‘s going to be good because I heard the author read a passage at the Newcastle Writer‘s Festival so I suggested it for my 📕 club. I‘m reading it & drinking my thermos of fancy ☕️ courtesy of @sarahbellum & the #LitsyTeaSwap It‘s a better way to start off the day after the silly mistakes I‘ve made over the last 2 mornings. Today I forgot to leave the 🔑 in the 📬 for the cleaner!
Last Mon night‘s book swap scores on my way home from ballet. What will I find tonight? My orange penguin collection is growing. Stayed home from school today as I had a rather large Mother‘s Day. My step daughters spent the morning with me and the arvo with their mother so Stew and I took the opportunity to go to the pub where we came across neighbours so it went from a simple pub lunch to listening to a guy signing covers & 3 bottles of wine!
pickI accidentally woke up a half hour before my alarm this morning so I thought why not start the day off well with this lovely package I opened last night. Thankyou @CrowCAH Earl Grey is my favourite. #LitsyTeaSwap
Best book scores from my building‘s book exchange for yonks!
pickI was very surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book for Stockton Book Club these holidays. Bernadette made me laugh. It was a quick read for me. Now to watch the movie…
My last walk up the hill to the LFL before I realised I had covid. Out of quarantine, - and back to work today. Very lucky to only have had a mild case. Poor people who got the original stains must have really suffered. It did mean I missed out on seeing family yet again these school holidays! I studied the film Once Were Warriors when I was at university and listened to the audiobook a little while ago so was very excited to find the sequel.
On my way to a Little Free Library this week, I came across bags of books on a stoop labelled free. Heaven!
Had the book but never got around to reading it. Scored these at the local book swap a while back.
Sunday morning involved a walk up the hill to the little free library before sitting on my butt all day at the Writer‘s Festival. I didn‘t realise there was a race on so I couldn‘t take my normal track. Oh well!
Scores from the little free library a while back. It is how I reward myself for walking up the hill.
Just walked home from the last evening of the Newcastle Writer‘s Festival. Oh how I ❤️ a writer‘s festival. My brain is full of new ideas. I didn‘t buy any books! Hard to pick a favourite but Helen Garner was very entertaining. Clementine Ford is nothing like the media portrays her. If I do buy a book as a result of this festival it will be Inga Simpson‘s The Last Woman in the World. She read a passage from it and I need to know what happens next.
Friday‘s op shop scores for $10. I went down the street to buy something at a normal shop but I couldn‘t resist visiting the op shop while there. #noselfcontrol #ozzieauthors
Tuesday night‘s scores from the book swap on the way home from ballet.
My afternoon walk up the hill to the little free library was fruitful yesterday. It‘s getting easier so I may keep going to the next one along the coast this afternoon and check it out for the first time.
pickAnother writer‘s festival picture from yesterday. This one is of my Satan‘s Little Book Coven‘s current book pick. It is fiction loosely based on the history of my friend‘s farm and its conservation importance. It is the second book I‘ve read of hers and it is much better than the last one. I will keep reading her books not for the writing but for the local history in them. This is the second time I have been to watch her speak at a local library.
pickJust bought a book off this clever lady to give to my nephew. She got me with the snail that crawls over birds poo & gets a parasite that takes over his brain & makes him climb to the highest point he can so he gets eaten by a bird & the cycle continues. Zombie It‘s a true story! I‘m at the Write Here Festival. 3 talks to go today then 1 tomorrow. I even got some op shopping in this morning! I am now enjoying gnocchi and a glass of rosé for lunch.
2nd 1 this hols! My girlfriend, Kate found this 1 on a run yesterday & walked me there after our trip to the bakery this morn. Afterwards we walked the Broken Head 3 sisters walk, had a swim in the flood effected water & I listened to my racehorse lose while everyone played frisbee. The kids won again! My dinner of everything from the fridge on the last night of holidays was delicious if I do say so myself. Bbq & Mediterranean salad was the main.
Currently on hols in a very wet Byron Bay. My Stew took 2 laps around the roundabout so I could check out this LFL. Never mind there was nothing in it for me this time. Today was a rainy morning sleep in (The temp is perfect here at the moment for peri menopause sleeping), pancakes & bacon for breaky followed by adults v children frisbee game on Suffolk Park Beach (I‘d like to say that we won but that would be a lie) & I made a lasagna for dinner.
A tea cup to match each dress by accident. Op shop scores from a few weeks back. Plenty of books & scrapbooking supplies, beauty products from my fav brands eg L‘Occitane & Frank body, a soap that smells like honey, my fav mag (It always comes with beautiful paper that I use to wrap Litsy Swap parcels), a new version of Flowers in the Attic to watch with the kids & a Bolshoi ballet DVD! This op shop gives away free kids books. Great for school.
On Thurs night I had a surprise night off ballet. The weather in my city has been pretty bad so my teacher cancelled & when I‘m happy or sad I go op shopping! The dress cost more than I usually pay at the op shop but it still had the tag on it. Worth $120 & I got it for $55! My nickname is Lil so I had to have the shirt signed by an artist to another Lil. Ha! The shark tooth earrings are to make my fishing obsessed nephew think I‘m cool. ❤️ hats.
From a Little Free Library a little while back.
Op shop was about to shut this arvo but in I went anyway. When they kicked me out I had these in my arms. Go me! All for the bargain price of $8.
Tuesday night‘s scores at the book swap on my way home from Ballet.
pickGoing to love this one I can tell. I originally bought it for the cover. Already trying to guess the ending which I rarely do. It‘s for my Stockton mum‘s book club April? pick. The flowers were bought especially for my Valentine and are still looking great. He has been looking after them though.
so-soAfter my 1st Sat back at ballet this year I rewarded myself with an op shop. I did very well at the op shopping but not so well with the jump combos. My barre was beautiful though. It appears my brain deteriorated even further over the holidays. The tea pack includes orange tea which I hope tastes like the 1st orange tea I ever had and absolutely love. I needed another Tupperware chopper for my new place. I got 2 for the ridiculous price of $3.50.
Back when school went back and I cured my blues with op shopping! Sheets are from France. Keen to give cross stitch a try as an adult.
Check this out! So Spoilt. Thanks @ju.ca.no The tagged book is stunning and is based on my friend‘s family farm. You have wonderful taste. I hope you and your man had a wonderful Valentines together.
Thursday‘s op shopping rewards. I got a discount due to being a regular shopper on some of the clothes. I got the teapot as I am interested to find out how it actually works. I assume a tea light goes in the bottom but there doesn‘t appear to be holes in what I thought was the loose leaf tea part in the middle of the tea pot and why the weird silver bit? Can anyone help me out? I go through glassware pretty quickly so got these pretties as spares.
pickQuick op shop stop before my bus arrived after work yesterday. The timetable has changed adding an extra hr each day waiting for public transport. Thank god I‘m a reader. I got this book of poetry as I need to get back into the habit of reading a poem instead of playing with my phone in the morning. I try to always buy beauty products with natural ingredients. Hopefully the nail products will smell delicious. The single sheet will become a dress.
pickLast Saturday‘s op shop spoils. I wish I had more time for craft in my life. Hopefully before I retire. The fetal doppler is so I can hear my new niece or nephew‘s heart beat #dueinjune I didn‘t think my sister was having any more so I am very excited about this baby. I keep dreaming it‘s a boy lately. Time will tell. I love vintage linen hence the pillow slips. The skirt was handmade and silk so I had to have it. All for the bargain price of $12.
I woke up this morn thinking I‘d 3 more luxurious sleep ins ‘til school started back for 22. Fact is I‘ve none & that was my last sleep in! I‘ve been in denial all day then I went to the po & this surprise was waiting for me. Cases of covid are scarily higher now then when school finished in Dec & we‘re going back to masks in classrooms in Summer with no air con. I‘d just got rid of all my zits! At least my family & I are well. Thanks guys.
More of yesterday‘s op shop goodies. This one wasn‘t air conditioned and in summer in Brisbane Australia while wearing a mask it was hard work but nevertheless I persisted. Ha! This was the 5th of the six op shops I visited. The active wear is for my niece who does Physie. Everything else is for me. The envelopes are for #Litsylove and #justbecause
My silly manfriend offered to take me op shopping today. He lasted all of 5 mins then thankfully went away to entertain himself at the RSL across the road. I got 2 hours to myself. Woo hoo! These are my spoils from just one shop. Currently in the bath enjoying one of the bath bombs. Grand total $27.
so-soGorgeous day today at Cedar Creek. Kids played hard with their cousins. We had a picnic lunch. The only thing missing was a bottle of white in the cold water. I‘m reading the tagged book for book club. It‘s actually set on a property my friend owns. Picture snapped by man friend. Prior to this he snuck up on me & scared the living daylights out of me. I didn‘t hear him sneaking through the bush at all. I thought he went for a walk with the kids.
Took my nearly 90 year old gran op shopping on Thursday & this is what I came home with for $42! Lots of nice going out outfits for when it‘s safe to do so again. The DVDs are for my step daughters who love Studio Ghibli. There are some postcards for #Litsylove & #JustBecause , some acid free scrapbooking supplies, lots of bath products & a plate for my plate wall. We are currently on a family holiday in Brisbane to see Stew‘s side of the family.
I had much success yesterday op shopping! I wasn‘t going to go to this op shop but the yellow, dot dress in the window caught my eye and it fit! Afterwards I took myself out to the sushi train for lunch. They didn‘t have my sparkling sake but they did have green tea ice cream. No strawberries though. It‘s always a bit of a hit or miss. The food is always divine. The art works at the bottom are for #Litsylove and #JustBecause correspondence. $41
