Figuring it out

Totally loved The Everygirl article today about acting your age.

It's like she took the words right out of my mouth . . .

 Is it more uncomfortable to reach 30 without those milestones? Or is it this way for every woman, no matter her relationship status, job position, number of dependents on her taxes? So maybe that’s makes me want to lie and say I’m 26 when I’m out late on a Monday night dancing to Motown music and drinking a PBR. Because those other, ‘30-ish’ things aren’t a reality for me yet. And maybe because I have a suspicion that people are more comfortable with that single, childless, woman at a bar being closer to 20 than 30. But maybe (hopefully) I’m wrong. I certainly know plenty of fabulous women in their 30s who would say so.

Love your work, Lyndsay.

Read the full story here.

Any excuse

With water safety issues a huge concern in Brisbane at the moment, I thought this message was appropriate!

No really, my heart goes out to those who are affected by the latest flood crisis in Queensland and New South Wales. You just can't take a break, lots of the victims are yet to recover fully from the 2011 floods. It's tough going.

However, it's times like these when Australians band together. Every little bit counts so if you want to contribute to the Red Cross Floods Appeal, please click here.

PS. On a total side note, my blog has cracked a tanty (probably due to the lack of attention I've paid it) and my sidebar has dropped off and plopped itself at the bottom of the page. Any idea how to fix it?

Some things are Impossible

There are those moments in life that stick with us forever.

Tragedies that strike a chord with the world over even if you're not personally involved.

In recent times, the ones that stick with me the most include the Port Arthur, the 9/11 attack in New York, the Bali bombings, the Thredbo landslide and the Beaconsfield mine disaster.

I was glued to the TV, desperate for a snippet of hope and a survival story or two to cherish.

The 2004 Boxing Day tsunami is another event that captivated the world. 

I have to say though, that I don't know much about it. 

I was in Paris for Christmas that year, celebrating with a group of friends, and we heard snippets of news come through but it didn't affect us the same way it would've if we were home.

So it's with great interest that I see 'The Impossible' is being released in cinemas tomorrow. I saw the trailer on New Year's Eve before Les Mis and I was a mess in the preview. I can only imagine how heartbreaking the full length movie is.

Apparently Naomi Watts is brilliant in it and she scored both Golden Globe and Oscars nominations for her performance.

I know one thing, I'll need a full box of tissues.

Sailors

I've been away celebrating a friend's 30th birthday at the beach this weekend and was intrigued by a story that the birthday girl's work colleague had urged her to read in today's paper.

It was in The Advertiser (might I add, I found it on the Herald Sun website from October 2012 - come on Adelaide, catch up!) and was called . . . 

"Turning 30 . . . and so over it"

This is for the girls out there who are in the same boat . . . 

What happens when you turn 30 and realise you're not living the life you'd expected?

• Joanne Hawkins
• Herald Sun
• October 27, 2012

WHEN Kasey Edwards was 32, she woke one morning and realised she didn't want to go to work.

"And not just on that day, it was like I didn't want to go ever again," she remembers.

For Edwards, a highflying management consultant, who had worked her "butt off" climbing the corporate ladder, the realisation she hated her job - despite the six-figure salary that went with it - was devastating.

"It was shocking because I had done everything I was supposed to do to make me happy and one day I realised that I wasn't," Edwards says.

"And I felt an incredible guilt about it. It was like, 'What is wrong with me?' How dare I be unhappy when I have everything I thought I always wanted.'

Edwards was suffering from what some psychologists have dubbed the quarter-life crisis. That's right. Forget the mid-life crisis that traditionally happens about the age of 45.

These days Gen Y are having a crisis a good 15 years earlier, as they grapple with the feeling that their lives haven't turned out quite as they envisaged. Or that the life they thought they wanted isn't so appealing after all.

For women, in particular, there's also an expectation that by 30 they should have nixed the career/marriage/kids trifecta. And if they haven't, some start to get anxious because things haven't gone to plan.

Melbourne counsellor and psychotherapist Paul Cullen first noticed the phenomenon when he realised that about 70 per cent of his clients were aged from 28 to 32 and "a remarkable number were weeks either side of their 30th birthday".

*********

Shock horror, my 30th birthday is in a couple of months. This Cullen dude could be on to something.

It certainly explains why I've been waking up in the laundry at night for no apparent reason . . .

Read the full story here

Picture from here

Darcy hunting

So it's booked!

My USA adventure is not going to be all I'd dreamed of but it will be fabulous all the same.

Think more Bridget Jones style rather than Thelma and Louise.

(But Thelma and Louise die in the end so I'm happy with the way it turned out. And Bridget - even though she may be tubby and spends lots of time with her parents - gets the hot guy in the long run! Not so bad, right?!)

Moving on, I've had an unexpected start to my new year so have decided to lock it all away and begin again from 1 February.

Lots of fun things to look forward to with so many of my friends celebrating their dirty 30ths this year. Just received an invite to an Italian Riviera themed party. It will be truly gorgeous.

Here's to good health and happiness and sweeping out the nasties before the 'end of the year' (ie. January).

I'm off to the beach this afternoon for a friend's 30th celebrations on the Yorke Peninsula. Have a wonderful weekend wherever you are x

Backyard brilliant

Don't you love playing tourist in your home town?

Especially when you can show off new places to relatively new Adelaide residents.

I took my friend Kristie and her pregnant belly to an old favourite for dinner last night. When you haven't been for years, there's always a risk that it will never live up to the memories.

Cafe Salsa lived up to the hype. Phew!

One of the best pizza  bases I've had in a long time. And I just love the fit out, so retro and cool, like Cinque Terre or the Amalfi Coast 50 years ago.

Go exploring in your own backyard these Summer holidays, you'll fall in love with your home town all over again!

This little piggy went to New York

So I'm FINALLY making some progress on my travel plans for my 30th birthday.

I've had a discussion with the travel agent and got a first draft of the itinerary through. Sure, there are lots of changes that need to be made, but it's progress, right!?

One of the major things I'm keen to lock away is dinner plans for my actual birthday night - Friday 3 May 2013.

I'll be in New York with Mum and Dad and one of my dearest friends Emma so I want it to be ultra special.

Any suggestions of a kick arse restaurant? Somewhere to ring in my dirty thirties in style? I figured I'd have to start making reservations now and even then, I'm probably too late!

I was thinking Balthazar as I've heard brilliant things about it and a lovely new friend recently celebrated her wedding day there.

Or Per Se.

Or Gramercy Tavern.

Or the Boathouse.

I need some guidance, people! Especially those readers from that part of the world, please share!

I'll be asking for lots of tips along the way - we're planning stops in the Hamptons, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, San Fran and LA and I kind of don't know where to start. I'm looking for a Matchbook meets Glitter Guide meets Furbish Studio meets Rue Magazine meets Lonny meets J.Crew meets Kate Spade meets Kiel James Patrick take on the USA.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated, but let's tick off the birthday dinner first!

Another year down

Happiest of happy birthdays to my little brother Sam

He's a great husband, father and pretty mean cook.

Wishing you an awesome day and looking forward to catching up tonight for the traditional birthday dinner

x

PS. Do I have the world's cutest niece, or what!?

Bluebells are ringing

The best (only) highlight of being sick is having lots of time up your sleeve to lie on the couch and catch up on some TV.

I have fallen back in love with Hart of Dixie - at last count I'd watched 7 episodes. In a row. 

And I'm completely in love with Lemon Breeland. Her wardrobe is TDF. I mean, I couldn't get away with it in little old Rads but she's perfectly at home in Bluebell, Alabama. Sounds like my kind of town, somewhere I could set up my dream little tea shop. A place where manners and tradition count for something, iced tea flows freely and the weather's always hot!

Zoe Hart is pretty cute too. And that George Tucker? Man of my dreams!

What TV series have you rediscovered?

A not so Miserables New Years Eve

Warm weather . . . lovely friends . . . hot BBQ . . . courtyard dining . . . DIY Pimms bar . . . decadent desserts . . . striped straws . . . gorgeous South Australian sparkling . . . new outdoor chair covers . . . lots of yellow . . . and Hugh.

(As in Hugh Jackman. The one and only)

Yes, this sums up my beautiful New Years Eve celebrations.

I had a delish NYE dinner with a gorgeous friend and then we headed to the movies to see Les Miserables.

It's three times as fabulous as everyone says it is.

Go see it. Now.

Happiest of happy new years cheer to my friends - new and old. Here's to an even bigger and better 2013 full of love, laughter and lots of colour.

xoxoxo

PS. Here's the recipe for that delicious, colourful salad. It was a winner and has kept me going all week! Thanks to Love and Lemons via Camille Styles


Sweet potato and pomegranate salad

salad components:
2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed, plus olive oil, salt & pepper for roasting
2 cups baby salad greens (baby kale, spinach, arugula, etc.)
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
1/3 cup crumbled feta
1/4 cup toasted pistachios, toasted & chopped
handful of chopped cilantro
2-3 chopped scallions, white and green parts

dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 clove minced garlic
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar
salt & pepper, to taste

Roast the sweet potatoes: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Chop the sweet potato into bite sized cubes. Drizzle with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until they start to edges start to turn a darker brown.
Make the dressing: Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, honey, garlic, salt & pepper. Taste & adjust. Set aside.
Assemble all salad ingredients, toss lightly in the dressing.