Mockingjay, lists and other random bits

This is another post with lists :) I find it easier at the moment as my mind is all over the place.

Well, what can I say about Mockingjay?! It was heartbreaking, depressing and bittersweet but I loved it. There were times that I had to stop reading because it became to much for me but I still enjoyed it. It's by far my favourite series ever and I think I will be forever haunted by the books. I'm still thinking about this book. I had a wide range of emotions as I was reading and towards the end my heart would not stop beating so fast. It was intense.

♥ It's great to have Jason back. He had the day off today so it's nice to be able to spend time with him
♥ I didn't stay at home this weekend but went to stay with my parents. I don't like to be home alone and prefer company (this stems from having someone break into my parents house when I was home along I think).
♥ It was my mum's birthday on Saturday night so it worked out that I was staying there.

My mum's bday cake. It's a Filipino one with beautiful light icing. 

♥ I have an event this weekend so I need to be creative this week. Lots of mini note cards and some stud earrings. 

♥ I have lots of mail to catch up on

My new mail carrier thing. It's a good way to keep track of it all.

♥ I still have a giveaway that is planned but just hasn't been done yet

♥ I'm still pondering my mail project (I must stop trying to do too many things at once)

♥ I'm going to be revamping my blog and moving to my dot com website soon. With Jason's help

♥ It's scary to think that Christmas stock will be needing to be unpacked at work in the next few weeks

♥ I really just want to spend the afternoon watching movies or TV shows

So again, it's a post about my mixed up thoughts. Have a wonderful week. 

Mockingjay

I haven't finished reading this yet because I only got it yesterday. There was this whole drama with my bookstore where I pre order didn't receive the books in time. I ended up getting it from my work place. My work mate went through all these boxes of books to find the book for me. I'm so grateful to her.

I wasn't going to read it on Wednesday anyway, I was leaving it for Friday as a reward for a long work day yesterday.

Anyway, I really want to finish it so I can join in the discussion which are already happening and it's so hard to stay away from spoilers. Plus Jason is away this weekend :( I'm already missing him. I guess you can see that we are still in the honeymoon period :)

But I'm LOVING the book so far. It's definitely the most intense and I can't wait to finish it. Have a wonderful weekend. I hope to check all your blogs after the book :)

A post in lists

Via Theloveshop Etsy

I feel like having a lazy day today. I sometimes hate having to work on weekends (actually I hate it most of the time). It's nice when it's my day off.

A few things on my mind...

♥ Swap partners are done and I emailed everyone on the weekend. I hope you enjoy the swap and send me photos of your packages if you want to :) and I'll put them on the blog

♥ I would like a new job. Or I would love to work at home being creative and spend time volunteering more

♥ I must decorate this house and finish the organising

♥ I really want to decorate my letters better, so I will try it with my letter pile.

♥ I do have a blog giveaway in store.

♥ Thinking of ways I can help people more

♥ Lovely comments really make me burst with happiness

♥ My excitement for Mockingjay is truly reaching epic proportions (it comes out tomorrow!!!!!)

♥ Planning a trip to the US next year (I hope...it doesn't hurt to at least plan it)

♥ Thinking of a mail project that will somehow relate to this blog

♥ Making lots of note cards and earrings in the next two weeks for etsy and my event

♥ Noting down all my ideas, aspirations, dreams, wishes and prayers

I've been weirdly emotional lately and doing a lot of thinking. There always comes a time when I question what I'm doing with my life and I take the time to reflect on it. I had a nice talk with Jason over breakfast on Sunday morning and it made me realise what my passions were and what I want to achieve. For now I will just have to write about it in my journal and I might share it on this blog one day :)

Mail and other pretty packages

* I'm guest posting over at Erin's blog Pugh's News. Check it out!

Hey everyone! Thanks again to everyone who signed up for the swap. I've been working on partners for awhile now and it's so close to being done. The only thing is I forgot to add myself in the count and now it's an uneven number. Oops. I was so caught up in it I didn't even realise until late last night. That's alright though I'm sure I will figure something out.

I have a small mail catch up to do. And it's a gloomy day which makes me want to just sit and read (and finish putting partners together).

Incoming...

This is from Caro. When she found out that I loved pens she sent me some from her work. So sweet! This was from awhile ago but I forgot to add it to my last mail post.

This is from Alicia. A pen pal from awhile ago and we are getting back to writing again. She saw the ornament and thought of me :) The angel is holding a butterfly!

I bought this pretty fabric tape from Anastasia's etsy shop Percival Road. She always adds pretty little extras.

I purchased the little teapot necklace and the macaroon print from Anna from her Much Love etsy shop. She added another sweet print from her other shop Dahliaville. It's so pretty and her packaging is always very sweet.

I purchased this from Janetstore. Lots of cute stationery and she added a few stickers with my order. Plus she is lovely and sends personal emails with the order.

Assorted post cards from Postcrossing. I never take pictures of the ones I send because they are always the boring tourist ones (well maybe boring to me)

This is from Ingrid. She sent me a few Friendship books she made because I didn't know what they were.

Outgoing

An old letter for Megan. I can't remember if I have showed this before because I send this awhile ago.

A little something for Alyssa. A thank you for everything she does for Project You. Plus the little sunnies reminded me of the travelling heart shaped sunglasses.

My first Dear Darling letter to Hazel.

Another Dear Darling letter. This one to Ruth.

And another Dear Darling letter. This one to Nicole. There are 4 (inc. me) in our pen pal group.

These little stud earrings are off to Alyssa. I've been making a lot of them for my etsy and for an event I'm involved in.

And that's pretty much it for now! I hope to have a lot more mail to share next time. I hope to have your swap partners today. Maybe tomorrow. Have a beautiful weekend!!

My Hunger Games Love

* Swap is now closed

Just a few things first, it's the last day to sign up for the Just Because You're Lovely Swap. I've already started matching people up so I might assign partners earlier than I said :) So that means more time to put together a pretty package for your partner!

Thank you to everyone who has signed up. I really hope you enjoy it! It's my first time hosting so I hope it all works out.

As the title suggests I have this obsession with The Hunger Games trilogy. I've mentioned this trilogy countless times on this blog and my love for it has not changed.

With the release of Mockingjay next week (25th in Australia which is pretty much the 24th in the US) my excitement is feverishly gaining momentum. I'm planning on re-reading the books just before the release so it feels like I'm continuing on.

It will be so good to find out how it all ends but at the same time so sad that it's over. When I first read The Hunger Games I felt so weird after (because I couldn't stop thinking about it) and have re read it countless times since then. There was the horrible wait (for a year) to read Catching Fire. Once that was out I had to wait again (for a year) to read Mockingjay.

Seriously if you have not read these books yet I urge you. I don't think I had a person that I've recommended the series to that hasn't liked them. It is not you're usual young adult book and I love that. (It gets compared to Twilight a lot, though I have no idea why because this is written so much better but I can't complain because it was Stephenie Meyer who introduced me to the series when it was first released)

But, these books are just amazing! Suzanne Collins is the master at wanting you to keep turning the pages. She creates characters that make you care. She is by far one of my favourite authors (I've also read her Underland Chronicles which I loved). If I could meet an author I would love to meet her.

Anyway, I've bought a few Hunger Games merchandise. I got a shirt from Zazzle.

What I love about it is that you would not understand it unless you have read the first book.

I'm going to wear it when I go pick up Mockingjay next week.

via The Meadow etsy

I bought this necklace which has a few of the lyrics from Rue's lullaby. Again something from the first book.

Via Dragonflycurls etsy

I bought this handmade rubber stamp of a Mockingjay from etsy. It's to use on my letters (especially for the Hunger Games fans)

I'm sure I will be getting more items very soon. Anyway, sorry that turned into a huge post. If I recommend any book series this year it will be this one.

P.S. I'm guest posting at Pugh's News on the 19th August.

Have a great rest of week!

The randomness of Monday

Hello lovely people! When Monday rolls around I always feel all over the place. A few things to mention.

It was supposed to be our week of organisation last week but it didn't really happen. My cousin and her hubby were here for a few days from America so we spent those days with them. By then we got a bit lazy and didn't do much. I did start cleaning my creative space though. At the moment it's a mess because I have all these boxes full of memories and I'm sorting through it and trying to decide what to do with it all. Leave them in boxes or put them in a journal??

We did get go to the Sunshine coast with the fam to show my cousin and her husband where my brother Alvin and his wife Melly are moving back to.

Considering it's still winter it got quite warm that day. I decided to see how cold the water was.

It was still freezing but the warmth of the sun was lovely.

I can't wait for when we can go to the beach all the time. I miss our warmer weather. That was a lovely taste of summer.

Anyway, a few things I have to do this week...

♥ Finish and send my letter for the Dear Darlings pen pal project.

♥ Send some postcards for Postcrossing (I need to find some good ones)

♥ Package up some stud earrings for a giveaway (I'm not sure if I can mention where it's happening yet)

♥ Start on my journal with Jasmine

♥ Put my mixed cd's together Bianca's cd swap.

♥ Continue cleaning and organising

♥ Purchase more Hunger Games merchandise (and prepare myself for the release of Mockingjay next week!!!!)

♥ Put my giveaway for the blog together

♥ Plan our overseas trip (hopefully - more about that later)

♥ Work on my Just Because You're Lovely Swap which you have until Wednesday (18th) to still join. I've already put all the participants into a spreadsheet so far and have started matching people up. I'm seriously trying my best to match you with the right people :)

Have a beautiful week everyone!

MBFF weekend

Hello lovelies! A quick update on the Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival. It was lovely! It's always such a fun event. I didn't get that many photos as it was hard with lighting and people in the way.

One of the better photos I was able to take. I loved the flow of the dress.

I liked the colour and style of this dress.

On the Saturday between the two shows we went off to the Rosemount Wine Bar at QPAC. And the best thing they had was a photo booth. It was free too! We got one photo but could download the photo from the website.

You can click on the photo to see it larger (I hope). I'm the smallest of everyone again. We had two lots of photos because there were a few of us. Plus they were going around a giving us a sample of the Rosemount O wine. Soo good and it served with ice :) I was ready to buy a bottle I liked it so much.

After the second show we all went off to have dessert at Southbank. It was delicious and fun. I love having these girly outings.

On Sunday, Kristina and I went in a little early as we went to church first. We had breakfast and I had the cutest hot chocolate. It was cute the way it was served.

Crushed up chocolate and a tiny milk bottle. The milk was pre heated too.

I didn't get any photos from the Sunday besides that photo above, as my camera battery died. I thought I had recharged it the night before but I obviously didn't.

And it was the Swimsuit show which is one of my favourites. It's always so colourful and happy and makes me long for summer.

So this was meant to be our week of organisation which hasn't really happened but more about that next time. I have so much to do. You still have time to join the swap but it closes next Wednesday 18th.

I'm also involved with the Dear Darlings Penpal project over at Oh, My Darling. I have my group of penpals for me to write to so I will have to start that very soon :)

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I have so much to catch up on so I should get a move on.

Some outfits

Hey lovelies! Thanks for you comments in the last post. I have a fair bit to catch up on as I was busy the last few days. If I owe you emails or anything they will be coming.

I will post about the Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival soon. Yesterday was also a big day hanging out with my fam. My cousin and her husband are here for a few days from the US.

So far, on this week of organisation we have done nothing. Great start... and it's a gloomy day today so all I feel like doing is watching movies. But then we have had a few busy days so need this day to refresh and get back on track.

These are just my outfits from the weekend. Be aware that I really can't pose so they are a bit stiff.

I added a belt to break up the dress. Oh and I got my hair cut. Well trimmed, layered and a side fringe. The hair dresser curled it for me.

I wore this short sleeved cardigan. Which wasn't enough because it was night time and got a bit cold. I did wear stockings though (shiny legs).

My Sunday outfit. I didn't actually wear those heels but I thought it would be nice for the photo :)

For some reason I just wore flats instead. One of my friends and I were there early and I couldn't be bothered to walk around with my heels in another bag. Plus I was wearing black opaque tights but it got hot and I had subtly take them off (in public! I sat down and no one was the wiser).

I will do a better blog about the Fashion Festival next post. Oh and to answer a few questions from the comments. I work at Myer, a department store here. And I buy a lot of my clothes from there including the nude heels and the stripy skirt.

So have a lovely week and I will need to do heaps of catching up...emails, swap (come joing in you haven't already) making things, organising!

Just a Minute In...August

Via Flickr

I first want to say thank you soo much for everyone who has signed up for the swap so far. I'm going through the emails and already starting to match up partners. One thing I forgot to mention is, it would be preferable if you have a blog! Thanks so much. It just seems like it's better when there are more ways to contact you.

Just a Minute In....August

Looking... Forward to the Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival this weekend. Two fashion shows on Saturday night and have a dessert 'debrief' afterwards :) Then Sunday afternoon it's a swimsuit show. So excited!

Planning... Our week of organising (next week!) as I have mentioned in a previous post Jason and I have taken a week off work to get our house organised and decorated.

Making... Lists and starting to figure out partners for the swap

Creating... Mini notecards, earrings and other bits for my Etsy shop and for a fundraising night

Obsessing... Over shopping at the moment. I need to stop

Praying... For guidance with all the personal issues that I have going in my life right now

Yesterday I went shopping with Julia. As I mentioned before she is in Australia to study. I bought a few things but they were mainly for this weekend :) It's kind of justified.

I got this from Dotti. It's to wear on Saturday night (might need a cardi too)

I bought these from work. Price was soo good.

I also got this from work. It's for Sunday.

I love that there tulle and lining under the skirt. It makes it puff out a bit.

Some baby clothes from work for a friend. None for me yet :(

I got these purple tights because it was buy one get one free and Julia wanted to get some red ones. So we paid half each.

I still have a huge bow fascination. I adore the giant bow headband.

And Julia and me.

Thanks everyone! I have lots of bits and pieces to do with the swap, giveaways, planning the next week and doing Etsy things.

Have a most wonderful and beautiful weekend!