A few months ago I attended my very first clothes swap. It was by accident that I came upon it when I told a friend I would help her out on a vintage fashion show.

On arrival to the day I handed in my items to swap and was given 6 tokens (the amount of clothes i brought) to use to get my new finds from the swap.  After the Vintage Fashion show, as I perused around the stalls I noticed a big room full of endless racks of clothes and piles of bags, shoes and jewellery. A rummage’s dream!

They lined up all the racks, holding back the hungry woman as they eyed up the clothes and each other. Then upon a count down they let us at them. Woman literally ran to the racks and ripped clothes off them. It is a sight of madness that made me laugh from the hilarity of it all and a smidgen of fear. I did however get some a lovely pair of shoes, a dress and ring (also some panic grabs that will go in the next swap i go to) .

This event is run by Daisy Green Events who specialise in eco-friendly event management. Not only are they commissioned to do other organisations events, but they also run their own eco-friendly events regularly all over the country. One being the big swap, vintage and recycled fashion shows and more recently the designer clothes sale, which I happened to go to last night.

I was lucky enough to score a dress worth £129 for a total of £5, but I was not the only one. The idea behind the event is that they have a number of designer clothes that were not bought in the sales which were going to be put into the land fill. But instead of them going to waste Daisy Green has rescued them and are selling them for £5 each at these events.

It was a fantastic night as me and my house mate hopped around grabbing dresses and trying them on. It felt like I was a child playing dress ups in mum’s wardrobe. I was sold on a green dotted tea dress that was inspired by the 1940′s. After putting it on I felt like I could be standing by the front door waiting for my hubby to be come home from war.

When chatting to Nicola Alexander (one of the creators of Daisy Green) after the event I gushed to her about how much I love the Company and it’s ideas and that if she ever wanted to start a branch in Australia that I would be happy to help. To my surprise she was actually interested in the idea which got me very inspired. I could co-ordinate similar events in Australia, while writing for their online magazine all under the Daisy Green Name. Wouldn’t that be brilliant!

My thoughts developed into a little Aussie empire, combining daisy green events, an Aussie burlesque group (who could perform for some of the events) and the boulevard rouge boutique (which I could advertise on the online mag oh and my burlesque group could use clothes from the hire range).

I have also been inspired by a few other things I have seen lately. I saw an advertisement in a shop for a personal stylist that attires you in vintage clothes and cleans out everything from your wardrobe that just isn’t up to scratch. I like this idea, however I would build on it. For example they were charging £80 for an hour consultation which I find a bit pricey for starters. I would charge a fee but out of that fee they could claim it back in items from our boutique. Also we could alter existing clothes they have in their wardrobe.

For you see I have decided somewhere in my boutique we would have a work room that could be open to the public (upon booking a time slot) full of sewing machines and cutting tables. They could also purchase ribbons and buttons and fabric all of our own design (somewhat like kath kidson) to use in their projects. It would also be great to host workshops in this space.

I would also like to use daisy green (aus) online mag to promote local businesses and artists for their upcoming events or new ranges. Also offering competitions, available jobs and special offers.

So you see I have been very busy in my head. Now to put it into action.

Their website is to Launch is 31st of June this year and I wish them all the best.  

There is a motive however behind me wanting the girls to do well. While they are UK-based and I will be going back to Aus at the start of next year, the girls have told me that if their business is a success that they one day want to open a boutique in Aus. And if they have that little boutique in Aus, who do you think they want to manage it? Me!

So if I had a boulevard rouge boutique this is what I would do….

I would have it adorned like a 1950′s housewife’s kitchen. like this but brighter and more over the top.

We would sell lovely little cupcakes and different flavoured ice teas in big colourful pitchers so you can be refreshed while trying on pretty dresses.

 We would also hold craft evenings where you can try on dresses, eat cupcakes and make accessories to go with your wonderful new outfit. Like these lovely flowers below by the wonderful violonjello. ( I have secret wishes for her to work with me at the boutique)

And at night we would serve naughty cocktails and have the 50′ housewife of the day turn into a saucy burlesuqe dancer at night.

We would also have Hair and Make-up workshops to fashion you to a tee! Along with a lovely little book that I hope miss Bunny Florentine and I can create to show you how to be a pretty in petticoats!

 I think it would be a lovely life, like playing dress up’s with your friends and being able to bake crazy cup cakes and drink tea every day. Would you come to a boutique like this? I hope you would, because it is a dream that could one day become a reality.

I have become very nervous when performing solos, which has really surprised me as I am known for being over the top and out there when it comes to confidence. But alas I am doubting every move and don’t get that satisfaction when I come off stage, just more doubt.

Lets hope all goes well tonight then. fingers crossed

I knew that I wanted to be one of those happy people passing the window and felt that the boy could use with a bit of pepping up as well. So I resorted to a little treat that used to make me smile and forget my worries.  Which is also perfect for a day as beautiful as this. A picnic!

Picnics are such a wonderful idea in the perfect weather conditions. It is one of the ways I used to spend a sunny afternoon in the company of Bubs and Uptight. Putting together a collection of the wonderful and weird foods. Our favourites being Chunkies Pesto dip accompanied with brie cheese, sun dried tomatoes on watercress crackers. Settling down at Eastern Beach pretending we were full of sophistication, then 5 minutes after finishing our food grabbing a piece of cardboard we would toboggan down the hill.

Another rememberable picnic experience was when Breezer, Xav, Mitch, Farquah and I went on a road trip to have an ‘Extreme Beach Picnic’. The reason for its extremities are mainly for the distance travelled in a tiny car on a 47 degree day and Xav’s extreme version of picnic food. We got ready for the trip at Breezers house by preparing some travel marshmallow muffins, placing all our assorted food items in three different hampers and then adorning “funny hats” that fell out of the cupboard we got the hampers from. We all packed into our trusty mobile and set out for the beach which was about half an hour away.

When we found our prime position on a grassed area just above the sparkling sandy beach we unravelled the contents we had brought onto paper plates. The food was the picnic  usual assortment, salad, sandwiches, chocolate spiders and cupcakes. But our dear Xav took it t a whole new level producing Figs, Lemons, a grater to grate lemon zest, salmon, sprigs of dill and other such items. We rolled around laughing when he pulled out the greater, but we quickly stopped when he started constructing lovely delights for us to try.

oh and when we got back to the car we realised we didn’t have the car keys so we spent an hour looking for them. Thank you sexy life guard for finding the

Our picnic yesterday ‘bears’ quite a resemblance to the picture above. It was lovely and exactly what we both needed. I splashed out and went to M&S on my lunch break and bought some wonderful items for our picnic. Ready sealed glasses of Chardonnay, mini rolls, wholefoods salad shaker, hand cooked crisps, red grapes, toffee meringues and millionaires chocolate dessert.

After eating every last scrap of our picnic we laid back and relaxed. We talked but about nothing except our favourite types of crisps or about what book I was reading, or our 5 things we want to do before we die. Just forgot our stupid meaningless jobs and just enjoyed the sun.

I have had my fair share of shitty jobs and travelling experiences! I think it is now time to live the student life for the next couple of years. A thought that would have scared me a year ago, but now I am more than ready to do my fair share of projects and listen to lectures. After only really learning from ‘life experiences’ for the past 5 years my mind longs for some juicy new information. It longs for a challenge.

There are a few different areas that I am interested in and am currently looking for courses that intrigue me. I want to focus on Theatre, Fashion, TV/film and Design. All of these areas I feel I could  have interesting job prospects in and have enough variation for me not to go insane

The three at the top of my list at the moment are a Degree in Theatre Production, an advanced diploma in Theatre Production and either a Fashion Merchandise or Design course. 

The Degree in Theatre Production is a three-year course at VCA, who I think are being taken over by Melbourne Uni. Through the course I would tackle everything to do with theatre production though sound, lighting, stage management, set and costume design. And at the end of my third year my project would be to put on a full-scale production. The bonuses of this course would be the obvious degree and skills, but it is in the centre of Melbourne which is something that appeals to me very much. Also putting on my own show in Melbourne would be something that I would love to do.

The other Production course is only two years but does not amount to a degree, just an advanced diploma. It is at Ballarat uni which although it doesn’t have the big city feel to it, it does have the bonus of being the town my parents are from and where my grandparents live. It would be nice to have them so close as they are getting on in life. Would also mean a free bed if I needed it. This course focuses very heavily on the practice side and getting you into the workplace. I don’t know if they focus on set design and costume as much as the degree or whether they do the final year self devised production but they do seem to set you up for a career.

The Fashion courses would be at RMIT in Brunswick. Which would be fantastic location wise and it would be an exciting new venture for me. However it can be a hard industry to break into if I wanted to follow the design portion. The merchandising course looks more sensible in terms of a career paths as they do a lot of placements in the second year to get you into the industry.

I just feel that in every turn my life has taken I always end up at the theatre. So is it right to try to get a job in a theatre, gaining the skills also to put on many of my own productions. Or do I go and do something completely different?

As our theatre is in the heart of the city, so on the weekend we can be privies to markets, concerts etc. Today however there are three separate protests from three opposing parties. Police on patrol in mass numbers, skinheads wrapped in the english flags are rocking buses and giant signs line the streets.

We have little old ladies ringing up, scared to come to our matinée performance. We have been hanging out the windows as soon as we hear a loud yell and we are buzzing with a strange sense of excitement to see to what extreme scene will come next.

During a lull in the protest excitement we were reminded of the lovely chocolate birthday cake that had been sitting in the fridge. A forgotten birthday surprise that needed to be consumed by today. So with wide eyes we 6 devoured the lot through laughter and chocolate covered teeth.  

Then when you couldn’t think the day could be filled with anymore excitement someone suggested we should write a box office musical. This idea got bigger and better and before too long we were brainstorming on the whiteboard. Some songs that we are manipulating are ‘Good morning Baltimore’, ’9-5′, ‘He knew me so well’ and ‘the cell block tango’. These songs translation would be ’Good Morning Theatre Royal’, ‘working 9-8′,  ’How can I tell’ and ‘Box Office Tango’.

Also here are some little exerts from our version of Gaga’s Telephone

“‘Cause There’s 5 in the Queue,
It’s a Booking Day Too,
And You’re not gonna reach my telephone!”

“Boy, the way you blowin’ up my phone
Won’t make me type no faster.
get your tickets faster,
or your vouchers  faster.
I shoulda took a holiday,
‘Cause this is a disaster!
Callin’ for a group booking -
Sorry, I cannot answer!”

We are trying to get this all done and dusted with full cast. words and songs by our christmas party. We will see how we go.

And another 6 Police Vans just streamed past our building. Looks like the fun won’t be over for a long time yet

She was treated to some new fetching balls which she played with happily. Almost killing herself as she grabbed the flying ball in mid air, forgetting she needed her hands to land and face planted to the floor. This didn’t stop her running around like a crazy cat for the next hour.

Her other presents included a new cat comb since she is malting all over the place, a packet of special snacks, some delicous cat milk and a week supply of grilled meat whiska pouches! What a happy kitty cat she was.

She also got three hour of cuddles from Kris before I got home which I think she loved. Although he got told off by me for this when I arrived home. Not because I was jealous but because just like a little child, if you don’t play with her first and tire her out she just runs a muck all night. Which she did quite happily

So Happy Birthday miss Pepper Pig.

It had been such a dreary spring here in Newcastle, giving us light flakes of snow not only last week. So it was looking like shaping up to be like every other birthday I have had. As luck would have it the sky’s started to become clear the day before my birthday and I was greeted with a lovely clear day as I turned 23.

I woke up nice and early ready to go into work, but not before scoffing down a few pieces of banana cake that Cat had made the night before and a downing creamy hot mocha. I got a lovely birthday call from my boy before heading through the doors of our office where I was greeted with many birthday wishes. I was checking out my birthday messages on Facebook when I heard the happy birthday tune start-up and a cake emerge from behind me with colourful dr suess type candles sprouting from the top. Overwhelmed I blew out my candles and said thank you a million times. I have never had a birthday cake at work before, so for the second time that day I stuffed my face with cake!

After lunch I was lucky enough to go shadow  the lighting tech and the stage manager for Pirates of Penzance which was a real treat. I think I am looking into theatre production for a future career so it was a great experience to talk to people in the area and watch how they got on. After watching them work on the show I went back to the office and got to go home half an hour early

I went home, got out a bottle of red and started to get pretty with crisps and cake on hand. Yes more cake! The UK family then dropped over to help me finish off the bottles of wine I had. I got some lovely presents that were orientated around my love for baking and drinking and then we headed out to El Cotos for a Tapas Extravaganza! After a lot of food, sangria and a short spell of dancing Kris and I stumbled home.

Friday morning was proving to be a glorious day. The sun was bright enough that you could actually feel the rays penetrating your skin. We had lunch outside of the train station in the sun before heading up on the coast train to Edinburgh. It was so nice to see the sea and the little coastal towns we passed. When we got to our hotel my lovely boy decided that he wanted to shout me to a musical so we got seats to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Playhouse.

Before the show we went and had dinner at Walkabout, an Australian themed bar. It was so refreshing to be able to have a Kangaroo salad, a VB and watch a Geelong AFL game in the sun. It felt in a weird way that I was in Aus, especially with the Aussie bar staffs accents as I haven’t heard another Aussie speak since Feb. It was lovely I wish Newcastle had a Walkabout because I could have got a job there in a second. The sunny day turned into a barmy night so we walked back to our hotel soaking up this freak weather.

On Saturday we started off with a touristy open air bus tour to get the lay out of the city. The sun was blaring and I could feel my shoulders turn pink. There was so much to do in Edinburgh, I could have happily spent a week there without getting bored. Besides the bus tour however we really didn’t indulge in the Touristy side of the city. We just enjoyed the sun the food and the streets. Most of the time we laid out under the Castle in the gardens soaking up the sun. That night being in such a happy mood I let Kris watch the Football while we hung out in the hotel. We got ready for a late dinner and went to this cute little restaurant with glass doors that opened up onto the footpath which reminded me of home. We polished off a bottle of wine, compared our sunburn and then headed back to the hotel.

On our last day we were so excited to see that the sun was as bright as ever. We climbed up to the castle, walked through the shops of old town, saw an invisible man and then climbed up Arthur’s seat to admire the view. It was a bit of a struggle up as the sun seemed to be at its brightest but it was nice to do something a little bit adventurous. After our little hike we went for a well deserved sunday dinner before heading back to Newcastle.

It was all in all a Perfect Weekend!

 This is the first book in the “Tomorrow Series” by the wonderful young adult fiction writer, John Marsden. It is a series that has captured the hearts of young adults and the young at heart alike all over australia and many parts of the world and I can say it certainly captured mine.

These books are my equivalent to Twilight or Harry Potter, when I read them I live and breathe every moment, I become Ellie and for days after I dream (and daydream) about  being in Wirrawee and Hell living every moment. I can honestly say I am not one of those people who are super fanatics about every book or new face on tele as I don’t really have an addictive personality, but these little books sweep me up and just engulf me completely to the point of obsession.

“Tomorrow, When The War Began and its subsequent sequels are one of the most popular and critically acclaimed series of novels aimed at young readers in Australian literature history. It has sold between 2 and 3 million copies in Australia alone and has been translated into five languages…” 

The story is based around a group of teenagers from the rural farming town of “Wirrawee, Australia” who decide to go for a camping trip over the school holidays. They end up finding a hidden path into a  giant sinkhole the locals name “Hell”, a place that as far as they know, no-one else has ever found a way in and end up camping there and making it their own little sanctuary.

One night they notice hundreds of planes flying over head, but think nothing of it. Just expecting the planes to be going to the showground for the Commemoration Day Celebration that happens every year. However, when they return home they are quick to find every house deserted and realise that the whole of Wirrawee and Australia has been invaded. From then on its a constant fight to stay alive and fight for their country as they remain free from enemy capture. A thrilling  and emotional journey from start to end, you never want to stop reading.

“When their country is invaded and families taken, eight unlikely high school teenagers band together to fight.”   

I like many teenagers were made to read the book as part of the syllabus in english at school. But unlike the other run of the mill, painstakingly boring books that you have to read at school this one was loved by all. It wasn’t until the week after I finished year 12 that I decided to read the whole series. I wanted to sit down and be able to enjoy a book without my brain having to analyse the context of themes. I just wanted to simply read to my heart’s content, like I did before I went to highschool. So I curled up on the day bed in my lounge room for a week and read through the whole series effortlessly. Never had I been so engrossed in a bunch of books.

A few years later I was thinking of a present to get my father for Christmas and while I was rummaging through a bookshop I found the Audio version of the first book and thought it would make a perfect present. He loved it and raved about it for weeks which once again sparking my interest for the books and I started to research them online. That is when I found the Ellie Chronicles, the follow on series. So I once again read the series and then followed them up with the Ellie Chronicles.

And now as I am just about to turn 23 my interest was once again drawn to the books. I was asked to choose a book for book club and it was the first one to pop into my head. Regretfully we didn’t end up reading it for the book club, but I did get my housemate onto them and it was her who found out about the movie being now as hooked on the series as me. I am just finishing off “The other side of dawn”, the last book in the series, with her nipping on my heels ready for me to hand the book over to her. From a 12year old to a 23yr old I still love the books and I think I will love them for years to come.

I was so happy to see the movie was being made. When we found the trailer I cried twice from the emotion of seeing the books I had dreamt about for a good portion of my life being made into the movie I always dreamed I would make and because I have been terribly home sick, seeing imagery from my country just filled me to the brim with painful joy. Here is the clip!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxb8rgq_Un8&feature=related

 When we read a book we always have a certain image of what the characters look like in our heads, so it was amazing to see who was actually cast for the roles. None of them were exactly what I pictured them to be . I guess I always saw Ellie as myself which is probably because the book is written in first person but also because I felt everything thing she did in the book and I guess you always long to be the hero. I saw Homer as my friend Timmy, he had the ethnicity, the arrogance and stupidity but also brought that sense of protection that homer does. Fi was in recent years my friend Jo. This perfect porcelain faced dark-haired doll that had a voice of and angle and the presence of one aswell. I think we make our most beloved characters personal to us so we can connect with them more. But I think I am happy with the people who have been casted in the roles. 

Ellie Linton – Caitlin Stasey
Homer Yannos – Deniz Akdeniz
Lee – Chris Pang
Fiona Maxwell – Phoebe Tonkin
Kevin Holmes – Lincoln Lewis
Corrie McKenzie – Rachel Hurd-Wood
Robyn Mathers – Ashleigh Cummings
Chris Lang – Andy Ryan

 Some may say that they don’t want to see the like of Soap actors in the roles, but the truth is that our best teenage actors only really have the opportunity to star in soaps as there just aren’t any other roles. I think there is a fair mix in the bunch with this cast.

You have Caitlin Stasey who played Rachael in Neighbours who I feel might actually under the right direction have what it takes to be Ellie. Lincoln Lewis from Home and Away surprised me as being the perfect fit for Kevin and surprised me even more with his knowledge and praise of the books. Phoebe Tonkin I think is yet to pull my interest as the role of Fi as I just haven’t been too impressed with her work, but I am looking forward for her to prove me wrong. I don’t know much about Chris Pang, Deniz Akedeniz as far as their credits go but if looks count for anything, they suit the roles perfectly.

 Our only international star (which I am quite pleased it is mostly an Australian cast) has a very impressive CV, from starring as Wendy in Peter Pan and also more recently in Sherlock Holmes I think she would be a welcome addition. I think Ashleigh Cummings and Andy Ryan are relatively new comers but I am sure they have something special to give. They would have had to do something special to impress the likes of Stuart Beattie who has directed several smash hits, such as The Pirates of the Caribbean and Australia. All in all, I am looking forward to seeing my dreams and the dreams of so many others come to life on the big screen. I certainly can say that it is going to be great for Australia to show the world some more of what we can do

And on a funny little note, here are some hilarious book covers for the series that were released in other countries. Enjoy!  

I have spent all day looking up stupid things online instead of doing any of the carefully thought out things that I planned on a very pretty list the night before.

Energy! I need it, and I am not getting any from the sun these days, or the pump of adreline from dance. It is time to pump caffiene or similar through my veins so I can start to like myself again. So I can get back on track and make something of my self that I can be proud of.

Raaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!

(that is the lioness in my awakening )